The pressure is on in the NWSL as we enter the final month of the regular season. Gotham has a healthy lead up top, but there are still a lot of playoff spots up for grabs in the middle of the table. Let’s see who helped themselves this week:
Orlando parts ways with Seb Hines
Sitting in 12th place with an 8-12-2 record, the Orlando Pride announced on Monday that they parted ways with 2024 NWSL Coach of the Year Seb Hines. Goalkeeper coach Paul Crichton is also out.
Hines led the Pride to their first league title in 2024, and the club set a record, collecting 60 points in 26 matches. They finished fourth in 2025 and narrowly missed out on a spot in the championship match.
“He will always have a special place in our history for helping lead the Pride to levels it had never reached before,” said Caitlin Carducci, Orlando Pride VP of Soccer Operations & General Manager. “However, as we look toward the Club’s long-term vision and future objectives, we believe that this is the appropriate time for a leadership change. We are grateful for all that Seb has contributed and wish him nothing but success in the next chapter of his career.”
Assistant coach Yolanda Thomas will take over as interim coach through the end of the season. Should she be hired for the permanent role, she will be the league’s first-ever Black female coach.
Ashley Sanchez closes in on domestic record
After her weekend brace for the North Carolina Courage, Ashley Sanchez has a league-high 15 goals in 22 matches. She also set a new club record and is in prime position to set a new league record for most goals scored in a single season by an American player.
Sanchez is currently tied with Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit, 2015) and Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave, 2022).
Her Courage teammate Ryan Williams reached another impressive career milestone, logging 10,000 career regular-season minutes with the franchise.
Trinity Byars’s braces
Although she’s newer to the San Diego Wave’s starting lineup, Trinity Byars has established herself quickly as a threat up front. Byars, who has 10 goals on the season, has braces in her last two matches and has also recorded two assists. This week, her two goals powered the largest comeback in club history as the Wave overcame a two-goal deficit to defeat Racing Louisville 3-2.
Washington hits 40 points
With a 1-0 victory against Bay FC on Sunday, the Washington Spirit have reached the 40-point mark for the third consecutive season. Washington is 12-6-4 with a +12 goal differential. Trinity Rodman is leading the group with 10 goals and five assists. They still have a little ways to go to catch Gotham, which has a five-point lead in the league standings despite playing to a draw on Friday.
And, right in time for a final push, the Spirit added two high-profile players to the roster in Cameroon’s Monique Ngock and Algeria’s Mélissa Bethi. Both players made their debuts this week after competing in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and Bethi made history as the league’s first Algerian player.
They join a globally diverse roster in Washington that already featured fellow WAFCON players Deborah Abiodun and Gift Monday of Nigeria and Rosemonde Kouassi from the Ivory Coast. Other nations represented in Washington include Scotland, Italy, England, Mexico, Colombia, Paraguay, Canada and Brazil.
Kansas City returns home and wins
The Current ended a four-match winless streak with a 3-2 victory against the Courage in the friendly confines of CPKC Stadium. Kansas City has one of the most dramatic differences between home and away records, boasting an 8-0-3 mark in Kansas City. Alternatively, they are 2-8-1 on the road.
