The NWSL season heads down the stretch this weekend, with the standings tightly packed and the playoffs less than two months away.
The Kansas City Current are nearing a point where they would clinch the NWSL Shield, given to the league’s regular-season champions, with Saturday holding arguably the biggest test left on their remaining schedule. The second-place Washington Spirit visit CPKC Stadium coming off arguably their most complete performance of 2025, a 2-0 win over the Seattle Reign that saw Trinity Rodman score twice.
That may be the obvious game of the week, but there’s an argument that the real drama is further down the standings. The Seattle Reign host Racing Louisville in a match between the teams occupying the final two playoff places at the moment, and both sides — having entered the league’s summer break in good form — have gone 1W-3D-2L since the start of August. With the Houston Dash picking up 12 points in that span, the pressure is rapidly increasing on either side of the playoff line.
Here’s a look at this weekend’s NWSL games, as well as a breakdown of the playoff picture:
NWSL Matchday 20: What are this weekend’s games?
All times Eastern. Home teams listed first.
Friday, Sept. 12
San Diego Wave vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, 10 p.m. | Prime Video
Watch San Diego Wave vs. Gotham FC on Prime Video
Saturday, Sept. 13
North Carolina Courage vs. Angel City FC, 12:30 p.m. | CBS
Orlando Pride vs. Bay FC, 5 p.m. | Ion
Kansas City Current vs. Washington Spirit, 7:30 p.m. | Ion
Sunday, Sept. 14
Chicago Stars vs. Portland Thorns, 3 p.m. | Paramount+, NWSL+
Utah Royals vs. Houston Dash, 6 p.m. | Paramount+, NWSL+
Seattle Reign vs. Racing Louisville, 8 p.m. | Paramount+, NWSL+
Watch Sunday’s NWSL action on Paramount+
NWSL playoffs format explained
The NWSL playoffs will see eight teams qualify, with an easy-to-follow format in place. In the quarterfinal round, the top four teams in the regular season standings will host the other four teams that qualify for the postseason.
The four winning teams move onto the semifinals, with the higher-seeded team on each side of the bracket hosting. The NWSL playoffs do not re-seed after the quarterfinals. Finally, the two surviving teams will play in the 2025 NWSL Championship final.
All games will follow the norms of the sport: If scores are tied after 90 minutes, a given playoff game will go to a 30-minute extra time period (divided into 15-minute halves, with no ‘golden goal’ rule). Should the scores still be even after that, the teams will endure the tension of a penalty-kick tiebreaker.
What is the NWSL playoff schedule?
The NWSL regular season will end on Sunday, Nov. 2, with all 14 teams playing. After that, the postseason will play out on the following schedule:
Nov. 7-9: Quarterfinals
Nov. 14-16: Semifinals
Nov. 22: NWSL Championship
NWSL playoff picture: If the season ended today …
We’re a long way from settling the NWSL playoff bracket, but if the postseason began today, this is what we’d see:
Home teams listed first.
Quarterfinals
Quarterfinal 1: Kansas City Current (1) vs. Racing Louisville (8)
Quarterfinal 2: Washington Spirit (2) vs. Seattle Reign (7)
Quarterfinal 3: San Diego Wave (3) vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC (6)
Quarterfinal 4: Portland Thorns (4) vs. Orlando Pride (5)
Semifinals
Semifinal 1: Quarterfinal 1 winner vs. Quarterfinal 4 winner (higher seed hosts)
Semifinal 2: Quarterfinal 2 winner vs. Quarterfinal 3 winner (higher seed hosts)
Final
Final: Semifinal 1 winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner (final at PayPal Park in San Jose, California)
Who has clinched an NWSL playoff spot?
Only one team can 100% guarantee that they’ll be in the NWSL playoffs. The Kansas City Current, running away from the pack, clinched their spot on Aug. 30 after a 2-0 win over the North Carolina Courage.
The Current, who have 49 points, are so far out in front that — thanks to the San Diego Wave still having matches to play against the Portland Thorns and Orlando Pride — they are sure of a top-four finish, which guarantees Kansas City a home playoff game.
With a single win down the stretch, or a loss at any point by the San Diego Wave, the Current will clinch the right to host a semifinal match as well (should they advance out of the quarterfinal round).
2025 NWSL Playoffs: Who has been eliminated from contention?
In grand NWSL tradition, every single team is still alive in the playoff race. Chicago, in 13th place, hasn’t lost in six matches, and bottom-of-the-table Utah is on a similar four-game run. With those two teams getting points and the middle of the table pure chaos of late, no one can be eliminated during this weekend’s games.
