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Welcome to this week’s edition of Goalside Gossip!

Where an uncharacteristically low-scoring Rivalry Week kept tensions high but goals at a premium.

Houston Dash edged the NC Courage 2-1, Utah couldn’t halt KC Current’s climb, and Orlando Pride and Racing Louisville split the points in a 1-1 draw. Gotham FC’s gritty win over the Spirit came despite going down a player, while the Thorns and Reign fought to a rare Cascadia stalemate.

Off the field, the Courage made headlines by parting ways with head coach Sean Nahas, the NWSL revealed record-breaking sponsorship revenue, and the league filed to dismiss the lawsuit tied to the San Diego Wave assault case, claiming it has “no duty of care.” Let’s get into it.

• NWSL: Houston Dash vs NC Courage (2-1)

• NWSL: Utah Royals vs KC Current (0-1)

• NWSL: Orlando Pride vs Racing Louisville (1-1)

• NWSL: Gotham FC 🟥 vs Washington Spirit (0-0)

• NWSL: Portland Thorns vs Seattle Reign (4-2)

• News: NC Courage Part Ways With Nahas

• News: NWSL Sponsorship Revenue Hits New Record

• News: SD Wave Denies Duty of Care Assault Case

Houston Dash vs
NC Courage (2-1)

The North Carolina Courage fell 2-1 to the Houston Dash after conceding a stoppage-time winner on Friday night at Shell Energy Stadium. Riley Jackson put the Courage ahead in the 32nd minute with a penalty earned by Jaedyn Shaw, but Kiki van Zanten leveled for Houston seven minutes later with a curling strike from distance. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Sophie Schmidt tapped in the goal from close range off a perfect cross from Yazmeen Ryan, handing the Courage their sixth loss of the season and keeping them ninth in the standings.

Utah Royals vs
KC Current (0-1)

Temwa Chawinga’s 82nd-minute strike lifted the Kansas City Current to a 1-0 win over the Utah Royals, extending KC’s league-best winning streak to eight matches and keeping them atop the NWSL standings with 39 points. Chawinga’s 10th goal of the season (also her 30th career regular-season goal) made her the fastest player in league history to hit that milestone, reaching it in just 40 games. Defender Kayla Sharples provided her first career assist on the winner, while goalkeeper Lorena marked her return from Copa América duty with a five-save shutout, her league-leading seventh of the season. The victory also tied KC for the third-fastest franchise to 50 all-time regular-season wins.

Orlando Pride vs
Racing Louisville (1-1)

Orlando Pride salvaged a 1-1 draw against Racing Louisville thanks to a stoppage-time own goal, keeping them second in the NWSL standings. Marisa DiGrande put Louisville ahead just before halftime with a left-footed strike, and Orlando missed several chances to equalize in the second half, including a saved penalty. The breakthrough came in the 90+3’ when Carson Pickett’s free kick found Simone Charley’s flick, which deflected off Ary Borges and into the net. The result extended Orlando’s unbeaten home run against Louisville to six matches and marked their fourth stoppage-time goal of the season.

Gotham FC 🟥 vs
Washington Spirit (0-0)

Gotham FC battled to a 0-0 draw with the Washington Spirit despite playing over an hour with 10 players after Geyse’s 30th-minute red card, in front of a season-high 13,860 fans at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger made three saves to secure the club’s sixth shutout of the season and extend their unbeaten streak to four matches. Gotham’s best chance came late through Katie Stengel, but the hosts couldn’t find a winner. The result also marked the second time this season Gotham has shut out Washington, having taken four of six points in the season series.

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Portland Thorns vs
Seattle Reign (4-2)

The Portland Thorns roared back from an early deficit to defeat Seattle Reign 4-2 in front of a season-high NWSL crowd of 21,811, setting a club record with 10 straight regular season home games unbeaten. After Emeri Adames put Seattle ahead in the 3rd minute, Sam Coffey leveled from the spot in the 18th, followed by Reilyn Turner’s strike in the 26th to give Portland the lead. Reyna Reyes’ header in the 55th made it 3-1 before Jess Fishlock briefly cut the deficit, but rookie Pietra Tordin answered just a minute later to seal the win. The result lifts Portland to fifth in the standings, extends their home unbeaten streak vs. Seattle to five matches, and marks the highest-scoring Cascadia Rivalry match in history.

NC Courage Part
Ways With Nahas

North Carolina Courage abruptly fired head coach Sean Nahas on Wednesday, with chief soccer officer and sporting director Ceri Bowley citing “a multitude of factors” including team performance, inconsistent play, and a loss of faith from management and some players. The Courage currently sit ninth in the NWSL standings at 5-4-6, just below the playoff line, despite adding U.S. forward Jaedyn Shaw in the offseason. Nahas, who had been with the senior team for eight years and head coach since 2021, led the club to consecutive NWSL Challenge Cup titles in 2022 and 2023 but failed to advance past the first playoff round in each of the past two seasons. The club emphasized that his June medical absence was unrelated to the decision.

Assistant coach Nathan Thackeray will serve as acting head coach, as he did during Nahas’ leave earlier this year, with no set timeline for hiring a permanent replacement. In a follow-up statement, the Courage cited “compounding performance issues, culture issues, and a perceived lack of fit” as making the environment “untenable.” Nahas, a longtime figure in North Carolina soccer and a key contributor to the club’s youth academy, did not comment on his dismissal. Bowley, who joined the club in April, stressed the organization’s high standards and said the change was necessary to uphold them.

NWSL Teams Scored Record $75M in
2024 Sponsorship Revenue

The NWSL’s 14 clubs generated a combined US $75 million in sponsorship revenue during the 2024 season, averaging over US $5 million per team, according to SponsorUnited. Across 441 deals with 401 brands in 167 categories, the league added 200 new partners, with healthcare leading all sectors at more than US $55 million spent. Angel City FC topped the revenue charts, ahead of the Kansas City Current and San Diego Wave, and also posted the most sponsorship income of any NWSL team. They outperformed 15 MLS clubs and 25 MLB teams by generating US $29 per social follower. Racing Louisville led in total agreements (94), while Angel City defender Ali Riley held the most player endorsements (11). Sponsorship revenue has risen 16% since 2022, with nearly half coming from the top three clubs. With Boston Legacy and Denver Summit joining the league next year, sponsorship opportunities are expected to grow further.

NWSL Denies Duty of Care
In SD Wave Assault Case

The NWSL has formally denied all allegations in a lawsuit brought by six former San Diego Wave employees, asking the court to dismiss the case entirely and arguing it has “no duty of care” to the plaintiffs. The suit includes claims of sexual assault, harassment, racial and disability discrimination, and retaliation. In its July 8 filing, the league’s attorneys suggested the incidents were either consensual, outside California’s statute of limitations, or solely the responsibility of the Wave, not the league. Legal experts told The Guardian the filing was a “boilerplate” defense aimed at preserving every possible argument. The San Diego Wave, also a co-defendant, faces accusations that its leadership, including then-president Jill Ellis, fostered a toxic workplace culture. Ellis, now at FIFA, is not a defendant but is named in the suit.

The lawsuit details incidents involving two “Jane Doe’s”, including allegations of non-consensual sexual acts, harassment via sexual messages, and retaliatory termination. The NWSL’s defense leans heavily on arguments of consent and procedural defenses like statutes of limitations. A prior NWSL investigation found the Wave “could have done more” to address an assault allegation but did not fault the club’s handling because the victim hadn’t labeled it “sexual” at the time. The plaintiffs seek a jury trial, while the league maintains it neither knew of nor should have known about the alleged incidents, framing them as matters solely between the individuals and the club.