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Read to the end to see who asked ChatGPT for help coaching and actually followed the advice.
Whats coming today in Full Time (fully written by humans):
️ Bold postseason predictions Racing Louisvilles underdog story Englands goalkeeping drama
But first, a look back at NWSLs deciding day
Despite only two teams really playing for their spot in the postseason on the final day of the NWSL season yesterday, Decision Day turned out to still have a surprise or two up its sleeve mainly, Gotham dropping to eighth place after a slow start against the Courage in a rainy North Carolina. The loss also means Gotham has to travel to No. 1 Kansas City this weekend.
The biggest winner, though, was Racing Louisville, which finally broke the ninth-place curse and leapfrogged Gotham into seventh place and a meeting with No. 2 Washington Spirit at Audi Field. More on Louisville shortly.
The Spirit had nothing tangible to play for except momentum, but stumbled against the Utah Royals, who were already knocked out of playoff contention. Interestingly, the Spirit who are without Trinity Rodman due to injury only traveled with 16 players.
Reigning NWSL champion Orlando Pride and Seattle Reign played to a 1-1 draw and will face off again in Florida on Friday. Meanwhile, somehow the Portland Thorns snuck into third place after their 2-0 win over the Houston Dash and will host San Diego Wave on Sunday. Check out the full playoff bracket:
Read more about how Decision Day shook out here and (not or) listen to todays Full Time for some additional analysis and Halloween references.
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First up, enjoy our staffs bold NWSL championship predictions, ranked by spice level:
Asli Pelit: Kansas City Current will take home the trophy this season, book it. ️
Melanie Anzidei: Orlando will repeat as NWSL champions. ️️
Tamerra Griffin: The Spirit are taking this one, and theyre going to do it with swagger. ️️️
Meg Linehan: Cascadia Cup final. (Do I actually think this? No. Would it be an all-timer? Yes.) ️️️️
My bold prediction is more of a dream than anything: Rodman or Current star Temwa Chawinga will be back on the field after a speedy recovery to lift their team to glory. The game is just more beautiful with them in it.
And before we move on from the season that was, I asked Tamerra to help us savor the last memories of the season that came to an end this weekend. Here are three-word memorials for the six teams that failed to qualify for the postseason:
Chicago Stars: Build around Jameese (Joseph).
Bay FC: Time to heal.
Utah Royals: Keep it going!
Angel City FC: Fresh start loading?
Houston Dash: Glass half full!
North Carolina Courage: What couldve been
You will be missed.
Aw moment of the weekend
In Chicago yesterday, Christen Press stepped onto the pitch one last time. The USWNT and Angel City forward began her NWSL journey in the city 11 years ago. Now, here she was again, representing her hometown club in the city where it all began.
The full-circle moment was punctuated by Press emotional encounter with her longtime teammate and U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher after the final whistle.
Press retired alongside Angel Citys Ali Riley, as the pair joined a wave of stars stepping away from the NWSL this year. Others include Kansas Citys Kristen Hamilton and Seattle Reigns Lauren Barnes. Together, these players represent a generation of stars who helped lay the NWSLs foundation, as a new chapter now unfolds.
If you missed it the first time, you have to read Megs interview with Press from last month.
Louisville finishing the NWSL regular season in seventh, thanks to its victory over Bay FC and some unintentional help from the Courage, has to be one of the best feel-good stories of the season so far.
Four years of ninth-place finishes were finally buried thanks to 23-year-old Ella Hases goal in a 1-0 win. But it was also a season of climbing the mountain for the players.
For all the joy and relief on display at Lynn Family Stadium last night following the final whistle one that didnt require the nerves of waiting on another games result ultimately Racings story doesnt boil down to a single moment. This is a team that finally won double-digit matches in a season, winning 10 (Louisville never won more than seven before this season) and finishing above 30 points for the first time ever. Under head coach Bev Yanez, they have found not just their identity, but actual progress.
Stack them up against anyone not named Kansas City, and it feels fair to say they have a real shot at an underdog run this postseason. As the No. 7 seed, they avoided a trip to CPKC Stadium in the quarterfinals, heading instead to Washington, D.C. The Spirit are not to be overlooked, but they will likely be without Rodman and were depleted by injuries on Decision Day. One data point to keep in the back of your mind: Louisvilles last trip to Audi ended in a 2-2 draw.
Its going to be a hostile crowd (in the best way possible), and a new test for this Racing side. And if yesterday proved anything, its that this team, for the first time, can close out games.
Next Saturday, they get another crack at history.
There is some serious drama going on in England this week, so Ive asked our womens soccer writer across the pond, Megan Feringa, to help us break down whats happening between the Lionesses current and former goalkeepers:
Oh Mary. What have you done? A lot, in turns out, in the space of *checks notes* three days.
For those still recovering from Halloween candy hangovers:
Former England No. 1 and current Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Mary Earps shared excerpts with The Guardian from her soon-to-be-released autobiography, All In: Football, Life and Learning to be Unapologetically Me, on Friday night. She retired from international football five weeks before the 2025 European Championship.
In the excerpts, Earps speaks about that decision to retire specifically how she told England head coach Sarina Wiegman that bad behaviour was being rewarded when she learned 24-year-old Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton would be given the No. 1 shirt, despite the internal issues Earps accuses Hampton of causing during the Euro 2022 campaign.
Fans have accused the former Manchester United keeper of acting petulant in the face of rejection and Hamptons own success (Hampton played a critical role in Englands Euro 2025 triumph). Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor branded Earps actions disrespectful.
Earps claimed her extracts were taken out of context and that she never intended to hurt Hampton.
Our opinion? Earps has made her name by wearing her heart on her sleeve, whether thats taking on Nike off-pitch or her R-rated outbursts after penalty heroics on-pitch. That the attribute that exalted her might also be her downfall is as human as it gets. And perhaps thats the moral here: Our heroes are actually human, inevitably fallible, and the height from which they will crash is now higher than ever.
Artificial advice: Seattle Reign head coach Laura Harvey said she followed the advice of ChatGPT twice this NWSL season after curiosity got the best of her. Resourceful, I guess.
Grand arrivals: Boston Legacy and Denver Summit will enter the NWSL next year, and we now know where to get the first glimpse of the new teams at home. Boston will open the season at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, on March 14, and Denver will follow a couple of weeks later with its home opener at Empower Field at Mile High, home to the Denver Broncos, on March 28. A first look at first looks, if you will.
Key return: USWNT defender Naomi Girma returned to the bench for Chelsea on Saturday as she works her way back from a September calf injury. The 25-year-old was an unused sub in the 2-0 win over Michele Kangs London City Lionesses. In Girmas absence, U.S. head coach Emma Hayes experimented with her backline. The next chance for Girma to return to the U.S. is at the end of the month in a pair of friendlies against Italy.
Gday mate: 14-year-old Willa Pearson became the youngest player in A-League history after starting Sydney FCs game against Melbourne City just 53 days shy of her 15th birthday. The defender played the full 90 minutes of Saturdays 2-2 draw.
Dont miss this: I really enjoyed this story from Tamerra on Black players relationship with their hair and Gummy Wax.
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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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