Gotham FC forward Lynn Williams is not surprised at her team’s strong start to the NWSL season as they currently are tied for first in the table.

Gotham dismantled OL Reign 4-1 in what was a surprising victory for some but not for Lynn Williams. Williams scored on her 30th birthday as Gotham jumped up to first in the NWSL standings.

When asked if she was surprised that Gotham were able to put three past OL Reign in the first half, Williams responded, “not surprised at all, I feel like everybody else is surprised, but we’re not.”

Going into the game, Williams and Gotham took note of how commentators and announcers were explaining that OL Reign could go top of the table, but they didn’t say the same for Gotham despite it being possible. Williams went into further detail on the Snacks podcast.

“We were like, ‘We’re tied on points. We can go to the top of the table if we beat them. So it was like: Why is everybody so high on OL and not us” she stated.

“We obviously have a lot of season to play and stuff, but I said this in a lot of interviews that our coaching staff has made it like we’re gonna celebrate the moments. Because I think in sports you don’t really get to, you just look to the next one. So we’re just gonna celebrate being in first right now and hopefully it stays that way.”

Gotham FC has collected 16 points from eight games played and have their sights set on Sunday when they hit the road to take on the Washington Spirit.

OL Reign’s Rose Lavelle has encountered further setbacks in her recovery that was initially described as “a little knock” by United States women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski.

Lavelle has missed the last eight games in all competitions for NWSL side OL Reign. The initial knee injury came against Ireland in a friendly game back in April while playing for the USWNT.

Reign head coach Laura Harvey explained to Equalizer’s Bella Munson that Lavelle “was really on track to be back” but has since suffered another setback in her recovery.

“I would love her to be on the field tomorrow,” Harvey said. “I don’t think that’s gonna happen. I hope that we get to see her before the World Cup but honestly right now I don’t know.”

Despite the lingering injury, Lavelle is expected to be named in the USWNT’s squad for the upcoming World Cup. Lavelle had standout performances at the 2019 World Cup and should be amongst the names released from NWSL clubs on June 26th to join up with the USWNT.

Lavelle’s injury is not the only injury that the USWNT and coach Andonovski have had to deal with. Sam Mewis, Catarina Macario and Mallory Swanson will all miss the World Cup as the USWNT will have to dig deep to three-peat in down under.

The second leg of the 2023 Liga MX final is coming up as the first leg featured no goals scored. The final game will see Chivas host Tigres on Sunday, May 28th, at the Estadio AKRON.

The first leg saw Tigres dominate possession with 68% but were unable to find the back of the net. Tigres also had double the amount of shots when compared to Chivas, 14 to 7, and accumulated a superior xG of .70 to .33.

While Tigres were trying to score as many goals as possible, Chivas were set up in a defensive formation to take control of the series back to Guadalajara.

The second leg promises to be full of entertaining play as both teams go into the game knotted at 0-0.

When is kick off? Sunday, May 28th, 9:35 PM EST

Where is the game being played? Estadio AKRON

TV channel/live stream? UNIVERSO/Telemundo

What time does TV coverage start? 9:30 PM EST

Chivas executed part of their plan to come back from the first leg in control of the tie. “First objective accomplished, not conceding a goal. Second objective, scoring a goal, not accomplished,” said head coach Veljko Paunovic. “We’re not completely satisfied with the result, but it’s important to have not conceded a goal.”

Chivas will look to be more expansive in front of their home fans on Sunday night, in contrast to their defensive performance in the first leg.

Chivas will be without Jose Macias and Carlos Cisneros, as they remain out indefinitely with cruciate ligament injuries.

Tigres coach Robert Siboldi still backs his side to go on and win the final following the 0-0 first leg. “The series is still, for me, open,” he said. “I think we showed that we were superior. The opposition came to find a result that would allow them to continue in the race.”

Sebastian Cordova was fined by the FMF Disciplinary Comission after his comments on twitter that said “incredible that they don’t check the VAR.” Cordova’s remarks were due to a late challenge made in the 82nd minute where he felt that Chivas defender Alejandro Mayorga should’ve been shown a red card.

Miguel Ortega’s shoulder injury and David Ayala’s broken knee cap will see them out of action until next month after the Liga MX season is over.

As both teams were evenly matched in the first leg, the second leg beckons to be more entertaining and somewhat chaotic. Both teams are on the cusp of glory and will give everything they can to get their hands on silverware.

Chivas lost only three home games during the 2023 Liga MX season. They’ve turned the Estadio AKRON into a fortress and they will look to feed off their supporter’s energy during the game and should have just enough to edge Tigres.

Prediction: Chivas 3 – Tigres 2