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Gotham remains atop a crowded table – Equalizer Soccer

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Photo Copyright Michael Thomas Shroyer for USA TODAY Sports

NJ/NY Gotham FC played the Washington Spirit to a draw to remain atop the standings, but the table is crowded with three five-win teams. International stars like Kerolin, Quinn, Diana Ordóñez and Yuki Nagasato shone brightly this week, helping to deliver victories for their clubs.

Washington, Gotham play to 1-1 draw

Gotham played to a disappointing 1-1 draw against the Spirit on Sunday afternoon in D.C. After controlling the match from the opening whistle, Bruninha got the visitors on the board early with a golazo into the upper 90. 

In the 55th minute, Yazmeen Ryan thought she found a second for Gotham, but after a VAR review, the goal was called back due to a handball by Nealy Martin in the build-up play. Was the handball clear and obvious enough for this to be the right decision? I’m not so sure, but nevertheless, play resumed with Gotham’s slim, one-goal margin.

Despite having the lion’s share of possession and shots, Gotham couldn’t manage to find a second. Instead, it was Spirit midfielder Paige Metayer who excited the home side with an equalizer in the 70th minute, all against the run of play.

OL Reign dominates ACFC for 4-1 victory

Angel City started off on the front foot on Saturday against OL Reign when Claire Emslie buried the rare front-post Olimpico to put her squad ahead.

But despite conceding early, the Reign were determined to bounce back from losing two straight. 

Elyse Bennett managed to equalize just before half, while a second-half brace from Veronica Latsko, and a fourth goal from Quinn earned the Reign the dominant win and a coveted three points.

With a whopping, season-high 25 shots (11 on target), it was a statement game for the Reign, with positives all over the pitch. Megan Rapinoe continued a fine run of form heading into the World Cup with three assists, while Bennett picked up her first goal in a Reign shirt. Canadian supporters were happy to see Quinn back on the field too – and scoring no less – as they build back fitness after dealing with an injury early in the season. With Latsko’s brace, OL Reign now have four players with three goals on the season, which is a testament to the quality and depth of their roster.

As for Angel City, doubt still hangs over Julie Ertz’s fitness ahead of the World Cup, as she was unavailable again on Saturday due to a left thigh injury.

Chicago shuts out Orlando

Chicago got back in the win column on Saturday, as they managed to sneak a 1-nil win at home over a dominant Orlando Pride. 

After a shaky run of games, Red Stars keeper Alyssa Naeher no doubt had her best match of the season. She was forced into making six critical saves, which leapfrogged her over Ashlyn Harris and into the record books as the keeper with the most all-time NWSL regular season saves.

Remarkably, the Red Stars only registered two shots on goal throughout the entire match (including none in the second half), and one found the back of the net. Yuki Nagasato’s 22nd-minute header – assisted by a lovely cross from Casey Short – was the difference on the day.

North Carolina extends unbeaten streak to five games

Kerolin was outstanding in North Carolina’s 2-1 road victory against Louisville on Saturday. Her goal, which ended up being the decider, was a thing of beauty.

Jordan Baggett managed to pull one back for Louisville just minutes before the final whistle, but the Courage were able to hang on. That’s five games in a row unbeaten now for North Carolina (three wins and two draws).

San Diego, Portland score late in exciting 1-1 draw 

San Diego Wave and Portland Thorns continued their pattern of closely contested matches with a 1-1 draw on Friday. Late goals were in store for both sides, as Sofia Jakobsson opened the scoring for the Wave in the 86th minute, but the Wave disappointedly conceded a 90th-minute equalizer to Thorns’ defender Reyna Reyes. 

The Equalizer’s Taylor Vincent went long on the draw:

Houston hands Kansas City its fourth straight loss

Kansas City’s struggle continues.

The Houston Dash came to town and blanked the home side 2-nil on Friday, extending the Current’s losing streak to four. Worryingly, the Current have conceded multiple goals in these four losses, and are themselves scoreless in three.

As for the Dash, Saturday’s win serves as a nice bounce back to form after last week’s tough loss at home to Portland. They poured on the pressure around the halftime mark – both before and after the break – to earn the win. 

Their first goal, in particular, was quite the sight, as Michelle Alozie sent a beautiful, curling pass into María Sánchez, who then found Diana Ordóñez in the box with a little chip pass. Ordóñez spun around her defender, and – while falling – managed to beat Cassie Miller with a ball in the back of the net. The loss, and Red Stars victory, dropped the Current to last place in the standings with a -9 goal differential.







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Tori Penso reflects on historic selection as first American to referee a World Cup final – Equalizer Soccer

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Photo: Richard Callis / SPP

In a sold-out stadium at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, Tori Penso stood alone at the monitor. The center referee was called over by VAR to review a possible handball by England in the second half where Spain was already up by a goal.

“The stadium was silent. A pin could drop and I would have heard it. All the eyes were on me, all the cameras were all on me, and two billion people are watching this moment and they’re all anxious to see what’s going to happen,” Penso told The Equalizer

Although Penso has made many decisions over her career, which has spanned USL, NWSL and MLS, this would be unlike any other. Not only was it a World Cup, but she would have to announce her decision to the arena of over 75,000 passionate fans.

After making her decision, Penso took an extra moment at the monitor practicing what she would say, walked back onto the field, took a breath, and announced to the world her decision: PENALTY. 

For Penso, announcing VAR decisions live is a welcomed change which allows referees to provide clarity and improve the in-stadium experience, but she sees another, more intriguing reason to continue to employ the practice.

“It adds a little drama and a little theater. We are in the entertainment business at the end of the day,” Penso said. “Who doesn’t love a little drama?”

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Why Bay FC’s global search led to a familiar name for its first coach – Equalizer Soccer

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Albertin Montoya, right, will lead Bay FC in 2024. (Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)

When Albertin Montoya took over as interim coach of the Washington Spirit last year, both parties were clear: the relationship was only temporary. As highly regarded as Montoya is as a coach, he and his family have been based in the San Francisco Bay Area for decades. That was home. Plus, he was the longstanding technical director of a storied youth club there.

Coaching the Spirit, however, reminded Montoya of what he loved about the professional game that he had been part of in two previous leagues and two prior decades.

“I got the bug,” Montoya told The Equalizer this week. Now, he can put that feeling to good use.

On Wednesday, Montoya was named the first head coach of Bay FC, the San Jose, California-based National Women’s Soccer League expansion team slated to begin play in 2024. Montoya emerged from a long list of roughly 40 names “from every continent, from every type of background,” Bay FC general manager Lucy Rushton said, and a group of three finalists. In the end, the coach with deep, local ties was deemed the best fit by Rushton & Co for his tactical views and his ability to build culture and character within a team.

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Megan Rapinoe was perfectly imperfect – Equalizer Soccer

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© Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

Monday marks the first day of the United States women’s national team without Megan Rapinoe. It remains weird to type that, let alone accept it, perhaps because Rapinoe is not really gone.

In literal terms, the talented forward is still playing – for her club, OL Reign. She has at least a few weeks left in her professional career to chase one of the few things she has not won: a National Women’s Soccer League Championship title. Winning that and paying back a club that shaped so much of her career, would be a perfect way to call time on a career. As Rapinoe has said, however, there are no perfect endings, exemplified by her missed penalty in the shootout with Sweden at the 2023 World Cup.

Rapinoe called time on a 17-year career with the United States on Sunday, ending a career that bridged generations of what was indisputably the best team on earth during her era. Summarizing Rapinoe’s entire career is a futile effort. Rapinoe’s list of on-field accomplishments runs the gambit from two World Cup titles, a Golden Ball, world’s best player, and an Olympic gold medal. Then, there is everything else that Rapinoe stood for away from soccer. Rapinoe is most proud of her off-field accomplishments “by a mile,” she said on Saturday.

Rapinoe was a vocal advocate for equality, gay and trans rights, and racial injustice. She put her career on the line for those things — literally, in 2016, when she knelt during the national anthem in solidarity with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his protests against racism and police violence. U.S. Soccer soon made a (later retracted) rule requiring all players and staff to stand for the anthem, and Rapinoe went without several call-ups during that period. Even three years later, her decision to take on President Donald Trump — and his loyal supporters — in the public light carried life-changing implications.

None of that deterred Rapinoe from standing for what she felt was just. Ahead of her final game in a U.S. jersey, Rapinoe reminisced about a lesson her mom taught her and twin sister, Rachael, in their early teens as they began finding success in soccer and gaining popularity among their peers.

“I think it’s just kind of my worldview that you have a responsibility to use whatever talent you have or whatever way you can to make the world a better place in some kind of way,” Rapinoe said.

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