The Kansas City Current closed out a record-breaking regular season with a 2-1 win over the San Diego Wave on Sunday, the NWSL’s Decision Day when all 14 teams were in action and results set the seeding for the eight-team playoffs.
San Diego went up 1-0 on forward Dudinha’s goal in the eighth minute. But Debinha’s goal on a free kick in the 54th minute and Nichelle Prince’s game in the 75th gave Kansas City the win.
The victory gave the Current a final regular-season record of 21-3-2 and the team set single-season records for total points (65), wins (21), goals conceded (13), and shutouts (16).
The top-seeded Current will host eighth-seed Gotham FC in the quarterfinals next weekend.
A wild day sets up the rest of the playoff field
Elsewhere, Racing Louisville made history by clinching a playoff berth for the first time in team history with a 1-0 win over Bay FC.
Racing scored early in the second half when rookie Ella Hase scored her first goal in the 48th minute.
Racing (10-9-7), the No. 7 seed, will head to Audi Field to meet the No. 2 Washington Spirit (12-6-8) in the quarterfinals
The Spirit had already sealed the No. 2 prior to Decision Day, and fell to the Utah Royals 1-0. Trinity Rodman remained sidelined for the Spirit due to a knee injury and her status for the playoffs remains uncertain.
Despite defeating Gotham FC 3-2 on Sunday, the North Carolina Courage (9-9-8) missed out on the playoffs by a single point.
Gotham (9-8-9) had already secured a playoff spot.
The Portland Thorns finished with the third seed with a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dash. Deyna Castellanos scored from the edge of the box in the third minute before Jessie Fleming’s goal in the 35th.
The Thorns (11-8-7) will host the No. 6 Wave in the playoffs. It is the ninth consecutive season the Thorns have made the playoffs.
The Orlando Pride were held to a 1-1 draw at home by the Seattle Reign. Both teams had already clinched a playoff spot but were jostling for seeding.
The tie sets up an rematch between the No. 4 Pride (11-8-7) and the No. 5 Reign (10-7-9) in quarterfinals.
The Chicago Stars came from behind to defeat Angel City 2-1. Both teams had already been eliminated from playoff contention.
The quarterfinals were set for this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The best of the season
Despite missing Decision Day with a hip injury, reigning NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga finished the regular season as the top scorer in the league with 15 goals. The Kansas City forward becomes the second player to win consecutive NWSL Golden Boot honors after Sam Kerr in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
She was also a favorite to also secure a second consecutive MVP trophy. Chawinga’s Current teammate Lorena was favored to win Goalkeeper of the Year with a league record 14 shutouts. in her first season in the league.
Angel City forward Riley Tiernan finished her rookie season with eight goals, the most of anyfirst-year player. She played in all 26 matches this year. She will face competition from Gotham defender Lilly Reale for the award.
Heading into the offseason and looking toward 2026
The Stars honored former player Christen Press before their game against Angel City. The two-time World Cup winner, who is retiring from soccer at the conclusion of this season, subbed into the match for Angel City in the 58th minute to a standing ovation. The Stars also honored fellow retiring Angel City player Ali Riley.
The last place Stars have been led over the last few weeks by interim coach Anders Jacobson, who will serve as an assistant next season when Martin Sjogren takes over. The team is also moving from Bridgeview to Northwestern’s Martin Stadium next season.
The Dash, playing their first season under coach Fabrice Gautrat, improved to 10th from its last-place finish last season, but missed out on the playoffs for the third straight year.
The Royals, a 2024 expansion team, missed out on the playoffs for a second consecutive year but finished the season with four wins in their last seven games.
Bay FC head coach Albertin Montoya will step down. After the 2024 expansion team finished seventh and made the playoffs last year, this season was a step back. Bay closed out 2025 on a 15-match winless streak and in 13th place.
Two new teams join the NWSL next season, the Denver Summit and the Boston Legacy, bringing the league to 16 teams.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
By THEO LLOYD-HUGHES
Associated Press
