How other teams can, or can’t, win the NWSL trophy
With 21 wins, the Kansas City Current are the clear and heavy favorites to win the NWSL Championship. But seven other teams are still standing and looking to make their mark over the next three weekends. It will all culminate with the NWSL Championship on November 22 at PayPal Park in San Jose.
Dan Lauletta and Abigail Segel make cases for, and against, the other seven sides:
Washington Spirit: For the second year running, the Washington Spirit finished second in the NWSL regular season. They earned a whopping 56 points in 2024 and 44 in 2025. But both years, the only teams in front of them were enjoying historically unprecedented seasons, blowing past records as fast as they blew past opponents. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.
Why they can win it all: The Spirit can win the NWSL Championship because the standings are accurate, and they are solidly the second-best team in the league. They have a plethora of attacking threats—Trinity Rodman, Rosemond Kouassi, Sofia Cantore, and Gift Monday are all more than capable of stretching back lines and serving up impossible shots. In the midfield, Croix Bethune, Leicy Santos, Narumi Miura, and Hal Hershfelt consistently move the ball fast and send it into open spaces where more-than-speedy attackers can run onto them. They even have a perfect combination in Rodman and Santos: Rodman draws foul after foul, and Santos is the foremost set-piece specialist in the league. After falling to Orlando in the NWSL final last year, the Spirit will be hungry to complete their quest to the trophy, and they have the pieces and recent playoff experience to do it.
Why they can’t win it all: An onslaught of injuries have plagued the Spirit for two years. This was never more visible than on Decision Day, when only five players were on the bench, two of whom were keepers. Head coach Adrián González said many of the scratches were precautionary, but staying healthy has now been a problem for this team for too long to not be concerned. Even if their most important pieces come back healthy, their A-team won’t have played for 3 weeks when game time against Louisville in the quarterfinals comes around. Reestablishing chemistry and staying healthy will be the foremost concerns for this star-studded squad.
-Abigail Segel
Portland Thorns FC: The Thorns overcame the loss of Sophia Wilson to maternity leave and promising rookie Caiya Hanks to an early ACL tear, and snuck into the No. 3 spot with two straight wins to close the season. The three-time champs have now qualified for the playoffs in 11 of the 12 NWSL seasons.
Why they can win it all: Does any team have as many players performing better now than they were early in the season than the Thorns? Jessie Fleming was a disappointment for much of her tenure in Portland but has played quite well since the summer break and finished up the regular season with a goal and an assist against the Dash. Olivia Moultrie, now a grizzled veteran of 20 years old, has slowly but surely improved her game and taken on a leadership role in the aftermath of Christine Sinclair’s retirement. In goal, Mackenzie Arnold has taken the reins and held the fort, turning herself from a liability at this time last year to a keeper riding a two-game shutout streak into the playoffs.
Why they can’t win it all: The road is quite difficult and the Thorns just don’t have enough reliable scoring to get through three matches. The Wave, this weekend’s opponent, have returned to their high-scoring ways and with the emergence of Dudinha, have a variety of ways to attack. If the Thorns get by the Wave as they did on their way to the 2022 NWSL Championship, they may still have to get through the Spirit away and the Current. As for this weekend, when the home-field advantage talk heats up, note that the Thorns are just 3-4 all-time in playoff games at Providence Park.
-Dan Lauletta
Orlando Pride: It was no surprise the Pride did not replicate their remarkable championship season of a year ago. What was a surprise, even with the injury to Banda, is that they played to a sub-.500 record since May 1. That includes three wins and a draw over their last four, meaning that between May 3 and September 19, the Pride went 3-7-4. But they seem to have turned a corner after looking like missing the playoffs was a real possibility, and they even rallied well enough to give their fans a home quarterfinal.
Why they can win it all: Their championship pedigree has shown up in recent weeks. Marta has looked better, and although the goal ultimately didn’t count, she had one of her best moments of the season last weekend against the Reign. Carson Pickett is playing her best soccer since being named to consecutive Best XIs with the Courage in 2021 and 2022. Jacqueline Ovalle has looked sharp and could be poised for a playoff breakout. And most importantly, the Pride still just play solid soccer more often than not.
Why they can’t win it all: Head Coach Seb Hines deserves mounds of credit for getting the ship steadied, but it cannot be overlooked how many Pride players are having seasons that do not measure up to 2024. That includes Marta, goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse, and Defender of the Year Emily Sams. The Banda injury not only robbed the Pride of their go-to scorer but has also forced Hines to change the way the team plays with more of an attacking focus on the wings. No one will want to see the Pride in the bracket, but it seems a stretch to think they can survive three weeks, continue their unbeaten run to seven, and repeat as NWSL champs.
-DL
Seattle Reign FC: Head Coach Laura Harvey has said the Reign will never rebuild on her watch. That remains true, but Harvey did retool and did so with a bevy of young players who have injected new life and energy into a side that missed the playoffs last year. They have rarely been dynamic, but if you take out a weird, two-game stretch in August during which they conceded 7 times, the Reign only let in 22 goals in their other 24 matches.
Why they can win it all: Harvey has proven adept at tweaking the tactics — whether on her own or with some help from ChatGPT — to fit the opponent. It always begins with a sound defensive plan. Teenage center back Jordyn Bugg is getting a second wind after appearing to hit the rookie wall, and Claudia Dickey has played as well as any goalkeeper in the league this season. It won’t be easy, but keep in mind they are one of only three teams to beat the Current this season. They’ll have to grind it out, but there seems no reason they can’t do it — double down on that if Jess Fishlock can find a big goal in a substitute role.
Why they can’t win it all: For as wonderful as the turnaround the youth movement have been, the attack did not hit the mark this season, neither literally nor figuratively. Jordyn Huitema has yet to prove she can score consistently in the NWSL and the much-ballyhooed addition of Mia Fishel has been slow to get on track. Lynn Biyendolo underperformed, dealt with injuries, and is now pregnant. Teams who over rely on midfielders and bench players to score rarely get to the top of the mountain.
-DL
San Diego Wave FC: After a 2024 season when pretty much everything went wrong, the Wave brought in a new coach and flipped the script. Jonas Eidevall has unlocked Delphine Cascarino and turned her into an MVP candidate. After a summer plunge during which it seemed like the league had solved the Wave, they finished up playing strong again and are about as good a 6-seed as you will find.
Why they can win it all: They can win because not only can Cascarino dictate a game from the flank, but also because summer transfer acquisition Dudinha has found her scoring boots. The Wave now have several different ways to attack; honing in on Cascarino is no longer a fool-proof defensive tactic. Their back line is also underrated and backstopped by Kailen Sheridan, who has largely been forgotten as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. From back to front, the Wave are versatile, dangerous, and more than capable of pulling off an upset this weekend in Portland and striking fear into any future opponents.
Why they can’t win it all: Like the Reign, there is not enough scoring from the strikers. And unlike the Reign, their often-solid defense is prone to fatal blunders. That may be enough to overcome for one match, but over three? The Wave played a strong season in San Diego and they have lots to build on going forward, but without plugging these leaks, a championship may have to wait.
-DL
Racing Louisville FC: One of the wilder seasons on record culminated with a must-win against Bay FC last weekend. Racing gutted that one out 1-0 and secured the club’s first playoff berth. The team overcame the loss of its starting goalkeeper, major injuries on the backline, a frightening, on-field incident involving Savannah DeMelo, and personal struggles for head coach Bev Yanez. Yet they managed to figure it out enough to get into the playoffs and now no one can never say that Racing have never been in the dance.
Why they can win it all: Now that they’re in, no one expects much more from Racing. Mentality can be overstated in sports, but this is one team that can truly play fast and loose knowing the season in general has been a success. Soccer wise, Emma Sears is on the brink of stardom, and her hat trick for the United States last month can only instill her with confidence. If Sears can find a goal against a Spirit side that is very good but a bit scattered in terms of lineup, it could be off and running for the longest shot in the playoff field.
Why they can’t win it all: Simply put, they are not deep enough and not good enough to beat three teams that finished above them in the standings. At one point in the late summer, this team surrendered result-changing goals in the 90th minute or later five times in six matches. Was that a problem of depth? Mentality? Bad luck? Racing went 2-7-3 against the six teams that finished ahead of them on the table, and 7-2-4 against the seven below them. That’s not a recipe for a playoff run.
-DL
NJ/NY Gotham FC: Gotham never seemed to click on all cylinders this season, but they never really faded away either. Rose Lavelle’s free kick to draw Racing Louisville a few weeks ago secured the team a playoff spot and made for a stress-free finale, but they have not won a game since September and find themselves buried in 8th.
Why they can win it all: There is so much championship pedigree on this team, and for the few games when things really clicked for Jaedyn Shaw, Gotham looked like world beaters. If Esther is healthy enough to play, she and Shaw will open up space for each other and also for Midge Purce. And of course, there’s Lavelle, whose game gets better as the players around her get better. It was an entirely different roster two years ago, but head coach Juan Carlos Amoros managed his pieces brilliantly and there is no reason to think they can’t do it again. If they can get by the Current on Sunday, the league will be on notice.
Why they can’t win it all: History will show that Gotham gave up fewer goals than games played in 2025. That will be deceiving. The team’s defense has been a sieve over the last three matches, with seven getting by keepers Ann-Katrin Berger and Shelby Hogan. The flanks have been particularly vulnerable, and there are too many contenders who get their joy attacking wide. No team has ever won the NWSL Championship entering the playoffs without a win in its last four regular season matches.
-DL
