Footypop: Chelsea Lift the Cup, PSG-Lyon Gets Rescheduled, and a Look at the UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals

March 15, 2021
By Hannah Lichtenstein

Americans’ clocks have turned forward. The sun is setting later. We’re starting to see some inklings of spring springing. And, pretty importantly, wild early games in Europe won’t require us to get up as early – at least for right now. That was pretty great for many American viewers this Sunday as they looked to take in the biggest WoSo game of the weekend over in England. Because what’s better than a Sam Kerr backflip to wake you up in the morning after losing an hour of sleep? Other than that, we gotta talk about a messed-up thing that happened in Liverpool, NWSL preseason games, and more. Let’s dive into the latest women’s soccer news.

Chelsea Are Back-To-Back Conti Cup Champions

women's soccer news sam kerr lifts conti cup — Image via @ChelseaFCW on Instagram

Right, as I was saying, the big final over in England. Chelsea played Bristol in the Continental Cup championship at Vicarage Road Stadium on Sunday. It didn’t take long for the Blues to get going after the ref’s whistle blew. Sam Kerr gave her side the lead in just the second minute. The Aussie forward had herself one of her best days in a Chelsea shirt, going on to score a hat trick in what ended up being a 6-0 victory.

Fran Kirby also had a woman of the match performance, scoring a brace herself and tallying four assists. Guro Reiten was responsible for the last of Chelsea’s goal haul, scoring in the 58th minute. The victory was marred, however, by a terrifying situation involving Chelsea defender Maren Mjelde. The defender was stretchered off the field with what looked to be a serious knee injury.

As for Bristol, they’ll look to regroup and prepare for Man City midweek, another grueling battle in the fight to get out of the FA WSL relegation zone.

PSG-Lyon Postponed Due To Positive COVID Tests

One game that did not happen this weekend: PSG-Lyon aka the game everybody looks forward to most in the French women’s league. The match-up between the two top dogs was canceled after positive COVID tests within the PSG camp and the game will be rescheduled to a later date.

Pride, Spirit Get Big Preseason Wins Under Their Belt

ali krieger with orlando pride — Image via @ORLPride on Twitter

Over in the NWSL, teams continue Challenge Cup preparations with preseason games against (mostly) university teams. This weekend, Orlando Pride took on Flagler University and walked away with a 4-0 win. Alex Morgan and two rookies in Taylor Kornieck and Chelsee Washington (x2) got on the board for the Pride. If I were a player on Flagler, I know I would be thinking about telling my future grandkids about the time I played Marta and Alex Morgan.

The Washington Spirit also scored a heck of a lot of goals and earned a shutout in their weekend game. Kelley O’Hara, Ashley Sanchez, Bailey Feist (x2), and Emily Sonnett all got goals in the Spirit’s win over IMG Academy.

Everton Women’s Stadium Set on Fire

On Friday, Liverpool firefighters were called to Walton Hall Park and found Everton women’s stadium on fire. The blaze was put out, nobody was hurt, and the majority of the stadium was left undamaged. However, police soon determined the fire was set deliberately and an investigation is currently underway.