In this week’s women’s soccer news, Danielle van de Donk has a new club; Esther González leads the Golden Boot race; Burnley named Matt Beard their next head coach; and more!
High of the Week
Esther González has been in terrific form for NJ/NY Gotham this season. In Gotham’s 2-1 win over Bay FC, Esther scored her 10th goal of the season which leads the Golden Boot race heading into the summer break. Her 10 goals are the most through a 13-game span ever for Gotham. Esther will look to continue that form for Spain as they compete in the UEFA Women’s Euros 2025 that begins on July 2.
🔟 goals for Esther González and she’s top of the Golden Boot race 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hZIKz3DLkR
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 22, 2025
Low of the Week
During the Portland Thorns match against the Washington Spirit, Portland’s rookie forward Caiya Hanks went down with an injury that was later confirmed to be an ACL tear. Hanks had an impressive first season where she scored two goals and registered an assist in 11 matches. In March, Hanks signed a four-year deal with the Thorns after an impressive college career at Wake Forest. It’s a tough injury for the rookie but we’re hoping for a speedy recovery!
📰 | We’ve announced that winger Caiya Hanks has been placed on the Season-Ending Injury list. Hanks sustained an ACL injury to her left knee during the match against Washington Spirit at Providence Park on June 15.⁰ ⁰Wishing you a speedy recovery, we’re with you Caiya ❤️ pic.twitter.com/rfGEHyK1ev
— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) June 20, 2025
News of the Week
This week, Burnley Women announced that they have hired Matt Beard as their next head coach. Beard has a lot of head coaching experience and most recently he spent four years as the head coach of Liverpool. NWSL fans might remember Beard from his time as the head coach of the Boston Breakers.
Burnley Football Club are delighted to welcome Matt Beard as the Club’s new women’s team manager.
Welcome to Burnley, Matt!
— Burnley FC Women (@BurnleyFCWomen) June 20, 2025
Signing of the Week
The London City Lionesses picked up a massive signing ahead of their first season in the WSL after earning promotion, They announced that they had signed Dutch international Danielle van de Donk to a two-year contract. Van de Donk comes to London City from Olympique Lyon where she spent four years making 63 appearances and scoring 14 goals. It’s not the midfielder’s first time in the WSL as she played for Arsenal from 2015-21. The signing of van de Donk brings much-needed experience to the Lionesses.
✍️✍️ pic.twitter.com/YZLAHSnW3f
— London City Lionesses (@LC_Lionesses) June 20, 2025
Assist of the Week
Nealy Martin switched the point of play and sent a beautiful long ball over the top to Geyse who was able to control the ball and send it into the back of the net for the game-winner for Gotham over Bay FC.
Catch her if you can 👀@geyse_ferreiraa doubles our lead against #BayFC! pic.twitter.com/XqdsRfw3GX
— Gotham FC (@GothamFC) June 22, 2025
Player of the Week
The Seattle Reign got an impressive 4-1 win over the Utah Royals and Ji So-Yun played a big part in that. The midfielder got the scoring started for the Reign in the sixth minute with a great individual effort. She also tallied two assists in the match for quite the performance.
Ji gives us an early lead💥 pic.twitter.com/jln4XUqRHj
— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc) June 21, 2025
Win of the Week
Racing Louisville got a huge win ahead of the NWSL break. Louisville got a 2-0 win over the Orlando Pride marking their first win over the Pride since October 2023. It was just the third time this season that the Pride has been shut out. Jordyn Bloomer made seven saves for Louisville to keep the Pride off the scoresheet. Arin Wright scored the game-winner and it was her first goal of the season. Taylor Flint converted a penalty kick in the second half to add the insurance goal for Racing.
Ending the first half of the season with a bang 💥#LOUvORL | @PNCBank pic.twitter.com/Wf15JUKmrs
— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) June 21, 2025
Favorite Social Media Post
It was a WNBA and NWSL crossover this weekend when the Washington Mystics’ Aaliyah Edwards showed up for their game repping the Washington Spirit.
Did the girls cause this heat wave? pic.twitter.com/CEDx9fnwd0
— Washington Mystics (@WashMystics) June 22, 2025
GIRLS SOCCER NETWORK: YOUR SOURCE FOR GIRLS SOCCER NEWS