Chicago Red Stars celebrate victory
BY CANDY PARKER
Lesbian.com
The National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) leading teams continued to separate themselves over the weekend with Seattle, Western New York, Kansas City and Chicago all earning wins.
Seattle Reign FC (6-0-0) continued its pursuit of perfection earning a hard-fought 1-0 win over Portland Thorns FC (2-1-2) Saturday afternoon.
League-leading scorer and Scottish International Kim Little notched her fifth goal of the season in the 90th minute to give visiting Seattle the victory. The goal capped a late flurry by Seattle during which Bev Goebel drilled an uncontested shot directly at Thorns goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and later barely missed the foot of Sydney Leroux at the 88’ mark.
Reign goalkeeper Hope Solo kept Portland off the board with eight saves in the contest, including two key stops in the 67th and 68th minutes – a header from Jessica McDonald and shot by Amber Brooks, respectively.
Seattle Reign FC at Portland Thorns FC highlights
USWNT superstar Abby Wambach provided all the offense necessary for the Western New York Flash (3-1-1) on Sunday, treating the home crowd to a 2-0 win over visiting Sky Blue FC (1-3-3).
After a scoreless first half, Wambach netted the game’s first goal in the 49th minute with a header off a bending free kick from Vicky Losada. The free kick was awarded after Flash midfielder McCall Zerboni was fouled.
Wambach sealed the win with a goal in injury time at the 93’ mark. Wambach chased down a long kick from teammate Kelsey Wys, beating Sky Blue FC’s goalkeeper Brittany Cameron to the ball and powering a shot to the back of the net.
In other action, FC Kansas City (3-3-1) welcomed the return of Amy Rodriguez, who missed last week’s game while away with the USWNT, as the forward scored two goals in a victory over the Washington Spirit (2-4-0) Sunday evening.
Rodriguez notched her first goal in the 36th minute when Leigh Ann Robinson carried the ball down the right side and sent a low cross to the middle. The initial cross missed Rodriguez’s foot, but Jen Buczkowski recovered the loose ball, tapping an easy pass to Rodriguez who drove a shot into the upper left corner of the goal.
Kansas City took the 1-0 lead into the half, but Washington rallied briefly when, at the 63’ mark, Danesha Adams scored the equalizer for the Spirit, arcing a 25-foot shot over goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart.
Less than one minute later, Rodriguez netted the winning goal, sending a shot to the near post to put her team up 2-1 and secure the win.
Washington Spirit at FC Kansas City highlights
Finally, the Chicago Red Stars (2-2-1) earned a 1-0 win over the Houston Dash (1-4-0) after waiting out a three-hour delay due to lightening and storms in Chicago area Sunday evening.
A goal at the 33’ mark by forward Jen Hoy was the lone goal of the night as Red Stars’ goalie Karina LeBlanc posted her second shut-out of the season.
Houston Dash at Chicago Red Stars highlights
The NWSL has a full slate of action this week with the following upcoming games:
Wednesday, May 14
Portland Thorns FC at Houston Dash
FC Kansas City at Seattle Reign FC
Thursday, May 15
Chicago Red Stars at Boston Breakers
Saturday, May 17
Western New York Flash at Washington Spirit
Sunday, May 18
Houston Dash at FC Kansas City
Chicago Red Stars at Boston Breakers
