Trinity Rodman leads surging Spirit against breakout Royals in NWSL semifinal

With the championship match set for D.C., Trinity Rodman and company can secure a home final if they can halt an underdog Utah squad riding high after stunning San Diego Nov 13, 2026 at 3:56 pm ET • 5 min read The NWSL playoffs roll on with the semifinal round, and fans will be treated to a glimpse of the future site of the 2026 NWSL Championship. Audi Field in Washington, D.C., has a way of making regular-season games feel even bigger, and on Saturday it hosts another penultimate chapter ahead of the final.This will be the third home semifinal at Audi Field in as many years, and the third-place Washington Spirit will host the eighth-place Utah Royals (on CBS, noon ET), with a chance to play at home in the NWSL Championship on Nov. 21. A neutral site is chosen for the NWSL Championship annually, and this year's Audi Field announcement was made back in June, setting in motion endless possibilities for the Washington Spirit to have an all-home playoff run.But they're going up against the breakout team of the year in the Utah Royals, a team that finished in 12th place last season, with only six wins. Now they've spent the 2026 regular season creating new club history and are coming off a huge quarterfinal upset over the second-place San Diego Wave.Here's everything to know about the big game:Playoffs run through Washington SpiritThe Spirit's long season had highs, some lows and plenty of plateaus. While the Spirit at one point looked like prime contenders for the NWSL Shield, they let it slip away to eventual winners Gotham FC with two games remaining in the season. But the NWSL playoffs are a different beast. A three-game gauntlet to claim the big prize, where the only real thing that matters is the best form over a short span of matches. There's no better time to make a statement than the quarterfinal round, and both the Spirit and Utah delivered.The Spirit's 4-1 demolition of the Portland Thorns was a showcase of their skill, but also of how the group is fueled and functions at home. Trinity Rodman scored twice and added an assist, as Portland were outclassed on the pitch between their giveaways and the Spirit's breakaway chances."They're steaming now. They're going now, which is obviously what you want. A team that starts really high performing in the playoffs," Utah head coach Jimmy Coenraets said about the Spirit. "I think the biggest difference is that you go to Rowdy Audi, which I think, looking at the Portland [quarterfinal], within two minutes it scored two goals based on just the whole crowd getting behind them. So I think it's being smart about momentum, it's being smart about timing and stuff. Maybe sometimes killing the game slightly more, and then just being smart about a few things."Rodman is the headliner of the Spirit's roster. She finished the regular season with a career-best 12 goals and eight assists, was named an NWSL MVP finalist this year and has carried that form into the postseason. A massive bright spot for the Spirit is also the overall player depth.Despite player movement and injuries, the group seems to be hitting its stride in the playoffs, especially with newcomers Melissa Bethi and Clara Lavunga, who joined midseason. Both players scored in the quarterfinal and could prove to be the difference-makers for the Spirit after three consecutive semifinal appearances. Alongside other players who are now staples of the club -- defender Tara Rudd and midfielder Andi Sullivan, the longtime team captain -- the group is not trying to get ahead of itself with the possibility of playing a championship at home. First, the Spirit have to tackle the semifinal. "I can't even go there in my mind. Like, you know, everyone's talking about the final being here, but again, we have a semifinal, so you can't get to there yet. But obviously, we want to be there, so that's definitely motivation to get the job done," Sullivan said on "Attacking Third." "The rotations of players coming in and out, and whether that's due to injuries or new signings or whatever it may be, and I just think that's a testament to, like, the locker room and the closeness we have in the locker room ... and I think that's what we're really like leaning on into this playoff push."Utah Royals' successful turnaroundClubs hoping to change their fortunes will look to Utah as a blueprint. After a 6-13-7 record and 12th-place season last year, and 11th place in 2024, the group is now navigating its first-ever playoff appearance. Head coach Jimmy Coenraets, who was recently nominated for NWSL coach of the year, had been the interim coach before taking over the team permanently in October 2024. Mina Tanaka's more elevated play, along with the return of veterans like Cloe Lacasse and Paige Monaghan, helped turn the page for Utah in 2026. Signing Miyabi Moriya and Kiana Palacios and trading for Narumi Miura were also key offseason moves.While the group spent the second half of the season winning one week and losing the next, the playoffs offered a reset. With locker-room belief and a "why not us?" attitude as the eighth-seeded playoff team, Utah delivered the biggest upset of the postseason with a cagey 1-0 win against the second-place San Diego Wave. It was Palacios who provided the game-winning goal, after receiving the setup from Lacasse. Goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn is also on fire for the Royals. She racked up crucial saves throughout the quarterfinal and is rallying the team into D.C. She has previous experience winning the 2023 NWSL Championship with the former eighth-place Gotham FC side. Coenraets believes her experience and the team's camaraderie on the road will be huge in Saturday's mental test. "I think that's how you create your own momentum. So when you're going against, I don't know how many it will be, 20,000, 22,000 [at Audi], you have to ... like it's impossible to cancel the noise, but you just got to create your own noise. You've got to make sure that players feel the energy from the sideline, from players and staff. I think that's the biggest message, because again, it will be loud, and I have to say I was impressed last week listening to [how] loud they were. But again, like you have an opportunity to create your own momentum, and I think that's what we want to do tomorrow," he said.What's nextThe Washington Spirit will host the Utah Royals at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. The winner of Saturday's semifinal will face the winner of Sunday's semifinal between Gotham FC and the Kansas City Current. The final two teams will face off in the NWSL Championship on Nov. 21 on CBS.