Well dear readers, it’s been a busy week in the league, both on and off the pitch. My apologies for the delay, but a little birdie told me about some news dropping and I wanted to make sure I included it this week. The race for the playoffs stays close, with no team being eliminated, though that could happen this weekend for the Chicago Stars. I won’t waste more of your time, let’s get into the action.
Purple power
Credit: Orlando Pride
Two teams that desperately needed a result this week were the Orlando Pride, who had not won a match since the restart of the season in August, and Racing Louisville, who has conceded from a winning or tied position far too often this season. In a gritty match against an Angel City squad who also needed three (3) points to make their playoff chase more manageable, Louisville used their press to create their best scoring opportunity, and converted on a pass into Sarah Weber, and played prevent defense for the remainder of the match to take a 1-0 victory and hop back into the playoff picture.
The Orlando Pride played away in sunny San Diego against a Wave team that has only won one match since the restart but was ahead of Orlando in the standings. After Lizbeth Ovalle’s first NWSL, San Diego struck back off a Orlando mistake, and the match stayed knotted through the half. A wonderful strike from Carson Pickett gave Orlando a 2-1 lead, and they held on for their first win and are now just one point out of a home playoff spot with four matches to go. The Pride could jump into fourth, and as high as third this weekend with a win, while Racing Louisville faces a North Carolina Courage team that is directly behind them in ninth in the standings. Match Day 23 is the weekend of the six (6) point tilt, and we should all get excited about it.
The battle for third heats up
Credit: Gotham FC
Gotham FC put on an impressive performance at home against the Portland Thorns (more on them shortly), with a standout performance by Rose Lavelle, who has been in top form over the past month of the season. She is still a unique and elite midfielder that is now joined in the middle of the park by Jaedyn Shaw. The Seattle Reign, who only had two wins since the restart, managed to come back at home, where they are formidable, and snag a 2-1 win against the North Carolina Courage. The result catapulted them up to fourth place, one point behind Gotham.
Credit: Seattle Reign
And wouldn’t you know it, those two teams face off in Harrison this weekend. The sides drew in their first meeting of the season in Seattle, but both want to go for the three points. A winner in this match would have sole possession of third with three matches to go, and with Gotham’s next opponent being Kansas City in Kansas City, after a midweek CONCACAF W Champion’s League match against the Spirit, they may want those points just a bit more. It should be an intriguing Sunday afternoon matchup that prepares us for the playoffs a month in advance.
A Gift arrived a day early
MAKE THAT A GIFT MONDAY HAT TRICK 🤩
— Washington Spirit (@washingtonspirit.com) September 28, 2025 at 8:10 PM
The Washington Spirit played their best and most complete match of the season on Sunday, routing the Houston Dash 4-0. Gift Monday had a first half hattrick by minute thirty-six, and Sofia Cantore subbed on and added a fourth from one the most entertaining goal scoring sequences of the season. The Spirit attack lived in wide spaces and could have added a few more goals against a Dash defense that could offer no resistance.
The Spirit are without key players like Rebecca Bernal and Casey Krueger, but they still have some of the best depth in the league, and their attacking players are in top form at the exact right time. They have a midweek match against Gotham in the CONCACAF W Champion’s League, and a match against a San Diego side that will be desperate for three (3) points to stay in the playoff race. I am still looking for consistency from the Spirit, particularly on defense, but the best version of this team can beat any team in the league, including Kansas City. With this victory, the Spirit also clinched a postseason spot and have the chance to clinch a home playoff match this weekend with a victory.
Who wants to make the playoffs?
We’ve touched on the teams that helped their playoff chase, but there are two teams that may want to hit the panic button before it’s too late. The Portland Thorns and San Diego Wave were once in the Top 4 and gathered enough timely wins that it seemed a forgone conclusion that they would be in the postseason. Since the restart, Portland’s form has been streaky, and the Wave have only managed a single win, allowing them both to stay alive, but barely.
My educated guess is only one of these teams will make the postseason, and the other will have an extra month to reflect on how they let it slip away. And, for the team that does stay in the playoff picture, they may lament not having a home playoff match, when they had it in their hands a few weeks ago. The postseason starts now for both squads, and Portland has the better chance at three (3) points this weekend. Speaking of Portland…
Hina meenie miney MA, a trade has happened, oh my god! (I tried)
We’ve completed a trade with Angel City. The trade sees Hina Sugita depart for Angel City FC in exchange for defender M.A. Vignola and intra-league transfer funds.
Hina, thank you for showing up every day and giving your all to this city. We wish you all the best in LA ❤️
— Portland Thorns FC (@thornsfc.com) September 30, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Well, well, well, the off the field action isn’t done yet. The deadline for intraleague trades ends October 09, 2025, but Portland and Angel City decided to get a deal done a week early, with both teams still making a post season push. Fan favorites Hina Sugita and M.A. Vignola were traded for one another, with Vignola going to Portland, along with 600k in intraleague funds, and Hina Sugita joining Angel City and Nadeshiko (that’s Japan’s women’s national team) teammates Jun Endo, Miyabi Moriya, and Hannah Stambaugh.
Both moves make football sense to fill an immediate need, with Portland desperate to sure up their backline, and Angel City finally getting the elite midfielder they’ve lacked since their founding. Health and mileage will determine if one or both teams will benefit more long term, but for the rest of the season, this feels great. And, secretly, that LA midfield, on paper, could be fun going forward. I cannot believe I am writing this sentence, but I’m more worried about Portland’s future and roster build than Angel City’s, and that’s not something I thought earlier this month. One move really can change the outlook of a franchise.
One of football’s greatest power straights is retiring
Credit: NWSL
First, the term power straight was not coined by me, but was coined to describe vaunted allies in the WNBA such as A’ja Wilson and Sabrina Ionescu. However, I’m adopting it for NWSL usage in this instance. Ali Riley, captain of Angel City and the New Zealand women’s national team, is retiring at the end of the season. There is still another month to talk about Ali Riley the football player, and she was an excellent one for a long time, but Ali Riley’s mark on the sport, as a good and decent human being, will resonate much longer than her stats or results.
She helped build a Stanford program that is now a dynasty, helped make Sweden a viable option for young American players, used her voice to speak out against discrimination, and has been the consummate teammate to two generations of players. And I’ve never met a person that doesn’t like Ali Riley, which may be the most impressive thing about her, especially in the sport of football. Riley has multiple sponsorships and her own show, so we will see her around the game for a long time, but the sport will miss her as a player, a teammate, and as one of its most comforting faces.
Well done Ali Riley. Well done.
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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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