Four teams. Two playoff spots. One game each. The last week of the 2022 NWSL regular season is coming down to the wire, with the final games taking place Friday through Sunday.

The Houston Dash, North Carolina Courage, Chicago Red Stars and Angel City FC are all within four points of each other and have 90 minutes to keep their postseason hopes alive.

Below, we break down what all four clubs need out of the weekend’s matches to join the Portland Thorns, OL Reign, Kansas City Current and San Diego Wave in the playoffs beginning Oct. 15. Wins are three points, draws are one, and in the case of a tie, the league will turn to goal differential to determine who gets the final spots.

Houston Dash — 33 points, 9-6-6, 7 +/-

To clinch playoff spot: Win/draw; or North Carolina loss; or Chicago loss/draw

Next match: at Washington Spirit (11th place, 3-8-10)

The Dash have the most straightforward path to earning their first playoff berth in franchise history. It’s worth remembering that Houston tied Washington 2-2 in their previous meeting this season, and the Spirit are always capable of matching the intensity of their opponents. But Washington is also in the mist of a two-game losing streak, while the Dash are 1-1-1 in September and know they could clinch a berth and $1,250 in playoff competition bonuses for each player with a win or a draw on Saturday. Houston is carrying momentum and confidence into the final stretch.

North Carolina Courage — 31 points, 9-8-4, 13 +/-

To clinch playoff spot: Win; or Chicago and Angel City draw

Next match: at San Diego Wave FC

It’s easy to count the Courage out because they spent so much of the regular season at the bottom of the standings after winning the Challenge Cup in May. To see the current version of this North Carolina team in the playoffs, however, wouldn’t be surprising. Five of the Courage’s nine wins this season have come in September, and they’re now tied with the first-place Portland Thorns with 46 goals scored.

The Wave, who defeated the Courage 1-0 in their previous meeting, won’t make it easy for them to achieve what seemed so unlikely two months ago. Despite already clinching a playoff spot, No. 4 San Diego is coming into this match just as hungry because a top-two ranking would earn them a bye to the semifinals.

Chicago Red Stars — 30 points, 8-7-6, 4 +/-

To clinch playoff spot:Win AND a North Carolina loss or draw

Next match: vs. Angel City FC

The Red Stars have been in the top six of the standings for so much of the season that it feels like a playoff spot should be theirs. But right now, their chances appear slim. They’ll have a hard time catching up with No. 5 Houston (33 points), because even if the Reds Stars win and the Dash lose, Chicago would have to open the floodgates to exceed Houston’s goal differential of seven in the case of a tiebreaker. The sixth playoff spot is more within reach, but they’ll have to surpass the Courage (31 points) to get there.

Angel City, the Red Stars’ opponent on Sunday, beat the defending NWSL finalists 1-0 in their last matchup. The biggest difference this time is that Chicago gets to host. Angel City has more wins than losses when playing in front of large crowds at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, but on the road they’ve lost four games and won just three. The Red Stars need to take advantage of that discrepancy.

Angel City FC — 29 points, 8-8-5, -2 +/-

To clinch playoff spot: Win AND a North Carolina loss

Next match: at Chicago Red Stars

Angel City making the postseason in their first year as an expansion club would be exciting. Though seventh in the standings for most of the season, they’ve proven it’s not just a pipe dream after defeating or tying every team above them in the standings at least once, except for OL Reign.

The challenge right now is getting over their discouraging performance against Racing Louisville FC on Sunday. Angel City fell 3-1, handing the 10th-ranked team their second win in 16 games. If North Carolina loses to San Diego, the final playoff spot comes down to Angel City’s match against Chicago. Neither side can afford even a draw. It’s going to be a battlefield.

Prediction

Last two in: Houston Dash and Chicago Red Stars

The Dash will claim the fifth playoff spot with a draw against the Spirit, the team with the most ties this season (10). Chicago will rise to sixth with a win over Angel City after North Carolina’s lethal attack fails to break down San Diego’s strong defense.

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

More NWSL stars are jumping ship, as both the San Diego Wave and North Carolina Courage saw respective key players Delphine Cascarino and Denise O'Sullivan sign with WSL clubs over the last few days.

Former Wave forward Cascarino inked a deal through the 2029/30 season with the London City Lionesses on Monday, one day after San Diego announced they had mutually parted ways with the French international despite her contract running through 2026 with an option for the 2027 NWSL season.

"I'm really happy to be here," said the 28-year-old in a statement. "London City is the only independent women's club in the WSL, which excites me."

North Carolina midfielder and captain O'Sullivan made a similar move on Saturday, as the Ireland international signed with Liverpool following more than eight seasons and a club-record 186 appearances for the Courage.

The last-place WSL team reportedly shelled out a club-record transfer fee of approximately £300,000 to roster the 31-year-old two-time NWSL champion and three-time Shield-winner, who called Liverpool "a new challenge" that will see her "only a 40-minute flight away" from her family in Cork, Ireland.

Though the NWSL departures of Cascarino and O'Sullivan mark a kind of homecoming for the European standouts, they are just the latest to exit the US league, after USWNT star Sam Coffey joined WSL-leaders Manchester City last week.

"England — for men and women — is the country of football," noted Cascarino. "It's always been a goal of mine to play in this league."

New York Sirens forward Taylor Girard made PWHL history this week, earning a record four-game suspension for leaving the bench to join a line skirmish at the end of Sunday's 2-1 win over the Montréal Victoire.

The brawl occurred at the the final buzzer of the PWHL's record-breaking Takeover Tour stop in Washington, DC, with eight players — four Sirens and four from the Victoire — subsequently issued 10-minute misconducts in addition to Girard's infraction.

As the sole player not originally on the ice to join the skirmish, Girard was the only player to receive an additional 20-minute charge.

Even more, Girard's actions immediately triggered a four-game suspension, as the PWHL Rulebook dictates that exact punishment for "the first player to leave the players' bench illegally during an altercation or for the purpose of starting an altercation from either or both Teams."

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The four-game ban marks the longest punishment in PWHL history, doubling the two-game suspension that Seattle Torrent defender Aneta Tejralová received for an illegal check to the head last month.

With the PWHL on break after January 28th as 30% of the league's rosters compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, the four-game suspension means that Girard — who sits second on New York's scoring sheet with five goals on the season — will not be available for the No. 2 Sirens until March 5th.

The WTGL is stocking up on golf stars, as TMRW Sports' newly announced offseason league begins to build its debut roster in partnership with the LPGA.

World No. 1 golfer Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand) signed on to participate in WTGL's inaugural season this week, alongside No. 5 Charley Hull (England), No. 6 Lydia Ko (New Zealand), No. 25 Brooke Henderson (Canada), and No. 79 Lexi Thompson (USA).

"WTGL will be a global stage to showcase LPGA stars, and this first wave of committed players represents that opportunity with some of the world's best," said TMRW Sports founder and CEO Mike McCarley in Monday's press release.

Set to launch next winter, the WTGL looks to build off the popular, second-year men's Tomorrow's Golf League (TGL), with the competition integrating both a physical and virtual golf environment inside Palm Beach Gardens at Florida's SoFi Center.

"These players will thrive in WTGL's competitive environment as fans will witness their skill and connect more deeply with their personalities through the unprecedented access the league delivers," said McCarley, noting that TGL golfers remain mic'd up throughout the team event.

The WTGL is also earning stamps of approval from several women's sports greats, as the Alex Morgan co-founded Trybe Ventures — an investment group that includes Morgan's fellow former USWNT stars Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach — became the new league's lead capital partner last week.

The WSL is cashing in on the women's game, with two UK clubs surpassing €25 million in annual revenue for the first time, according to the Deloitte Football Money League report on the 2024/25 season that dropped this week.

Reigning UWCL champions Arsenal topped the list for the first time after taking in €25.6 million last season, followed closely by WSL title-holders Chelsea FC's €25.4 million.

Meanwhile, Perennial European contender FC Barcelona (€22 million) dropped to third after leading the group in 2023/24, outpacing WSL titans No. 4 Manchester City (€12.9 million) and No. 5 Manchester United (€12.8 million).

Due to a lack of revenue data, the yearly study did not include major women's leagues in the US, Sweden, or Australia, giving the rankings a European bent as the total sum crossed the €150 million mark for the first time — a 35% increase over the previous season's Top-15 Money League clubs.

Commercial income was the biggest revenue driver for many top clubs, with sponsorship deals and brand partnerships leading the charge.

Arsenal also benefitted from increased revenue on the men's side, allowing the women's team to up its investment while avoiding running at a loss.

How to watch the top Deloitte Football Money League clubs in action

Deloitte Football Money League leader Arsenal will take on No. 5 Man United while revenue runners-up Chelsea will face the WSL-leading Man City in the 2025/26 Women's League Cup semifinals on Wednesday.

The concurrent clashes will kick off at 2 PM ET, streaming live on YouTube.