NWSL Week 7 preview: The race for a second win

Seven weeks in, and there’s still no clear-cut league leader. Sure, Chicago is atop the table, and has been for much of the still-young season thanks to an unbeaten record. But the Red Stars are hardly running away with the thing like Seattle did a season ago.

Both Washington and FC Kansas City are right on the Red Stars’ heels, just a single point back -- and FCKC is playing the Red Stars this weekend, while the Spirit take on a Western NY side already in last place and now mired in goalkeeping problems. Then there’s Portland, who is not only just three points back from Chicago, but also can put some space between itself and idle Seattle, as the Thorns take on a struggling Houston side.

The bottom half of the table isn’t any less complicated. The Breakers have skyrocketed out of the One Win Club and into sixth place with a win last week, and the Dash, Sky Blue and Western NY are battling it out for the bottom with nearly identical records.

With so many international players gone, now is the time some of these teams were supposed to be stockpiling points, the playing field leveled a bit. But with just three weeks to go now until the World Cup break and subsequent return of those players, time might be running out.

Things that have happened in two previous seasons of Boston-Sky Blue games: a Lisa De Vanna bicycle kick (when she played for Sky Blue); a Lisa De Vanna red card awarded for an inability to stop yelling at the referee (when she played for Boston); a Sophie Schmidt red card for angrily tossing the ball at Jazmyne Avant; a 5-1 win for Sky Blue; three different 3-2 games; and two draws, including one scoreless one.

Instead, Western NY is still stuck at the bottom of the table, owners of the league’s worst record and second-worst goal differential. And speaking of goal differential? That part could get a lot worse. The Flash somehow managed to lose not one, but two goalkeepers last week in Kansas City. Sabrina D’Angelo was injured 15 minutes into the game in Kansas City and replaced by Chantel Jones, who managed to avoid any in-game discipline beyond a yellow card for pushing Shea Groom, but was later served up a one-game suspension by the NWSL Disciplinary Committee for violent conduct. D’Angelo is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with a shoulder injury. So that leaves ... ? Anyone? Hello?

It seems mean to point out here that Jones was traded to Western NY from Washington in exchange for Kelsey Wys, who is very much available and will likely get the start in goal this weekend for the Spirit -- but let’s go ahead and do it anyway.

Are the Red Stars this season’s Seattle? Seven weeks in, and Chicago still hasn’t lost a game. Rory Dames’ side has come close a few times, particularly in the last two games, both of which required comebacks from 2-0 down to salvage a point and keep the unbeaten record in tact. Rookie Sofia Huerta has earned Player of the Week honors for two consecutive weeks, putting up a brace in each of those two games.

The Red Stars built an entire season on streakiness in 2014, though. If there was ever a week where that whole going-down-by-two thing was going to catch up to them, it’s probably now, against an FC Kansas City side that’s built a nice little streak of its own. The Blues are unbeaten in their last four, and that’s not even the most impressive stat. FCKC hasn’t allowed a goal in those four games, and has allowed a league-low four goals all season.

The Dash are one of three teams that still has only one win on the season. That win -- on opening weekend -- was filled with a lot of promise for things to come: this season wouldn’t be like last year, they’d shake the “expansion” label, and so on. Except things since opening weekend haven’t worked out that well. Houston looked like it was on the right track last week against Chicago, playing to a 2-2 draw with the league-leading Red Stars. Or looked on the right track for a single half, at least. Problem was, it was the first half, and it still had to play the second half, wherein the Dash quickly let a 2-0 lead evaporate.

In Portland, Houston faces another team coming off its own subpar performance last week. The Thorns could never quite get it together against Boston, playing 90 minutes of scoreless soccer before the Breakers broke through in stoppage time for the 1-0 win.