It was only three weeks ago, but it feels like a lifetime ago that Gotham FC beat the Washington Spirit to be crowned champions of NWSL for the 2025 season. But the NWSL wasn’t the only league that wrapped up their 2025 league season recently. A number of leagues across the Americas are wrapping up or recently finished their seasons. As me here at the WoSo Roundup like to do, I want to recap what happened this season throughout the Americas. This week, I will look at leagues across North and Central America. Next week, I will look at the leagues in South America.

The start of the 2025/2026 season in Mexico came with a number of notables. There were some big name arrivals like Maria Sanchez, Diana Ordonez, and Eugenie Le Sommer. The season also saw players like Aerial Chavarin and Montserrat Saldivar continue impressive form from the 2025 Clausura. And, of course, it had some same-old same-olds: Charlyn Corral scored a bunch and the Ligilla final featured either Tigres or Club America. Well, in fact, it featured both Tigres and Club America.

Leg 1: Club America vs Tigres
Full Match

First Half
The match opened a bit hectically, with both teams aggressively tackling and pressing, but America were much more in control of the ball and more apt to counterpress, taking every every opportunity they could to win the ball and run at the Tigres defense. Despite this occasionally frantic play, the first real opportunity on goal came from a free kick in the 13’ that America put high.

18’ On the ensuing goal kick from the above free kick, Tigres played short, and America immediately pressed from multiple angles, rushing the Tigres defenders and creating a turnover that resulted in a shot saved by Ceci Santiago. But the play was recommended for review by VAR, and Greta Espinoza was found guilty of a handball in the box, resulting in a penalty for America that was hammered home by Irene Guerrero to give Club America a 1-0 lead.

22’ Minutes later, America would win a second penalty when Aaliyah Farmer attempted to clear a ball in the box, but she was beaten to the ball by Sarah Luebbert and took her down. As hope always springs eternal, Farmer raised her hands claiming innocence, but it was about as clear a penalty as there can be. Scarlett Camberos stepped up and coolly placed her penalty in the bottom left corner, beyond the reach of the diving Santiago, to double America’s lead.

With the two-goal lead, America eased up on their press a bit, implementing it more selectively. This allowed Tigres to get a bit more possession and offensive threat, but they still failed to actually threaten America’s goal. The best opportunity a tricky volley put over the bar by Barbara Olivieri.

45’ Despite the increased offense from Tigres, America continued to look the more dangerous side, and they made that pressure pay off one last time the half. Sarah Luebbert received the ball about 35 yards from goal. Instead of pressuring her, the Tigres defense conceded the space, allowing Luebbert to advance the ball forward. When she reached the top of the box, still not facing pressure, Luebbert unleashed an absolute golazo into the far corner, well beyond the reach of Santiago. A perfect way for America to close out a near perfect half, and a goal well deserved for Luebbert, who had been a threat the entire half. At the break, America led 3-0.

Second Half
Tigres made three changes to start the second half, including bringing veteran midfielder Stephany Mayor. In addition to the subs, Tigres opened the half more aggressively pressing, especially further up the field. Despite these changes, America still had the more dangerous of play in the opening 15 minutes, twice putting shots just wide of goal.

62’ Tigres produced their first major moment of danger when Diana Ordonez picked the pocket of a defender, but Paños saved. The ensuing corner kick was cleared, but Tigres was able to maintain possession and, through sustained pressured, found their opener when Stephany Mayor got the ball just inside the box and put her shot past Paños to cut the lead to 3-1.

74’ Ceci Santiago kept Tigres’s hopes for a comeback alive by making an important save on a shot from Montserrat Saldivar.

77’ Minutes later Tigres would make good on the save. After an attack from America that was cleared, Thembi Kgatlana collected the ball just inside her own half and charged toward the America net. Because America had been attacking, there were only two defenders for Thembi to worry about. She fought off a tackle attempt, cut to her left to open space with the defender in front of her, and powered a shot past Paños. Tigres looked lost in the first half, and were still probably second best in the second half. But they’d suddenly cut a 3-0 deficit to 3-2, and they still had 15 minutes to complete the comeback.

After the second goal, Tigres twice came close to finding an equalizer, the first through an Ordonez shot that went high and the second on a Thembi shot that was well saved by Paños with the rebound being put just high.

84’ But Tigres wouldn’t have to wait long for the completed comback. In the 84th minute, Maria Sanchez drove into the America box and, at the end line, put a cross to the far post where an unmarked Jheniffer was waiting to head in the equalizer. After 60 minutes of dominance that resulted in a 3-0 lead for Club America, it took Tigres less than half that time to score three, themselves, and even the score at 3-3.

Both teams would have chances late, but neither would find the net. After the first leg, the teams were tied 3-3.

Leg 2: Tigres vs Club America
Full Match

First Half
In many ways, the second leg picked up where the first left off. After being second best for most of the match, Tigres finished the first leg very strong, including completing a three goal comeback. To start the second leg, they continued that dominance, putting America under pressure from the start. After the opening quarter of an hour, America began to grow into the match and created some danger of their own, but neither team found the net.

20’ As America was finding their footing, disaster struck as Annie Karich overhits a backpass to Annia Mejia, and Diana Ordonez pounces on the loose ball, driving on goal and finishing past Sandra Paños to take the 1-0 lead on the day and 4-3 lead on the tie.

After the goal, Tigres continued to have the better of play, but the match started to get chippy. Sarah Luebbert was taken down aggressively, and it didn’t draw a foul, but America with a few clipped legs of their own.

Unlike in the first leg, America really struggled to create dangerous chances in the second leg. They didn’t press as high up the field nor did they counterpress as aggressively in the first leg. At the start of the match, as the away side in this leg, I could understand it. But after going down a goal, I was surprised they didn’t attempt to recapture some of the dominance they had from the first leg.

Second Half
55’ America did get a stretch of dominance to start the second half, and they nearly found an equalizer on a shot from Nancy Antonio, but her blast from distance clanged off the crossbar and out.

58’ The match took a major turn a couple minutes later when Nancy Antonio kicked Jenni Hermoso in the face while the two tussled for a loose ball. Antonio is clearly trying to play the ball, but she absolutely commits the violent conduct foul. The referee initially just called a foul, but VAR recommended review for a potential red card, the ref agreed after the review. The red to Nancy Antonio left America down a goal and down a player with roughly 30 minutes remaining to salvage their chance at the title.

Up a player, Tigres reestablished control of the match. America, on the other hand, got a bit reckless in their tackles. In the 70’, Annie Karich was very late in a tackle on Ordonez. While Antonio’s foul falls into the ‘dangerous play’ category that resulted in the red, Karich’s foul was arguably a worse foul.

In the 75’, Ordonez was put though on goal, but she put her shot wide of net. A finish was expected that the goal pyro went off. Moments later, Ordonez did have the ball in the net, again pouncing on a misplayed ball from an America. In this case, an America freekick was played to no one, and Ordonez got to it first. However, the ref bailed out America by blowing the whistle to redo the freekick before Ordonez scored, so the goal wasn’t given.

79’ Despite being second best, America nearly equalized when Camberos got into the box and put in a shot that Ceci Santiago spilled, but Santiago was able to bat away the rebound before Kiana Palacios could get a touch.

86’ America would, again, come inches from equalizing. A freekick is only partially cleared, and Montserrat Saldivar collects the ball at the top of the Tigres box. She puts in a shot that has Santiago beat but it hits off the top of the crossbar and out.

In the end, America would not find an equalizer, and Tigres would hold their lead to win their 7th title.

Final Score: Tigres (4) 1 - 0 (3) Club America

Washington Spirit 0-1 Gotham FC
Match Highlights

Perhaps the main story of the 2025 NWSL playoff stretch was Gotham FC’s incredible playoff run. They beat the (1) league champs (who set a regular season points record), (2) the defending champs, and (3) the second best team in the league to take home the crown. Gotham entered the playoffs on a low, losing big in their final league match to enter the playoffs as the last qualifier. But they were always a team that had the talent, both among the players and the coaching, so if the talent and the tactics clicked, they would be a team hard to beat.

I am generally remiss to compare men’s and women’s sports, but please excuse me a moment to indulge some reminiscing on good times for my men’s footy team. This Gotham run reminded me a lot of the Portland Timbers run to MLS Cup champions in 2015. They spent most of the season underperforming the quality of their team and coach. Then, as the season was near the end, everything clicked and Portland suddenly became unbeatable. And in much the way Gotham were this season: very difficult to score on and very difficult to keep off the scoresheet. Neither team dominated their opponents. They were just a difficult scrap, every time.

A saying that carried through the Timbers Army on that 2015 run was, “The magic is real.” One of the observations André Carlisle made in his recap of the match was, “I dunno if I buy into a team’s innate ability to win close games or deliver in “clutch” moments, but if it’s a strand of DNA that does indeed exist, Gotham’s ‘23 & ‘25 championship runs prove they have it.” Of course, it isn’t magic, and I agree with Andre that it isn’t innate ability. Instead, the metaphor I’d use is the muscle memory of practice.

Generally speaking, finals are cagey affairs. Because the cost of a mistake is so high, teams often set out to not make them, often at the expense of more flowing play. The way Gotham played, they were consistently in cagey moments during this playoff run. They were literally playing “championship match” quality teams in every round. The Spirit, frankly, were not. Racing Louisville proved a difficult opponent on the day, but they weren’t championship quality. The semifinal against the Thorns was, as much as it pains me to say, a cakewalk.

For the Gotham players, they were more likely to have faced situations where they had to step up their intensity or overcome fatigue to maintain intensity. The manager was more likely to have faced difficult decisions. None of this made the final result inevitable. There is a version of this match where Lavelle skies her shot. The match bogs down through extra time, and Aubrey Kingbury does her thing in the penalty shootout. The Spirit head home champions despite probably being second best on the day.

That’s the thing about being the kind of team that took Gotham and the Timbers to their respective titles. The muscle memory helps performance, but it doesn’t overcome circumstance. In 2015, it was the double-post in the shootout against Sporting Kansas City. In 2025, it was Reale not being given a second yellow early in the second half of the final. That’s not “clutch”, nor is it “magic”. It’s certainly not DNA, nor is it practice. It’s just dumb luck. It’s randomness. But randomness is clumpy, and sometimes it helps take a team to the promised land.

For a proper analysis of the game, I would direct you back to André Carlisle’s recap. I think he hits the tactical element that was key: Gotham’s central midfielders shut down the Spirit’s central midfield. The Spirit were able to get the ball to the side of the field they wanted -Rose Kouassi’s side- but Gotham knew that’s where it was going. Gotham basically said, we know how you want to attack us, so we’ll just let you do that and only that. Since we’ll be massively prepared for that, we think we can handle it. Frankly, they were correct. I know some time has passed, but if you can remember a moment when the Spirit had attacking possession on their left flank, you’re thinking of the wrong match.

A lot of the narrative around the match was on Adrian Gonzalez not subbing Hershfelt earlier, and the decision was probably important to the moment that led to Gotham’s goal. But the ability for Gotham to make it about having a moment to score and win the match came from the tactics discussed above.

AFC Toronto 1-2 Vancouver Rise
Full Match

First, a mea culpa, watching the final for this post was the first full match of the NSL I watched this season. I’ve caught highlights, but I haven’t watched a single match until now. Sorry, I have shamed my Newfie heritage.

First Half
The opening 10 minutes of the match were fairly even. Toronto used width on both wings to attack, with Okoronkwo and Hunter as their main targets. Vancouver primarily used Quinn as a starting point for possession and letting them play passes around the pitch to initiate offensive chances. After the first 10 minutes, Toronto got control of the match. They pressed more and made it harder for Quinn to find space to transition possession to attack, and they turned this increased possession into a number of dangerous attacks, including a shot that forced a great diving save from Morgan McAslan. The goal did come for Toronto in the 20th minute on a shot from Kaylee Hunter that, frankly, should have been saved by McAslen.

After conceding, Vancouver tilted the field back in their favor, but they never really caused stress for Sierra Cota-Yarde in the Toronto net. In fact, the most dangerous moment came from a Toronto counter that ended with a Kaylee Hunter shot put just wide. Late in the first half, Quinn went down with an injury, and they were replaced by Nikki Stanton. A weather delay further interrupted the first half.

Late in the half, Toronto got forward and put in a cross that took a deflection that had McAslan beat, but rebounded off the post. Toronto collected the rebound and put a shot to the far post, but Jasmyne Spencer was alert to the danger and cleared off the line. Again, McAslan was not at her best on the play. There’s some forgiveness because of the deflection, but McAslen should have better handled the situation. In first half stoppage time, Kaylee Hunter was through on goal, but her right-footed shot went just wide of goal. She needed to either shoot with her left for a better angle or square to a wide-open Okoronkwo to her right. Instead, Toronto left another dangerous chance begging.

Second Half
Toronto opened the second half back on the attack. In the opening minutes, they got Okoronkwo through on goal. But just as she was about to shift her hips to shoot, a retreating Jessika Cowart was able to poke the ball away from behind, and McAslan collected. Cowart’s hustle surely saved a second for Toronto. Moments later, Okoronkwo was through on goal again. The flag went up for offside, and the ref blew the whistle, but Okoronkwo didn’t seem to hear the stoppage. Her shot was saved by McAslan, and she earned a yellow for delay of game, but replays showed she may have been onside.

About 10 minutes into the second half, the match took a turn, again from a defensive error. Nikki Stanton sent a Vancouver corner to the near post that Toronto’s Emma Regan charges to clear before an attacker can touch in, but Regan misses the ball altogether. It takes a bounce in front of a surprised Sierra Cota-Yarde. The Toronto keeper nearly holds on, but the rain-slicked ball escapes her grasp and lands in the net. In the end, it goes down as an own goal against Cota-Yarde, but most of the blame falls on Regan’s missed clearance.

Toronto continued to keep a higher line and pressure Vancouver to create attacking chances. Then, in the 68th minute from a Vancouver Rise goal kick, it all came undone. An overly aggressive step took Zoe Burns out of position, and Vancouver were able to send Holly Ward down the left wing. Latifah Abdu made an important run up the middle to occupy Pickett the other, more central defenders. Burns busted her ass to get back, but Ward won the footrace, cut into the box, and squeezed her shot past Cota-Yarde into the far side netting. From goal kick to goal, the Rise took 7 touches. Just like that, it was 2-1 to Vancouver.

Toronto would continue to look for a goal, but Vancouver held out and became the first ever NSL champions.

LD Alajuelense 2-0 Dimas Escazu
Match Highlights

The opening half of the 2025/26 season marked the first time Dimas Escazu reached the final. Having formed in 2005, they first won promotion to the top flight of Costa Rican football in 2009. In recent years, they’ve been one of the strong teams in the league, but this was their first time reaching the final. Alajuelense, on the other hand, have been the singular dominant force is Costa Rican women’s football for the last 5 years. They won their first league title in 2019. The league reestablished itself in the apertura/clausura format in 2020, and Alajuelense have won every title but the first. They came into this final with 9 titles, in total, including the last 8 consecutively.

First Half
Despite all of the that, Dimas did not come into this match afraid. Quite the opposite, they got on the attack early and forced a great save from Noelia Bermudez. As Alajeuense grew into the match, they were able to maintain possession in and around the Dimas box, and they drew a great double save from Daniela Gomez, though the second save created concern for a head injury.

Late in the first half, Alajuelense would find the opener from a freekick. A foul in the corner allowed Alajuelense to put a dangerous ball into the box that Paula Coto headed home.

Second Half
Alajuelense continued to have the better of play in the second half, and nearly doubled their lead early but for the crossbar. Dimas had a pretty good shout for a penalty in the 79’ when a player was kicked just inside the box, but the ref was close to the play and opted not to award the penalty. Alajuelense would put the match to bed late in the second half from a cleverly taken freekick that’s well finished by Fabiola Villalobos. Dimas nearly made it interesting late, but Bermudez made a great save to preserve the cleansheet.

LD Alajuelense celebrated the title as their 9th, since it their 9th in the current format (and 9th consecutive), but it also gives them 10 league titles overall.

Alianza FC 3-1 CD Municipal Limeño
Match Highlights

El Salvador closed out the 2024/25 season with Alianza taking on Limeño in the Clausura final. The two sides had met in the Apertura 2024 final, with Alianza winning 2-0. Alianza have been the dominant force in El Salvador, winning 9 of the 16 league titles coming into this final.

Naturally, Alianza were the favorites going into the Clausura final, but it was Limeño who got on the scoresheet first, and early. From the kickoff, a long ball found Vanessa Reyes, who out muscled her defender and chipped the Alianza keeper to give her side the lead in the first minute. Limeño continued to look for longballs over the defense to their speedy forwards, but Alianza quickly adapted to the approach and took control of the match. They would have to wait until the 30’ to finally find an equalizer from the penalty spot expertly dispatched by Genesis Carpio.

The moment of the match came in the 41’, when Paola Calderon just casually broke out her bike to give her side the lead. The goal would prove to be the winner for Alianza, though Calderon would complete a brace in the second half with a nice curling shot that beat the Limeño keeper.

This marked 4 straight for Alianza, and number 10 overall.

The 2025/26 season is well under way with the Apertura 2025 tournament. Alianza FC and CD Municipal Limeño are the favorites, again, and they’re both primed to face off for a third consecutive time in the final. Both are set to play the second legs of their semifinals on the December 13/14 weekend, and both go into their second legs at home having won the first leg on the road.

Oh, and how did Paola Calderon follow up scoring a title-winning goal via a bicycle kick? Well, she only scored 42 goal in 16 matches in the Apertura 2025.

Santa Fe FC 0-3 Chorrillo FC
Full Match

I have a soft spot for Santa Fe because they signed Vasthy Delgado, who played a few seasons for my local USL W team while teaching in the DC area, and Delgado helped the club win a league title and an UNCAF title before moving to Mazatlan in the LigaMX Femenil.

The Super Final crowns the champion of the 2024/25 season. Santa Fe won their second league title in the Torneo Clausura 2024, and Chorillo won their first in the Torneo Apertura 2025. Since there wasn’t a single winner for the season, the two faced off in the Super Final to determine the overall winner.

First Half
Chorrillo were the stronger team from the start. They had good stretches of possession in and around Santa Fe’s box, and when Santa Fe could get possession, they struggled to turn transition into offense, leading to counter opportunities for Chorrillo.

The first goal of the match came in this opening period. Chorrillo had sustained possession and work the ball to Anuvis Angulo who put a nice move on a defender and calmly finished into the bottom corner of the net. Santa Fe began to find their footing and created some offense as the half wore on, but Chorrillo were generally in control and creating the more dangerous offense.

Second Half
This trend continued into the second half, with Santa Fe pushing more bodies forward and getting more aggressive in their attacks, but Chorrillo were able to handle the pressure. The second goal cam in the 70’ when Chorrillo won the ball in midfield and quickly countered down the left. They found Gloria Saenz at the top of the box, and she expertly chipped the onrushing keeper to double her side’s lead. Chorrillo would score a third goal late to put to rest any doubt of the result.

This capped a solid season for Chorrillo, in which they won their first league title, season title, and qualified for their first CONCACAF W Championship.

Santa Fe FC 0-3 Chorrillo FC
Match Highlights

The opening stage of the 2025/26 season recently wrapped as well, and it saw Santa Fe and Chorrillo face off again. I cannot find a full match replay nor a decent highlight reel, so it is difficult to summarize the match. I can say this, Chorrillo’s opener very clearly comes from a foul on Yenith Bailey, the Santa Fe keeper, and never should had stood. Can’t say whether or not that really impacted the likely outcome, but final two goals came in the 80’ or later, so it definitely put Chorrillo in a good spot.

Chorrillo’s second goal was very similar to their second in the Super Final, and their third was a late rebound cleanup.

Chorrillo FC have now won the two league titles in 2025 and are in a good spot to take the 2025/26 season.

Cuilco FC 4-1 UNIFUT FC
(First Leg; Second Leg)

In their first final appearance, Cuilco took on the dominant side in Guatemala, UNIFUT. UNIFUT are 20x champions in Guatemala, the most recent of which was the 2024 Clausura.

First Leg
Both matches were even between the two teams, with both teams keeping defensive stability throughout. Neither team scored in the first half of the opening match, but about half way through the second half, Cuilco’s keeper collected a corner and quickly played forward. Cuilco’s counter was quick and deadly, giving the first-timers the lead. Cuilco would add a second off of a turnover in midfield, ending the first leg up 2-0.

Second Leg
The leg transpired much like the first, with no scoring from either team. Cuilco would get on the scoreboard early in the second half from a well-headed corner, but UNIFUT would equalize not too long after. Cuilco were able to keep control of the match, and they scored in second half stoppage time to cap off their first league title.

For the first time their history, Cuilco Femenino FC lift the league championship trophy.

Information on the top league in Nicaragua has been difficult to find. Luckily, the top two teams (Somotillo FC and Real Esteli) are pretty good about posting their teams matches, so I can get some details.

Real Esteli 4-1 Somotillo FC
(First leg; Second leg)

After a scoreless first leg at Somotillo, Real Esteli were able to win the second leg in style. It required a comback, as Somotillo took an early lead, but Real Esteli fought their way back within 10 minutes of conceding. By halftime, Esteli led 3-1 and handled the rest of the match with relative ease.

Winning the Clausura also meant Real Esteli were the 2024/25 season champions, having also won the Apertura 2024 title. So they got to lift two trophies for their fans.

As with the Nicaraguan league, I’ve struggled to find information on Belize’s women’s league. As best as I can tell, it was launched in 2024 with Jewel Fury FC winning the inaugural season.

In the spring of 2025, a kind of mini-season launched with only 4 teams. After a round-robin season, the teams advanced to the playoffs where Sagitun Girlz FC faced off with Napoles FC in a two-legged final.

The first leg was won by Sagitun Girlz 2-0 (see also). For the life of me, I cannot find a score line for the second leg, but I believe this is Sagitun Girlz lifting the trophy, so I take it, whatever the final score, Sagitun Girlz won the two-legged tie.

A 2025-2026 Opening Season was then announced featuring 6 teams. This season started in September and is wrapping up now. It is currently at the semifinal stage, which is happening in two legs. The semifinal matchups are:

Napoles FC vs Jewel Fury FC
Sagitun Girlz FC vs Corozal Elite

The first leg results were:

Jewel Fury 2-2 Napoles FC (Jewel Fury came back from a two-goal deficit to draw)
Corozal Elite 2-4 Sagitun Girlz

Despite Jewel Fury’s comeback, the final looks headed for a repeat of the spring final, as Napoles and Sagitun host their respective semifinal second leg matches the December 13/14 weekend.

I reached out to the org about steams, but I did not get a response.