It’s a rare busy period for the U.S. women’s national team, with three games in 18 days. (Hey, on off-years, that’s practically bustling.) National team players dropped in with their club teams for about one week, but most have already departed to join the red, white, and blue for upcoming friendlies. Week 9 of the NWSL nevertheless gave fans plenty of action.

Alex Morgan and Lauren Cheney traded braces in a shootout on Thursday between the Portland Thorns and Kansas City FC, with Morgan and the Thorns coming out on top 4-3. Morgan did that whole ‘Be incredibly consistent and hit the same spot of the goal’ again when she blasted two shots into the upper netting, past the five-foot-10 Nicole Barnhart. She also notched an assist, sliding a pass to the precise spot that Danielle Foxhoven could touch it in for a goal. Cheney converted a penalty kick and slipped a nifty ball between the post and Thorns keeper Karina LeBlanc. Despite conceding four goals against the Thorns, Barnhart has been solid in goal for FC Kansas City this season. She stonewalled Seattle on Sunday for a 1-0 win in her third shutout of the season.

Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd had one goal each in the Western New York Flash’s win 3-0 over Sky Blue FC. Wambach’s goal was her sixth of the season, tying her with Morgan for the league lead. Megan Rapinoe played the second half of the Coupe De France, which Olympique Lyonnais won 3-0. It’s a small consolation for Lyon, who won the Ligue 1 title but suffered a massive upset in the Champions League to Wolfsburg.

Most European leagues have wrapped up, but Sweden’s Damallsvenskan season stretches across the summer, so Christen Press of Tyresö FF was still in action, which means she had the opportunity to add to her already impressive goal tally.

Don’t worry. She did. Press scored three goals against 7th place Kristianstad, including a nifty volley. Press has been having one of the strongest seasons ever for a U.S. player overseas. (Granted, it’s not a high bar.) Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Horan had 17 goals in 20 games for PSG this season, while Press already has 12 goals in nine games. It was unfortunate that Press didn’t see any minutes against Canada. She has yet to play in a high profile game with real consequences. She’ll have more than enough time to gain experience and prove herself before the World Cup in 2015, but it might benefit her to get thrown into the fire sooner rather than later.

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