{"id":245665,"date":"2026-05-28T18:18:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T18:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/28\/nwsls-reality-check-no-true-frontunners-and-chicagos-issues-equalizer-soccer\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T18:18:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T18:18:44","slug":"nwsls-reality-check-no-true-frontunners-and-chicagos-issues-equalizer-soccer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/28\/nwsls-reality-check-no-true-frontunners-and-chicagos-issues-equalizer-soccer\/","title":{"rendered":"NWSL\u2019s reality check, no true frontunners, and Chicago\u2019s issues \u2013 Equalizer Soccer"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto courtesy of Concacaf via Gotham FC<\/span><\/p>\n

As the National Women\u2019s Soccer League<\/a> ticks towards its final week of action before the summer break, who will separate themselves from the pack of contenders? Does NWSL form have any impact on USWNT inclusion? Finally, the NWSL gets a reality check in the CONCACAF W Champions Cup.<\/p>\n

For CONCACAF and NWSL, rising tides lift all boats<\/h2>\n

Club Am\u00e9rica\u2019s emphatic victory in the second CONCACAF W Champions Cup<\/a> sent a strong message about the strength of Liga MX Femenil. Across four matches, Club Am\u00e9rica and Pachuca outscored NWSL sides \u2014 and 2025 NWSL Championship finalists \u2014 Washington Spirit and Gotham FC by a combined 12\u20135. Former NWSL players Geyse and Scarlett Camberos tormented their opponents throughout the tournament. Camberos finished with nine goal contributions and earned Best Player honors, while Geyse added five of her own.<\/p>\n

There were mitigating factors. Gotham and Washington arrived in Pachuca after a stretch of league matches on the West Coast, and the altitude \u2014 nearly 8,000 feet above sea level \u2014 was significant. Even so, both Club Am\u00e9rica and Pachuca were the better sides in their respective knockout matches. Club Am\u00e9rica are worthy champions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If nothing else, the tournament served as a reminder that the NWSL does not sit at the center of women\u2019s soccer in CONCACAF. Reports<\/a> suggest Liga MX Femenil is now the most-watched women\u2019s domestic league in the world. Two of the world\u2019s best players hail from the region. Neither are American. Jamaica\u2019s Bunny Shaw became one of the highest-paid players in women\u2019s soccer after signing a new deal<\/a> with Manchester City, while OL Lyonnes\u2019 Melchie Dumornay is poised to lead Haiti to a second consecutive FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup appearance.<\/p>\n

They say competition breeds excellence. NWSL should continue to seek out ways to measure up against its continental and global rivals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When will the cream of the NWSL crop separate?<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

\n Access the best women\u2019s soccer coverage all year long\n <\/p>\n

\n Start your FREE, 7-day trial of The Equalizer Extra for industry-leading reporting and insight on the USWNT, NWSL and beyond.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo courtesy of Concacaf via Gotham FC As the National Women\u2019s Soccer League ticks towards its final week of action before the summer break, who will separate themselves from the pack of contenders? Does NWSL form have any impact on USWNT inclusion? Finally, the NWSL gets a reality check in the CONCACAF W Champions Cup. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":245666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6805],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-245665","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-womens"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}