The Chaotic NWSL Playoff Picture 📊

Happy Tuesday, TWG readers!

Headlines from this weekend include a Trinity Rodman banger, Utah eliminated from NWSL playoffs, and Angel City fight to stay alive. Meanwhile, in England, the games all went mostly according to plan after a confusing start to the UWCL for Arsenal (who lost to Lyon) and Chelsea (who tied Twente). Luckily for us, more Champions League action is coming up this week ahead of a huge weekend in NWSL followed by the FIFA break and three USWNT games. *screaming*

In line with all this soccer, TWG has all these podcasts! Yesterday, Becky Sauerbrunn released an all new Teaming Up with Lauren Holiday and today, Lynn and I are dropping Good Vibes. Tomorrow, we have a special with Professor Radley Horton from Columbia University where I get to ask him all about the impact climate change is having on sports. Thursday, we’ve got Friendlies with Lily Yohannes and Friday is an all new Mewis Squared! When we first started The Women’s Game, we were thrilled to put out two episodes a week. Thanks to you all, now we are able and excited to put out five!

I’ve been on nurse duty for my dog, Chester, who broke his leg but is recovering well! I also got the chance to work in my favorite fall activity this weekend: apple picking! Vermont’s leaves are changing, the air is crisp, and the candy corn is flowing.

What’s your favorite fall activity? Let me know and send me an email at [email protected] or join us on Discord!

Thank you all so much for being here.

Love,
Sam

NWSL Matchday 24: The Season’s Penultimate Weekend Awaits 📊

In the third-to-last weekend of NWSL action, teams across the table hoped to secure a postseason berth or avoid elimination. But of the five teams that could have secured their playoff spot this weekend, none did. And of the three teams that risked elimination, only Utah Royals bid their playoff dreams adieu. Here’s everything you need to know:

North Carolina Courage 1-1 Washington Spirit

The second-placed Washington Spirit are still the only team other than Kansas City (who beat Gotham 2-0 at home this weekend) to have their playoff spot wrapped up. Saturday in Cary, they settled for a 1-1 draw with ninth-placed North Carolina (with another glorious goal from Trinity Rodman), which was enough to secure home-field advantage through the playoff semifinal. North Carolina finished the weekend one spot below the playoff line, and will take the point as they battle to break into the postseason with two games to go.  

Utah Royals 2-3 San Diego Wave

Few teams concluded their season as red hot as Utah. But after going on an eight-game unbeaten run (four wins, four draws), the Royals fell to San Diego in a hard-fought battle, ending their unbeaten streak as well as their postseason dreams in one blow. As for San Diego, Saturday’s win is a relief for the formerly second-placed Wave, as it ends a seven-game winless run and marks their first victory since Aug. 16. With that, they head into the second-to-last weekend of the NWSL season in sixth place.  

Angel City 2-0 Houston Dash

Angel City secured their first win since Sept. 1 and a pivotal three points in their last-gasp attempt to make the NWSL playoffs. Both teams finished the weekend even on points (27) and below the playoff spots, but with their postseason hopes alive for another weekend, as 10th-placed Angel City and 11th-placed Houston Dash can still make it with back-to-back wins in their final two games, plus some fortuitous results elsewhere in the table. It’s a long shot, but anything can happen in the NWSL. 

You can view the full NWSL table and playoff picture here.

📬 Enjoying The Women’s Game? Check out our other MiB newsletters:

🐦‍⬛ The Raven: Our Monday and Friday newsletter where we preview the biggest matches around the world (and tell you where/how to watch them) and recap our favorite football moments from the weekend.

🔍 The Correspondent: Rory Smith’s thoughts on the world of soccer, culture, food, and how they all connect – every Thursday.

🇺🇸 USMNT Only: Your weekly update on the most important topics in the U.S. men’s game, all leading up to next year’s World Cup.

UEFA Women’s Champions League Season Sets Off 🏆

Europe’s grandest club tournament, the UEFA Women’s Champions League, launched its inaugural league phase last week. On matchday one of the new format, reigning champions Arsenal suffered a 2-1 loss to eight-time winners OL Lyonnes. Manchester United picked up a win in their first-ever UWCL appearance past the qualifying rounds, with U.S. goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce collecting the pivotal clean sheet. London’s treble-winning Blues, with former Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson starting on the right wing (just look at these moves 😪), settled for an opening draw with Dutch side Twente. Notably, all three Spanish sides in this edition (the two mights of Madrid plus Barcelona) secured massive opening wins, scoring six or more goals in three games won by four to six-goal margins. 

Here’s some other highlights of the first week of action: 

Barcelona 7-1 Bayern Munich 🇪🇸 🇩🇪

The three-times victorious Catalans (who fell 1-0 to Arsenal in last year’s final) started their campaign for a fourth UWCL trophy with a decisive defeat of the German giants. It took four minutes for two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas to break through for the first goal in a game that saw Barcelona Femeni outshoot Bayern 12 to two on target. 

Twenty-four-year-old winger Klara Bühl provided the lone goal for Bayern in a rough start for the German side, who alongside Wolfsburg are one of two German clubs in this year’s edition. After years of German domination in the Champions League—Frankfurt remains the second most-winningest team behind OL Lyonnes, with German clubs claiming nine of 24 UEFA Women's Champions Cup/League trophies—the Frauen-Bundesliga hasn't seen a UWCL champion since 2015.

More: Women’s football: Are Bayern Munich doing enough to keep up?

Arsenal 1-2 OL Lyonnes 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇫🇷

In the seventh minute, things looked bright for the title-defenders. Beth Mead (who set up the game winner in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Barcelona) assisted English striker Alessia Russo (who scored eight times for the Gunners in their trophy-winning campaign) for an early go-ahead goal. But the trophy-laden French visitors punished defensive mistakes twice to collect victory on English soil. 

• Sam’s Take 🗣️: It feels like Arsenal are in a post-UWCL-winning slump. They're sitting in fifth in the WSL with a 3-2-1 record after narrowly beating Brighton this weekend thanks to an own goal... after losing this opening UWCL game to Lyon midweek. Sometimes after a HUGE championship win like they had back in May, a team just has a dip like this as part of the comedown. They've got Benfica on Thursday and a big win could right the ship.

More: USWNT coach Emma Hayes was in attendance for the contest at Meadow Park, and caught up with a handful of Olympians on either side.

Goals of the Weekend, Presented by New Balance 💥

🥤 Olipop power everything we do here at The Women’s Game. You can use code TWG20 for 20% off your first order at drinkolipop.com/TWG20.

Upcoming Games to Get Excited About 🗓️

NWSL 🇺🇸

Washington Spirit vs. Orlando Pride (Saturday, 12:30 p.m., ET, CBS/ Paramount+)

The NWSL’s penultimate weekend features a rematch of last season’s championship, which saw the Pride beat the Spirit 1-0 with a goal from the now-injured Zambian forward and 2024 Championship MVP, Barbra Banda. Ahead of matchday 25, Washington Spirit are cruising into the postseason in second place for a second-straight year. The Pride had experienced a slump in results after the summer break, but enter this match in third after winning two of their last three. 

Gotham FC vs. Racing Louisville (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, NWSL+/ Paramount+)

After losing 2-0 to the top-ranked Current, Gotham are fighting for home-field advantage and an official postseason berth. Racing Louisville enter this match in the eighth and final playoff position and could make club history with a positive result, officially qualifying for their first-ever NWSL postseason. 

Angel City vs. Portland Thorns (Sunday, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN)

One week after securing a seismic three points against Houston, Angel City will need to pull off another big victory against Portland to keep their playoff dreams alive. It’s do-or-die time for ACFC, and this matchup won’t be easy. The Thorns enter this game in seventh, but only two points short of third-placed Orlando, and will play to climb back up the table with hopes of clinching a playoff berth with home-field advantage (for teams in the top four) in the final weekends. 

UWCL 🇪🇺

Benfica vs. Arsenal (Thursday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Portuguese side Benfica and reigning champions Arsenal both lost their opening tests of the Champions League group phase, and will look to bounce back against one another this Thursday at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon. 

Atlético Madrid vs. Manchester United (Thursday, 12:45 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

After winning their first test of the UWCL league phase, United face one of three Spanish squads to administer a mighty blow in their opening bout. With six goals from five players, Atleti beat Austrian side St. Pölten 6-0 in Austria. Can Manchester United’s U.S. goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce keep them at bay in Spain?

It’s TWG Trivia Time 🤔

This week’s question: Of the 10 players with the most goals all-time in UEFA women’s club football tournaments (both the UEFA Women’s Cup and Champions League), three of them are still playing in this year’s edition of UWCL. Which three players are they?

Respond to this email (or reply here) for a chance to win a coveted TWG patch.

Last week’s answer: Ali Riley captained the New Zealand Football Ferns in their first-ever World Cup match, which they won 1-0 in Auckland against Norway.

Congrats to Aisling Jerome, who was the first person to respond with the correct answer. Aisling, send us an email and we’ll get you a patch!

News & Notes 🗞️

i. In between UWCL action in the midweek, England’s top flight WSL continued with matchday six of 22 over the weekend. Fifth-placed Arsenal picked up a sorely needed but slim victory in a 1-0 win over Brighton. Second-placed Manchester City and third-placed Manchester United both won over the weekend, as did league-leader Chelsea, who beat fourth-placed Tottenham with a goal from Keira Walsh. U.S. winger Alyssa Thompson logged a second-straight start across all competitions in the victory, and was named Player of the Match. 

• Sam’s Take 🗣️: I'm psyched to see Alyssa Thompson performing this way just weeks into her Chelsea career. As I've said a few times, it's a big adjustment to switch teams, leagues, and countries. Her 1v1 ability on the wing has proven difficult to defend, and I can't wait for her to score that inevitable first goal.

ii. The final matchday of the Concacaf W Champions Cup group stage takes place this week. With reigning title-holders Gotham already qualified for the semi-final, eight other teams will face off in four contests to determine the three other teams. Of those, two NWSL sides will compete to qualify: Orlando Pride, who play Mexican side Pachuca, and Washington Spirit, who face Mexican side Monterrey.

iii. From Her Football Hub, ‘Women’s football transfer records: why blockbuster 2025 deals are a key milestone’

Moment of Joy 🤸

Alyssa writes: Dear Sam, I have been listening since you launched TWG last year and I love it so much! Your episode drops make my 45-minute commute so much better every day.

I wanted to share a way that Good Vibes has inspired me - I am a teacher and during homeroom every morning, I have a series of slides that autoplay as students are arriving and settling in. They include things like the month’s calendar, reminders for upcoming events, fun facts, motivational quotes, memes, etc. One thing I started including recently, inspired by the podcast, is my own Good Vibe of the week! It started when my 7.5-month old daughter started crawling and I was so excited that I wanted to show off a video of it, but I’ve kept going with it. Last week’s good vibe was apple cider (I finally had my first hot apple cider of the season last week and it was very exciting for me). Next week’s is probably going to be “The Life of a Showgirl” (I’d love to know your thoughts on the album… my favorite song is “Opalite,” and I think it’s a super fun album overall!).

I also wanted to add that I’m really enjoying Mewis Squared. As a new mom like Kristie, it has been so nice to hear about her experiences – they’ve been really validating. On this week’s episode when you were talking about all the ways you see Kristie as a mom, I almost burst into tears. Even though you weren’t talking about me, I felt so seen and hearing you celebrate Kristie in that way helped me to take a moment to celebrate myself and all of my hard work as a mom. Thank you so much for creating such a wonderful space and for giving Kristie her props!

Lots of love and go Bats,
Alyssa

Sam writes: Alyssa! Wow, thank you so much for this email. It made my day and it’s now my Good Vibe of the week! Congratulations on motherhood. I am sure you are crushing it! And I am so happy to hear you’re enjoying Mewis Squared. Kristie and I have so much fun making that show. I can’t believe I get to call it my job! I hope you have a wonderful week full of good vibes. <3

📝 Want to be featured in next week’s TWG newsletter? Send Sam an email! All your questions, comments, and dog (or wedding) photos can be sent to [email protected]

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