Oh, we have to justify our picks? This makes it less fun. (My dream version of this pick is the Chicago Red Stars taking it home off of goals from Sofia Huerta and Christen Press, and Alyssa Naeher holding the shutout.) They aren’t going to be the Buffalo Bills of the NWSL. I think they finally break through this season. ![]() They’ve literally done everything but win the championship. Their team chemistry is through the roof. Third time’s the charm! International tournaments don’t have an effect on the Reign, and as a result, they play with essentially all their big stars on the field all season. Mark it here that the title will travel to the Windy City. ![]() And 2016 will be the season that it all comes to fruition. Yes, Rory Dames has believed in a process and building his team from scratch since the beginning. As for the champions, Seattle will get to the final for the third consecutive season… but the winners will be the Chicago Red Stars (gasp). I don’t believe they’re going to make the championship game but they’ll get to the postseason for sure. I can’t put a finger on why the Dash will be a playoff team but I feel like for the first time in three seasons, Randy Waldrum has all the pieces in place to make a run. ![]() Well, if I put together a playoff group, I say three carry over from 2015 (Chicago, Kansas City, and Seattle) with the newcomers being Houston. The match kicks off at 7:30 EST.OGM staffers predictions for year four of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), including individual awards.īookmark this page so you can throw it in our faces at the end of the year. With the Shield clinched and undetermined playoff matchups as of now, all I know is that my lineup prediction will be wrong. Riley has made several changes throughout the past few weeks even moving into a 4-4-2 at times in recent games. Again, all that assumes that Chicago loses to the Thorns this afternoon. That said, North Carolina lost all three of their matches against Chicago this year and his preference might just be to try to avoid them in the first round to make them face Portland for a second straight week. Coach Riley can either rest his players coming off of a midweek game and see what his deeper roster options have to offer, or he can try to influence the course of how the playoff seeds will shake out. This seems like the kind of game where all bets will be off. By the time the match between Carolina and Orlando kicks off all of this could be a moot point, but conceivably Orlando could be hoping for a win against North Carolina to avoid playing the Courage in the first round of the playoffs. Interestingly, Chicago and Portland square off this afternoon and Orlando visits Cary tonight. The Courage and Portland Thorns have the first two spots nailed down, but only two points separates the third place Chicago Red Stars from the fourth place Orlando Pride. While the playoff teams are set, the matchups have not been completely resolved. North Carolina will face the Orlando Pride in the final game of the regular season. No doubt, the team will look to bring the championship trophy home to Cary, but they now also have a chance to win a double. ![]() This continues Coach Paul Riley’s impressive run of form with the team since winning the NWSL Championship last season. The result means that the Courage are NWSL Shield winners and have clinched the top seed in the playoffs. The NC Courage won in convincing fashion on Wednesday night, beating the Houston Dash 4-0.
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