The clock is ticking in the NWSL, with just two regular-season matchdays remaining before the league hits pause on 2025 play to make way for the summer's major international tournaments.

Only five points stand between No. 2 and No. 6 in the NWSL standings, with a slim goal differential determining which club sits above the playoff line.

Bolstered by news of midfielder Sam Coffey's contract extension, the No. 7 Portland Thorns are starting to turn heads, steadily climbing the table despite star striker Sophia Wilson sitting out the season due to pregnancy.

With middle-of-the-pack teams looking to make their mark as the 2025 season approaches its midway point, plenty of heat awaits on NWSL pitches this weekend:

While one result could shift a team's standings spot, clubs are on borrowed time with a lengthy break awaiting the league after the next two match weekends.

San Diego Wave FC's unlikely hold on second place in the NWSL standings continued this weekend, as their new-look roster kept the team's six-game unbeaten streak alive in a rollicking 5-2 win over the North Carolina Courage on Sunday.

San Diego trails only No. 1 Kansas City in the early Shield race, with the Wave holding off reigning champion Orlando by one point on the table despite a hat trick from star striker Barbra Banda against Utah on Friday — the first three-goal showing ever recorded by a Pride player.

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The Wave led the charge in a weekend goal-fest that saw 27 balls find the back of the net across six matches, continuing the 2025 season's immense attacking output.

Kansas City, Orlando, and Louisville each tallied three goals en route to weekend wins, while Utah, Chicago, and Seattle were the only teams to finish with single scoreboard contributions.

No. 8 Louisville's 3-2 Saturday win over No. 7 Angel City earned them a spot above the playoff line this week, sending Gotham below the postseason cutoff line at No. 9.

While stacking goals undoubtedly boosts excitement, there's a lot of the 2025 NWSL season left to go — and teams will likely need more than hot feet to sustain the lead.

The NWSL is back in action this weekend with a top-table match, a bicoastal battle, and some middle-of-the-pack clashes as the 2025 season enters its ninth matchday.

Parity is riding high these days, with just three points dividing the No. 1 Kansas City Current and No. 3 Washington Spirit in the NWSL standings — while only three more separate the No. 4 San Diego Wave from the No. 8 Seattle Reign.

With competition remaining tough as nails, don't expect much more daylight between teams following this weekend's tense lineup:

In a season dominated by topsy-turvy results, the pressure to secure points week-over-week weighs heaviest on the teams who know they have the talent to rise above the rest.

The NWSL Disciplinary Committee issued new rulings on Monday, extending existing suspensions after further reviewing violations of the league's rulebook.

Racing Louisville midfielder Ary Borges earned an additional three-game suspension to her original April 27th red card offense for postgame dissent, with the committee finding that Borges "pushed the center official," per an NWSL release.

The league also handed Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez an extra one-game suspension for his April 26th red card incident, determining that Giráldez "failed to exit the field as required by the NWSL following ejection from a match."

While the members of the NWSL Disciplinary Committee are anonymous, they're responsible for monitoring conduct that warrants review beyond punishments given on the pitch.

Borges previously apologized for her behavior during the Louisville's chippy draw against Portland, saying she let the "the emotional side of the moment" get to her amid officiating concerns.

"I'm not much of talking about referees because they are things that are beyond our control but what happened today in the match was a shame," she added.

Originally penalized for entering the opposing side's technical area in the final minutes of the Spirit's 3-0 loss to Gotham, Giráldez did not comment on his suspension.

At the time, assistant coach Adrián González told reporters, "Sometimes you have a lot of things that you cannot control… He was just trying to protect our players or coaching staff, but nothing else."

Due to the extended NWSL suspensions, Borges will sit out Louisville's next three regular-season matches — May 9th's game against Gotham, May 16th's clash with Seattle, and May 24th's visit to Angel City — while Giráldez will miss Washington's May 10th match against Chicago.

The NWSL's final weekend is all drama, complete with heated clashes that will determine the last two postseason berths and nearly all seeding for the 2024 NWSL playoffs.

While Shield-winners Orlando are secure at the top, the Pride will be desperate for a Saturday win over Seattle as they try and replace their two straight losses with some postseason momentum.

At the same time, Washington, Gotham, and Kansas City will all be jockeying for the No. 2 seed this weekend. While the Spirit and Current must contend with playoff-bound North Carolina and Chicago, respectively, Gotham's Friday matchup against a surging Utah looks surprisingly competitive.

Angel City defender Jasmyne Spencer kicks the ball during an NWSL game against Portland.
Could Angel City block Portland’s shot at the NWSL playoffs? (Jessica Alcheh/Imagn Images)

Three NWSL teams battle over two playoff tickets

Seeding race aside, the final matchday's main event is an NWSL version of musical chairs in which three clubs — Portland, Bay FC, and Racing Louisville — will duke it out for the league's final two playoff spots.

The seventh-place Thorns and eighth-place Bay FC currently sit three points ahead of ninth-place Louisville, allowing both to clinch berths with either a win or a draw. If Portland and Bay walk with at least one point each, the postseason lineup will be settled before Sunday.

Should one or both teams lose, it'll all come down to Sunday's regular-season finale, where a win over San Diego plus a tie-breaking goal differential could send Louisville through to the quarterfinals.

Bay's Savannah King and Houston's Diana Ordóñez battle for the ball during an NWSL match.
One of Houston's five regular-season NWSL wins came against Bay FC in March. (Lyndsay Radnedge/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

The high-stakes elimination games

With the most on the line, Portland will shoot to extend their season — and goalscoring legend Christine Sinclair's career — against an already-eliminated Angel City side with nothing to lose on Friday. Perhaps most concerning is the fact that the up-and-down Thorns have lost three of their last four matches, while ACFC has only dropped one in the same stretch.

Bay FC arguably received a season finale gift in a Saturday visit to the Houston Dash, who finish the year at the bottom of the NWSL table. That said, one of the Dash's five wins this season came in a 3-2 Bay defeat at the end of March. Plus, with the worst goal differential of the three teams still in postseason contention, Bay will want to clinch with a Saturday result rather than gamble on potential tiebreakers.

As mentioned, a Portland or Bay loss sets up Sunday's final tilt as the weekend's biggest match, where Louisville will need to do better than their scoreless April draw with San Diego to usurp one of the West Coast squads's playoff spots.

How to watch this weekend's NWSL playoff elimination matches

Portland and ACFC will kick off the NWSL's make-or-break action on Friday at 10 PM ET on Prime before Houston hosts Bay on Saturday at 9:30 PM ET, airing on ION.

Should chaos rule the weekend, Louisville's match against San Diego will cap both the 2024 NWSL regular season and the playoff picture on Sunday at 5:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN.

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.

Bay FC's Asisat Oshoala celebrates a goal in an NWSL game.
A Bay FC win on Saturday would eliminate three NWSL clubs from playoff contention. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

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:

Orlando's Adriana and Gotham's Tierna Davidson chase the soccer ball in an NWSL game.
2023 champs Gotham and 2024 NWSL Shield-winners Orlando will face off on Sunday. (Mike Watters/Imagn Images)

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.

Angel City FC forward Christen Press celebrates with defender Jasmyne Spencer after scoring a goal against the North Carolina Courage in an NWSL game.
Angel City forward Christen Press will square off against the surging Utah Royals this weekend. (Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images)

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.

The NWSL’s second transfer/trade window opened on August 1st, setting off a flurry of rosters shifts across the league. 

The summer's already seen an influx of overseas signings, while many recent moves have remained domestic.

NWSL player Janine Beckie on the field for the Portland Thorns before her trade to Louisville
Ex-Portland forward Janine Beckie is just one of several NWSL players picked up by Racing Louisville during this trade window. (Soobum Im/Getty Images)

Racing Louisville stacks roster in NWSL playoff push

 Racing Louisville has emerged as a hotbed of change, adding former Portland forward Janine Beckie on Wednesday in exchange for rookie Reilyn Turner.

The swap comes a day after Louisville signed Colombian defender Ángela Barón, and two days after sending midfielder Jaelin Howell plus $50,000 in allocation money to Seattle in exchange for Reign striker Bethany Balcer.

The ninth-place club is evidently gunning for its first playoff berth, as it currently sits just outside the eight-team postseason cutoff with 10 regular season matches left.

10th-place San Diego and 11th-place Angel City are also chasing the playoffs — along with Racing, the trio sits within three points of eighth-place Bay FC.

The Wave added six-time UEFA Champions League-winning French international Delphine Cascarino to bolster its front line last month. While last week, ACFC signed English midfielder Katie Zelem, who links up with her former Man United teammate Christen Press.

NWSL players Arin Wright and Carson Pickett on the field for Racing Louisville before Pickett's trade
NWSL mainstay Carson Pickett departed Racing Louisville for Orlando last week. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Top NWSL teams eye their slice of the playoff pie

The top of the table also got in on the action, with first-place Orlando welcoming back Louisville import Carson Pickett and second-place KC bringing on longtime Seattle defender Alana Cook.

Kansas City strengthened its Golden Boot-leading offense with Kenyan midfielder Mwanalima Adam Jereko and South African forward Hildah Magaia.

Perennial contender Portland is eyeing the NWSL's top four, tacking on ex-KC forward Alexa Spaanstra and Australian goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold alongside Racing's Turner.

The Women’s Cup field has been finalized, with Chilean club Colo Colo joining the four-team field. 

Colo Colo will join Racing Louisville of the NWSL along with Italy's Juventus and Brazil's Palmeiras at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville from August 9th through 13th. 

The tournament will have a $100,000 prize pool.

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"We are honored to have Colo-Colo as the first Chilean Team to play in The Women’s Cup," said J.P. Reynal, CEO of The Women’s Cup, in yesterday's press release. "Women’s soccer has seen exponential growth in South America and having two of the best teams in the region participating in this year’s tournament is proof they can compete with the top teams from Europe and the United States."

"We are pleased to be considered in this important championship for women’s soccer and very proud that Colo-Colo is one of the most important exponents of this discipline in Chile," echoed Enzo Caszely, president of women’s football at Colo-Colo. "As a club, we have been pioneers in its professionalization at a national level, and this instance is proof of it."

Juventus and Colo-Colo will square off on Friday, August 9th at 5 PM ET followed by Racing Louisville and Palmeiras at 8 PM ET. Tickets can be purchased now via both The Women's Cup's and Racing Lousiville's websites.

This is Racing Louisville's third time featuring in the competition. The team won The Women's Cup's first iteration in 2021, beating German side FC Bayern in penalty kicks at Lynn Family Stadium. The Seattle Reign claimed The Women's Cup in 2022.

The Kansas City Current will also host a Women’s Cup tournament from August 14th through the 17th. The winners of each 2024 tournament will then face each other in the Global Series Finals, scheduled for February 2025.

For the first time ever, NWSL teams will play in South America.

NJ/NY Gotham FC and Racing Louisville will participate in The Women’s Cup in Colombia, with doubleheaders scheduled for Feb. 27 and March 2. Both NWSL teams will be joined by América de Cali and Deportivo Cali, winners of two of the last three Liga Femenina Profesional championships.

“The Women’s Cup Colombia provides an invaluable competitive opportunity for us to face high-level opponents in true game scenarios,” said Gotham FC general manager Yael Averbuch West in a press release. “As we fine-tune our chemistry heading into the regular season, we look forward to meeting new opposition in addition to exposing both the players and the club brand to new audiences and experiences.”

It’s the first time in history that two NWSL teams will compete against two South American clubs. It’s also the first time that the Women’s Cup will be played in South America.

Three more Women’s Cup tournaments are planned in 2024, with the others yet to be announced. Summer events in the United States and Europe are set to be announced in the coming weeks.

Reigning NWSL champion Gotham FC will kick off the tournament against Deportivo Cali on Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. ET. Racing Louisville will play América de Cali at 8 p.m. ET.

Losers of those games will play a third-place match at 5:30 p.m. ET on March 2, while the winners will play in the tournament final at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Racing Louisville has played in the Women’s Cup before, having won the first edition of the tournament in 2021. They beat Bayern Munich on penalties in the championship match. Other teams to have won the event are OL Reign (2022) and Atlético Madrid (2023).

Beverly Yanez is Racing Louisville’s next head coach, having been elevated from her position as an assistant coach during the 2023 season.

Back in October, the club parted ways with head coach Kim Björkegren, announcing that he was returning home to Europe “to pursue other opportunities.” The 41-year-old from Sweden had joined the club in December 2021, with his contract set to expire this year.

Yanez joined the club as an assistant coach ahead of the 2023 season after two seasons with Gotham FC in the same role. She retired from professional soccer in February 2020, after a career that included stops with the Western New York Flash and OL Reign.

As an assistant coach, Yanez has received high praise from several Racing players, including Paige Monaghan, who joined Louisville from Gotham FC in free agency. Yanez helped bring in Monaghan, and the forward became a key part of the team’s attack this year, recording a career-high four goals and two assists.

“I was just blown away by her,” Monaghan said of Yanez. “She treats everyone so well and just cares so much about every single person: whether you play 90 minutes, whether you’re playing five minutes, whether you’re not rostered, whether you’re hurt.

“She brings the best out of every single player. So, I think Louisville hiring someone like that and bringing her in on staff says a lot about the direction.”

Racing Louisville joined the NWSL as an expansion team in 2021 and has yet to make the playoffs in three seasons, finishing in ninth place in 2022 and 2023. Yanez is the third head coach in the club’s history.