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The final day of the 2025 NWSL regular season arrives with only some of the playoff picture in view. First-place Kansas City Current and second-place Washington Spirit are locked into the quarterfinal rounds as the top seeds, and only one playoff spot remains up for grabs between Racing Louisville FC and North Carolina Courage. Other teams will compete for table positioning and for the honor to host a home playoff game. 

The drama shifts to a battle for the remaining playoff seeding on Sunday. Decision Day will help settle the final standings from third to eighth place, and a central clash between Seattle Reign FC and Orlando Pride will directly determine one of the top three seeds and send a ripple effect throughout the rest of the playoff pond. 

CBS is the official home of the NWSL Championship, and fans can watch select playoff matches across CBS platforms, including CBS Sports Golazo Network, CBS Sports Network, and Paramount+.

Here's what's at stake on Sunday:

NWSL Decision Day schedule

Sunday, Nov. 2
Kansas City Current vs. San Diego Wave | 3 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo (Try for free)
Utah Royals vs. Washington Spiri | 5 p.m. | NWSL+
Portland Thorns vs. Houston Dash | 5 p.m. | NWSL+
Orlando Pride vs. Seattle Reign | 5 p.m. | NWSL+
North Carolina Courage vs. Gotham FC  | 5 p.m. | ESPN, Fubo (Try for free)
Racing Louisville vs. Bay FC | 5 p.m. | NWSL+
Chicago Stars vs. Angel City | 5 p.m. | NWSL+

A quick snapshot

Here's who has already clinched and what is at stake:

• Kansas City Current (No.1) and Washington Spirit (No.2) have already locked up their seeds and are the top two teams that will host playoff games.

• Gotham FC, Orlando Pride, Portland Thorns FC, San Diego Wave FC, and Seattle Reign FC clinched playoff spots in Week 25. All five clubs have a shot at hosting a quarterfinal game. 

• Racing Louisville and North Carolina Courage are battling for the eighth seed and a playoff berth. The Courage can't finish above eighth place, but Racing could potentially finish higher.

A third-place battle

The game between third-place Orlando Pride and fourth-place Seattle Reign is the most straightforward meeting of the day, with the No. 3 spot up for grabs. If Seattle beat the Pride at Orlando, then they would leapfrog the Pride and secure the No. 3 seed. If Orlando defeat the Reign, they will claim third place and the right to host a quarterfinal match.

A draw would just add to the chaos. A draw for Orlando could clinch either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed with a San Diego draw/loss or a Portland draw/loss. A draw for Seattle would leave them vulnerable to being overtaken by other contenders, and so would a loss.

Seattle scenarios for a draw or loss against Orlando Pride:

  • Clinch No. 4 seed with a draw and San Diego draw/loss and Portland draw/loss and Gotham draw/loss
  • Clinch No. 4 seed with a loss and San Diego loss and Portland loss and a Gotham draw/loss

The scenarios make the matchup between Seattle and Orlando a critical game for both sides and others across the league. The game also comes after the revelation by Reign head coach Laura Harvey that she utilized ChatGPT out of curiosity earlier this season to test the tech on its NWSL formational knowledge. 

The AI software suggested the club play in a five-back, which the Reign studied, trained for, and executed for the first time against Orlando Pride earlier this year. 

Who already clinched playoffs?

  1. Kansas City Current – No. 1 seed / NWSL Shield winner
  2. Washington Spirit – No. 2 seed
  3. Orlando Pride – Clinched Week 24
  4. Seattle Reign FC – Clinched Week 25
  5. San Diego Wave FC – Clinched Week 25
  6. Gotham FC – Clinched Week 25
  7. Portland Thorns FC – Clinched Week 25
  8. TBD (only Racing Louisville and North Carolina Courage in contention)

Who is eliminated?

Several teams are already eliminated from playoff contention. Some will compete to play spoiler when the Houston Dash take on Portland Thorns FC or Bay FC vs. Racing Louisville. Others are simply competing for pride, as is the case for Chicago Stars FC hosting Angel City FC. 

  • Chicago Stars FC – Eliminated Week 22
  • Bay FC – Eliminated Week 23
  • Utah Royals FC – Eliminated Week 24
  • Angel City FC – Eliminated Week 25
  • Houston Dash – Eliminated Week 25

What are the top four scenarios?

Orlando Pride

  • Clinches No. 3 seed with a win
  • Clinches No. 3 or No. 4 seed with a draw AND San Diego draw/loss OR Portland draw/loss
  • Clinches No. 4 seed with a loss AND San Diego draw/loss AND Portland draw/loss AND Gotham draw/loss

Seattle Reign FC

  • Clinches No. 3 seed with a win
  • Clinches No. 4 seed with a draw AND San Diego draw/loss AND Portland draw/loss AND Gotham draw/loss
  • Clinches No. 4 seed with a loss AND San Diego loss AND Portland loss AND Gotham draw/loss

San Diego Wave FC

  • Clinches No. 3 or No. 4 seed with a win AND Orlando draw OR Portland draw/loss OR Portland win but San Diego finishes ahead on goal differential
  • Clinches No. 4 seed with a draw AND Seattle loss AND Portland draw/loss AND Gotham draw/loss

Portland Thorns FC

  • Clinches No. 3 or No. 4 seed with a win AND Orlando draw OR San Diego draw/loss OR San Diego win but Portland finishes ahead on goal differential
  • Clinches No. 4 seed with a draw AND Seattle loss AND San Diego loss AND Gotham draw/loss

Gotham FC

  • Clinches No. 4 seed with a win AND San Diego draw/loss AND Portland draw/loss