Week 12 Review: NWSL Pitch Notes
Published
A roundup of notes from Week 12 of NWSL regular season action.
NOTES TO KNOW
POWER TO THE UNDERDOG
Angel City FC and Racing Louisville FC, who entered Week 12 matches in 11th and ninth place, respectively, each earned hard-fought wins to shake up the table with 10 weeks remaining in the 2023 regular season. Opening Week 12 play on Saturday, Angel City unseated top-of-the-table San Diego Wave FC with a 2-1 victory on the road thanks to goals from defender Paige Neilsen and midfielder M.A. Vignola. The following day, Racing ran to a 2-0 shutout of fifth place NJ/NY Gotham FC with goals courtesy of midfielder Savannah DeMelo and forward Thembi Kgatlana.
Heading into Week 13, just five points now separate first from sixth in the league standings, while six points are the difference between sixth and 10th.
IT’S PAIGE’S WORLD
Washington Spirit midfielder Paige Metayer, who joined this year’s squad as a non-roster invitee after going undrafted in the 2023 NWSL Draft, has kicked her NWSL campaign off in Cinderella style. A regular starter, the Irvine, California native has come in clutch for the first place Spirit on more than one occasion, most recently scoring the game-tying goal in Washington’s 3-2 comeback win over the Kansas City Current on Sunday. Metayer also notched the Spirit’s lone goal to force a draw against Gotham FC on May 28, and added her first NWSL goal as an insurance tally in the club’s 3-1 win over San Diego on May 6. Her three goals in regular season play are tied for first among rookies.
MILESTONES AND RECORDS
FASTEST GOAL IN HISTORY
Scoring just 22 seconds into Sunday’s match against the Spirit, Kansas City forward Michelle Cooper’s game-opening tally marks the fastest goal in league history. Cooper’s goal, which also marked her first of the regular season, overtakes the previous record of 25 seconds, which came on June 17, 2017 courtesy of Portland Thorns FC midfielder Rocky Rodriguez.
Kansas City now owns records for fastest goals scored in both the regular season and Challenge Cup, with the tournament record coming from former Current defender Taylor Leach one minute and 32 seconds into the club’s match against the Houston Dash on March 30, 2022.
20 GOALS FOR BRAZIL
Brazilian players have accounted for 20 goals so far this regular season, led by Courage striker Kerolin’s eight goals. So far in 2023, a record 10 Brazilian s call the NWSL home , more than any other season in the league , and aside from the U.S., no country accounts for more goals in NWSL play this year.
LEADING THE PACK
With a goal in the club’s 2-0 shutout of Gotham FC on Sunday, Racing midfielder Savannah DeMelo tied forward Nadia Nadim for the club record for regular season goals with nine across her two seasons. The May Player of the Month, DeMelo has already matched her regular season scoring totals from 2022. With 10 weeks of play remaining, the Bellflower, California native enters Week 13 with five goals and two assists in 11 matches.
KEEP CLIMBING
With 25,515 fans on hand for the SoCal Rivalry match on Saturday, the NWSL saw its second largest standalone crowd this season.
OFF THE PITCH
HONORING JUNETEENTH
Last Friday, the NWSL announced a collaboration with the Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI), as part of the league's commemoration of Juneteenth. The partnership, which is part of the NWSL’s ongoing efforts to expand its Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion programs and initiatives, will focus on promoting equality and social justice within the sports community and society at large.
Ahead of last weekend’s matches, all NWSL players wore a custom Juneteenth T-shirt, designed in partnership with the Black Women’s Player Collective, for pre-match walkouts and the singing of both the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, and the National Anthem. The Juneteenth T-shirt is available for purchase on NWSLShop.com , and a portion of all net proceeds will go to both the BWPC and MPJI in support of each organization’s respective initiatives and advocacy work.
PRIDE GOALS
With eighteen goals scored this weekend, an additional $3,600 is set to be donated to Athlete Ally’s Playing for Pride 365 campaign as part of the NWSL’s Pride celebration this month. Playing for Pride 365 brings together athletes, teams, leagues, and fans to support Athlete Ally's mission of making sports inclusive for the LGBTQI+ community.
For every goal scored across the NWSL in the month of June, we has pledged $200 to the campaign. Additionally, 10% of proceeds from NWSL Pride gear at NWSLShop.com will also be donated.
WEEK 12 MATCH RESULTS
June 17, 2023
San Diego Wave FC vs. Angel City FC | 1-2
North Carolina Courage vs. Orlando Pride | 3-0
Houston Dash vs. OL Reign | 0-0
June 18, 2023
Racing Louisville FC vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC | 2-0
Chicago Red Stars vs. Portland Thorns FC | 2-3
Kansas City Current vs. Washington Spirit | 2-3