FootyPop: Washington Spirit Clinch Playoff Spot

In this week’s women’s soccer news, the Washington Spirit clinched a playoff spot; Aitana Bonmatí was awarded the Ballon d’Or; Gift Monday had a terrific game for the Spirit; and more!

High of the Week

The Washington Spirit punched their ticket to the 2025 NWSL Playoffs with a commanding 4-0 win over the Houston Dash. They dominated all phases of the game and continued their unbeaten streak to 10 straight games. The last loss for the Spirit was to the Portland Thorns in June. The Kansas City Current have already clinched the Shield, but the Spirit are taking a commanding lead over the 2 seed. Washington is looking to make its way back to the NWSL Championship match and seek revenge after losing the Championship to the Orlando Pride last season. The other six playoff spots are still up for grabs, and the teams are close together point-wise, so it will be a crazy last few weeks to end the regular season.

Low of the Week

The Portland Thorns announced this week that they placed Julie Dufour on the season-ending injury list. Unfortunately, the forward suffered an ACL injury in Portland’s match against the San Diego Wave. Dufour joined Portland midseason after a trade from Angel City FC. She’s made 15 appearances this season between both teams. Unfortunately, it’s another injury this season, and we’re wishing Dufour a speedy recovery.

News of the Week

Aitana Bonmatí continues to write history. This week, she was awarded the Ballon d’Or for the third straight time, becoming the first woman to accomplish that feat and just the third person ever. Bonmatí is a tremendous player, and she continues to prove why she’s the best in the world, winning just about any trophy she can. She helped lead her club team, FC Barcelona, to a domestic treble last season, and she led Spain to the 2025 Euros final, where they ultimately lost to England. Last season for Barcelona, she had 15 goals in 44 total matches for the club. The midfielder is a wonderful player in tremendous form, and we’re lucky to be able to witness it.

Her Spain teammate Mariona Caldentey came in second in the voting, while England forward Alessia Russo came in third.

Player of the Week

Gift Monday was absolutely fantastic for the Washington Spirit in their 4-0 win over the Houston Dash. She scored the fastest hat-trick from the start of the match in league history in just 36 minutes. It was also the first time a Spirit player has scored a hat-trick at Audi Field and the first hat-trick for Washington since 2015. She scored her first two goals just three minutes apart.

Monday is in her first season with the Spirit, and she’s been very good for the club, scoring eight goals in 19 matches.

Win of the Week

Upsets have been a constant in the world of college soccer this season, and this week it was Michigan State’s turn. Michigan State got a statement win over No. 20 Wisconsin with a lopsided 6-0 scoreline. The Spartans are led by defender Kennedy Bell, who leads the Big Ten in goals scored (9) and points (22). In the game against Wisconsin, Bell had a goal and two assists. Emerson Sargeant tallied a brace for Michigan State, while Renee Watson, Kaleigh McPherson, and Sophia Piotrowski all got on the scoreboard as well. They dominated the match with 10 shots, and they limited the Badgers to just two shots on goal. The win was the Spartans’ third straight Big Ten game.

Goal of the Week​

Sofia Cantore scored a filthy goal for the Washington Spirit this weekend. Narumi sent in a cross to Cantore, who used a bit of skill to hit the backheel and send it into the back of the net.

Team of the Week

The Utah Royals have had a difficult season, but they’ve been able to turn it around after the summer break. They’ve won three straight games, extending their unbeaten streak to seven games. Before this stretch, they had just two wins on the season. This week, they got an impressive 2-0 win over Bay FC. Janni Thomsen and Aisha Solorzano both scored in the first half to lead the Royals to the win. Defensively, they had to weather the storm from Bay, but they played well and are really looking like they could make a run to cause some chaos as the NWSL Playoff picture starts to take shape.

Assist of the Week

Emma Sears was able to apply some pressure defensively to force the turnover and steal the ball to send a cross in to Sarah Weber, who buried it. The goal ended up being the game winner for Racing Louisville over Angel City.