FootyPop: Seattle Reign Get Huge Cascadia Rivalry Win

In this week’s women’s soccer news, the Seattle Reign got a huge win; Manchester City signed Niamh Charles; Gotham has a new home; and more!

High of the Week​

The Seattle Reign got a much-needed 2-0 win against the Portland Thorns in the Cascadia Rivalry. The goal scoring got started in the eighth minute when Ryanne Brown scored her first professional goal, and then just before halftime, Maddie Mercado added a second. Cassie Miller was terrific for the Reign in goal with nine saves to keep the Thorns off the board and secure the clean sheet. It was Seattle’s fifth win of the season and just its second win since March.  They’ll need to build on that performance to try to pick up more points in the second half of the season if they want to make the playoffs. Seattle sits in 10th place with 17 points, but they’re just three points behind eighth place, so if they can get back into their winning ways, they could make a late run. Portland, on the other hand, is going to wonder how they didn’t find a goal in this match with 26 shots and 10 shots on goal. Despite the loss, though, Portland is still in third place.

Low of the Week

Unfortunately, there was some bad injury news during this weekend’s games. Angel City midfielder Jun Endo went down with a non-contact knee injury, which points to an ACL tear, which would be the worst-case scenario, but that injury is common in the women’s game. Endo suffered an ACL tear in 2024, and it was a long recovery that lasted for over a year before she took the field again in August of 2025. There hasn’t been an official announcement on the injury yet, with Angel City just saying that she was being evaluated and that they would give an update when it was available. We’re thinking about Endo and wishing her a speedy recovery!

News of the Week

Gotham announced this week that starting in 2028, they would be calling Queens, New York, home and playing at Etihad Park. The stadium will have a capacity of 25,000 and is expected to open sometime in the spring of 2027. It was originally built for New York City FC in the MLS, but it will be home to Gotham as well. It will have a dedicated locker room for Gotham, which is huge for the club. The news comes with mixed reviews, with people who live in New Jersey upset about the move, with Queens being difficult to get to at times, but on the other hand, people in New York are excited for the move. The amenities are going to be state-of-the-art, and for the club and fans, that’s really important. It will be exciting to see how New York embraces this club, and we’ll get a small glimpse of that when they play at Citi Field this week.

Goal of the Week

Leicy Santos scored an impressive goal for the Washington Spirit in their 2-0 win over the North Carolina Courage during rivalry weekend. Santos’ goal got the scoring started for the Spirit in the 38th minute. She was able to take a cross and control it with her knee and then hit the volley with her left foot to send it into the back of the net.

Win of the Week

Gotham got a really good win against the Utah Royals, who have been on a bit of a tear this season, but they have lost two straight now. Utah actually got on the board first, thanks to a goal from Cece Delzer in the 23rd minute, but it was just three minutes later when Gotham earned a penalty kick that Esther González buried to level the score. Then, during the first half stoppage time, Tierna Davidson buried an impressive volley to give Gotham the lead heading into the second half. Esther added the exclamation point in the 70th minute to secure the brace and three points for Gotham. Ann-Katrin Berger also came up huge for Gotham in this match with six saves. The win was also the club’s 100th win, so there was a lot to celebrate for Gotham.

Transfer of the Week

Manchester City announced this week that they have signed Niamh Charles to a three-year contract. She comes to City after spending the last six years at Chelsea. While with Chelsea, she made 178 appearances and helped the club win quite a few titles, including five Women’s Super League trophies, four FA Cups, and three FA Women’s League Cup titles. On the international stage, she’s represented England at the senior level since 2021 and was part of their 2025 UEFA Euros win. It’s a great signing for a club that will look to build off of their impressive 2025-26 season, where they won the WSL for just the second time and finished with an incredible 18-3-1 record.

Save of the Week

Angelina Anderson was quick on her feet to keep the San Diego Wave off the board in their match. She was able to react quickly and dive to the ground to get a hand on the ball and smack it away. It was a good reaction save, and Anderson was able to keep the clean sheet against their fellow California rivals. Angel City went on to win the match 2-0.

What To Look Forward To

The Queens Classic is finally here with Gotham hosting the Washington Spirit at Citi Field on Wednesday, July 15, at 8 p.m. ET. It’ll be the third time that there has been an NWSL match at an MLB stadium, with the other two being the Chicago Stars at Wrigley Field and then Bay FC at Oracle Park. The match will also likely be Sam Kerr’s debut for Gotham as she becomes eligible to play after the signing. Gotham has already announced that they’ve sold over 36,000 tickets for the match, with the capacity of Citi Field being about 42,000. The club also announced that they would be selling some tickets for just $15 in an effort to make the match affordable so more people can make it out to the game. It’s the first meeting for these two teams this season and a rematch of the 2025 NWSL Championship, where Gotham got a 1-0 win. The Spirit is currently on a three-game winning streak, but Gotham got a big win over the Utah Royals this weekend, so both teams will be looking to keep their momentum.

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