Shield winners stumble in NWSL Playoffs quarterfinals

Hello! I’m Kathleen Gier, and I am filling in for the brilliant Annie Peterson for this week’s Soccer Monday. Don’t worry, she’ll be back providing her insight again next week, ahead of the championship.

All season, it looked like the Kansas City Current were the team to beat. In fact, entering Sunday’s match, they’d only lost three times, and none of those had happened at home. They were without Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga and dynamic playmaker Michelle Cooper up front. Bia Zaneratto was also playing injured. None of that helped as they hosted Gotham FC, who didn’t look like a No. 8 seed for a moment of the match, despite missing leading scorer Esther González.

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Jaedyn Shaw gave Gotham the lead in the 68th minute, and Kansas City didn’t find its equalizer until stoppage time when Ellie Wheeler caught Ann-Katrin Berger off guard. The match was bitterly cold, which surely didn’t help this tactical battle. The two sides played 30 minutes of extra time and appeared to be headed to PKs until Katie Stengel’s 121st-minute shot bounced off the crossbar and past Lorena.

Gotham will now travel to Orlando to take on the defending champions, who defeated the Seattle Reign 2-0. Haley McCutcheon scored first for the Pride, and then Marta made a bold run down the pitch, drew a foul and earned a PK. She handed the ball off to Luana, who sealed the victory. 

It was her first goal since winning her battle against cancer, making for a really special moment.  

On the other side of the bracket, the Washington Spirit won a thriller in PKs against Louisville. A wonderfully weird stat? Washington has played in all three NWSL playoff games that have ended in a shootout. 

Gift Monday scored in the 72nd minute for Washington, and Kayla Fischer scored a stoppage-time equalizer for Louisville. The Spirit won the shootout 3-1.

Portland won the final playoff match in extra time on Sunday, defeating the San Diego Wave 1-0. Olivia Moultrie connected with Reilyn Turner, who scored the winning goal to earn the club’s 10th trip to the semifinals. 

As the season wraps up, the league also revealed the finalists for the 2025 NWSL Awards:

Most Valuable Player: Delphine Cascarino (SD), Temwa Chawinga (KC), Esther González (GFC), Manaka Matsukubo (NC), Bia Zaneratto (KC)

Defender of the Year: Jordyn Bugg (SEA), Tara McKeown (WAS), Avery Patterson (HOU), Izzy Rodriguez (KC), Kayla Sharples (KC)

Goalkeeper of the Year: Ann-Katrin Berger (GFC), Claudia Dickey (SEA), Lorena (KC)

Midfielder of the Year: Kenza Dali (SD), Debinha (KC), Claire Hutton (KC), Manaka Matsukubo (NC), Olivia Moultrie (POR)

Rookie of the Year: Maddie Dahlien (SEA), Lilly Reale (GFC), Riley Tiernan (LA)

Coach of the Year: Vlatko Andonovski (KC), Adrian Gonzalez (WAS), Beverly Yanez (LOU)

Fans are invited to vote for the Best XI First and Second Teams.

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Links

Lesley Ryder wrote a powerful piece about transphobia in the NWSL.

Megan Feringa on Manchester City (It’s so good to see Bunny playing again!) 

Asli Pelit revealed that Atlanta will be the next NWSL expansion city

Jeff Kassouf wrote about the new NWSL advisory board 

In women’s sports crossover news, Lizzy Becherano wrote about basketball star JuJu Watkins investing in the Boston Legacy

Tamerra Griffin made her case for Temwa Chawinga as NWSL MVP

Five at The IX