Top 3 storylines to watch for the rest of the 2025 NWSL season | OneFootball

Fans can rejoice: the NWSL is back!  The league will return this weekend after pausing for continental tournaments like Euro 2025.  While no official games were played, some teams played friendlies while others focused on training.

Now, it is back to work for many of the NWSL sides.  Every team has half of the season left to play, so how they resume the season can influence the next few months.  The Kansas City Current will try to continue their dominance at the top of the table, for they have eight more points than the next highest team, the Orlando Pride.

Then, there are some teams at the bottom of the standings that will try to turn their seasons around, like Chicago Stars FC and Utah Royals FC.  Both teams have won just once so far this season and sit in 13th and 14th place, respectively.

There is so much that can happen over the next few months.  So, here are the top three storylines to watch for the rest of the 2025 NWSL season.

The Golden Boot Race is wide open

Washington Spirit v NY/NJ Gotham FC | Brad Smith/ISI Photos/GettyImages

At this time, Gotham FC’s Esther González leads the Golden Boot race with 10 goals.  However, the Current’s Temwa Chawinga and Orlando’s Barbra Banda are not too far behind, with eight each.  They are followed by Angel City FC’s Riley Tiernan with seven, Racing Louisville FC’s Emma Sears with six, and the Washington Spirit’s Ashley Hatch with six.

As such, the race is wide open.  Chawinga won the Golden Boot last year, so can she do it again?  Can González maintain her lead?  She is known to be streaky with her goal-scoring, so doing so will be tricky.  Or will someone like Sears overpower everyone by having a superb second half of the season?

It would be good for the NWSL for multiple players to be close in the race until the final day.  It would make the battle entertaining and encourage the leading scorers to score more goals.

Trinity Rodman and her back

United States v Brazil - International Friendly | Robin Alam/ISI Photos/GettyImages

Undoubtedly, Trinity Rodman is one of the biggest NWSL players in the league, and also one of the most talented.  She is a game-changer on the pitch and is extremely influential in the Washington Spirit’s attack.

Unfortunately, the star forward has been dealing with an ongoing back injury that has limited her to four games.  Initially, she made her return, and it was thought she was good to go.  However, she had to step away again due to the pain.

Now, Rodman has returned to training and has revealed she has learned to better manage her back.  But it was thought she would be okay when she revealed her ongoing injury earlier in the season.  So, will the player be able to play for the rest of the year?  More importantly, will she be the same player that she has promised to be?

Rodman is someone to watch as the NWSL resumes.  The league, and soccer overall, is better when she is playing.  Ideally, she and the Spirit will have a plan in place to ensure she does not have to take time away again from the beautiful game.

The Pride’s quest for a repeat

Orlando Pride v Washington Spirit - NWSL 2024 Championship Game | Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/GettyImages

In 2024, the Orlando Pride won both the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship.  The Florida team had one of the best seasons ever seen in the league.  And like every past winner, the quest to repeat the Shield, Championship, or, in this case, both, is a goal.

As mentioned, Kansas City is the current leader in the table, making the team the frontrunner for the Shield.  But where a team finishes in the regular season is not an immediate guarantee for playoff success.  Look at Gotham FC in 2023.  The Bats ended the season in sixth place and won the NWSL Championship.

So, even if the Pride does not win the Shield, then they could still easily compete for the Championship.  At the same time, the long break could impact any of the teams, and the Current could fall out of first place.

That is why it will be interesting to see whether Orlando can repeat either of their successes from last year.  It will also be intriguing to see whether another team wins the NWSL Shield or Championship.