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By: NWSL Editor
NWSL Week 7 Recap: Sister Goals and Rookie Heroics

Week 7 brought the drama, the chaos, and the goals you’ll want to rewatch. From a weather-delayed comeback in Houston to a chaotic seven-goal thriller in D.C. to the moment a rookie stepped up and changed the game, the action didn’t stop. Here’s everything you missed from a jam-packed Week 7 in the NWSL!

Friday, May 2

Washington Spirit 3, Angel City FC 4

In one of the wildest matches of the season, Angel City FC edged the Washington Spirit 4–3 in a back-and-forth thriller at Audi Field. Riley Tiernan opened the scoring in the 8th minute, finishing a one-touch shot off a low cross from MA Vignola after a slick through ball by Alyssa Thompson. Fourteen minutes later, Alyssa linked up with her sister Gisele Thompson for the first sister-to-sister goal in NWSL history, as Gisele volleyed home from close range to double the lead. Washington responded with a flicked assist from Ashley Hatch to Esme Morgan in the 30th, followed by a beautiful lofted pass from Rosemonde Kouassi to Gift Monday, who volleyed the equalizer in the 40th. After halftime, Angel City regained the lead through Katie Zelem in the 72nd, combining on a tidy one-two with Gisele Thompson before burying her shot. The Spirit leveled again in the 89th, with Gabby Carle launching a long ball that eventually found Morgan for her second of the night. But in the eighth minute of stoppage time, Christen Press headed down a Claire Emslie corner, and Tiernan pounced with a one-touch finish to seal the win and her fifth professional goal in five matches.

Houston Dash 1, Racing Louisville 2

After multiple weather delays at Shell Energy Stadium, Racing Louisville earned a dramatic comeback win on the road—its first away comeback victory in nearly three years. Houston struck first in the 9th minute through Avery Patterson, but Kayla Fischer responded after the first lightning delay, and Emma Sears scored the match-winner in the 71st on a counterattack set up by Savannah DeMelo. Jordyn Bloomer made five saves in her first NWSL start, helping Racing hold off a late Dash push.

Seattle Reign FC 1, Kansas City Current 0

Seattle handed the Kansas City Current their second straight loss—and first scoreless outing of 2025—at Lumen Field. Lynn Biyendolo's first-half strike off a corner made the difference, as the Reign defense stood firm despite multiple second-half chances from the Current. A disallowed goal for offside in the 71st minute added to Kansas City’s frustrations, while Seattle’s Claudia Dickey made several key saves to preserve the win. At the end of the weekend, the Current kept hold of the top spot after the Pride also lost their weekend’s matchup, with the tiebreaker being decided on yellow card accumulation.

Saturday, May 3

Portland Thorns 1, Orlando Pride 0

Portland continued its unbeaten home form at Providence Park with a strong 1-0 performance against the defending champions. Defender Reyna Reyes scored the lone goal in the 16th minute off an assist from Reilyn Turner, while Mackenzie Arnold posted her second clean sheet of the season. For Orlando, goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse had to come off due to injury, making way for Mackenzie Crone’s NWSL debut. The Thorns remain the only NWSL team yet to concede a second-half goal in 2025 and extend their perfect home record against the Pride to 6-0 all-time. Despite the loss, the Pride are still in second place in the standings, tied in points with the Current, with accrued yellow cards breaking the tie.

Utah Royals 0, North Carolina Courage 2

The Courage picked up their first road win of the season behind a composed finish from Ashley Sanchez and a Utah own goal forced by Ryan Williams and Manaka Matsukubo’s teamwork in the box. Casey Murphy reached a big milestone with her 40th career regular-season clean sheet, as North Carolina kept Utah scoreless at America First Field. The Courage have now won two in a row, climbing up the standings after a slow start.

Sunday, May 4

Gotham FC 0, Chicago Stars 0

Despite dominating statistically and outshooting the visitors 14-4, Gotham FC was held to a scoreless draw against the Chicago Stars at Sports Illustrated Stadium thanks to stingy defending and key saves from goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. Ann-Katrin Berger recorded her league-leading fourth shutout of the season, and both Jaelin Howell and Emily Sonnett delivered ironwoman performances. The point lifts Gotham into a tie for third in the standings with the Thorns, with goal differential giving them the edge over Portland.

San Diego Wave FC 2, Bay FC 1

San Diego Wave FC extended its win streak to three matches—the best in the league currently—with a dramatic 2–1 victory over Bay FC at Snapdragon Stadium, sealed by a stoppage-time winner from rookie Trinity Armstrong. The Wave struck early in the 5th minute when María Sánchez sent in an inswinging corner and Kennedy Wesley rose above the crowd to head home her first goal of the season and the club’s 100th regular season goal ever. Bay FC responded in the 18th minute with a composed equalizer from rookie Karlie Lema, who received a slipped pass from Racheal Kundananji at the top of the box, took a touch to create space, and buried a low shot into the bottom corner. In the middle of the first half, the Wave were given an opportunity to take the lead when they were awarded a penalty but Sànchez’s kick was saved in diving fashion by Jordan Silkowitz, making her the 12th NWSL goalkeeper to start their first faced penalty.

The match looked destined for a draw until the 95th minute, when Kenza Dali delivered a pinpoint corner to Armstrong, who soared above the defense to nod in her first professional goal and clinch the win for San Diego. Armstrong is now the 10th rookie to score in 2025 through Week 7 and the 498th different goalscorer in NWSL history.

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