By Alexis Monteith/Contributor

Five Reggae Girlz across Japan, England, the United States, and Mexico registered a combined six goals and an assist for their respective clubs during the weekend of Saturday, August 31 to Sunday, September 1.

As the summer draws to a close, women’s club football in many regions of the world is set to ramp up, and Jamaicans can look forward to following their favourite players and tracking their performances.

In Japan, Jamaican midfielder Vyan Sampson scored on her debut for INAC Kobe Leonessa in a 2-0 win over Cerezo Osaka. The Reggae Girl transferred to her new club from another Japanese club, JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies, earlier in the summer.

Sampson came onto the field of play in the second half of the match and scored the second goal of the game to seal the win.

In comments published on the INAC Kobe Leonessa website, Sampson shared her thoughts about her goal.

“I’m always aiming for a goal from a set piece using my height,” said the 28-year-old midfielder. “What I always keep in mind is to run powerfully towards the ball. I knew a good ball would come from the kicker, and I’m glad I was able to score a goal today.”

Speaking on her position in the game, Sampson explained: “I didn’t have many opportunities to play in the midfield during the preseason, but I have played both as a centre-back and a defensive midfielder throughout my career, and of course, I can play both positions at INAC Kobe as well. It’s not a problem at all.”

The game was the season opener for her club.

Action in the UK

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the English Women’s National League North recently got underway as well with Nottingham Forest Women playing their third match of the season on Sunday  beating Wolverhampton Wanderers Women (Wolves Women) in a lopsided 6-1 affair.

It was 33-year-old Jamaican, Melissa Johnson, who stole the show with a hat-trick, scoring two goals in the first half and one in the second.

She scored Forest’s second and third within two minutes of each other in the 34th and 36th minutes and then made it 5-0 in the 52nd minute, four minutes before Wolves Women got their consolation goal.

Johnson joined Forest after departing Charlton Athletic Women in the summer. It was a downward move from the Women’s Championship in the second tier to the Women’s National League which represents the third tier of English women’s football. 

But this move was driven by Forest’s determination to secure promotion to the Championship this season, with Johnson signed to leverage her experience from that league. The Jamaican forward was joint winner of the 2022/23 Golden Boot for her 12 goals for Charlton Athletic in the Championship–an accomplishment that will be highly valued at her new club.

Upon signing to Forest, the club’s head coach said she believed Johnson “will be a massive part in ensuring we achieve our goal of promotion this season.”

Elsewhere in England on Sunday, Reggae Girl Lexi Lloyd-Smith capitalised on a rebound off the crossbar, firing the ball into the net to open the scoring in Bristol City Women’s 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace Women in a pre-season friendly. Bristol City were relegated from the top-tier Women’s Super League (WSL) to the Championship at the end of last season, while Palace achieved promotion and will compete in the WSL this season.

The 21-year-old Lloyd-Smith joined Bristol City over the summer after spending the past two seasons at Southampton—the team Bristol City will face in their season opener this week.

Van Zanten continues streak

In the United States, Florida State University’s women’s soccer season began in mid-August, and on Sunday, they played their fifth game of the season, defeating Villanova University 2-0.

Jamaica’s Mimi Van Zanten opened the scoring in the first half taking her tally of goals to three in five games since the start of the season.

Following the game against Villanova, the 19-year-old Reggae Girl commented on her latest goal. The ball, delivered from a corner kick, landed at the feet of Sophia Nguyen, who couldn’t quite finish it.

“I believe [Sophia] got the first rebound and then again the second rebound, and then I came in and just popped it over the defenders for a little goal,” she said with a smile.

‘Den Den’ again

The day before Van Zanten and the three other Jamaicans scored their goals, Deneisha ‘Den Den’ Blackwood provided an assist for Pumas Femenil in a fiercely contested 2-2 draw with América Femenil. Her involvement in the lead-up to Stephanie Ribeiro’s goal was one of the most exciting and controversial moments of the Liga MX Femenil matches in Mexico that weekend.

Picking up the ball just outside the centre circle in her own half, Blackwood immediately nutmegged her closest opponent and surged forward into América’s half. Near the midway point of the opposition’s half, her path was blocked by a defender, prompting the Reggae Girl to quickly pivot left, take a stride, and deliver a precise cross-field ball to Stephanie Ribeiro.

Ribeiro collected the ball as she entered the box, turned to her right, and ran across the face of the goal, beating two defenders and firing the ball into the net.

The action sparked controversy as Ribeiro appeared to be offside, but the referee allowed the goal to stand. Since the match, Pumas Femenil have been sharing social media videos of Blackwood’s thrilling play, while América fans have voiced their frustrations about the absence of VAR in the league.

The goal showcased the skills that have made Blackwood one of Liga MX Femenil’s most exciting players to watch, including her dribbling, speed, ball-carrying ability, and dangerous crosses.

With the WSL and the English Women’s Championship seasons kicking off in September, fans can look forward to more decisive performances from individual Reggae Girlz abroad as they aim to continue advancing their club careers in the months ahead.