Footyop: Champions League Final Is Set, NCAA Soccer Tournament Kicks Off, and a Huge Turn Around for One NWSL Team

Hello, hello FootyPop is back after a two-week hiatus. Miss us? Aw shucks, us too! Since the last FP edition, a lot has happened, including plenty of Challenge Cup action, the drawing of Tokyo Olympic groups (Sweden-US… again!!), probably millions of vaccines administered, and more! A new month is now here. Take those allergy meds and tear off a few layers. This first weekend of May was a doozy for WoSo content. Let’s dive into the latest women’s soccer news. 

Barcelona and Chelsea Will Meet in the Champions League Final 

Did anyone tell Barcelona, Bayern Munich, PSG, and Chelsea that Sundays are meant to be slow, maybe even a little lazy? Obviously not. 

The two UWCL semifinals gave us chaos, beautiful soccer, and many moments to be remembered. Barcelona will be heading to their second final in two years after defeating PSG 2-1 in Amsterdam on Sunday. Lieke Martens had both goals.

The Spanish side will meet Chelsea in two weeks. In the second semifinal, the London club came back from a 2-1 aggregate deficit to beat Bayern in leg 2 at Kingsmeadow 4-1. The goals were all stunning in their own right. Go watch ‘em. This will be Chelsea’s first Champions League final appearance. Chelsea coach Emma Hayes becomes the first female coach to reach a Women’s Champions League final in 12 years.

The game for all the marbles will take place on May 16 in Gothenburg, Sweden. 

World Cup Qualifying Groups for Europe Are Set

On Friday, the European qualifying draw for the 2023 Women’s World Cup determined the nine groups for the UEFA region that will begin qualifying games later this year. Check them out here. 

NCAA Tournament Plays First, Second Rounds and a Keeper Scores a PK

SEKANY WINS IT!#GoHuskies pic.twitter.com/wIyDpX02Mh

— Washington Women's Soccer (@UW_WSoccer) May 1, 2021

We’re down to the round of 16. The first and second-round games of the 2021 NCAA tournament were played last week and into this weekend. Some quick updates and interesting news. Washington beat St. Louis in a PK shootout, with the Washington goalkeeper, Olivia Sekany, scoring the winner. Upsets: Ole Miss over USC, Penn State over Vanderbilt, Virginia over BYU, and Rice over West Virginia. TCU is on a tear this year. Keep an eye out for them. They put 6 past New Mexico. In an even bigger onslaught, Oklahoma St. put 7 past South Alabama.

Round of 16 kicks off on May 5

Gotham FC Are Going to the Final

It wasn’t a super exciting weekend of action in the Challenge Cup – three draws, two of them scoreless. However, the big news is we finally know who will take on the Portland Thorns in next Sunday’s Challenge Cup final: Gotham FC!

Lyon Stay in Hunt for League Title

Out of the UWCL, Lyon now turns their focus to Division 1 Féminine, where they are behind PSG in the race for first. They continued to do what they could to keep the pressure on the Parisian side, beating last-place Le Havre 5-1 at home on Friday. Take a look at the 5th goal from Catarina Macario that made the rounds on WoSo Twitter:

Fancy feet from @catarinamacario to turn and get the goal!

We love to see it, don’t we @USWNT fans? ??? #WatchWithAta #D1Arkema pic.twitter.com/EqRsxxZesV

— Ata Football (@atafball) April 30, 2021

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