Kansas City NWSL playoff scenarios, plus KC schedule

Kansas City Current clinched a playoff berth with a 3-0 win in their final regular-season home game against the Washington Spirit on Sunday night at Children’s Mercy Park.

And now, with just one game left in their National Women’s Soccer League regular-season schedule — at Racing Louisville on Saturday — they’re part of a jumble of teams battling for playoff seeding.

The Current could finish anywhere from first to fifth in the standings, depending on the results of their own game and others around the NWSL this weekend. The Current kicks off its regular season finale Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Louisville.

If it’s tiebreakers, well, those aren’t in favor of the current. If the current finish is tied on points with another team, the first tiebreaker is goal differential. The Current has a +1 goal differential heading into the weekend, the worst of any team above the playoff line.

Due to the results that would be needed for the Current to finish tied on points with San Diego or Houston, there is no possibility of KC going over either club’s goal differential in a tiebreaker scenario.

However, it is possible that the Current will finish tied on points with Portland and/or the Reign for first or second place. But they would need to win by 25 to skip Portland, or lose reign OL by 10 to skip the reign. Very unlikely, right?

In the NWSL playoff scenarios outlined below, we’ve left out those possibilities because those outcomes are nearly impossible.

So here are the matchups for the final weekend and some playoff seeding scenarios with the NWSL playoffs fast approaching:

Last weekend matches

• Friday, NC at San Diego, 9 p.m. PT

• Saturday, Portland at Gotham, 5 p.m. CT

• Saturday, Houston at Washington, 6 p.m. CT

• Saturday, Kansas City at Louisville, 6:30 p.m. CT

• Saturday, Orlando at OL Reign, 9 p.m. CT

• Sunday, Angel City at Chicago, 5 p.m. CT

First place and the NWSL Shield – that scenario is still in play for the current one, though they’ll hinge on some big upsets elsewhere and a win of their own to skip both OL Reign and the Portland Thorns.

A win for the Current guarantees a top-three spot, and a draw ensures they can’t drop below fourth place. So win or draw: playoff game at home. On the other hand, the lowest they can fall in the standings is fifth.

Based on the rankings, here are the advantages of the different potential finishes for Kansas City:

• Seeds 1 or 2: Receive a bye to the first round and host a semi-final on October 23

• Seeds 3 or 4: Host the quarter-final on October 16 before moving on to a road semi-final

• Seeds 5 or 6: On the road to the entire playoffs.

The NWSL Championship game will take place at Audi Field in Washington DC on October 29.

Here’s how it all breaks down based on the result of Current:

If the current wins…

• Finish first: Defeat Portland and No or lost reign

• Finish second: Lose Portland Where a loss of reign Where to draw

• To finish third: As late Raiders owner Al Davis said, “Just win baby.” A simple victory over Louisville guarantees a finish no less than third.

If the current draw…

If the current loses…

• To finish third: defeat in San Diego and defeat in Houston

• To finish fourth: San Diego wins or draws and Houston loses or draws

• Finish fifth: San Diego wins or draws and Houston victory

Based on the schedule and dates of games scheduled for the final weekend of the league regular season, the Current will know their fate and playoff seed by the end of the Reign-vs game. -Orlando Saturday night.