When the final whistle blew at Red Bull Arena on Sunday, marking the end of the NWSL’s latest quarter-final, the least surprising semi-final bracket had already been established. The top four teams from the regular season (Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit, NJ/NY Gotham FC and Kansas City Current) were now the last four teams standing, clearly demonstrating their dominance over the rest of the league this year.
Their postseason success mirrors their performance in the regular season, in which they created a 16-point gap between themselves and the rest of the league. It’s a notable change from last season, when just 13 points separated first and last place, and a huge milestone for the teams in question. Only Current made the playoffs in 2022, while only Gotham participated in the postseason in 2023, emerging as surprise champions as the lowest-ranked team in the run.
The ability of the top four to transform in a short period of time is another example of the potentially unmatched parity of the NWSL, which has been the league’s biggest competitive draw for years. Dynasties are somewhat rare in this league, although some have come close: the Portland Thorns have qualified for the postseason in all but one season and are the most successful team in the NWSL with three championships. The now-defunct FC Kansas City, meanwhile, won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015, while the North Carolina Courage did the same in 2018 and 2019.
That pattern indicates that, as difficult as it is to win titles in a given year in the NWSL, staying on top season after season could be even more difficult. This begs the question: How long can this season’s top four stay there, and what will it take for the rest of the league to crash the party as early as next season?
Here’s a look at why this season’s top four rose to the occasion and why the NWSL is still well-positioned to deliver some twists and turns for the foreseeable future.
history doesn’t matter
Although this season’s top four includes two previous NWSL champions, they are not necessarily among the most successful teams in the league. That’s especially true for Pride and Gotham, who have historically been among the league’s last inhabitants, while Current only began play in 2021 but has been overshadowed at times by other expansion teams in the past. None of this was a particular obstacle when they began building their current rosters, largely because they were willing to evolve with the NWSL as a whole.
The league is in the midst of a rapid period of professionalization driven by increased investment, which has transformed the way teams can build rosters. Salaries are rising and international roles are more available, while clubs have splurged on everything from high-profile coaches, scouting departments, high-performance staff, training environments and even facilities. This makes many, if not all, NWSL teams a coveted destination in an evolving women’s soccer landscape.
“I think there’s a real interest in moving to the NWSL for a lot of international athletes and for good reason, right?” Orlando Pride sporting director Haley Carter told CBS Sports. “The pay is fantastic. It’s better, overall, than any other league in the world. It’s the best in the world, so when you look up and down a roster, the average salary here is significantly higher than anywhere else.” “.
As a result, each of the top four teams was able to sign some of the most interesting players in the league during the offseason. MVP contenders Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga joined Pride and Current, respectively, over the winter, while Gotham impressively landed four US women’s national team players through the agency free. The Spirit also ventured into the international market to sign Colombian Leicy Santos and also acquired Rookie of the Year favorite Croix Bethune in the draft.
The tactical evolution of the NWSL
The NWSL is not only a strong financial option for players: the game on the field is increasingly attractive. The league has long been classified as a physical league, while its European counterparts are considered more technically advanced, but an influx of international players and coaches has changed the tactical profile of the NWSL. Gotham and the Spirit are two examples of this: the former features reigning coach of the year Juan Carlos Amorós, while the latter welcomed two-time UEFA Women’s Champions League winner Jonatan Girladez during the summer.
Both Amorós and Giraldez hail from Spain, which has reemerged as a soccer superpower in recent years with last year’s victory in the Women’s World Cup and the men’s team’s triumph in last summer’s European Championship. Their resumes, as well as recent successes in Spanish football, make their teams a more attractive destination for potential talent and enhance the skills of other coaches in the league, who have their own impressive tactical approaches. Additionally, the NWSL’s extensive injection of investment makes the league an equally attractive destination for top coaches as it is for players.
“I’m glad the coaches and the players are having success here, wherever they are, because I think we have a fantastic culture. We have a fantastic way of playing,” Amorós said after Gotahm’s win over the Portland Thorns on Sunday. “I hope there is [are] more people are successful because in Spain, as you know, sometimes the conditions in women’s football or in the lower categories in terms of training, [there] “It’s a lot of sacrifice, people making a lot of effort for little money… It’s really difficult.”
Smart reconstructions
In the end, the top four rose to the top of the rankings because they successfully went through a rebuilding period. Their needs were different and so were their obstacles, but the combination of player recruitment, coach hiring and board selections allowed these clubs to create squads that would compete for the championship in a new era of roster building for the NWSL. The big question, however, is whether they can keep things going for a few more years.
In a league where few teams have a significant financial advantage over others, it’s entirely possible that any of the other 10 teams will undergo a rebuild of their own next offseason. Some will be better positioned than others, of course. The Thorns are already in the process of recruiting younger players after relying on veteran players in the recent past, while Bay FC can attribute some of their expansion season struggles to individual mistakes at the back and underperformance in the number of expected goals, both solvable problems. On the other hand, the San Diego Wave likely have a big rethink ahead of them after a season that didn’t improve following the sudden firing of Casey Stoney, and the same goes for the Seattle Reign after losing some key players in the winter.
Player recruiting will take an exciting new turn this offseason, the first since the NWSL eliminated its college draft through a new collective bargaining agreement. College athletes are now essentially free agents, increasing competition among the league’s teams for top talent. The Wave has already started with the signing of Texas’ Trinity Byers, the team’s all-time leading scorer who could help the 2023 NWSL Shield winners after a goalless season.
How quickly they accomplish their own rebuilds is an obvious question, as is the one facing this year’s top four. The players, coaches and management staff of each of the teams that will reach the semifinals will argue that there is still work to do, both leading up to the championship game and looking ahead to next season. They will have to wisely identify their areas of improvement. Gotham, for example, relies on many players in their prime years of play, while Current is in the process of shoring up its defense.
In the end, the changing calculus behind squad formation in the NWSL reflects the league’s historical parity. The teams that cracked the code were the first to go straight to the top, but the learning curve only lasts so long for ambitious NWSL teams. Considering the last year, another competitive offseason is likely on the horizon.
