Week 17 saw some of the wildest action NWSL has ever produced. The Reign won on Wednesday in Chicago with a goal in the 90th and a goal in stoppage time. Three nights later, Sky Blue flipped the script on them with two stoppage-time tallies to pull out an unlikely victory. Meanwhile, the Red Stars are teetering and the Blues are in the race. Here’s where NWSL stands after Week 17
McCall Zerboni during her 100th regular season match, a 2-0 win over the Spirit. (Photo by Lewis Gettier.)
| W | L | D | GF | GA | PTS | |
| North Carolina Courage | 13 | 5 | 0 | 26 | 14 | 39 |
| Portland Thorns FC | 10 | 5 | 4 | 27 | 18 | 34 |
| Chicago Red Stars | 8 | 6 | 5 | 25 | 23 | 29 |
| Orlando Pride | 8 | 6 | 5 | 35 | 25 | 29 |
| Seattle Reign FC | 7 | 6 | 6 | 37 | 31 | 27 |
| Sky Blue FC | 8 | 9 | 2 | 34 | 41 | 26 |
| FC Kansas City | 6 | 8 | 5 | 22 | 27 | 23 |
| Houston Dash | 7 | 10 | 2 | 20 | 29 | 23 |
| Boston Breakers | 3 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 25 | 16 |
| Washington Spirit | 4 | 10 | 4 | 23 | 32 | 16 |
Results and Schedule
| Boston Breakers | 1-3 | Houston Dash |
| Dowie (26) | recap | Hagen (10) |
| att:Â 3,003 | Beckie (64) | |
| Hagen (79) |
| Chicago Red Stars | 1-2 | Seattle Reign FC |
| Hoy (23) | recap | Kawasumi (90) |
| att:Â 2,876 | Johnson (92+) |
| FC Kansas City | 2-1 | Portland Thorns FC |
| Averbuch (65) | recap | Henry (44) |
| att:Â 428 | Leroux (69) |
| North Carolina Courage | 2-0 | Washington Spirit |
| Hatch (46) | recap | |
| OG (Kallman, 84) | Gordon | |
| att: 3,530 |
| Boston Breakers | 1-2 | Orlando Pride |
| Da Costa (98+, pk) |
recap | Morgan (8) |
| att: 4,321 | Morgan (73) |
| Sky Blue FC | 5-4 | Seattle Reign FC |
| Kerr (48) | recap | Johnson (3) |
| Kerr (68) | Lee | Fishlock (18) |
| Kerr (71) | att: 3,325 | Kawasumi (47+) |
| Hayes (91+) | Dallstream (85) | |
| Kerr (94+) |
| Portland Thorns FC | 2-0 | Houston Dash |
| Horan (14) | recap | |
| att: 19,672 |
| Chicago Red Stars | 1-3 | FC Kansas City |
| Ertz (64) | recap | Leroux (23) |
| att: 3,314 | Bowen (29) | |
| Kelly (80) |
Week 18 Saturday
Orlando Pride at FC Kansas City, 3:30 p.m. EDT
Portland Thorns FC at Seattle Reign FC, 4:00 p.m. EDT
Chicago Red Stars at Washington Spirit, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Boston Breakers at Sky Blue FC, 7:00 p.m. EDT
Week 18 Sunday
North Carolina Courage at Houston Dash, 8:00 p.m. EDT
What They Said
“When we can’t get four yards offide right in this league, we’ve got major problems. Major. We’ve got major problems because we can’t keep a 3-0 lead, but when things like that happen, I just don’t know what to say about it anymore. I can’t get fined anymore because I say it every week. The players deserve more.” — Laura Harvey, Seattle Reign FC head coach
“(Christie Pearce) has put her heart and soul into this game and into this club. We respect her for that. There’s only so much a body can take. We give her a lot of credit for what she’s done. We wish her well. Hopefully she recovers. Whether it’s this year or next year, I’m not sure. But we will welcome her back.” — Tony Novo, Sky Blue FC general manager
Story lines to follow
Here are some story lines we’ll be following during Week 18:
-Will the Courage clinch a playoff berth this weekend?
-Will FC Kansas City continue to inch closer to the top four?
-Will Rose Lavelle be available for the Breakers?
