The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) may have a problem. The league-leading Kansas City Current are giants. Week after week, they fell team after team like Paul Bunyon lumbering through the woods.
Their record is stunning. With 18 wins, two losses, and two ties, they are 16 points ahead of the second placed Washington Spirit and have a 33-point goal differential, scoring 44 goals and ceding just 11. The next highest ranked team, Gotham FC, has only a 13-point differential. And two weeks ago, the Current raised the NWSL Shield, the award for the best regular season record. It was the earliest any team has won the award.
In short, the Current’s 2025 season is something any fan should admire, like standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon for the first time.
But this also poses a problem. Like any giant, their might casts a gloomy shadow. Can anyone challenge this Goliath? Or is the 2025 NWSL season over? If so, why would anyone watch?
A glance at the rest of the standings, offers a few splinters of hope.
Hope Splinter 1 - The Washington Spirit
Of these, the Washington Spirit shines brightest. According to 4-or-More, a simple ranking system, the Spirit are in a class by themselves.
Tier | Team (Points) |
|---|---|
Tier 1 | Kansas City Current (56 points) |
Tier 2 | Washington Spirit (40) |
Tier 3 | Gotham FC (34), Seattle Reign (33), Orlando Pride (32), Portland Thorns (31), San Diego Wave (31), Racing Louisville (29), North Carolina Courage (28), Houston Das (26), Angel City FC (24), and Utah Royals (21) |
Tier 4 | Bay FC (19) |
Tier 5 | Chicago Stars (15) |
The Spirit spent much of the first part of the season injured and playing unevenly. But, ever since the summer break, the team has gelled. The defense has stiffened while the attack is flowing freely. As a result, the Spirit has won four games, tied five, and broken away from the main pack of Tier 3 teams.
More importantly, the Spirit recently showed that, like the Biblical character David, might have the greatest potential – the best sling shot and stones - to topple the Current. On September 13th, they grappled to scoreless tie with the Current in Kansas City. The first three quarters of the game were tight and even. Momentum swung back and forth as each team adjusted to each other’s tactics.
Then, in the 66th minute things shifted. The referee ejected the Spirit’s Hal Hershfelt by penalizing her for a hard tackle with a second yellow card.
At first the game went as expected. The Spirit bunkered in its own half of the field and it looked like they were going to play the rest of the match in survival mode. But this only lasted a few minutes. Forwards Rosemonde Kouassi and Gift Monday subbed on in the 71st minute and the tide steadily turned as the Spirit solved the Current. Confidence grew leading to attacks. Wave after wave crashed in the Current half until, by the end of the match, it was flooded with goal seeking Spirit players. The message was clear. The Spirit can meet Kansas City’s might.
Hope Splinter 2 – Gotham FC
Like the Spirit, third placed Gotham FC have also cured after the international break, earning four wins, four ties, and one loss. However, they play a different style. In many ways, Gotham has copied the Current’s formula for success in that both teams are overloaded with top notch scorers backed by foundational defensive players. This may help explain why Gotham FC have the second stingiest defense in the league – conceding just 18 goals – and have earned the third most goals of the season, scoring 31.
It also may help explain why Gotham’s past two matches with the Spirit not only ended in scoreless ties but also felt equally tight as the September 13th game between Washington and Kansas City.
On October 5th, Gotham will play the Current in Kansas City. Given the similarities, the game look like the mirror scene between Groucho and Harpo Marx in the movie Duck Soup.
Hope Splinter 3 - The Utah Royals
Yes, the Utah Royals.
Before the international break they looked like write-offs, dwelling at the bottom of the standings. But since then, they have been one of the best teams in the league, earning four wins, four ties, and one loss.
How did they do it? Is it another gelling thing, like with the Spirit and Gotham? Or maybe, just maybe, their success is another example of the “The Ewing Theory”?
As described by Bill Simmons, this phenomenon happens when a team unexpectedly plays better after losing one or more of its star players. Here, Utah’s late season surge began just days after they traded away the promising, second year forward Ally Sentnor to Kansas City.
Whatever the reason may be, the Royals have climbed into the tier three and, technically, this means they have joined the race for the playoffs. However, currently their seven points behind the eighth and final playoff spot in the standings. So, to qualify, the Royals would have to win their remaining four games and hope that the other playoff bubble teams stumble. In short, the chances are slim.
But, wow, if they made it? What a comeback story!!
And their likely opponent in the first round would be??? Kansas City!! Now that would be a killer David versus Goliath matchup
Woohoo!!
Hope you enJOY!
Sincerely,
The Middle-Aged Slacker