TThe 2024 NWSL Championship between Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit on Saturday will be a historic match and cap off a memorable year. Hosted at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, it is already celebrating a huge milestone in another year of growth. The home of Kansas City Current is the first stadium built specifically for an NWSL club and was rightfully awarded the championship game.
As NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said: “It was a natural choice to host the league’s marquee event in a venue that exemplifies the profound impact of infrastructure, investment and community support on the continued development and success of our sport .” The 11,500 capacity stadium sold out every match and is on course to do the same in the final.
Kansas City’s consistent attendance reflects healthy trends across the league. Thanks in part to two new clubs (Utah Royals and Bay FC) and a longer campaign, the NWSL’s regular season presence exceeded two million for the first time. In 2023, NWSL became the first women’s league to average 10,000 per match. This year the average is more than 11,000, with 89 regular season games drawing more than 10,000 fans (up from 55 in 2023).
Many records were broken on the field and that was different for a number of reasons. Kansas City scored a whopping 57 goals (many of them in their new home, cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd) to set a regular season record. Twenty of those belonged to NWSL Golden Boot winner Malawi forward Temwa Chawinga, who broke Sam Kerr’s record from 2019.
A number of rookies dazzled, including Washington Spirit’s Croix Bethune, who set a record for winning consecutive Rookie of the Month awards and tied USWNT veteran Tobin Heath’s record for assists with 10. The Gotham and USWNT forward Lynn Williams became NWSL’s all-time leading scorer when she scored for the 79th time in May and Orlando quickly became the story of the year as the once-struggling Florida club scored a record Played 24 games undefeated in the regular season on their way to the NWSL Shield – their first trophy.
While NWSL has long been known for its competitiveness, a few clubs have separated themselves from the pack this year. The top four – Orlando, Washington, Gotham and Kansas City – were firmly ahead at the end of the season. First-seeded Orlando and fourth-place Kansas City were separated by five points. But there was a 16-point gap between Kansas City and fifth-place North Carolina Courage and a 28-point gap between Orlando and the last playoff spot captured by the Chicago Red Stars. In 2023, the teams at the top (San Diego Wave) and the very bottom (Chicago) were separated by 13 points. This year there was a difference of 40 points.
That theme continued in the playoffs. Despite fierce battles, the top four teams won their quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, the two best teams from the regular competition had the upper hand.
Orlando and Washington had excellent seasons, but neither made the playoffs last year. They also did not participate in the play-offs last year. In true NWSL style, both teams evolved and remade themselves as they clawed their way from the bottom up.
While this year’s table didn’t show the parity of previous seasons, one thing remains abundantly clear: anything is possible. In 2022, Gotham, Washington and Orlando were the bottom three. This season they ruled at the top.
Orlando is an extraordinary rags to riches story that will go down as one of the biggest turnarounds in the NWSL. While the club struggled for years, 38-year-old Brazilian legend Marta stayed behind them. With a revitalized team around her, she had one of the best seasons in recent memory, scoring nine goals in the regular season.
After scoring what a awesome game-deciding goal in Sunday’s semi-final, she described the difference in the team: “It’s mainly about the mentality… we also had a very good team in the past, like big names. But there were some [in the] team that would miss all the time.
“And then this group of people who work so hard every day. They give everything. They don’t just think about themselves. They only think about the team, doing things together. We bring this spirit to every match, no matter what.”
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Marta stood next to Zambian forward Barbra Banda, the team’s top scorer and an NWSL newcomer: “She is a winner. She never gives up. In fact, she gives it her all [in] course.”
The team quickly took on an aura of inevitability as they set out to claim the shield. Saturday is their first final, and also a first for Marta.
It would be easy to imagine a storybook ending for Orlando, but Washington will be a tough test. They’ve charted their own redemption arc as they return to their first NWSL final since winning it in 2021. Former Barcelona coach Jonathan Giráldez will try to land Emma Hayes, with the Spaniard taking control of the club midway through the season. hoping to restore it to the trophy-winning heights of its first year. He leads a team packed with talent, including veterans Casey Kreuger and American forward Trinity Rodman, as well as a plethora of rookie sensations.
When the match kicks off on Saturday, two tantalizing teams with gripping stories will go head-to-head in the final match of the year for the NWSL.
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