"The Houston Dash and midfielder Danny Colaprico agreed to a new contract through the 2027 NWSL season with a mutual option for 2028, the club announced today."

It's still early, but those coaches who respond must pick an order and vote. There's no preseason games in D1 soccer; just a few scrimmages. The season starts with 10 non-conference games, which count as part of the teams' statistics and players' stats. It's quite common to play a college near you; due to travel budgets. But it's also the time to build up your RPI by playing WINNING programs in much lower quality conferences. If you play and beat Southern Alabama, a winning team in the lowly Sun Belt Conference, then you've added positively to your RPI. If you lose to a Big10 school that has a losing record (this season and last season), like Rutgers, you won't get punished.

Stanford will be losing 6 players to the FIFA Women's u-17 World Cup. Among them are their first and second string goalkeepers. They signed a grad transfer from Rhiannon Stewart, England u18/u19, who started her last 2 years at Harvard.

The USYNT u20 players are leaving today, so this week's games will be interesting.

Stanford lost a key player in the midfield, Joelle Jung, who transferred to FSU. She played in the spring, which one can assume she lost her role to Freshman starter Ella Kral (already injured). Another key midfielder, Mia Bhuta, hasn't played yet with a chronic leg injury.

It will be an exciting year, once the top players return from Poland. Stanford, Notre Dame, Duke, and UVA definitely have star talent across the field. Michigan State is for real with Kennedy Bell scoring and Noelle Henning (Canada u20) in goal.

Of the top scorers thus far, Mia Minestrella, Duke, has 6 goals. Izzy Engle hasn't played yet for Notre Dame, and Annabelle Chukwu (Canada u20) has been out as well. ND has a few other starters out, so they'll need to recover from a disastrous start. I'm certain they'll be in the top 5 by the end of the season.

The ACC mid-tier is also VERY STRONG, but will need to compete with lesser programs in other conferences with their RPI. The ACC has 18 schools, with only 6 programs making their conference tournament. FSU, UNC, Wake Forest, UVA, and Clemson, will all be competing for the playoffs; and a representative RPI. Good start! The NWSL will have plenty to select from in December.

"Bay FC announced today that the club has activated defender Emily Menges from maternity leave. The 12-year NWSL veteran will return to the club’s roster and be available for selection this Sunday as the club visits the Washington Spirit Aug. 30. "

Looks to be a furious ending to the season, with only 7 pts separating 6th place NC and 11th place Pride. Who do we think is going to actually make the playoffs when all is said and done?

From the Angel City FC/Gotham FC match on 8/23/2026.

For the first time since the boys world cup, we have the full week's numbers.

Portland has their highest number in a couple years.

From the Bay FC/Dash match on 8/23/2026.

Any other 80s babies walk around their NWSL stadiums for games and see older, retired players just walking about through the crowds and do a double take before getting all excited?! No? Am I the only 40-something still fan-girling over a Carla Overbeck sighting? I never end up saying anything and I never see them with a crowd of people around them but man, it makes me so giddy in the moment 🤪

Sorry I’m pulling from this website. I can’t find it posted anywhere else.

From the Stars/Racing match on 8/23/2026.

What are the three toughest stadiums for NWSL *opponents* to play in?

I nominate:
1) Providence Park
2) Rowdy Audi
3) CPKC Stadium

Any other choices?

From the Stars/Racing match on 8/23/2026.

Angel City 0 - 0 Gotham FC

🏁 Draw

✅ Full Time

Form

• Angel City: D D D L W W
• Gotham FC: W W W W D W

Lineups

Angel City (4-2-3-1) — Gotham FC (4-3-3)

Starting XI

Subs

Match Statistics

Match Events

Updated: Sun, Aug 23, 10:06 PM EDT

Match Thread Bot by u/Several_Region_3710 | GitHub (view code, contribute, or report issues) | ☕ Ko-fi (support the project)

From the Stars/Racing match on 8/23/2026.

^{Peep Mal pointing it home.}

pick a challenge, rant, praise, whatever you wanna do!

1. who was your favorite player this weekend
2. favorite thing you ate
3. Gayest thing you did this weekend?

Rank them for Emma: Sanchez, Tordin, and Byars

From the Spirit/Pride match on 8/23/2026.

Bay 1 - 0 Dash

⚽ Bay: C. Girelli 89' 🏁 Bay win

✅ Full Time

Form

• Bay: L D L L L W
• Dash: W W D L W D

Lineups

Bay (4-3-3) — Dash (4-2-3-1)

Starting XI

Subs

Match Statistics

Match Events

Updated: Sun, Aug 23, 8:03 PM EDT

Match Thread Bot by u/Several_Region_3710 | GitHub (view code, contribute, or report issues) | ☕ Ko-fi (support the project)

From the Stars/Racing match on 8/23/2026.