Well dear readers, it has been a heck of a week or two in the league. Much of the drama centers around off the pitch movement, but the playoff race in the league is super tight behind first place Kansas City and second place Washington Spirit. Seven (7) points separate the third spot and the tenth spot in the standings with seven (7) matches left to go, and most of the teams in the mix having yet to play one another, which makes for an exciting end to the season.
I suspect a few teams that are currently in a playoff position, won’t be by the international break in October. I also think Decision Day will have multiple scenarios, because, honestly, there are about six (6) or seven (7) teams that are about the same talent and staff wise. Anything can happen. Until then, let’s whip around the league and catch up on some recurring themes for the week.
The rising tides
WHO ELSE BUT LUDMILA 🤷♀️
The bottom of the table can feel like a long way off from the playoff line, and teams like Chicago and Utah may have a bit too much ground to cover to make the post season, but they are playing like the teams that would be most dangerous in the playoffs now. Chicago continues their unbeaten streak, and this time, it was finally a win over Orlando, who beat them 6-0 earlier this season. They scored all goals in their 5-2 victory in the second half, sealed by yet another Ludmila goal. It is easy to focus on Orlando (don’t worry, they’ll come up shortly), but Chicago has found a never-say-die attitude that has made them the most exciting team in the league in the second half of the season.
Utah, who is on its own four (4) game unbeaten streak, has circled the wagons after losing their star player Ally Sentnor to Kansas City, and has provided some of the staunchest defense in the league over the past few weeks. After going down 1-0 to North Carolina, Utah fought back and scored the equalizer off a set piece in a match they’ll feel hard done not to take three (3) points from.
Houston Dash get the job done in SoCal 👏
The Houston Dash is also unbeaten since the restart, getting arguably their biggest win away against third place San Diego. Jane Campbell, who is back in as starting goalkeeper, made a slew of saves to preserve the shutout, and Houston dominant on the side that had Yazmeen Ryan, as they put together their most complete game of the season. Houston is currently sitting in ninth on goal differential, but their end of the season run will tell the tale of if they can make the playoffs.
And sinking ships
Final.
— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc.com) September 7, 2025 at 11:57 PM
It feels premature to write this section with several matches remaining, and every team I’m about to mention is still currently holding a playoff spot, but there are a few teams that should hit the panic button now to try and hold onto the postseason.
Seattle Reign started with a win over fledgling ACFC to restart the season, and they haven’t won since. A loss in the Cascadia rivalry was followed by three (3) consecutive draws, and a loss this past weekend to the unbeaten Spirit. Everything that seemed to work in the first half of the season, even if it just worked, has stopped working for the perineal playoff team. Add to that that new record-breaking signing Mia Fishel has only played limited minutes, and Lynn Biyendolo is once again sidelined with injury, it becomes a question of how Seattle will score their goals. Ji also left the squad on loan to Birmingham City and is unlikely to return once her contract expires at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, after a brutal four game stretch of mostly road matches, Louisville faced Portland and outplayed them for much of the match. But a banger of a goal for Julie Dufour, and a late own goal allowed Portland to smash and grab all three (3) points from the Kentucky club and keep themselves in a home playoff spot despite their weaknesses.
There are three (3) winless teams since the season’s restart, and all three teams were a playoff team last season. Bay FC has been underwhelming for much of the 2025 campaign, and the trend continued against Kansas City. It has been an epic sophomore slump for the California side, and there seems to be no way out of it this season. The departure of Asisat Oshoala may open some salary cap room to add a piece from the league, but a playoff push seems more daunting for them than the teams nearest to them in the table.
The Courage have agreed to trade midfielder Jaedyn Shaw to NJ/NY Gotham FC for $1.25 million, which would be a record for an NWSL trade
First reported @JeffKassouf pic.twitter.com/tz7FnHQe5K
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) September 9, 2025
A more shocking decline has been that of historically successful North Carolina Courage. They drew against Utah at home after a long weather delay, but they’ll be happy to escape with the point, as Utah looked like the team more likely to get three points from the match. Carolina has plenty of talent, but they’re amid a coaching change, and they can’t quite seem to make all the pieces fit. They’re only four (4) points out of the playoff picture, and they play the team directly ahead of them this weekend, but it feels like they’re struggling to sustain any momentum. They’re a proud side, and they’ll show fight, but this season feels like a “see what we’ve got” moment now, and that’s not a bad idea.
The last winless team is the most shocking because it is the reigning double winners the Orlando Pride. The Pride began with three (3) straight draws, but it didn’t feel like the side felt good about getting results. Then, after a very heart wrenching week in which they lost Barbra Banda for the season while also singing a then record-breaking deal to acquire Lizbeth Ovalle, they traveled west and lost to Angel City, and continued their skid with a 2-0 loss to Gotham and a 5-2 thumping this past weekend to Chicago.
Ovalle could get going, and that should help Orlando some, but this feels like their best route to a trophy is the CONCACAF W Champions League. They have enough depth to threaten in that competition this season, and they are the NWSL team that does not have another NWSL in their group, so they should be favored to get out of the group. I still expect Orlando to make the playoffs thanks to their early season cushion, but it may not be at home. We shall see if Seb Hines and his staff have a few tricks up their sleeves to salvage the season.
I’m well, I’m fine
A number forever etched in Wave history. Thank you, Alex Morgan, for redefining what it means to be a legend.
The last match of the week was San Diego Wave vs Houston Dash, a match that featured the jersey retirement of Alex Morgan for her last professional club, of which she is now a minority owner. Ceremonial matches for Alex Morgan have not always gone well for her side, and that was true of this match as well. Houston rose to the occasion over the home team and secured a resounding 3-0 victory over the third-place side.
The evening was full of friends and celebration for Morgan, deservedly so, but it was also a chance for the league to use a marquee moment to reintroduce us to the Unwell FC partnership between Alex Cooper and the NWSL. Morgan went on Cooper’s show “Call Her Daddy” in an episode that aired earlier this week, and Cooper appeared again during the match.
Additionally, commissioner Jessica Berman joined the broadcast to talk about the state of the league and player safety. You all know my thoughts on Berman and her tenure, and this appearance did very little to dissuade me from my previous thoughts. It all felt like a moment for a legend that was co-opted by the league and a feisty visiting team. Nothing about this partnership seems to enhance the league or its reach, but I suppose we’ll keep trying, at least for the rest of 2025.
I don’t know, your guess is as good as mine
No introduction needed. 🥶
Alyssa Thompson is a Chelsea player. ✍️ pic.twitter.com/HwVSwLcz5E
— (C)helsea FC Women 🏆🏆🏆 (@ChelseaFCW) September 5, 2025
So, the big news of the past week is also the hardest news of last week. Alyssa Thompson moved from Angel City FC to Chelsea FC for a record transfer fee (most likely 2 million dollars if incentives are met), or, at worst, a record fee that lasted less than five (5) minutes thanks to Michelle Kang. It sparked a mass volume of hot takes. I read a lot of them. I agreed with some of them. I’ll do a quick hitter review for you all now, since I know others will write the in depth think pieces about this for weeks to come.
Yes, I think Angel City should have gotten more in transfer fee money for Thompson, even if the final total hits two million. Yes, I also think that means they sit her until January, because Chelsea was only paying the exact amount that they thought they should for her. We in the US value European players as highly as we value our own. The opposite is not true. There are a handful of players they value at a high salary point at all, and every one of them wears a US kit. Full disclosure, I’m a Chelsea fan, so I’m saying this with a strong knowledge of my club. The USWNT players they wanted are the players they came and got. Precision is not an area of weakness for the women’s team, at least not in business dealings.
Yes, I think the salary cap should go. I understand the fear of smaller markets not competing, but you cannot be the best league in the world and only compete with other domestic clubs. Your competition is global, unlike the NFL who has control over their sport, and you are a top three (3) league in your field, so you cannot copy MLS, which is not.
You’re already a league that makes their own rules. You abolished the draft, and you still have teams signing talented players out of college or youth clubs. Raise the minimum spend and the salary floor to keep domestic players that are not NT players at home, so they can help grow the league and make a living wage.
I also think we aren’t as honest about our relationship with labor when it comes to sports as we claim to be, and women’s sports is a fascinating place to watch that play out right now. I think the league has lost one of its best talents, and that hurts us all. I do not think the league is dying, I do not even think her former team is dying, though it may feel like it for a minute. I think it sucks when they can poach Alyssa Thompson but we can’t poach Lauren James (this is a hypothetical). We’re on the wrong side of a pay-to-play model, and it turns out we don’t like it very much. We should hold onto that feeling when dealing with all things WOSO, from the youth system to the pros.
So that was me just getting out some thoughts. I do not have a salve for us all. I miss great players when they go, and I will until they come back. I know more great players will leave, and that’s also okay with me. But, the league will be okay. New talent emerges, old talent comes back, and we start the season anew each winter. And before autumn settles in and the leaves start dying, go outside, smell the crisp air, and touch every blade of grass. It’s gonna be alright y’all, no matter who you root for.
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Sylvia Bullock is 1/2 of Shea Butter FC and the world’s foremost Christen Press and Crystal Dunn truther. She’ll be covering the NWSL every week for Fearless SC. You can find her on BlueSky at Southern Sylvs.
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