In 2024, the NWSL did not have a Decision Day; a day where all teams play their final match of the season on the same day, at the same time. The table last year was considerably less chaotic compared to 2023, so in hindsight it’s okay but I’m glad that the league and the broadcasters were able to bring it back (basically) for 2025 because parity “returned” this season.
Despite bubble teams’ best efforts to break into the playoffs, the only spot that was up for grabs come Decision Day was 8th. Only one team outside of the eight going into the weekend could fight their way in (North Carolina Courage), and only one team could drop out of the eight by the end of the weekend (Racing Louisville). However, where various teams finished among the 3rd and 8th seeds was completely up in the air. The Kansas City Current and the Washington Spirit had clinched first and second a couple weeks prior, respectively.
Despite their best efforts, North Carolina’s 3-2 victory over Gotham was not enough, as Racing Louisville was able to get the win they needed to make it over the line for their first franchise playoff appearance. Washington Spirit Head Coach Adrián González admitted after their 0-1 loss to the Utah Royals that multiple players that were on the Availability Report for Decision Day were being monitored in a more precautionary manner than anything else. Hopefully this means that we’ll be seeing the likes of Croix Bethune, Leicy Santos, and Gift Monday in the quarterfinals. The Thorns won decisively over the Dash, the Pride against the Reign sounded like a painful watch, and the Current turned things around after going down against the Wave.
Final NWSL 2025 Table
This is the final table for the NWSL 2025 regular season. Next, the top eight teams will play in a knockout style tournament for this year’s NWSL Championship. Based off of the standings we have these four quarterfinal matchups.
The beauty of a knockout round is that anything can happen. Anyone could pull off anything over one match. Especially in the NWSL. I’m going to give my power rankings for the playoff contenders and then offer some predictions for how the bracket will play out.
Kansas City Current - Uncontroversially, the Kansas City Current finds themselves at the top of this power ranking. Their roster is stacked. They are bought in. They solidified their identity under Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski and have been utterly dominant this season. They were not happy with their semifinal finish last season, and I think they would rightfully feel hard done with anything less than the finals this season. Are we on the brink of the next NWSL Domestic Double?
Washington Spirit - The Spirit are looking fun and dangerous. They’ve still got a bit of chaoticness to them, but a healthy Spirit is a scary Spirit. They have so many weapons at their disposal and they look to be playing free under González. Washington will likely be out for blood and interested in avenging their loss in the 2024 finals with a 2025 win. I wouldn’t want to face them.
Portland Thorns - The Thorns seem to be hitting a patch of good form at the right time. As long as Rob Gale doesn’t decide to put out some strange, experimental lineup (can we trust him, though?), I think that the Thorns are in a good place to take on the playoffs. They have been among the top xG generating teams throughout the season, and it seems like players are clicking and firing on all cylinders right now.
NY/NJ Gotham - Gotham has been a little hot and cold as of late, however, they have a wealth of highly experienced players who know how to win. In theory, it feels like a healthy Bats should be able to be a contender for the title. I would anticipate that a tournament format would push Gotham to come out with more of the front-footedness they will need to get through this tournament.
Orlando Pride - The Pride have been struggling with the loss of Barbra Banda to an adductor avulsion fracture earlier this season. They haven’t exactly bounced back yet, but they’ve had somewhat more positive results as of late. At the end of the day, this squad is pretty similar to the one that claimed the Shield and Championship last season, and they have some of the better depth of squad in the league. I think this recent experience might bevy the squad in this high pressure context, but they are going to have to create.
Racing Louisville - Congratulations to Louisville for making their first playoff appearance and avoiding 9th place! I wouldn’t want to be going up against this team right now. They already have chaotic energy and that kind of momentum isn’t something I’d want to have to manage in the first round. However, Racing is the only team in this crop that have never appeared in the playoffs before, so that lack of experience may get the better of them.
San Diego Wave - Maybe it’s the Angel City fan in me, but I feel like despite San Diego’s fancy passing and bangers cover up the fact that they don’t actually create that many quality chances. They clearly have talented and exciting players, but are these results replicable? Will the playoffs be an opportunity for the Wave to crest or will it expose their weaknesses? It feels like it could go either way for me.
Seattle Reign - Head Coach Laura Harvey using Chat GPT for help on football tactics or not, this team seems allergic to creating offense. They have successfully suffered their way into the playoffs. Good on them, but it’s not what I’m here to watch, personally!
The power rankings above reflect how I feel the knockout teams stack up amongst each other, not necessarily where they finished at the end of the season or where I think they’ll place at the end of the tournament.
Now looking more at the bracket itself… The 2025 Shield winners have both the 2023 and 2024 NWSL Champions on their side of the bracket. It is a pretty tough draw and despite winning the league by a landslide, the Current will be made to work for their next title. I think they could do it but they have a tough first match up followed by what would be a rematch of the semifinals from 2024 against the Orlando Pride.
The intrigue on the other side of the bracket for me lies mostly with Racing Louisville. A high-flying, physical team whose presence in the tournament already proves their ultimate point is a dangerous one. They don’t have the same type of pressure that some of these other teams have, which should allow them to play freely. While I think that the Spirit should make their way to the top of this side of the bracket, it should still be an interesting ride.
Kansas City is clearly the team to beat this year although Temwa Chawinga’s availability poses some questions for the Shield-winners. However at this point, I think the Current would more than deserve to add the Championship to their trophy case.
Let the games begin!