By OkayGoal 
In this week’s women’s soccer news, Kansas City clinched a playoff spot; Lieke Martens announced her retirement; Mandy McGlynn put on a goalkeeping masterclass; and more!
High of the Week
The Kansas City Current have clinched a playoff spot, and they seem to be running away with the Shield race. They have an impressive 15-2-1 record with 46 points, which is 14 points more than the second-place team. Their last loss came on May 2 to the Seattle Reign.
Kansas City has been consistently good, and they proved that again this weekend when they defeated the North Carolina Courage 2-0 with both goals coming in the first half. They’re playing really good soccer on both ends of the ball. Through the 18 games, they’ve scored 36 goals and only conceded 10.
CURRENT CLINCHED‼️
Our spot is secured for the 2025 @NWSL Playoffs. Stay tuned for ticket info #KCBABY 👏 pic.twitter.com/H9HOKBU7Xu
— KC Current – x (@thekccurrent) August 31, 2025
Low of the Week
Lieke Martens announced her retirement from professional soccer on Monday. She had already retired from international soccer last year. Martens had a very successful career both in club play and for the Netherlands. In 2017, she joined Barcelona and would go on to make 110 appearances for the club and score 54 goals. She helped lead the club to three Primera División titles and a UEFA Women’s Champions League title in 2020-21. She spent the last three seasons with Paris Saint-Germain, where she made 30 appearances.
For the Netherlands, she had a stellar career at the senior level, earning 160 caps and netting 62 goals. In 2017, she led her country to a win at the UEFA Women’s Championship and in 2019 to a Women’s World Cup final where they were the runners-up. On an individual level, she became the first European player to win the Best FIFA Women’s Award in 2017.
Martens cites that the motivation for her to retire now is so that she can dive into the role of being a mother to her six month old son. She had offers to continue playing, but ultimately decided to step away from the game.
News of the Week
In a bit of a surprise move, Morgan Gautrat announced her retirement from NWSL play and her transfer to Newcastle United. Gautrat’s career has been one filled with ups and downs. She was the first pick in the 2015 NWSL Draft by the Houston Dash, where she would stay until 2017, when she joined the Chicago Red Stars. She spent five years with the Red Stars, but she struggled with multiple injuries throughout her time. The midfielder then joined the Kansas City Current, where she continued to struggle with injuries, making only five appearances during the 2023 season. Finally healthy, she joined the Orlando Pride in 2024, where she made 28 appearances and helped the Pride to win their first NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship. It’s not Gautrat’s first time playing in Europe, as she joined Olympique Lyonnais for a little bit in 2018.
She was also a key factor in the USWNT’s 2015 Women’s World Cup win, playing a pivotal role in the midfield that allowed Carli Lloyd to get into the attack more. She spent nine years representing the USWNT at the senior level, winning two World Cups and making 88 appearances.
Fail of the Week
Matt Beard was announced as the head coach of Burnley Women in June, and now he has resigned from that position. It was a shocking announcement from the club, given that Beard had just recently taken the job and had only coached four games. Beard is an experienced coach having spent time with Chelsea, Liverpool, the Boston Breakers, and West Ham. Most recently, he was the head coach of Liverpool from 2021-25. It was a good hire at the time for Burnley, who are turning full-time professional this season. Beard resigned from the job to pursue other opportunities, so I’m sure we’ll hear more about his next moves soon. For Burnley, they’ll turn to Louise Roberts as the interim head coach.
We are disappointed to confirm Matt Beard has resigned from his position to pursue other opportunities. The Club’s search for Beard’s replacement is already underway. pic.twitter.com/sGqbIaCo3g
— Burnley FC Women (@BurnleyFCWomen) August 27, 2025
Player of the Week
Mandy McGlynn put the Utah Royals on her back this weekend against the Portland Thorns. The goalkeeper played lights out, making a career high 11 saves in the Royals’ 2-1 win over the Thorns. McGlynn played terrifically and kept the Thorns off the board until stoppage time, but her world-class performance led Utah to three points. McGlynn has been a save machine all season long, and she leads the league with 70 on the season. It was just Utah’s second win of the season.
Upset of the Week
In college soccer, Xavier got a statement win over No. 17 Michigan State, defeating the Spartans 5-2. All five of Xavier’s goals came in the first half of play, with the scoring getting started in the second minute by Peyton Kohls. Elin Hansson would then go on to score a hat-trick to put the Musketeers firmly in control and lead them to an upset win.
Goal of the Week
Jaelin Howell scored an absolute beauty of a volley in Gotham’s 2-0 win over the Orlando Pride. Thanks to a deflection off a Pride player, the ball popped up into the air, and Howell came running up to strike it perfectly, sending the ball into the back of the net.
Transfer of the Week
The North Carolina Courage announced this week that they have acquired Payton Linnehan from the Portland Thorns in exchange for $48,000 in 2025 intraleague transfer funds. The forward played collegiately at Penn State before being selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2024 NWSL College Draft. She made 32 appearances for the Thorns during her time in Portland. She adds another attacking threat to this Courage squad, who is looking to make a playoff push. Linnehan made her debut for North Carolina in their match against the Kansas City Current on Saturday.