Hello dear readers, and welcome back to the article for the penultimate match day of the season. We had a lot of possibilities going into Match Day 25, and only one spot undecided once we exited the weekend. Many teams seem to be backing into the playoffs, with a few getting a statement win at the right time. The game is saying its final goodbyes to legend, as time marches on and new talent takes over, and two of the best players in the league are in a race to recover in time for their team’s playoff pushes.
No more unbeatens
This weekend saw the last two unbeaten streaks for the second half of the NWSL get broken, as the Washington Spirit lost to the Orlando Pride, and Shield winners Kansas City Current lost to a scrappy Houston Dash side. For both losing sides, the matches were of little consequence, and they have sewn up the number one and number two seeds in the playoffs.
One could argue this is the best win of Orlando’s season and it came at exactly the right time for the defending champions. We’ve had many questions about the state of Orlando, and rightfully so. They’ve struggled to get a point (1) from most matches, much less three (3), but they came back twice against the team they beat in last year’s final, with a Marta penalty sealing the victory for them. After a tough loss midweek that knocked the Pride out of the CONCACAF W Champion’s League, they vaulted themselves into third place with a victory, and will face the current fourth place team, the Seattle Reign, on the last match day of the season. For all their follies, Orlando has a chance to finish the season in third, a feat no one thought possible a mere two weeks ago.
As for the Spirit, they are down their superstar yet again, as Trinity Rodman suffered a mild MCL sprain midweek in a bid to secure the top spot in the CONCACAF W Champion’s League. The Spirit did that, and Rodman is slated to be back by the playoffs, but she withdrew from the UWSNT camp as a precaution and is working with the medical staff to get back healthy in a way that contributes to the team. With her future with the Washington DC side up in the air due to pending free agency, this may be her last run in the nation’s capital. DC fans deserve to see the best version of Trinity if this is the last go round.
Sending support to KC Current star & Golden Boot leader Temwa Chawinga who left the field with an injury ❤️🩹
— The Women’s Game (@womensgamemib.bsky.social) October 19, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Kansas City put out one of their stronger lineups, which included likely back-to-back MVP Temwa Chawinga, against a Houston Dash team that had to win the match to stay alive in the playoff race, if only for a night. The Dash played well, though they still allowed double digit shot attempts inside the box, and crafted a wonderful goal that was finished off by Ryan Gareis, making it her first NWSL goal. The Dash held firm on defense and snuck out of Kansas City with a 1-0, hope, and the shock result of the season. Unfortunately for the Dash, they needed help to make the postseason and did not get it the following day, but it is a win to hang their hats on going into the offseason.
For Kansas City, this was a meaningless game that became meaningful when Temwa Chawinga went down in pain. She left the match and has since been diagnosed with an abductor strain, the severity of which we are unsure of as of publication of this piece. She had to withdraw from matches with Malawi, and it is working with the Current medical staff to get back as soon as possible, and as healthy as possible. For all of Kansas City’s depth, that team doesn’t work without Chawinga. The existence of one of the best players on Earth allows your team to scheme in ways that other teams cannot. There is certainly enough talent to win a first-round match against the eighth seed, even in this league of parity, but a run to the final will require the most unguardable player in women’s football. Kansas City will be hoping for a grade one sprain and a return to form by the semi-finals as a best-case scenario. I hope they get it. The fans deserve a post-season with Temwa in it.
Get up off the mat
Credit: San Diego Wave
San Diego was in danger of falling out of the playoff race two weeks ago and didn’t show many signs of improving during their second half free fall. But they got to play two eliminated teams in a row, and it has changed their fortunes. The Southern California side qualified this weekend with a 6-1 drubbing of the Chicago Stars to punch their postseason ticket. A fluke goal the weekend before put them in the driver’s seat for a playoff spot, and now they will fight to try and snatch a home playoff match, though they will have to beat Kansas City in the final week to do so. This version of San Diego, with summer signing Dudinha in top form leading the charge, may pull it off. But even if they are on the road, they have enough weapons to pull of an upset. I think it will be more difficult against better competition, but postseason success is often predicated on when you are at your best, not if you are the best. If the last two weeks are any indication, the Wave will feel like they have a chance to win against anyone.
The Portland Thorns needed a win Sunday to secure their spot in the postseason against an eliminated Angel City side in an emotional match for the LA team. While neither team overly impressed, Portland got two goals from Olivia Moultrie and a few big saves from Mackenzie Arnold to take the three (3) points and a postseason spot. Of the teams that won their must win matches, Portland likely sparked the least joy, but all they had to do was get in, and they did so. They will play the eliminated Houston Dash on the last match day, with a chance to fight for a home playoff match, though they would need help to get it. But Portland is team with a long postseason pedigree and will bet on themselves to pull of an upset, particularly if they get a 4 vs 5 matchup. Watching how seeding shakes out in two weeks will be the second most interesting part of Decision Day. The first…
Hello darkness my old friend
WHO ELSE BUT MANAKA?!? 🪄
Manaka earns her second NWSL Player of the Week honor of the season!
— North Carolina Courage (@nccourage.com) October 21, 2025 at 9:36 PM
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Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Racing Louisville finishes in ninth. If you are unfamiliar with their short history, Racing Louisville has finished in ninth place every year of their existence, and their aim this season has been to make the playoffs, which would end the curse of 9th place. Racing had a chance to break the curse this past weekend and came close to doing so twice when they took the lead against Gotham FC in New Jersey. But Gotham came back twice to get the result 2-2, securing their postseason spot. Racing eliminated Houston and Angel City with this result but did not secure their trip to the postseason before Decision Day. Now they are in a must-win situation. The scenario is simple, win and they’re in. They play Bay FC on the last day, and on paper, this is a match they should win. But Louisville has never been here before, and we do not know how they will stand up to the pressure when their goal is within reach. Time will tell if they are more comfortable chasing or being chased in the standings.
The team chasing Louisville for the final spot is the North Carolina Courage. They sit two (2) points behind Racing after a 4-1 victory over Bay FC, with a hattrick from the scariest player in the NWSL not named Temwa Chawinga, Manaka Matsukubo. The young Japanese international notched her first hattrick and joined the Golden Boot race as she carries her team to a final playoff push. The Courage have won the games they had to win and have done so without a permanent coach. It is a testament to the talent on the pitch and the expectation of postseason football that has propelled the Cary side to this point in the season. They will face Gotham at home on the last day, a team that has already secured a postseason berth, and can get in with a win and a Louisville draw or loss (North Carolina cannot lose the goal differential battle if Racing does not win). North Carolina will need to take care of business and become the biggest Bay FC fans for a day to continue their MVP candidate’s season. This is the type of drama Decision Days were built for, and I hope in the coming years we have more close races on the last day.
The courage of your conviction
Christen Press celebrating her retirement surrounding by her loved ones 🥰
Home fans said goodbye to their legends this week. In Seattle, without a guarantee of a home match, the Reigns fans and players celebrated OG Lu Barnes, who will retire at the end of the season. Barnes has played for the Reign since their inception and has the most matches played and minutes played in NWSL history. She has been a captain, a leader, and a Defender of the Year in a league that was unstable and scary for much of her time in it. The Reign have been a standard setting franchise, in part due to Barnes and her quiet but steady leadership. She has often been a moral compass for the squad and a consistent presence in the Seattle community. During the height of the pandemic and the fight for racial justice, she stepped into the role of the willing ally, and has never left it, even when it stopped being trendy. Lu Barnes is an example of what the NWSL can produce. A homegrown player that can have a long and impactful professional career, regardless of national team status. The NWSL and women’s football is better for having Lu Barnes in it, and I’m proud to have called her my captain.
Down in Los Angeles, the fans said goodbye to two LA legends, Christen Press and Ali Riley. Over 19,000 people came to say goodbye to two of their own as they played at BMO for the last time. It was an emotional day as everyone reflected on what these two players meant to the game. Personally, they’ve meant a lot to me in my short journalism career. Both have given me their time and their wise words, and both have given me a chance to cover them as they played, and didn’t play, as their bodies betrayed them. Watching Christen Press and Ali Riley fight to get back to playing the game they love has been insightful and has incentivized many to be the kind of vulnerable and honest they have been with us in their journeys.
I’ve watched Ali Riley run the flanks and stick to her player and crash the box to score a defender’s goal. I have watched Christen Press make impossible shots and hold the title of best American shooter, a title that she’ll hold for a while longer, until the next best shooter comes along. But what I have admired most about both, and from Lu Barnes, is the courage of their conviction. They spoke out when it was costly to do so. They fought for their teammates, and themselves, when no one else was willing. In the fact to make something you love better, you rarely see the fruits of your labor. It is fruit meant for the next generation to eat, and that is the case here. Ali Riley said she wished to be forgotten one day, that that is how she’ll know there’s been true progress. Their names may be spoken less over time, but their contributions and their changes will resonate through the generations. We are all better players, people, and fans for having watched these three play.
Thank you for loving the game, even when it didn’t deserve it. Thank you for letting us watch you play Ali, Christen, and Lu. Thank you.
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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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