1. Returning Caiya Hanks scores stoppage time game-winner for Portland Thorns
Sports are best when they’re emotionally resonant, and nothing beats what Caiya Hanks did at Providence Park.
The Portland Thorns forward played in her first match since returning from an ACL injury that has kept her away from NWSL action for more than a year. The 21-year-old forward substituted on in the 88th minute and made an immediate impact at home for the Thorns. In the sixth minute of stoppage time, Hanks moved the ball to the middle just outside the penalty area and with little defensive pressure from nearly four Orlando defenders she shot the ball to the right post past the goalkeeper. Providence Park exploded with excitement and it seemed her entire team was waiting to give her a hug.
2. Big returns for Sunday night soccer between Washington Spirit and Angel City
Three major players for both Washington Spirit and Angel City FC made their long awaited returns to play on Sunday night. Ashley Hatch made her official return to the pitch in the 83rd after returning from maternity leave last week for the Spirit. On the home side, Savy King returned for her first match since suffering a lower leg injury that has kept her out since April. Though the biggest return may have been Sydney Leroux who came on in stoppage time for Angel City after 654 days away from an official match.
3. KC Current score immediately, but Gotham extend unbeaten streak to eight
The Kansas City Current shocked the Gotham FC crowd on Friday night with an early goal within the first 30 seconds of the night. Gotham started with the ball and quickly overturned it in the Current’s half and allowed Croix Bethune to send in a perfect through pass to the center for a running Amelia White who put it over Ann-Katrin Berger to take the lead. The assist was Bethune’s 12th goal contribution of the season putting her one ahead of Temwa Chawinga.
4. Ally Sentnor and Trinity Rodman lead squads to 1-1 draw
Two of the biggest stars on both Washington Spirit and Angel City made an impact on the scoring sheet to end the match with a 1-1 draw. Trinity Rodman got on the board first in her hometown in the 65th minute, but Ally Sentnor scored the goal of the night with a golazo from the top of the box after a previous attempt was disallowed.
5. San Diego and Denver split points with great goals both ways
San Diego Wave and Denver Summit played an entertaining 1-1 draw with great moments for both sides. The 18-year-old San Diego native Melanie Barcenas scored the first goal of the night in the 35th minute with her signature footwork before unleashing a left-footed shot at the top of the box. Later the Denver Summit scored a quick goal against the run of play in the 58th minute with a great header. Yazmeen Ryan switched play to her left with a pass to Summit captain Janine Sonis, then moved into the penalty area and jumped over a Wave defender to head in a perfect cross from Sonis to make it 1-1.
However, the home side refused to let up as they managed to spend the rest of the night dominating possession creating many chances and scoring two goals in the first half to take the victory. The first started with a set piece that ended up at the feet of Midge Purce following a deflection, and the second was an easy shot by Sam Kerr following brilliant footwork by Jaedyn Shaw to lose her defender.
6. Racing Louisville win fourth out of five with 4-1 win against Boston Legacy
Racing Louisville continued their strong stretch of matches with their 4-1 win against the Boston Legacy. The win marked their third victory in a row and the fourth win in their last five matches. Louisville broke through just before the end of stoppage time in the 44th minute with a goal by Kayla Fischer, then came out strong in the second half with three more goals including another goal by Fischer for her first career brace.
7. Clarissa Larisey subs on and gets winning brace for Houston Dash
The Houston Dash earned an important three points on the road against the North Carolina Courage thanks to two big goals by substitute Clarissa Larisey. The Canadian forward scored the equalizing goal in the 80th minute with a volley in front of goal, then scored the winner in the third minute of stoppage time with a clutch header.
8. Japanese goals help Utah Royals in 3-2 win against Bay FC
The Utah Royals and Bay FC played exciting match ending with the home side coming out on top after the two sides traded goals back-and-forth within one minute. Bay FC scored first in the sixth minute after a strong press by Karlie Lema took advantage of Mandy McGlynn slowly receiving a pass with a slide tackle to make it 1-0. Then, the Royals responded immediately with a quick play on the restart. The initial shot by Utah failed, but Miyabi Moriya scored the rebound to make it 1-1. The Royals scored again in the 22nd minute with a screecher by Narumi Miura which Bay FC responded to with a goal in the 29th minute.
Mina Tanaka then sealed the victory in the second half scoring a penalty in the 79th minute to keep the Royals in third place in the NWSL standings.
9. Seattle Reign dominate Chicago Stars and Maddie Mercado extends goal total to six
Seattle Reign forward Maddie Mercado scored the lone goal for the Seattle Reign in a 1-0 win against the Chicago Stars extending her goal total to a club-leading six goals. The Reign dominated the match offensively ending the night with 24 shots, and an expected goal differential of 3.33.