College
Simi Awujo and Zoe Burns both earned the start for the USC Trojans against Purdue Boilermakers. Burns played 69 minutes and earned the assist on the Trojans’ first goal of the match, whilst Awujo played 63 minutes. The Trojans would go on to win 4-0.
Jade Rose played 53 minutes for Harvard in their 2-3 loss against Long Beach State. Rose also started Harvard’s match against the Pepperdine Waves, a match that ended in a 1-1 draw.
Ella Ottey did not feature on either of the Badgers’ match-day squads this week.
Europe
With the summer break officially over, Sarah Stratigakis and Sura Yekka played for Vittsjö as they battled bottom-of-the-table Kalmar. It was an easy day at the office as Vittsjö won 6-0. Stratigakis was a bright spot for Vittsjö, earning three assists, all from the corner flag. It was an impressive performance for the midfielder who often finds herself just out of the mix of the national team. Yekka played only the first half.
There was some bad injury news out of Sweden. Clarissa Larisey has injured her foot, and therefore didn’t feature for Häcken in their first official match back after the break. According to Häcken’s manager, Larisey is expected to miss a few games, but should be back for their first UWCL match.
In the first Supertaça de Portugal de Futebol Feminino semi-final, Marie-Yasmine Alidou made her debut for her new club, Benfica. She had a great start, scoring the game-opener two minutes in. Braga came back to lead 3-1, but Benfica rallied and ended up winning the match on penalty kicks. In the other semi-final, Olivia Smith’s new club, Sporting CP, won 2-0 against Famalicão. Unfortunately, Smith was not in the match-day squad. Hopefully, we see her debut for her first professional club shortly.
NWSL
Sydney Collins earned her first professional start for the North Carolina Courage against Gotham FC. She had a great match: in the full 90, she had the most completed passes in the match and the most tackles won. The match ended in a 3-3 draw. Victoria Pickett was not in the match-day squad.
For the Portland Thorns, Christine Sinclair came off the bench in the 74th minute to try to salvage a point against Racing Lousiville, but it was not to be. Portland lost 1-2 against Louisville.
In an impressive first match since their new ownership was announced, the Chicago Red Stars beat the Washington Spirit 2-0. Bianca St-Georges played the full match and scored the game-opener. For the Spirit, Gabrielle Carle also played the full match.
Amanda Allen was once again left out of the Orlando Pride’s squad. Hopefully, she starts making rosters soon. For the Reign, Quinn started and played 65 minutes. Jordyn Huitema was originally a substitute, but an unfortunate injury to her teammate in the ninth minute saw her make an early appearance off the bench. Huitema scored the lone goal of the match and sealed the win for the Reign, moving them comfortably into a playoff position.
Nichelle Prince earned her first start back from injury as the Houston Dash battled the San Diego Wave. Prince played the first half; she may well still be managing her minutes. Sophie Schmidt played the entire match, often anchoring the Dash in defense as they lost a player to a red card relatively early in the match. Allysha Chapman was not available due to an excused absence. On the other side, Kailen Sheridan earned the clean sheet for the Wave in the 1-0 win.
Next week, we will see more of our Europe-based players in action with the start of UWCL qualifiers.
Weekly Stats:
Goal: 3 (Marie-Yasmine Alidou x 1, Jordyn Huitema x 1, Bianca St-Georges x 1)
Assists: 4 (Zoe Burns x 1, Sarah Stratigakis x 3)
Clean Sheet: 1 (Kailen Sheridan x 1)
YC: 1 (Sophie Schmidt x 1)
RC: 0
POTW: Sarah Stratigakis
Rise Higher 
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