November has arrived, which means it is time for NWSL teams to put this year's failures behind them and start thinking about how to improve in 2027.
Eight of 16 teams missed the playoffs and have the most work to do. But every team that fails to win the NWSL Championship will be looking to improve.
What are the challenges facing each team this offseason? We look at the one big burning question for each team, from now until every team is eliminated from winning the championship. So, check back as we update this as more teams are eliminated.
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Portland Thorns FC
How they got eliminated: 4-1 loss to Washington Spirit in the quarterfinals (14W-8D-8L, 50 pts. in the regular season)
Biggest offseason question: Can the Thorns be a "big" team again in the new NWSL?
"Where to start?" is the alternative question. Star forward and MVP candidate Sophia Wilson is out of contract as a free agent and might have played her last game for Portland. Losing Wilson would be catastrophic for a Thorns team that relied on her and her career-high 15 goals even to make it into the playoffs.
Portland was poor defensively all year and conceded the most goals of any playoff team. The Thorns' defense was cooked, fried and chewed up in a 4-1 loss in the quarterfinals to the Spirit. Maybe the Thorns' season would have gone better if Olivia Moultrie stayed healthy, but this was the second straight year Portland overperformed expected points and expected goals on standout individual performances.
Since the Thorns won the 2022 NWSL Championship (with a Wilson game-winner), they have gone backward from semifinalists to quarterfinalists and watched a group of other teams -- Gotham FC, the Washington Spirit and the Kansas City Current -- consistently finish in the top four and compete for trophies domestically and in Concacaf.
San Diego is challenging to compete in that group, and Angel City has fired its warning shot that they, too, will compete. Portland has been the gold standard of the league since winning the inaugural NWSL Championship in 2013. For years now, they have looked like they are just trying to keep up.
Seattle Reign FC
How they got eliminated: 1-0 loss to Gotham FC in quarterfinals (14W-5D-11L, 47 pts. in the regular season)
Biggest offseason question: Who fills the leadership void?
Midfielder Jess Fishlock's 14-year career with Seattle ended in the Reign's quarterfinal loss to Gotham in the playoffs.
As Fishlock sat a few feet away with a beer in hand, I asked manager Laura Harvey what was needed next for this team, the No. 8 seed in the playoffs, to improve. Is it establishing a proven, reliable goalscorer? That was my question after the Reign scored only 37 goals in 30 games, the lowest among the top 13 teams in the league.
"Maybe," Harvey said, but she was happy with how strong their defense was. They conceded 33 goals, the fifth fewest in the league. If they can further improve defensively, Harvey said, they will win more games.
She pointed out the other obvious piece: losing Fishlock, the heart and soul of the team since it was launched.
"Replacing Jess is gonna be big."
Leadership-wise? "Everything-wise."
Fishlock was the captain and coach on the field for a relatively young Reign team. They will miss her clutch goals and tireless work rate, but they will also miss her wisdom. Seattle has been in something of a multi-year rebuild while getting real-time results. Fishlock's exit underscores that. Moving on from a club legend is never easy.
Angel City FC
How they got eliminated: 1-0 loss (AET) to Kansas City Current in quarterfinals (15W-7D-8L, 52 pts. in the regular season)
Biggest offseason question: Can they sustain the momentum?
Angel City's season ended in harsh fashion, on a controversial penalty kick in Kansas City. Angel City entered the playoffs on a 10-game unbeaten streak and as the NWSL's hottest team.
That entire turnaround began in the summer after Alexander Straus was fired and Leif Smerud took over as interim coach. Forward Ally Sentnor arrived via transfer at the same time. The success that followed was more than just an interim-coach bump like Angel City enjoyed in their only other playoff appearance in 2023. Can they bottle that in 2027?
The club has been mum on its full-time coach position after reports of Dario Vidošić taking over emerged in late August. The staff situation affects every other domino.
Angel City's defenders were exceptional as a unit, although captain and anchor Sarah Gorden is a free agent. It would be a major loss if she does not return. The new coach will need to figure out the team's exact attacking structure and how to optimize Sentnor, Maiara Niehues and Sveindís Jónsdóttir.
The young talent on this team is exciting, though: Gisele Thompson, Evelyn Shores, Savy King and now 17-year-old forward Maddie DiMaria. Angel City should be a contender next year.
San Diego Wave FC
How they got eliminated: 1-0 loss to Utah Royals in quarterfinals (18W-4D-8L, 58 pts. in the regular season)
Biggest offseason question: How do they win the big game?
Wave coach Jonas Eidevall said that he would not let his team's quarterfinal loss define its season after finishing second in the league and challenging for the NWSL Shield, but reality is that the loss will define San Diego's playoffs as a failure.
This was the second-best team in the NWSL in 2026. The Wave played an entertaining, effective, possession-based style that was fun to watch.
But old issues from last year, when the Wave also lost in the quarterfinals, crept back up despite breakout individual seasons from players such as Trinity Byars and Melanie Barcenas. San Diego underperformed in front of goal (45 goals scored to 53.15 xG), which is the same issue from last season.
The overall product was better this year, but the result was another quarterfinal exit. The talent is clearly there already, and the Wave expect to finally have Catarina Macario healthy and available next year after missing the entire season with heel and knee injuries. Macario might be the answer to the need for a killer instinct in these games.
Eidevall will have to figure out how to get his group to win in November, because the championship quality is there.
North Carolina Courage
How they got eliminated: Ninth place finish, missed playoffs (14W-3D-13L, 45 pts. in the regular season)
Biggest offseason question: Will they spend more aggressively this winter?
Ashley Sanchez's NWSL record-tying 20 goals were not enough for the Courage to make the playoffs this year. North Carolina finished ninth this season, missing out by one spot just like last year.
Head coach Mak Lind promised his team would score at will, and they did. Too often, however, they conceded as well (52 goals for, 42 goals against). They also collapsed late in the season, losing five of their last seven games to fall out of playoff contention.
North Carolina never recovered from the midseason loss of attacking midfielder Manaka Matsukubo, who otherwise could have been an NWSL MVP candidate if she stuck around. There is a world where she stays in North Carolina, complements Sanchez's breakout year, and the Courage make a run at trophies this season.
Manaka left for Chelsea, however, thanks to a release clause in her contract specific to England and that club, multiple sources told ESPN at the time. North Carolina didn't get anywhere near market value for her because of those preexisting contract terms. Add that to 2023 NWSL MVP Kerolin leaving North Carolina on a free transfer in January 2025 and Jaedyn Shaw's brief time at the club, and the Courage have seen more high-profile exits than they have major incoming transfers.
They've been competitive despite being a lower-spending team, which has resulted in the addition of some potentially major long-term players like England midfielder Erica Meg Parkinson (joining young U.S. midfielder Riley Jackson). But it's fair to ask: Does North Carolina need to get aggressive on the transfer market this window to get unstuck from the middle of the table -- and the wrong side of the playoff line?
Denver Summit FC
How they got eliminated: 10th place finish, missed playoffs (11W-8D-11L, 41 pts. in the regular season)
Biggest offseason question: Should they build to win now?
Denver fell narrowly short of the playoffs in its expansion season primarily due to its propensity to blow multi-goal leads (especially against Angel City recently). The Summit entered the final weekend of the regular season as the league's highest-scoring team thanks to widespread output. Lindsey Heaps scored seven goals and added three assists in only 13 games since joining the team in July. Natasha Flint and Melissa Kössler each scored eight goals. And Janine Sonis tallied 12 goals and eight assists in the most incredible fullback season in NWSL history.
All those players are veterans, as are defender Kaleigh Kurtz and goalkeeper Abby Smith, among others. Denver took the opposite approach of fellow expansion side Boston Legacy and built their inaugural roster with deep NWSL experience. It almost paid off. Now, the question is whether 2027 could be a trophy-or-bust kind of season considering how close the Summit came to the playoffs and the composition of the roster.
Denver still needs to shore up its defensive unit and figure out the right answer at holding midfield in front of them to prevent some of the late-game collapses they had this season.
Denver also has expansion allocation money that nobody else outside Boston (who traded plenty away) possesses, and there are high-profile free agents including Denver-area native Sophia Wilson. Will the Summit make a splash this offseason? It will be playoffs or bust in 2027 at minimum considering the foundation they laid.
Orlando Pride
How they got eliminated: 11th place finish, missed playoffs (11W-3D-16L, 36 pts. in the regular season)
Biggest offseason question: Can Barbra Banda get some help?
There is no Orlando Pride success without Banda. That has been the case since she entered the NWSL and joined Orlando in 2024 and led the Pride to a historic Shield and Championship double. This season shone a light on the dangers of that reliance.
Banda accounted for half of the Pride's goals throughout the season. She finished the year with 17 of the team's 39 goals, and she probably would have maintained that 50% ratio and chased down the NWSL Golden Boot had she not missed the last three Orlando games due to CDC restrictions preventing her return to the country.
Orlando dominated the NWSL in 2024 by getting the best out of its entire roster, from Banda to an ageless showing from Brazilian legend Marta. This year, a similar roster regressed, and nobody else carried the load. Haley McCutcheon continued to be a Swiss Army Knife with six goals, and 21-year-old Jamaica international forward Solai Washington clearly has promise. But Orlando needs changes across the field. That starts with finding another high-level, 10-plus-goalscorer to take the burden off Banda.
They have defensive needs, too, after losing Emily Sams to Angel City via trade last offseason and missing Kylie Nadaner almost all year to maternity leave. That center-back pairing led Orlando to glory in 2024. Sams is gone, Rafaelle is now retired, and Nadaner will be 35 in March. Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse also went on loan after a rough start to the season.
And, of course, Orlando is another team in need of a head coach. Seb Hines was fired in August after over a decade with the Orlando organization as some form of coach or player (for MLS' Orlando City SC, which shares ownership). Yolanda Thomas took over as the interim coach and has long been considered one of the top assistants in the NWSL. Will she get her shot with the Pride?
Houston Dash
How they got eliminated: 12th place finish, missed playoffs (9W-6D-15L, 33 pts. in the regular season)
Biggest offseason question: Who takes the wheel now?
The firings of Fabrice Gautrat as head coach and Twila Kilgore as technical director in September felt short-sighted then, and still does considering the circumstances. Houston is a young team whose highest production came from rookies like Kat Rader, who scored 10 goals from an attacking midfield role. The Dash were always building toward the future, and inconsistent results were inevitable.
Firing Kilgore -- who was previously the USWNT interim coach, a Dash assistant before that, and who only assumed her new role in February -- and Gautrat did nothing for Houston in the short-term. There was no late-season bounce; they defeated Boston and Chicago for their only victories from their final six games.
Bigger picture, the Dash are back to feeling like they are fighting off a phrase that once irritated the organization: "The same ol' Dash." It's a harsh view but, factually speaking, they are going into another offseason without a full-time coach in place. Whoever takes the job next will be the seventh full-time Dash coach (to go along with six interim stints) since the club launched in 2014. The disappearance of Fran Alonso in 2024, one of the most bizarre situations in a league chock-full of them, is still a fresh memory.
Yes, the young talent in Houston provides reason for optimism that didn't previously exist. Rader, Leah Klenke, Linda Ullmark, Kate Faasse, Maggie Graham and Avery Patterson are all high-ceiling players aged 24 or younger. They need stability if they are going to create something together. Finding and sticking with a coach to provide that is priority No. 1 this offseason.
Boston Legacy FC
How they got eliminated: 13th place finish, missed playoffs (9W-6D-15L, 33 pts.in the regular season)
Biggest offseason question: Can they attract artists to join the grind?
Boston's expansion season ended in the bottom quarter of the league but there is a lot to like about what transpired (we write with some hesitation). Boston lost 15 games but still wreaked havoc on the field and gave most teams trouble. It was often ugly.
Boston finished second in the NWSL this year in fouls committed and tied for first in yellow cards (47) to go with three red cards. Gritty was their ethos, but too often it was gruesome. Sometimes that was literally, like the early-season red card to Bianca St-Georges for a studs-up, knee-high tackle on Claire Hutton. Other times, it was just ugly soccer as head coach Filipa Patão tinkered with lineups and formations while using a roster that largely lacked major NWSL experience. They need to seriously solidify their back line after conceding 53 goals.
There were bright spots, though, including the unprecedented expansion feat of having a pair of 10-goal scorers: Aïssata Traoré and Amanda Gutierres. Spanish midfielder Alba Caño was also a creative spark -- and exactly what Boston needs. To borrow a phrase from Chicago Stars chief soccer officer Vlatko Andonovski, there is no doubt that Boston has warriors (some of whom could stand to rein it in), but they need a few more artists to truly compete.
Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas would have been the ultimate get for the team (she just won her third Ballon d'Or), but that didn't pan out in the spring and she signed with London City Lionesses.
Bay FC
How they got eliminated: 14th place finish, missed playoffs (7W-6D-17L, 27 pts. in the regular season)
Biggest offseason question: Will the kids all stick around?
U.S. midfielder Hutton is the focal point of Bay FC's rebuild and already a leader of the team at 20 years old after joining on a $1.1 million transfer in February. United States under-20 captain Kennedy Fuller joined Bay FC via transfer this summer, and 18-year-old forward Alex Pfeiffer rounds out a trio of promising young stars. Goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz could be a future No. 1 for the United States.
This was always a long-term project once Bay hit the reset button after only two years in the NWSL. Head coach Emma Coates joined last offseason and has tried to instill an identity, but Bay still lacks depth and championship quality across most lines of the field.
The recent hiring of Paul Green as chief football officer is a sign of ambition from the club. Green helped Chelsea win 19 trophies during his decade-plus with the club, and he comes to the NWSL with a vast network and plenty of respect. How will he adapt to the league and all its intricate rules and financial restrictions? That is one question. The starting point is building around the team's young core.
Racing Louisville FC
How they got eliminated: 15th place finish, missed playoffs (7W-3D-20L, 24 pts. in the regular season)
Biggest offseason question: Is there a future in Louisville?
The big question in Louisville is existential. Ownership change is imminent, with NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman speaking publicly about guiding the current Soccer Holdings ownership group through a sale and potential relocation. The NWSL that Racing Louisville joined in 2021 was a much more modest league than it is today, and they have failed to keep up on or off the field. This year's 15th place finish was a gut-punch after making the playoffs for the first time in 2025.
There are major questions from a sporting perspective, of course: Star forward and U.S. international Emma Sears is all but gone, with the only questions being her destination and the potential return for Louisville. ESPN reported in July that Sears had requested a trade, and a team spokesperson said the club would not entertain that until the offseason. That time has arrived. Bev Yanez, the 2025 NWSL Coach of the Year, is also out of contract. And this is a team that did not keep a single clean sheet in 30 games this season (which only happened once previously: Seattle Reign in a 22-game season.)
Louisville must now navigate this offseason not knowing what the team's future holds. Will the team move to Cincinnati? ESPN previously reported that those discussions were reignited recently. Will a local investor emerge at the 11th hour and pour money into making Louisvillians care about the team? There is a distinct danger that 2027 could play out as a lame-duck, slog of a season on the field as everyone awaits those answers.
The Seattle Reign had a similar problem in the 2023-2024 offseason. They were waiting for new ownership but didn't have clarity of capital to compete on the free agency and transfer markets, so they watched star players leave and suffered through a miserable 2024 season before bouncing back under new ownership. Seattle's starting point to that process in 2023 was making it to the NWSL Championship. Louisville will be climbing out of a much deeper hole.
Chicago Stars FC
How they got eliminated: 16th place finish, missed playoffs (5W-2D-23L, 17 pts. in the regular season)
Biggest offseason question: Will Chicago finally be a destination?
The Chicago Stars have been an unmitigated disaster for years. This year marked their second straight last-place finish (and third time in four years), and they managed fewer points (17) this season than last (20) despite playing four more games. Their minus-54 goal difference is by far the worst margin in league history. The mea culpa already occurred midseason with the firing of Richard Feuz as general manager and Martin Sjögren as head coach.
Despite all the gloom, there is hope in Chicago. The team recently hired Andonovski, a two-time NWSL champion as a coach, as the team's new chief soccer officer. It was a coup for Chicago, and probably the only hire they could have made to restore optimism. Andonovski is arguably the best NWSL coach in history.
Chicago was not a desirable destination for players. Andonovski, through his vast network inside and outside of the league, will change that. Plenty of staff will also be happy to report to him under the thinking that if he trusts there is buy-in from ownership, then they can, too.
Andonovski told ESPN recently that Chicago needs to embrace its old gritty identity. A decade ago, when he won back-to-back NWSL Championships with FC Kansas City, he talked about aforementioned balance between artists and warriors. Chicago needs both and it needs to build around lead artist and U.S. forward Mallory Swanson. A complete overhaul is ahead on and off the field
(Bonus question: Will they also realize their branding mistake and restore the name of Chicago Red Stars?)