NWSL Abroad has expanded this week to include updates on all former and current NWSL players with teams competing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League round of 16, which kicked off on Saturday. Return legs will be played on either November 12th or 13th.
Frankfurt 5 – 0 Torres
Jess Fishlock, Kerstin Garefrekes and Vero Boquete all started for Frankfurt and were each active contributors in the club’s five first half goals in an easy first leg victory over Torres. Frankfurt controlled the match from the start and managed to net their first goal only seven minutes in as Dzsenifer Marozsán found Célia Šašić to give them the early lead. Garefrekes, who played for the Washington Spirit last season, followed up in the 15th minute to double the lead. Garefrekes went from scorer to provider as she earned the assist on Vero’s goal a mere four minutes later. Fishlock, having missed an earlier shot, provided the assist for Šašić’s second goal of the match, bringing Frankfurt’s lead to 4-0. The fifth goal of the match came from the spot in stoppage time of the as Frankfurt was awarded a penalty, which Simone Laudehr was able to convert. Overall it was a very lopsided contest with Frankfurt ending with 20 totally attempts with eight on target while the only attempt the the Torres side was off target. The second leg of the match will be played on November 12th.
Zürich 2 – 1 Glasgow City FC
Zürich defeated Glasgow City 2-1 in a very eventful first leg matchup. Morgan Marlborough got the start and played a full 90 minutes for City. Neither team was able to maintain good possession of the ball as there were several fouls and offside calls within the first ten minutes of the match. Zürich had the first opportunities though, as two quick shots were saved before the captain Fabienne Humm found the back of the net. The rough play continued for the remainder of a first half that ended with City goalkeeper Lee Alexander saving a penalty. City came out strong in the second half and after having several shots blocked, were able to level the score on a goal by Fiona Brown. Zürich regained the lead shortly after as they were able to capitalize on a free kick given up by City in the 59th minute. The trouble for City continued as Nicola Docherty earned two yellow card in an eight minute span and was sent off in the 77th minute. A player down, City was unable to earn the draw. The second leg will be played on November 12th.
FC Rosengard 2 – 1 Fortuna Hjørring
Swedish champions Rosengard pulled out a 2-1 win over Fortuna in a match that was more lopsided than the scoreline might suggest. Michelle Betos, Taryn Hemmings and Melissa Henderson all got the start for Fortuna as did former Sky Blue player Nadia Nadim. Rosengard controlled the match early on, getting several shots off before finally netting a goal from Anja Mittag in the 12th minute to take go up 1-0. Rosengard maintained a majority of possession in the first half and kept constant pressure on Fortuna’s defense and goalkeeper. Both sides were fairly even at the start of the second half, with Fortuna moving the ball forward and getting some shots on goal. Their efforts were rewarded in the 56th minute when Nadim set up captain Sofie Pedersen who leveled the score. Unfortunately, the score did not remain even for long as Rosengard regained the lead ten minutes later on a goal from Katrin Schmidt . Fortuna was unable to mount much of an offense for the remainder of the match and were outshot 18 with ten on target to six, with three on target. Despite the loss, Fortuna goalkeeper Michelle Betos had a solid match, making a total of eight saves. The second leg of the matchup will be played on November 13th.
Paris St-Germain 1 – 1 Olympique Lyonnais
Though neither PSG nor Lyon rosters currently have any NWSL players on them, these clubs were once (and recently) homes to Tobin Heath and Megan Rapinoe. Heath left PSG this past summer while Rapinoe played part of the 2013-2014 season with Lyon before announcing in January that she would be returning to the Seattle Reign for the entire 2014 NWSL season. In addition to being the former home to two current NWSL and USWNT players, the clubs are two of the best in the Division 1 Féminine and host a number of top national team members from multiple countries. As expected, the match was a fairly even contest, with Lyon having the better of the chances early on which resulted in them drawing first blood on a goal from Corine Petit in the 21st minute. PSG came out strong in the second half and did not have to wait long to do so with Fatmire Alushi scoring four minutes into the half. Neither team was able to break the tie for the remainder of the match and will face off again on November 12th.
There was one highlight outside of Champions League action worth mentioning, as Tiffany McCarty started for Albirex Niigata in their Nadeshiko League contest and scored the game winning (and only) goal of the match. This was McCarty’s first goal since returning the the club in October.
Check back next week for a recap of the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 matches and to see who will be moving on to the quarter finals!
Feature photo courtesy of Hübner/fnp.de
