Through the first round of matches, the 2023 NWSL Postseason has already proven to be as competitive and entertaining as the recently completed regular season. OL Reign and NJ/NY Gotham FC won their quarterfinal matchups to advance to the semifinal round, which will be played following the upcoming October FIFA international window in which the U.S. Women’s National Team will square off twice against 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup quarterfinalists Colombia.
Quarterfinal action kicked off Friday night in Seattle where the Reign defeated Angel City FC, 1-0, behind a game-winning goal in the 87th minute from Veronica Latsko. The match-up between the fourth-seeded Reign and fifth-seeded ACFC was an inspired affair from the opening whistle. The Reign held a 5-0 advantage in shots on goal on the night while Angel City had a narrow 3-2 advantage in corner kicks.
The Reign will now face 2023 NWSL Shield winners San Diego Wave FC on Nov. 5 at Snapdragon Stadium for a spot in the championship match (9:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network). The Reign won all four previous meetings between the clubs in 2023, defeating the Wave 1-0 and 2-1 in the regular season and also besting San Diego in both matchups during the Challenge Cup group stage.
NJ/NY Gotham FC punched its ticket to the semifinals with a 2-0 road win over the North Carolina Courage on Sunday evening in Cary, North Carolina. Gotham had the better of the attack on the day, outshooting the Courage 13-6 overall with a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal. The visitors opened the scoring just before the halftime whistle with a low, skipping shot from Delanie Sheehan and put the game out of reach in the first minute of second-half stoppage time as Lynn Williams set up Yazmeen Ryan for a clinical finish.
Gotham will now face 2022 NWSL Champions Portland Thorns FC in the first of the two semifinal matches on November 5 (7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network). The teams split their two matchups this regular season, with each team winning on its home turf. Gotham won the first meeting 2-1 on July 9 at Red Bull Arena while the Thorns prevailed 1-0 at Providence Park on the penultimate weekend of the regular season.
Over in Europe, Lindsey Horan, who was coming off a hat trick in her match, put together yet another strong showing, scoring in the 87th minute of Olympique Lyon’s 5-1 win over Stade de Reims on Sunday afternoon. Horan went the full 90 minutes in the victory as she netted her fourth goal of the 2023-24 D1 Féminine campaign, good for second on the team this season trailing only French legend Eugenie Le Sommer.
After missing last weekend’s match due to a minor injury, forward Mia Fishel returned to the team sheet and came on in the 79th minute for Chelsea FC in the club’s 4-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
