Below is a selection of moments to watch for and notes to know entering Week 21 of NWSL regular season action. Week 21 match coverage begins Friday, October 6 as Racing Louisville FC hosts the Orlando Pride at Lynn Family Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.
NOTES TO KNOW
NOTES TO KNOW
TOP SIX MATCHUPS
Week 20 featured the first playoff berth clinched as San Diego Wave FC secured its spot in the 2023 NWSL Playoffs, while the Kansas City Current were eliminated from contention. This week, the top six teams will all face off against each other. In Megan Rapinoe’s final regular season home match, sixth place OL Reign hosts fifth place Washington Spirit on Friday night, with just one point separating the two teams entering Week 21. Saturday’s slate of games features two additional top-six matchups, as second place Portland Thorns FC hosts third place NJ/NY Gotham FC who trail the team by just one point. The third place North Carolina Courage host first place San Diego with four points separating the pair in the standings.
RAPINOE’S FINAL HOME MATCH
OL Reign will honor forward Megan Rapinoe at her final regular season home match on Friday night. A member of the Reign since the NWSL’s inaugural season in 2013, Rapinoe boasts one of the most storied careers in the sport, ranking sixth on the league’s all-time goals list (49), first in PK goals (14) and tied fourth in assists (26). Rapinoe’s mother and sister will be honored on the field before the match, and festivities throughout the day include live music, food trucks, photo opportunities, a jersey board for fans to sign and more family activities. After the match, fans can stick around to watch a special ceremony honoring one of the greatest to ever play the sport. Visit OLReign.com for more information on Friday’s events.
IRONWOMEN WATCH
Eight players could earn ironwoman honors this year, a distinction given to those who play every minute of the regular season for their club. Racing Louisville FC boasts the most ironwomen, with defender Abby Erceg, midfielder Lauren Milliet and goalkeeper Katie Lund having appeared in all 20 regular season matches for the club thus far. The rest of the list includes Angel City FC defender Sarah Gorden, North Carolina Courage defender Kaleigh Kurtz, Washington Spirit defender Sam Staab, Houston Dash keeper Jane Campbell, who can become just the second keeper to record three ironwoman seasons, and Orlando Pride defender Emily Madril, who can become the fifth rookie ironwoman. This is an experienced crew, as all but Milliet and Madril have had at least one ironwoman season in the past, with Lund, Kurtz and Staab most recently playing every minute in 2022.
MILESTONES AND RECORDS
KEEPER MILESTONES
Chicago Red Stars keeper Alyssa Naeher is already the NWSL’s all-time saves leader, but she has her sights set on another milestone, as her next shutout will set a record for the most regular season shutouts with a single club. Naeher currently has 38 clean sheets with the Red Stars, tied with Nicole Barnhart (FC Kansas City, 2013 – 2017). North Carolina Courage keeper Casey Murphy has 24 clean sheets with the club, and her next will make her the sixth keeper to tally 25 shutouts with a single club. The next shutout for Kansas City Current keeper AD Franch will be her 10th with the club, placing her in exclusive company as only Barnhart and Kailen Sheridan have recorded 10 for two different clubs. Houston Dash keeper Jane Campbell has been the most difficult goalkeeper to get past this season, allowing just 15 goals through Houston’s first 20 matches. Campbell has her club in position to potentially break the record for fewest goals allowed in a season, as the Courage allowed just 17 goals in 2018, matched by Portland Thorns FC in 2021. Both teams reached this milestone in a 24-game season, as opposed to this year’s 22-game season. In addition, Campbell’s next win will be her 45th with the Dash, the second most wins by a keeper with a single club, trailing only Alyssa Naeher who has 48 with Chicago. Orlando Pride keeper Anna Moorhouse already set a club record for most clean sheets in a single season (6), and she is four saves away from tying the club’s single season saves record set by Ashlyn Harris in 2021 (71). The next shutout for San Diego Wave keeper Kailen Sheridan will tie her own single season club record (8 in 2022). The next shutout for Gotham FC will be the club’s 50th, making them the fifth club to reach the milestone.
NOTABLE GOALS
If Megan Rapinoe can score another goal in her last two regular season games, she’ll join Thorns captain Christine Sinclair as the second player in league history to score 50 for a single club. Meanwhile, her Reign teammate forward Bethany Balcer has 28 career goals and finds herself in a race with Pride veteran Marta, who has 29, to become the 23rd player to notch 30 goals. The next goal for Washington Spirit forward Ashley Hatch marks her 40th with the club, a milestone only reached with a single club by five players. If Hatch scores a PK goal before the season ends, she will tie the record for most PK goals by one player in a season (6, Kim Little RGN & Heather O'Reilly BOS 2014), and the Spirit would tie the record for most in a season by a team (6). Gotham FC forward Midge Purce’s next goal will be the 25th of her career and her 16th with the team, tying Carli Lloyd for second on the club’s all-time scoring list behind Sam Kerr. Angel City midfielder Savannah McCaskill’s next goal will be her 10th in her regular season career with the club, making her the first in team history to crack double digits. Meanwhile, Racing Louisville teammates Savannah DeMelo and Nadia Nadim each have nine regular season goals for their club, who has also never had a player reach 10 goals.
GAMES AND MINUTES PLAYED
Gotham FC defender Ali Krieger has tallied the fourth most minutes played in NWSL history. Krieger’s next appearance marks her 175th game played in the league, making her the sixth player to do so. Her teammate Ifeoma Onumonu’s next game will be the 100th of her career, a milestone that can also be reached by San Diego defender Christen Westphal. If North Carolina Courage captain Denise O’Sullivan plays at least 50 minutes in her next game, she will break the club’s all-time record for minutes played, currently held by Abby Erceg (9392 minutes).
WEEK 21 MATCH SCHEDULE
October 6, 2023
Racing Louisville FC vs. Orlando Pride | Lynn Family Stadium | 7:30 p.m. ET | Paramount+ OL Reign vs. Washington Spirit | Lumen Field | 8 p.m. ET | CBS Television Network
October 7, 2023
Portland Thorns FC vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC | Providence Park | 5 p.m. ET | Paramount+ North Carolina Courage vs. San Diego Wave FC | WakeMed Soccer Park | 7 p.m. ET | Paramount+ Kansas City Current vs. Chicago Red Stars | Children’s Mercy Park | 8 p.m. ET | Paramount+
October 8, 2023
Houston Dash vs. Angel City FC | Shell Energy Stadium | 7 p.m. ET | CBS Sports Network
