If the North Carolina Courage are to win their fourth consecutive NWSL Shield, coach Paul Riley says they need to work on their midfield play.

On Sunday, the Courage lost to rivals Portland Thorns FC for the first time this season. The 1-0 defeat ended North Carolina’s five-game shutout streak and marked its third straight game without a goal.

Riley critiqued the Courage’s performance as soon as he got on the post-game media call.

“The 10s is where we’re really struggling,” he said. “We’re getting no production out of our [attacking midfield] at the moment. Not only from a goal perspective or assist perspective, but just passing a final ball, creative perspective.”

The missing piece is United States national team player Sam Mewis, who is on the injury list for another four to six weeks as she recovers from knee surgery.

Mewis started in the Courage’s 2-0 win over the Thorns earlier this season, while Portland played without Mewis’ U.S. teammate, Lindsey Horan. It was vice versa on Sunday. The rest of North Carolina’s lineup remained the same.

“I think it just shows what a big difference Horan can make and how not having Sam plays into it,” Riley said.

Starting in the Courage midfield on Sunday were Cari Roccaro, Debinha, Havana Solaun, Denise O’Sullivan and Jessica McDonald, playing two wide, two defensive and one attacking, respectively.

Match Stats presented by @iqoniq!#NCvPOR | #NoFinishLine pic.twitter.com/XLezhAUm19

— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) September 12, 2021

While the Courage are still adjusting to Mewis’ absence in the midfield, they’ve improved in other areas of the field.

“I think we’ve been defending really well, and that’s not just the defenders — that’s the team in general,” said left fullback Carson Pickett. “I think it starts from the front, and being able to defend as a team is really important.”

The game against the Thorns, who lead the league in shots and goals, was a test for the Courage with just six games to go in the regular season.

“It totally felt like a playoff game,” Roccaro said. “I was like, ‘It feels like a final,’ because the weather — I just think of the final here two years ago — playing against such a big opponent, top of the table. Portland’s our rival. It just felt very much like a playoff game, which is good. I think it’s good practice.”

📼 Rivalry Re-Run 📼#NCvPOR | @Nationwide pic.twitter.com/EQmGSmUdkG

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 12, 2021

If there are two teams in the NWSL used to playing big matches against each other, it’s the Courage and Thorns, who faced off in the 2017 and 2018 finals. That script might repeat itself this season, with the Thorns running away with the top spot in the league and North Carolina fighting with OL Reign for No. 2.

“If you’re going to win this thing, you’ve got to go through Portland,” Riley said. “There’s no question they’re the best team in the league this year.”

The teams will meet one more time in the regular season, with the Courage traveling to Providence Park on Oct. 30 for the season finale.

“It’s going to be a huge battle,” Roccaro said. “I think we’ll be really up for it though, because [tonight’s] going to leave a sour taste in our mouths.”

With many players now heading home to compete with their national teams in friendlies and FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Courage will enjoy a two-week break from NWSL matches.

Riley said he’d “rather play tomorrow” than have an extended pause, but his players welcome the opportunity to recharge.

“Our trainings are just as hard as games, so it’s nice to have a couple days of break and everyone gets healthy and relaxed, and hopefully everyone comes back fresh for the last part of the season,” Pickett said.

The Courage next play Sept. 25 against eighth-place NJ/NY Gotham FC, who have allowed nine of their 15 goals against this season in the last seven games. The matchup provides the Courage with an opportunity to work on the offense they weren’t able to execute against Portland.

The 2025 WNBA season is finally here, with Friday's official tip-off leading an opening weekend full of tough competition and simmering storylines.

The reigning champion New York Liberty enter as odds-on favorites, but results are nearly impossible to predict after a very active offseason across the league.

This weekend's slate features new builds, regional rivalries, and plenty of fresh faces as top 2025 draft picks log their first pro minutes.

• Minnesota Lynx vs. Dallas Wings, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): This year's No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers makes her official WNBA debut as revamped Dallas tests itself against a Minnesota team still stinging over last year's title loss.

• Los Angeles Sparks vs. Golden State Valkyries, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): The Valkyries play their first-ever regular-season game, looking to form an identity against downstate rivals LA, led by new Sparks addition Kelsey Plum.

• Las Vegas Aces vs. New York Liberty, Saturday at 1 PM ET (ABC): The 2023 champs meet the 2024 title-winners in a heavyweight clash that sees 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson take on a confident New York team led by guard Sabrina Ionescu.

• Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever, Saturday at 3 PM ET (ABC): Last year's rookie headliners Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese meet again in Indiana, with the regional rivals relying on both incoming vets and young cores to write their next chapters.

Packed with great matchups, this weekend is the ideal tip-off for a 2025 season that promises to be a wild ride — no matter which WNBA team you follow.

The NWSL is back in action this weekend with a top-table match, a bicoastal battle, and some middle-of-the-pack clashes as the 2025 season enters its ninth matchday.

Parity is riding high these days, with just three points dividing the No. 1 Kansas City Current and No. 3 Washington Spirit in the NWSL standings — while only three more separate the No. 4 San Diego Wave from the No. 8 Seattle Reign.

With competition remaining tough as nails, don't expect much more daylight between teams following this weekend's tense lineup:

• No. 7 Gotham FC vs. No. 4 San Diego Wave, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): Coming off a two-game winless streak, Gotham is still searching for consistency as they take on a confident San Diego side that hasn't lost in four games.

• No. 9 Racing Louisville vs. No. 8 Seattle Reign, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): All tied up with 11 points each, Seattle will look to hold off Louisville as Racing continues to hunt the club's first-ever playoff berth.

• No. 2 Orlando Pride vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): There's little love lost between these NWSL titans, as the reigning champion Pride takes on hosting duties in an attempt to leapfrog current top-dog Kansas City in Friday's marquee match.

In a season dominated by topsy-turvy results, the pressure to secure points week-over-week weighs heaviest on the teams who know they have the talent to rise above the rest.

This season's NWSL Golden Boot leader Esther González is sticking with Gotham, with the Spanish international extending her contract with the NJ/NY club through 2027.

After helping Gotham to a first-ever NWSL championship in 2023, González earned the league's Best XI Second Team honors last year before launching a red-hot campaign this season.

The 2023 World Cup winner has tallied seven goals in nine games for Gotham in 2025, showcasing a blistering rush of form that has her sitting two goals ahead of the next Golden Boot race contender.

"Above all, it's about how I've felt during these two and a half years with Gotham FC," González said in Thursday's team announcement. "Continuing to be happy both on and off the field is really important. To keep enjoying myself and representing Gotham's colors, which I truly identify with, is something really incredible."

Gotham's continued investment underlines the 32-year-old's case for 2025 MVP candidacy, as award frontrunners start to emerge one-third of the way through the 2025 NWSL season.

González leads the NWSL in shots on target while sitting fourth in expected goals per 90 minutes, with her scoring outpacing many of her peers.

Other players crafting strong 2025 NWSL MVP resumes include Kansas City's 2024 MVP Temwa Chawinga and comeback star Debinha, Angel City wunderkind Alyssa Thompson, and Orlando sharpshooter Barbra Banda.

Following a dominant 2024/25 campaign, Chelsea FC will look to cap their historic run by completing a domestic treble on Sunday, when they'll battle Manchester United for a third season trophy in the 2025 FA Cup final.

After securing the 2024/25 League Cup in March amidst an unbeaten run to a sixth-straight WSL title, the Blues will close out their season against the league's third-place finishers, the Red Devils, in London's iconic Wembley Stadium.

Should Chelsea secure the 2025 FA Cup, they will add a second domestic treble to their resume after clinching their first trio of trophies in the 2020/21 season. This time, however, they could do so in undefeated fashion.

"We are in a really good place, just the fact that we won the league being unbeaten," said first-year Blues manager Sonia Bompastor. "To end the season with an FA Cup final at Wembley against Man United is maybe the perfect way to end the season."

Manchester United hunts second straight FA Cup trophy

Standing between Chelsea and the treble are 2024 FA Cup champions Manchester United, who will take aim at their only trophy of the season partly behind the play of 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove winner and USWNT goalkeeper prospect Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

Man United enter as the game's undisputed underdogs, having dropped both their WSL regular-season matches against Chelsea in narrow 1-0 defeats.

Even more, the Red Devils must overcome a particular tough stretch of play, facing more than a month without a victory on their schedule.

Man United's last win was their 2-0 FA Cup semifinal victory over Manchester City on April 13th, with the Red Devils suffering a pair of losses and recording two draws to close out WSL play.

That said, United has experience downing the Blues on the FA Cup stage, ousting Chelsea from last year's semifinals en route to a club-first FA title.

Remarking that Manchester United "are a really strong team," Bompastor pointed out that the Red Devils "don't concede a lot of goals, and we need to remember that."

"You only get the trophy if you win, so we need to make sure going into the game we have the best preparation and we perform on the day."

How to watch Chelsea play Manchester United at the FA Cup final

The 2025 FA Cup final between Chelsea FC and Manchester United will kick off at 8:30 AM ET on Sunday.

Live coverage of the match will begin at 8:20 AM ET on ESPN+.