NWSL Decision Day is upon us with everything still to play for.
NWSL Decision Day is upon us with higher stakes than ever before.
The NWSL Shield, home quarterfinal, and final playoff spot are all still up for grabs. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the final regular season weekend.
Kickoff times and streaming
All 16 teams will kick off at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 1.
Gotham FC vs Utah Royals will headline the slate of games on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and the remaining seven matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.
- Gotham FC vs. Utah Royals FC (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
- Washington Spirit vs. Chicago Stars FC (ESPN+)
- Seattle Reign FC vs. Orlando Pride (ESPN+)
- North Carolina Courage vs. Denver Summit FC (ESPN+)
- Racing Louisville FC vs. Kansas City Current (ESPN+)
- Angel City FC vs. Boston Legacy FC (ESPN+)
- Houston Dash vs. Portland Thorns FC (ESPN+)
- Bay FC vs. San Diego Wave FC (ESPN+)
For folks outside of the United States, NWSL+ will air all eight matches.
NWSL Shield
The NWSL Shield will belong to Gotham FC (58 points at +13 GD) or San Diego Wave (55 points at +13 GD).
GFC clinches Shield with:
- Win or Draw vs Utah Royals FC
- Loss and SDW Draw or Loss
SDW clinches Shield with:
- Win at Bay FC and GFC Loss - Both teams tied on points but goal differential is the first tiebreaker
No. 4 seed
Although there are four teams mathematically still in the running for the No. 4 seed and the right to host a quarterfinal match at home, it’s realistically down to Kansas City (50 points at +13 GD) and Angel City FC (49 points at +19 GD).
How important is home-field advantage? KC Current is in the midst of a historic 32 unbeaten run (25-0-7) at CPKC Stadium including 11-0-4 in 2026. ACFC is 6-5-3 at BMO Stadium and unbeaten in their last five there.
Who needs it more? Angel City has one of the best road records at 8-3-4 and KCC has a suspect away record at 4-9-1.
KC Current clinches home quarterfinal with:
- Win at Racing Louisville
- Draw at Racing Louisville and ACFC draw/loss
- Loss at Racing Louisville and ACFC loss
*Kansas City can also clinch third in the table with a win and Washington Spirit loss
ACFC clinches home quarterfinal with:
- Win vs Boston Legacy and KCC draw/loss
- Draw vs Boston Legacy and KCC loss
Final playoff spot
The Seattle Reign (44 points at +3 GD) controls their playoff destiny with North Carolina Courage (42 points at +9 GD) and Denver Summit (41 points at +12 GD) hoping to overtake the current No. 8 seed on Decision Day. NCC and DS play each other in the finale.
Seattle Reign clinch playoff spot with:
- Win vs Orlando Pride
- Draw/loss vs Orlando Pride and NC draw & Denver Summit draw
NC Courage clinch playoff spot with:
- Win vs Denver Summit and SR draw/loss
Denver Summit clinch playoff spot with:
- Win at NC Courage and SR loss
Tiebreakers
- Goal differential
- Most total wins
- Most goals scored
- Head-to-head results (total points accumulated)
- Head-to-head most goals scored
- Least Disciplinary Points Accumulateda. Yellow card: 1 pointb. Indirect red card (as a result of two (2) yellow cards): 3 pointsc. Direct red card: 4 pointsd. Yellow card and direct red card: 5 pointsi. Only one of the above point totals shall be applied to a Player in a singleGame.
- Coin Flip (2 teams)/Drawing of lots (3+ teams)