Angel City FC (8-7-7, 31 pts.)Why Angel City will win: Simply put, this is the hottest team in the league right now and the playoffs are all about momentum at the right time. Angel City has lost only once in 11 regular-season games since Tweed took over. The 5-1 win over Portland on Sunday was the team’s “most complete” performance of the season, Tweed said, and it was easily the biggest result in the team’s brief history.
From Savannah McCaskill‘s playmaking in the No. 10 role to MA Vignola getting on the scoresheet as a fullback and the double-pivot of Amandine Henry and Madison Hammond holding down midfield, Angel City is clicking in all the right ways. This is the last team anyone wants to face right now.
Why Angel City won’t win: Angel City likes to push its fullbacks into the attack and play with an aggressive front line that often looks like a four-front. That leaves space in wide areas for the Reign to attack in transition, and the last thing a team should do against the Reign is allow them time and space out wide.
Rapinoe and (if healthy) Sofia Huerta can punish any team for that kind of overcommitment. They did exactly that at Lumen Field in May, when they handily defeated Angel City, 4-1 as Rapinoe roamed free on the flank and wreaked havoc. That was a struggling Angel City team at the time, but the Reign no doubt will see that as a blueprint.
NJ/NY Gotham FC (8-7-7, 31 pts.)
Why Gotham will win: Gotham’s fluid movement off the ball makes it difficult for opponents to maintain their shape — and disciplined shape is a cornerstone of North Carolina’s approach. The Gotham front line of Lynn Williams, Esther González, and Midge Purce is already dangerous before Yazmeen Ryan adds late runs from an attacking midfield position.
Gotham’s attacking quartet is exceptional individually and will challenge North Carolina’s otherwise sound defensive unit. Those dangers were on display in September, when the Courage and Gotham played one of the most exciting games of the NWSL season, a 3-3 draw in North Carolina. Gotham came back from 3-1 down to equalize late. The advantage goes to Gotham if this game becomes a shootout (especially if Kerolin is absent).
Why Gotham won’t win: Inconsistency nearly cost Gotham a playoff spot altogether on Decision Day as the team held on for a 2-2 draw with the already eliminated Kansas City Current. Gotham’s fluid play can also be its undoing as a high-risk-high-reward tactic.
Veteran defender Ali Krieger – who, like Rapinoe, is seeking an NWSL title before her impending retirement — has been forced to pull off heroics in the back a bit too frequently, including in Sunday’s match against Kansas City. Gotham’s aggression in attack will mean more space to operate in midfield for 19-year-old Courage phenom Manaka.
