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Last weekend was rich with storylines. Ashley Sanchez rewarded all those on watch for her single-season record-tying 20th goal, and she was rewarded by U.S. women’s national team coach Emma Hayes with a call-up for the forthcoming matches against reigning world champs Spain.
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But perhaps the biggest goalscoring story of the weekend was Haley Hopkins’ hat trick, powering the Current to a win over Denver Summit and keeping Kansas City’s playoff hopes aloft. Meanwhile, the Washington Spirit had a chance to clinch a playoff spot and looked destined for a draw, but Angel City grabbed a late winner, extending its unbeaten run to six, and put itself into contention for soon clinching its own spot.
Before the U.S. stars head off for international break, here’s what to expect.
Best Bets
Seattle Reign, +260 to Draw vs. North Carolina Courage – Friday, Oct. 2 at 10:00 p.m. ET
Seattle beat Boston 2-0 last Friday night to elevate — once the weekend’s other scores came in — to hold down the 8th and final playoff spot. Now, in another Friday night special, they’ll host the Courage, currently occupying the No. 9 spot, for what could prove to be a pivotal match in the end-of-season playoff shuffling. Both teams strike the oddsmakers as evenly matched, though after a 6-0 pasting of the Chicago Stars to start September, the visitors come into Seattle on a three-match losing streak. Look for them to split the points and seek playoff-clinching wins in the coming weeks.
Kansas City Current, +170 to Win and BTS, vs. Bay FC – Saturday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Despite being in playoff position right now, the Current have let in the most goals of any of the league’s top eight, and it’s by virtue of being one of the league’s most prolific teams that it’s in the position it’s in. Certainly, following a 4-1 win and only being shut out once in its last 10 matches, you’d expect the Current to keep their scoring going and roll that into a win. But it could be a repeat of the 2-1 scoreline they won by in San Jose on Sept. 4 — though it took an 89th minute goal to get to that final margin.
Portland Thorns vs. Boston Legacy, +158 BTS Fail – Saturday, Oct. 4 at 8:45 p.m. ET
It’s Saturday night, it’s a Portland Thorns team that hasn’t been shut out since a mid-July loss at Seattle, and it’s a Boston team that was shut out in a previous cross-country road match making a similar trip to play another. It not only seems like a Thorns win that could serve as a tune-up for Sophia Wilson before she heads out with the U.S. women’s team for two matches against Spain, but a shutout win to boot.
Gotham FC, -130 to Win vs. Angel City FC – Sunday, Oct. 5 at 1:00 p.m. ET
The NWSL match of the week features on Sunday, with league-leading Gotham hosting an Angel City team trying to extend its unbeaten streak to seven matches. That’s a tall task against any team jostling for playoff position, considering how tight it’s getting at the top, but especially against a Gotham team with arguably the most stacked roster in the league. When you factor that Gotham’s at home, where they’ve only lost once this season, the case for the Angel City streak ending is even more compelling.
Closing: A Reign-Courage draw wouldn’t be at all surprising despite the long odds, but the most likely outcome of the four resides with the only team guaranteed as of now to be in the postseason.
Photo Credit: REUTERS
