NWSL Playoffs
The National Women's Soccer League Playoffs (or NWSL Playoffs) are a single elimination tournament among six teams in the National Women's Soccer League of the United States, deciding the winner of the NWSL Championship. Since playoff games cannot end in ties, those are broken by two straight 15-minute extra time periods, followed by shootouts of best-of-five rounds plus extra rounds as required. Format. The top six teams in the final standings at the end of the NWSL season qualify for the playoffs and are seeded in order of their record; the top  two teams receive a first-round bye. Prior to 2021, only the top four teams qualified for the playoffs. Tiebreakers. The initial determining factor for a team's position in the standings is most points earned, with three points earned for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. If at least two teams tie in point total, when determining rank and playoff qualification and seeding, the NWSL uses the following tiebreaker rules, going down the list until all teams are ranked. Coin tosses (2 teams) or draw of lots (at least 3 teams) will  be used as the last resort if all other tiebreakers fail. NOTE: If two clubs remain tied after another club with the same number of points advances during any step, the tie breaker reverts to step 1 of the two-club format. 2021 season. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> Playoff series history. 2020 season. Not held Records and statistics. "Correct as of November 20, 2021" "Italics" indicates a defunct team.