NWSL chaos was the theme of the weekend, with lower-table teams emerging victorious in five out of seven matches.
Even the 1-1 draw between second-place Washington and 12th-place San Diego on Sunday was one-sided, as Wave defender Kristen McNabb scored both goals.
The only expected outcome was Orlando’s 2-0 victory over fourth-place Gotham on Sunday, keeping the Pride at the top of the standings with a 19-game winning streak.
Courage adds to Kansas City’s loss count
North Carolina, now in fifth place, extended their unbeaten home streak to 18 matches with a 2-1 win over third-place Kansas City on Sunday. This loss marked Kansas City’s third consecutive defeat after a 15-game undefeated streak.
The Current’s goal was unsurprisingly scored by Golden Boot race leader Temwa Chawinga, who now leads with 14 goals this season, two ahead of Orlando’s Barbra Banda and just four away from tying Sam Kerr’s single-season record.
Mid-table movement heats up NWSL playoff race
The weekend’s upsets in the mid-table showed that securing a playoff spot won’t be easy.
On Friday, Bay FC defeated Portland 3-1, moving the expansion team to eighth place above the playoff line and keeping the Thorns in sixth place at 27 points for the third week in a row.
Extending their unbeaten streak to six matches, 11th-place Seattle beat a revamped Louisville 3-2 on Saturday. Then, on Sunday, Sydney Leroux’s stoppage-time goal gave ninth-place Angel City a 2-1 win over Chicago.
With only eight regular-season matches left, the seventh-place Red Stars are just four points ahead of 10th-place Louisville, intensifying the race for playoff spots.
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