NWSL play-offs 2023: Ultimate guide to the season finale as USWNT stars Alex Morgan and Sophia Smith try to stop Megan Rapinoe retiring with a Championship win

Best play-off result: Semi-finals (2022)

Last year, the San Diego Wave became the first team ever to reach the NWSL play-offs in its inaugural season. In 2023, it backed that up with a dramatic NWSL Shield triumph, claiming its first silverware in just its second ever season.

Once again, success has been built on a sturdy defence, of which USWNT centre-back Naomi Girma is the star. But there have been big positives in attack, too, with only the Thorns out-scoring the Wave in the regular season. Jaedyn Shaw, its teenage phenom, has built on her breakthrough 2022 and continued to be a livewire, while Alex Morgan’s ability to bring others into play has been just as important as her finding the back of the net.

It does feel like there is more potential to be unlocked on the offense, though, with the pieces that are there. That could be the key to the Wave bettering its 2023 showing, which ended in a semi-final elimination.

One to watch: No goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets in the NWSL this year than Kailen Sheridan and she will be keen to keep that great record up in the play-offs. On her day, there are not many in the world better than the Canada international, with her shot-stopping and commanding presence complemented by ever-improving distribution.

Best play-off result: Winners (2013, 2017, 2022)

No team has won more Championship titles than the Portland Thorns' three and this year it could not only extend that record - it could also win back-to-back titles for the first time in franchise history.

The Thorns might’ve suffered a shock loss to Angel City on the final weekend of the regular season, thus losing the NWSL Shield that it had one strong hand on, but the team does still get the benefit of that first round bye. That means extra time for Golden Boot winner Sophia Smith to get ready for the postseason, the USWNT star having returned from a knee injury earlier this month. Named MVP of the 2022 season and its Championship game, she comes back into the fold at the perfect time as the Thorns eye up another triumph.

But it’s at the other end of the pitch that the reigning champion could do with some improvement as it has conceded the most goals of any team in this year’s play-offs. Yes, the Thorns can often make up for that in attack but shoring up in defence wouldn’t hurt either.

One to watch: Despite naturally occupying deeper midfield positions, Sam Coffey leads the league in assists in 2023 with eight - just two short of the all-time season record. The 24-year-old didn’t get many opportunities under former USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski but that’s expected to change moving forward. Her focus will remain on delivering another Championship for the Thorns, though, and that the team has a great chance of doing so is in no small part down to the consistency of its No.17.

Best play-off result: Winners (2018, 2019)

Winners of this year's Challenge Cup, the North Carolina Courage has the chance to do a double in 2023 as it aims to win its third NWSL Championship.

It’s been a strange season in parts for the Courage. After losing three games in a row in April, the second month of the campaign, the team was defeated in just one of its next 10 matches. But then it went into the final week of the season on a seven-game winless streak, one ended in timely fashion with a narrow victory over the Washington Spirit.

Will this be the start of another positive run of form? The 2018 and 2019 champion will certainly hope so as there is the talent in this squad to compete with anyone in the play-offs.

One to watch: After Kerolin, the Courage’s leading scorer, was worryingly substituted on Sunday with an injury, there is concern about where the team’s goals could come from if she isn't fit for the play-offs. Someone who has stepped up several times, though, is Tyler Lussi, who has been granted 13 starts on the opposite wing this season and scored six goals. Quite incredibly, five of those have given the Courage 1-0 victories. Lussi saw what it takes to be an NWSL champion in her five years with the Thorns but after being a fringe player in the Pacific Northwest, can she be a key player in something special for the Courage?

Best play-off result: Runners-up (2014, 2015)

Megan Rapinoe's career continues. The USWNT icon will retire at the end of this season but there is one thing still missing from her trophy cabinet and that is the NWSL Championship. Fortunately, she has helped the Reign qualify for the play-offs to not only prolong her playing days by at least one more game but to give the club another shot at claiming a title that has long eluded it.

This team has been one of the best in the league for its entire existence, winning the NWSL Shield on three occasions and twice reaching the Championship game. But the play-offs are crazy and that chaos has rarely worked out in the Reign’s favour. Could that all change this year?

One to watch: Alongside Rapinoe for all of her time with the Reign has been Jess Fishlock, an adopted citizen in the Pacific Northwest for her service to this club, her contributions in huge moments and her engagement in the massive rivalry with the Portland Thorns. The consistency and longevity of the Wales international at the highest level is certainly admirable and she has shown that in spades this season, too. There’s arguably been no more impressive performer for the Reign in 2023 than Fishlock and she will hope that it can be 11th time lucky for her, Rapinoe and Lu Barnes, the trio that have been working together to try to help this club win a Championship title for over a decade.

Best play-off result: Making post-season debut

When the final day of the NWSL regular season kicked off, Angel City was on the outside looking in. It wanted a play-off spot but it needed to beat the Portland Thorns, the team sat top, to get it. It probably needed to win by quite a margin, too, as goal difference was likely to come into play. In the end, it did all of the above, thrashing the Thorns 5-1 to secure Angel City’s first ever play-off spot.

One of two expansion teams for the 2022 season, the Los Angeles-based side showed glimpses of quality in its debut season but lacked the consistency needed to qualify for the post-season.

With just two wins in the first half of this season, it looked like the play-offs were beyond Angel City again - but a remarkable second half of the campaign changed all of that and one defeat in its last 11 outings propelled Becki Tweed's side into fifth spot.

One to watch: In Alyssa Thompson, Angel City has a soon-to-be superstar, a teenage sensation with incredible talent. Still only 18 years old, the age at which she made her World Cup debut earlier this year, Thompson's first NWSL campaign has returned four goals and two assists, one of each coming in the final two games of the regular season. Tweed has reverted to using her as a super sub lately and that is what could make her even more important in the play-offs. If the starters can’t get it done, then turning to one of the most talented young players on the planet is not a bad option to have.

Best play-off result: Semi-finals (2013)

Gotham spent 21 out of 22 weeks in the play-off spots throughout this season - but it really nearly fell out of the top six right when it mattered.

Having taken a 2-0 lead over the second-from-bottom Kansas City Current on the final weekend, Gotham conceded twice in 10 minutes to leave the team in a precarious position. Had the Current scored, Gotham would have missed out on the post-season. Had the Orlando Pride scored a couple more against a Washington Spirit side reduced to 10, thanks to a Trinity Rodman red card, Gotham would have missed out on the post-season. Fortunately for the team based in New Jersey, neither scenario occurred.

The fact remains that Gotham does need to improve going into the play-offs, though, as Juan Carlos Amoros' team has only won one of its last eight matches.

One to watch: There haven’t been many more impressive performers in the NWSL this season than Lynn Williams. After a shock trade to Gotham in January, the USWNT forward has settled well into her new team, with a return of seven goals and two assists only telling half of the story. No one has won possession back in the final third more often in the NWSL this year than Williams, who has also been one of Gotham’s most creative players. A three-time NWSL Championship winner, the 30-year-old knows exactly what it takes in the play-offs and Gotham will hope that can help as it returns to the post-season for the first time in 10 years.