Elsewhere on the Golazo Starting XI newsletter, Arsenal and Liverpool aim for easy weekends after Champions League tests

Aubrey Kingsbury made a crucial save in a shootout and the Washington Spirit beat the Orlando Pride 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw to win the National Women’s Soccer League Challenge Cup

NWSL season officially gets underway on Friday with the Challenge Cup, this year featuring 2024's best teams – the Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit. The Pride return to play after a record-breaking 2024 season in which the team won their first-ever trophies,

Entering its full first campaign under head coach Jonatan Giráldez, Spirit hopes key additions and improved chemistry will yield success and bring home a title.

The Pride struck in the first half before the Spirit found an equalizer in the second. Per Challenge Cup rules, the game went directly to penalty kicks after 90 minutes finished in a 1-1 tie. Orlando midfielder Summer Yates missed her kick wide left in the third round of spot kicks.

T he NWSL will celebrate its first competitive fixture of the year with the 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup on Friday night. This year it will be a rematch of the 2024 NWSL Championship f

The Washington Spirit took the first National Women’s Soccer League trophy of 2025, edging the Orlando Pride on penalties after a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes in the NWSL Challenge Cup. The rematch of the 2024 NWSL Championship looked nothing like its forerunner.