FootyPop: Manchester City Win FA Cup Final

In this week’s women’s soccer news, Manchester City won the FA Cup; Barbra Banda left the Pride’s match due to injury; Katie McCabe seems to be on the move to Chelsea; and more!

High of the Week

Manchester City completed a truly impressive season by winning the FA Women’s Cup in dominating fashion with a 4-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. The win secured the double for City after they were crowned the WSL Champions. City have had an impressive season; in league play, they went 18-1-3 while leading the league in goals scored with 62. The impressive offensive display continued in the FA Women’s Cup final with two goals in each half. ​

Bunny Shaw got the scoring started in the 38th minute, and then Alex Greenwood doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time. Greenwood and Shaw both finished the match with one goal and one assist apiece. In the second half, Aoba Fujino added a goal in the 66th minute. To finish the game off, Vivianne Miedema found the back of the net in an emotional scene. Miedema had taken time away from the club to be with her mom while she battled cancer. This game was the striker’s first game since March 28.

Despite the lopsided scoreline, Brighton did manage to hold their own in this match with possession and shots almost even. It was the club’s first ever time reaching the final, and even though they lost, it was a special moment for this club that is looking to turn things around and compete in the WSL.

Low of the Week

Barbra Banda has been on a tear this season for the Orlando Pride, and that momentum continued in the Pride’s 3-1 win over Bay FC. Banda scored her third brace of the season and registered an assist in that win. She’s scored 11 goals in 12 games for the Pride and is a huge part of their offense. Unfortunately, though, in that game against Bay, Banda had to be subbed out due to a non-contact injury, which is always concerning. The Pride hasn’t updated the status of Banda, but the NWSL is on a summer break, so if the injury isn’t too serious, Banda might not end up missing much time at all, which would be the best-case scenario. It’s possible that taking her out of the game was a cautious decision given that Orlando was up by two goals.

News of the Week

While no official announcement has been made from Chelsea, it is being reported that the Blues are signing Katie McCabe after her contract with Arsenal expires. McCabe and Arsenal announced that she wouldn’t return to the team after 11 years with the club. The Athletic did report that Arsenal attempted to re-sign McCabe, but she turned the offer down.

The Irish international is a huge signing for Chelsea, and she brings a ton of experience to the club. With Arsenal, she made over 300 appearances and helped the Gunners win every trophy possible, including the Champions League last year. On the international stage, she has been part of the Ireland Women’s National Team since 2015 and has 105 caps.

McCabe got offers from quite a few teams, one of which was Manchester City, but she ultimately looks to be signing with Chelsea on a free transfer.

Goal of the Week

Leicy Santos is a free kick specialist, and she showed that again this weekend when she opened the scoring in the Washington Spirit’s 2-1 win over the Seattle Reign. The Spirit earned a free kick just outside the box at the top of the left corner, and Santos sent a beautifully placed ball over the head of everybody and curled it into the right side of the net.

Save of the Week

Kailen Sheridan had to come up with some late game heroics to help the North Carolina Courage earn three points against Angel City. In stoppage time, Angel City got a cross sent all the way across the box to the back post runner, and the ball was hit well, but Sheridan was able to get her body in the way to make the stop.

Game of the Week

If someone would have said at the beginning of the season that the Utah Royals would be in second place through 12 games, I’m not sure anyone would have believed it, but Utah has looked very good this season. This week they faced off with the Portland Thorns in a top-of-the-table clash, and it was a great game that went back and forth. Portland got the scoring started in the 20th minute thanks to Olivia Moultrie, but just before halftime Utah tied it with a goal from Kiana Palacios. The Royals then found the back of the net again with Cloé Lacasse scoring in the 49th minute. It looked like the Royals were on their way to three points until Portland was awarded a penalty kick in the 90th minute that Sophia Wilson buried to end the match in a draw.​

Utah goes into the break with a 10-game unbeaten streak, and they look like a completely different team than a year ago.

Assist of the Week

Riley Jackson played a beautiful through ball to Manaka, who calmly slid it into the back of the net for the game winner for the North Carolina Courage. Jackson split two defenders with the ball, and it landed right in the path of a running Manaka.

What To Look Forward To

Unfortunately, the NWSL has entered their summer break, and there won’t be any regular season games again until July 3rd, but the USWNT will be back in action this week. The USWNT will travel to Brazil for a pair of friendlies on June 6th and the 9th. It’ll be a good test for the team to have to travel and play a good Brazil team. The June camp will also mark the first time that “Triple Espresso” (Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman, and Sophia Wilson)  will be in camp together since the 2024 Summer Olympics.

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