Firsts are always quite special, right? Well, soccer is no exception. Ask any professional player about their best memory, and we bet most will recall the place where they first unlocked a portal to greatness. And rightly so — though it does make it feel like an unspoken obligation to support that team unilaterally, doesn’t it? For USWNT veterans Sam Mewis and Lynn Biyendolo, that place had always been North Carolina Courage — their first-ever NWSL club, actually, before both played for USL-W sides Pali Blues and Western New York Flash. For them, “Courage Till I Die” remained the motto no matter who else they played for… until now, when the NWSL playoffs saw them actually forget CTID!

To give you a bit of context, Decision Day was once again one for the books. While seven out of eight teams had already clinched their quarterfinal spots, the final playoff berth was up for grabs between Racing Louisville and NC Courage. And last week, in a surprising turn of events, Mewis and Biyendolo ended up predicting Louisville to clinch it, essentially betraying their former team. Realizing this, both had no choice but to take full accountability.

“Did I forget where I came from?” asked Sam Mewis on the latest segment of The Women’s Game podcast, which she co-hosts alongside Lynn Biyendolo. Hearing this, the former Williams star agreed, adding, “I also felt ashamed. In that moment, I could just imagine North Carolina going through, and then I had to face Mary Speck.”

Mewis made Biyendolo realize that not supporting North Carolina meant they were “out of the club forever.” Yet deep down, the reality is that their first-ever NWSL team still holds a special place in their hearts. She praised Courage’s tenacity in taking a 3-0 lead over Gotham FC on Decision Day, even though the final result ended in a 3-2 win.

However, there was a reason why both USWNT veterans supported Racing Louisville for the win. They secured a narrow 1-0 win over Bay FC, courtesy of a playoff-clinching goal from rookie Ella Hase, who couldn’t have scored her first NWSL career goal at a better time. More to that, this was their first time ever making the playoffs. So it was a pretty big deal.

That only saw Mewis praising Louisville for coming together quite remarkably under head coach Bev Yanez, who, by the way, became the first person in the league to make the playoffs as both a player and a coach. This feat also sees her become the first American woman to coach a team to the NWSL playoffs since Cindy Parlow Cone in the 2013 inaugural season.

So, it was only natural for both of them to feel like kicking themselves—rooting against the NC Courage in the NWSL playoffs while hoping Louisville would once again finish ninth. Hence, the final words from both Lynn Biyendolo and Sam Mewis, as a formal apology, were: “Sorry, but excited”. And to be honest, that’s exactly the kind of vibe we have too for the NWSL playoffs.

A quick look at the 2025 NWSL playoffs

As one saw, Racing Louisville successfully clinched the final quarterfinal spot by capitalizing on their narrow win over Bay FC, as well as North Carolina Courage’s close win over Gotham FC. Now, let’s address the rest of the teams as well.

Starting with the November 7 clash between Orlando Pride and Seattle Reign — both teams are coincidentally facing each other again in the NWSL playoffs after having played their last regular-season game against one another, which ended in a 1-1 draw. That result eventually saw Pride finishing fourth and Reign a place below them.

Then on November 8, we have the Washington Spirit, who, despite a 1-0 defeat to the Utah Royals on Decision Day, finished second. They will be facing seventh-placed Racing Louisville. Moving forward, the November 9 slate will feature two matches — the first between the 2025 Shield winners KC Current and Gotham FC. While the Current secured a 2-1 win over San Diego Wave in their final game, Gotham FC, despite a loss, still advanced by securing an eighth-place finish in the league.

The second game will see the third-placed Portland Thorns taking on the sixth-placed San Diego Wave. Naturally, the winners of KC Current vs Gotham FC and Orlando Pride vs Seattle Reign will face each other in the semifinals, with the same for Washington Spirit vs Racing Louisville, and Portland Thorns vs San Diego Wave, as the dates and times will be confirmed later. The Championship Final is set to be played on November 22.

Regardless of which team you support, the NWSL playoffs race is going to be pretty lit!