Survival. Insistence. The Spirit advanced to the #NWSL semifinals as Rodman watched on, McKeown and Carle were injured, and they conceded a stoppage-time equalizer. Then Aubrey Kingsbury stepped up again in the penalty shootout. "There was no chance that we could lose this game."

Spirit win in a penalty shootout! A couple of poor PKs there from Louisville, who fought hard to get the game this far. Audi Field erupts, and the Spirit will be hosting a semifinal right back here next weekend. Louisville's best season to date comes to an end. #NWSL

Penalties. Washington and Louisville play to a 1-1 draw through extra time. The Spirit are in search of another #NWSL semifinal berth. Louisville looks to advance in its first playoff game ever.

Off we go to extra time here at Audi Field. The Spirit had the better chances and were a few minutes of stoppage time away from a berth in the semifinals, but that late, direct equalizer in transition is part of what Louisville can do. #NWSL

There it is. The Louisville long ball finds an equalizer in second-half stoppage time. Kayla Fischer scores off the bench to put this game on the verge of extra time. #NWSL

Louisville's wall finally breaks (again, you might say) and this time the goal stands. Gift Monday with the header, and an announced sellout crowd of 19,215 erupts. 1-0 Spirit with about 15 minutes to play in regulation of this #NWSL quarterfinal.

#NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman spoke at halftime. She declined to explicitly confirm her widely reported contract extension ("I'm gonna still say that I intend to be here.") and was asked (Q: @jasondcsoccer.bsky.social) about the league's gender policy. Berman's full answer.

Scoreless at halftime in DC, where the Spirit have held a commanding 75% of possession and Louisville has forayed forward only rarely through a hopeful ball to create a 1-v-1 scenario.

The Spirit have been knocking on the door here, one-way traffic. Audi erupted on that would-be goal before VAR erased it. The only logical call with where the restart got placed is that Santos was offside on the return pass, but the angles offered on TV are hardly definitive. Still scoreless. #NWSL

Not to be dramatic but it's a perfect November day in DC for soccer: 67 and full sun at kickoff for this #NWSL quarterfinal. Good crowd still filing in, too.

Trinity Rodman did not participate in any of the Spirit's pregame warmup, which probably sets the expectation of whether she'll be seen on the field today despite being listed on the bench. #NWSL

It's Racing Louisville's first playoff game. If they are going to pull an upset here at Audi Field, Taylor Flint and Emma Sears will have a lot to do with it in midfield and up top, respectively. They're a clear underdog, but their direct style is built for knockout soccer. #NWSL

Trinity Rodman (questionable, knee) is on the bench for the #NWSL quarterfinal.

Quite a dramatic ending to Chelsea-Arsenal. 1-1 in the end after a late surge from the Gunners.

#USWNT forward Alyssa Thompson's first Women's Super League goal is a cool, calm, precise strike to give Chelsea the lead against Arsenal in a London Derby. www.espn.com/video/clip/_...

Lauren Barnes played her last pro game tonight: 252 #NWSL regular season appearances, 21,000+ minutes -- the only player to ever achieve either, and she did it entirely in Seattle. End of an era.

The Marta moment in question. (And who can cut the side-by-side of this with last year's all-timer goal in the semifinal?)

Marta just delivered an epic range of emotions in the postgame press conference. She got choked up talking about the Pride's internal support, then snapped out of it: “But at the same time I like when people talk so much shit about Pride and don’t give credit, because it makes me feel good." #NWSL

A year after beating cancer, the one they call the heartbeat of the team, Luana, converts a last-minute penalty to make sure Orlando made it through to the semis. And the opportunity was given by her longtime Brazilian teammate, Marta, who handed her the ball after winning the penalty 💜

FULL TIME: Orlando Pride 2, Seattle Reign 0 The 2024 #NWSL champs are heading to the semifinals with a performance a little more reminiscent of last year's double, including the Haley McCLUTCHeon goal + Marta run. Valiant effort from Seattle, who nearly matched the Pride's expected goals.

OH MY WORD MARTA!!!!!! Another out-of-body playoff run like last year

Mad Marta on the ref cam is absolute cinema. #NWSL

More like Haley McCLUTCHeon in the playoffs, am I right? Really, though, after the ups and downs of this year, to have McCutcheon scoring again, at the end of THAT one-touch combination play, set to the early tempo of this game (Ovalle has been great): Good signs for the Pride. 1-0 Orlando. #NWSL

End-to-end action with high tempo is a pleasant surprise to start this Orlando-Seattle quarterfinal. #NWSL

Go time! The #NWSL playoffs kick off shortly (Prime Video) with defending champion Orlando Pride hosting the Seattle Reign in the 4 v 5 quarterfinal matchup.

Per the official #NWSL availability report, Trinity Rodman (knee) is questionable for the Spirit vs. Louisville.

Futbol W #NWSL playoff preview is on ESPN2 right now!

Hello from Leesburg, VA. Trinity Rodman's status for tomorrow's #NWSL quarterfinal v Louisville is unclear. She was inside for the open media portion of today's training. Hal Hershfelt had the quote of the day on mentality. Adrian Gonzalez stressed the importance of team shape + winning 2nd balls.

This would be a serious double-blow for KC. The Current are deeper than any team, but there's no getting around that Chawinga changes the way they play -- as does Bia. Gotham also is not your average No. 8 seed. #NWSL

Christina Burkenroad didn't have the same advantages of her high school teammates. She was worried about what she could eat, worried about where she could sleep. But that didn't stop the young San Diegan from dreaming. Soccer saved the future Mexican star. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

#NWSL on ABC/ESPN numbers are UP 📈 — in English and Spanish 618K for Kansas City-Portland to open the season. ABC has a quarterfinal doubleheader on Sunday. And you can catch the playoff preview from Futbol W, our weekly studio show, at 4pm ET today on ESPN2. espnpressroom.com/us/press-rel...

The #NWSL playoffs start Friday! Here's a high-level look at why each team will — and won't! — win.

Concacaf announces players of the year. Women: Melchie Dumornay (Haiti / OL Lyonnes) Men: Jonathan David (Canada / Juventus)

Captain Lo'eau LaBonta has signed a new contract with the Kansas City Current through 2028. LaBonta is the heart and soul of KC, and a big part of their historic success over the past two #NWSL seasons.

Gotham FC has announced Jaedyn Shaw's new contract through 2029, which was in the works as part of the $1.25M transfer from North Carolina in September.

The U-23 #USWNT, which USWNT senior head coach Emma Hayes has fully utilized as the stepping stone to the senior squad, has hired Heather Dyche as full-time head coach. Dyche is the first full-time head coach of the U-23s in nearly four years. She joins from the University of New Mexico.

The #NWSL playoffs are here! Futbol W is LIVE at 8:30 pm ET on ESPN+ with a Decision Day wrap, playoff preview, and Olivia Moultrie joins the show to talk about her contract extension in Portland + Thorns' chances. www.espn.com/watch/catalo...

NWSLPA Issues Statement Condemning Attacks on Players:

I had the pleasure of joining the US Deaf WNT for training camp last year. They are dominant on the field, and many of the players have also discovered a whole new view on life from their time with the team. They strive to help others do the same.

The U.S. Deaf WNT will play for its record 5th Deaflympics Gold Medal this month. The tournament will be the final event for coach Amy Griffin + assistant Joy Fawcett after 10 years, and last for veteran players Sydney Andrews, Emily Spreeman + Kate Ward. www.ussoccer.com/stories/2025...

#NWSL NEWS: Denver Summit FC will play its first home game on March 28, 2026, at 2 pm ET at the Broncos' 76,000-seat Empower Field. Boston Legacy FC will play its first game on March 14 at 12:30 pm ET at the Patriots' 65,000-seat Gillette Stadium. (Schedule news in November, how about that?)

#NWSL quarterfinals schedule 👇 FRI: Orlando-Seattle, 8 pm ET, Prime SAT: Spirit-Louisville, 12 pm ET, CBS SUN: KC-Gotham, 12:30 pm ET, ABC; Thorns-Wave, 3 pm ET, ABC

Final standings for the 2025 #NWSL regular season: A 90+8 winner by Ally Schlegel in Chicago means the Stars finish level on points (20) with Bay FC, who bottomed out to end the season. It also meant 2025 didn't tie the 2018 season's 48-point gap from first to last.

Christen Press and Ali Riley played their final pro matches today, ending illustrious careers on the field together for Angel City in a 2-1 loss at Chicago. #NWSL

Racing Louisville finished in 9th place each of its first four seasons. On Sunday, they beat Bay FC 1-0 to clinch their first playoff spot as the No. 7 seed. Louisville coach Bev Yanez said she didn't want to know the Courage score but had to check at halftime. #NWSL

#NWSL Playoffs are SET: Louisville clinches a playoff spot for the first time. North Carolina is eliminated despite beating Gotham—who drop to eighth. (1) Kansas City v (8) Gotham (2) Washington v (7) Louisville (3) Portland v (6) San Diego (4) Orlando v (5) Seattle

Well Gotham is making this mighty interesting. 3-2 now and an equalizer would jump them to 6th. Louisville is IN no matter what with the win.

Taylor Huff puts a free kick from 19 yards out, dead center, over the bar, and Louisville breathes a sigh of relief as stoppage time begins. Four minutes to play. #NWSL

Orlando scores and Seattle answers immediately, meaning these two teams are still headed for a rematch in the same location in a week. #NWSL

Courage now lead Gotham 3-0 😱... and with Louisville leading Bay, the Courage would still miss the playoffs. Brutal stuff from Gotham here. All eyes on Louisville now, especially given Racing's late-game struggles with closing out games. #NWSL