This weekend, NWSL fans are getting a taste of playoff intensity early with a 2024 Championship rematch between two heavyweights built for big moments – the perfect serving of NWSL After Brunch, if you will. Expect star power, high stakes, and all the tension that defines late-season soccer. Tune in this Saturday, October 18 at 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+ for one of the season’s most anticipated showdowns.
Championship Grudge Match
Few rivalries in the league carry this much recent history. The Orlando Pride claimed the 2024 NWSL Shield after defeating the Washington Spirit on a rainy evening in Orlando and then a few months later, overcame them in the NWSL Championship in Kansas City. But the Spirit got their revenge this spring by winning the Challenge Cup final on penalties. Saturday’s meeting is the next chapter in the growing saga between two sides who have a taste for lifting trophies and are ready to do what it takes to lift one again this year.
Winning Form
The Spirit are near unstoppable at home, unbeaten in eight matches, making Audi Field one of the toughest venues in the league. It’s also consistently one of the rowdiest (hello, Rowdy Audi), consistently filled to the brim with Spirit fans ready to cheer on their team and boo their opponents. Orlando will need to dig deep if they want to upset the home team in their fortress.
Late-Game Specialists
If you like drama, this fixture is going to deliver. Orlando’s victory last weekend came from a Marta corner turned stoppage-time own goal, and the Pride have made a habit of finding magic in the dying minutes. Washington’s recent run includes Rosemonde Kouassi’s last-second winner against San Diego and multiple comeback results. Expect the action to go the full 90 — maybe even beyond — as both clubs thrive on last-second finishes.
Goalkeeper Wars
Two elite goalkeepers headline the fight: Aubrey Kingsbury, who just crossed 15,000 career minutes and owns a club-record 62 wins, and Anna Moorhouse, fresh off her seventh clean sheet of the season. Add in defenders on both ends, Tara McKeown for the Spirit and Kerry Abello for the Pride, and you get a tactical duel where every tackle, save, and set piece could decide seeding and playoff positioning across the league.
Queen Marta
The fans love Marta and Marta loves her fans. The Brazilian legend has scored more goals against Washington (10) than any other club and continues to be Orlando’s heartbeat in big games – whether delivering a dagger from open play or bending in a corner that changes everything. Fresh off the game-winning sequence that sealed Orlando’s playoff berth last weekend, she’s headed to the nation’s capital this Saturday looking to remind everyone why, nearly two decades into her career, she’s still the Queen*.*
