NWSL playoff race heats up: Who clinched postseason berths?

The 2025 NWSL regular season is winding down and the playoff picture is shaping up.

Less than two weeks remain in the regular season, which concludes on Nov. 2, and the remaining matchups have major playoff implications as teams jockey for the postseason, seeding and home field advantage.

Three teams — the Kansas City Current, Washington Spirit and Orlando Pride — have punched their tickets to the playoffs, while eight teams are fighting for the last five spots. The opening round of the 2025 NWSL playoffs kicks off Nov. 7-9, followed by the semifinals (Nov. 14-16) and 2025 NWSL championship game (Nov. 22).

Who won the 2025 NWSL Shield? Who is the frontrunner in the Golden Boot race? USA TODAY Sports got you covered. Here’s what you need to know ahead of the playoffs as the NWSL regular season comes to a close:

Who clinched NWSL playoff bids?

The top eight teams atop the standings at the end of the regular season advance to the playoffs, with each team’s seeding determined by their record. The Kansas City Current (20-2-2) was the first team to to clinch a postseason bid (Week 18) and became the fastest club in league history to clinch the NWSL Shield (Week 21), which is awarded to the team with the best regular season record.

The Washington Spirt (12-4-8) and defending champion Orlando Pride (10-8-6) also clinched playoff berths. The Chicago Stars FC, Bay FC and Utah Royals have been eliminated from the postseason.

Here’s the current NWSL standings, as of Tuesday, Oct. 14:

Bold teams have clinched playoff berths, while (E) notes teams that have been eliminated from the playoff contention.

NWSL playoff format

The 2025 NWSL playoffs consists of three rounds of single-elimination matches.

The postseason will kick off with four quarterfinal matchups with the No. 1 seed Kansas City Current hosting the eighth seed and the fourth seed hosting the fifth seed on one side of the playoff bracket. On the other side of the bracket, the No. 2 seed Washington Spirit hosts the seventh seed and the third seed will host the sixth seed.

The winners of each quarterfinal match will face off against each other in the semifinals. (Seeding does not reset after each round). The two semifinal winners will face off in the 2025 NWSL championship game on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+) at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, home of NWSL’s Bay FC and MLS’ San Jose Earthquakes.

Can anyone catch the Kansas City Current?

We have to circle back to the Current, who have turned in one of the most dominant seasons in NWSL history. Not only did the club secure its first NWSL Shield faster than any other team in league history, the Current set a record for the most wins (20) and points scored in a single season (62) with two regular-season games left.

The Current show no sign of slowing down. Kansas City tied its longest undefeated streak in franchise history with 17 consecutive undefeated matches, dating back to May. Goalkeeper Lorena also set a record for single-season shutouts (14) following the Current’s 2-0 win over Gotham FC on Oct. 11.

The eighth seed will have the tall task of defeating the Current at home at CPKC Stadium. Kansas City is the only team in the league that’s undefeated at home this season (10-0-2).

A NWSL Shield doesn’t equate to a NWSL Championship by any means. Since the league began play in 2013, only three teams have won the shield and championship in the same season, most recently the Pride in 2024. Will the Current become the fourth team to claim both the Shield and title?

Who leads the Golden Boot race?

Can Temwa Chawinga repeat as the Golden Boot winner? The Kansas City Current forward is the frontrunner of the 2025 Golden Boot Race with 15 goals in 22 matches. Chawinga holds a two-goal advantage over Gotham FC forward Esther González, who is up to 13 goals in 23 matches.

Chawinga previously won the 2024 NWSL Golden Boot and MVP after becoming the first player in league history to score 20 goals in a season. If Chawinga repeats, she’ll be the first player to win multiple Golden Boots since Sam Kerr won three consecutive (2017-2019).

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