The NWSL playoffs kicked off on Oct. 16. The league’s top two teams earned byes, while the remaining four playoff teams faced off in the first round for the two other spots in the semifinals.

The postseason continues with the championship match on Oct. 29, as the Portland Thorns face the Kansas City Current at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

NWSL playoff seeds

1. OL Reign

OL Reign punched their ticket to the postseason with a 2-0 win over the Houston Dash on Sept. 24.

“I don’t think it was very pretty at times but to win on the road in this league, sometimes it is that way,” OL Reign coach Laura Harvey said after her team’s playoff-clinching win. “To get nine points on this three-game road trip just says a lot about this group of players and their mentality. They showed again tonight just how much they are willing to give to try to get somewhere this season.”

OL Reign capped off an impressive regular season, clinching the NWSL Shield following an emphatic 3-0 win over the Orlando Pride. The Seattle club’s No. 1 seed earns OL Reign a first-round bye and home-field advantage for their semifinal matchup.

2. Portland Thorns

With a 3-0 win over Racing Louisville on Sept. 21, the Portland Thorns became the first team to clinch a spot in the NWSL playoffs.

Portland fell to second in the standings following a 3-3 draw with Gotham FC in the club’s season finale, leaving the door open for OL Reign to claim the NWSL Shield. The Thorns, despite losing the Shield, salvaged a second-place finish to clinch a first-round bye and a home semifinal.

3. San Diego Wave FC

San Diego made history, becoming the first expansion club in NWSL history to clinch a playoff spot in its inaugural season with its 2-2 draw against Orlando.

“We’re in mixed emotions at the moment,” Wave coach Casey Stoney said following the draw. “I had to remind the team the point took us to the playoffs. We set such high standards and we want to maintain such high standards that, to come in here and perform like that and not get all three points is the disappointment. I’m sure when the dust has settled and we get back to San Diego and we reflect on what we’ve been able to do, I’m sure there’ll be a moment of pride.

“But I have to be extremely proud of how far we’ve come in a short space of time.”

4. Houston Dash

The Houston Dash clinched its first NWSL playoff berth in club history, locking up its postseason spot behind the San Diego Wave’s Sept. 30 scoreless draw with the North Carolina Courage.

“These players have left everything day in and day out, believing in the staff, in order to create unforgettable memories for our fans and make the city of Houston proud,” Houston Dash interim head coach Juan Carlos Amoros said in a Twitter post following the news.

The Dash have been dominant on the road all year, logging seven away victories to secure a gritty 10-6-6 regular-season record.

5. Kansas City Current

With a 3-0 win over the Washington Spirit on Sept. 25, the Kansas City Current clinched their spot in the NWSL playoffs.

It’s a huge turnaround for the club, which finished last in the NWSL standings a year ago and is now headed to the postseason for the first time in franchise history.

6. Chicago Red Stars

The Chicago Red Stars clinched the sixth and final playoff spot in the last matchup of the NWSL regular season.

Chicago downed Angel City FC 2-0 to move on point clear of the North Carolina Courage in the standings, to secure a postseason spot for the seventh straight year.

NWSL playoff schedule

Sunday, Oct. 16

• No. 5 Kansas City Current 2, No. 4 Houston Dash 1
• No. 3 San Diego Wave 2, No. 6 Chicago Red Stars 1 (extra time)

Sunday, Oct. 23

• No. 2 Portland Thorns 2, No. 3 San Diego Wave 1
• No. 5 Kansas City Current 2, No. 1 OL Reign 0

Sunday, Oct 29 

• NWSL Championship, 8 p.m. ET on CBS

The 2025 NWSL Championship claimed a major viewership milestone on Saturday, as Gotham FC's 1-0 title win over the Washington Spirit became the first-ever league match to record an average of more than one million viewers.

The CBS evening broadcast averaged an impressive 1.184 million fans and peaked at 1.55 million viewers, making it the most-watched NWSL match of all time.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

The 2025 final marked a 22% viewership increase over the 967,900 fans who watched 2024's Orlando Pride victory — the previous NWSL viewership record-holder — and a 45% ratings gain over Gotham's 2023 championship win, which averaged 816,800 viewers.

Saturday's gains both matched the 22% viewership increase the NWSL regular season saw this year and also far exceeded the 2025 postseason's pre-final year-over-year increase of 5%.

Calling the one-million viewer mark "an extraordinary achievement" in Tuesday's league statement, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman also noted that the "record-setting audience demonstrates the deepening connection fans have with our players, our clubs, and the world-class competition on the field, and it underscores the growing demand for women's soccer on the biggest stages."

"We're incredibly proud of what this moment represents for the NWSL and for everyone who continues to invest in and believe in the future of our game," Berman added.

Incoming offseason league Project B scored more major WNBA signings this week, as the upstart venture continues stacking its roster ahead of a planned November 2026 launch.

Indiana Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham have both publicly signed on with Project B, joining already announced talent like Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones, and Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd.

Also inking deals to join the inaugural season of Project B are Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün, and Li Meng, a former Washington Mystics guard and current player in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association.

The multi-continent, Formula One-style traveling tournament circuit will ultimately sign 66 international stars, as Project B looks to field six 11-player teams in its debut 2026/2027 campaign.

Project B player signings will undoubtedly impact other offseason leagues like Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited, but the new venture is also looming large over the ongoing WNBA CBA talks.

With negotiations racing toward this Sunday's extended deadline, Project B is putting WNBA compensation offerings under increased pressure, as the new league is reportedly anteing up multimillion-dollar salaries to its signees — far exceeding the 2025 WNBA maximum as well as the $1.1 million-max currently on the negotiating table.

World No. 1 Spain will take aim at a second-straight UEFA Nations League title this week, as La Roja take on No. 5 Germany in the first leg of the 2025 tournament's final at 2:30 PM ET on Friday.

The defending Nations League champions booked their spot in the 2025 final by dismantling No. 3 Sweden 5-0 on aggregate in the semifinal round, while Germany advanced after a tense 3-2 aggregate win over No. 6 France.

Germany must also contend with availability issues during Friday's match, as 28-year-old Bayern Munich forward and senior national team leading scorer Lea Schüller will be out due to family reasons.

To overcome that disadvantage, German head coach Christian Wück is reinforcing the team's back line, adding Athletic Bilbao defender Bibi Schulze Solano to the roster on Wednesday.

Also aiming to shut down Spain's offensive firepower on Friday is new NWSL champion goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who joined her German compatriots late following Gotham FC's title celebrations in New York this week.

While Spain and Germany will contend for the 2025 Nations League trophy this week, the pair — along with ousted semifinalists Sweden and France — have already booked spots in the top group of teams battling for tickets to the 2027 World Cup, with UEFA qualifying set to begin in 2026.

A full 19 months removed from their back-to-back Final Four runs, No. 11 Iowa basketball refuses to go away, with the Hawkeyes already notching one Top-25 win in the young 2025/26 NCAA campaign so far.

The still-unbeaten Hawkeyes took down No. 15 Baylor 57-52 last Thursday, with Iowa starting post players Hannah Stuelke and Ava Heiden combining for 28 points while guard Taylor Stremlow added another 12 off the bench in the marquee win.

"We have nice pieces," said Iowa head coach Jan Jensen this week. "But it's knowing when to play which pieces and with whom, and we're six games in."

The Hawkeyes have been finding their new identity under Jensen after a transformative period saw Iowa's longtime head coach Lisa Bluder retire while superstar guard Caitlin Clark joined the WNBA.

"Jan's been amazing," Stuelke told JWS at the Big Ten Media Day in October. "She stepped up like she needed to, and she's been growing every day since she's been the head coach, which it's really cool to see she cares. And it's a great environment for all of us."

"I have a year under my belt," Jensen echoed. "I know what this chair feels like now, and I have a little better of understanding of what that first road trip feels like, what that first big win feels like, or the tough loss feels like."

Iowa's season heats up with a ranked rivalry matchup against No. 10 Iowa State on Wednesday, December 10th.

The state rivals will tip off at 7 PM ET, with live coverage airing on ESPN.