Week seven of the NWSL season brought the heat and the unexpected, a reality that was put on full display after Racing Louisville surprised the Portland Thorns with a 3-1 home victory at Lynn Family Stadium — but that wasn’t the only big moment.
The Utah Royals also managed to extend their unbeaten streak to seven matches after their game against the Bay FC ended in a draw, and the Boston Legacy managed to check another expansion team goal off the list with their own draw against Gotham.
Here’s a look at what happened in the NWSL this weekend.
Racing Louisville held the Portland Thorns at bay
Racing delivered a thumping win over the Thorns Friday night, a charge that was led by Katie O’Kane, who scored her first career brace. Emma Sears knocked in Louisville’s third goal as Racing bested the Thorns 3-1 at home at Lynn Family Stadium.
The win was a blow to the Thorns but a necessary achievement for Racing. As coach Bez Yanez told reporters after the match, “We can’t change the past, but what we can change is our direction moving forward. It isn’t anything that’s different for us, it’s just getting back to us.”
The Thorns landed the team’s only goal early in the match, something Racing took advantage of. O’Kane equalized at the 14-minute mark and their second at the 76th, and Sears made her mark in stoppage time.
The match was representative of the type of soccer Racing wants to play, Quincy McMahon said after the game. “This whole week, we talked again and again about getting back to who we were,” she explained. “The work rate, the mentality, the finishes, all of that, just emulated who we want to be and all we’ve worked on.”
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Legacy crosses another expansion team hurdle
The Boston Legacy’s match against Gotham FC may have ended in a draw Saturday, but the newcomers to the league still managed to check another expansion team feat off their list by scoring their first point on the road.
Gotham landed the first match of the game when Jaedyn Shaw capitalized on Legacy goalkeeper Casey Murphy‘s recovery after initially saving a preceding goal. The Legacy’s Barbara Olivieri and Alba Caño had an answer for that point moments later.
The Legacy got close to winning it all at the 88th minute, but ultimately came up short.
Utah Royals keep their unbeaten streak alive
The Royals ended their Sunday match against the Bay FC in a 0-0 draw, but that meant the team still managed to keep their unbeaten streak alive. The Royals have now gone seven matches without losing.
Despite the draw, both teams had opportunities to score throughout the game. The Royals created an opportunity in the 17th minute when Narumi Miura and Cece Delzer launched a joint effort that was just outside the box.
Kansas City Current gets Chicago back with resounding win
The Kansas City Current exacted their revenge on the Chicago Stars this weekend when they delivered a big 3-0 win on Sunday. The Stars previously beat the Current during the team’s season opener this year.
The Current’s Temwa Chawinga recorded her first goal and first career hat trick in the win. The two-time NWSL MVP was appropriately thrilled while speaking with reporters following the game.
“I’m really happy I scored three, cause it’s my first hat track [in the NWSL] so I’m really happy,” she said.
The team’s head coach Chris Armas also expressed a lot of optimism about where the Current is headed. “From everything that I understand, the best is still yet to come,” he said after the game. “But today, she was dangerous. She was playing in the central areas, we forced a lot of turnovers, and that was part of the plan.”
The win was also the 15th shutout for Current goalkeeper Lorena and the team became the third team in NWSL history to go unbeaten in 20 consecutive home games.
“The first thing, and probably the most important, is to acknowledge our fans that showed up in big numbers for another sell-out for our club. We don’t exist without fans in this business,” Armas said. “What’s really important to our team today was the shutout victory. We were able to keep a clean sheet, which was really important and meant a lot to our team. So, I’m proud of the team for that and for the victory today.”