The 2021 NWSL Championship aired on CBS as the Chicago Red Stars and Washington Spirit met in the season finale. CBS opened its broadcast with an emotional open letter from U.S. soccer legend Carli Lloyd.
A dominant Washington Spirit take on the scrappy Chicago Red Stars in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, as each vies for its first National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) crown.
The Red Stars pulled off a 2-0 upset over the Portland Thorns in their semifinal on Sunday, despite seeing star forward Kealia Watt exit the game with an injury in the first half, and will hope to shake off the disappointment of past years on Saturday.
ONE. DAY. AWAY.
From the first day it was officially announced Los Angeles would be getting an NWSL expansion team, Angel City FC has done things differently. From the star-studded cast of owners and investors to the commitment to community, Angel City has already made more headlines before playing a single match than some NWSL clubs that have been around for years.
After a period of dominance that yielded every trophy (2020 Fall Series, 2021 Challenge Cup, 2021 Women’s ICC, 2021 Shield) apart from the one that really matters, the top-seeded Portland Thorns suffered heartbreak on Sunday in the NWSL playoff semifinals to the Chicago Red Stars, despite the underdogs missing Mal Pugh, Casey Krueger, Kayla Sharples and losing Kealia Watt to injury in the 29th-minute.
It was Watt’s substitute — Katie Johnson — who gave the Red Stars the advantage in the 37th minute with a shot from an impossible angle that caught Bella Bixby napping.
With the OL Reign taking center stage at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma on Sunday, all eyes were on the attacking riches of the No. 2 seed in the NWSL playoffs, including the USWNT duo of Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle, France’s Eugénie Le Sommer, Germany’s Dzsenifer Marozsán and Wales’ Jess Fishlock.
They were collectively outplayed and humbled by the Washington Spirit’s 19-year-old sensation Trinity Rodman and 22-year-old attacker Ashley Sanchez.
Crystal Dunn was not included in the USWNT roster announced this week for the upcoming friendlies against Australia. On Thursday, it became clear why.
Dunn, one of the most versatile footballers in the world, is adding a new position to her repertoire. In addition to playing fullback, midfielder and forward for her club and national team — and a chicken and cat mom off the pitch — she’ll soon become a human mom.
There was a large sense during the USWNT’s last two friendlies against South Korea that the team was growing stale.
Carli Lloyd’s playing career is over. Lloyd’s Gotham FC fell to Mal Pugh and the Chicago Red Stars in the 2021 NWSL quarterfinals, marking the start of a new phase in Lloyd’s life. We thought we’d look back to the Carli Lloyd first college goal, which you know was an absolute banger.
Just give Trinity Rodman a call-up for November’s USWNT friendlies against Australia now. She’s earned it.
Mallory Pugh is back.
After playing an ever-present role in Chicago’s regular season campaign — second most minutes, second most goals, joint-most assists — Pugh’s resurgent year continued on Sunday with her biggest strike yet: the game-winner against NJ/NY Gotham FC in the NWSL playoff quarterfinals.