In three short weeks, the 2022 NWSL regular season will be over.

Every team has played at least 17 of their 22 scheduled games. While two teams have already been eliminated from playoff contention, none have punched their tickets to the postseason, which begins with the quarterfinals on Oct. 15. The four teams remaining will meet in the semifinals on Oct. 22, a week before the championship game on Oct. 29 in Washington, D.C.

Six of the 10 teams still in contention will earn a spot in the playoffs, and the top two seeds will get a bye to the semis. Overall, the top and bottom six in the standings have remained consistent throughout the regular season. But the NWSL is notorious for chaos, so as always, anything can happen.

Here is where we think teams currently stand in the playoff race.

Bye clinchers

Portland Thorns FC

31 points, four games left (8-3-7)

The Thorns have been one of the NWSL’s most consistently dominant teams this year. A few uncharacteristic results at the end of August briefly knocked them off their rhythm. Now, they’re just one point behind the first-place Current in the race for the 2022 NWSL Shield. Boasting the best goal differential in the NWSL at +19 and the fewest losses, Portland’s strength and depth in all areas of the park could launch them back to the top by the end of September.

Kansas City Current

32 points, four games left (9-4-5)

The playoffs are inevitable for Kansas City, currently on a 13-game unbeaten streak and in first place on the NWSL table. Three of the Current’s four remaining opponents — the Chicago Red Stars, Washington Spirit and Racing Louisville — are in the bottom half of the league, putting Kansas City in a good position to close out the regular season on a strong note and win the Shield. They’ll need to win it outright since the Thorns and Wave, each just one point off the lead, have the tiebreaker advantage in goal differential — Portland’s +19 and San Diego’s +10 to Kansas City’s +2.

Locks

San Diego Wave FC

31 points, three games left (9-6-4)

Outside of a couple of weeks in the summer, the Wave have hung around the top of the standings for the entire season and are likely to be a top-three team by the end. Their fortress of a backline has helped goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan allow a league-low 15 goals this season. First-year head coach Casey Stoney has fostered an environment in which players aren’t faulted for making mistakes and can take risks to fulfill their potential. That includes star striker Alex Morgan, who leads the league with 15 goals in just 16 games.

OL Reign

28 points, four games left (7-4-7)

OL Reign have been holding onto a playoff spot for most of the season — while not a top-three team, they haven’t dropped below sixth. Their creative attack and roster depth make it hard to believe they’d fall outside of playoff contention at this point in the year. Their defense has posted six shutouts and allowed a league-low 18 goals. With 2021 Coach of the Year Laura Harvey in charge, the Reign will find a way.

Houston Dash

30 points, three games left (8-5-6)

The Dash are comfortably in fourth place with 30 points and should feel confident going into their final three matches of the regular season. In their previous meetings against their remaining opponents, the Dash defeated the Red Stars and OL Reign and tied the Spirit. Houston has been a goal-scoring machine all season, with 32 total, and continuously plays with the grit of a playoff-caliber team.

QUE GOALZO, @Maria17_7!!!!!#DejaloTodo pic.twitter.com/v3B1hwBZms

— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) September 11, 2022

Sixth-spot contenders

Chicago Red Stars

27 points, four games left (7-5-6)

In the top half of the standings for most of the season, the Red Stars, on paper, are the most likely of the middle-of-the-pack teams to clinch a playoff spot. Angel City, with one fewer game played, is just one point behind Chicago and will be hungry to make the playoffs in the club’s first NWSL season. Turning the page on a shaky summer, the Red Stars have a tough four-game slate ahead of them, all against teams they didn’t beat in previous meetings.

Angel City FC

26 points, five games left (7-5-5)

No. 7 Angel City serves as a good example of just how tight this year’s playoff race is — the expansion club has two fewer wins and one more loss than the top-ranked Current. ACFC has had a tough time breaking out of the bottom six this year, but currently riding a five-game undefeated streak, they have momentum on their side as they try to finish the job.

North Carolina Courage

22 points, five games left (6-7-4)

With their transitional play and goal-scoring prowess, the Courage have the ability to shock everyone in the final weeks of the regular season. Their inconsistency on the scoresheet, however, makes it nearly impossible to predict which team will show up. The 2022 Challenge Cup champions either dominate games or they don’t. In a best-case scenario, their recent 5-1 win over Racing Louisville kickstarts a run to the postseason, for which they’ll need at least two more wins to be considered a serious contender.

The captain is happy the team put together a complete game just in time for the playoff push.@abbyerceg | #CourageUnitesUs pic.twitter.com/LVYyhPvIgy

— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) September 11, 2022

Out

Orlando Pride

21 points, four games left (5-7-6)

The Pride’s odds of making the postseason are becoming slimmer by the week. While a win over Louisville in their next match is highly possible, they have three challenging games from there against North Carolina, San Diego and OL Reign to close out regular season. To claim the No. 6 spot, Orlando needs at least two wins and a draw as well as other results to fall into place. That is easier said than done, since the Pride haven’t won more than two consecutive games this season.

Washington Spirit

16 points, four games left (2-6-10)

On the bright side, the Spirit just won their first match since May 1 in a thrilling overtime contest with San Diego. On the other side, the reigning NWSL champions hadn’t won since May 1, and now they need a miracle to continue playing into October. Outside of winning all four of their remaining games to finish the regular season with 28 points, they need a lot of help. The sixth-place Stars would have to lose their last four matches, and Angel City would only be allowed a tie in their final five games. North Carolina and Orlando would also have to falter in the last few weeks.

See you next year

Racing Louisville FC

14 points, four games left (2-8-8)

Racing Louisville is officially out of playoff contention. Even if they win their final four games, their 26 total points wouldn’t be enough to pass No. 6 Chicago (27 points) and No. 7 Angel City (26 points). For the second year in a row, the 2021 expansion team will finish near the bottom of the table.

NJ/NY Gotham FC

12 points, four games left (4-14-0)

With their 1-0 loss to the Current on Sunday, Gotham FC was officially eliminated from playoff contention, closing the chapter on a season that started with much promise and ended in a coaching change and disappointment. With 12 points and four games left, Gotham can only hope to end the regular season with 24 points before looking ahead to next year.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

After securing spots on the Best XI First Team on Monday, Kansas City's Temwa Chawinga, Washington's Croix Bethune, and Orlando's Emily Sams picked up even more 2024 NWSL awards this week.

On Friday, KC striker Chawinga added 2024 MVP to her stacked resume, one day after Bethune and Sams snagged their respective position awards.

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A striking first NWSL season for KC's Chawinga

It's almost impossible to believe that 2024 was Chawinga's first NWSL season, but the newly minted MVP only joined Kansas City in January.

The Malawi international blasted into the league's history books with 20 goals this year, ousting former NWSL star Sam Kerr from atop the single-season scoring record.

That effort earned the Current star the 2024 Golden Boot. She additionally notched league first along the way, becoming the only player to ever score against all teams in a single season.

Proving herself 2024's leader in capitalizing on opportunities, the 26-year-old took the second-most shots in the league but put the most on target. A menace in the box, her subsequent speed and agility helped Chawinga lead the NWSL with 18 of her 20 goals netted from inside the 18.

"We are so proud of Temwa for earning this award," said KC head coach Vlatko Andonovski on Friday. "Temwa has come so far this season in a short amount of time and is so important to our team, she is the clear MVP of both our team and the league."

Bethune's unmatched NWSL rookie debut

Speaking of history-making first-year NWSL players, Washington standout Bethune became a bonafide league star in her professional debut, one that earned her three end-of-season awards. Along with her Best XI First Team nod, Bethune became the 2024 Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, then capped her individual hardware haul by being named the NWSL's first-ever Midfielder of the Year on Thursday.

As the No. 3 overall pick in the last-ever NWSL Draft, the Georgia alum made her presence on the professional pitch immediately known, snagging Rookie of the Month honors for every month she was eligible. She also became the first rookie to ever notch three assists in a single match.

Bethune, who also won Olympic gold with the USWNT in August, notched five goals and an NWSL record-tying 10 assists in her 2024 campaign. Even more impressively, the Spirit star did so in just 17 games, missing the last nine matches after a late-August injury ended her season.

"I'm so grateful," Bethune told JWS at NWSL Championship Media Day in Kansas City after winning Midfielder of the Year. "Being out a lot of the season with injury [and] being able to achieve goals that I set for myself — thank you to the league and everyone who supports me."

Sams named top NWSL defender

After helping Orlando lead the NWSL with 13 shutouts, fewest goals conceded, and most consecutive minutes without giving up a goal, center back Sams was named 2024 Defender of the Year (DOTY) on Thursday, becoming the first Pride player to earn the honor.

Sams now joins an elite club of seven defenders to ever win the award, including four-time DOTY Becky Sauerbrunn and last year's back-to-back winner Naomi Girma.

Shield-winners Orlando led the NWSL this season, but Sams topped the Pride's backline, leading the club in clearances, blocks, and possessions in the defensive third. Plus, the 25-year-old notched the second-most recoveries on the NWSL's stat sheet with 163, and she'll look to continue shutting down opponents when Orlando faces Washington in Saturday's 2024 NWSL Championship.

Individual numbers aside, Sams was quick to share credit with her teammates on Thursday, saying, "this is literally impossible without all of you guys. Shout out to Anna, Kylie, Bells, Corey and everyone else who played on the backline this year — I can't do what I do without you guys. Lets go win the championship."

2024 NWSL end-of-season awards

• Golden Boot: Temwa Chawinga, KC Current
• MVP: Temwa Chawinga, KC Current
• Rookie of the Year: Croix Bethune, Washington Spirit
• Midfielder of the Year: Croix Bethune, Washington Spirit
• Defender of the Year: Emily Sams, Orlando Pride
• Goalkeeper of the Year: Ann-Katrin Berger, Gotham FC
• Coach of the Year: Seb Hines, Orlando Pride

The 2025 SheBelieves Cup field is officially set, as the world No. 1 USWNT's path to a sixth-straight victory in the annual tournament will feature matchups with 2024 Olympians No. 7 Japan, No. 15 Australia, and No. 21 Colombia.

After the Paris Olympic Games forced an abbreviated four-match, two-day format in 2024, this 10th edition will return to the tournament's original setup of three double-headers in February. Round-robin play will again determine the Cup champion via accumulated points, with goal differential serving as tiebreaker.

The 2025 tournament will kick off at Houston's Shell Energy Stadium on February 20th. The quartet will then battle at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on the 23rd before wrapping up the Cup at San Diego's Snapdragon Stadium on the 26th.

A history of USWNT SheBelieves dominance

While Australia and Colombia will make their SheBelieves Cup debuts, the 2025 competition will be Japan's third straight trip and fifth overall appearance in the US-hosted tournament.

Other than France's 2017 victory and England's 2019 title, the USWNT has won all other iterations for a total of seven trophies.

That streak, plus their astounding 71-2-15 combined all-time record against the three visitors — marred only by single 1-0 losses to Japan in 2012 and Australia in 2018 — make the US heavily favored to win an eighth SheBelieves Cup.

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World-class contenders square off for SheBelieves

That said, it won't be easy, as every 2025 contender poses a challenge. Each has already played the USA this year, starting when Colombia fell 3-0 to the States in their Concacaf W Gold Cup quarterfinal in March.

Las Cafeteras didn't have to face the eventual gold medalists during the 2024 Olympics, unlike Australia and Japan. The USWNT knocked the Matildas out of the Paris tournament with a 2-1 win in group play, then narrowly escaped a tough Nadeshiko side in a 1-0 overtime quarterfinal thriller.

All three visiting teams will be gunning for a redemption win over the US come February. That high-stakes competition is something US head coach Emma Hayes welcomes.

"This will be my first SheBelieves Cup, but I’ve followed the tournament, and it always produces close games between top teams," the US boss said in Wednesday’s announcement.

"All four of these teams were in the last World Cup and Olympics, and all are in the building process to qualify for the next World Cup, so to get three games against talented teams and players in a format that replicates group play at a world championship is valuable in our process. All the games will be great tests for the teams and fun for all the fans."

The full 2025 SheBelieves Cup schedule for the USWNT

• Thursday, February 20th (Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, Texas)
  • Japan vs. Australia, 5 PM ET
  • USWNT vs. Colombia, 8 PM ET
• Sunday, February 23rd (State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona)
  • Colombia vs. Japan, 2 PM ET
  • USWNT vs. Australia, 5 PM ET
• Wednesday, February 26th (Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, California)
  • Australia vs. Colombia, 7:30 PM ET
  • USWNT vs. Japan, 10:30 PM ET

How to watch the USWNT at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup

Tickets for all 2025 SheBelieves Cup dates and locations are currently available online.

For those unable to make the trip, all USWNT matches will air live on TBS, with the three non-US games will be available to stream on Max.

At least two of the nation's best NCAA basketball teams will see their undefeated 2024/25 campaigns end this weekend, when a pair of cutthroat college clashes tests the limits of four championship contenders.

First, No. 6 Notre Dame will visit No. 3 USC on Saturday, before No. 1 South Carolina takes on the Trojans’ crosstown rival No. 5 UCLA on Sunday.

Saturday's NCAA showdown features superstar sophomores

All eyes will be on preseason All-American sophomore guards JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo when the Irish contend with their season's first ranked opponent on Saturday.

Already a phenom, Watkins became the fastest Trojan to 1,000 career points last Friday — and she did it by a mile. The previous record-holder, legend Cheryl Miller, needed 48 games to hit the same mark.

As for Hidalgo, she's already hit the century mark across Notre Dame’s four matchups to average 25 points per game — the fifth-best offensive rate in the country.

The Irish's other secret weapon, guard Olivia Miles, is also back, returning from her February 2023 ACL tear with a vengeance in the Irish's season opener. Already averaging 18.3 points per game, Miles has also banked 27 assists over Notre Dame's four games — more than twice that of any of her teammates.

Between Hildago and Miles, plus ND's admittedly lopsided matchups so far, the South Bend squad has blasted their opponents by a 42.5-point average scoring margin this season.

It's a similar story for USC, who have been on a tear since their narrow 68-66 season-opening win over then-No. 20 Ole Miss. The Trojans thrashed their next three opponents by outscoring them by a gobsmacking average of 57 points.

The Trojans will need all that offense, plus the stylings of Watkins and All-American forward Kiki Iriafen, to handle the Irish on Saturday. Notre Dame holds the 8-2 all-time series advantage between the two teams, though they haven't squared off since 2011. Should USC emerge victorious, it will be their first win over the Irish since 2006.

Sunday puts powerhouses in the paint

The subsequent Sunday battle between UCLA and South Carolina — who set a program-record 43-game win streak on Wednesday — will likely be decided in the paint, where both team's superstars thrive.

The Gamecocks' depth keeps their stat sheet fairly balanced, making junior forward Chloe Kitts’s team-leading rates in scoring and rebounding that much more impressive.

That said, her UCLA counterpart, junior center Lauren Betts, has been dominant. By averaging a double-double across the Bruins' four tilts with 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, Betts is already sparking National Player of the Year commentary.

Both squads began their 2024/25 campaigns with tight wins, but while UCLA's came over then-No. 17 Louisville, South Carolina was nearly shocked by unranked Michigan. On the other hand, the Gamecocks are the only team to have handled a Top-10 opponent so far this season, confidently downing then-No. 9 NC State just six days after their near-disaster with the Wolverines.

Sunday's showdown kicks off a gauntlet of four ranked matchups in five games for South Carolina. Even though UCLA haven't defeated the Gamecocks this century, the Bruins are the biggest challenge to the reigning champions' undefeated streak on their 2024 docket.

Depending on which version of South Carolina shows up, a combination of the bigs and each team's overall consistency will likely determine Sunday's victor.

How to watch this weekend's Top-6 NCAA basketball games

Notre Dame and USC will tip off the weekend's matchups at 4 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on NBC.

On Sunday, FS1 will broadcast South Carolina vs. UCLA at 4 PM ET on Sunday.

On today's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins joins the chat from Kansas City, where Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit will kick off the 2024 NWSL Championship on Saturday.

Watkins breaks down the full Championship matchup, from each team's path to the Final to the tactics to expect on Saturday's pitch and everything in between. She also dishes on key players to watch — including Pride star Barbra Banda and Spirit attacker Trinity Rodman — and some of the recent injuries keeping star athletes on the sidelines.

Later, Watkins congratulates UConn head coach Geno Auriemma on Wednesday's record-breaking 1,217th victory — one that made saw him pass retired Stanford boss Tara VanDerveer to become the winningest college basketball coach in NCAA history.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

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