NWSL Draft
Three Canadians were drafted in the 2024 NWSL draft. Zoe Burns, a Canada-USA dual national with two senior caps, was drafted to the Utah Royals at the beginning of the third round. She will be reunited with her former assistant coach at USC, Amy Rodriguez, who is now Utah’s manager. Amanda West joins three Canadians at Houston Dash—the prolific forward has received a call-up to the senior team (2021), but has not yet featured. Lastly, Mya Jones was drafted to the San Diego Wave. Jones has not been called up to the senior team but has featured in the youth system (u20 and u15).
Australia
Lysianne Proulx was in net for Melbourne City as they lost 1-0 to Western Sydney Wanderers.
England
This weekend, it was the fourth round of the FA Women’s Cup. Adriana Leon started for Aston Villa, but they were unable to beat Everton and bowed out of the competition, losing 3-0. There was a Canadian clash as the Canadian trio at Chelsea took on Shelina Zadorsky and her new team, West Ham. Zadorsky earned the start and helped solidify West Ham’s backline, but after gaining an early lead, Chelsea came back to win 3-1, scoring two goals in extra time. Ashley Lawrence and Kadeisha Buchanan played the full match for Chelsea, and Jessie Fleming remained on the bench. The remainder of the Canadians won and progressed to the next stage of the competition. Jayde Riviere played 72 minutes for Manchester United in their 5-0 win over Newcastle. Cloé Lacasse entered in the 64th minute for Arsenal as they won 5-1 over Watford; Sabrina D’Angelo served as the backup keeper. Finally, Deanne Rose returned from her injury with a bang for Leicester City, scoring her first goal since signing with the Foxes. Rose and Leicester City won 4-0 over Derby County.
France
In Division 1 play, Latifah Abdu played 74 minutes for Dijon in a 5-0 loss to Fleury. Dijon currently sits in ninth place in the league standings. Vanessa Gilles played the full match for league leaders Lyon in their 1-0 win over Paris FC. In the Round of 32 in the Coupe de France Féminine, Abdu did not travel with the squad for their 10-0 win over FEC Bastiais. Gilles scored her first goal of 2024 for Lyon in their 4-0 win over Montpellier.
Italy
After returning from injury last week in the SuperCoppa final, Julia Grosso was an unused substitute for Juventus in their 2-1 win over Milan. Evelyne Viens once again earned the start for AS Roma. She had a better game than she did last week, scoring the game-winning goal in a 3-0 win over Pomigliano.
Portugal
The first leg of the Taca da Liga Feminina semi-finals took place this week. Olivia Smith proved the difference maker for Sporting CP, scoring the lone goal to give her team the advantage over Racing Almada. Marie Alidou also scored for Benfica in their match-up against Valadares; Benfica carries a 4-1 lead into the next leg. In Liga BPI play, Benfica played to a 1-1 draw with Racing Almada. Smith continued her scoring streak for Sporting, scoring their lone goal in a 1-1 draw with Damaiense.
Player of the Week: Olivia Smith, for two goals + continuing her scoring streak (3G 3A in 3 games in 2024)
Goals: 6 (Alidou x 1, Gilles x 1, Rose x 1, Smith x 2, Viens x 1)
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