With the leaves starting to change colors and fall fast approaching, the playoff race in the National Women’s Soccer League has started to intensify as eight playoff spots are up for grabs with just eight games remaining in the regular season.
This week’s action kicked off on Friday night with expansion side Bay FC downing Portland Thorns FC 3-1 on the road at Providence Park. San Jose/Bay Area native Abby Dahlkemper, who joined the club earlier that week from San Diego Wave FC, scored her first goal for her new club in the seventh minute and Bay FC struck again in the 18th to take a 2-0 lead. Making her first appearance for Portland since starring at the Paris 2024 Olympics, forward Sophia Smith pulled on back for the Thorns in the 32nd minute, pouncing on an errant pass in the back by Bay FC and finishing from close range for her 11th goal of the season. Smith’s 11 goals rank third in the NWSL this season and have already matched her goal total from the 2023 campaign in which she won the Golden Boot.
WATCH: SMITH SCORES 11th GOAL OF SEASON
Smith appeared to have set up the equalizing goal for Portland in the 42nd minute, but was ruled offside. Despite Portland’s pursuit of an equalizer, Bay FC put the game out of reach in the 70th minute and held the hosts scoreless the remainder of the night to move into eighth place in the league standings with 21 points. The Thorns are currently sixth in the table with 27 points.
The Seattle Reign continued their strong run of play and extended their unbeaten run to six in a row with a 3-2 win over Racing Louisville FC on Saturday afternoon at Lynn Family Stadium. After falling behind in the sixth minute, Sofia Huerta equalized from the penalty spot for the visitors from Seattle in the 15th minute, scoring her first goal of the season. Racing Louisville reclaimed the lead just before halftime, but Seattle scored twice in the final 15 minutes for the come-from-behind victory. The win gave Seattle back-to-back wins for the first time this season and moved the Reign into 11th in the standings with 17 points, just four points out of playoff contention. Louisville is 10th on 19 points.
The Utah Royals beat the Houston Dash 3-1 at Shell Energy Stadium to make it four games in a row without a loss. The Royals took a 3-0 lead after 60 minutes before Houston pulled one back in the 73rd minute with a goal from Brazilian international Andressa Alves. With the victory, the Royals moved past the Dash into 13th in the standings while Houston falls into last place.
The North Carolina Courage moved into fifth in the league standings with a 2-1 comeback win over the Kansas City Current on Sunday at WakeMed Soccer Park. Kansas City standout striker Temwa Chawinga gave the visitors the lead in the 62nd minute, scoring her league-leading 14th goal of the season and extending her scoring streak to an NWSL record seven consecutive games. However, the Courage responded quickly and equalized in the 67th minute with a goal from Australian international Courtnee Vine. Level at 1-1 through 90 minutes, Brianna Pinto scored the game-winner in the 90+2nd minute to secure all three points for the Courage. With the win, North Carolina is now unbeaten in 18 consecutive games at home, a streak that dates back to April of 2023. Kansas City, which started the season on a 15-game unbeaten streak, has now lost three straight and drops to third in the table with 35 points.
Angel City was also a 2-1 winner on the weekend, beating the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of more than 18,000 at BMO Stadium. Winger Alyssa Thompson scored her third goal in two games to give ACFC the lead just six minutes in and Sydney Leroux netted the game-winner in the 90+1st minute to negate an equalizer by Chicago deep into first-half stoppage time. Angel City, which made its playoff debut last season, moves into ninth in the standings, are level with eighth-place Bay FC on 21 points, trailing only on goal differential. The Red Stars, who are looking to return to the postseason for the eighth time in club history, are seventh with 23 points.
The Orlando Pride continued their run of dominance, extending their NWSL record unbeaten run to 19 games in a row with a 2-0 win over defending NWSL champions NJ/NY Gotham FC on Sunday evening in Orlando. Despite a lengthy rain delay, there was little slowing the Pride, who took a 2-0 lead less than 20 minutes into the match on a brace from Brazilian international Adriana. Defensively, the Pride held Gotham to just two shots on target while handing the East Coast club its first loss since late June. Orlando, which will clinch a playoff berth with its next win, now has a six-point lead atop the league standings with 44 points while Gotham in in fourth with 34 points.
Rounding out the weekend action, San Diego Wave FC and the Washington Spirit played to a 1-1 draw Sunday night in San Diego. The Spirit, who currently sit second in the standings with 38 points and just one loss in their last 10 outings, took the lead in the 30th minute after forcing the Wave into an own goal. Despite an 18-8 advantage in shots on goal for the visitors, San Diego clawed back and equalized in the 68th minute to secure the point at home and move into 12th in the standings.
Broadcast information on upcoming matches featuring U.S. Women’s National Team players can be found below. All times listed are ET.
| Wednesday, September 4 |
| Concacaf W Champions Cup: Portland Thorns FC vs. Club América |
10:00 p.m. |
CBS; Paramount+ |
| Thursday, September 5 |
| Concacaf W Champions Cup: Alajuelense vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC |
8:00 p.m. |
CBS; Paramount+ |
| Friday, September 6
|
| NWSL: Angel City FC vs. Seattle Reign |
10:00 p.m. |
Prime Video |
| Saturday, September 7
|
| NWSL: Washington Spirit vs. Portland Thorns FC |
12:30 p.m. |
CBS; Paramount+ |
| NWSL: Kansas City Current vs. Utah Royals FC |
7:30 p.m. |
ION |
| NWSL: Bay FC vs. Racing Louisville FC |
10:00 p.m. |
ION |
| Sunday, September 8
|
| NWSL: NJ/NY Gotham FC vs. Houston Dash |
1:00 p.m. |
ESPN2; ESPN+; ESPN Deportes |
| NWSL: Chicago Red Stars vs. Orlando Pride |
6:00 p.m. |
NWSL+ |
| NWSL: San Diego Wave FC vs. North Carolina Courage |
8:00 p.m. |
NWSL+ |
