This weekend's NWSL action saw Gotham FC's woes continue, with the Bats falling further from the playoff line in the 2025 standings after a Saturday loss to the Kansas City Current.
Despite the return of star midfielder Rose Lavelle, who made her 2025 season debut in the match's 74th minute, the 2023 NWSL champions fell 2-1 in a Current win that controversially saw two Gotham goals called back by VAR.
Although they recently lifted the inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup, the Bats' three straight NWSL losses have them now sitting in 10th place on the the table, while Kansas City saw their lead in the league balloon to five points following this weekend's action.
That extended lead came in part due to then-No. 2 San Diego's first loss in six games, with the Wave dropping to No. 4 this week after stumbling 2-1 to Seattle on Friday night — a victory that launched the Reign into fifth place.
"I just think there's belief," Seattle head coach Laura Harvey said after the match. "I think we would have been disappointed if we'd have come away without a win."
San Diego's loss also allowed the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit to leapfrog the Wave into Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, on the NWSL table.
Weekend wins similarly fueled their jumps, with the Pride eking out a last-gasp 1-0 victory over the No. 12 Houston Dash on Saturday before the Spirit earned just their second home win of the season by downing the No. 11 North Carolina Courage 3-1 on Sunday.
2024 semifinalists Kansas City, Orlando, and Washington have now all regained their spots in the 2025 season's Top 3.
The quest for renewed parity in the NWSL received a boost over the weekend, as the 2025 regular season’s second matchday saw a few bottom-table teams capture key wins.
While the reigning champion Orlando Pride and the Kansas City Current maintained their perfect 2025 season records with respective wins over fellow 2024 semifinalists Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit, teams lower on last year's table claimed valuable points over the weekend.
With a 2-0 Saturday win over Racing Louisville, 2024 expansion team-turned-playoff debutante Bay FC earned three points, while last season’s stragglers San Diego Wave, Seattle Reign, and Houston Dash also put important points on the board — and scored some spectacular goals in the process.
Rookie class fuels big NWSL second matchday wins
In the wake of a superstar exit, the Wave's 3-2 Saturday win over the Utah Royals helped buoy San Diego's early season.
Meanwhile, for Seattle and Houston — last season’s two lowest-ranked finishers — the weekend victories were especially sweet.
The Reign notched a 2-1 road victory over the North Carolina Courage on Saturday, secured by absolute screamers from Seattle's midfield mainstay Jess Fishlock, who scored in her 200th cap with the Reign, and 18-year-old center back Jordyn Bugg, whose stellar strike was her first-ever professional goal.
"Not only are we different, we’re really young," said Seattle head coach Laura Harvey after the match. "To come here with that youth and energy really helped us, matched with the experience of some of the older ones."
The Dash also snagged a 2-1 road win after a scrappy Sunday battle with the Chicago Stars.
After trailing by an early goal from Chicago forward Jameese Joseph, Houston quickly answered back with a corner-kick equalizer off of veteran defender Paige Nielsen in the match's 20th minute.
Notching her career's second-ever goal, rookie midfielder Maggie Graham ultimately put the Dash on top with a second-half game-winner.
Though this season's rookie class enters with an air of uncertainty thank to the elimination of the college draft, it's their young firepower that's pushing last year’s bottom-dwellers up the league's ladder — and perhaps, in a few months, into NWSL playoff contention.
As the 2025 NWSL season nears, clubs are already racking up serious injuries with both preseason training and the concurrent FIFA international break now underway.
Portland announced a trio of roster losses on Wednesday, naming forward Morgan Weaver, defender Nicole Payne, and defender Marie Müller to the season-ending injury list.
Regional rival Seattle also made a tough announcement, sharing that veteran forward Veronica Latsko suffered a season-ending Achilles tear during the second half of the Reign's 1-0 preseason win over Bay FC at the Coachella Valley Invitational on February 16th.
"We’re absolutely gutted for Veronica," said Reign head coach Laura Harvey in the team's statement. "She has proven over her career to be resilient, diligent and hard working on the pitch, we know how much preparation she had put in for this season."
"While this is a tough setback, we have no doubt she’ll attack her recovery with the same determination and resilience she brings to the pitch every day. Our entire club will be behind her every step of the way."
Research gap persists as athletes continue suffering injuries
Injuries can be difficult to avoid as players ramp up their fitness ahead of the NWSL's March 14th Kickoff weekend, especially as athletes balance heavy workloads with the lack of preventative injury research specific to women.
Payne and Müller both went down with right ACL tears — Payne during the Thorns' 2-1 preseason loss to Angel City on February 16th and Müller while in training camp with Germany on February 19th — an all-too-common occurrence in among women’s footballers.
Weaver also suffered a preseason right knee knock in January, re-injuring the same knee she had surgery on last May.
All in all, while injuries are a part of the game, the sport's growing professionalization has exposed a gap in research and resources — particularly on the women’s pitch. As parity continues to rise worldwide, fending off another injury epidemic continues to be front of mind for both players and staff.