NWSL Playoff Action Kicks Off
NWSL Playoff action highlights the weekend as the fourth season of the professional women’s soccer league has two weeks left in the books. Washington welcome the Chicago Red Stars to Maryland SoccerPlex on Friday, while the Portland Thorns host WNY Flash as Providence Park on Sunday afternoon.
NWSL Soccer News: The fourth edition of the 2016 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Playoffs prepare to kick off on Friday as four teams battle for a chance to hoist the NWSL Championship on October 9th in Houston.
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The fourth NWSL season heads into the final stretch of the year following another exciting season for women’s soccer that welcomed expansion side Orlando Pride as its tenth team.
Washington Spirit vs Chicago Red Stars
The Washington Spirit host the Chicago Red Stars in the opening match on Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET.
The Spirit enter postseason competition for their third consecutive season, while the Red Stars make back-to-back trips to the playoffs. The two sides will play in a rematch of last week’s regular-season matchup that saw Chicago edge the Spirit 3-1 at home.
The Spirit will be hosting their first-ever home playoff match, recording the second-best home record in the league with a 7-1-2 record at Maryland SoccerPlex.
Washington tallied 39 points during the 2016 season behind the No. 3 offense and the No. 4 defense in the league. The Spirit recorded two five-game unbeaten streaks this season as well as a run that saw the team go 7-1-1 during a nine-match stretch.
Estefania Banini leads the Spirit with 5 goals and 1 assist on the regular season, while Crystal Dunn tallied 2 goals and 5 assists.
The Red Stars enter the Friday matchup tied for the most shutouts this season, along with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher recording six clean sheets in 2016.
Christen Press recorded 8 goals during the regular season, while Sofia Huerta put 7 in the back of the net with midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo notching 7 assists for Chicago.
The Red Stars’ win over the Spirit last week ended a three-game winless run as they head into playoff competition.
Portland Thorns vs WNY Flash
The Portland Thorns host the Western New York Flash in the second match held on Sunday with kickoff set for 5:00 p.m. ET at Providence Park.
The Thorns are led by Tobin Heath who tallied 10 assists during the regular season, while Nadia Nadim recorded 9 goals during the 2016 campaign.
Portland became the third team in NWSL history to conclude a season with a goals against average under one – the Thorns allowed just 19 goals in 20 matches for a 0.95 GAA. Thorns goalkeeper Michelle Betos recorded four of Portland’s seven shutouts this season while posting a 1.14 GAA and .757 save percentage in 14 appearances.
Portland enter the match on a four-game winning streak as well as having an unbeaten record of 4-0-2 versus qualifying playoff teams during the regular season.
The Thorns claimed the NWSL Shield after recording the best record of the regular season.
Related Article: Portland Thorns Claim NWSL Shield
The Flash enter the playoff matchup as just the third team to average at least two goals per match for an entire NWSL season after scoring 40 times in 20 regular-season games for a 2.00 GPG.
Lynn Williams and Jessica McDonald leads a strong attacking duo for WNY after tallying 21 goals for the Flash during the 2016 regular season.
The pair also managed 12 total assists between them (McDonald 7, Williams 5) along with Williams receiving NWSL Golden Boot honors for the 2016 campaign.
Flash coach Paul Riley returns to Providence Park where he spent two seasons in charge of Portland before joining WNY during the offseason.
Both matchups will air on Fox Sports Go.
Photo Credit: National Women’s Soccer League
