The excitement is growing as we are just one day away from the 2025 W League Playoffs presented by VensureHR. Up next for our Playoff Previews ahead of the first round is the Southern Conference.   

Don’t miss out on W League Playoffs news! Read the Central Conference and the Eastern Conference previews and follow along throughout the postseason on our playoffs hub page.  

Asheville City SC will host the Southern Conference playoffs at UNC Asheville’s Greenwood Field. The hosts will play TLH Reckoning at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday after the match between Sporting JAX and Lonestar SC at 3:30 p.m. ET.   

Tickets can be purchased here. 

Sporting JAX vs. Lonestar SC 

The first-placed Florida team will take on the top-ranked Texas team in the opening Southern Conference matchup of the playoffs. Sporting JAX, formerly Florida Elite, is back in the playoffs after clinching the Southeast Division for the second-straight season. Meanwhile, Lonestar is making its first postseason appearance in year two in the league. 

Just like last season, Jacksonville recorded a perfect record (10-0-0) while also having one of the best goal differentials in the league (+46). The team tallied seven clean sheets primarily led by TCU’s Olivia Geller, while the other end of the field was dominated by forward Aaliyah Faddoul. The Canadian striker was named May Player of the Month and led the team with 13 goals this season. 

Lonestar (8-1-1) is making its playoff debut after taking down the reigning division champion AHFC Royals 3-0 last weekend in the final match of the season. The team will likely look to control the midfield through the likes of Finley Schoenbeck and Teagan Wahle, who have both started nine matches and have combined for eight goals on the season. 

Asheville City SC vs. TLH Reckoning 

Asheville City, which was last year’s Southern Conference wild card team, is on the other side of the bracket matchup this weekend as it takes on TLH Reckoning. The North Florida side will be making its first playoff appearance after finishing second in the Southeast Division behind Sporting JAX. 

The hosts had their most impressive W League season this summer, finishing undefeated with an 11-0-1 record and crushing the South Central Division. Now, the team has a shot to get back to the Conference Finals, where it was defeated last year by Tennessee SC. Temple defender Phoebe Hollin has been impressive on both ends of the field, recording five goals while contributing to six clean sheets. Asheville also has international talent like Uruguayan forward Lucia Flores and Ukranian striker Yuliia Khrystiuk, who have scored 10 of the team’s 30 goals. 

The Reckoning will look to upset Asheville in their first W League playoff match, and its best shot will be through getting on the board first. TLH was only shut out once this entire season – and it was the first match of the summer – and finished with 47 goals scored, behind only Sporting JAX and Utah United. If the team can find Zamiyah Hill and Lauren Bastian, who have combined for 19 goals, it will put a lot of pressure on Asheville’s defense.