The race to finish above the playoff line continues to tighten as only the Chicago Stars are officially eliminated with just four matches to play. Gotham, Orlando, and Seattle all scored crucial victories, while Gift Monday netted the third hat trick of the season in historic fashion.

Gotham are heating up at the right time 

Gotham FC are clicking into gear at an opportune time. Their 3-0 drubbing of the Portland Thorns extends their unbeaten run to nine matches in all competitions. The result also included a series of firsts for Gotham.

Gotham FC has officially acquired Jaedyn Shaw from the North Carolina Courage for a record-breaking intra-league transfer fee of $1.25 million, the teams announced Thursday. 

Per Gotham, “Gotham and Shaw are now working toward an updated and extended contract.” Founder of The Equalizer Jeff Kassouf originally reported for ESPN that Gotham was looking to sign her through the 2029 NWSL season. Her contract with the Courage was through the 2026 season. 

The $1.25 million fee is the largest of its kind in NWSL history, the previous record having been set in August when the Kansas City Current acquired Ally Sentnor from the Utah Royals for $600,000. The league’s inter-league record was set last month by the Orlando Pride, who acquired Mexico forward Lizbeth Ovalle for $1.5 million from Tigres.

Earlier Thursday, Shaw told reporters that being the subject of a record-breaking intra-league transaction isn’t something she thinks much about. “It’s the club showing that they’re investing in me and they see my potential and they see my value, and that’s something that I’m really grateful for,” she said.

The distance between Seattle, Washington, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a whopping 2,533 miles. However, Sarah Schupansky’s mom made sure she found her way from the Steel City to the Emerald City for her daughter’s professional debut.

For the rookie attacker, her mom’s presence was a major source of comfort as she found herself in the starting lineup for Gotham FC in her first professional game in the National Women’s Soccer League.

“Having someone in the stands that I knew was going to think of me just the same regardless of how I performed that night was comforting,” Schupansky told The Equalizer.

Schupansky, who is 22, said that her first professional game at Lumen Field was a night she’ll never forget. She played 89 minutes and earned a 7.3 rating on FotMob for her performance — tied with Gabi Portilho for the best-ranked player from that match for Gotham.

“I remember the field in Seattle, and how it’s a football field, so it all felt very professional,” Schupansky said. “I felt like I was on the Netflix ‘Quarterback’ series with the bright lights and seeing the fans, even though they weren’t our fans, filling the stands and supporting women’s sports. Getting to experience that firsthand was unmatched and unbelievable. I’ll never forget that.”

The $1.25 million fee would set an intra-league record for a National Women’s Soccer League trade, more than double the previous record set in August when the Kansas City Current acquired Ally Sentnor from the Utah Royals for $600,000. The fee, which “would be paid over multiple installments and entirely in NWSL intra-league transfer funds,” would also rank among some of the most expensive transfers globally.

The NWSL’s secondary transfer window closed on Aug. 25 for incoming international transfers, but intra-league trades can still be made until the league-wide roster freeze on Oct. 9.

Gotham currently sit in sixth place in the standings with a 7-6-6 (W-D-L) record and were looking to add a creative player to their squad. The club plans to sign Shaw through the 2029 NWSL season. She was previously signed through 2026 with the Courage.

The move will be Shaw’s second of this calendar year as she joined North Carolina in January after requesting a trade from the San Diego Wave. That deal involved the Courage sending $300,000 in allocation money, an international spot for the 2025 and 2026 NWSL seasons, and $150,000 in intraleague transfer fees to San Diego.

Shaw, 20, is one of the brightest young American attacking talents. She signed for the Wave in the summer of 2022 as a 17-year-old and scored in her first three NWSL games. Shaw shone as she helped San Diego make the playoffs as an expansion team that year, then win the NWSL Shield and be named to the NWSL Best XI in 2023.

She has eight career goals in 26 appearances for the senior USWNT and won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player in the Americans’ first-place finish at the Women’s Gold Cup in 2024. However, Shaw admitted she struggled to meet high expectations since joining the Courage. The Frisco, Texas-native started 10 NWSL games this season, recording three goals and one assist for the 11th-place Courage.

It isn’t immediately clear where Shaw fits into a stacked Gotham roster that boasts Esther Gonzales, Geyse, Ella Stevens, Gabi Portilho, Midge Purce, Katie Stengel, Rose Lavelle, Sarah Schupansky, and Josefine Hasbo, among others, as attacking options. Given Lavelle’s injury history, however, and the similar role she and Shaw can play, Shaw could slot in well when Lavelle is unavailable or playing restricted minutes.

For starters, to watch this goal is to be reminded how unusual it is for NWSL teams to pull back and reset an attack that has reached the final third. In these first two stills, the ball has been advanced up near the opposing 18 and then played all the way back to an admittedly high-sitting keeper, Ann-Katrin Berger. The Pride broke up the play just after the first, but Gotham won the ball back immediately and, spearheaded by Lavelle, took the patient route and reset the play.

After Gotham recycled back to their keeper, the deliberate play continued. Berger played the ball to the left side, and with minimal pressure from the Pride, it made its way over to the right. From there, Emily Sonnett decides to break lines and pass to midfield. Look how open Josefine Hasbo is to accept the ball from Sonnett. If the Pride were not focused on pressuring the Gotham back line, and there was no one close enough to spit on Hasbo, where exactly was the defense?

After Hasbo collected the ball, she took a few dribbles and found Bruninha hugging the right flank. Bruninha took a few dribbles of her own and returned the ball to the center of the park for the first of two picturesque Lavelle touches. Below is Lavelle, under token pressure, just before a one-touch pass to Gabi Portilho, who is the player just above her and near the edge of the 18. There is one Pride player between them.

Lavelle never stopped moving after the ball left her foot, and she hustled to get in place to take the return pass from Portilho. Haley McCutcheon has position on Lavelle, but Lavelle muscles through her mark to make a 50/50 challenge out of what appeared to be a disadvantageous position. That 50/50 ball went to Esther Gonzalez, and the Spanish wunderkind did the rest.

Esther’s 12th goal of the season gave Gotham a lead they would not relinquish and placed her ahead of Kansas City’s Temwa Chawinga in the Golden Boot race.

Below is the full sequence. And for this week’s bonus track, KK Reem will have more clinical finishes, but this one helped her displace Olivia Moultrie as the youngest goal-scorer in NWSL regular season history.

The playoff field has its first confirmed guest, and transfer rumors are swirling over Angel City. Meanwhile, the Sphere of Mediocrity grows ever larger.

Here’s how they shape up after most of Week 18:

Cream of the Crop

x-Kansas City Current (15-2-1, 46 pts; vs Courage, 2-0):  Temwa Chawinga did not score against the North Carolina Courage, but neither did the Courage. That leaves Chawinga with 11 goals while the Current have conceded only 10. Kayla Sharples continues to stay in the discussion for Defender of the Year, and even as it has taken Ally Sentnor some time to fully integrate into the attack, the defense has become a well-oiled machine, and the win over the Courage made the Current the first team to secure an official invite to the 2025 playoffs. The only bad news is that Esther Gonzalez scored for Gotham to edge ahead of Chawinga in the Golden Boot race.

The Most Valuable Player debates in the National Women’s Soccer League can often be contentious, with much debate over what should quantify a most valuable player. Could continue to perform without that player? When they do, does that hurt said player’s chances? For lesser teams, does an MVP need to go above and beyond to put themselves in the conversation?

That a team could perform well without a certain player doesn’t mean that player isn’t valuable, of course. Maybe that team has a great coach, or had a GM that build a great roster. Regardless, whether or not a team is good—and could do well without them—shouldn’t discount a player’s chances at MVP. Oftentimes, a player is great because of the teammates they have around

Some familiar names on this list have continued to stand out, while others have found themselves on our list for the first time. In the first year without the NWSL draft, one thing is clear: these rookies have come to play, and are contributing in big ways to their clubs.

Riley Tiernan – Angel City FC

Back when we did our first edition of standout rookies, Tiernan was firmly on the list with three goals and an assist through six matches. Now 13 games in, Tiernan has cemented herself not only as one of Angel City’s best players but also one of the top scorers in the league with seven goals to lead ACFC. Tiernan is not only firmly in the conversation for Rookie of the Year – and may very well be the frontrunner – but has also put herself in position to potentially win the Golden Boot, being in fourth place and just three goals behind current leader Esther González.

Her +4.4 xG leads the league, and she’s converting her shots on target. In total, she ranks in the top 10 in 11 major offensive stat categories, according to FBRef, and has been one of the league’s top-producing offensive players. After being named the May Rookie of the Month – marking back-to-back Rookie of the Month nods – and to the NWSL Team of the Month, she received a call-up to the U-23 U.S. women’s national team camp in June, and her two appearances were her first of any kind within the USWNT system. 

Trinity Armstrong – San Diego Wave FC

There were questions about Naomi Girma’s departure on what San Diego’s backline would look like in her absence. Trinity Armstrong has provided that answer. Back in early June, The Equalizer’s Sebastian Bush identified Armstrong as one of three NWSL standouts flying under the radar. Defensively, Armstrong’s abilities have continued to impress. And at just 17 years old, that makes her rookie performances even more eye-popping. She’s been a key part of San Diego’s surge into third place in the standings, allowing just 16 goals on the season. Armstrong currently holds an 88.1% pass completion rate, holding above 90% completion in each of San Diego’s last three games. 

Named as part of the league’s Best XI in May, she was the youngest player in NWSL history to be named to a team of the month. She had a goal and two assists on top of her defensive play, with her first career goal coming at a critical moment to hand the Wave a 2-1 victory over Bay FC. She’s the youngest player in league history to have a stoppage-time game-winner. While Tiernan is cementing herself in the conversation for Rookie of the Year, Armstrong is right there with her. 

While she’s only reached the U-17 squad, it’s likely that if Armstrong’s play continues, we’ll soon get to see Armstrong and Naomi Girma play together on the USWNT’s backline, which should be an enticing prospect for national team fans everywhere.

Taylor Huff – Bay FC

Taylor Huff has started in each of her 13 matches played for Bay FC, and has made an immediate impact for the Bay in its second season in the league and earned three call-ups to the USWNT U-23 team so far this year. Her passing abilities are among the best in the league, with Huff ranking fourth overall in passes into the penalty area. She’s also fifth in the league in total crosses with 58 and leads Bay. 

Huff leads all Bay midfielders in pass completion, ahead of players like Kiki Pickett, having completed 311 of her 461 passes. Her 38-shot creating actions rank first on Bay FC, and she’s also good at drawing penalties, making her a dangerous player to take your eyes off. 

Lilly Reale – Gotham FC

Lilly Reale’s play earned her her first-ever senior national team call-up in July, and her international debut to go along with it in a 4-0 win over Ireland. Named to the Best XI of the Month in April, Reale has one goal and one assist, having started in 11 of 12 matches for Gotham FC. She also played a full 90 in both of Gotham’s Concacaf W Champions Cup matches, gaining valuable minutes in the final that the team won. 

A shift from central to left back has allowed Reale’s talents to shine through and has helped the team’s backline allow just 13 goals – tied for fourth-lowest in the league alongside Seattle. 

Jayden Perry – Portland Thorns

Rookie center backs have come to play this season. While her goals have come off of penalties, the ability to score goals as a center back isn’t something you come by every day. And Perry not only has been doing that for Portland, she’s become a staple of the Thorns’ defense as a rookie. With a proven ability to adapt within games, she’s established herself not only as one of the best rookie defenders, but also one of the best across the league.

Not only does Perry know where to position herself in the box to help with clearances, she also holds a calmness under pressure that would make you think she’s a seasoned veteran – not a 22-year-old rookie. She’s been able to find her teammates and break through the first line of pressure, while also pressing on the dribble – that Perry can do both well is huge for a Portland team that aims to possess and break teams down on the ball. Plus, she’s been able to contribute offensively, with her three goals and one assist tied for the second-most points on the team behind fellow rookie Reilyn Turner, and Sam Coffey. Those three goals may be off of penalty kicks, but they also rank her first in the league for penalty kicks made, and it’s not like a penalty kick is always a guarantee.

Six weeks down in the National Women’s Soccer League season, and the rookies are already showing out. 

Let’s take a look at some of the top rookies so far this season:

Maggie Graham, Houston Dash 

Through the first six weeks of the season, Houston’s Maggie Graham has been a standout. Named Rookie of the Month for March, Graham got her first NWSL goal in the team’s opening weekend against the Washington Spirit. Then again, in the second week, the midfielder got a goal against Chicago in the team’s 2-1 win on what was essentially her first touch after being subbed in. She’s just the third rookie in NWSL history to score back-to-back goals in their first two NWSL games. 

“We are heartbroken for Tierna,” Yael Averbuch West, the general manager and head of soccer operations Gotham FC, said in a statement. “Our club will do everything we can to support her through this recovery and rehabilitation process. We know she will come back stronger than ever.”

This will be Davidson’s second ACL rehab in four years. She tore the same ligament in her right knee during a March 2022 training session with the then-Chicago Red Stars. Her college career at Stanford ended prematurely when she fractured her left ankle early in the 2018 season.

Davidson then gave up her final year of eligibility to enter the 2019 NWSL Draft where the Red Stars selected her with the No. 1 pick. She became the first player to be drafted with college eligibility remaining following a rule change announced late in 2018. Turning pro allowed Davidson to reap full financial rewards from being part of the U.S. national team that won the World Cup in 2019. Last summer, Davidson added an Olympic gold medal to her personal trophy collection.

Earlier this week, Davidson was replaced by Gisele Thompson ahead of U.S. camp and two friendlies against Brazil.

The loss of Davidson is a blow to a Gotham team that lost much of its depth during the offseason. She was replaced on the pitch last weekend by Mandy Freeman, who partnered Emily Sonnett in central defense the rest of the way. Gotham are off to a slow start with just two points through three matches. They have been shutout in their last two matches, the first time since Juan Carlos Amoros became head coach in 2023 that has happened.

Davidson joined Gotham via free agency in 2024.