Soccer Monday: Decision Day chaos, as it was meant to be

I love a good Decision Day. I wasn’t sure I was going to like the latest version of a `men’s’ football tradition adopted by the NWSL, but it did not disappoint.

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Kansas City’s home match against the San Diego Wave was the only game that didn’t kick off with the rest of the league. The Current won 2-1 to finish their record-breaking season unbeaten at CPKC Stadium.

It was the Current’s record 21st win of the year, they finished with a record 65 points, they had a record 18 multi-goal games and they allowed a record-low 13 goals. Whew!

I was at the Thorns, and Deyna Castellanos kicked things off for Portland with a goal in the third minute against the Houston Dash. It came only minutes after the supporters’ end-of-the-season tifo with a Goonies theme: The Thornies. The Goonies was filmed in Astoria, Oregon, and if you remember the film, the Walsh family house still stands.

The Thorns got another first-half goal from Jessie Fleming. Portland won 2-0 and finished the day in third place in the standings. It was pretty remarkable considering that back on Sept. 26, the Thorns had just one win in their last seven games, with four losses — including a 3-0 loss on the road to Gotham.

The Stars, whose season was over, paid a nice tribute to former player Christen Press before their game at home against Angel City. Alyssa Naeher presented Press with flowers and Tobin Heath was at Press’ side. The Stars also honored Ali Riley before the game. It was a nice gesture to end a trying season. Things will look considerably different for the Stars next season with the move to Martin Stadium and Martin Sjögren taking over as coach.

The Courage made things interesting by scoring a pair of quick goals against Gotham in the pouring rain in Cary, North Carolina. With the Thorns’ victory over the Dash, the loss dropped Gotham out of contention for home field advantage. The Courage also moved into the eighth and final playoff spot.

BUT, it was only temporary! Racing Louisville rookie Ella Hase scored a second-half goal against Bay FC. Louisville, which was on the outside looking in because of the Courage’s lead, was suddenly back above the playoff line.

In the end. Gotham fell to eighth, Louisville made the playoffs and the Courage missed out by a point. Gutting for North Carolina.

“We really wanted to take this as not making the occasion bigger than the game itself and still continuing to trust that process, and they did just that today. Everything that we’ve built up (over) the past several months is what’s led into this opportunity. So we just needed to execute one more game,” Racing coach Bev Yanez said.

In a strange twist, because of the Reign’s 1-1 draw with the Pride in Orlando, the Reign will play the Pride in Orlando in the playoffs.

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“We did what we set out to do, and that was to host a home game in the playoffs. Obviously, we would have preferred the win and finish in that third spot, but it was not meant to be. It’s unique as we get to play Seattle [Reign FC] again, this time next week,” Pride coach Seb Hines said. “That is an exciting prospect ahead, but I am really pleased with the players. They were phenomenal today. The pressure that they put on Seattle and the physicality that they showed throughout the game was really good. We‘re going to reset, go again next week, and look to get another win here at home.”

Here’s how the playoffs shake out: The quarterfinal games will be played Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The top seeded Kansas City Current will face No. 8 Gotham on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

No. 2 Washington Spirit will host No. 7 Racing Louisville on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET.

No. 3 Portland Thorns will face No. 6 San Diego Wave on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

No. 4 Orlando Pride will host No. 5 Seattle Reign on Friday night at 8 p.m. ET

The teams on the outside, in order of finish below the line, were the Courage, the Dash, Angel City, the Royals, Bay FC and the Stars.

Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell, who became the third goalkeeper in league history with 600 saves and 15,000 career minutes, said she was proud of the progress the team had made this season, even if it wasn’t the finish they had hoped for.

“I’m really proud of everyone. The players who aren’t going to be back here next year, I love them dearly, and it’s going to be heartbreaking to see them go. But the ones who are returning, I’m super thankful they’re back. The sky is the limit for this organization, from the players to the staff to the front office. We can create something great in Houston and make it a team worth fighting for, and people are going to be scared of it,” Campbell said.

Now, as they say, the second season begins.

Here’s what Deyna and Jessie said postgame: