The Wait Is Over

Boom or Bust

The remainder of the 2021 NWSL season plays itself out as follows:

* Abby Dahlkemper picks up another concussion on July 3rd against Seattle and is finally cleared to return for the final regular season game, against Houston.

* Sam Mewis helps the Boston Breakers finish second in the Eastern Conference, earning home-field advantage against Orlando in the conference semifinal, which they would win 3-1.

* Behind a solid effort from Dahlkemper, Shelina Zadorsky, and Stephanie Labbe, a lone goal from Mallory Pugh is enough to send the Spirit onto the NWSL final with a 1-0 win over the Breakers.

* The Vancouver Whitecaps roll through the regular season to clinch the top spot in the Western Conference and defeat Los Angeles 3-0 in the conference final to give them a return trip to the NWSL championship game.

* The NWSL final, pitting Washington against Vancouver, is played in Atlanta.

***

"Welcome to Lifetime's coverage of the NWSL final. I'm Dalen Cuff and alongside me is former US Women's National Team captain Kate Markgraf. Kate, the Vancouver Whitecaps and Washington Spirit took slightly different paths to reach today's final, but both are reliant on dynamic forwards to make their teams go."

"You're right, Dalen. The Spirit have been led up front by Mallory Pugh while the Whitecaps have utilized a variety of skills from Deanne Rose to light up the scoreboard."

Cuff: A look at the starting lineups presented by Always. Vancouver sends out their tried-and-true first XI, while we see a couple of unexpected quirks for the Spirit. Stephanie Labbe is in net, even though this is a game better-suited to Kelsey Wys. She played against the Whitecaps in their lone regular season match-up and has been used against teams that are more Route One in their tactics.

Markgraf: Jim Gabarra said at the end of the regular-season finale that he was going with Labbe for the playoffs, regardless of the opponent. He feels that Steph gives the Spirit the best chance to lift the trophy this year.

Cuff: The other changes of note are Havana Solaun at left mid in place of Kristie Mewis and Abby Dahlkemper starting alongside Shelina Zadorsky in the center of defense, just one week after going a full 90 for the first time since being cleared from her July 3rd concussion against Seattle.

Markgraf: I trust Gabarra to know what his team needs, and starting Abby means he's confident she can go the distance if need be.

Cuff: Let's send it up to the booth to the pair who will call today's game, Jenn Hildreth and Aly Wagner.

The announcing team gives a quick introduction of things to watch for in the match, then sends it to commercial.

***

After a scoreless first half that saw both teams squander scoring chances, the Whitecaps get on the board in the 59th minute when a ball that should have been cleared by Dahlkemper is allowed to bounce in front of her. Rose lightly flicks it over her head and gets one-on-one against a charging Labbe. Rose easily rounds her on the dribble and deposits the ball in the net. Gabarra uses all three of his subs in the 67th minute, with Mewis coming in for Solaun, Estefani Banini for Mallory Pugh, and Cheyna Williams for Meggie Dougherty Howard. A flurry of chances in the final 10 minutes of play are unable to breach Caroline Stanley's net and the Whitecaps pick up an insurance goal from Adriana Leon in the third minute of stoppage time on a jailbreak following a cleared corner kick. The final whistle blows a minute later and Vancouver becomes the first team since FC Kansas City in 2014-2015 to win back-to-back NWSL titles.

***

As the 2021 off-season commences, questions exist for a number of teams and players.

* Will the Breakers make a move to address their lone remaining weakness, the back five?

* Will the Spirit push ahead and make another run at the NWSL title in 2022, or choose to scale back on salary and put together a younger roster?

* Who will be in a new location by the time the 2022 season kicks off, and who will have decided to call time on their career?

* Are there surprises at the draft in January that leads to any of the above questions being answered?

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A/N: Use the comments to provide your predictions.