Friday Night Soccer: Women’s League Games Made Super Simple

Imagine a bunch of teams playing soccer (that’s the game where you kick a ball into a net to score points). This is the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), where awesome women athletes play in the USA. Here’s what happened on Friday night!

Gotham FC Beats Utah Royals 3-1

Esther González was the star! She scored two goals (that means she kicked the ball into the net twice) to help her team, Gotham FC, win 3-1 against the Utah Royals.

Here’s how the game went, step by step:

1. 23rd minute: Cece Delzer (Utah) scored first, so Utah led 1-0 at their home field.
2. A few minutes later: Jordynn Dudley (Gotham) was pushed/fouled inside the "box" (the special area near the goal). The referee said it was a penalty. Esther González kicked the penalty shot and tied the game 1-1. (A penalty kick is a free shot from close up with only the goalie to beat.)
3. End of first half (stoppage time): Tierna Davidson tapped in a ball from a corner kick by Guro Reiten to make it 2-1. (A corner kick is when the ball is kicked from the corner flag after going out near the goal.)
4. Later: González scored again! She got past Kate Del Fava and went around the goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn to make the final score 3-1 for Gotham.

Important Point: After this game, Gotham FC’s record is 7 wins, 3 losses, and 3 ties (drawn games). Utah’s record is 7 wins, 3 losses, and 4 ties.

Other Games on the Same Night

Not just one game happened! Here are the other results in simple bullet points:

• Orlando Pride beat Kansas City Current by 3-0.
• Boston Legacy beat Chicago Stars by 2-0.
• Bay FC beat Racing Louisville by 2-0.

We’ll look at each of these in a bit more detail below.

Marta Scores for the Pride

In the game between Orlando Pride and Kansas City Current, Orlando won 3-0 at home. The game was delayed almost an hour because of bad weather (rain/storms).

Three Orlando players scored in the second half:

• Marta smashed the ball from far away outside the box in the 49th minute, surprising the KC goalkeeper Marisa Jordan. Score 1-0.
• Hannah Anderson headed the ball into the net after a corner kick by Ally Lemos in the 57th minute. Score 2-0.
• Barbra Banda came back from being injured (she sat out to heal) in the 76th minute as a substitute, and 9 minutes later she scored after KC failed to clear the ball. Score 3-0.

Orlando’s goalie, Anna Moorhouse, made 9 saves (stopped 9 shots) and got her 5th clean sheet (that means the other team scored zero – also called a shutout) this season. Orlando’s record is 6 wins, 6 losses, 2 ties.

Kansas City’s record is now 8 wins, 6 losses, 0 ties. Their player Vanessa DiBernardo came back from maternity leave (having a baby) in the 82nd minute.

Important Point: A "clean sheet" or "shutout" is when a team’s goalkeeper doesn’t let the other team score any goals at all.

Boston GK Casey Murphy Shuts Down Stars

The Boston Legacy played the Chicago Stars and won 2-0. Boston’s record is 3 wins, 7 losses, 4 ties. Chicago’s record fell to 4 wins, 10 losses, 0 ties.

How Boston scored:

• In the 22nd minute, Aïssata Traoré was knocked down in the box by Aaliyah Farmer, so Amanda Gutierres took a penalty kick and scored. (This was Gutierres’ second game in a row scoring!)
• In the 58th minute, Nichelle Prince scored because Chicago’s players messed up a back pass (they accidentally kicked it toward their own goal), and she took advantage to make it 2-0.

Boston’s goalkeeper Casey Murphy made 4 saves and got her first shutout (clean sheet) of the season. The game was played in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, at Centreville Bank Stadium.

Bay FC Snaps Six-Match Winless Streak

Bay FC played Racing Louisville and won 2-0. This win ended a sad run of 6 games where they didn’t win any (that’s called a winless streak). Bay FC’s record is now 4 wins, 6 losses, 3 ties. Louisville’s record is 2 wins, 10 losses, 1 tie, and they have now lost 5 games in a row.

Goals for Bay FC:

• Kennedy Fuller scored in the 21st minute by putting in a rebound (the ball bounced back after a save).
• Karlie Lema made Louisville’s goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer lose the ball in the 58th minute, and scored to make it 2-0.

Bay FC’s goalie Jordan Silkowitz made 1 save and earned her 3rd clean sheet this season.

Summary

To wrap it up like a tidy package:

• Gotham FC beat Utah Royals 3-1, with Esther González scoring twice.
• Orlando Pride beat Kansas City Current 3-0, with Marta, Anderson, and Banda scoring.
• Boston Legacy beat Chicago Stars 2-0, with Gutierres and Prince scoring.
• Bay FC beat Racing Louisville 2-0, with Fuller and Lema scoring, ending their winless streak.

All these teams are part of the NWSL, and many goalkeepers got clean sheets (no goals allowed). Players returned from injury and maternity leave, showing how the league keeps rolling!

FAQ (Easy Questions and Answers)

1. What is a penalty kick?
A penalty kick is a special free shot given when a player is fouled (like pushed) inside the box near the goal. Only the goalkeeper can try to stop it, so it’s a good chance to score.

2. What does "clean sheet" or "shutout" mean?
It means a team’s goalkeeper did not let the other team score any goals during the whole game. It’s like keeping a zero on the scoreboard for the opponents.

3. What is a corner kick?
When the defending team kicks the ball out past their own goal line, the attacking team gets to kick the ball back into play from the corner flag. It’s called a corner kick.

4. What does "winless streak" mean?
It means a team has played several games in a row without winning any – they might have lost or tied, but no wins. Bay FC ended a six-game winless streak by winning this time.

5. Where can I read more about soccer news?
The Associated Press (AP) has a soccer page: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer