And then there were four – Equalizer Soccer

Nov 9, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Thorns FC forward Deyna Castellanos (10) celebrates with defender Daiane Limeira Santos Silva (34) after a game against San Diego Wave FC at Providence Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

A wild quarterfinal weekend saw three of the four matches extended to extra time, with one of those decided on penalty kicks. When the dust settled, the Shield winners were eliminated, and the question of re-seeding for the semifinals is as prominent as ever. As an aside, the last four NWSL Championship winners are this years semifinalists

Here’s how the clubs shape up after quarterfinal weekend:

Semifinalists:

Washington Spirit (vs. Racing Louisville, 1-1 aet, {3-1 penalties}):  Did the Spirit win on penalty kicks or penalty saves? In a world where keepers stopping penalties often gets overstated, Aubrey Kingsbury has now saved five of the seven spot kicks sent her way across two matches in the last two playoff seasons. One of the other two missed high. With the Current out of the way, the Spirit are the highest seed left, but Trinity Rodman never got off the bench, and both Gabrielle Carle and Tara McKeown left the Louisville match injured. If they are absent or limited this weekend, will that finally be too much for this team to overcome?

Portland Thorns FC (vs. San Diego Wave, 1-0, aet): The Thorns are suddenly a defensive juggernaut with three consecutive shutouts including 30 extra minutes against the Wave. Leading the charge is Mackenzie Arnold who has improved her game tenfold since her 2024 arrival in America and is now a viable keeper on a team that can win it all. But the star of the show is Olivia Moultrie. The 20-year-old just keeps getting better, and more marking aside, her cross to Reilyn Turner for the winner on Sunday was gold. A road match starting at 9 a.m. Portland time won’t be easy, but you can make a strong case that the Thorns are the new title favorites.

Orlando Pride (vs. Seattle Reign, 2-0): All you need to know about this game is how it ended. Defending with a 1-0 lead against a determined Reign side, Marta won a ball and made a run that may or may not have exceeded 100 yards, cut into the box, and won a penalty. That she handed the ball to countrywoman Luana for the conversion was just icing on the cake. The Pride were a downright poor team for a little while this season, but they are anything but poor right now. And they won’t be disappointed that Gotham pushed Kansas City out of the way.

NJ/NY Gotham FC (at Kansas City Current, 2-1, aet): Did that win in Kansas City ring bells from 2023 or what? That team was not great down the stretch, took the final playoff spot, and pulled off the upset on the road. For all the roster turnover over the last two years, Katie Stengel hit the winner deep in extra time, just like she did in Portland a few years ago. The dream nearly died when Stengel got beat defensively and Ann-Katrin Berger learned the wrong way on a late equalizer in normal time. But Berger made quality saves throughout the match and then took a free kick near midfield, which went off a few other heads before Stengel slotted it home. When Gotham beat the Thorns in the 2023 semifinal, they were defending champions. Next up? The defending champion Pride.

Tales of woe

Kansas City Current (vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, 1-2 ,aet): And what a tale of woe this one is. Since the summer, it has been known the Current would be under immense pressure to finish the job once they got into the playoffs. Who could have known they would have to do it without Temwa Chawinga or Michelle Cooper, and with Bia Zaneartto operating at, according to her coach, about 50 percent. Their absences were noticeable, and the team was a bit off in general. And while it is still fresh, it is difficult to find a singular result across the history of NWSL that stings this bad. Losses by the 2014 Reign in the final and 2016 Thorns in the semifinals come to mind. That won’t be of any solace to Current players, who a week ago were considered perhaps the best single team ever.

Seattle Reign FC (at Orlando Pride, 0-2): The Reign season is over but the arrow is pointing up. Young players like Jordyn Bugg, Maddie Dahlien, and Samantha Meza could form the backbone of the club for years to come. What needs to change though, is the group looked upon to score the goals. Jordyn Huitema had another quiet night and was off before the final 15. Lynn Biyendolo struggled this season, went on maternity leave, and was last seen at a Current game supporting Kristen Hamilton. Early returns on Mia Fishel have not been good. If they Reign can upgrade the striker corps, they should be legitimate contenders.

San Diego Wave FC (at Portland Thorns, 0-1, aet): Like the Reign, the Wave have much to be pleased about this season. Unlike the Reign, they appear to have a fair gripe coming out of their quarterfinal match, as it seemed Reyna Reyes should have been whistled for a handball in the box in the dying minutes of normal time. The Wave could used a bit more consistency across all three lines this season. The attack had weeks of brilliance and weeks of hiding. The back line was usually good, but too often fell victim to one fatal mistake (see the lack of marking on Reilyn Turner’s goal that put them out of the playoffs).

Racing Louisville FC (at Washington Spirit, 1-1, aet {1-3 penalties}): Racing can now boast about being undefeated in the playoffs. Because matches that go to penalties are recorded in the books as a draw. It was a typical Racing performance — scrappy, measured, and a bit wasteful. Kayla Fischer’s equalizer at the death could have gone down in club lore if not for the PKs going the other way. Louisville have a lot to be proud of this season. To wind up in penalties against the 2-seed after all that was thrown at them this year is something likely to grow in stature with a little hindsight. The roster really needs some depth though.

The case for reseeding

To reseed or not to reseed — that is the question. This question was widely asked a year ago and then quickly forgotten when the home teams won all four quarterfinals. This year we have a massive upset. The short-term fallout from that upset includes the Thorns hitting the road for their semifinal while the Pride, seeded below them, get to host.

For some context, Major League Soccer does not reseed its playoffs. Neither do the NBA or MLB. The NHL and NFL do, meaning the lowest remaining seed always plays the highest remaining seed.

The case for reseeding usually comes down to fairness and excitement. Is it actually fair for the Thorns to travel while the Pride host? That all depends on how you define fairness within a playoff format. Considering how much lip service and Internet bandwidth are devoted to seedings, it feels like the majority of fans would fall in line with reseeding after the quarterfinals. If that happened, the Pride would be in Portland this weekend and Gotham at Washington. Seems fair and logical.

Furthermore, what are the reasons not to reseed? Allowing fans to fill out brackets and maybe enter contests? Perhaps, but does that come at the expense of competitive integrity? Scheduling could be a factor, but considering that without reseeding, the Pride will have two more days rest than Gotham this weekend, that would be a soft argument.

Luck of the draw? Understandable. But should that apply to a single playoff season? It is a term most familiar to tennis fans. In tennis though, one’s ranking and/or seed is determined over a full year and is used to slot a player into the “draw,” week after week after week. That’s where the luck comes in, but over time it figures to even out. It won’t even out for teams in NWSL.