Women’s Super League Down to the Wire

The race for the FA Women’s Super League took a major swing following Manchester City’s defeat at home to Arsenal. A Manchester City win could’ve all but confirmed the title for the Cityzens going into the final match day, but their slump to the Gunners has brought back life to the race. Chelsea were the major beneficiaries of this result. In Emma Hayes’s final campaign as Chelsea boss, she has endured a difficult run of form in recent weeks. Up until a month ago, the Blues were on course for a historic quadruple. 

However, losing in the League Cup final to Arsenal, the FA Cup semi-finals to Manchester United and being dumped out of the Champions League to holders Barcelona meant they were eliminated from all cup competitions in the space of a month. Following these defeats, they lost a crucial league game to Liverpool in a 4-3 thriller, resulting in Emma Hayes conceding the title to the Manchester side.

“We will never give up but the title is far from us, it’s not in our hands. I think the (Manchester) City deserving of their consistency has put them in that position and of course, we will go to the end but I don’t think the title will be heading to us this year,” said Hayes.

Yet, Manchester City’s unexpected 2-1 loss to Arsenal snapped a 14-match winning streak for the Cityzens which dated back to November. This provided a glimmer of hope for Hayes’s side who thrashed Bristol City 8-0, closing the gap to Manchester City by 3 points with a game in hand while boosting a superior goal difference. 

Chelsea’s game in hand is away at Tottenham Hotspur who they beat 2-1 in the opening game of the season. A win would put them level at the top with Manchester City, but above them on goal difference. In the final game of the season, Chelsea face Manchester United away from home while Manchester City face Aston Villa. 

City will be without Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw as she sustained a foot injury in their 5-0 rout against West Ham on April 21. The Jamaican international is the Women’s Super League’s top goal scorer with 21 goals in 18 games and will be a vital miss against Carla Ward and Aston Villa, who will be managing her final game as Villa boss. 

Chelsea’s away game to Manchester United will bring to an end a 12-year stint for Emma Hayes as Chelsea manager. In that period, she has won six Women’s Super League titles, five Women’s FA Cups, and two FA Women’s League Cups. She’ll be looking to add a seventh league title before heading to North America, when she begins her reign as the coach of the United States Women’s National Team.

“Newhouse Definitely Prepared Us”

Several Newhouse Master’s students upon finishing their Broadcast and Digital Journalism graduate program have been accepted to take their talents to local news stations across the country to report on NFL training camp for their respective city. 

Of the ten that were selected, one was a division one student-athlete. Excelling on the field and in the classroom for the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, Sydney Staples arrived on the campus of Syracuse University in July of 2022 to embark on her S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications journey. 

As a four year-letter winner for the Lehigh University Women’s soccer team, Staples decided to pursue her soccer career from a different lens.

It was difficult when the season rolled around to not be doing a preseason especially being at a different school than her undergrad, Staples said. “I’ll always think what if, but I also know I’m very happy. I’m very happy that I fully committed myself to the academic side of things.” 

Being a student-athlete taught Staples how to juggle and take on an incredible schedule, she said. From live reporting for NCC News to calling division one men’s and women’s soccer games for ACC network, Staples has grown throughout her one year on the hill to where she is now.   

Currently covering the Green Bay Packers for WFRV Local 5 News, serving Green Bay, Fox Valley, Lake Shore, and the Northwoods, Wisconsin, Staples has noticed many similarities from Newhouse to the professional setting. 

“Newhouse definitely prepared us,” Staples said. “Everything that Professor Axe taught us, yup, I can definitely notice a difference now between a good question and a not so great question.” It’s Staples’ connection with the athlete in how she can relate to the type of interview the media conducts, specifically at camp.

Staples says, at Syracuse the sports information director picked two to three people, brought them to the podium post practice or postgame for interviews. In Green Bay, media scrums include microphones from other outlets pressed against each other with camera lights pointed toward the interviewee, ready to ask and answer questions from both sides. 

Seeing the sweat on athletes’ faces from practice just before, Staples can remind herself it’s more than football. “I can relate to asking questions knowing that there are so much more than that to x’s and o’s,” Staples said. “I love going to the practices, interacting with players and I like the grind. Working with professional athletes has been amazing.”

Having the experience thus far of covering NFL football has made Staples appreciate the sport even more. She said it’s been really cool to get out of her comfort zone and cover a different sport.

For the future, Staples says being around soccer on the media side of the ball is a goal of hers. “If there is one thing I know about whatever job I take moving forward and for life, I want to be involved in soccer as much as possible,” Staples said.

Whether that is continuing to call games at the collegiate level, or pursuing an opportunity with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Staples said she would love to be around the sport for years to come.