Gotham wins Shield, Reign qualify

Gotham FC secured the NWSL Shield and the top seed for the playoffs by defeating the Utah Royals 2-0 on Sunday. The victory on Decision Day, when all 16 teams played at the same time, gave the New York club home field advantage for the entire postseason.

Guro Reiten and Jaedyn Shaw scored the goals for Gotham, who finished the regular season with a record of 18 wins, 5 losses, and 7 draws. Ann-Katrin Berger recorded her 11th clean sheet of the year, making two saves in the match. Shaw said the team was happy to finally achieve the title.

The top seed status means Gotham will host the No. 8 seed, the Seattle Reign, in the quarterfinals next Sunday. The Reign clinched that final playoff spot later on Sunday with a 1-0 home win over the Orlando Pride.

Jordyn Bugg scored the decisive goal for Seattle in the 68th minute off a corner kick. Her team finished the season with a 14-11-5 record. The Orlando Pride, who ended with an 11-16-3 record, dropped two consecutive matches to close out their year.

San Diego Wave defender Mimi Van Zanten scored in the ninth minute to lead her team to a 1-0 road win over Bay FC. The result secured the second seed for the Wave, who finished 18-8-4. They will host the seventh-seeded Utah Royals on Friday.

The Washington Spirit took the third seed with a 2-0 victory over the last-place Chicago Stars. Trinity Rodman scored in the 85th minute to seal the win for the Spirit, who finished 17-9-4. An own goal by Chicago defender Michelle Alozie gave Washington the lead in the 62nd minute. The Spirit will host the sixth-seeded Portland Thorns next Sunday.

The Kansas City Current clinched the fourth seed with a 2-0 win over Racing Louisville. Kayla Sharples and Haley Hopkins both headed in crosses from Vanessa DiBernardo to score the goals. The Current, who finished 16-9-5, will host the fifth-seeded Angel City on Saturday.

North Carolina forward Ashley Sanchez won the Golden Boot with 20 regular-season goals. She tied the single-season record of 20 set by Temwa Chawinga in 2024. This marks the second time a Golden Boot winner has missed the playoffs, following Sam Kerr in 2017.

The Courage themselves won their final match 1-0 over the Denver Summit on Sunday but finished 14-13-3, falling short of the playoff cutoff. Kailen Sheridan made four saves for her ninth shutout of the season.

In other results, Sophia Wilson scored twice for the Portland Thorns in a 2-0 win over the Houston Dash. Wilson's two goals brought her season total to 15, a career high, and made her the first NWSL player to score more than 10 goals in four separate seasons.