The largest edition of the NWSL playoffs will take place on Friday and the league will expand from six to eight teams, teasing an entertaining round of quarterfinal matches after a fascinating regular season.
The focus of the quarterfinals will be on the top four teams from the regular season, who built a 16-point gap between themselves and the rest of the league. They will be considered the favorites in their quarterfinal matches, while the rest will enter action this weekend as true underdogs. That doesn’t mean the lower seeds don’t have strengths of their own that could see them advance to the semifinals, especially in win-or-go-home games.
Before the action begins, here’s an overview of each NWSL playoff contender.
Quarterfinal schedule
All Eastern Time
Friday, November 8
Orlando Pride vs. Chicago Red Stars, 8 p.m. (prime time)
Saturday November 9
Kansas City Current vs. North Carolina Courage, 12 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, November 10
Washington Spirit vs. Bay FC, 12:30 p.m. (ABC)
NJ/NY Gotham FC vs. Portland Thorns FC 3 pm (ABC)
1. Orlando Pride (60 points, 18-2-6)
Head coach: Seb Hines
Player to watch: Barbara Banda
One of the perennial bottom-dwellers of the NWSL, their fortunes finally reversed this season after a successful rebuild led by sporting director Haley Carter and head coach Seb Hines. They won the NWSL Shield and recorded the league’s longest unbeaten streak at 23 games, and they aim to add to their achievements in their first playoff streak. Barbra Banda will certainly be a focal point after scoring 13 goals in the regular season, although she is not the only source of her goals: Marta has nine this season, while Adriana has six. Even with their offensive exploits, the Pride also boast one of the best defenses in the league after conceding just 20 goals.
2. Spirit of Washington (56 points, 18-6-2)
Head coach: Jonathan Giraldez
Player to watch: trinidad rodman
The 2021 champions, the Washington Spirit, have barely missed a beat this season, even when they had to wait until the summer for new head coach Jonatan Giraldez to join the group. It’s another scoring team with several offensive-minded stars, but US women’s national team star Trinity Rodman stands out from the rest. He has eight goals and six assists this season and is back just in time after suffering a minor injury about a month ago.
3. New Jersey/New York Gotham FC (56 points, 17-4-5)
Head coach: Juan Carlos Amorós
Player to watch: Yazmeen Ryan
They may have been the surprise champions a year ago, but NJ/NY Gotham FC has built a real contender this year. They are the super team of the NWSL after signing four stars from the USWNT over the winter during the free agency window, but their strength is that they have many high-impact players. One of them is Yazmeen Ryan, who played her first games with the USWNT in October after another impressive season in the NWSL, scoring five goals and five assists in the regular season. Keep an eye on Gotham’s defense, too: like the Pride, they’ve only conceded 20 goals this season, with goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger standing out in her first season with the club.
4. Kansas City Stream (55 points, 16-3-7)
Head coach: Vlatko Andonovski
Player to watch: Lo’eau LaBonta
Kansas City Current were one of the most entertaining teams to watch in the NWSL this season, scoring and conceding at times in almost equal measure. Their defensive effort has improved throughout the season after signing goalkeeper Almuth Schult and defender Kayla Sharples, but they have not abandoned their scoring tendencies. However, they could be without regular season leading scorer Temwa Chawinga due to injury. It could complicate things for the Current, but they are not exactly without scoring options: veteran Lo’eau LaBonta has six goals this season.
5. North Carolina Courage (39 points, 12-11-3)
Head coach: Sean Nahas
Player to watch: Ashley Sanchez
Historically one of the best teams in the NWSL, inconsistency got in the way of the North Carolina Courage at times this season. Although they have one of the best defensive records for playoff teams, they rank 10th in the league in expected goals this season. Their offense, however, has some positives, courtesy of Ashley Sanchez, who was a surprising draft day trade from the Spirit. She has five goals and four assists this season, a performance good enough for her to return to the USWNT after about a year away from the group.
6. Portland Thorns (34 points, 10-12-4)
Head coach: Rob Gale
Player to watch: Sam Coffey
The Portland Thorns are the most successful team in the NWSL, but they were far from their best in 2024. Their somewhat porous defense has been saved by an impactful offense, which ranks fifth in the league with 35 goals in the regular season . Sophia Smith is responsible for 12 of them and also has six assists this season, but if the Thorns are to get ahead, Sam Coffey will likely be key as a tone-setting midfielder.
7. Bay FC (34 points, 11-14-1)
Head coach: Albertin Montoya
Player to watch: Rachael Kundananji
Bay FC, the second NWSL expansion team to reach the postseason, recovered from a poor start and found some consistency to earn a playoff spot. They have become cleaner defensively throughout the season after conceding a high number of goals earlier in the year, with the addition of 2019 Women’s World Cup winner Abby Dahlkemper helping their case. Bay will still be able to call on some high-profile forwards to bolster their chances, including Rachael Kundananji. He has five goals and four assists this season, a good performance after Bay paid a record transfer fee for his services in the winter.
8. Chicago Red Stars (32 points, 10-14-2)
Head coach: Lorne Donaldson
Player to watch: Mallory Swanson
Although they booked a playoff spot weeks ago, a late-season slump meant they fell from sixth to eighth place in the final weeks of the regular season. Overcoming that drop against the Shield winners will be no easy task, especially as the Red Stars rank 13th in the league in expected goals. However, if there is anyone who can guarantee the Red Stars are on the scoreboard, it is Mallory Swanson, who has seven goals and four assists in her first full season since recovering from a serious knee injury.
