Two weeks into the National Women’s Soccer League season, the early storylines are coming into focus—but not necessarily clarity. If anything, Matchday 2 reinforced just how unpredictable this league remains.
Things We Learned:
Chaos is already a defining theme, with red cards and wild swings shaping results across the league.
Portland Thorns FC continue to set the pace—even winning under extreme adversity—while Angel City FC look like a legitimate contender after a fast start.
Houston Dash are emerging as an early riser, while several expected contenders are already slipping.
Tactically, early data shows teams experimenting heavily, and expansion sides are proving competitive faster than expected.
Below is a curated roundup of the coverage from across the web.
NWSL This Week — Episode 77: “The Legacy Begins…” https://nwslthisweek.substack.com/p/episode-77-the-legacy-begins-in-front This week the crew reviews Week 1 including a massive crowd in Boston, the return of Savy King (heart surgery) and Sophia Wilson (maternity), and the rough start of the season for the Spirit and Stars.
I’m Curious (Edition 45) https://im-curious-roey.beehiiv.com/p/im-curious-edition-45 This week, Triple Espresso is back at full strength, and its returning Thorn provides a great birthday gift. Plus, the Spirit struggle to break through, and fans of Renee Good's favorite soccer team honor one of their own.
First of all, a thank you to UCLA Bruins dot com for the perfect featured image for today's post.
It's game week slash round 5. This is the one we've been building for. It's DOUBLE GAME WEEK TIME!
Portland and Gotham will play each other in this round, in addition to Seattle and Angel City, respectively. This is because they will miss round 10 to, "contest the final of the CONCACAF W Champions Cup in Nuevo Leon", per Nick Manser. As both games will count towards this round's scoring, it's time to bring in Thorns and Bats to your fantasy team. If you haven't been doing this all season. Or even if you have, things change and plans have to adjust.
Round 7 of the ShePlays NWSL fantasy game brings us both midweek matches — starting Wednesday, May 1 so be sure to set your lineups! — as well as out first double gameweek of the season. Here's the schedule:
Next Round
Orlando Pride
1st May, 4:00 PM
North Carolina Courage
Chicago Red Stars
1st May, 5:00 PM
Washington Spirit
Bay FC
1st May, 7:00 PM
Portland Thorns
Utah Royals FC
3rd May, 6:30 PM
Angel City FC
Seattle Reign FC
3rd May, 7:00 PM
San Diego Wave FC
NJ/NY Gotham FC
4th May, 4:30 PM
North Carolina Courage
Portland Thorns
4th May, 7:00 PM
Washington Spirit
Houston Dash
5th May, 10:00 AM
Kansas City Current
Orlando Pride
5th May, 3:00 PM
Racing Louisville FC
Bay FC
5th May, 5:00 PM
Chicago Red Stars
The teams with two matches this week are the Courage, Thorns, Spirit, Pride, Chicago Red Stars, and Bay FC. That list probably covers a fair chunk of your fantasy team as is but it's worth looking at in a bit more depth.
North Carolina Courage - @Orlando, @Gotham
The Courage are a strong team as always, however they have two road games against tough opponents. Their defense is tops in the fantasy league, but their attack is of the "just enough" category. I would hold and happily play anyone you already own but I'm not sure I'm looking to load up on their players. Ashley Sanchez would be a great midfield pick, but unfortunately she's listed as a forward in the game.
Portland Thorns - @Bay FC, Spirit
Sophia Smith with two game? Yes, please. I'll take some of that. She's a stand-out captaincy option this week. I'm not sure of any other great picks on the team. Sam Coffey is steady if not spectacular. She has the highest floor but lowest ceiling of almost any player in the game. Olivia Moultrie is the opposite - as liable to get twenty minutes to see out a match as she is to start and score. She's on my team and I'm hoping for more of the latter especially as games this close together would have you expect Christine Sinclair's minutes to be closely managed. As for their defence, the less said the better.
Washington Spirit - @Chicago, @Portland
Croix Bethune continues to be one of the revelations among a standout rookie class. She plays so far forward to this Spirit team and has been coming up with goals and assists since settling in. Trinity Rodman is an evergreen pick while Tara McKeown is a surprising fantasy standout in their backline. Ouleymata Sarr would be a risky differential. Like the Courage, the Spirit play two road games and neither are even along the East Coast so buyer beware.
Orlando Pride - Courage, Racing
The high-flying Pride get two home matches this week. Barbra Banda has finally arrived and in two matches (only one start) she has a goal and two assists. She's probably the only player I see to rival Smith for captaincy this week. I'm likely to drop Bia for Banda, as much as that pains me. I would try to bring Bia back (in my best Justin Timberlake voice) immediately, but the extra match and the double home comforts tips it towards the Zambian. It may even be worth a minus five points to bring her into your team. I'm also looking at midfield playing at forward Summer Yates. I'm a bit worried about her minutes getting shared around with Marta and the other Pride attackers but she's been putting up fantasy points and you don't change a winning side, do you? Her being mis-classified (out of position, OOO in fantasy parlance) helps.
Chicago Red Stars - Spirit, @Bay FC
The "so close" team of the last round. They were beaten by the Thorns but they were denied by the woodwork. I have picked around all of Mallory Swanson's fantasy points so far this season so I'm hoping that going with her in the double finally works out for me. There are lots of good, and well priced, fantasy options on this team. They're not the elite of the league but could round out your team. For me, I'm hoping Maximiliane Rall is healthy to return but might consider a minus five to get someone else into the team this week. With two matches to play I would hope to gain points despite starting in the hole.
Bay FC - Portland, Chicago
The other team with two home matches, but I'm not as high on their prospects. That being said, I'll happily field my two players - Denya Castellanos and Lyianne Proulx. I'm not sure I'd bring in any other players save for perhaps Asisat Oshoala, who seems to have just had a cramp that led her to leave the Wave match the other day.
_155.webp "Jane Campbell during North Carolina Courage vs Houston Dash, NWSL season opener in Cary, North Carolina")
North Carolina Courage
Washington Spirit
Portland Thorns
Angel City FC
San Diego Wave FC
Kansas City Current
Racing Louisville FC