NWSL Playoff Race Continues to Heat Up

Author

McKenzie Fasulo
September 23, 2022

Happy Friday! There's two weeks left in the NWSL regular season and there's a possibility we get a five way tie for first place.

Trivia Question: Which NWSL team has the most yellow cards this season?

  1. OL Reign

  2. Gotham FC

  3. Racing Louisville

  4. Washington Spirit

*Answer is at the bottom*

Today's Newsletter

  • NWSL playoff race continues to heat up

  • Spanish National Team players put their careers on the line for change

  • Water Cooler Talk

  • FIFA 23 Rankings

NWSL Playoff Race

  • There are five NWSL playoff spots left... and 7 teams fighting for those spots.

  • Chicago, Angel City, and North Carolina are all fighting for the sixth place spot. Chicago currently holds that sport with 30 points but Angel City is right behind them with 29 Points while North Carolina has 28 Points.

  • Chicago and Angel City play each other on the last day of the season which could make things very interesting especially if both teams win their game this weekend.

  • Portland, San Diego, OL Reign, Houston and Kansas City are all going to be looking to finish in the top two so they can secure a bye-week as well as home field advantage.

  • We are in for a wild ride these next two weekends considering anything could happen because only 6 points separate the 2nd and 8th place team.

  • Here is a look at who the 7 teams still fighting for a playoff spot play in their last 2 games:

  • San Diego Wave: Orlando Pride & NC Courage

  • OL Reign: Houston Dash & Orlando Pride

  • Houston Dash: OL Reign & Washington Spirit

  • Kansas City: Washington Spirit & Racing Louisville

  • Chicago: Portland Thorns & Angel City

  • Angel City: Racing Louisville & Chicago

  • NC Courage: Gotham FC & San Diego

Players resign from the Spanish Women's National team

  • 15 players have resigned from the National team due to Jorge Vilda still being the head coach.

  • The Federation is taking a strong stance on this and is clearly siding with Vilda. The federation has stated the players won't be called back up until they apologize and ask for forgiveness.

  • These are the 15 players that have resigned: A. Vicente, P. Guijarro, S. Paños, A. Sarriegui, Leila, L. García, M. León, O. Battle, Alexandri, C. Pina, Bonmatí, Caldentey, Gallardo, Izaguirre, Pereira

Water Cooler Talk

  • The Portland Thorns have clinched a playoff spot!

  • Vanessa Gilles has gone on loan to Lyon through June 2023. Angel City still has Gilles' rights and has extended her contract through December 2023.

  • Natalia Kuikka has extended her contract with Portland until 2023.

  • Maddie Nolf joins Rangers from the KC Current.

  • The Chicago Red Stars and VfL Wolfsburg announced a strategic alliance. The two clubs will collaborate and coordinate technical and business resources to create new global business opportunities for both clubs.

  • Arsenal women have sold over 51,000 tickets for their game against Tottenham this weekend. The game is being played at The Emirates.

FIFA 23 Rankings (top 10):

  1. Alexia Putellas (92)

  2. Sam Kerr (91)

  3. Wendie Renard (91)

  4. Ada Hegerberg (90)

  5. Marie-Antoinette Katoto (90)

  6. Lucy Bronze (90)

  7. Alex Morgan (90)

  8. Caroline Graham Hansen (90)

  9. Tiane Endler (89)

  10. Vivianne Miedema (89)

Bangers Only

Debinha to the back post 

Another day another Caroline Weir rocket

Simone Charley header alert! 

Meme Zone

Gotham FC unfortunately set a new record in the NWSL. They have now lost 11 straight games. The Washington Spirit previously held the record at 10 consecutive losses in a season. It's reminding some fans of the teams Sky Blue days:

Sauce Factory

Midge Purce had herself a game Wednesday night. Although she didn't find the back of the net she was going by defenders with ease. (Also make sure to give Shea Butter Football Club a follow! They do great work!)

    Upcoming Games:

    • Paris FC v Le Havre @ 12:30 PM ET (Today)

    • Montpellier v Lyon @ 3 PM ET (Today)

    • Juventus v Sassuolo @ 6:30 AM ET (Sep 24th)

    • Roma v Fiorenina @ 8:30 AM ET (Sep 24th)

    • Arsenal v Tottenham @ 8:30 AM ET (Sep 24th)

    • NC Courage v Gotham FC @ 7 PM ET (Sep 24th)

    • Houston Dash v OL Reign @ 8:30 PM ET (Sep 24th)

    • PSG v Fleury @ 6:45 AM ET (Sep 25th)

    • Sampdoria v Inter @ 8:30 AM ET (Sep 25th)

    • West Ham v Manchester United @ 10 AM ET (Sep 25th)

    • Chelsea v Man City @ 11 AM ET (Sep 25th)

    • Villarreal v Barcelona @ 11 AM ET (Sep 25th)

    • Liverpool v Everton @ 1:45 PM ET (Sep 25th)

    • Portland Thorns v Chicago Red Stars @ 4 PM ET (Sep 25th)

    • Kansas City v Washington Spirit @ 5 PM ET (Sep 25th)

    • Orlando Pride v San Diego @ 7 PM ET (Sep 25th)

    • Angel City v Racing Louisville @ 8 PM ET (Sep 25th)

    Moment of The Week

    Megan Rapinoe uses Jess Fishlock as a backboard

    Trivia Answer: Gotham FC (32 yellow cards)