This weekend’s NWSL Championship game between the Portland Thorns and Kansas City Current caps off a memorable year for the league on the pitch that saw Canadian players feature prominently in the playoffs after an exciting regular season.
All six clubs that qualified for the playoffs had at least one player from Canada’s women’s team on their rosters, which means Saturday’s final at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. will be an all-Canadian affair. Portland features iconic Canadian captain Christine Sinclair and fellow forward Janine Beckie, while Desiree Scott is a key figure in central midfield for Kansas City.
The NWSL regular season was a dramatic sprint from start to finish, with only seven points separating league leaders OL Rein and sixth-place Chicago Red Stars. It led to a thrilling final weekend of the campaign where OL Rein edged Portland for first place, and Chicago finished just a point ahead of North Carolina Courage to secure the sixth and final playoff berth.
The drama continued last weekend when Portland secured its place in the final via an injury-time goal in a 2-1 win over San Diego Wave FC, led by Canadian Kailen Sheridan, who was named the NWSL goalkeeper of the year. The other semifinal saw Kansas City post a 2-0 upset victory against the top-seeded OL Reign, who featured Canadians Quinn and Jordyan Huitema.
Midfielder Sophie Schmidt, one of three Canadians on the Houston Dash who lost to Kansas City in the first round, was struck by the sheer competitiveness of the regular season.
“It’s outrageous in terms of we didn’t know who was going to make the playoffs, and who was going to finish first. It came down to the very last game. Every game, every team, you don’t know which way it’s going to go in the playoffs. It’s that close,” Schmidt told Sportsnet.
The fact that so many Canadians had strong campaigns and were involved in the NWSL playoffs brings a smile to Canadian women’s team coach Bev Priestman.
“I’m over the moon. I think what you have seen is some players on the roster in the NWSL who are having a fantastic season. It’s always pleasing to see players doing for their club what they do for their country. That’s the pleasing thing,” Priestman said.
Being involved in as many competitive games as possible is essential for Canadians at the moment, what with a long NWSL off-season looming before a new campaign kicks off next Spring, and the Olympic champions set to play in friendlies during the November and February international windows.
There’s also the small matter of the FIFA World Cup, set to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, being a mere nine months away. Canadians being involved in high-pressure games in the NWSL playoffs is exactly the type of experience Priestman wants her players to have ahead of the World Cup.
“That’s what we want. Players where they have to win, where everything’s on the line. Those experiences accumulate, and it’s really important. It adds to what we get. It means they’re playing soccer for longer and therefore managing the off-season going into the February window,” Priestman said.
At the same time that members of last summer’s gold-medal team are making a splash in the NWSL playoffs, a number of their Canadian teammates are making headlines overseas.
The 2022-23 UEFA Champions League had a distinct Canadian flavour to it when it kicked off this month, as six Canadians are competing in the prestigious competition that brings together the top clubs from across Europe.
Kadeisha Buchanan and Jessie Fleming (Chelsea), Ashley Lawrence (Paris Saint-Germain), Julia Grosso (Juventus) and Cloé Lacasse (Benfica) all have Champions League experience, so this season’s tournament will be nothing new for them. The lone Champions League newcomer amongst the Canadians is defender Vanessa Gilles, who recently joined French club Olympique Lyon on loan from the NWSL’s Angel City.
“It’s great. It’s something that we should be celebrating, that so many of our players have [reached that high]. You look at it … you get to see more of our players when they’re faced with really tough games,” Priestman said.
Lacasse is eager to test herself against clubs the calibre of Barcelona, and hopes it’ll strengthen her standing on the national team ahead of the World Cup. Lacasse has one goal in 13 appearances for Canada.
“Playing in those Champions League games against top opponents in Europe is extremely important because we’re going to be facing top talents throughout Europe, throughout the world. Facing Barcelona, and they have some of the most incredible talents in the world. So, it’s great to go one-on-one with these types of opponents, especially ahead of a World Cup. That’s the types of players I want to be playing against,” Lacasse said.
It’s a sentiment echoed by Priestman, who feels having so many Canadians involved in the UEFA Champions League only bolsters her team’s chances for success at next summer’s World Cup.
“I think it’s critical. [Those] occasions, those must-win games, they get different levels out of people. You get to see players under pressure against world-class players. Those are the games as a coach when you tune in that you're really excited for. You hope your players go on and go all the way and do well,” Priestman said.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.
