After 26 weeks of regular-season action, the 2025 NWSL playoffs are upon us. Of the 14 teams in the league, eight have qualified for the postseason in the second year of the expanded playoffs. In this format, no one gets a week off.
It will also be the last year at this size, as the NWSL welcomes the Boston Legacy and Denver Summit to the league next year, with more expansion to come. But let’s focus on the here and now.
Reigning NWSL champions, Orlando Pride, have made it to the postseason despite a season-ending injury to last year’s championship MVP, Barbra Banda. Their sparring partner last year, the Kansas City Current, continued their dominance and won the 2025 NWSL Shield in a record number of games. Meanwhile, Racing Louisville finally broke its ninth-place curse to secure a postseason meeting with the 2024 runners-up Washington Spirit on Saturday.
While there will always be chaos in the NWSL, the top two teams, the Current and Spirit, locked in their home field advantage weeks ago. Despite the confidence that they enter November with, both will be without key pieces to their attack, as Kansas City forward Temwa Chawinga and Spirit forward Trinity Rodman remain questionable with injuries.
Like always, it will be a sprint to the finish to crown a champion on Nov. 22 in San Jose, Calif.
The Athletic has highlighted what you need to know for the postseason. Let’s start with the basics.
How to watch
The quarterfinals will once again be an all-weekend affair. The Orlando Pride (4) host Seattle Reign FC (5) to kick things off at 8 p.m. ET on Friday night on Prime Video. The opener will be the only prime-time match of the weekend, though, as the remaining quarterfinals will be afternoon affairs.
Next up, the Washington Spirit (2) will hope for a Rowdy Audi (Field) experience as they host Racing Louisville FC on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 12 p.m. ET on CBS. On Tuesday, the Spirit opened the upper bowl in anticipation of a sell-out, so the atmosphere should make up for the early kick-off.
On Sunday, it’s a doubleheader on ABC to wrap up who is heading to the semifinals. (Sorry to everyone still waiting on the YouTube TV vs. Disney dispute to get settled, myself included.) At 12:30 p.m. ET, Gotham FC will march into CPKC Stadium as the eight seed, hoping for a massive upset against the dominant, Shield-winning Kansas City Current.
Finally, Portland will hope to keep the party going when the Thorns (3) host the San Diego Wave (6) at 3 p.m. ET. If the Thorns go all the way, they have the chance to one-up their own record for most NWSL Championships from three to four.
The semifinals follow the weekend after, on Nov. 15 and 16. It all culminates with the 2025 NWSL Championship at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 22 at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif, broadcast on CBS.
What we are watching for
Meg Linehan
Winner: Kansas City Current
Last year, the top seeds owned the quarterfinals, and the best team through the regular season went on to win the championship. While I never want to rule out an upset, my head and gut tell me we’re probably in for a repeat of that trend in 2025. So much of the back half of the season has been dominated by the question of who can beat the Current. The first half of their Decision Day match against the San Diego Wave might have shown that it takes moments of individual brilliance to put them on their heels. Still, Kansas City has defensive strength and depth, even as key players Temwa Chawinga and Bia Zanerrato are listed as “day-to-day” following injuries.
We started this season talking about how the top teams in this league have started to break away from the rest of the pack. The promise (threat?) of chaos is always there, but it would be a historic upset for Gotham FC to head into CPKC Stadium and knock the Current out of the postseason. The pressure is fully on KC to keep this historic run going, but they’ve been in a league of their own so far this year. Three more weeks should be doable.
Melanie Anzidei
Winner: Washington Spirit
Admittedly, the Washington Spirit have not performed as the convincing side we’re used to seeing in recent weeks. Losing Rodman due to a Grade 1 MCL sprain ahead of the October window was an obvious blow against them. The Spirit’s decision to rest players, even traveling with just 16 players for their regular-season finale in Utah, could prove to be a perfectly executed plan come Saturday. If Rodman returns over the next two games, it could be the spark that fuels their push this postseason. There’s something about losing in the 2024 NWSL Championship last year that I’m convinced will inspire this team, riddled with injuries, to come together.
I would love for Racing Louisville to continue their historic season with a major upset in their first-ever NWSL playoff match (more on that later), but it is hard to look past their shaky first half against Bay FC last week. If the Spirit can find their footing in this next fixture, fueled by the divine powers of Rowdy Audi, they can ride that wave through to the final, where they will face a Current side that will weaken with every passing round of this postseason. The Spirit is out for redemption.
Asli Pelit
Winner: Portland Thorns
I hate to state the obvious, but Kansas City enters the playoffs as the league’s top seed for a reason. Since day one, the team has shown consistency on defense and offense. They might not be able to rely on Chawinga’s goalscoring, but I am excited to see Debinha’s midfield brilliance.
However, the Thorns’ run to the playoffs tells a story of reinvention and resilience. Despite a turbulent regular season marked by roster overhauls and off-field turnover, Portland found its rhythm at the right time, led by Olivia Moultrie’s breakout form.
Favorites aside, my heart wants to see a Cindrealla story: Racing Louisville has finally made it to the playoffs, and if they can upset the Washington Spirit sans Rodman this weekend, I have a feeling they will put everything on the line to beat the Thorns. Still, Portland has experience in knockout play.
A Current-Thorns final feels inevitable, to me: a clash of the league’s past dynasty versus its present powerhouse. With the Thorns rediscovering their attacking identity and the Current occasionally vulnerable under pressure and without Chawinga, Portland’s ability to rise in big moments could tip the balance.
Tamerra Griffin
Winner: Washington Spirit
Allow me to introduce a new concept for consideration as we approach the quarterfinals (and even beyond that, honestly): the MVPP, or the Most Valuable Postseason Player. Think Orlando Pride forward Ally Watt from that team’s historic championship-winning season last year: a player who made steady contributions in the regular season and popped off at the knockout stage. This individual is rarely a contender for regular-season MVP honors, which is exactly why they become crucial elements to their team when playoffs come around. In the Pride’s case, their opponents already had stacks of notes to prepare for players like Barbra Banda and Marta, allowing Watt to shift freely into beast mode and shock everyone all the more.
I expect this year’s NWSL postseason to be another in which some matches will be decided by the degree to which a team’s MVPP steps up and shines — especially considering how many star players will or could be absent.
For the Current, I’m looking at players like Michelle Cooper, who’s already enjoyed a fantastic season and is still primed to wreak even more havoc down the flank. Same goes for Ary Borges of Racing Louisville, Perle Morroni of the San Diego Wave, and Jordyn Bugg of the Seattle Reign. We already know what each team’s talismans will do, but when the margins in knockout soccer are inflated and end up deciding games, it will be that next rung of players whose performances I’m most eager to see.
Bold playoff predictions
As I said in the Full Time newsletter, this bracket allows for an all-Cascadia final. This would absolutely rule. Do my head and gut tell me it will happen? No. That’s why it’s a bold prediction. — Linehan
Turning off the logical part of my brain for this take: Racing Louisville will prove everyone wrong, including this writer. That first half against Bay FC last week was their reality check. The near loss will fuel them past some of their toughest opponents, as those teams struggle with injuries. They will ride this momentum to the final, where they will shock the Current. — Anzidei
When I think of this year’s playoffs, I think it will belong to midfielders. While I would love to witness a fairytale ending for Racing Louisville, my gut says Portland lifts its fourth NWSL Championship, reasserting itself as the league’s reigning powerhouse. — Pelit
Goalkeepers are going to be the main characters in the playoffs. Maybe I’m fiending for an Ann-Katrin Berger-esque save like she had with Germany at the Euros, or maybe I’ve just been buoyed by the performances of Louisville’s Jordyn Bloomer and Kansas City’s Lorena. Give me a dramatic penalty kick save (or shot) or some end-line acrobatics this postseason, please! — Griffin
We’ve brought back the Full Time bingo card this year, too. Play along with your favorite podcast host or build your own board and see who’s yelling “BINGO” this year.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Portland Thorns, OL Reign, Orlando Pride, Gotham FC, Kansas City Current, Washington Spirit, Racing Louisville FC, San Diego Wave, NWSL, Women’s Soccer
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