The penultimate NWSL matchday has arrived, and there's no game with higher stakes this weekend than Saturday's clash between seventh-place Portland and ninth-place Louisville.
Both clubs sit three points from the postseason cutoff line, and while Louisville has everything to gain, the Thorns — who snapped Orlando’s unbeaten streak last weekend — have everything to lose.
Elsewhere in the NWSL, eighth-place Bay FC's Saturday test against the fifth-place Courage could determine multiple postseason fates. Meanwhile, ACFC hosts the surging Royals in a must-win match on Sunday.
NWSL playoff field comes down to two spots
With just two regular-season games to go, six of the NWSL's eight playoff berths are locked, while six other teams — Portland, Bay FC, Louisville, Utah, Angel City, and San Diego — are looking to punch the last two tickets.
This weekend's clinch and elimination scenarios:
- Seventh-place Portland can secure a berth with a win over Louisville, or a draw with Louisville plus a Bay FC loss.
- Eighth-place Bay FC can clinch with a win over North Carolina and a Louisville loss, or a draw with North Carolina plus a Louisville loss and a draw between Angel City and Utah.
- A Bay FC win immediately eliminates Angel City, San Diego, and Utah.
- To stay alive, 11th-place Angel City and 12th-place San Diego must win while 10th-place Utah must at least draw.
- Ninth-place Louisville can only be eliminated with a loss to Portland plus a Bay FC win or draw.
Hardware hoisters face off on Sunday
The top of the NWSL table has postseason berths and hosting duties all locked up, but even without playoff positioning on the line, Sunday's tilt between league-leaders Orlando and third-place Gotham is about more than bragging rights: The 2024 Shield-winners' visit to the 2023 champions feels like a postseason preview, all wrapped up in a Kelley O'Hara retirement party.
The Pride's response to their first season loss will unfold on Sunday's pitch while Gotham will be facing the only team to defeat them since June. Low stakes aside, this match is arguably all about momentum.
How to watch key NWSL matches this weekend
Portland kicks off against Louisville on Saturday at 7:30 PM ET before Bay FC takes on North Carolina at 10 PM ET, both on ION.
Then on Sunday, Angel City faces Utah at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage on Paramount+.
The Pride's visit to Gotham will kick off at 5 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage on ESPN.
In today’s episode, host Claire Watkins talks through whether she needs to amend her 2024 WNBA Finals prediction, and notes both the resiliency of the Lynx and the mentality of the Liberty.
She then hits all the major storylines of the NWSL weekend action, including broken individual NWSL records, streaks both snapped and saved, playoff spots clinched and lost, and off the field happenings that shape the larger NWSL conversation.
The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.
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With their first NWSL win since July 5th, Portland ended Orlando's record 24-match unbeaten streak on Friday.
Thorns forward Morgan Weaver’s 13th-minute opening goal marked the first time the Pride trailed in a game since March 22nd.
Portland captain Christine Sinclair notched her 78th goal across all NWSL competitions to secure the 2-0 finish. The soon-to-retire legend's 55th-minute strike puts her just behind league-leader Lynn Williams, who scored her 80th goal in Gotham's 2-0 win over Chicago on Saturday.
The Pride, who secured the 2024 NWSL Shield earlier this month, notably did not start their three leading scorers: Barbra Banda, Marta, and Adriana. All entered in Friday's second half to face a Thorns side still missing top scorer Sophia Smith due to ankle injury.
Seventh-place Portland will look to clinch their postseason spot in the NWSL season's final two matchdays, a fact cheekily pointed out by Marta after the Thorns's victory.
Chawinga bags NWSL scoring record
With her season's 19th goal in Saturday's 1-0 win over Bay FC, Kansas City striker Temwa Chawinga surpassed former Chicago Red Star Sam Kerr's 2019 scoring tally to etch her name into the NWSL record books. Like Kerr, none of the Malawian's goals in her record-setting run have come from penalties.
"[The single-season scoring record] means a lot to me because it’s a very difficult league… So I thank my teammates and I thank God for giving me this chance to be here," Chawinga said after the game.
“We know teams now are trying to close her down and close the space down in the area where she gets most of her chances,” KC boss Vlatko Andonovski told reporters after the match. “She ran out and hit a bomb.”
The all-but-guaranteed 2024 NWSL Golden Boot winner now boasts six more goals than the league's second-leading scorer, the Pride's aforementioned Banda.
The weekend's results also saw the fourth-place Current earn a first-ever home playoff match alongside second-place Washington and third-place Gotham, while sixth-place Chicago officially secured their postseason berth.
Lacasse hat trick sees Seattle eliminated from playoffs
Utah forward Cloé Lacasse's Sunday hat trick didn’t just lift the Royals 3-0 over the Seattle Reign, it also made NWSL history.
The Canadian national opened scoring off of a third-minute corner kick, tying Utah's record for the fastest goal before firing off two more before halftime.
The feat marked the first hat trick of the 2024 NWSL season as well as the first in Utah Royals history, with Lacasse joining Crystal Dunn as the only other NWSL player to ever book three first-half goals.
Now on a three-game winning streak, the victory keeps 10th-place Utah in the postseason hunt, while also eliminating Seattle from playoff contention.
In today’s episode, Claire ponders another Sun postseason exit, and the risks and rewards of blowing things up in the pursuit of playoff glory.
She then previews the finals between the Lynx and the Liberty, with one key element she believes will earn one of the teams a title. She closes with some of the NWSL news of the midweek, which feels destined to shape the postseason and beyond.
The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.
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In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins gives a postmortem on this era of the Las Vegas Aces, before claiming the Liberty as WNBA championship frontrunners and prepping for Tuesday's Game 5 semifinal between the Lynx and the Sun.
Then, she chats about Orlando’s incredible run to the 2024 NWSL Shield, the individual NWSL records primed to fall, and aimlessness further down the league table.
The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.
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With three regular-season matches left, the still-undefeated Orlando Pride clinched the 2024 NWSL Shield with Sunday's rainy 2-0 win over the second-place Washington Spirit.
Marta converted the 57th-minute game-winning penalty kick, securing her team's first-ever piece of hardware with her eighth goal of the season.
"I stayed here because I want to make history with this team," the Brazilian soccer icon, who's been with the Pride for eight years, said afterwards. "And then we did tonight, and then we go for more."
Though the Pride's dominance this season is unmatched, Washington was notably without several key players. Between injuries and yellow card suspensions, the Spirit faced Orlando without Trinity Rodman, Casey Krueger, Hal Hershfelt, Leicy Santos, or Ouleye Sarr.
Chawinga ties Kerr's NWSL scoring record
It took less than two minutes for Kansas City's Temwa Chawinga to find the back of the net in Saturday's 2-0 win over Louisville, tying former Chicago Red Star Sam Kerr's single-season NWSL scoring record with her 18th goal.
With three matchdays to go, the Malawian striker is all but guaranteed to upend Kerr's 2019 record.
"I think that Temwa's ability to get behind the line and then drive towards the goal, and being aggressive going towards the goal, is something that differentiates her," KC head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after the match. "Temwa's just a pure goalscorer. We're happy that she's done it for us this season and hopefully she continues to do it."
Other noteworthy NWSL results
In other NWSL news, fifth-place North Carolina punched their postseason ticket with Saturday's 2-1 win over San Diego. The day before, last-place Houston become the first club eliminated from the 2024 playoff picture.
Gotham’s 5-1 Saturday blowout of Bay has the defending NWSL champs achingly close to leaping second-place Washington on the table. The two clubs are tied for points, with the Spirit's shrinking goal differential giving them the tenuous edge.
On the other hand, Saturday's 2-1 loss to 12th-place Utah extended Portland's NWSL winless streak to seven matches. The Thorns are remarkably still in seventh-place, but sit tied for points with eighth-place Bay FC. With lower-table teams hungry to rise above the postseason cutoff line, every match left could see Portland fall from contention.
League-leaders Orlando will play for their first-ever piece of hardware on Sunday, when a win over second-place Washington would see the Pride clinch the 2024 NWSL Shield.
If the undefeated Pride record a draw, a single win in the the season's last three matches would snag them the Shield. Should the Spirit hand Orlando their first season loss on Sunday, finishing atop the table would likely require two additional Pride victories.
While Orlando is very much in control of their destiny, Washington poses tough task, particularly considering a Spirit win or draw this weekend would clinch the playoff-bound club quarterfinal hosting duties.
However, the Pride may benefit from ongoing injuries to key Spirit players. After losing star rookie Croix Bethune to a season-ending injury in late August, Washington defender Casey Krueger is still out nursing an adductor injury while forward Trinity Rodman's recent back spasms have her questionable to compete this weekend.
When asked about Krueger and Rodman's availabilities on Wednesday, Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez said he would not play anyone who is not "100% available."
Speaking about Sunday's match, Giráldez said "[Orlando is] doing a good job, but we are doing a good job, too. We have chances to win and we have to face the game in the same way that we faced the game against Angel City." That Friday tilt with ACFC saw Washington claim the 2-1 win in a road match in which Rodman and Krueger did not travel with the team.
How to watch Orlando vs. Washington
The Pride will try to cross the 2024 NWSL Shield finish line by defeating the Spirit on Sunday at 5 PM ET, airing live on ESPN2.
NWSL weekend to clarify postseason picture
Playoff positioning isn't just on the line for the Pride and Spirit this weekend. With four matchdays left in the NWSL's regular season, this weekend's action has multiple end-of-season scenarios on the table.
Like the Spirit, third-place Gotham and fourth-place Kansas City have the chance to secure quarterfinal home-field advantage. Each must log a Saturday win and have a little help from 10th-place San Diego to do so.
Their opponents, eighth-place Bay FC and ninth-place Racing Louisville, respectively, have arguably the most to lose in tomorrow's tilts, as both are fighting to finish above the postseason cutoff line.
Fifth-place North Carolina is on the cusp of clinching their playoff berth, though it's the Courage's demise against the Wave on Saturday that would grant Gotham and KC hosting rights.
Meanwhile, Utah, Houston, Seattle, and Angel City could all be eliminated from playoff contention by Sunday night.
The NWSL, in collaboration with Tiffany & Co., dropped revamped Shield and regular-season MVP trophies on Wednesday.
The bold new hardware is part of a plan to “set a new standard for recognition in women’s sports” by giving the Tiffany treatment to all NWSL end-of-season awards. This year's two additions join the redesigned Championship and Championship MVP awards that kicked off the league’s partnership with the jewelry company last year.
An NWSL Shield worthy of superheroes
Both awards are handcrafted by Tiffany & Co. The refreshed MVP award includes a silver soccer ball atop a tall base.
"The best players in the world play here at the NWSL, and it is only fitting that we work with Tiffany to honor the best of the best," said NWSL chief marketing and commercial officer Julie Haddon in the league's announcement. “It has been a long time coming to create a suite of awards that are as extraordinary as our athletes."
Inspired by ancient Greco-Roman armor, the 24K gold and sterling silver Shield features a unique, interactive design. It is equipped with a handle so it can be removed from its base and held like "a true shield."
Orlando poised to handle the new hardware
As the still-undefeated league leaders, the Orlando Pride are the clear frontrunners to claim the redesigned NWSL Shield.
The second-place Washington Spirit, third-place Gotham FC, and fourth-place KC Current are technically still in the running. However, with four matchdays left, Orlando can clinch the Shield outright by either defeating the Spirit this Sunday or winning two other remaining matches.
The regular-season MVP award race is tighter. Though Golden Boot leader Temwa Chawinga (KC) and the league's next top scorer Barbra Banda (Orlando) have pulled away from the pack.
And if Banda snags the honor, both new trophies will likely be bound for Florida.
In this week's episode of The Late Sub, Claire takes a snapshot look at the NWSL, where sometimes single games can tell you a whole lot more about a team than just the final score.
She goes on to chat about unbeaten streak-masters Orlando and Kansas City’s special success, Portland’s ongoing troubles, and which NWSL players — like the Washington Spirit's Trinity Rodman — lit up this week's highlight reel.
Pivoting to the basketball court, Claire talks through remarkable WNBA performances, why the expanded season is a good thing, and the Washington Mystics' late-season upswing.
Claire then rounds things out by responding to a few listener comments about volleyball, before sharing how she was hoodwinked by the U-20 USWNT last Tuesday.
The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.
Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.
With just six games to play, the currently unbeaten Orlando Pride could become the first club in NWSL history to finish regular-season play without a single loss.
Having already clinched an NWSL playoff spot — the Pride's first since 2017 — Orlando extended their record-breaking unbeaten run to 21 with Friday's 0-0 draw with third-place Kansas City. The weekend's result was also the club's fourth-straight clean sheet, setting a new club record.
However, the path to NWSL glory won't be easy: Orlando will face four top teams before the regular season's early November finale.
Portland Thorns continue late-season NWSL losing streak
Elsewhere on Friday, USWNT stars Sophia Smith and Sam Coffey's Portland Thorns dropped their fourth-straight match — the longest regular-season losing streak in club history.
After a historically slow start to 2024, Portland reassigned head coach Mike Norris and promoted assistant coach Rob Gale. The team quickly responded, rattling off result after result to climb the NWSL table and insert themselves into Shield contention. Momentum, however, has waned since the Olympic break.
With Friday's 1-0 loss to Chicago on Friday, Portland is still sixth in the standings, but a slim two points over Bay FC is all that separates them from the eighth and final playoff spot.
With the playoff race heating up, the four-time league champs must rally around standouts like Smith. Otherwise, the Thorns are in danger of putting up the worst regular-season finish in club history.
Washington Spirit win books ticket to NWSL postseason
In other postseason news, the Spirit became the second club to clinch a playoff berth this weekend, downing Houston 3-0 on Sunday.
Striker Ashley Hatch led Washington's scoring with a first-half brace, while forward Trinity Rodman notched an assist before netting the team's third goal.