Well dear readers, we’ve finally made it back to our favorite place. Our beloved NWSL is back, and it gave us very little drama, until Sunday, when we got a storybook moment for one of the faces of the league. And while this is an NWSL, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one of the best matches of the decade in this column as well. I won’t waste anymore of your time, let’s get right into the rundown of the weekend that was.
New kid on the block in #KCBABY 🙌
#21 Ally Sentnor ready to make her impact in the Heartland 💫
— KC Current (@kansascitycurrent.bsky.social) August 4, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Kansas City kicked off the Match Day 14, or the official second half of the NWSL season, facing a surging Racing Louisville team on the road. The gritty team from Kentucky was able to keep Kansas City off the board in the first half with some stingy team defense, but the Current, as they always do, found a breakthrough with their potent attack in the second half.
The first of their two goals was scored by the reigning MVP and Kansas City’s all everything, Temwa Chawinga, putting her at nine (9) goals on the season, and one behind Golden Boot leader Esther, who took this weekend off for Gotham FC, who simultaneously played Chicago Stars in Chicago. Seven minutes later, Elizabeth Ball, in her 100th NWSL game, scored the second goal to put the match away, and net the Current a 2-0 victory that would increase their lead in the standings to ten (10) points by the end of the weekend. There is still the second half of the season to go, minus one match, but Teal Rising looks as inevitable as a team can at this point in the season.
And, as if the rich couldn’t get richer, the Current make a shock trade on Friday prior to the match, by signing Ally Sentnor from the Utah Royals. They gave up no players, but they did spend a nice piece of change to buy out the young star’s contract. Reports state that the likely Shield winners spent $600,000 to acquire her services. The most interesting part of this move is that Kansas City will travel to Sandy, UT next week to play the Royals, adding a wrinkle to the first-place verses last place matchup. The quote NBC from a time long ago, “it’s must see tv!”
Jess Fishlock kicking off August with a bang 🧨
Vote for her goal for Goal of the Week! https://t.co/lbJMZ0AVMI pic.twitter.com/nqWaOUFyfj
— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc) August 4, 2025
The Seattle Reign, after their second worst season in franchise history, quickly righted the ship this season, bringing in stars such as Lynn Biyendolo, and signing Mia Fishel via the highest NWSL transfer fee ever. They’ve also invested in the youth, something Laura Harvey was not always known to do, and they’ve watched it pay off for their side this season more than they haven’t. Seattle defeated Angel City FC by a score of 2-0 on Friday, avenging what was their worst loss of the season, and they did it with the kids and Jess Fishlock. Fishlock, who returned in July from national team duty as the captain of Wales WNT, subbed in the second half and changed the outcome of a very cagey and sloppy match. The tempo increased and she exploited the spaces that her teammates struggled to in the first half and put away a goal on a rebound off an Angelina Anderson save. Reign looked ready to kill of the match at times but decided to go for a second goal by brining on Fishel in her regular season debut. Her nifty moves at the touchline won Seattle a corner kick, which resulted in an own goal for the LA side.
The match was a tale of two teams seemingly going in opposite direction. Angel City was one of the hottest teams at the beginning of the season and is one of the highest scoring teams in the league this year. But their defense has let them down, not helped by the loss of center back Savy King, and they now find themselves in a fight to make the post-season. While there is plenty of season yet, the side has yet to get a win under new coach Alexander Straus, and preaching patience has a limited shelf life. There’s still time, but they’ll need a win to get up off the mat, and soon.
Conversely, the Reign went on a tear on the road before the first half of the season ended and kept that momentum up at Lumen. They have a tough test with the Cascadia Rivalry in Portland next week, but they suddenly find themselves fighting for a top four spot, and with the return of Sofia Huerta, in addition to their new signing, they seem poised to get it. Seattle can play any style of football and keep a match close, and that may make them a dark horse for deep playoff run. We may all question why Laura Harvey does what she does from match to match, but she’s proving that keeping quiet and keeping teams guessing may be the best way for a dark horse to move this season.
SHEEESH MINA TANAKA FROM DISTANCE 🚀
For all the success of Kansas City and Seattle, only one other match yielded three (3) points this weekend, and I’ll get to that one shortly. Four of the seven matches this weekend ended in a draw. We had a 0-0 scoreline between North Carolina and San Diego in Cary, two 1-1 draws in Chicago and Orlando, and a 2-2 back and forth tilt in San Jose between Bay FC and the Houston Dash. Draws are not a bad result this weekend, as teams come back from break and as they continue to finalize their rosters. However, it offers less separation from the chasing pack and keeps the pressure on those trying to maintain their playoff spots.
Lastly, I would be remiss to speak as if all draws are equal. This weekend, the most impressive performance belonged to the Utah Royals, a team that just lost their young star in a trade and was without their starting goalkeeper as they headed to Orlando to play the defending champs. Utah got on board first, and early, with their star striker Mina Tanaka hitting a golazo from distance.
Utah played their best defensive match of the year, buoyed by the central pairing of Kate Del Fava and the returning Kaleigh Riehl, and the veteran Imani Dorsey, to stifle a still potent Orlando attack. It should be noted that Orlando was without Angelina or Marta for this match, as they were away competing in Copa America Femenina, but they were still favored to win this match at home.
Orlando did tie the match later in the second half with a Prisca Chilufya goal, assisted by new signing Simone Jackson. And Orlando had a double dose of Simone for the first time this weekend, as Fearless SC host Simone Charley returned to play for the first time nearly two years. In other good news for the reigning champions, Luana returned to the active roster after her battle with cancer. It’s a remarkable story, and may be Orlando’s biggest win, despite currently holding the double. But all credit to Utah, who played as a team and threw their bodies on the line to see that result over the line. The Royals are a long way from the playoff race, but if they can string together performances like this one, they may get as close as many predicted they would prior to the season starting.
It simply had to be Trinity Rodman 🥹
— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) August 3, 2025 at 8:50 PM
The first match on Sunday saw two current playoff teams face off at Rowdy Audi, as the Portland Thorns came to town to take on the Washington Spirit. News from earlier in the week hinted that Trinity Rodman, finally back in full training, would be available for her club, and she was listed as a bench player for the match.
DC seemed like they wouldn’t need her early, as the home side created several scoring opportunities, with Gift Monday continuing her good form and putting the Spirit up 1-0. It looked as if the home side would head to the locker room with the lead, before Olivia Moultrie hit a lovely shot from the right that whizzed past keeper Aubrey Kingsburgy on the ground and sent the teams into the half tied.
It remained even on the scoreboard, with DC having the better of the chances, but with Portland looking dangerous on the counter. Then, in the 75th minute, Trinity Rodman subbed into the match, and the Spirit kept pushing and threatening. Then, in the first few minutes of nine (9) minutes of stoppage time, Courtney Brown hit a cross into the box from the left side, and Croix Bethune put a magical touch on it to get the ball to Trinity Rodman, who blasted it into the net, making sure it counted.
Her tears of joy in celebration and in the postgame interview belie just how difficult her injury struggles have been. DC may be riding higher than any team in the league this morning, and they’re finally getting healthy in time to make a push and potentially challenge for the top spot. It’s a long road to climb, and not all their problems are solved with Rodman’s return, but they look like a bonified contender and are hoping this run and this joy are enough to get Trinity Rodman to stay a little longer. Regardless of what is to come, it was an amazing weekend for comebacks in the NWSL, and the Rodman goal felt like an exclamation point for the comeback kids.
It is very easy to become a victim of recency bias in sports. If we focused only one women’s soccer this summer, we’ve had multi–Champion’s League finals and two continental finals in the Euros and WAFCON, decided by a single goal or penalty kicks. While the scorelines and the drama of those moments made for a wonderful summer of soccer, little did we know what the closing act would bring.
The Copa America Femenina final may be the best women’s soccer match of this decade so far, and for the first 60 to 65 minutes, very little football was played between these two sides. It was the type of match that CONMEBOL has built its brand on, with stops and starts, fights and headbutts. But once it got going, there were moments of brilliance from both Brazil and Colombia’s biggest stars.
Colombia, always the bridesmaid, and in search of the match that will finally allow them to slay the dragon lead three times in the final, including in stoppage time after a goal from Mayra Ramirez. Ramirez was subbed out as Colombia looked to close out the match and finally, finally beat Brazil in a major tournament and catapult themselves into a different conversation about the best teams in the world.
Unfortunately for Colombia, the other side has the greatest player of all time, Marta Vieria da Silva, and she kept her team alive with the last kick of the match, and it was a sensational goal. In extra time, she scored again, and it looked like Brazil would survive a scare and defeat Colombia once again. Then, Brazilian defender Isa Haas committed a silly foul just outside of the 18-yard box. Leicy Santos, a free kick specialist, kissed the ball before standing over it and hitting a gorgeous kick that bent into the net, pulling her team off the mat, and sending the match into penalty kicks.
All of the drama that comes with penalty kicks played out, and Brazil finally prevailed 4(4) – 4(5) on penalties after a Carabali miss, a player that was lucky to be on the pitch at all. And while I type this, dear reader, I am forgetting the headbutt that led to a Brazil penalty but was only given a yellow card, or the flukiest own goal from the young Lyonness defender Tarciane, and the seemingly unending tussles and scuffles that made the match choppy for so long.
This was a proper rivalry, but not a flawless one. While players in a major final are likely to play through pain, there were serious injury concerns that made parts of this match hard to watch. I still worry about the health of some of the players, especially Colombia keeper, and keeper of the tournament, Katherine Tapia, but the collective experience of watching that match with the rest of the women’s soccer community, is one I will treasure, and, in the end, is a net gain for the sport we love. If you haven’t got a chance to watch this match, I recommend watching it back, but maybe start from the 60th minute or so, and don’t look away.
The Moment.
Brazil, your 2025 Copa América Femenina champions!
— Our Game Magazine (@ourgamemagazine.bsky.social) August 3, 2025 at 2:37 AM
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Sylvia Bullock is 1/2 of Shea Butter FC and the world’s foremost Christen Press and Crystal Dunn truther. She’ll be covering the NWSL every week for Fearless SC. You can find her on BlueSky at Southern Sylvs.
What a week we have seen unfolding in the WNBA, and there are still a handful of games left throughout the weekend. From historic triple-doubles, neon green, erm, projectiles in […]
