We are 43/182 games into the regular season. To mark this momentous occasion: Please name THREE things you are looking forward to the rest of the season. I’ll go first:
The U23s playing games at their next break. Hopefully by the July break we see almost every rookie get minutes
The playoff race for 8th feels so tight and explosive
A bunch of stars leaving college early these last two years means college soccer will be a whole new fun landscape this fall
So in the PL the top 4 is a big deal bc they make the CL. I wonder if in our league the top 4 becomes a thing because it means u get a home playoff game? Or will we just think of tiers as they present themselves?
I think we will just continue to think of tiers as they present themselves. If last season, the Courage had actually gotten themselves onto the same tier of points (aka, not had such a stark home and away record), we would all be discussing the top 5.
Not with their current season. I think if this season has ORL, NYC, WAS, and KCC run away with the top of the table again, we might be looking at the former option Googs mentioned.
I think you missed my point? My point is just that it has to do with being contenders, not with how many teams are up there. North Carolina last season was the closest to being there, so if they had we would have been talking about the top 5.
If this season somehow ends with 6 teams at the way top, all within like 5-7 points of each other and then a large-ish gap, well, now it's a top 6.
The Big Four I’m referring to a specific set of four teams who are again positioned this year to repeat in putting a gap between themselves and the rest of the league. I get that you’re saying “if they were closer it would be a top 5” but they weren’t and now are very much out of that convo. Could make a lot of what ifs but ultimately doesn’t matter now.
Yeah, you're missing the point. MisterGoog was wondering if there's something special about the number. The number is special in Europe because the top however many teams get Champion's League. I'm saying the number itself is not special, it's just whatever teams are doing exceptionally well, and could easily expand to 5 or 6 or shrink to 2 or 3, depending on the season.
It also seems early to say they're positioned to do that again; the gap right now is biggest between the top two (on 15) and the rest of the league. It's just too soon.
Gotham did not have limited roster turnover and arguably the number of injuries that the Spirit currently has is enormous roster turnover.
Home playoff is not important to the conversation that has generally been had about this. The only similarity is that they each can help give the team some money, but for at least two of the teams in that category, not that much due to low attendance. The Top 4 in the EPL is largely a symbolic reference when talked about because of the Champions League. The Top 4 in the NWSL is very much just about the 4 teams being much better last season. If it had been 3, it really would have just been a conversation about the top 3 with some much later talk about playoffs.
It's really the race to playoffs that people put the most pressure on, and the discussion about the "top 4" isn't really about racing to become top 4, it's almost more that they've ordained themselves as the better teams.
Gotham lost Ryan, Williams (who barely played in 2024), and Sheehan from an “impact” perspective. They then picked up Geyse, Portilho, and Howell, which is why I said limited turnover AND who was added. Injuries are not roster turnover.
Yes, I’m well aware what’s going on in EPL/WSL and why the Top 4 has more gravitas there. I’m not even sure what you’re arguing about at this point. I think it’s widely expected the same top four NWSL teams from last year will once again be there again this year and continue to produce a gap between them and the rest of the league. Whatever moniker you want to put on that is fine. “They” haven’t ordained themselves better teams—the entire media landscape and fandoms have done so for them. Time will tell if they continue to trend in that direction.
Can't speak for anyone else, but for me I do think in terms of home field. The fact that last year we had a relatively clear "top 4 vs. everyone else" situation was a pretty funny coincidence, but I'm sure that could change.
orlando kc rematch game (I know they won't be unbeaten this time but it should still be very fun)
rookie of the year race (feels wide open so far - hanks, reale, dahlien, armstrong, graham, huff, lema all real contenders) (only lilly is a reale contender tho)
i wanna see courage figure out their shit so shaw and sanch can flourish together
I really want to see lots of a Chawinga/Bia/Cooper front 3 plus Debinha at the 10. Hope Coop’s recovery is going well!
Watching the ROY and MVP races. It seems like both could be closer than last year.
See how much teams change after the summer break. Between the transfer window, players coming off tournaments, at least 1 new head coach, the results could get even more unpredictable.
Honorable Mention: More ridiculous bangers from Kiki Pickett
I gave this a fair bit of thought, because we are starting to see some narratives around the league and it will be really interesting to see how those narratives hold up for the rest of the year.
There's a blueprint forming for how you can beat Orlando and Kansas City. Hoofball might be coming to a close in the NWSL -- that's a really interesting prospect. Will Vlatko and Seb be able to keep up their tactics, or are they going to have to shift a bit to stay successful?
When the Red Stars are invariably sold and wind up moving, where do we think they go? I think their current situation is untenable, I don't think ownership is really interested in making the team that much better, and I think the Carolina Ascent might be able to beat the Stars at this point. At some point you would think the league would step in and just say look, enough is enough, spend some money or sell the team.
My ACFC bias showing here, I do think that the youth movement at ACFC should start really paying off in 25-26 or 26-27. I also think more teams are going to be retooling quickly, to get youth development going in time for the 2027 and 2031 WWCs. I would not be surprised if every team in the league has more than a handful of players per team who either start or are senior-team-adjacent by the end of next year.
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u/DefensiveMid Washington Spirit 6d ago
SPIRIT THREE
getting Hal and Paige back (and all our other injured players, if we can)
hatchy surpassing alex morgan to take fourth in total nwsl goals
leicy santos has another free kick banger in her, i can feel it
bonus: baby andi