2025 NVSL The playoffs are here and just like the regular season, everyone is chasing Kansas City Turk after a historic season of Shield Winners. Kansas City is the overwhelming favorite to win the NWSL championship on November 22, but historically the NWSL has been anything but predictable.
Can one of the other seven teams make it through the weeks and lift the trophy? Certainly? Will they? Well…that's why every team will—and won't—win the NWSL Championship.
Next game: on KC Current, November 9, 12:30 pm ET, ABC/ESPN
Why they will win: Talent and tactics. Gotham is not your average No. 8 seed. This is a team that should have finished higher in the standings but laid an egg on Decision Day. However, Gotham is loaded with championship-caliber talent, having set the league on fire with a newcomer just over a month ago. Saw joining a healthy, fit Rose Lavelle and workhorse Jaedyn Shaw.
If Esther Gonzalezscored 13 goals in the regular season, is healthy and has proven that she is capable of leading the team throughout the season.
Why they won't win: Defensive lapses. Only Kansas City has allowed fewer goals than Gotham this season with 25, but seeing Gotham concede goals is something Kansas City could feast on. Gotham survived the self-inflicted mistakes of trying to play under the radar in Sunday's loss to North Carolina, and that's exactly what happened the first time Gotham and Kansas City met in June when Current took the lead three minutes into the game.
Next game: at Washington Spirit, November 8, 12:00 pm ET, CBS/Paramount+
Why They'll Win: Rugged Identity. Louisville's ability to play direct and focused and punish teams on the counter is largely due to its forwards. Emma Sears. Their average possession rate of 41% ranks last in the league, but they have scored 35 goals and 10 wins, according to TruMedia. This is the type of football that doesn't always bring rewards, but can be very effective during a 90-minute knockout game. And maybe—just maybe—their postseason naivety could work in their favor, as it did in, say, the 2016 Western New York Flash.
Why they won't win: Late game management. Louisville has had a tendency to give up points too often late in games this season, forcing them to fight for a playoff spot until the final moments of Decision Day instead of trying to make a playoff game. That trend could return to an inexperienced team playing in the franchise's first playoff game – and in one of the most hostile environments in the league.
Next game: at Portland Thorns, November 9, 3:00 pm ET, ABC/ESPN
Why they'll win: They'll take over the game. San Diego held the ball more than any other team during the regular season—59.4 percent, according to TruMedia, more than 6 percent more than next-closer Gotham—and that allowed the Wave to often dictate games. The Wave showed that again in the first half of Sunday's loss to Kansas City when they jumped out to an early lead.
French connection Before Dali And Dolphin Cascarino remains electric and they can make a difference.
Why they won't win: Inconsistent end product. Their possession game is excellent, but too often this season San Diego fails to score enough points in the final third. The Wave's run of four straight games without a goal immediately after the summer break was the worst of them all.
They finally came alive with a 6-1 win over the Chicago Stars on October 18, but that game was an anomaly—and with all due respect, Chicago is not Portland or any other playoff team. If San Diego has to chase this game down to Providence Park or somewhere else if they advance, that could spell trouble.
Next game: on Orlando Pride, November 7, 8:00 pm ET, Amazon Prime
Why they will win: Experience and determination. Stick with me despite the potential clichés, and yes, get rid of the ChatGPT jokes: Laura Harvey is the winningest coach in league history. Yes, even the all-time great Reign teams she coached lost in the playoffs, but Harvey and the ageless team Jess Fishlock Keep finding ways to win (or score), even if expectations are relatively low. They have exceeded all expectations this year and are certainly capable of making Orlando sweat.
Why they won't win: They don't score enough. Seattle's 32 goals scored this regular season are tied with the last-place Chicago Stars for the worst record of any playoff team. What's worse is that, according to TruMedia, the Reign beat their expected goal rate of 25.19 goals, the worst in the league. Their 162 chances created also rank last in the NWSL this season. Seattle has been able to get results this season, but most impressively, Kansas City suffered one of its three losses in an early-season meeting.
Next game: vs. Seattle Reign, Nov. 7, 8 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime
Why They'll Win: It finally worked out. Orlando was never going to repeat last year's nearly undefeated dual-title season. Orlando is also different from its midseason slump. The Pride enter the knockout stages on a five-game unbeaten run, highlighted by a big 3-2 away win over Spirit in a rematch of last year's final.
What made Orlando great last year was that everyone on the roster played their best, even the role players who weren't the center of attention. This theme returned at the peak of the late season when Carson PickettKerry Abello and Hayley McCutcheon among those who score or create goals. Timing is everything, and Pride can feel like he's on their side.
Why they won't win: They were trapped on the wrong side of the net. Orlando's path to repeat as NWSL champion begins with a scheduling oddity and a trap game: a rematch of Sunday's regular-season finale with Seattle. This 1-1 draw was a toss-up, just like Friday's quarterfinals, and whoever wins on Friday will likely have to travel to Kansas City for the semifinals.
Neither team has a chance here, and while Orlando is more productive than Seattle, the Pride are still middling in the NWSL in chance creation and expected goals this year.
Next game: vs. San Diego Wave, Nov. 9, 3:00 pm ET, ABC/ESPN
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Olivia Moultrie: Looking forward to continuing my journey with the Portland Thorns
USWNT's Olivia Moultrie believes signing a contract extension with the Portland Thorns is the right decision at this stage of her career.
Why they will win: They own the midfield. Well they will win If they can own the midfield. Sam Coffey, Olivia Moultrie And Jessie Fleming are quite capable of this. All three have been instrumental in Portland's consistent late-season form, and Coffey is one of the league's best midfielders. They'll have their work cut out for them against fellow Midfielder of the Year candidate Kenza Daly and the dynamic Gia Corley.
This quarterfinal will be won and lost in midfield, and the Thorns should have a rowdy Providence Park crowd behind them.
Why they won't win: There's a disconnect again. The early-season Thorns suffered from the same problems as the 2024 Thorns: inconsistency and inconsistency. They've largely gotten rid of this in the last month or two to be successful, but the issue of players getting out of sync has cropped up from time to time over the past two seasons. Mostly people carried them through these periods of time, regardless of Sophia Wilson last season or Coffey or Moultrie this year.
San Diego is well-organized—not to mention a solid Spirit team potentially eyeing a semifinal run—and could force the Thorns to stray from their identity.
Next game: vs. Racing Louisville, November 8, 12:00 pm ET, CBS/Paramount+
Why they will win: Consistency. The Spirit have had a quiet season in the shadow of Kansas City, but player by player, they feel they can compete with the league's best as an offense. Trinity Rodman recently said. When healthy, the Spirit has offensive firepower comparable to Kansas City and a central combination Esme Morgan And Tara McKeown largely coped with the task.
Just like last year, when the Spirit was overshadowed by Orlando's dominance, Washington is the best team no one is talking about.
Why they won't win: Growing injury concerns. Washington had nothing to play for on Decision Day and wisely decided to rest players, but the sight of only three healthy skaters on the bench — with two goalies assigned just to have a legitimate lineup — underscored some injury concerns for Kansas City's most legitimate contender. All eyes are on forward Trinity Rodman and whether she will return from her MCL sprain, but how close to 100% is the likelihood of that happening? Croix Bethune And Lacey Santos maybe just name two other major players?
Rodman especially endured pain during last year's playoffs. She and some of her teammates will have to do the same thing again this year.
No. 1 seed Kansas City Current
Next game: vs. Gotham, Nov. 9, 12:30 pm ET, ABC/ESPN
Why they will win: They are unstoppable. This is the best team in NWSL history. Kansas City set records in wins (21), points (65), goals (13) and shutouts (16). Current has a lot of talent in their top six, starting with a solid Lo'eau LaBonta to the screaming Debinhaand on counterattacks, teams punish mercilessly and quickly. They control the game out of possession better than any other team since 2018. North Carolina Courageand this year they had the defense (all season long) to support the offense.
By all logic, this team should defeat any opponent and win the trophy on November 22.
Why they won't win: If Chawinga is unwell… Finding fault with Kansas City, which has lost just three times all season, feels like scratching its head. But one of the main questions is the adductor injury suffered by the back-to-back NWSL Golden Boot winner. Temwa Chawingawho practices day by day and missed Sunday's game two weeks after being injured.
The sample size is small to evaluate Kansas City's games without Chawinga, but Current is less productive (see: a 1-0 loss to Houston last month) and less unpredictable, as Sunday showed. What if Bia Zanerattowho left Sunday's game injured is also unavailable?
