It was Rivalry Week in the National Women’s Soccer League, and between the Cascadia Classic and the SoCal Showdown, the stakes were high across the league.
The Cascadia Classic featured the Portland Thorns and Seattle Reign, with the Reign cruising to a 2-0 win behind goals from Ryanne Brown and Maddie Mercado. The SoCal Showdown delivered perhaps the biggest upset of the weekend, as Angel City stunned the league-leading San Diego Wave, 2-0.
Angel City entered Week 11 with one of the league’s worst records at 5-6-1. Call it the Ally Sentnor effect or simply some new energy in the midfield, but the Los Angeles side produced a nearly perfect first half, scoring twice before holding firm to secure all three points at Snapdragon Stadium.
Despite the defeat, the Wave remain atop the NWSL table with 28 points. The Washington Spirit climbed into second following Portland’s loss to Seattle, while also collecting three points of their own with a road win over the North Carolina Courage on Saturday.
It wasn’t just the rivalry matches that brought the drama. Sunday’s final game of the weekend saw the Denver Summit and Houston Dash play to a 2-2 draw that featured several spectacular goals.
Denver’s Yazmeen Ryan opened the scoring in the 14th minute, dribbling through multiple defenders before finding space at the top of the box and curling a long-range finish into the upper-right corner.
The Dash responded just one minute later. Houston launched a quick counterattack and played a perfectly weighted ball over the top of Denver’s backline, allowing Kat Rader to finish and send the teams into halftime level at 1-1.
As things stand, just one point separates the top three teams. The Wave lead the table with 28 points, while the Spirit and Thorns sit just behind them on 27. Three more teams are tied on 24 points: Gotham FC in fourth, the Utah Royals in fifth and the Kansas City Current in sixth.
With NWSL Rivalry Week now behind us, GOAL ranks all 16 teams...






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