Australia/New Zealand
Lysianne Proulx made her debut for Melbourne City. She earned the clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Wellington Phoenix. A special mention to Rylee Foster who was on the other end of the pitch. Foster was between the sticks for the Phoenix in her first soccer match in 731 days. Despite not earning the win, it is fantastic news that Foster is able to play competitively again.
England
Conti Cup action kicked off this week. Deanne Rose earned the start for Leicester City and played the first half in their 2-1 win over Liverpool. For Tottenham, Shelina Zadorsky earned her first minutes of the 2023-2024 season, playing the first half in a 6-0 Conti Cup win against Reading.
In regular WSL action, Chelsea faced off against West Ham. Ashley Lawrence played the full 90, and Jessie Fleming entered in the 78th minute in Chelsea’s 2-0 win. Fleming earned the assist on the second goal. Kadeisha Buchanan was an unused substitute. Jayde Riviere played about 66 minutes for Manchester United in their 1-1 draw with Leicester City. On the other side, D. Rose featured in the second half for Leicester.
There was another Canadian clash as Arsenal came from behind to defeat Aston Villa 2-1. Sabrina D’Angelo was once again relegated to the back-up keeper role for Arsenal, but Cloé Lacasse entered the match in the 63rd minute. For Aston Villa, Adriana Leon entered in the seventh minute of stoppage time at the end of the second half. Zadorsky was not in Tottenham’s squad in their league fixture against Brighton, which the Spurs won 3-1.
France
Marie Levasseur played 90 minutes for Montpellier in their 1-1 draw with Bordeaux, whilst Vanessa Gilles scored for Lyon in their 6-0 win over Saint-Étienne.
Italy
Julia Grosso remained on the bench for Juventus’ 6-0 win against Chievo Verona in the Italian Women’s Cup round of 16. In regular league play, Grosso played the full 90 for Juventus in their 4-0 win over Sassuolo. Evelyne Viens entered in the 59th minute for Roma in a 2-0 win over Inter Milan. Viens was originally credited with the assist on the second goal, but it was changed to an OG against Inter Milan after the match ended.
NCAA
Ella Ottey played the full 90 for Wisconsin in a 1-0 win over Illinois. Ottey also played the full match in a 0-1 loss to Ohio State later in the week. USC’s six-game winning streak came to an end as they drew 1-1 with Colorado. Simi Awujo and Zoe Burns both earned the start, playing 72 and 66 minutes respectively. In a crucial Ivy League match, Jade Rose scored the equalizer for Harvard in their 1-1 draw with Princeton.
Portugal
Marie-Yasmine Alidou scored a goal for Benfica in their 4-0 win over Albergaria. Olivia Smith played 13 minutes for Sporting in their 1-1 draw with Braga.
Sweden
In the third round of the Svenska Cupen, Sarah Stratigakis and Sura Yekka both featured for Vittsjö in their match against Eskilminne. Both Stratigakis and Yekka scored; the former played 45 minutes, and the latter played the whole game. In a crucial mid-table match, Vittsjö lost 1-0 to Piteå. Stratigakis played the full match, and Yekka did not see the field.
USA
It was decision day in the NWSL as teams fought to earn the remaining playoff spots up for grabs. Firstly, a huge congratulations is in order to Kailen Sheridan, whose clean sheet helped the San Diego Wave win 2-0 over Racing Louisville—and the club’s first NWSL Shield. The Wave won the league partly because of their own win, but also because the Portland Thorns collapsed against a tough Angel City side. Christine Sinclair played the full match for the Thorns in a brutal 5-1 loss. Luckily for the Thorns, they finished second in the league, and have a bye into the semi-finals of the NWSL playoffs.
OL Reign clinched a play-off spot with a clinical 3-0 win over Chicago Red Stars. Quinn earned an assist on one of the goals and played 88 minutes; Jordyn Huitema also played 88 minutes. On the other side, Bianca St Georges played 86 minutes for the Red Stars, who miss out on this year’s playoffs. Both the Orlando Pride and Houston Dash were eliminated from the playoffs, but Orlando finished their season strong with a 1-0 win over the Dash. Amanda Allen was not in the Pride’s squad yet again. For the Dash, Nichelle Prince played 63 minutes, and Sophie Schmidt played the entire match.
Lastly, a 1-0 win for the North Carolina Courage over the Washington Spirit means that North Carolina makes the playoffs, and Washington just misses out. Neither Canadian featured for the Courage: Sydney Collins was on the bench, and Victoria Pickett was unavailable with a knee injury. For the Spirit, Gabrielle Carle played the full match.
UWCL
Riviere earned her first professional start for Manchester United in the second qualifying round of UWCL. She played the first half in a 1-1 draw with PSG. Viens started for Roma against Vorskla Poltava and played 59 minutes, scoring the game-winner in a 3-0 victory. Alidou scored two goals for Benfica in their 7-0 routing of Apollon. Clarissa Larisey is still injured and did not appear for BK Häcken as they drew 2-2 with Twente. The second leg of this qualifying round will be played this upcoming week.
Player of the Week: Vanessa Gilles
Goals: 8 (Alidou x 3, Gilles x 1, J. Rose x 1, Stratigakis x 1, Viens x 1, Yekka x1)
Assists: 2 (Fleming x 1, Quinn x 1)
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