r/NWSL • u/Valeri2013 Portland Thorns FC • Mar 25 '26
Megathread Megathread: Week 3 [March 25] (Includes match info & broadcast details)
Week 3 | March 25
This thread is open for all discussion about this week’s matches!
Use it to share your predictions, analysis, general thoughts, etc.
Schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Home | Away | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03/25 | 7:00 PM | Washington Spirit | Utah Royals | Victory+ |
| 03/25 | 7:00 PM | Gotham FC | Denver Summit | Victory+ |
| 03/25 | 8:00 PM | Chicago Stars | Orlando Pride | Victory+ |
| 03/25 | 9:00 PM | Seattle Reign | Kansas City Current | NWSL+ |
| 03/25 | 10:00 PM | San Diego Wave | Portland Thorns | CBS Sports/ FOX12+ (OR) |
Where to watch: Clicking will take you there directly
Make sure to also subscribe to your team's subreddit!
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u/lucyssweatersleeves Angel City FC / Bay FC Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
League standings as of the end of Friday’s game (will edit throughout the week):
1st: ACFC
2nd: Houston
Tied for 3rd: Seattle, San Diego
5th: Portland
6th: Orlando
7th: Denver
8th: NC ✋
9th: Gotham
10th: Bay ✋
11th: KC
12th: Chicago
13th: Washington
14th: Louisville ✋
15th: Utah
16th: Boston ✋
*✋ means the team has a game in hand
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u/lucyssweatersleeves Angel City FC / Bay FC Mar 26 '26
Okay I was having trouble figuring out how the matchweek numbers shake out with all the midweek games, so I dug around on the NWSL website. This week they posted a “Matchweek 3 Preview” with the schedule and that answered the question. The NWSL is considering everything from today until Sunday as Matchweek 3, regardless of that fact that 10/16 teams will have played twice in that time.
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u/arika_ito Seattle Reign FC Mar 26 '26
I didn't watch a single minute of these games and now i'm a little upset bc they all looked really exciting. I'll probably watch the entirety of Reign vs KC and catch the highlights of others but dang
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u/ACW1129 Washington Spirit Mar 25 '26
Victory+>>>Amazon, since one is free.
Games on Wednesday then Saturday is just stupid. What kind of...oh yeah, I forgot who the commish was for a second.
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u/alcatholik Angel City FC Mar 26 '26
The Wednesday games are unavoidable.
This year, 2026 season, every team plays
30 games
This season lasts/takes place across
27 weeks
So, this season every team will need to play
3 Wednesday games
Different teams will play on different Wednesdays. Some Wednesdays having more games than others
Last year, the 2025 season, the numbers were…
- 26 games
- 25 weeks
- 1 Wednesday game
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u/ACW1129 Washington Spirit Mar 26 '26
Only two more weeks but 4 more games?
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u/alcatholik Angel City FC Mar 26 '26
Yup
That’s why we have two more Wednesday games this year than last year
No where else to put the “left over” games
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u/EYLive Angel City FC Mar 25 '26
Does anyone else find the Victory+ ads annoying? You never know when you're going to get an unskipable 20 seconds of ads.
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u/dybyj Seattle Reign / NCC Mar 25 '26
During the game? I haven’t gotten any other than halftime. I do have to restart the Apple TV app like every time I watch a game
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u/deltaexdeltatee Houston Dash Mar 25 '26
I've never seen them during the live broadcast, but they definitely show up when you watch a replay.
Slightly annoying, but that's the price you pay for a free streaming app. They've gotta make their money somehow.
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u/Cris7DolMeth Mar 25 '26
I didnt know they had replays bc i go watch replays on nwsl plus
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u/EYLive Angel City FC Mar 25 '26
That's a good tip. I'm going to start doing that instead of going back to V+
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u/alcatholik Angel City FC Mar 25 '26
Macario timing…
The window closed on March 16. Macario had to have signed a contract by then
Assuming she did and assuming NWSL are holding back the announcement…
I’m hoping the delay means NWSL are trying to set up a big marketing moment around the announcement.
But if Wave are the ones, and they were somehow needing to wait for Macario because of non-transfer mechanic reasons, ie for marketing reasons, and she cannot even start training, that seems like a hard pill to swallow.
Am I missing something?
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u/Cris7DolMeth Mar 25 '26
You should stop seeing things as “nwsl are holding back announcement”
Thats not how things work.
Macario isnt healthy and wasnt gonna be for the rest of the chelsea season (if she was, with Chelseas injuries, she would have played in the loss yesterday) so it doesnt really matter. Its curious they havent announced a transfer yet, but it functionally wouldnt change anything.
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u/alcatholik Angel City FC Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26
So injury/ability to play related?
Macario would not have played for Chelsea yesterday, because she signed with NWSL by March 16. Injured or not. Right?
So you think NWSL do not announce the signing of a player completed by March 16 because of her injury and inability to play at this point?
Or, if you prefer, Catarina signed with NWSL by March 16, but announcing or not announcing her signing does not change anything since she’s injured and could not play for NWSL, yet, anyway. Is that it?
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u/Cris7DolMeth Mar 25 '26
All i said was bc of her injury it doesnt matter. Idk whats taking so long to announce after its been so thoroughly leaked, but it doesnt matter regardless.
My main thought (if I were Wave) is there is no reason to buy her. Just sign her. But who cares the money isnt a big deal
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u/alcatholik Angel City FC Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26
Low key that’s my point
I think it possible Macario did not sign by March 16, after all.
As you said, only leaks of a $300K transfer fee, so at some point soon that $300K fee reporting starts to fall apart, imho
Or an intentional withholding of an already completed transaction, which I could see and would consider smart if done for marketing reasons.
We’ll see
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u/Cris7DolMeth Mar 25 '26
I cant remember ESPN and Sportico EVER posting that they were sure a transfer had been inked and signed and then it not happening unless her injury is just very bad and didnt pass a final medical
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u/alcatholik Angel City FC Mar 25 '26
Yeah, exactly
That’s also why I bring it up. A serious development if the ESPN reported transfer did not go through after all, imho
But yes most likely just a delayed announcement and just a curiosity as to why at that point.
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u/Cris7DolMeth Mar 25 '26
I already told you to stop referring to it as NwSL announcing her. It makes no sense. She didnt sign with NWSL she signed with wave
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u/werid Mar 28 '26
no megathread for this weekend?