The No. 2 Washington Spirit are heading back to the NWSL Championship, booking a second straight trip to the title match after silencing the No. 3 Portland Thorns in front of another sellout home crowd on Saturday.
The Spirit began the match on the front foot, with forward Gift Monday notching her second postseason goal in the 27th minute before midfielder Croix Bethune's 83rd-minute empty-net strike secured Washington the 2-0 semifinal result.
"I feel like we've been in this steady spot," Bethune said following Saturday's match. "These past two games honestly have been the best soccer that we've played."
Dealing with availability issues as of late, the semifinal saw center back Tara McKeown return to Washington's lineup after an ankle knock forced the center back to exit the Spirit's quarterfinal match, with second-half sub Trinity Rodman also making her return while defender Gabby Carle remained sidelined.
"I was playing, and that's that," McKeown told reporters after putting in a 90-minute performance in the shutout.
"I think Spirit is definitely the better team — I think that can kind of go without being said," Portland captain Sam Coffey reflected. "They outplayed us for sure, and I think they definitely have all the pieces to go and win the whole thing."
How to watch the Washington Spirit in the 2025 NWSL Championship
Saturday's result sends the No. 2 Washington Spirit to the 2025 NWSL Championship in San Jose, where they'll face No. 8 Gotham FC on Saturday.
The match kicks off at 8 PM ET, with live coverage airing on CBS.
No. 2-seed Washington have booked their second straight NWSL semifinals berth, after a short-staffed Spirit bested a resilient No. 7 Racing Louisville side in penalty kicks following Saturday's 1-1 quarterfinal draw.
Washington forward Gift Monday first broke the 0-0 stalemate in the 73rd minute after VAR called back an early Spirit goal, while Racing forward Kayla Fischer managed to keep Louisville's hopes alive with a second-half stoppage time equalizer.
Washington goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury then played penalty shootout hero for a second straight year, blocking two sharply hit strikes to allow the Spirit to advance 3-1.
"At the end of the day, there was no chance that we could lose this game," said Spirit head coach Adrián González postgame. "It was a matter of just keep insisting — that's the mentality we have."
The Spirit had more than Racing's tenacity to contend with this weekend, however, as an MCL strain continues to sideline star forward Trinity Rodman.
Washington defenders Gabby Carle and Tara McKeown both exited Saturday's match with injuries, as well, as players pile up on the Spirit's availability report.
How to watch the Washington Spirit in the 2025 NWSL semifinals
No. 2 Washington will next face No. 3 Portland in the 2025 NWSL semis, with the Thorns punching their record-10th semifinal ticket by downing the No. 6 San Diego Wave 1-0 in their own extra-time showdown on Sunday.
The Spirit take on the Thorns for a shot at competing for the 2025 NWSL title at 12 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on CBS.
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.
The 2025 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) kicks off late next week, as NWSL stars depart their clubs to join their national teams in the fight for continental glory.
Running from July 5th through the 26th, 12 teams from across Africa will feature at this year's tournament in Morocco, with defending champions South Africa looking to repeat.
One of the teams hoping to upend the Banyana Banyana's back-to-back prospects are Zambia's Copper Queens, captained by Orlando Pride striker and perennial MVP candidate Barbra Banda. The current NWSL leader in both shots and shots on target has eight goals in her club season so far, good for a second-place tie in the league's Golden Boot race.
Joining Banda on a Zambia side rich with attacking talent are Bay FC striker Rachael Kundananji and a pair of Banda's Pride teammates, midfielders Grace Chanda and Prisca Chilufya.
Other NWSL standouts making the trip include Ghana forwards Stella Nyamekye (Gotham FC) and Princess Marfo (Bay FC), as well as Nigeria striker Asisat Oshoala (Bay FC) and defender Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash).
Notably, the nine-time WAFCON champs opted to omit Washington Spirit forward Gift Monday from the Super Falcons' roster — a particularly surprising move considering Nigeria chose Oshoala, who has yet to record a goal or assist in 2025 NWSL play, and uncapped UConn junior forward Chioma Okafor over Monday and her red-hot form.
Calling it "a tough pill to swallow," Monday wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday that she harbors "no grudges, no resentment."
"I remain fully committed to cheering my country from home," Monday said, adding "To the incredible women who made the squad, go out there and make history."
"You carry the hopes of millions — including mine."
The Washington Spirit scored another unlikely victory on Saturday, snapping the Orlando Pride's 22-game home unbeaten streak with a narrow 1-0 win — fueled by newly signed Nigerian striker Gift Monday's debut NWSL goal.
"We knew it was going to be a fight," Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury said after the game. "We know they're physical, so we came [and] we matched that."
Washington continues to eke out wins despite a depleted roster, with a full 11 players unavailable for Saturday’s 2024 NWSL championship rematch due to injury.
At the top of that injury list is star forward Trinity Rodman, with the 22-year-old's agent telling The Washington Post that she's "taking time away from team activities" to meet with a club doctor in London about her lingering back issues.
Other noteworthy absences to the Spirit's current lineup include 2024 NWSL Rookie and Midfielder of the Year Croix Bethune (hip), defensive midfielder Hal Hershfelt (ankle), veteran defender Casey Krueger (knee), and French forward Ouleye Sarr (SEI – back).
Washington, however, continues finding ways to win, with the Spirit sitting third in the league standings, where they're tied with second-place Orlando on points.
That said, despite flipping the script against the reigning champs, the Spirit's roster woes — and, in particular, Rodman’s uncertain timeline — casts a shadow over the club's 2025 redemption tour.
Kansas City rises atop the NWSL
Also benefitting from the Spirit's win was the Kansas City Current, who used both Washington's victory and their own comfortable 2-0 result against the 10th-place Houston Dash on Saturday to leapfrog the Pride and claim first place on the NWSL table.
With five wins in as many matchdays, the Current are now the league's only undefeated team remaining this season.