NWSL Playoffs Begin with Orlando Pride vs. Seattle Reign

The National Women's Soccer League playoffs begin Friday night with the defending champion Orlando Pride hosting the Seattle Reign in the first quarterfinal match at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The game, set for 8 p.m. Eastern Time and streaming on Amazon Prime Video, pits the fourth-seeded Pride against the fifth-seeded Reign in a rematch of their regular-season finale, which ended in a 1-1 draw last Sunday.

That draw proved pivotal for Orlando, securing home-field advantage in the postseason after the team had hovered near the bottom of the playoff picture earlier in the week. The Pride, who captured the 2024 NWSL Championship, finished the regular season with an 11-8-7 record. Now, they aim to become the first team since the North Carolina Courage in 2018 and 2019 to win back-to-back titles. Orlando's path forward will likely hinge on its stout defense and opportunistic scoring, as the team seeks another deep playoff run.

Seattle, meanwhile, advanced with a defensive-minded approach, scoring just 32 goals during the regular season, the fewest among the eight playoff qualifiers. The Reign are making their first postseason appearance since falling in the 2023...