NWSL (USA)

The second week of NWSL play has finished up. There were seven Australians who played in highly competitive matches having all of the games end in ties or games decided by just one goal.

The Chicago Red Stars had their home opener against the Portland Thorns to start off the week for the NWSL. The Red Stars got out to an early 1-0 lead in the 18th minute then just two minutes later, Sam Kerr was able to double the lead.

The Thorns were trying to play the ball out of their defence when Kerr applied some pressure and forced a turnover just outside the 18-yard box. She took two touches then slid the ball just under the diving goalkeeper.

The game turned into a goal frenzy with eight goals in total. The Thorns were up in the 90th minute, 4-3 when Kerr had an opportunity to level the score right at the penalty marker.  The shot was blocked, but her teammate Yuki Nagasato was able to one touch the loose ball into the back of the net.

The game ended in a 4-4 tie giving the Red Stars their second tie on the season (0-0-2) and the Thorns their first tie (1-0-1). The game also marked Kerr’s 100th career game in the NWSL.

Ellie Carpenter and Caitlin Foord put in a full 90 minutes for the Thorns while Hayley Raso is still not with the team.

Sky Blue FC was looking for their first win of the season when they hosted the Houston Dash. 

Clare Polkinghorne got the starting nod for the Dash and played the full game while Kyah Simon was an unused sub for the Dash.

Goalkeepers on both sides were able to make save after save, but a goal in the 83rd minute for the Dash was all the team needed to win the game 1-0.

Utah Royals FC opened their 2019 campaign against the Washington Spirit and the Royals got off to a quick start scoring a goal in the 10th minute.  

Amy Harrison logged 63 minutes for the Spirit and Chloe Logarzo was not available for the match with a right ankle injury. The Spirit was unable to score any goals of their own and lost 1-0.

The final game of the weekend had the Reign FC going against the Orlando Pride. Alanna Kennedy put the Pride on the score sheet early netting a goal in the sixth minute.

The Pride earned a free kick dangerously in their offensive half. Emily van Egmond lobbed the ball inside the box where it was redirected to Kennedy who laid out for a bicycle kick to hammer the ball into the lower left of the net.

The Reign were able to score an equaliser in the 21st minute but the game would not see any more goals and ended 1-1.

Kennedy and van Egmond played a full game for the Pride. Lydia Williams and Elise Kellond-Knight were unused subs for the Reign while Steph Catley was unavailable due to a right calf strain.

Toppserien (Norway)

Tameka Yallop played full minutes in Klepp IL loss 1-0 to Avaldsnes on Monday, who were sitting on the bottom of the table.

Primera Division (Spain)

Over in Spain, Alex Chidac saw only a couple of minutes after coming on in the 90th minute in Atlético Madrid's win over Espanyol. With just two games left, this puts the side in a great position to take out the title for the third consecutive season. 

Aivi Luik played just 17 minutes in Levante's 3-1 win over Valencia.