Two regular season games remain in the NWSL, and the playoff race is closer than ever. Only three points are separating the fourth place and seventh place; all it takes is one slip-up in the remaining two games, and a team that’s been in the top 6 all year could not make the playoffs at all. I’ll go team by team and break down each team’s chances of making the playoffs based on their remaining games. San Diego clinched a spot last weekend by beating Portland, so we’re leaving them out of this. Here’s a review of the postseason scenarios in the race to the NWSL Playoffs.
Portland Thorns (Remaining Opponents: Gotham FC, Angel City), Points: 32
The Thorns’ outlook is simple: they need to win at least one of their two games, and they’re in. If they draw in both games, they’d still be barring a miracle from Orlando, who would have to win both games by seven goals or more in each game. Now, if they lose both or lose one and draw the other, it would leave the door open for Orlando to sneak in if they were to win their final two games, putting Orlando on 34 points and Portland on 33. With that being said, if I had to guess, I’d say Portland’s probability to make the playoffs should be around 90% or higher because they’d need to lose,…
