CanWNT
It was a busy start to March as the Canadians played in the quarter-final and semi-final of the inaugural W Gold Cup. The Canadians eked through the quarter-finals thanks to an extra-time goal scored by Evelyne Viens. Then, in a game that should never have been played, the Canadians came back twice against the USA before losing in penalty kicks. Jordyn Huitema scored her 21st goal for Canada, making her the ninth-highest goal-scorer in team history. Adriana Leon converted a late penalty kick to force the shootout, scoring her 37th goal, making her the team’s top active scorer and fourth all-time.
March 2nd-3rd
Whilst the national team was at the W Gold Cup, other Canadians continued to play for their club teams. Sura Yekka made her club debut for Djurgården in a friendly against Brommapojkarna, entering in the 55th minute. Emma Regan started for HB Køge in a 1-0 loss to Rosengård in a friendly. Melissa Dagenais started for Damaiense, minding the net in a 2-1 loss against Vilaverdense. Jayde Riviere was unavailable for Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with West Ham, presumably due to the injury that kept her out of the W Gold Cup. Lastly, Latifah Abdu was a substitute for Dijon in their 1-3 loss to Lyon.
March 9th-10th
Most Canadians who played in the Gold Cup remained unavailable for their clubs, including: Deanne Rose (Leicester City), Clarissa Larisey (BK Häcken), Olivia Smith (Sporting CP), Vanessa Gilles (Lyon), and Marie Alidou (Benfica). However, the two Canadians playing in Italy played for their club teams. Julia Grosso played sixty minutes for Juventus in their 3-1 loss to Fiorentina in the Italian Women’s Cup semi-final. Viens entered in the seventy-sixth minute for AS Roma in their 5-2 win over Milan, scoring one goal and notching one assist. Upon their return to England, Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence were both unused substitutes for Chelsea in their 1-0 win over Everton in the FA Cup QF.
Of the Canadians who stayed in Europe, only Riviere played. Riviere made her return for club against Brighton, playing seventy-seven minutes in Manchester United’s 4-0 win. Yekka was an unused substitute against Hammarby in a 0-0 draw in the Svenska Cupen, and Dagenias was on the bench for Damaiense in their 1-0 win over Valadares.
March 12-18
In Denmark, Regan played eighty-seven minutes for HB Køge in a 3-1 win over AGF. In Italy, Grosso played the full match for Juventus in a 3-3 draw with Inter.
Gilles played the full match for Lyon in a resounding 4-0 win over Fleury. Abdu was not included in Dijon’s squad for their 2-0 win over Bordeaux.
In a clash that would have significant ramifications for the WSL title race, Chelsea and Arsenal faced off. Chelsea won commandingly by a score of 3-1. Buchanan played the entire match for Chelsea, and Lawrence entered in the 70th minute. Sabrina D’Angelo served as backup keeper for Arsenal, and Cloé Lacasse entered in the 57th minute. Aston Villa won 2-1 over Everton; Leon earned an assist on Villa’s first goal and played 81 minutes. Shelina Zadorsky played the full match for West Ham in a 1-3 loss to Liverpool. Riviere played her first full match since her injury, helping Manchester United to win 2-0 over last-place Bristol City. D. Rose was a second-half substitute for Leicester City, losing 1-0 to Tottenham.
In Portugal, Alidou started for Benfica in a 1-1 draw with Damaiense; on the other side, Dagenias was on the bench. For Sporting CP, Smith came off the bench in the sixty-first minute, scoring one goal and earning an assist. Sporting won by a scoreline of 5-0.
The Svenska Cupen group stage continued; in group one, Larisey started for BK Häcken in their 7-1 thumping of Lidköping. In group three, Yekka started and played 76 minutes for Djurgården in a 2-1 loss to KIF Öbrero DFF.
The San Diego Wave and Gotham FC played in the Challenge Cup Final before the NWSL season started. Kailen Sheridan was in net for the Wave, who won the trophy by a score of 1-0. The first match of the NWSL season took place at Kansas City’s new stadium between the Current and the Portland Thorns. Both Canadians for Kansas, Nichelle Prince and Desiree Scott, were unavailable. For Portland, Jessie Fleming earned the start in her debut for her new club and earned one assist. Christine Sinclair started the match and then was subbed off for Janine Beckie at the half. Beckie, who returned to the pitch for the first time in a year since doing her ACL, had a resounding comeback, scoring two goals. Ultimately, Kansas City won by a score of 5-4.
Amanda Allen earned an assist on the tying goal for the Orlando Pride; she played seven minutes in the 2:2 draw with Racing Louisville. In their home-opener, the North Carolina Courage won 5-1 over the Houston Dash. For the Courage, Sydney Collins was unavailable due to injury, but Bianca St-Georges made a strong debut for her new club, scoring two goals in sixteen minutes. For the Dash, Allysha Chapman remained on maternity leave, and Sophie Schmidt earned the start. Jordyn Huitema and Quinn both played the full match for Seattle in their 1-0 win over the Washington Spirit; Gabrielle Carle started for the Spirit. Lastly, Lysianne Proulx had a strong show in goal for Bay FC in her NWSL debut. Proulx kept the clean sheet and helped the Bay win 1-0 over Angel City, for whom Megan Reid was an unused substitute.
POTW: Janine Beckie, for scoring two goals in one half in her first game after injury
For March 12th-18th:
Goals: 5 (Beckie x 2, Smith x 1, St-Georges x 2)
Assists: 4 (Allen x 1, Fleming x 1, Leon x 1, Smith x1)
Rise Higher 
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