Week five of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is in the books and the Washington Spirit is still on top of the league.
All 10 clubs played this weekend and there were three games that ended in a close 1-0 score line. The other two matches ended in draws. It was a low scoring week in the NWSL with a total of five goals scored in five games played on Friday and Saturday.
By Sunday morning, the Spirit and the Portland Thorns are the only teams still with an unbeaten record. As the Boston Breakers is the last club this season to not earn a single point yet, or score a goal in five matches played.
Now let’s take a closer look at the games that took place this weekend in the NWSL.
Sky Blue FC were the winners of Friday
There were two matches that took place on Friday. The first game of the day was Sky Blue FC hosting the Boston Breakers at Yurcak Field. The New Jersey based club entered this match knowing that a victory places them back in the playoff race. Remember only the clubs that finish the 20-game regular season in the top four qualify for the postseason
Instead of the home club coming out motivate to win the match. It was the Breakers who played this match with more of a purpose. They outshot Sky Blue 13 to nine on Friday. Boston was the most aggressive club on the day in all the right categories. The home side did manage to end the game with nine more fouls and three more offsides than the Breakers.
However, the breakthrough for the home side did not come from a moment of brilliance for them. Instead, the game-winning goal came at the 40th minute from a Boston own goal. Sky Blue was able to hold on to the 1-0 lead and is now just two points away from fourth place.
The day ended in the Mid-West, with FC Kansas City and the Chicago Red Stars facing at Swope Soccer Village. The match ended in a scoreless draw in Kansas City. For the home side this result did not help them climb up the standings, but for Chicago, they are now in second place with 10 points.
Washington and Orlando are the winners of Saturday
On the final day of week five, there were three matches played. The day started with the Spirit facing the Houston Dash at Maureen Hendricks Field Maryland SoccerPlex. The Dash entered Washington’s home knowing that they have yet to lose or allow a goal this season.
Houston did not shy away from the challenge. The Dash was able to create seven shots on Saturday. Three of their chances were placed on target, but Spirit’s goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe was able to stop all three of Houston’s goal scoring chances.
However, the home side was able to squeeze by Houston with a first half goal from their midfielder Joanna Lohman. The play started with a well-placed cross from midfielder Christine Nairn.
She delivered a lethal cross from the right-hand side and found a wide open Lohman. The five-foot-five-inch midfielder soared in the air and headed the ball into the roof of the net to give Washington the 1-0 lead in the 38th minute. The home side was able to hold on to their narrow 1-0 lead and picked up their fourth victory in five games.
Pride Win on Alex Morgan goal
The second match took place in sunny Florida with the Orlando Pride hosting the Western New York Flash at the Citrus Bowl. This was a match filled with action and drama for the entire 90 minutes. The two clubs combined for 19 shots, 20 fouls, five yellow cards and one red.
Regardless of the multiple chances both teams created the game was scoreless. The reason for that was due to the goalkeepers making four saves apiece in the match. However, USWNT and Pride’s forward Alex Morgan was able to score the game-winner in the 79th minute.
Morgan received a long range pass from defender Kristen Edmonds. The ball dropped perfectly into the path of Morgan. She was ahead of two defenders and only allowed the ball to bounce a few times in front of her before attempting a chip from more than 20-yards-out. The World Cup veteran showed her class, as she placed the ball over the keeper’s hands and into the back of the net to secure the three points for Orlando with a 1-0 victory.
Seattle Reign and Portland Thorns battle to a draw
Week five came to close with the Seattle Reign facing their Cascadia rivals, the Portland Thorns at Memorial Stadium. This match was riddled with numerous wasted opportunities from both sides. Seattle (nine) and Portland (eight) combined for 17 shots, but the keepers were only forced to make a combined three saves.
With such poor shooting accuracy, the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Both goals came in the first three minutes of the second half. The first came from Thorns midfielder Nadia Nadim heading the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-0 with only seconds into the second half. Then in the 48th minute, Seattle’s striker Beverly Yanez headed in the eventual game-tying goal.
Here is how the standings look after week five
| Clubs | GP | PTS | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 1.Washington Spirit | 5 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 |
| 2.Chicago Red Stars | 5 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 3. Portland Thorns | 5 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 4.Orlando Pride | 5 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| 5.Seattle Reign FC | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| 6.Houston Dash | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| 7.Sky Blue FC | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 8.Western New York Flash | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -3 |
| 9.FC Kansas City | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -3 |
| 10.Boston Breakers | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | -7 |
Now let’s wait and see what week six brings to the table.