The Wait Is Over

NWSL 2022 Matchday Sixteen

Lifetime's Game of the Week came from Chicago, where the second-place Red Stars faced third-place Vancouver. A Legacy win would catapult them over the home team by one point in a chase for hosting rights of the Western Conference semifinal should neither team catch Los Angeles for first place.

Lisa Cole chose to sit Alyssa for today's game in response to her two-matches-and-a-funeral-in-between expedition during National Team camp, with Caroline Casey getting her first start of the season in her place. Steph McCaffrey and Sofia Huerta were also on the substitutes' bench for the same reason. Vancouver got off to a 1-0 lead in the thirteenth minute, when Deanne Rose headed home a Sophie Schmidt free kick. The Red Stars responded on the half hour with a goal from Sarah Stratigakis. Sophia Smith put Chicago ahead in the 64th minute by re-directing a shot by Vanessa DiBernardo. A slight injury to Danielle Colaprico forced Lisa to pull her after 78 minutes, and the Legacy would take advantage of the flat-four employed upon the insertion of Kristen Edmonds to pick up a tying goal three minutes later from the left foot of Adriana Leon. The 2-2 result left both teams where they were at the start of the day, but would give the Olympias an opportunity later on to extend their lead in the West.

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Goals from Lindsey Horan and Alex Morgan were enough for the Orlando Pride to eke out a 2-1 win over North Carolina and close to within eight points of the Breakers with four matches remaining.

The Atlanta Storm kept pace with Orlando by sprinting out to a 3-0 halftime lead, then hanging on to defeat Houston 3-2 in a match where Libby Stout made her first appearance since being traded from Boston. Morgan O'Hara picked up a goal and an assist in the victory while Janine Beckie and Emily Sonnett also found the score sheet.

It was an emotional night for Sky Blue FC in Philadelphia in their first match since the passing of their former coach and captain. Sam Kerr's brace and a Katherine Reynolds penalty kick provided the scoring and Kailen Sheridan kept the Charge at bay for a 3-0 win, after which Jill, Carli, Erin, and Ella presented the game ball to Rylie and Reece.

The Savannah Jordan/Meggie Dougherty Howard scoring combination gave the Spirit a 1-0 lead they held deep into the second half. However, goals from Rebecca Quinn and Tobin Heath in the last ten minutes would invert the result and give the Thorns a 2-1 win.

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The week's final match took place in Los Angeles, where the first-place Olympias hoped to further cement their position at the top of the Western Conference standings by picking up another three points over 3-11-1 FC Kansas City. Sammy Jo Prudhomme got the start as Katelyn Rowland's national team adventure resulted in some unexplained fatigue upon returning to Los Angeles.

Steph and Yael were in the stands, taking in the match for both professional and personal reasons. The pair would be going out after the match with some of Yael's former FC Kansas City teammates in addition to Katelyn, Sammy Jo, Christen, and Shelina. Mia Hamm, having seen the pair on Monday at Christie's funeral, offered them tickets in club seating for the match, where the two of them were sitting and discussing the Olympias' pluses/minuses and the path forward for the pair once they returned to Boston.

Yael: If we get this team in the final, I guarantee you it will be a different game than the 3-3 we played against one another last month.

Steph: For sure. Both teams will have their top goalkeepers in net, although at times you can't tell whether Katelyn or Sammy Jo is the one in Jenny's mind because of the platoon system she's using with them.

Yael: Add to that the fact that they didn't have Shelina yet when we faced them.

Steph: They also got better on the offensive end, with Ashley Hatch coming from North Carolina to provide a third forward option alongside Christen and Lynn.