We’re down to the wire – in a way that we haven’t really seen before in the NWSL. Four teams are hoping for the last 2 playoff spots: Houston Dash, North Carolina Courage, Chicago Red Stars, and Angel City. Let’s take a look at the starting lineups from each team in their last game to see which teams are “hot” based on fantasy points, and which may benefit from a bit of good fortune.
5. Houston Dash
On paper, the Houston Dash are fifth in the standings and certainly seem like they’re very close to a playoff spot – all they need is a tie against the Spirit to clinch a spot. However, with a loss to OL Reign and a Red Stars win, it could come down to goal differential, which would make the final game on Sunday quite exciting! In their last game the Dash only managed 42 fantasy points. The Reign kept Caprice Dydasco and María Sánchez in check, each only earning a team high of 7 points, so they need a boost of attacking energy as they travel to face the Washington Spirit for their final game of the season. Could the missing player from the last game, Ebony Salmon, be that boost? The Dash are also one of the few teams with a better road record than home, so traveling may be to their advantage.
PLAYER TO WATCH: María Sánchez is sitting with 173 fantasy points for the season, and this could be a great game for her to hit 200.
6. North Carolina Courage
As of now, North Carolina is sitting just above the playoff line, and I’m sure they hope to stay there! Much has already been said about the Courage’s last few games (See Christina’s Round 18 Match Preview for more on this). They showed up against Gotham – with their starting lineup earning a whopping total of 158 fantasy points! This was certainly helped by Debinha’s* hat trick and 25 points, but the back line was also a brick wall with Ryan Williams* (25 points) and Carson Pickett (24 points) keeping Gotham off the score sheet. If they keep this up, they’re in a good position to give San Diego a competitive match and earn a spot in the playoffs.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Can Debinha score another hat trick in the race for the Golden Boot?
- Debinha and Williams were also on Round 19’s Team of the Week. Read more about that here.
7. Chicago Red Stars
The chances for the Chicago Red Stars looked a lot stronger before the second half started against Portland, even though they were sitting just below the playoff line. Then chaos broke loose, and the Red Stars not only walked away with a loss of a game, they also lost two key starters for their final game against Angel City. Losing points for red cards certainly didn’t help their point total of 22 points for the game. Portland’s defense kept Mallory Pugh to only 6 fantasy points, which was the highest earned from the starting lineup. Still, the Red Stars have been dealing with season ending injuries, maternity leaves, and players working back to fitness all season, and they’ve managed to stay in or near the playoff line, so I wouldn’t count them out yet!
PLAYER TO WATCH: Morgan Gautrat. Even though she hasn’t earned many fantasy points due to a lingering injury which has kept her out most of the season, the energy is totally different when she’s on the field. Her long term relationships with Danny Colaprico and Vanessa DiBernado, dating back to the 2012 U20 World Cup*, could be what they need to pull off a win, assuming they still have a chance by Sunday.
* Current Red Stars Kealia Watt and Sarah Woldmoe, both currently out on maternity leave, were also on the 2012 U20 team, along with many other current NWSL Players. Can you name any others?
8. Angel City FC
Angel City is currently sitting in 8th place, but that could change based in their form in the last game against Racing Louisville, where they took 19 shots and earned 84 fantasy points, even with a loss. They had strong performances from their attacking players: Claire Emslie (14 points), Savannah McCaskill (11 points) and Clarisse Le Bihan (12 points). If these players can connect against Chicago, and the other games play out in their favor, they could grab that sixth playoff spot.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Savannah McCaskill. She’ll be playing against her former team at Seat Geek Stadium and I’m sure she’ll want to give the fans a show!
Playoff Predictions?
So, who’s excited for Round 20? What are your predictions? Leave us a message below!