'Underdog, my ass': What we learned from the NWSL playoff quarter-finals

Analysis, insight and the big narratives from a memorable opening weekend

Jaedyn Shaw celebrates scoring her first-ever NWSL playoff goal | Credit: Gotham FC

Last weekend’s NWSL playoff quarter-finals delivered in a big way. From brilliant football to emotional moments, to late drama and a big upset, it was one of the best playoff weekends in memory.

In case you missed them, here are the quarter-final results:
(McCutcheon 22’, Luana 90+8’) Orlando Pride 2-0 Seattle Reign
(Monday 73’) Washington Spirit 1(3)-(1)1 Racing Louisville (Fischer 90+2’)
(Wheeler 90+4’) KC Current 1-2 AET NJ/NY Gotham FC (Shaw 68’, Stengel 120+1’)
(Turner 94’) Portland Thorns 1-0 AET San Diego Wave

Three out of four home teams (the higher seeds) advanced to the semi-finals, with Gotham being the lone upset of the first round.

But what an upset it was. The Current had just completed the greatest regular season in NWSL history (most points, most wins, and fewest goals conceded), and they hadn’t lost at home since July 2024. Furthermore, Gotham had never beaten the Current in their history.

In a fun twist of fate, these semi-finalists are also the four previous NWSL playoff champions: Pride 2024, Gotham 2023, Thorns 2022, Spirit 2021.

Now, let’s go deeper into some of the biggest takeaways and what we learned.