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USWNT Roundup

Sydney Leroux Comes Up Big for Boston

The striker is off to a fast start in July, scoring three goals in her first two games and jumping to the top of the National Women's Soccer League leaderboard. But where are Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan?
BY Maura Gladys Posted
July 09, 2013
11:00 AM
Lauren Cheney capped off a stellar June with six goals and a player of the month award. Just a few days in, Sydney Leroux is making a strong case that she will own the month of July. Leroux took over the NWSL scoring lead this week with three goals, one against the Seattle Reign and two against the Portland Thorns. Heather O’Reilly set up all three of Leroux’s goals, giving her six assists on the year. O’Reilly and Leroux don’t have a particularly strong partnership on the national team, but their success with the Breakers could translate to a higher level.

Alex Morgan’s goalless streak extended to three games when she failed to score in the Thorns’ 2-0 loss to Boston on Saturday. It’s a slight dip in form for Morgan, who seemed to be perpetually improving her game just a few weeks ago. Morgan still leads the league in shots and shots on goal with 51 and 29, respectively.

Former U.S. national team midfielder Lori Chalupny ended the Western New York Flash’s unbeaten streak on Thursday with a 58th minute goal. Abby Wambach had one shot on goal and no assists, an uncharacteristically low stat line for the dominant striker.

Ali Krieger, Lori Lindsey, Ashlyn Harris, and the Washington Spirit continued their descent into the basement of the NWSL with another winless week. The Spirit tied red-hot FC Kansas City 1-1 on Wednesday, but then fell to league leaders Sky Blue FC 1-0 over the weekend. The squad has justone win and seven total points on the season.

The Spirit has a young offense that can’t outscore opponents, leaving no breathing room for Lindsey, Krieger, or Harris in the back. As a result, Lindsey looks all but phased out of the national team picture, especially with the possible transition of Carli Lloyd to defensive mid and the re-emergence of Yael Averbuch.

In off-the-field news, Lauren Cheney married NBA point guard Jrue Holiday over the weekend and the NWSL wasted no time in switching the league’s second leading scorer over to Lauren Holiday. She’s is, however, still listed as "Lauren Cheney" on FC Kansas City’s roster.

Maura Gladys, a featured ASN columnist, works in production for KICKTV. She also runs the goalkeeping blog All You Need Is Glove.

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