NWSL: Week 9 Recap, Standings and Team of the Week

NWSL is back from international break and a wild week 9 gave us plenty to talk about.

Clearly the teams in the NWSL missed being on the field last weekend. They returned from international break re-energized and ready to score goals. No team was shutout and the five matches totaled 20 goals.

The two most impressive performances came from North Carolina and Sky Blue FC. North Carolina jumped on Boston early and often, cruising to a 3-1 win. Sky Blue went to Portland and silenced the over 16,000 in attendance with a 3-1 win of their own. The defense held firm and Sam Kerr continues to build her case for MVP, scoring two goals in the second half to seal the game.

Elsewhere Chicago struggled against Washington, Seattle failed to hang on to a win on the road (again, and things got even worse for Houston. No matter where you looked this week, something exciting was happening.

Match Recaps

Chicago 1 – Washington 1

Francisco Ordega proved once again that she is very fast, opening the scoring right before halftime. Washington looked as good as they have all year and nearly got the win, but a late mistake led to a Christen Press penalty and a draw between the two.

North Carolina 3 – Boston 1

Kristen Hamilton had a brace after 13 minutes, Ashley Hatch added a third and all of a sudden Boston found themselves down 3-0. A late goal from Adriana Leon was nothing more than a consolation as Boston is now winless in six straight matches.

Kansas City 2 – Seattle 2

Going back to 2016, the Reign have won two of their last 14 matches on the road, both of those coming against Houston. They were 10 minutes away from getting a rare road win after Naho Kawasumi put them up 2-1, but they conceded late and once again are forced to settle for a single point.

Houston 2 – Orlando 4

Orlando bulldozed over Houston, scoring the first four goals before Houston got  2 consolation goals late. Things are rough now but the Dash should improve once Carli Lloyd returns. What’s that? She is back and started? Oh.

Portland 1 – Sky Blue 3

This was huge for Sky Blue’s playoff chances. Not many teams will be able to say they went into Providence Park and got three points. In a weekend where most teams at the top got a draw, these three points is a big bonus for them.

Standings

1. North Carolina Courage, 21 pts, +6 GD
2. Chicago Red Stars, 17 pts, +4 GD
3. Sky Blue FC, 16 pts, +1 GD
4. Portland Thorns FC, 15 pts, +4 GD
5. Seattle Reign FC, 13 pts, +6 GD
6. Orlando Pride, 12 pts, +1 GD
7. FC Kansas City, 12 pts, 0 GD
8. Washington Spirit, 8 pts, -5 GD
9. Boston Breakers, 8 pts, -5 GD
10. Houston Dash, 6 pts, -12 GD

Team Of the Week