NOTES TO KNOW

NOTES TO KNOW

A BUSY DECISION DAY

Heading into the regular season finale, only Portland Thorns FC and San Diego Wave have secured a playoff berth. While the Thorns and Wave aim to clinch the NWSL Shield, eight teams will battle it out for the remaining four spots, with every match having major playoff implications. The final regular season match day sees all 12 teams in action with all six matches kicking off at 5 p.m. ET on Paramount+. The first-ever CarMax NWSL Decision Day features expanded coverage from CBS Sports, including a live whiparound show alongside Sunday’s matches hosted by Lisa Carlin on CBS Sports Network, covering goals and highlights from each contest. The Thorns can clinch the Shield with a win in their match against Angel City FC, regardless of other match outcomes, while the Wave need to win their match against Racing Louisville FC in addition to a loss or draw from Portland to earn their first Shield. An exciting Decision Day schedule includes a matchup between third place North Carolina Courage and fifth place Washington Spirit, both with 30 points. The two clubs faced each other in Week 3 of the regular season, with the Spirit winning 2-1, though they squared off twice in the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup, with the Courage winning both matches, including a 6-0 victory. If the match ends in a decision, the winning club clinches a spot in the playoffs. Two more clubs can clinch a playoff berth with a win regardless of other outcomes. OL Reign can secure a playoff spot with a win against the Chicago Red Stars, while NJ/NY Gotham FC can earn their spot with a win over the Kansas City Current. Both the Red Stars and Current have already been eliminated from playoff contention. See a full list of clinching scenarios here. Read more about CarMax NWSL Decision Day here.

GOLDEN BOOT RACE

Despite missing time with both the World Cup and a knee injury, Thorns forward Sophia Smith leads the league with 11 goals through Week 21, though Courage forward Kerolin is close behind with 10. Kerolin will match up against Washington Spirit forward Ashley Hatch, who has nine goals, tied with Kansas City Current midfielder Debinha for third in the Golden Boot Race. Hatch and Debinha would likely need to record a hat trick in their regular season finales to pass Smith, while Kerolin would need a brace, as the first tiebreaker for the Golden Boot is assists. Smith has five assists, while Kerolin has three and Hatch and Debinha each have two. Hatch won the Golden Boot with the Spirit in 2021, while Smith, Kerolin or Debinha would be the first in their club’s history to win the award.

IRONWOMAN WATCH

The NWSL is on pace to have eight ironwomen this season, including three players who earned the distinction in 2022, given to those who play every regular season minute, as Racing Louisville FC goalkeeper Katie Lund, Courage defender Kaleigh Kurtz and Spirit defender Sam Staab are set to repeat as ironwomen. This year’s list also includes three more past ironwomen, as Angel City defender Sarah Gorden, Racing Louisville defender Abby Erceg and Houston Dash keeper Jane Campbell were all ironwomen in previous seasons, with Campbell set to become just the second keeper to record three ironwoman seasons after Nicole Barnhart and the first keeper to record three with one club. First-time ironwomen include Racing Louisville defender Lauren Milliet and Orlando Pride defender Emily Madril, can become just the fifth rookie to record an ironwoman season.

MILESTONES AND RECORDS

OH, CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN

NJ/NY Gotham FC defender and team captain Ali Krieger will play the final regular season home game of her career this weekend in an important matchup against the Kansas City Current. Last week, Krieger became the sixth NWSL player to play in 175 regular season matches, bringing her career minutes total to 14,936. Gotham FC’s captain needs to play at least 65 minutes to become just the fourth player in league history to surpass 15,000 minutes, joining her teammate and former captain McCall Zerboni and OL Reign’s longtime duo of Lauren Barnes and Jess Fishlock.

CATCH UP WITH CAMPBELL

Houston Dash keeper Jane Campbell is having a stellar season, leading the league in saves (86), clean sheets (8) and goals against average (0.83). With her next start, Campbell will make history as the first keeper in league history to play in and start 125 games for a single club. She is also chasing another major milestone, as she has allowed just 17 goals this season. A ninth shutout for Campbell would tie the Dash with the 2018 North Carolina Courage and 2021 Portland Thorns for the fewest goals conceded by a team in one season.

KEEPER’S CORNER

The next shutout for Chicago Red Stars keeper Alyssa Naeher will set a new league record for the most with a single club by one player, as she is currently tied with Nicole Barnhart, who recorded 38 clean sheets for FC Kansas City from 2013 to 2017. With her next clean sheet, Kansas City Current keeper AD Franch will join Nicole Barnhart and San Diego Wave keeper Kailen Sheridan as the only players in league history to record 10 shutouts two different clubs. Meanwhile, Sheridan has eight clean sheets this season and one more would set a new club record. A shutout for Bella Bixby this week would be her 25th with the Porland Thorns, making her the seventh keeper to reach that milestone with one club. While Jane Campbell and the Houston Dash try to match the record for fewest goals allowed in a season, they will take on the Orlando Pride and keeper Anna Moorhouse, who is two saves away from passing her club’s single season saves record of 71, set by Ashlyn Harris in 2021.

NOTABLE GOALS AND ASSISTS

OL Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock looks to make history, as her next goal ties her with Lynn Williams for the third most career goals with one team (42). Fishlock will be playing against Red Stars forward Yuki Nagasato, whose next assist will make her the club’s record holder with 23. Gotham FC forward Midge Purce needs one more goal to tie Carli Lloyd for second on the club’s all-time scoring list with 16. Purce will match up against Kansas City Current forward Kristen Hamilton and midfielder Debinha, who each have nine career regular season goals with the Current and look to become the third player to reach 10. Meanwhile, Debinha’s next assist will be the 20th of her regular season career, making her the 12th player in league history to record 20 goals and 20 assists. Two milestones are within reach for Washington Spirit forward Ashley Hatch, as her next goal will make her the fifth player to score 40 goals for a single club. A penalty kick goal for Hatch would tie the record for most penalty kick goals by a player in a single season with six, matching former Reign midfielder Kim Little and former Boston Breakers midfielder Heather O’Reilly. Meanwhile, the next assist for Hatch’s teammate Trinity Rodman ties her with Crystal Dunn and Diana Matheson for the club record (11).

WEEK 22 MATCH SCHEDULE

October 15, 2023

Washington Spirit vs. North Carolina Courage | Audi Field | 5 p.m. ET | Paramount+ NJ/NY Gotham FC vs. Kansas City Current | Red Bull Arena | 5 p.m. ET | Paramount+ Orlando Pride vs. Houston Dash | Exploria Stadium | 5 p.m. ET | Paramount+ Chicago Red Stars vs. OL Reign | SeatGeek Stadium | 5 p.m. ET | Paramount+ Angel City FC vs. Portland Thorns FC | BMO Stadium | 5 p.m. ET | Paramount+ San Diego Wave FC vs. Racing Louisville FC | Snapdragon Stadium | 5 p.m. ET | Paramount+