USWNT players in NWSL: week 14

NWSL always finds a way to be weird and this weekend was no exception. If you thought Christen Press putting the Red Stars on her shoulders was going to be the highlight performance of the weekend you could be forgiven, because Seattle hadn’t played yet. And then Seattle did play, and Megan Rapinoe did that, in spite of Sam Kerr also working furiously for a result. If you didn’t get to watch Seattle vs Sky Blue, the replay is up at NWSLSoccer.com and will cost you a lot less than a movie ticket. Here’s how USWNT players did in NWSL this week.

Chicago Red Stars 2 - 1 Orlando Pride

Christen Press: It was a brace for Christen Press in another great performance for Chicago.

Julie Ertz: Good game for Ertz, contributing to the game’s tempo from deeper in the field. She and Press were still working their connection late into the game.

Casey Short: Not bad from Short, who got moved to center back for this game. She did have a lapse at the end when Alanna Kennedy sneaked in a last-minute goal for Orlando.

Alyssa Naeher: Some big stops from Naeher kept Chicago in it to win it, including a couple of point-blank blocks on Alex Morgan.

Ali Krieger: Not her best game for Orlando as she continues to slowly adjust to moving to center back.

Alex Morgan: Morgan is clearly hungry for goals and was several times in good position to put the ball on frame. She even had some attempts from her signature steep angle; she’s clearly getting back into the zone and should be a continuing threat if she can stay healthy.

Houston Dash 1 - 0 Boston Breakers

Carli Lloyd: She was operating in some tight space as Boston were fairly compact on defense, but she got off some shots and kept her head up looking for the neat through-ball to feed her teammates.

Morgan Brian: Only 60’ for Brian this time as the saga of her injured groin continues.

Jane Campbell: Some nice saves for Campbell in this game, although she wasn’t tested as much as her Boston counterpart.

Abby Smith: Smith was very solid in her box, mixing up routine saves with some grabs in the air and good decisions to come off her line for punches. She did make a bad mistake late in the game to give the ball away to Janine Beckie.

Margaret Purce: Purce was asked to play more of a midfielder’s role and struggled a bit with it.

Seattle Reign 5 - 4 Sky Blue FC

Megan Rapinoe: A hat trick to drag Seattle to a 5-4 victory. Instrumental.

Kelley O’Hara: She sank a penalty for Sky Blue as part of their attempted comeback and her partnership with Sam Kerr is one of the great ones in the league. But playing so high also gave Megan Rapinoe acres of space to operate behind her.

Portland Thorns 2 - 1 Washington Spirit

Lindsey Horan: Horan did okay at setting up from deeper underneath Christine Sinclair. She ultimately helped set up the winning goal for Portland.

Allie Long: She scored the equalizing goal for Portland and had some good work on the defensive side of the ball, nervy near-giveaway early on notwithstanding.

Meghan Klingenberg: Not a lot from her whenever the Spirit chose to attack through Pugh on their left, but it did give her the chance to really advance for Portland’s left side.

Mallory Pugh: Washington switched her left to right and back again in an attempt to change up their point of attack. She had an assist with a nice cross for Washington’s only goal and had some attempts that had to be saved.

FC Kansas City vs North Carolina Courage postponed due to severe thunderstorms.