On Friday night, OL Reign will host over 31,000 fans at Lumen Field to celebrate the final regular season home match of Seattle and USWNT legend Megan Rapinoe’s career. The whole evening will serve as an emotional tribute to Rapinoe’s impact on the sport of soccer in Seattle.

But the game against the Washington Spirit will also be crucial for the Reign’s postseason chances, as they battle for a spot with two games remaining in an incredibly tight playoff race. Just one point separates the Reign from the Spirit, and a loss could hinder the team’s ability to send Rapinoe off in style.

It seems impossible to imagine that Rapinoe wouldn’t see at least one playoff game in her final year, but the Reign sit on the precipice of losing ground in the wild postseason chase. Seattle currently has 28 points, tied with the Orlando Pride for sixth, and they only have a hold on the final playoff spot due to a goal differential advantage. If things don’t go according to plan, this could be Rapinoe’s final time playing at home.

The Reign are a hyper-talented squad, with a clear understanding of each other and their intended style of play. But if they want Rapinoe to have as many games as possible in her farewell tour, the matchup against Washington could prove season-defining.

A question of approach

Since July 1, the Reign have won just one of their last seven regular season games, slipping to sixth in the NWSL standings. Their goal differential margin is slim, with 28 goals scored to 26 goals conceded, and they’ve struggled to come back when their opponent scores first. Some of the tightness in the table is outside of Seattle’s control. This is one of the most competitive NWSL seasons of all time, but the difficulty they’ve had closing games out will put even more pressure on the squad as the postseason approaches.

The Reign are known as a team that can pass around their opponent, holding onto the ball to smother the other team’s attack while looking for a carefully placed opening at the other end of the pitch. They haven’t lost that identity in recent months, but they’ve also been leaning into a conservative game plan almost to a fault.

The team’s struggles were clear during their 2-0 loss to the Portland Thorns on Sept. 16. Head coach Laura Harvey lined the team up to be sturdy through their spine, without a ton of speed in the frontline to get in behind Portland’s defense. When the Thorns struck first, courtesy of two quick goals by Hina Sugita and Morgan Weaver in the first half, the Reign looked ill-equipped to respond, generating only three shots on target despite owning the possession battle.

A question of personnel

As steady as the trio of Rapinoe, Lauren Barnes and Jess Fishlock have been over the years, slight upheaval in the Reign’s personnel approach could also be contributing to their uneasy status in the playoff race. After starting goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce departed for Manchester United last month, the Reign have been starting rookie Claudia Dickey in her place.

Dickey has naturally experienced some growing pains in the new role that have affected the team’s defensive prowess, particularly on set pieces. Harvey has also been drifting from her Shield-winning established center-back pairing of Sam Hiatt and Alana Cook, sitting Hiatt in favor of a combination of Barnes and Phoebe McClernon. With the way the Reign frequently look to build into games from a neutral game-state, the personnel fluctuation on the team’s backline could threaten to undermine Harvey’s approach. Any changes won’t happen immediately, either: Cook, the defense’s mainstay, will be unavailable on Friday due to a red-card suspension.

Rapinoe has carried many minutes in the home stretch of her career, playing no less than 80 minutes a game during the regular season since the start of September. Her dead-ball delivery has regained its lightness of touch — she assisted the Reign’s goal against North Carolina this past weekend — but Harvey will also at times leave game-changers like Elyse Bennett and Tziarra King on the bench for long stretches, even as the team is chasing a result. The team is also missing the playmaking abilities of Rose Lavelle, who remains out with an injury.

OL REIGN SET PIECE PERFECTION.

Rapinoe ➡️ Balcer for the lead pic.twitter.com/zeq1xTZu0s

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 2, 2023

The path ahead

Of course, all is not lost for the Reign, who could clinch the playoffs with ease in their final two matches. Moving Emily Sonnett to defensive midfield has been a revelation for the club, and the combination of Jordyn Huitema and Bethany Balcer on attacking set pieces has been difficult for other teams to contain.

And despite the changes along the backline, the Reign are very difficult to beat when they show their mental toughness. Going down to 10 players in their most recent game against North Carolina, the team’s veterans remained calm and committed to holding the Courage from taking all three points in a 1-1 draw. That ethos could be the most important thing carrying them forward.

The Reign’s roster also has the ability to switch tempo and execute a defensive press at a moment’s notice, making their current run of form less relevant to the games ahead. If the team utilizes its depth chart and the defense holds steady, the Reign have all the opportunities in the world to make sure the Rapinoe celebration continues deep into autumn.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

As the NWSL returns from the international break, powerhouse clubs below the playoff line are preparing for a midseason push that could make — or break — the 2025 regular season.

With just three matchdays left before the league's extended summer break, which begins June 23rd and ends on August 1st, clubs will look to shore up their spots on the NWSL table before pressing pause on regular-season play.

Hovering just outside the 2025 postseason line in a 12-point tie are a trio of NWSL clubs, all hunting midseason weekend wins to boost them back into contention:

• No. 9 Gotham FC vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, Saturday at 1 PM ET (CBS): Having slipped under the playoff line while off hoisting the first-ever Concacaf W Champions Cup, the Bats have their work cut out for them against the league-leading Current on Saturday — though Gotham could see their midfield bolstered by the return of star Rose Lavelle from her 2024 ankle injury.

• No. 11 Bay FC vs. No. 5 Portland Thorns, Saturday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): Bay FC's bid to jump into the league's Top 8 runs through the second-hottest club in the NWSL right now, with the Thorns looking to add to their five-match regular-season unbeaten streak this weekend.

• No. 4 Washington Spirit vs. No. 10 North Carolina Courage, Sunday at 4 PM ET (Paramount+): The Courage have dropped just one of their last five matches after a winless season start, but they'll face a Washington side hungry for a win in DC. Despite holding a league-record 5-0-0 road tally this season, the Spirit have stumbled on the home front, earning just one 2025 victory in Washington.

The NWSL outlined new rules for expansion roster building and intra-league loans on Thursday, as two new franchises prepare to enter the league in 2026 without the benefit of an expansion draft.

"With the introduction of free agency and the elimination of the NWSL Draft and Expansion Draft, it was important for us to establish alternative player acquisition assets that support incoming teams while maintaining competitive balance across the league," said NWSL VP of player affairs Stephanie Lee in a league announcement.

Incoming clubs Boston Legacy FC and NWSL Denver will each have access to over $1 million in allocation funds to spend on players beginning on July 1st through the end of 2027.

Both teams can also sign players without being held to a salary cap until the secondary transfer window in 2025, providing players can be loaned out, put on Season Ending Injury designation, or acquired with allocation money used toward the salary cap.

Once the secondary transfer window opens this year, both Boston and Denver will have a $250,000 cap under which they can ink college athletes or international players not under contract.

In addition, the NWSL declared open season on intra-league loans on Thursday, allowing all teams to add athletes to their rosters from other league entities — provided both the player and the league approve the loan.

Each team can have no more than 12 players either in or out on loan at a time, and clubs can only bring in or send out a maximum of three athletes to/from any other single squad.

Overall, the NWSL intends these moves to bolster competition for both its current and future clubs.

"The introduction of intra-league loans — available to all teams — adds greater flexibility and opportunity for player development and strategic roster management league-wide," noted Lee.

World No. 2 Coco Gauff earned a ticket to her third career Grand Slam final on Thursday, advancing to the 2025 French Open championship match by ending French wild-card No. 361 Loïs Boisson's Cinderella story with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 semifinal victory.

"This is my first time playing a French player here. I was mentally prepared that [the crowd] was to be 99% for her, so I was trying to block it out," said the 21-year-old US star. "When [the crowd was] saying her name, I was saying my name to myself just to psyche myself up."

"[Loïs has] shown she's one of the best players in the world," Gauff added about her opponent's remarkable tournament run following their clash. "I hope we have many more battles in the future, especially here. Today it was just my day."

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The player standing between the 2023 US Open champ and her second Grand Slam trophy is none other than world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who looked at ease taking down four-time French Open winner No. 5 Iga Świątek 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 in the tournament's other semifinal on Thursday.

Notably, the three-set defeat was Świątek's first Roland-Garros loss in an astounding 1,457 days — a 26-match winning streak that dated back to 2021.

The 2025 French Open will now be the third straight Slam in which Sabalenka has reached the final, with the top-ranked tennis star making six WTA title-match appearances in 2025 alone.

Head-to-head, Sabalenka and Gauff have an evenly split 5-5 record.

While Gauff earned her US Open title with a Sabalenka defeat, Sabalenka has the recent edge, snagging wins over Gauff in three of the pair's last four meetings — including May's clay battle in the 2025 Madrid Open final.

How to watch the 2025 French Open final

The world's top two tennis players will square off at the 2025 French Open championship match at 9 AM ET on Saturday, airing live on TNT.

The 2025 Women's College World Series (WCWS) are headed to a winner-take-all Game 3, as Texas Tech evened this week's best-of-three championship series with a 4-3 victory over Texas on Thursday.

Anchored by another gutsy performance from star pitcher NiJaree Canady, the Red Raiders capitalized on missteps by the Longhorns, plating their four runs thanks to a hit-by-pitch, a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly, and a fielding error.

Down but not out, Texas broke through with a sixth-inning home run from star senior Mia Scott before plating two more in the game's final frame.

With the tying run just 60 feet away, Canady locked in, ending the Longhorns' threat with a strike-out to claim Texas Tech's first season win over their state rivals at just the right time, keeping the Red Raiders' national title hopes alive.

"NiJa was huge," said Texas Tech head coach Gerry Glasco about his ace's Game 2 performance. "She went out there and pitched her tail off."

Canady likely to toss every Texas Tech pitch at WCWS

After Wednesday's botched intentional walk put Texas within one win of the NCAA trophy, Canady bounced back by again assuming control in the circle, tossing every Texas Tech pitch for the seventh postseason games in a row — a streak dating back to the Red Raiders' first Super Regional game.

"Obviously [Wednesday] night wasn't my best game. I feel like this game wasn't my best game, either," said Canady, despite stifling Texas's late surge. "I was just leaving it out on the field."

Glasco will undoubtedly tap Canady to throw Friday's decisive clash as well, with Texas Tech's championship hopes resting on their $1 million player.

Should she complete Game 3 and secure a program-first national championship in the process, Canady will become the first pitcher since 2012 Alabama ace Jackie Traina to toss every WCWS pitch for a title-winning team.

On the other hand, Texas's four-pitcher bullpen game means sophomore ace Teagan Kavan — who threw just two outs on Thursday night — should be fresh and ready to test the Red Raiders in the final game of the 2025 NCAA softball season.

How to watch the 2025 WCWS championship game

The decisive Game 3 of the 2025 WCWS championship series will take the field in Oklahoma City at 8 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage on ESPN.