School’s out for summer (and so is the NWSL)! With Week 13 in the books, players are off repping their countries, resting up, or resetting for the second half of the season. But before we close the notebook and head out for break, here’s everything you missed if you clocked out early.
Friday, June 20
Racing Louisville FC 2, Orlando Pride 0
To kick off the match weekend, Racing Louisville delivered a standout performance on Friday night to knock off defending champs Orlando Pride 2-0 at home. Arin Wright opened the scoring with her first goal for Racing, a clinical header off a Courtney Petersen corner, before Taylor Flint added a second goal from the penalty spot. Louisville’s back line held strong, anchored by seven saves from Jordyn Bloomer, to snap Orlando’s five-game unbeaten run and further distance them from catching up to league leaders KC Current.
Kansas City Current 1, Angel City FC 0
Top-of-the-table Kansas City grinded out a win in front of another sellout at CPKC Stadium on Friday night, distancing themselves from the rest of the league in the standings. Lorena came up huge in goal, stopping a second-half penalty for her first NWSL PK save and securing her club-record sixth clean sheet. Moments later, Bia Zaneratto pounced on a rebound to fire home the match-winner. KC enters the break with an 11-2-0 record and a perfect 6-0-0 at home, the lone remaining unblemished home turf in the NWSL this season.
Saturday, June 21
Utah Royals FC 1, Seattle Reign FC 4
Saturday started off with a bang for NWSL fans, with Seattle claiming a statement 4-1 win over Utah, powered by a Ji So-Yun masterclass. Ji opened the scoring then assisted on Maddie Dahlien’s early strike 10 minutes later before assisting again, this time on Emeri Adames’ second-half curler. Adames sealed the result with a stoppage-time penalty for her first NWSL brace. Reign FC has been a revelation this season, and with her two goals, Emeri Adames is the second-youngest in NWSL history to score a brace, just nine days older than when Mal Swanson set the record in 2017 (19 years, 88 days).
North Carolina Courage 2, Houston Dash 1
Down a goal inside the first minute, the Courage roared back to take all three points at home. Former UNC standout Avery Patterson gave Houston the early lead, but a red card to Sarah Puntigam in the 69th minute put them down a player. Jaedyn Shaw equalized moments later with her first Courage goal and Hannah Betfort completed the comeback off a pinpoint Manaka Matsukubo assist — Matsukubo’s fifth straight match with a goal contribution. The Courage now head into the break with back-to-back wins and a playoff spot in sight.
Gotham FC 2, Bay FC 1
Esther González continued her Golden Boot charge, scoring her 10th of the season in Gotham’s 2-1 comeback win over Bay FC. Penelope Hocking struck first for the visitors, but González tied it after a clever steal and assist from rookie Sarah Schupansky. Schupansky leads all rookies in assists (4), and all of them have been for González’s goals. Geyse netted the game-winning goal in the 55th minute to seal Gotham’s first home comeback win since 2021.
Portland Thorns FC 1, Chicago Stars FC 0
The Thorns continued their home unbeaten streak, downing Chicago 1-0 at Providence Park. Pietra Tordin struck again, her third goal in four matches, finishing off a precise assist from Sam Coffey. Bella Bixby recorded her record-setting 27th clean sheet for the club, and Portland heads into the break fifth in the league.
Sunday, June 22
San Diego Wave FC 0, Washington Spirit 0
Aubrey Kingsbury delivered a goalkeeping clinic in San Diego, making six saves — including a trio of second-half stunners — to earn her 41st career clean sheet and secure a road point for Washington. Despite San Diego outshooting the Spirit 17-9, the Wave couldn’t break through and the game ended in a tie. With the result, Washington sits in fourth place in the standings, while San Diego sits in third. Both are in good position to claim a playoff spot in the second half of the season.
