USWNT players in NWSL: Week 6

Maybe it was because head coach Jill Ellis was in attendance at several games, but after five weeks of close scorelines and deadlocks, some clubs seem to have gotten over it and gone on goalscoring sprees. And then there's Boston and FC Kansas City, who fought over who gets to move out of last place (spoiler: it was Boston, who scored their first goal in six games). It's a topsy-turvy season so far, with last year's playoff finalists Seattle Reign and FCKC in the bottom half of the table and newcomer Orlando Pride hitting a good rhythm straight out of the gate.

This week's player recap has expanded on the basis of the latest USWNT roster.

Houston Dash 0 - 1 Orlando Pride

Morgan Brian: She finally played a full 90 again after a hamstring injury that limited her minutes. Not the biggest game from Brian, but now that she seems to be fully match fit she could start really impacting Houston's midfield.

Alex Morgan: She did her best to provide the ball into the 18-yard box. Even if she's not scoring, she's working hard at creating.

Ashlyn Harris: Had a good stop later in the game off a Steph Ochs blast, and was otherwise solid all around to preserve the clean sheet.

Western New York Flash 5 - 2 Sky Blue FC

Samantha Mewis: She tallied one of WNY's five goals against SBFC and continued to hold the center of what is turning out to be quite a competitive team.

Jaelene Hinkle: After some lackluster performances, a good weekend for Hinkle, who was able to go toe-to-toe with Kelley O'Hara.

Kelley O'Hara: She was having a bit of a difficult night until she scored SBFC's first goal, making space for herself at the top of the 18 and firing one far post. O'Hara continues to generate a large chunk of SBFC's offense from her runs up the flank and in fact took the most shots out of the whole team.

Christie Rampone: Guess who's been called back into camp? Rampone is still clearly fit, but she did get caught lagging on the Flash's fifth goal when Michaela Hahn ran onto a ball. Hahn might have been offside, though, with SBFC falling victim to yet another linesman error.

Portland Thorns 4 - 1 Washington Spirit

Tobin Heath: She's back on that grind for Portland with a goal and an assist. She and Christine Sinclair clicked well for most of the game to help Portland dominate through the midfield and the attacking third.

Lindsey Horan: She was perfectly positioned on the back post for her goal against Washington, and Heath's pinpoint accuracy didn't hurt. Horan sidled into space and let the ball bounce off her head and into the goal. Otherwise she stayed pretty strong in front of the back four; she also picked up a yellow card for a strong tackle on Crystal Dunn.

Allie Long: She's been putting in the work for Portland this season and helped Horan cover the back four while managing to get off a couple shots of her own.

Meghan Klingenberg: Worked hard as usual, but was too aggressive in trying to contain Crystal Dunn and got caught out for it a couple of times, including on Dunn's assist for the Spirit's only goal.

Emily Sonnett: Even though Joanna Lohman was able to contort herself into a header over Sonnett, she was otherwise pretty solid and continues a good rookie season that looks like it's giving her a solid experience base for the future.

Adrianna Franch: Good job in controlling her box, but not especially bothered by the Spirit on the night.

Crystal Dunn: She grabbed an assist for the Spirit by staying strong to hold off Meghan Klingenberg's shoulder-to-shoulder challenge and sent a good ball into traffic. Dunn may not be scoring, but she's clearly become a great provider and engine for the Spirit.

Ali Krieger: Not her best night; she lost track of Horan in the box on Portland's first goal and generally wasn't as effective as she needed to be in containing play on the right.

Boston Breakers 1 - 0 FC Kansas City

Whitney Engen: Not only did she keep the Boston back line organized in a new five-back formation, she scored Boston's only goal on a corner kick to earn their first goal and win of the season.

Heather O'Reilly: She had some dangerous pace on the wing but wasn't able to generate the offense FCKC needed.

Becky Sauerbrunn: She did her best to lock out Boston's forwards and mostly succeeded, though there were some slip ups that required Nicole Barnhart to come out of her 18 and make a quick clearance.

Seattle Reign 1 - 2 Chicago Red Stars

Hope Solo: Out this weekend to attend her grandmother's funeral.

Christen Press: Still one of the most accurate shooters in the league, although she was unfortunately denied by the woodwork.  Still, she kept making slashing runs, carrying the ball at speed, and finding space. She also had great a shot that led to a goal when Jen Hoy pounced on the rebound.

Julie Johnston: Stayed tough when faced with the likes of Kim Little; also took an elbow to the head but was able to continue playing.

Alyssa Naeher: Didn't have to be quite so clutch as usual as Seattle were a bit disjointed, but was unfortunate to have to face a last-minute penalty kick from Kim Little, who put the ball away and ended Naeher's shutout streak.