News
The Chicago Stars announced that Julia Grosso has re-signed with the organization through the 2028 NWSL season.
Canada
The NSL play-offs finished this week. Vancouver Rise and Ottawa Rapid played their first leg in Vancouver, where the home team triumphed by a score of 2-1. For Vancouver, Latifah Abdu scored both goals, exiting at 90+3. Samantha Chang, Quinn, and Holly Ward all played the full match. For Ottawa, Desiree Scott played 81 minutes.
The second leg appeared to be going Ottawa’s way until a late goal by Holly Ward narrowed Ottawa’s goal to 2-1, tying the score 3-3 on aggregate. Consequently, the match eventually went to penalty kicks, where Vancouver secured the win by a final aggregate score of 3(5)-3(4). In the second match, Ward played the full match and scored the pivotal goal, and Abdu played the full match and converted in the penalty shootout. Quinn and Chang also started, playing 83 and 118 minutes respectively. For Ottawa, Scott played 78 minutes. With Ottawa’s elimination, Desiree Scott’s cleats are officially hung up, and we say goodbye to one of the greats.
The second leg of the Toronto/Montreal match-up was postponed due to inclement weather (snow, in case we needed any proof this was a Canadian league). Toronto were set to play at home with a 2-0 aggregate lead. When it finally kicked off, Emma Regan and Kaylee Hunter both started for Toronto. Hunter earned an assist and played 77 minutes, and Regan played the full match. Toronto won the match 4-1 and the tie 6-1 on aggregate, setting up a final against Vancouver.
England
In the WSL, Chelsea and Arsenal played to a 1-1 draw. Olivia Smith returned from the injury she sustained during the international break, entering in the 62nd minute. Shelina Zadorsky played the full match for West Ham in a 1-1 draw with Leicester City, securing the first league point for the Hammers this season. Manchester City took first spot in the league table with a 2-1 win over Everton; Jade Rose played the full game.
Aston Villa won an important three points with a 1-0 win over Manchester United, with Sabrina D’Angelo earning the clean sheet for the Villans. For Man United, Jayde Riviere played the full match, and Simi Awujo was an unused substitute.
In WSL2 action, Deanne Rose was once again unavailable for Nottingham Forest. They lost 3-0 to Birmingham City.
France
OL Lyonnes beat Montpellier by a scoreline of 5-1. Ashley Lawrence entered in the 61st minute for Lyonnes, and Marie Levasseur played the full match for Montpellier. Emily Burns was in net for Nantes as they won 2-1 against Le Havre. For PSG, Florianne Jourde entered in the 68th minute in a 4-0 win over Fleury.
Germany
Vanessa Gilles was unavailable for both of Bayern München’s games this week: a 6-0 win over Nürnberg, and a 4-0 victory against Union Berlin.
Italy
Evelyne Viens started and played 61 minutes for Roma in a 5-2 loss at the hands of Fiorentina. For Juventus, Lysianne Proulx was once again unavailable with injury as they lost 2-1 to Milan.
Portugal
Jeneva Hernandez Gray started and played 69 minutes for Sporting CP as they drew 1-1 with Braga.
Sweden
In the third round of Svenska Cupen qualifiers, Carly Wickenheiser played 47 minutes for BK Häcken as they won 10-0 over Rosso. Wickenheiser scored one goal. In regular league play, BK Häcken won again, this time 2-0 over Djurgården. Wickenheiser played the full match as they clinched their second league title.
USA – NCAA
In the first Big 10 semi-final, Wisconsin fell to Washington 2-1. Ella Ottey played the full match. In the other Big 10 semi-final match-up, Kayla Briggs and Noelle Henning both played the full match for MSU as they won 2-1 over UCLA in extra time. MSU faced off against Washington in the Big 10 Championship, losing on penalty kicks 1(1)-1(4). Briggs scored MSU’s goal from the spot in regular time, but was unable to convert during the shootout. Henning was once again in net.
In the ACC semi-final, Annabelle Chukwu scored the game-winner to send Notre Dame to the final over Duke by a score of 2-1. She played 68 minutes. Notre Dame went on to face Stanford in the ACC Championship. Chukwu played 85 minutes and earned an assist on the tying goal for the Fighting Irish; this took the game into extra time, and then penalty kicks. Unfortunately, Notre Dame fell 2(4)-2(5) on penalties.
USA – NWSL
The NWSL quarter-finals took place this weekend. The first match-up saw the Orlando Pride beat the Seattle Reign 2-0. Zara Chavoshi was an unused substitute for Orlando, and Jordyn Huitema played the first half for the Reign.
Then, the Washington Spirit narrowly defeated Racing Louisville, winning on penalty-kicks 1(3)-1(1). For the Spirit, Gabrielle Carle started the match before being subbed off in the 32nd minute with a hamstring injury. For Louisville, Janine Sonis played 90 minutes and was subbed off before additional time.
Top seed Kansas City Current were beaten 2-1 in additional extra time at the hands of Gotham. Nichelle Prince earned the start, playing 70 minutes. Finally, the Portland Thorns beat the San Diego Wave 1-0 in additional extra time. Jessie Fleming played the full match for the Thorns whilst Mimi Alidou was unavailable with an excused absence. For the Wave, Kailen Sheridan was in net, and Adriana Leon entered in the 74th minute.
Player of the Week: Annabelle Chukwu
Goals: 6 (Abdu x 2, Briggs x 1, Chukwu x 1, Ward x 1, Wickenheiser x 1)
Assists: 2 (Chukwu x 1, Hunter x 1)
Clean Sheets: 1 (D’Angelo)
Rise Higher 
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