t’s the final weekend of the NWSL regular season and the Road to the Shield, presented by CarMax, could not be closer. We’ve got four teams in, four teams out and four teams vying for the last two playoff spots. Three teams have a shot at the Shield, four teams are looking to lock in seeding. The playoffs kick off the weekend of Oct. 15-16.
The final weekend’s playoff scenarios are as follows:
Clinched: POR, RGN, KC, SD
Still in contention: CHI, HOU, LA, NC
Eliminated: LOU, NJY, ORL, WAS
Portland Thorns – clinched playoff spot on 9/21
Portland Thorns at Gotham FC, October 1, 6:00 PM ET
Can clinch Shield with:
• POR win OR
• POR draw + RGN draw/loss OR
• POR loss + RGN draw/loss + KC draw/loss
Can clinch Top 2 seed with:
• POR draw
OL Reign – clinched playoff spot on 9/25
Orlando Pride at OL Reign, October 1, 10:00 PM ET
Can clinch Shield with:
• RGN win + POR draw/loss
Can clinch Top 2 seed with:
• RGN win OR
• RGN draw + KCC draw/loss + SD draw/loss
Kansas City Current – clinched playoff spot on 9/25
Kansas City Current at Racing Louisville, October 1, 7:30 PM ET
Can clinch Shield with:
• KC win + POR loss + RGN draw/loss
Can clinch Top 2 seed with:
• KC win + RGN draw/loss OR
• KC win + POR loss
San Diego Wave – clinched playoff spot on 9/25
North Carolina Courage at San Diego Wave, September 30, 10:00 PM ET
Can clinch #2 seed with:
• SD win + RGN draw/loss + KC draw/loss
Houston Dash
Houston Dash at Washington Spirit, October 1, 7:00 PM ET
Can clinch playoff spot with:
• HOU win/draw OR
• HOU loss + CHI draw/loss OR
• HOU loss + NC draw/loss
Can only host first-round playoff game with:
• HOU win + SD loss OR
• HOU win + KC loss OR
• HOU win by 4+ goals + SD draw
North Carolina Courage
North Carolina Courage at San Diego Wave, September 30, 10:00 PM ET
Can clinch playoff spot with:
• NC win OR
• NC draw + CHI draw/loss OR
• NC loss + CHI draw
Chicago Red Stars
Angel City FC at Chicago Red Stars, October 2, 6:00 PM ET
Can clinch playoff spot with:
• CHI win + NC draw/loss OR
• CHI win + HOU loss by more than 2 goals
Angel City FC
Angel City FC at Chicago Red Stars, October 2, 6:00 PM ET
Can clinch playoff spot with:
• LA win + NC loss
Playoff Tiebreakers
Goal differential
Most total wins (Regular Season only)
Most goals scored (Regular Season only)
Head-to-head results (total points accumulated)
Head-to-head most goals scored
Least Disciplinary Points Accumulated
Yellow card: 1 point
Indirect red card (as a result of two (2) yellow cards): 3 points
Direct red card: 4 points
Yellow card and direct red card: 5 points
Only one of the above point totals shall be applied to a Player in a single Game.
Coin Flip (2 teams)/Drawing of lots (3+ teams)
NOTE: Each step in the tiebreaker process will fully determine standings (assuming no ties). For example, if Teams A, B, C, and D tie on points, and Team A has a goal differential of +5, Team B is +3, Team C is +3 and Team D is +1, the standings will be 1st Team A and 4th Team D. With Teams B and C still tied, they would move to the next Tiebreaker (most wins), which would settle which of B and C is ranked 2nd and 3rd.
