Well dear readers, this past weekend was one that gave an opportunity to all eight teams in the Top 8 to clinch a playoff spot or playoff position. Many opted to put off the fun for another week, but we did have a few clinching scenarios, with the Washington Spirit securing the #2 seed before they played this weekend, and the Orlando Pride securing a playoff berth with a win and a win by Angel City. Next week is the penultimate match day for the NWSL, and it is the last match day before the October international break. Most teams would like to have a spot secured before their players leave for all parts of the globe, but the NWSL is still the chaos league, and it may not work out that way. Let’s tap into the week that was.
I’ve got a ticket for the playoff train
Orlando Pride, the reigning champs, are playoff bound once again 💜
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The Orlando Pride have had a rough second half of the 2025 NWSL season. They lost their superstar to a game that shouldn’t have been played. They are in a must win fight on Wednesday night against Pachuca to advance in the CONCACAF W Champion’s League, and they had just one win since the league returned to play, and that win only came two weeks ago against San Diego. And yet, the Orlando Pride became the third team to clinch a playoff spot when Angel City won the last match of the weekend.
Orlando currently sits in third after a 1-0 victory of the Portland Thorns, on an own goal (OG) from Mallie McKenzie. It wasn’t a pretty win for Orlando, but they didn’t need it to be. They’ve managed to gain points one point at a time, and they looked better against a current playoff opponent, but there are still questions to answer for the defending champions. No matter what happens, or if they answer those questions in time, they will get a shot at defending their title. Considering where this season was heading, that’s a pretty big win for them. Now, let’s see if they can get one on Wednesday to get all three (3) NWSL teams into the semifinals of the Champion’s League.
Rowdy Audi awaits
Did you hear? 👀
We’ve clinched the No. 2 seed again and you know what that means… home playoff energy is about to be 🔥 at Audi Field!
— Washington Spirit (@washingtonspirit.com) October 13, 2025 at 8:54 PM
The Spirit played a heavily rotated squad as they traveled to Cary, NC to play the Courage, who needed three (3) points to increase their playoff chances. As mentioned, DC knew they were the #2 seed prior to kickoff, and that may have played into their performance during the match. The match was also a rainy affair, which meant both teams were more concerned with everyone leaving the match healthy and still in contention for the playoffs and other tournaments. That ended up being the case for both teams, but neither looked like the best version of themselves for stretches of this match. This felt like a “Trinity will save us” match for the Spirit, and that was nearly the case when Rodman scored to put the road team up 1-0.
North Carolina equalized late, and had a few more goals called off for offside (both were the correct call) and managed to earn a point and stay within touching distance of the last few playoff spots. They are four points out of eighth place with two road matches to go. They will be favored to take three (3) points against Bay FC, but their Decision Day match is on the road against Gotham FC, a team that will want to bank their last six (6) points to secure a home playoff game.
On the other sideline, the Spirit now knows that the road to the final will go through Rowdy Audi for them. The Spirit have worked hard to make their home a tough place to play for visiting teams, and I expect them to ramp it up a few more notches for the postseason. Surprisingly, home has not been a fortress this season for DC, particularly in the first half of the season. They’re unbeaten in the second half of the NWSL season and have managed to secure late game draws or wins at their friendly confines. They will lean into that as they try to get back to the championship, with hopes of a different outcome this time around. They are a loaded team, particularly up top, and they create chances in a myriad of ways. But, in the end, this team goes as Trinity Rodman goes. With her free agency looming, no one knows if this is her last go round with the team that drafted her, but it will be a wild ride regardless of if it is the last one.
Who wants to make the playoffs?
Racing Louisville, Gotham, Seattle, and Portland all had a chance to clinch a postseason spot last weekend, with Seattle and Racing Louisville having particularly advantageous matches against teams that were eliminated from the postseason. Neither team could manage more than a draw, while Gotham and Portland lost 2-0 and 1-0 respectively to playoff sides.
In a season where we keep waiting for teams not named Kansas City and Washington Spirit to show us, they’ve raised their level, none of these teams answered the call to walk through the open door. The good news for these squads is that they also weren’t eliminated from the postseason, so they get a redo this weekend. However, Seattle has a sneaky tough game against a scrappy Utah team, Portland must travel to LA to secure a playoff spot, a position that hasn’t historically been great for them, and Gotham and Racing Louisville both have everything to play for against one another in New Jersey.
There are many ways this final weekend before the break could end, but chaos on Decision Day would bring out big emotions from all fanbases involved. It’s playoff time, and I could not be more excited.
Southern California heartbeat
This flick from Jun Endo is UNREAL 🤯
Besides Orlando, the two teams that got three (3) points they had to have are both located in Southern California. The San Diego Wave, who had previously only won one (1) match since the league restarted, pulled off an improbable victory into Utah against a Royals team that needed to win to stay mathematically alive for the playoffs. Utah took the lead early, but Dudinha had her best game in a Wave kit and took her team by the scruff and tied the match at 1-1. She had a few other great chances that just missed, and San Diego managed to take a 2-1 lead into the half.
With the weight of multiple NWSL fanbases rooting against them for a better playoff scenario, they conceded a goal to Mina Tanaka that brought Utah level at 2-2, before Kenza Dali scored a game winner as fluky as the one scored against San Diego the week before. It was a bad day for Mandy McGlynn to have a bad day, not just for her club, who was eliminated with the 3-2 loss, but with the international break coming for a USWNT that has yet to solidify the goalkeeper #2 and goalkeeper #3 spots. There is time for Utah to figure out why they start so slowly in the offseason, but for San Diego, this was the match they had to win, and they won it. They have not clinched a playoff spot yet, but they moved the playoff line and gave themselves a great chance to back into the postseason. If all you need is a chance, they gave themselves one.
Further north, the last match of the weekend was between Angel City FC and the Houston Dash, and the home side had to win to stay alive in the postseason race. The first half of the match dragged a bit, though the LA team created the better goal scoring opportunities, simply by creating them at all. The Dash did not have a shot on target in the first half and had one great goal scoring chance off a poor clearance from Angel City. LA looked like a team that knew they had to win in the second half and got ahead on a second chance ball scored by Kennedy Fuller.
But it was the second insurance goal scored by Maiara Niehues that made the highlight reel. While her individual effort to beat the keeper was impressive, it was the flick on to her that made the stadium, and the viewers at home, gasp. A perfectly weighted pass from Miyabi from the left corner fell to Jun Endo, who made an audacious back heel flick to put the ball perfectly in the path of Maiara, who only had to round Abby Smith to put the goal away. It was one of the best assists of the season, and one of the better assists in football this season. I’ve posted it in this article for your viewing pleasure. It’s okay if you watch it ten times. I have. Most importantly, the win allows Angel City to hope for another week. They may be eliminated by the time they kick off next weekend, but playoff football is about hope until that hope is lost.
Leave the game better than you found it
From Day One to Forever ✨
Can’t wait to celebrate you this Friday, Lu! #ThankYouLu
— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc.com) October 13, 2025 at 6:55 PM
The NWSL has had three (4) retirement announcements recently, with Ali Riley and Christen Press in Los Angeles, Kristen Hamilton in Kansas City, and, yesterday, Lu Barnes in Seattle, announcing that the 2025 season will be their last in professional soccer. All four players are winners, and Riley and Barnes have captained their sides for several years.
Barnes is an OG, a player who has played since the NWSL started. What is more impressive, she has played every minute of her NWSL career with one team, a rare occurrence in most sports, but particularly in this league. I will touch on the legacy of all four (4) players in the coming months, but all I can think of now is this. These are three players who represent all that the NWSL can do as a domestic league. In this league, players develop and grow, both on the pitch as players and off the pitch as leaders. These are players who stood for what was right and tried to live their values as often and as publicly as they could. And, as I said with Riley’s announcement last week, these are four (4) players about whom few people have an ill word to say.
These players came into the league at different times, but every point of entry for them was one of uncertainty. Nevertheless, they persisted while fighting to make the league stable and better for those who came after. We have a long way to go and a lot more work to do to make the NWSL the best league it can be, but Ali Riley, Kristen Hamilton, and Lu Barnes did what so few people do. They left the place they love better than how they found it. Tip of the cap to you three, and 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.
Instead of being used as a garnish, as they should be, terms like ‘generational’ and ‘goat’ are forced into scenarios where they do not belong. That is not the case […]
