NWSL Semifinals Talking Points – Equalizer Soccer

Nov 15, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman (2) in action against the Portland Thorns at Audi Field. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

We now know who will compete for the 2025 NWSL Championship. The Washington Spirit breezed past the Portland Thorns at a sold out Audi Field, while Gotham FC came up clutch again with another stoppage time goal. Elsewhere, the departure of Vlatko Andonovski as Kansas City Current head coach grabbed headlines. The potential departure of Trinity Rodman will do the same.

Washington Spirit find form and fitness at the right time 

The Washington Spirit are back in the NWSL Championship for the second year running. They handily defeated the Portland Thorns 2-0 on Saturday and halted the visiting team’s 295-minute clean sheet streak. 

Most teams battle a spell of poor form and squad depletion due to injury at some point. Washington was no exception; however, they are fortunate that their period of adversity came earlier in the season. Hal Hershfelt, Croix Bethune, Kate Wiesner, Leicy Santos, and Rose Kouassi all played vital roles as starters in Saturday’s victory. All five missed considerable time this year due to injury.

The impacts of midseason arrivals of Sofia Cantore and Deb Abiodun (who returned from a loan in the USL Super League), as well as the offseason signing of Gift Monday, cannot be overstated. The acquisitions help fill in the goal-scoring vacancy left by Ashley Hatch (maternity leave) and Ouleymata Sarr (season-ending injury). The Spirit are still without stalwarts Casey Krueger and Andi Sullivan (maternity leave), and Gabby Carle remained sidelined due to an injury suffered in the quarterfinal.

However, thanks to the integration of new players into a solid and healthy core, the Spirit have the look of a team that is peaking at the right moment.

Trinity Rodman — will she stay or will she go?

Trinity Rodman made a rousing cameo appearance in the 90th minute of the Spirit’s semifinal. It occurred exactly one month after she sprained her MCL in CONCACAF W Champions Cup play. Will that be the final time Audi Field is graced by the superstar’s presence? Per ESPN‘s Jeff Kassouf (founder of the Equalizer), the answer is likely yes. The Athletic reported she has been contacted by three FA Women’s Super League clubs, as her contract is set to expire next month. Commissioner Jessica Berman is reportedly directly involved in negotiations. 

Rodman’s contract status poses an existential question for the NWSL. What are the implications of arguably the most recognizable active player in women’s soccer walking away on a free transfer? Will it prompt changes to the league’s rigid salary cap?

The 23-year-old nearly brought the house down, as her 95th minute shot/cross came tantalizingly close to being a goal.  

“Once we get this championship, then I can start making decisions and figuring out what next year looks like for me,” she mused after the game.

Jaedyn Shaw meets the moment, again

Per the stats platform Opta, Gotham FC generated a paltry 0.17 Expected Goals — the lowest of any postseason match this season. The team took just five shots, and only one of them was on target (the game winner). Esther Gonzalez made her first start in five weeks and looked far off her Golden Boot runner-up form.

However, none of that will be remembered. Jaedyn Shaw proved to be the difference maker yet again. Her cunning free kick got the better of Orlando goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse. Per Jen Cooper, the 90+7’ match-winner is the latest semifinal goal in league history. The 20-year-old has now been directly involved in all three of Gotham’s playoff goals. 

She shared that she had been “working tirelessly on [her] free kicks”. The hard work paid off with a trip to the 2025 NWSL Championship.      

Ann-Katrin Berger pulls out another wonder from her bag of tricks

Gotham FC’s goalkeeper added a new entry to her illustrious highlight reel. Her 90+10’ stop on Oihane Hernandez’s header had shades of her epic save in Germany’s 2025 Euro quarterfinal match. Berger instinctively leapt up to palm the ball away while falling backwards. It undeniably prevented an equalizer that would have spelled another round of extra time. 

The 35-year-old goalkeeper is not just known for her wondrous shot-stopping abilities; her distribution as a ‘sweeper keeper’ has become a trademark. On Sunday, Berger tied with teammate Emily Sonnett for the most passes by any player on the pitch with 50 — 82% of which were accurate, according to Opta. 

Game-changing goals get all the glory, but Berger’s game-saving shot should be celebrated just the same.

Andonovski exits the sideline in favor of the front office, and leaves behind a large legacy

The Kansas City Current were shockingly eliminated in the quarterfinals by No. 8 seed Gotham FC last weekend. However, that was not the only surprise to come out of Kansas City.

On Friday, ESPN reported that Andonovski would vacate his head coaching role and exclusively focus on his role as sporting director. General manager Caitlin Carducci also steps aside and will be succeeded by former Racing Louisville GM Ryan Dell.

The back-room shakeup will reverberate throughout the offseason. In the present, the 49-year-old leaves behind a towering coaching legacy. His 105 NWSL wins ranks as the second most in league history behind Laura Harvey. He won back-to-back NWSL Championships with FC Kansas City in 2014 and 2015, and steered his teams to the postseason seven of his nine seasons in the league. His 2025 Kansas City Current side are statistically the greatest NWSL regular season team in history.  

Kansas City’s historic season came to an abrupt end, but his NWSL coaching achievements will live on.