NOTES TO KNOW

NOTES TO KNOW

PLAYOFF PICTURE

While Portland Thorns FC and the North Carolina Courage held onto the top two seeds this weekend, the rest of the top six moved around in the standings. San Diego Wave FC entered Week 17 in sixth place with 24 points, but a 2-1 win against the Orlando Pride brought them up to third place, tied with the Courage in points, who hold the first tiebreaker with a greater goal differential. Meanwhile, the Pride remain just two points out of the sixth and final playoff spot after the loss. NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit entered Week 17 with the third and fourth best records in the league, respectively. After draws with Racing Louisville FC and Portland Thorns FC, Gotham FC has dropped to fourth place, while the Spirit dropped to fifth. A 2-1 loss to Angel City FC saw OL Reign move from fifth to sixth. Though no new teams have entered the top six since Week 11, the order of these six teams is in flux each week, and the playoff race is tightening up. With five games left to play, no team is eliminated from playoff contention. Only five points separate the first place Portland Thorns from the sixth place OL Reign, the same differential between the Reign and the 11th place Kansas City Current.

CHANGING OF THE GUARDS

A very competitive regular season has seen the first-place team change nine times through the first 17 weeks. Six teams have controlled first place for at least one week, including Portland Thorns FC , OL Reign, Washington Spirit, NJ/NY Gotham FC, San Diego Wave FC and the North Carolina Courage. The Portland Thorns have spent the most time atop the standings, ending the week in first place nine times this season.

UNBEATEN STREAKS

With a draw against Gotham FC, Racing Louisville FC extended their unbeaten streak to four games, with three draws and one win. Racing is still fighting for a playoff spot, as their streak brings them to 21 points on the season, the eighth best in the league. Tied with Racing in points but trailing in goal differential is Angel City FC, who extended their unbeaten streak to six games with a win against OL Reign.

MILESTONES AND RECORDS

FIRST GOALS

Many players scored their first regular season goals of the year, including San Diego Wave defender Abby Dahlkemper, who scored in the 7th minute of a 2-1 win against the Orlando Pride and Kansas City Current defender Lo’eau LaBonta, who scored in a 1-1 draw against the Houston Dash. Dahlkemper’s goal was her first in the regular season since 2016. North Carolina Courage forward Tess Boade and Chicago Red Stars defender Tatumn Milazzo each scored in a 1-1 draw, marking Milazzo’s first of the year, and Boade’s first of the regular season after scoring in the Challenge Cup. Three players scored the first regular season goals of their careers, including San Diego Wave forward Kyra Carusa, who scored the game winning goal in just her second NWSL match. Angel City forward Clarisse Le Bihan and midfielder Madison Hammond both scored their first career regular season goals in a 2-1 win against OL Reign, though both have scored in the Challenge Cup.

PENALTY KICKS

Across the league, players have scored 30 goals on 34 penalty kicks, recording the highest conversion rate for PK goals in league history at 88.24%. Last season, the success rate was 75.56%, as players scored 34 goals on 45 attempts. The next highest success rate came in 2016, with 21 goals on 27 penalty kicks, good for 77.78%. OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe added to the 2023 total last night, recording her 14th career PK goal in the 48th minute. With the goal, Rapinoe broke a tie with former teammate Kim Little and Portland Thorns forward Christine Sinclair for the most PK goals all time in the NWSL.

KEEPER MINUTES

San Diego Wave goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan played all 90 minutes this week, picking up a win while reaching 10,000 minutes played for her career. Meanwhile, Casey Murphy also played all 90 for her club, becoming the first keeper to play 5,000 minutes for the North Carolina Courage.

SHOW YOUR SPIRIT

13,048 fans packed Audi Field for the Washington Spirit’s Sunday night game against the Portland Thorns, the highest attendance at a Spirit home game since 2019. Home fans were rewarded with a game-tying PK goal from forward Ashley Hatch in stoppage time.

WEEK 17 MATCH RESULTS

August 25, 2023

Orlando Pride vs. San Diego Wave FC | 1 – 2 | Match Recap

August 26, 2023

Houston Dash vs. Kansas City Current | 1 – 1 | Match Recap

August 27, 2023

North Carolina Courage vs. Chicago Red Stars | 1 – 1 | Match Recap Washington Spirit vs. Portland Thorns FC | 1 – 1 | Match Recap NJ/NY Gotham FC vs. Racing Louisville FC | 0 – 0 | Match Recap Angel City FC vs. OL Reign | 2 – 1 | Match Recap