Over the last eight months, the NWSL has supplied viewers with all of the drama. In the regular season, we saw total blow-outs, dramatic upsets, and just about everything in-between. Those vibes carried through to the playoffs, when the top two seeds were knocked out in the semifinals in favor of NJ/NY Gotham FC – a team that had never won a playoff game before this season – and OL Reign – a perennial Shield contender that historically loses steam in the postseason.
On Saturday, then, the Reign and Gotham will battle it out in the NWSL Championship, and one team will come away with their first-ever title.
What would have to happen for each team to lift the trophy? Let's pretend for a bit here by walking through ideal game scenarios for each contender in the form of a pair of fictional game recaps where Gotham, then the Reign, lift a trophy this weekend.
NJ/NY Gotham FC win the 2023 NWSL Championship
NJ/NY have officially completed a worst-to-first comeback. After finishing dead-last in the NWSL Regular Season standings in 2022 – and winning just four games – Gotham have won their first NWSL Championship.
