Hello and welcome back to NWSL Crunchtime, The Cutback’s newsletter for the business end of the National Women’s Soccer League season.
If you missed last week’s NWSL Crunchtime, then get caught up right here.
We’re really getting to maximum crunch hours now. I’m talking a bowl of Crunchy Nut corn flakes, with a Crunch Corner on the side, all while the credit crunch of the 2000s rolls on.
There is just one (yes, one!) matchday left of the NWSL regular season. It is all to play for.
Decision Day, the 30th and final matchday, will see all 16 teams play at the same time (5:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 p.m. GMT) on Sunday 1 November.
Shield race down to two
After all last week’s drama of the Washington Spirit beating Gotham for the first time since 2024, the Spirit officially dropped out of the race for the top spot in the table after losing 2-1 to the KC Current.
As expected, former Spirit player Croix Bethune was in the heart of the action and got her 11th assist of the season for KC’s second goal. That set a new record for assists in a single NWSL season.
Gotham did their best to almost claim the Shield one week early, defeating the Orlando Pride 2-1 in Florida without Rose Lavelle or Jaedyn Shaw, both absent due to injury. The Boston Legacy couldn’t quite do Gotham a favour and seal an upset win in San Diego against the Wave. But a 2-2 draw did increase the gap between Gotham (1st) and the Wave (2nd) to three points.
That means the winner of the Shield will be crowned on Sunday. Gotham hosts the Utah Royals (6th), who have already clinched a playoff spot and will need just one point to claim their first-ever regular season title. The Wave travels up the California coast needing a win against Bay FC (14th), in addition to Gotham losing at home to Utah.
Three become one
Seven teams have now booked their spots in the playoffs: Gotham, the Wave, the Spirit, the Current, Angel City, the Royals, and the Portland Thorns. The eighth and final playoff spot will go to one of three teams: the Seattle Reign (8th), the NC Courage (9th) or the Denver Summit (10th).
Seattle have been in the driving seat for most of the season and have spent just six matchdays outside the top eight. Laura Harvey’s team earned a credible 0-0 against her former side, Utah, this past weekend which propped up their slim advantage on the chasing pack. They now host the Pride on Decision Day needing a win to guarantee a playoff spot, or a draw combined with a Courage draw or loss.
The Courage charged up the table from August to October on the back of the record-breaking exploits of Ashley Sanchez. But it turns out that goals don’t always win games and, despite being third in the table six weeks ago, a poor run of form with four defeats in their last five has put NC the wrong side of the line. A narrow 1-0 loss to the Thorns was the latest blow.
Denver know the pain of high goalscoring not producing enough points. In fact, after a 6-1 thrashing of Racing Louisville, the Summit are the highest scorers in the NWSL with 53. Should they not make the playoffs, it will be the first time in league history the highest-scoring team has not made it to the post-season.
Give some love to the fixture gods, who have booked the Courage to take on the Summit on Decision Day. Both teams will be rooting for Seattle to drop points. The Courage could get away with a draw, providing they win; while Denver will need Seattle to lose in addition to beating NC. Goal difference is heavily in both NC’s and Denver’s favour should they tie on points with Seattle.
Right to host
The top four finishers in the NWSL will host in the first round of the playoffs, which start next Friday, 6 November. Gotham and San Diego are booked in, but the third and fourth hosting spots are fairly open, especially if any teams opt to rotate their squads with an eye on the impending playoffs.
KC (four straight wins) and Angel City (unbeaten in nine) are coming into Decision Day with the most momentum and could be the two to watch if the Spirit were to drop out of the the top four. However, the Spirit are gifted with a home game against one of the worst NWSL teams in history: the last-place Chicago Stars.
The Thorns, who clinched their playoff spot last weekend via one of the sweetest strikes you will see this year by Marie Muller, will be able to welcome back Sophia Wilson after she completed her two-game suspension for a hair pull.
Utah, who will be under the spotlight travelling to top side Gotham, are a curious one to watch. Briefly top of the table before the summer break, they have won just twice since September and are yet to beat any of the top four sides this season.
Where to watch
For the Americans out there, get locked in for Decision Day at 5:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, 1 November. You can watch Gotham FC vs. Utah Royals on ESPN, watch any other match on ESPN+, or watch a live whip-around reaction and instant-highlights show on ESPN2.
For those in the UK, put on an extra pot of tea and bring a blanket for a 10:00 p.m. GMT start. Right now, per Live-Football on TV, TNT Sports is set to broadcast Angel City vs. Boston Legacy (not that spicy), in addition to NC Courage vs. Denver Summit (quite spicy). That would mean the other games being streamed, for free, over on NWSL+.
Full Decision Day fixture list:
Gotham FC vs. Utah Royals FC (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
Washington Spirit vs. Chicago Stars FC (ESPN+)
Seattle Reign FC vs. Orlando Pride (ESPN+)
North Carolina Courage vs. Denver Summit FC (ESPN+ / TNT Sports 2)
Racing Louisville FC vs. Kansas City Current (ESPN+)
Angel City FC vs. Boston Legacy FC (ESPN+ / TNT Sports 1)
Houston Dash vs. Portland Thorns FC (ESPN+)
Bay FC vs. San Diego Wave FC (ESPN+)