As No. 7 Racing Louisville zeroes in on a franchise-first berth to the NWSL Playoffs, the 2021 expansion team locked down a big part of their future on Thursday when they signed USWNT forward Emma Sears to a new contract through 2028.
"I'm so proud to be continuing my career with Racing Louisville FC — a club and city that have truly become home for me," Sears said in Thursday's team statement. "We've built something special here."
Drafted out of Ohio State by Louisville in 2024, Sears claimed the club's rookie scoring record with five goals last season before setting a new single-season scoring record for Racing this year, with the 24-year-old registering 10 goals so far in 2025.
"In her two years here in Louisville, Emma has quickly become a foundational player for this club, and she's only scratching the surface of her potential," said Racing GM Caitlyn Flores Milby.
With their star secured, Louisville's full focus is on climbing further above the postseason cutoff line, with Racing aiming to keep their current momentum going against the No. 14 Chicago Stars on Friday night.
Entering the weekend on a two-match winning streak, Louisville holds the edge over Chicago and the Stars' four-game winless run.
Even more, every point helps the narrow race to the 2025 NWSL Playoffs, as only four points separate Nos. 3 through 8 in the NWSL standings — with all but two postseason tickets still on the table.
How to watch Racing Louisville vs. the Chicago Stars on Friday
No. 7 Louisville will host No. 14 Chicago at 7:30 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage streaming on NWSL+.
The NWSL has hit unique attendance highs in 2025 — setting a new single-game record when 40,091 fans filled San Francisco's Oracle Park in August — but sustainability questions are surfacing as average crowds decline across the league.
With a recent focus on single-match records and big-name promotions, nine of the last 10 most attended NWSL games took place in 2021 or later.
However, with just three matchdays left in the 2025 regular season, eight of the league's 14 teams are seeing lower per-game attendance than during 2024's surge, with the overall NWSL average down nearly 10%.
Many factors can impact ticket-buying — including pricing, location, and on-field product — and navigating these considerations can be tough as teams look to fill seats.
While the Washington Spirit, Gotham FC, Orlando Pride, and North Carolina Courage have all made attendance gains this year, that's not the trend, according to ESPN's Jeff Kassouf.
Currently 13th in overall attendance, the Chicago Stars are tackling the issue by moving from SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois, to Evanston's Northwestern Stadium next season, making matches accessible by public transit for the first time.
"This opportunity for us, while distance-wise it's actually a fairly consistent distance from the city, it's much more accessible for fans who don't have cars, which is a lot of our younger fan base," Chicago Stars CMO Kay Bradley said on this week's episode of Full Time with Meg Linehan.
With two NWSL expansion franchises entering the fray next season, sustainability concerns are starting to weigh heavy on teams in an ever-changing women's sports landscape.
Angel City FC is on the brink of elimination from making the 2025 NWSL Playoffs, with the No. 11 LA club sitting seven points below the postseason cutoff line after falling to 2025 Shield-winners Kansas City 1-0 on Monday.
"There's no more losses at this point," Angel City center back and captain Sarah Gorden said postgame. "It's win or go home. We're going to have to put that into training this week, and come out and find something in us next weekend."
With only three games left in the regular season, Angel City will face the No. 10 Houston Dash, No. 4 Portland Thorns, and No. 14 Chicago Stars to close out their 2025 campaign.
"I know that if we can perform like this going forward, we will win a lot of football games," LA head coach Alexander Straus said after Monday's hard-fought loss.
In a season headlined by high-profile departures, Angel City now faces their second straight season missing the NWSL Playoffs, having reached the postseason just once since their 2022 debut.
However, that lone run to the playoffs could give this year's squad some hope — the LA club clinched their first and only postseason berth on the final day of the 2023 regular season.
As for the Current, the spoils keep coming for No. 1 Kansas City, who set a new NWSL single-season record with their 19th win on Monday — all while continuing the club's second-longest unbeaten run of 16 games.
"We believe so much in the process that we know if we execute everything at some point, we are going to be successful," said Kansas City head coach Vlatko Andonovski.
As the 2025 NWSL season winds down, top players are on the move as teams across the league look to stock their rosters in order to either boost their postseason odds or hit the ground running in 2026.
Incoming expansion side Boston Legacy FC is stocking up their 2026 debut roster, adding 18-year-old phenom Chloe Ricketts to their midfield and Brazilian international Amanda Gutierres — a 2025 Ballon d'Or nominee and two-time Golden Boot winner in Brazil's top-flight league — to their front line last week.
Along with that offensive firepower, Boston is on track to gain one of the NWSL's top veteran goalkeepers, with ESPN reporting last week that NC Courage net-minder Casey Murphy — a longtime USWNT backup to legend Alyssa Naeher — inked a deal to join the Legacy as soon as she becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2025 season.
The NWSL newcomer isn't the only club making moves, however.
Angel City and Portland have also been busy, with the Thorns sending midfielder Hina Sugita to the LA club in exchange for defender MA Vignola and $600,000 in intra-league transfer funds last week.
While there's no deadline for finalizing 2026 free agent transactions, the 2025 NWSL trade window officially closes this Thursday, leaving playoff-hopeful teams scrambling to pad their rosters while other clubs shift to focus on the future.
With just three matchdays left in the regular season, Racing Louisville FC is on the brink of franchise history, launching themselves into contention for a 2025 NWSL Playoffs berth at No. 7 on the table behind a 3-1 win over the No. 9 North Carolina Courage on Saturday.
Louisville forward and USWNT rising star Emma Sears notched a brace while midfielder Kayla Fischer — Sears's collegiate teammate — also found the back of the net in the victory, with the Ohio State alums helping lift Racing to sit four points above the postseason cutoff line.
"I'm so proud of this group," Louisville head coach Bev Yanez said post-game. "I think that's a very big win in a very crucial time."
Joining the league as a 2021 expansion team, Racing Louisville is still searching for a first-ever ticket to the NWSL Playoffs, with an October 19th clash against a surging No. 3 Gotham FC marking the club's toughest test still to come in the 2025 campaign.
Notably, No. 8 San Diego's ongoing skid helped Louisville climb the standings, with the Wave suffering their seventh consecutive winless match in a 2-1 loss to the postseason-bound No. 2 Washington Spirit on Sunday.
All in all, the battle for both spots and seeding in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs is tighter than ever, as only four points separate Nos. 3 and 8 on the table — meaning competition will only heat up as the league races toward Decision Day on November 2nd.
With just four regular-season matchdays remaining in the 2025 NWSL season, the clock is quickly ticking down for teams making a late push to rise above the postseason cutoff line on the league table — including the No. 10 Houston Dash.
Currently sitting three points outside of playoff contention, a motivated Houston side will look to make a leap against No. 5 Orlando on Friday night, as the defending champion Pride continues reeling from their recently snapped nine-game NWSL winless streak.
"For us, the next couple of matches are finals," Dash head coach Fabrice Gautrat said after last weekend's 4-0 loss to the No. 2 Washington Spirit. "We have to keep approaching it one game at a time like we've been doing, but we definitely have to have a response against the Orlando Pride."
Notably, Houston enters Friday's matchup with new firepower in the midfield, as teen phenom Chloe Ricketts joins the Dash as a short-term signing from the Spirit before she moves to incoming expansion side Boston Legacy FC in 2026.
"[Ricketts] is very lively, has great energy, great attitude, is eager and ambitious," said Gautrat of Houston's Wednesday signee. "She could play anywhere on our front line, to be honest."
How to watch the Houston Dash vs. Orlando Pride
The No. 10 Houston Dash will host the No. 5 Orlando Pride at 8 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage airing on Prime.
Angel City captain Ali Riley is calling it a career, with the 37-year-old defender announcing plans to retire from professional soccer at the end of the 2025 NWSL season on Tuesday.
"As I reflect on what this game has given me these past three decades, since I started in the Palisades here in LA, I know that I have truly given my all, both physically and emotionally," Riley said in a club statement. "As a player, I strived to be the best teammate, a positive influence in the locker room, and compete on the field every day. For my entire career, I never took a day when I got to play soccer for granted."
"Ali Riley is Angel City. Her heart, grit, and unwavering commitment to lifting everyone around her have shaped the culture of this club," said ACFC CEO and co-founder Julie Uhrman. "Ali has shown us that leadership goes far beyond the pitch; it's in how you care for others, how you show up."
Exiting the global stage after five World Cups and four Olympics with the New Zealand Football Ferns, the Stanford alum also helped pioneer the European women's game, competing in Sweden, England, and Germany from 2012 to 2020 before returning to the NWSL to join the Orlando Pride.
Angel City snagged Riley from the Pride before the expansion team's 2022 debut season, with the captain making her first 2025 club appearance in August after returning from a chronic nerve injury that sidelined her for more than a year.
"I am so proud to be able to say goodbye on my own terms, in my hometown, and know for certain that I am giving everything I have left to the people around me and the sport that shaped me," Riley wrote in her Instagram announcement.
The NWSL is gearing up for the 2025 postseason, releasing this year's Championship Week schedule — including a brand-new end-of-season awards ceremony — on Monday.
Prior to the championship match on Saturday, November 22nd, the festivities in San Jose, California, will kick off with the first-ever NWSL Awards on Wednesday, November 19th.
Calling it a "landmark celebration of excellence in women's soccer," the live awards ceremony on ESPN2 will honor the season's Best XI as well as the 2025 NWSL MVP, Rookie of the Year, Golden Boot winner, Coach of the Year, and the top position players (Midfielder, Defender, and Goalkeeper of the Year).
In addition, the NWSL will announce the winner of the 2025 Lauren Holiday Impact Award during the program.
The league is also bringing back some fan favorite events to this November's Championship Weekend, including the NWSL Skills Challenge, in which players will face off for a cut of a $30,000 prize pool at San Jose State University on Friday, November 21st.
The following day will see the return of Fan Fest, with games, activations, food, and music counting down to kickoff of the 2025 NWSL Championship match, with an additional Post-Game Party wrapping the weekend's celebration at San Pedro Square Market on Saturday evening.
The Washington Spirit punched their ticket to the 2025 NWSL Playoffs over the weekend, downing the No. 10 Houston Dash 4-0 on Sunday to maintain a six-point grip on No. 2 behind Shield-winners Kansas City.
En route to clinching the 2025 Playoffs, Spirit striker Gift Monday scored a first-half hat trick in just 36 minutes — the fastest in the Washington club's history at Audi Field.
"I want to say a very big thank you to my coach for trusting me and giving me the opportunity to start in this game," said Monday afterwards. "I think the hat trick has been waiting for me for a very long time."
With only four regular-season match-weeks remaining and just six points separating No. 3 from No. 9 in the NWSL standings, the battle for the league's final six postseason berths is heating up.
No. 3 Gotham FC is on a roll, extending their unbeaten streak to six games with Friday's emphatic 3-0 win over the No. 6 Portland Thorns, while No. 8 Louisville still clings to their spot just above the postseason cutoff line thanks to a 1-0 Saturday win over No. 11 Angel City — Racing's first victory in five matches.
Meanwhile, the No. 5 Orlando Pride halted their fall down the table by snapping a nine-match winless streak with a 2-1 victory over the No. 7 San Diego Wave on Friday — the reigning league champions' first three-point NWSL result since June 13th.
While the No. 1 Kansas City Current have officially run away with the 2025 NWSL Shield, the race for top playoff seeding rages on, as the No. 2 Washington Spirit fights to hold their ground against an unpredictable No. 9 Houston Dash this Sunday.
Bolstered by star Trinity Rodman's return from injury, the Spirit enter the weekend on a nine-game unbeaten streak, going up against a motivated Dash side sitting just two points outside of postseason contention.
"Every game we just need to be a lot more clinical in the final third," Rodman said after last weekend's 2-2 draw with No. 11 Angel City. "We're doing all the hard stuff and then it's [lacking] quality at the end."
Washington isn't without top-table challengers, with No. 3 Gotham FC riding their own five-game unbeaten streak into a Friday night match against the No. 4 Portland Thorns, who sit tied for points with both the Bats and the No. 5 San Diego Wave in the NWSL standings.
"At this stage, almost everyone still has a real chance to make the playoffs, which is great for the league," said Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amorós after the Bats' 1-1 draw with Bay FC last Sunday. "But it also means nothing can be taken for granted."
How to watch the Washington Spirit and Gotham FC this weekend
No. 3 Gotham FC kicks off this weekend's NWSL action when they host the No. 4 Portland Thorns at 8 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage on NWSL+.
Then in Sunday's NWSL action, the No. 9 Houston Dash will visit the No. 2 Washington Spirit at 1 PM ET, airing live on Paramount+.