This week on The IX Sports Podcast, host Kathleen Gier is joined by Jacob Mitchell and Kofi of the B Team Podcast to talk about the playoff picture in the NWSL.
The trio started off the evening by discussing Gotham FC’s NWSL Shield win (the club’s first). Then, they jumped right in to discuss this weekend’s playoff games.
Gotham will play the Seattle Reign in the first round, Kansas City will play Angel City FC, San Diego Wave FC will play the Utah Royals, and the Washington Spirit will play the Portland Thorns.
Mitchell said he is most excited to watch the San Diego and Utah matchup.
“I think Utah have a really good roster, and they showed it especially early in the season. They slowed down toward the end, but the way they played, especially when everyone was healthy, made a lot of sense, and they definitely proved themselves against some pretty good teams,” Mitchell explained. He said he would still predict a win by the Wave.
Mitchell added that he thinks the most likely upset in this year’s playoffs would be Angel City FC over the Kansas City Current. Kofi said that the athleticism of Angel City’s roster could be significant, but added that Kansas City earning a home playoff game this year was “huge” for the club.
Mitchell added that he thought the game between Gotham and Seattle would be low-scoring.
“That is something I’m really disappointed about, actually, because we we were just talking about how they are the two lowest scoring playoff teams,” Mitchell explained.
The trio then jumps into an analysis of who will win the season-end NWSL awards. Tune in to the episode to hear who our host and guests think will win top honors.
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