Two teams, one trophy – the final game of the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League is on the horizon, with the two best sides in North America going head-to-head to be crowned champions.
Washington Spirit, who won this title in 2021, punched their ticket to the final by dispatching defending champions NJ/NY Gotham on penalties.
Their opponents, Orlando Pride, overcame KC Current and the league’s Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga.
The two will meet on Saturday (23 November), at the CPKC Stadium in Kansas City with the title on the line.
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2024 National Women’s Soccer League: Championship final preview
Two years can make a big difference – no one knows that better than these two sides.
In 2022, the Spirit finished 11th in the league with just three wins. Just above them, in tenth, sat Orlando who won five.
Growth has been steady, the pair side by side in 2023 once again, this time in seventh and eighth, narrowly missing out on playoffs.
Fittingly, they finished first and second this term before playing their way to the final.
Seb Hines’s Pride side had a particularly impressive run, losing just twice all season.
They fell behind to KC Current in the semis, Debinha opened the scoring for the away side, but the Pride bounced back immediately.
Goals from Barbra Banda and Marta after half-time guided them to a 3-1 victory, putting them one win away from becoming the first side since the North Carolina Courage in 2019 to win the Shield and Championship in the same season.
The arrival of Zambia striker Banda, who has found the back of the net 16 times, significantly helped their output, which was a bone of contention last year.
Brazilian legend Marta also found a new level as she approaches retirement, having her best individual campaign since 2017, scoring 11 times and assisting once. Her goal against KC Current in the semi-final will go down as one of her best in a Pride shirt, skipping past the defence before rounding the keeper and slotting home. The 38-year-old has never won this accolade, so it would be a career first.
Washington Spirit, meanwhile, have called on their rookies this term, playing well beyond their years of experience.
In their semi-final, rookie Hal Hershfelt stepped up with minutes left on the clock to equalise after the Spirit had fallen behind to an Esther Gonzalez goal. An impasse during extra time resulted in a season-defining shootout, which the Spirit won 3-0, with goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury providing the heroics.
Hershfelt and Croix Bethune in particular have been instrumental in their return to the Championship final, the former scoring the goal that rescued their semi. Bethune, meanwhile, leads the league for assists (10) in just the 17 games she played and is a big miss in the side having sustained a season-ending injury in September.
The last, and only time, the Spirit won this title was in 2021 when, coincidentally, former rookie Trinity Rodman was one of their key players. It seems to be a running theme for the Washington side.
As far as the record between these two teams this year goes, there has been very little to separate them. Orlando won the first encounter in a narrow 3-2 result away from home, before a stalemate of 0-0 in the reverse fixture.
Sunday’s encounter threatens to be a nail-biter between the best sides in the NWSL this season.
2024 National Women’s National League: Championship final schedule and how to watch
NWSL Final 2024
Saturday 23 November
- Orlando Pride vs. Washington Spirit - 20:00 ET kick-off (01:00 GMT/02:00 CET, early Sunday) – CPKC Stadium, Kansas City
CBS Sports is the home of the NWSL Championship in North America. Fans can watch all of the action unfold across the CBS platforms and on Paramount+.
The final will also be shown live on the NWSL website, which is also the place for international supporters to tune in.
