{"id":242897,"date":"2026-05-11T16:56:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T16:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/footypop-manchester-city-clinch-wsl-title\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T16:56:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T16:56:28","slug":"footypop-manchester-city-clinch-wsl-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/footypop-manchester-city-clinch-wsl-title\/","title":{"rendered":"FootyPop: Manchester City Clinch WSL Title"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In this week\u2019s women\u2019s soccer news, Manchester City won the WSL;Payton Crawford suffered a season-ending injury; the University of Georgia announced an exciting game; and more!<\/p>\n

High of the Week<\/h2>\n

Manchester City have won the WSL for the first time in 10 years, and they did it with two weeks left to go in the season. It\u2019s the first time that Chelsea hasn\u2019t won the league title in six years. City has had an incredible season that has led them to a 17-1-3 record. Head coach Andr\u00e9e Jeglertz is in his first season with the club after getting the job in July 2025, and he has already found success. Bunny Shaw has been terrific for City, leading the league in goals scored with 19, and then they also have the third-highest goal scorer in Vivianne Miedema, who has scored 10. It hasn\u2019t been just an offensive show, though, defensively they\u2019ve been very sound, only conceding 18 goals on the season. Those 18 goals conceded are the second lowest in the league, only behind Arsenal.<\/p>\n

On top of winning the league, Manchester City also punched their ticket to the FA Cup Final after a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Chelsea. Things weren\u2019t looking great for City with Chelsea having a 2-0 lead for most of the game thanks to goals from Erin Cuthbert and Sam Kerr. In the 86th minute, though, Man City found their breakthrough thanks to Mary Fowler. Then, in stoppage time, City\u2019s hero Bunny Shaw scored the equalizer to send it to extra time. Shaw continued her terrific form by scoring the game-winner in extra time to punch Manchester City\u2019s ticket to the final.<\/p>\n

Low of the Week<\/h2>\n

The North Carolina Courage announced this week that Payton Crawford would miss the rest of the season due to a torn ACL that she suffered during training. Crawford joined the NWSL after an impressive career at Penn State, where she scored 34 goals in 90 appearances. She was the 11th pick by the Portland Thorns in the 2024 NWSL College Draft. She appeared in 31 games for the Thorns. In August 2025, Portland traded Crawford to the North Carolina Courage for $48,000 in intra-league transfer fees. So far this season, the forward had appeared in three matches and registered an assist for the Courage.<\/p>\n

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We\u2019re with you, Peeps \ud83d\udc99<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve placed forward Payton Crawford on the season-ending injury list after suffering a torn ACL during a training session last week. pic.twitter.com\/CXvC35K4Rn<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) May 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

News of the Week\u200b<\/h2>\n

The University of Georgia announced some big news for its women\u2019s soccer team and the upcoming season. Georgia will host James Madison University on August 20 at Sanford Stadium. Sanford Stadium is a historic field for Georgia and is the home of its football team. It\u2019s also where the USWNT won the gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics. This match for Georgia women\u2019s soccer will serve as a 30th anniversary celebration of that gold medal win. This match will look to break NCAA attendance records for soccer in both women\u2019s (which is currently 14,410 and set in 1999) and men\u2019s (22,512 set in 1980).<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udea8Soccer is coming to Sanford! \ud83d\udea8@UGASoccer<\/a> will host James Madison on August 20 at 6:30pm in Sanford Stadium. It will mark the program\u2019s first-ever contest between the hedges of the historic football stadium.<\/p>\n

With this match, the Bulldogs will look to break the NCAA soccer\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/LTMb8OvPqc<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Georgia Bulldogs (@UGAAthletics) May 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Return of the Week<\/h2>\n

On Mother\u2019s Day weekend, Claire Emslie made her return to the field after welcoming her first child. Emslie and her husband welcomed a son named Jamie in December 2025. She returned to the pitch for Angel City as a substitute in their loss to the San Diego Wave on Saturday. It\u2019s wonderful to see these players who are able to have families and also get back on the field. We\u2019ve seen it with Sophia Wilson and Andi Sullivan this season as well.<\/p>\n

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Welcoming the return of Claire Emslie for Angel City \ud83d\ude4c<\/p>\n

The playmaker subs on for the first time this season after returning from maternity leave. pic.twitter.com\/ddhOwEDR0K<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 National Women\u2019s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Win of the Week<\/h2>\n

The Denver Summit got its second win in team history, and they scored the most goals in a single game so far this season, with four. The 4-1 victory will go a long way for a team that\u2019s still trying to carve its identity in its first season. Janine Sonis scored a brace while Tash Flint and Delanie Sheehan also got in on the scoring. They had this impressive performance against a Houston Dash team that\u2019s really struggling right now. The Dash have lost three of their last four matches. It\u2019s a huge win for this Summit team that has looked dangerous at times this season, and with it still being early on, this is the type of win that could help build momentum for them.<\/p>\n

Team of the Week<\/h2>\n

Racing Louisville got a dominant win against the first-place Portland Thorns on Friday night. The Thorns got on the board first thanks to a goal from Sophia Wilson, but it was just nine minutes later when Louisville found the answer from Katie O\u2019Kane. From there, the score stayed tied at one a piece until O\u2019Kane added another in the 76th minute off of a free kick. Emma Sears added a goal in stoppage time to secure the win for Louisville. O\u2019Kane\u2019s two goals were her first professional goals. It also marked the first time that Louisville beat Portland by multiple goals.<\/p>\n

Save of the Week<\/h2>\n

Utah is looking like a really solid team, especially defensively, and that showed again during their midweek match against the Houston Dash. Mandy McGlynn came out to the top of the box to take the ball from the Houston forward, but when she kicked the ball away, it went straight to another Dash player, who took a shot, but Kate Del Fava had the goal covered and kicked the ball out of the way of danger.<\/p>\n

Goal of the Week<\/h2>\n

Mimi Van Zanten\u2019s first professional goal came at an important time for the San Diego Wave. Their rivalry match against Angel City was tied 1-1 until the 80th minute, when Van Zanten made a beautiful run into the box to perfectly head the ball into the net. The goal ended up being the game winner for the Wave.<\/p>\n

GIRLS SOCCER NETWORK: YOUR SOURCE FOR GIRLS SOCCER NEWS<\/b><\/p>\n

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