NWSL Weekend Recap Week 5

Sky Blue FC earned a 1-0 win over the Boston Breakers (Erica Ayala/MyWSports)

The NWSL Season had some amazing action last weekend, starting Friday night with a great matchup between Sky Blue FC and the Boston Breakers to start the weekend and ending with the best rivalry in the NWSL with Seattle and Portland finishing it up. We take a look back at what happened last week and prepare you for week 6!

Sky Blue FC 1 v. Boston Breaker 0 Final

Sky Blue FC (2-2-1, 7pts) had its hands full with the Boston Breakers (0-5-0, 0pts) for 93 full minutes on Friday night, earning a hard-fought 1-0 result. The Breakers outshot the home team 13-9 and forced SBFC keeper Caroline Stanley to make some important saves. Libby Stout also played well for Boston but a own goal in the 41st minute by Boston would be the difference in this one. Christ Holly said of the performance, "I'm happy with the result, the performance can be better every week. First half was good, second half is what we didn't have last week ... it's a big improvement, a different mentality; a different mindset of how to manage the game." Boston is the only team in the NWSL to go without a point so far this season.

FC Kansas City 0 v. Chicago Red Stars 0 Final

FC Kansas City (0-3-2, 2pts) said farewell to veteran midfielder Jen Buczkowski on Friday night with a 0-0 draw against the Chicago Red Stars (3-1-1, 10pts). Christen Press continued to carry the load for the Red Stars, she registered 7 shots and 6 were on goal. Nicole Barnhart was up to the task for FCKC and prevented multiple scoring chances from going in. FCKC off to a slow start, played some of their best soccer in this matchup. Chicago continues to improve as well and with the stellar play of Alyssa Naeher in net, watch for the Stars and Stripes to make a deep run this season.

Washington Spirit 1 v. Houston Dash 0 Final

The Washington Spirit (4-0-1, 13pts) continue to find a way to win this season, and move their undefeated streak to five following this weekends win over the Houston Dash (2-2-1, 7pts). This win gives the Spirit a little more breathing room atop the NWSL standings, which may be beneficial come the latter half of the season. The Dash played a phenomenal game but in the first half Ali Krieger would create an opportunity that Joanna Lohman capitalized on, notching the header and the eventual game winner. Washington outshot Houston 10-7 but the shots on goal were much closer with the Spirit having the slight edge 4-3.

Orlando Pride 1 v. Western New York Flash 0 Final

In an action packed game down in Florida, the Western New York Flash (2-3-0, 6pts) put the Orlando Pride (3-2-0, 9pts) home win streak in jeopardy with their quality play. The Flash played most of the first half in the attacking zone and outshooting Orlando 7-4 in the half with four quality chances saved by Pride Keeper Ashlyn Harris. WNY continued to pressure Orlando but the Pride defense responded throughout the first half. The halftime speech must’ve gotten through to the Pride as they came out in the second half firing on all cylinders. In the 79th minute Alex Morgan would chip on over the Flash keeper to put Orlando ahead 1-0. That would be all the Pride would need to go to 3-0 at home and 3-2 so far in their inaugural season.

Seattle Reign FC 1 v. Portland Thorns FC 1 Final

Longtime rivals Seattle and Portland continue to be one of the greatest rivalries that exist in soccer and in some cases sports. In the first of four regular season matches this season, the Seattle Reign FC (2-2-1, 7pts) came back from a one goal deficit to earn a 1-1 draw against Portland Thorns FC (2-0-3, 9pts). In a back and forth first half, neither team could break through and find the back of the net. Hope Solo made one big save to keep the score tied going into the half and Adrianna Franch also saw some action but nothing too dangerous from the Reign. In the second half, if you were late getting back to your seat you missed an incredible start to this one. Just a minute into the half, Meg Morris would chip the ball deep into the box, and some miscommunication by Seattle would leave Nadia Nadim open for a header and her first goal of the season. Only minutes later in the 49th minute, off of a corner kick, Lauren Barnes sent the ball in and Beverly Yanez found the opening and headed the ball in to even the score. Both teams became increasingly physical and the defense for both teams locked down. The score would remain 1-1 until the final whistle!

Follow Luis Sanchez on Twitter @Luis_MyW