The No. 1 Kansas City Current are closing in on the 2025 NWSL Shield, gearing up for a Saturday night showdown against the No. 2 Washington Spirit that could inject insurmountable distance between the Current and the rest of the league.
With a 14-point lead at the top of the NWSL standings, Kansas City has already clinched a postseason berth, and the Current only need only a few more results to secure a franchise-first league trophy.
Even more, KC enters Saturday's match on an 11-game unbeaten streak, with the Current hosting the Spirit at their home CPKC Stadium — a pitch where Kansas City has yet to drop a match this year.
Despite that dominance, it may not be smooth sailing for the Current, as Washington's future is beginning to take shape behind recently returned star Trinity Rodman, whose brace lifted the Spirit over the No. 7 Seattle Reign last Sunday.
"She's not back, because she's a different player," Washington head coach Adrián González told reporters about Rodman's level of play. "After her injury, she's more prepared mentally. She's having enough time to get the minutes, the training, and the exposures that she needs with no pressure."
How to watch the Kansas City Current vs. Washington Spirit
The No. 1 Kansas City Current will host the No. 2 Washington Spirit on Saturday, with the top-tier match kicking off live at 7:30 PM ET on ION.
Despite a season spent at the bottom of the table, the No. 13 Chicago Stars have quietly become the NWSL team to beat, racking up a five-game undefeated streak behind a slate of dramatic draws — including Sunday's 1-1 result against the No. 2 Washington Spirit.
Come-from-behind draws fueled all five of the Stars' most recent points, with striker Ludmila having a particularly impressive star turn as of late.
The Brazilian national scored five times across Chicago's last three matches, including Sunday's lone team goal as well as a sub-10 minute hat trick that pulled the Stars level with the No. 10 North Carolina Courage on August 22nd.
"I think we'd be doing a disservice to the league if we laid down just because we're in last place and felt sorry for ourselves," quipped Stars defender Sam Staab.
Chicago will continue trying to extend their unbeaten streak under new interim manager Anders Jacobson, who oversaw his first NWSL match on Sunday while the Stars await the arrival of incoming permanent boss Martin Sjögren.
"It'll be a lot of him getting to know us, and us getting to know him in this next week or so," Staab said of the team's temporary head coach. "This league moves fast. Everything happens fast."
As another NWSL transfer window shutters, big-name trades, transfers, and loans are reshaping rosters ahead of the 2025 regular-season's home stretch.
On Wednesday, No. 10 Angel City announced that the LA club is transferring Australian defender Alanna Kennedy and English midfielder Katie Zelem to the WSL, with billionaire multi-team owner Michele Kang's newly promoted London City shelling out undisclosed transfer fees to add the pair to the Lionesses' roster.
Zelem joined Angel City in August 2024, while Kennedy was an even more recent 2025 offseason addition to the LA side.
Also joining the NWSL transaction fray this week is Racing Louisville, with the No. 7 club hoping to add to their firepower by picking up versatile forward Makenna Morris from the No. 2 Washington Spirit for $115,000 in allocation funds.
In her debut season, Morris notably tied teammate and Rookie of the Year Croix Bethune for the most goals from first-year players in 2024, with each attacker scoring five times despite missing multiple months due to injury.
While this year's secondary transfer window is over, teams are still able to make deals for intra-league trades and loans until the October 9th roster freeze — as well as sign upcoming free agents anytime before the end of the 2025 NWSL regular season.
Many top talents remain unattached for 2026, including a trio of USWNT vets in Spirit star Trinity Rodman, Chicago Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, and Gotham forward Midge Purce.
The NWSL lit up the baseball diamond on Saturday, claiming a new attendance record as the No. 2 Washington Spirit defeated No. 12 Bay FC 3-2 in MLB's Oracle Park in San Francisco.
The 40,091-strong crowd not only shattered the prior NWSL record, when 35,038 fans watched Bay beat Chicago inside Wrigley Field in June 2024, Saturday also set a new attendance mark across all US professional women's sports leagues.
"The players deserve it. They've worked so hard and this league has come such a long way," Bay FC head coach Albertin Montoya said following the historic loss. "When you get football like that, I think every single person that watched that game can leave and say 'Hey, I'd do this again,' because it was entertaining. It was good quality football all around."
The victory marked the Spirit's sixth road win this season, as Washington climbs the table behind midfielder Croix Bethune's first goal of 2025 — and forward Trinity Rodman's first start since April.
"The atmosphere was fantastic," Spirit manager Adrián González said. "The setup, the fans, and having the opportunity to have an experience like this, I think, is just something unique."
Washington now sits 12 points behind league-leaders Kansas City, while just six points separate the Spirit from No. 7 Racing Louisville in an increasingly congested top of the NWSL standings.
Following the NWSL attendance record set by Chicago at the historic Wrigley Field in June 2024, Bay FC will gear up to best the Stars' title during this weekend's clash inside another MLB stadium — the San Francisco Giants' Oracle Park.
With over 35,000 tickets already sold, Bay will officially claim the league's single-game attendance record when the No. 11 NWSL club hosts the No. 4 Washington Spirit on Saturday, topping the 35,038 fans who showed up in Chicago last summer.
With a capacity of 40,260 seats, Saturday's match could significantly surpass that June 2024 mark.
The game will also set the attendance record for all US professional women's sports leagues.
"This is a landmark moment not just for Bay FC or the NWSL, but for the future of women's professional sports in the United States," said NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman in a statement. "Breaking the league's single-match attendance record at a venue as iconic as Oracle Park is a testament to the growing demand, passion, and momentum behind our league."
Reflecting the continued growth of the NWSL, the six most-attended matches in league history have occurred in the last four seasons, with markets like San Diego, Seattle, and Chicago all reaching new heights.
"This is about more than just a match, it is about pushing boundaries and creating something bigger than ourselves," noted Bay FC CEO Brady Stewart. "Everyone who is at Oracle Park [on] Saturday has the chance to be part of history and together show the world what's possible in women's sports."
It's a busy week for some top NWSL teams, as the second edition of the Concacaf W Champions Cup kicks off its 2025/26 group-stage matches on Tuesday night.
Designed to mirror Europe's UEFA Champions League, the Concacaf Champions Cup pits the top clubs from North American leagues in a tournament to determine the continental champion.
This year, a trio of NWSL standouts made the 10-club cut, with last season's top three teams — the Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit, and Gotham FC — in the running for the 2025/26 Concacaf trophy.
Each team will play four group-stage matches over the next two months to determine the four semifinalists who will battle for the trophy in May 2026.
The Champions Cup winners will automatically qualify for the 2026/27 edition of the tournament as well as earn a spot in both the 2027 FIFA Women's Champions Cup and the inaugural FIFA Women's Club World Cup in 2028.
How to watch the NWSL in the Concacaf W Champions Cup
Kicking off this season's Concacaf competition are the 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup champs and 2024 league runners-up Washington Spirit, who will travel south to take on El Salvador's Alianza at 8 PM ET on Tuesday night.
Then on Wednesday, 2024/25 Champions Cup winners Gotham FC will open their title defense by hosting Liga MX Femenil side CF Monterrey at 7 PM ET.
As for reigning NWSL champion Orlando, the Pride will begin their Champions Cup campaign at home next month, facing Costa Rican side Alajuelense at 7 PM ET on September 2nd.
All 2025/26 Concacaf Champions Cup matches will air live on Paramount+.
The first-ever NWSL Rivalry Weekend went off with a bang, with the Portland Thorns emerging as the slates's biggest winner following a definitive 4-2 victory over the Seattle Reign on Sunday.
Four different Thorns goal-scorers found the back of the net to extend Portland's home unbeaten streak to 10 matches.
"Rivalry games are like no other, and to be able to score in front of this crowd was such a great feeling," said Portland forward Pietra Tordin after registering the Thorns' fourth and final goal.
Even more, the result saw the Thorns leapfrog the Reign to claim fifth place in the NWSL standings — the only match to to shift the table all weekend as the bulk of the action ended in draws.
On Saturday, the No. 3 Washington Spirit and No. 8 Gotham FC saw the fireworks fizzle out in a scoreless draw, while a second-half stoppage-time equalizer from No. 11 Angel City's Alanna Kennedy secured the LA side a 1-1 draw with the No. 4 San Diego Wave.
The only other teams to tally three points were Friday victors No. 1 Kansas City and No. 12 Houston, with the Current picking off the No. 14 Utah Royals 1-0 behind star striker Temwa Chawinga's record-breaking goal while the Dash downed the recently coach-less No. 9 North Carolina Courage 2-1.
Call it competitive or call it cagey, but teams across the league have kept scorelines tight and tidy since the NWSL returned to play this month.
2025 NWSL standings: Week 15
1. Kansas City Current (13-2-0)
2. Orlando Pride (8-4-3)
3. Washington Spirit (8-4-3)
4. San Diego Wave FC (7-3-5)
5. Portland Thorns FC (7-4-4)
6. Seattle Reign FC (7-5-3)
7. Racing Louisville FC (6-6-3)
8. Gotham FC (5-5-5)
9. North Carolina Courage (5-6-4)
10. Bay FC (4-6-5)
11. Angel City FC (4-7-4)
12. Houston Dash (4-8-3)
13. Chicago Stars FC (1-9-5)
14. Utah Royals (1-11-3)
It's officially rivalry weekend in the NWSL, as teams lean on regional proximity, competitive history, and plain old bad blood to add an edge to each of the upcoming matchups.
Owing to a full 10-point lead, the No. 1 Kansas City Current are still untouchable at the top of the NWSL standings, but this weekend's games could significantly reshape the rest of the table.
Both old feuds and recent rivalries will be on display across the NWSL — though a few key battles stand out as must-watch showcases of the league's parity:
- No. 8 Gotham FC vs. No. 3 Washington Spirit, Saturday at 12 PM ET (ESPN): The gap in the standings doesn't matter when these title contenders meet, so expect fireworks when stars like Gotham's Rose Lavelle, Esther, and Midge Purce face off against Trinity Rodman and the Spirit.
- No. 4 San Diego Wave vs. No. 11 Angel City FC, Saturday at 10 PM ET (ION): Despite sitting at No. 4 on the table, San Diego has struggled to beat Angel City since 2023 — a trend the LA side hopes to continue in Saturday's battle for SoCal bragging rights.
- No. 6 Portland Thorns vs. No. 5 Seattle Reign, Sunday at 4 PM ET (CBS): The Cascadia Clash is the oldest and most hallowed rivalry in the NWSL, and this season's edition also sees the Pacific Northwest pair locked in a tight playoff race, with the Thorns ready to overtake the Reign with three weekend points.
NWSL star Trinity Rodman made a fairytale return from injury on Sunday, scoring the game-winning goal off the bench to lift the Washington Spirit over the Portland Thorns 2-1.
Suiting up for the first time since seeking treatment for a lingering back issue in April, Rodman entered the match in the 76th minute before breaking through the 1-1 deadlock in second-half stoppage time off a volley from midfielder Croix Bethune.
"That was just the hardest thing I've had to go through with injury and everything," an emotional Rodman told reporters following the NWSL match. "I'm just really happy to be back. I missed the team, I missed doing what I love."
The result has the Thorns now at No. 6 in the NWSL standings while launching the Spirit into third place, leapfrogging now-No. 4 San Diego after the Wave picked up just one point in Saturday's 0-0 draw with the No. 9 North Carolina Courage.
At the top of the table, No. 1 Kansas City widened their lead, claiming a 10-point advantage over the No. 2 Orlando Pride following the Current's 2-0 Friday victory over No. 7 Racing Louisville.
The No. 5 Seattle Reign proved to be the weekend's other big winner, earning one of the league's three wins by topping No. 11 Angel City 2-0 on Friday.
All in all, the NWSL's regular-season summer break gave teams time to regroup — but time is ticking as the 2025 play inches closer to the postseason finish line.
2025 NWSL standings: Week 14
1. Kansas City Current (12-2-0)
2. Orlando Pride (8-4-2)
3. Washington Spirit (8-4-2)
4. San Diego Wave FC (7-3-4)
5. Seattle Reign FC (7-4-3)
6. Portland Thorns FC (6-4-4)
7. Racing Louisville FC (6-6-2)
8. Gotham FC (5-5-4)
9. North Carolina Courage (5-5-4)
10. Bay FC (4-6-4)
11. Angel City FC (4-7-3)
12. Houston Dash (3-8-3)
13. Chicago Stars FC (1-9-4)
14. Utah Royals (1-10-3)
Washington Spirit star Trinity Rodman is gearing up to debut her Adidas Player Edition cleats this weekend, marking her return to the field by rocking the all-new F50 SPARKFUSION PE — a boot built by and for women athletes.
"Growing up as a kid in California, I could never have imagined a day where there would be a cleat literally inspired by me," the 2024 Olympic gold medalist said in a press release. "I can't wait to wear them."
According to Adidas's Thursday release, designers worked to specifically engineer the boots to "excel with the speed and agility demands of the modern women's game."
To do so, the sportswear company researched the unique anatomy of the female foot to address the discomfort reported by women athletes when competing in unisex cleats.
Consequently, the F50 SPARKFUSION PE boasts key design adjustments to improve fit, arch support, stability, and comfort for women athletes. The boots also contain features to boost players' agility across multiple pitch surfaces.
In addition to the performance improvements, Rodman's Player Edition boots come in the 23-year-old USWNT star's favorite colors.
Grounded by a pearlescent white base alongside vibrant light blue details and bold pink stripes — an homage to Rodman's signature pink hair — the attacker's cleats aim to create "a dynamic look that captures Trinity's energy and personality."
Rodman will sport her Adidas Player Edition boots for the first time on Sunday, when her Washington Spirit host the Portland Thorns at 12:30 PM ET on ABC.
How to buy the Trinity Rodman F50 SPARKFUSION PE cleats
The Trinity Rodman Adidas F50 SPARKFUSION PE cleats are currently available for purchase online at adidas.com.