North Carolina Courage were so close to securing the eighth NWSL play-off spot.
They knew they needed to win on Sunday, and they did so – beating Gotham FC 3-2 in their final match of the regular season.
But Racing Louisville’s 1-0 win over Bay FC meant they leapfrogged up the table into seventh place to seal their place in the play-offs for the very first time – meaning the Courage missed out.
It also pushed Gotham down to eighth place in the table – meaning they will travel to runaway Shield winners Kansas City Current.
The Courage have had an eventful season, with head coach Sean Nahas departing after almost four years in charge of the team back in August. Englishman Nathan Thackeray has been in charge as interim head coach since then.
The final day of NWSL fixtures
The Portland Thorns secured a home match for the quarter-final, beating Houston Dash in front of a season-high attendance of 21,903, and will host San Diego Wave.
Washington Spirit – featuring England’s Esme Morgan – closed their regular season in less than ideal fashion, by losing 1-0 away to Utah Royals. It was only their second defeat on the road all year. They will host Racing Louisville in the quarter-finals.
Orlando Pride and Seattle Reign drew 1-1, with both sides having already secured their play-off spots.
And Chicago Stars beat Angel City FC 2-1, with both sides knowing they would not be able to make the play-offs. It was only the third win of the Stars’ league season.
Full Play-off line-up
The NWSL Play-offs begin next weekend. The quarter-finals are as follows:
Orlando Pride v Seattle Reign (Friday, 7th November)
Washington Spirit v Racing Louisville (Saturday, 8th November)
Kansas City Current v Gotham FC (Sunday, 9th November)
Portland Thorns v San Diego Wave (Sunday, 9th November)
The semi-finals will take place on Saturday, 15th November and Sunday, 16th November. The hosts for each will be the side that finished higher in the league table unless there is an issue around venue availability.
The final for the 2025 NWSL Championship will be on Saturday, 22nd November, and will be played at PayPal Park in San Jose, California.
