NWSL Week 22 Recap- Gotham batter Portland, Orlando get one, and a Spirit statement

1. Rose Lavelle, Gotham, clicking

   Gotham's late season glow-up from a grind-it-out defensive side to a fluid and exciting flair team has come just at the right time. Juan Carlos Amoros' side's emphatic beatdown of the Thorns at home in the weekend's first game was a real statement of intent- Gotham is healthy, clicking, and flowing right when the going gets serious.

   
   

   With all due respect to Esther, who carried Gotham during the dark days of spring and early summer, Gotham's recent revival has come on the back of Rose Lavelle, who has resurfaced from the depths of injury hell to fire a powerful reminder of how there is no one, possibly in the world, that quite possesses her combination of intelligence, flair, and natural talent. I had real concern that we'd never see this version of Lavelle again after her most recent spate of injuries. Perhaps that fear made me forget --just a little!-- how dominant the Skyline Messi is when she's fully healthy and in form, but the last month has done plenty to remind me.

   
   

   Amoros moved new addition Jaedyn Shaw wide, going back to a double pivot of Jaelin Howell and young Dane Josefine Hasbo. The double pivot gave Lavelle the free attacking role she is best in, and Lavelle gave Portland absolute fits throughout in a WOTM performance. I don't need a re-watch this weekend to find Lavelle clips, because her two best moments came on Gotham's goals. Here she is running right past a static Sam Coffey and Jayden Perry to receive a delightful one-time around-the-corner ball from Shaw before ball-rolling right in front of McKenzie Arnold and finishing easily.

   
   
   
   

   And here she with an absolutely filthy backheel to free Katie Stengel for Gotham's third:

   
   
   
   

   It's still probably KC and the rest, but there is a clear tier below of Washington and Gotham that pose the biggest threat to the Shield winners. Gotham don't have the electric speed of either KC or Washington, but there's no team in the league that possesses quite the creative power Gotham can throw out with Shaw (who isn't necessarily consistent quite yet, but has fit in effortlessly), Lavelle, and Esther.

   
   

2. Portland down to barebones

   It's officially time for concern in Portland after suffering an absolute dismantling at the feet of Gotham Friday night.

   
   

   Rob Gale's lineup was a virtual capitulation before the match even started. The Portland manager lined the Thorns up in a 5-4-1 with clear intent to park the absolute largest of buses in the middle of Red Bull Arena. Gale hinted that we were in for a bit of a weird lineup pre-game, commenting on the rash of injuries and knocks accumulated over the course of the season, in addition to the ever-growing list of SEIs suffered by key attackers. Reilyn Turner, who has played more soccer than ever before in her career and routinely gets beaten up, was given a break with Gale inferring she just needed a reset. Julie Dufour, so good for Portland after coming over from Angel City in the summer, tore her ACL last week against San Diego, adding yet another wide player to Portland's extensive injury list. Sam Coffey, Olivia Moultrie, and Reyna Reyes are all on pace to exceed 2000 minutes this season and all have looked noticeably off the pace in recent weeks. As Gale will tell anyone willing to listen, this is not a deep team.

   
   

   That said, the fact that the injuries, youth, and squad depth provide a number of perfectly valid excuses to a manager who has consistently struggled to pull consistent performances out of any group he's been in charge of is going to continue to frustrate those that want the Thorns to move on from their manager after the season. Portland's loss to Gotham was a match in which they never had a chance- Gotham's waves of creative playmakers ripped through Portland's young defense at will, and the Thorns continue to look thoroughly unfamiliar with any new shape Gale attempts. Despite Gotham's control of the game, however, it was the familiar refrain of individual defensive mistakes that led to the goals. The Thorns completely switched off on a throw in leading to Midge Purce darting in between three centerbacks for the opener, and Sam Hiatt --who is both the most veteran and most error-prone of Portland 2025 CB cohort-- made two awful choices on the second and third Gotham goals, first stepping out of her backline and leaving space for Lavelle to run into, then giving the ball away in incredibly lazy fashion leading Katie Stengel finishing by Arnold.

   
   

   The Thorns are now at real risk of falling out of the playoffs entirely, despite the NWSL's parity. Portland is a late winner at a Taylor Flint-less Louisville away from being winless in 5, and have looked increasingly out of sorts as the season continues, a worrying trend given Portland's last four years of end-of-the-year capitulations. Suddenly, next weekend's home tilt on Christine Sinclair night at Providence Park seems very much a must-get.

   
   

3. Orlando finally get one

   Orlando finally broke their nine match winless streak Friday night in San Diego, getting goals from Jackie Ovalle and Carson Pickett en route to a 2-1 victory at Snapdragon.

   
   

   There were flashes of the old Orlando, at least in structure. The Pride mostly stifled San Diego in possession, becoming just the second team all season to match the Wave's possession percentage. Angelina and Haley McCutcheon were active in the midfield throughout, limiting San Diego's preferred sequences in midfield and looking much more like the hard-to-break-down 2024 version of themselves.

   
   

   Spanish right back Oihane Hernandez, who has been one of the league's most underrated players and perhaps Orlando's MVP over their cold stretch, might be the Pride's most dangerous attacker at the moment. Oihane has developed a nice chemistry with Ovalle as the Mexican grows into the NWSL, providing an overlapping option when Ovalle inverts from the right side onto her preferred left foot. Oihane spent most of her time in the right wingback position on the night, and it was her delightful whipped cross that found Pickett for Orlando's winner. Cool player!

   
   

   

   (Plus, as a frequent visitor of the very town Hernandez grew up in, I'm obligated to mention that Oihane is Basque, a native of suburban Bilbao, and came up through the Athletic Club youth system. )

   
   

   Outside of the goals, however, it was hard to distinguish this Orlando performance from that of the rest of their winless run. The Pride remain generally wistless offensively, generating just 0.87 xG on the night, a majority of which came from via the chance Pickett scored from. Against a depleted San Diego side missing Delphine Cascarino, Savannah McKaskill, and Gia Corley....it was hardly the most encouraging of performances despite the three points gained.

   
   

4. San Diego change things up a tad

   Wave manager Jonas Eidevall has mixed things up a little with Cascarino out of the lineup. The Swede has dropped left back Perle Morroni in favor of veteran Kristen McNabb, and the Wave have almost shifted to a back three at times as a result, with Hanna Ludkvist --who has really improved going forward-- pushing increasingly high.

   
   

   The biggest difference for the Wave, however, came in central midfield. San Diego keenly missed the steady presence of Savannah McKaskill (things I never thought I'd say for $800, Alex) and struggled to click through their normal midfield patterns like they usually do. Young frenchwoman Laurina Fazer was perfectly fine on the night, but she is not as sturdy in possession as McKaskill is and was often left isolated against Orlando's midfield trio when the rampaging Kenza Dali took off on one of her increasingly frequent journeys forward in an attempt to juice San Diego's attack.

   
   

   The Wave got a lot of joy down their right side via Dali and Lundkvist, but remain incapable of converting chances into goals, their lone tally on the night coming from a delightful Dudinha dink of Moorhouse after a dreadful giveaway from Orlando's keeper. Dali played a number of absolutely delightful through-balls --which I wish I could clip in this recap, but the replay has unfortunately not be posted yet-- to Lundkvist and Makenzy Robbe, but they consistently resulted in very little.

   
   

5. A note on Temwa Chawinga

   The soon-to-be back to back NWSL MVP's defensive work rate is nothing new, but it's well worth highlighting again as the Current traipse their way to a Shield.

   
   

   Chawinga is first among all attacking players (strikers, wingers, and attacking midfielders) in interrupting G+, the American Soccer Analysis metric that measures value added by game component. I've highlighted this before, but I really can't overstate how important it is for a FB to know their winger is able to cover like this. Watch Chawinga throughout this clip- She immediately recognizes the overlap is coming from Cam Biegalski and gets there to cover before Biegalski can even get to the ball. This isn't just work-rate either: it's just really smart reading of the game.

   
   
   
   

6. Angel City floundering

   Angel City are, perhaps understandably, stumbling towards the finish line in way that screams "let this season be over with." It's not as if they've quit --the effort is still generally present across the board-- but there's just not a lot of juice there.

   
   

   Angel City had a half decent first 20 minutes or so after an early Louisville chance, but otherwise looked almost entirely unprepared to deal with Louisville's trademark press. Sara Doorsoun, who has had a truly dreadful start to life in an Angel City shirt since signing over the summer and has been directly responsible for two concessions in Angel City's last three matches, was far too nonchalant on the ball in her own box, predictably got robbed by Emma Sears, who fed striker Sarah Weber for the game winning tap-in. This is something you might get away with in Europe, but you sure as hell ain't getting away with it against Sears and Louisville.

   
   
   
   

   And here she is again, minutes later, getting absolutely trucked by Sears. This isn't the same type as mistake as the previous one--there are maybe two centerbacks in the league who can keep up with Sears 1v1-- but AS a CB, you have got to know better than to commit yourself in that spot against Sears with nothing but green grass behind. At least we got an awesome Sarah Gorden reaction to the resultant penalty call being reversed upon VAR review.

   
   
   
   

   Even outside of the defensive errors, it was a messy last 20 or so for Angel City after Sears' goal. Outside of a difficult chance for Maira Nieheus from an MA Vignola cross, Angel City didn't generate anything despite having all of the ball. Sveindis Jonsdottir was sloppy on multiple occasions where it looked like Angel City might have a chance to break through, and Alex Straus' team never really even got a good chance to pull level.

   
   

7. Utah roll on

   Make it seven unbeaten for Jimmy Coenraets' side, who put on yet another first half clinic before seeing out the second half against a typically anemic Bay attack.

   
   

   Utah have managed to establish a real identity over their hot streak. They still want to get on the ball and play like they did to their detriment so many times early in the season, but they are now very much a transition-based team. Central to Utah's new identity has been a rampant right side led by Paige Monaghan and Danish FB-cum-winger Janni Thomsen, who lashed in her second worm-burner from the top of the 18 in two matches for Utah's opener.

   
   

   Utah continues to be excellent at simple things like switching the field when the opportunity presents itself. Thomsen's goal Saturday was one of many instances of opposing teams appearing unprepared to follow Utah's far-side overloads. Every team Utah has faced during this run have struggled to rotate side to side against them. There are a few reasons why Utah's transition breaks have been so much more effective. Cloe Lacasse has far more gravity than the rotating cast of left wingers Utah had moved through early on and Utah have just been quicker and more decisive in possession generally, but it's very much worth shouting out how shockingly dynamic Utah's right sided duo of Monaghan and Thomsen have been. Monaghan's been excellent, and most importantly, decisive, while Thomsen has rebounded from a rough first half of the season to fully embrace the fact that she's more winger than defender.

   
   

   Sometimes, however, it's really about consistency and confidence. Utah, for the first time all season, have both in spades. Check out this gorgeous first half back to front move- Confident touches, quick movement.....the whole package. This is the stuff they tried to do early in the season to much lesser effect.

   
   
   
   

   And look at the build-up to the Aisha Solorzano --another Royal coming into her own after a rough start to her NWSL career-- goal: This is sick!

   
   
   
   

   Bonus Utah: Back-up keeper Mia Justus had quite the second half for Utah, making an astonishing backpedalling swat of a save and looking assertive throughout. I always appreciate when a manager gives a backup keeper earned minutes- It's the hardest position to break into just because of the fact that each team only has one on the field at any given moment. Good on Coenraets.

   
   

8. Someone pls help Rachael Kundananji

   Bay's reliance on their Zambian attacker in all facets of the game is getting increasingly hard to watch as the season goes on, and Kundananji appears to be feeling the effects mentally and physically. After ending up on the ground a number of times in the second half against Utah--most of which were correctly waved off as non-calls by the referee-- Kundananji appeared to be so fed up/banged with the whole situation that she requested a substitute before staying in the game after remonstrating in frustration to manager Albertin Montoya.

   
   

   I don't blame her. Bay are probably the worst team in the league right now, and Kundananji is the soccer version of an NBA team going iso-ball, or an NFL team throwing to the same receiver over and over again. Every team relies on their stars and especially so for the non-elite tier teams, but few teams do as much as Bay with Kundananji, especially while Penelope Hocking has been out. For context:

   
   

   - Kundananji has nearly twice as many (65) progressive carries as her next closest teammate with 38.

   - Kundananji has nearly twice as many (153) progressive receptions as her next closest teammate (78).

   - Kundananji has more than twice as many expected assists + expected goals (11.1) as her next closest teammate (5.5)

   
   

   Remember when I was praising Temwa Chawinga's defensive contributions earlier? Well, Kundananji has a 99th percentile rate of successful tackles and interceptions. She's third on her own team in successful tackles, ahead of every midfielder and central defender. Bay would be nearly useless without her. Hell, while we're listing stats, Kundananji has won more aerial duels than any other player on her own team by wide margin.

   
   

   Anyhow, message to the new Bay FO: Please go get her some help so I don't need to hear Jordan Angeli talk about how "she needs to find her joy again" every time I watch a Bay match.

   
   

9. Seattle's Devil Magic

   In 2024, there was an obvious impostor in the NWSL's top 8. The Lorne Donaldson Stars had a legitimately historic over-performance in both goals above expectation and goals allowed below expectation en route to a finish just inside the NWSL's top 8. Everyone knew that wasn't sustainable without a talent infusion, and, well.....it wasn't.

   
   

   The Reign, who somehow find themselves IN FOURTH PLACE AND IN POSITION TO HOST A HOME PLAYOFF MATCH after defeating the Courage at home Sunday night, might be an even more extreme example. Laura Harvey gets a lot of (mostly deserved) respect around the league because of her longevity and ability to win one-off tactical battles despite the ~conservative~ nature of her play-style, but Seattle have had one of the most atrocious offenses by goals scored (4th from bottom in both '24 and '25) xG generated (4th from bottom in '24 and DEAD stinkin' last in '25), and shot creating actions (4th from bottom in '24 and last in '25) over the past two seasons. Not only that, but it's not like they have an elite defense either- Seattle have the fourth worst defense by xGA, but somehow have the fourth fewest goals allowed in the NWSL. I have absolutely no clue how this team is where they are in the table, even with the NWSL's parity. It's astounding. I can't explain it.

   
   

   There have been times when Seattle's health and talent base could have been argued to necessitate Harvey's conservatism, but Seattle, while lacking the top-end star talent of many of the NWSL's best sides, has a fun young attacking core that you can't convince me has been deployed properly. Maddie Dahlien, who looked a threat every time she got on the ball against North Carolina and scored a great goal that was correctly disallowed for offside before scoring what would ultimately prove to a be a winner, is very much in the ROTY conversation. Emeri Adames, perhaps most frustrating of all, has looked dynamic every time she sees the field, but has played just 830 minutes and has her playing time yanked around in classic Harvey fashion. Mia Fishel, in one of the weirder stories of the season, has simply not played since her pricey move stateside from Chelsea. Combined with fellow kids Sam Meza, Ainsley McCammon, and Jordyn Bugg alongside vets like Jess Fishlock, Sofia Huerta, and Phoebe McClernon.....this Seattle team should be both more productive offensively and more fun to watch.

   
   

   The most frustrating element of it all is that we have proof of concept. Against both Louisville the week prior and North Carolina this week, it was Adames that came in to combine with Dahlien to give Seattle a spark. When the Reign are FORCED to chase a game and send players forward, they can be --and frequently do look-- dangerous. Seattle, trailing 1-0, threw on teenagers Adames and Ainsley McCammon and instantly flipped the game on its head. Dahlien had Ryan Williams in hell every time she was iso'd on the ball on the Seattle left. There are pieces here!

   
   

   Seattle fans, feel free to be mad. The table speaks for itself, and it's hard to argue with results. I'm sure you were looking for positive things to read about your team after a big win. My head is just all mixed up by what I watch on my screen every week, what the metrics show, and the actual results themselves. The soccer isn't making sense and I'm all out of sorts.

   
   

10. Washington rampage

    There is no more terrifying team in the NWSL right now from a pure talent perspective than the Washington Spirit, who blitzed the Dash over a 20 minute first half period via a first half Gift Monday hat trick.

    
    

    Manager Adrian Gonzalez has been deep in his bag coming down the stretch. On Sunday, Gonzalez ran out a sort of versatile 3-4-3/4-3-3 hybrid, going with the front line of Rose Kouassi, Monday, and Trinity Rodman I begged for last week. The Spirit are able to run out these malleable structures because of how versatile their roster is. Tara McKeown is a dream fit as a center back in a back three because her technical ability and recovery speed allows her to carry the ball forward and still track back effectively, while also allowing the left-sided wing back to play as freely.

    
    

    We saw many of the same patterns this week out of the 3-back as we did last week out of the 4-back, albeit with different personnel. Outside of the pure talent, the basis of Washington's attacking shape is how unbalanced it is: Most of the Spirit's movement comes down the right side where Trinity Rodman and Gabby Carle play as a more classic RB/RW combo, while the Spirit's left side is in constant flux. With Kouassi playing a little further back as a wingback, Croix Bethune took over the same spaces wide left that Kouassi filled when playing centrally the week prior. Bethune's and Kouassi's heat maps fit together like puzzle pieces. This is like catnip for any soccer nerd:

    
    
    

    

Oh yeah- And then Italian international Sofia Cantore came on in the second half and did......

........Goal of the Week: Goodness gracious to everyone involved with this from the Spirit's Italy international: