2020 National Women's Soccer League season

The 2020 National Women's Soccer League season is the eighth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), it will be the 14th overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States.

National Women's Soccer League

Season	2020
Champions	Canceled[1]
NWSL Shield	Canceled[1]
Challenge Cup	Houston Dash
← 2019 2021 → All statistics correct as of July 26, 2020.

The league is operated by the United States Soccer Federation and receives major financial backing from that body. Further financial backing is provided by the Canadian Soccer Association. Both national federations pay the league salaries of many of their respective national team members in an effort to nurture talent in those nations and take the financial burden of individual clubs.

The season was scheduled to start on April 18 and end on October 18, though the start date was later delayed.[2] The top four teams will advance to the NWSL Playoffs. The two semifinal matches will be on November 8 and the 2020 NWSL Championship will be played on November 14.[3]

On March 12, 2020, the preseason match schedule was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.[4] As a result, the NWSL announced on March 20 that the regular season start will be delayed.[2]

On May 27, 2020, the NWSL announced that the 2020 Challenge Cup will mark the return to action following the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] The 25-game tournament, to be held from June 27 to July 26, will be hosted by the owner of Utah Royals FC Dell Loy Hansen.

On June 22, 2020, the NWSL announced the full rules and regulations for the 2020 Challenge Cup.[6] In conjunction, the NWSL also canceled the 2020 NWSL regular season and playoffs.[1]

Teams, stadiums, and personnel

Stadiums and locations

See also: List of National Women's Soccer League stadiums

Team Stadium Capacity Chicago Red Stars SeatGeek Stadium 20,000 Houston Dash BBVA Stadium 7,000 (22,039)[lower-alpha 1] North Carolina Courage Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park 10,000 Orlando Pride Exploria Stadium 25,500 Portland Thorns Providence Park 25,218 OL Reign Cheney Stadium 6,500 Sky Blue FC Red Bull Arena 25,000 Utah Royals FC Rio Tinto Stadium 20,213 Washington Spirit[lower-alpha 2] Audi Field 20,000 Segra Field 5,000 Maryland SoccerPlex 4,000 The Dash does not make its stadium's entire capacity available for home games, instead restricting ticket sales at a lower level. The full capacity of this venue is included in parentheses and italics. In 2020, The Spirit were scheduled to play four games at each of the three stadiums.[7]

Red Stars Dash Courage Pride Thorns Reign Sky Blue Royals Spirit Locations of the National Women's Soccer League teams in 2020.

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All teams use Nike as their kit manufacturer.

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor
Chicago Red Stars	Rory Dames	Julie Ertz	Meijer[8]
Houston Dash	James Clarkson	Jane Campbell Rachel Daly[9]	MD Anderson Cancer Center[10]
North Carolina Courage	Paul Riley	Abby Erceg	Continental AG
OL Reign	Farid Benstiti	Megan Rapinoe Lauren Barnes	Zulily
Orlando Pride	Marc Skinner	Ashlyn Harris	Orlando Health
Portland Thorns FC	Mark Parsons	Christine Sinclair	Providence Health & Services
Sky Blue FC	Freya Coombe	Sarah Woldmoe	Hackensack Meridian Health[11]
Utah Royals FC	Craig Harrington	Amy Rodriguez[12]	Soleil Energy[13]
Washington Spirit	Richie Burke	Andi Sullivan	CVS Health[14]

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming manager	Date of appointment	Ref.
OL Reign	Vlatko Andonovski	Resignation	October 28, 2019	Farid Benstiti	January 17, 2020	[15][16]
Sky Blue FC	Freya Coombe	End of interim period	December 17, 2019	Freya Coombe	December 17, 2019	[17]
Utah Royals FC	Laura Harvey	Mutual separation	January 6, 2020	Scott Parkinson (interim)	January 6, 2020	[18]
Utah Royals FC	Scott Parkinson (interim)	End of interim period	February 7, 2020	Craig Harrington	February 7, 2020	[19]

Regular season

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Chicago Red Stars	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	NWSL Shield
2	Houston Dash	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	NWSL Playoffs
3	North Carolina Courage	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	OL Reign	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Orlando Pride	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Portland Thorns FC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Sky Blue FC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Utah Royals FC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Washington Spirit	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Source: Canceled
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

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 two or more teams tie in point total, when determining rank and playoff qualification and seeding, the NWSL uses the following tiebreaker rules,[20] going down the list until all teams are ranked.

1. Head-to-head win/loss record between the teams (or points per game if more than two teams).
2. Greater goal difference across the entire season (against all teams, not just tied teams).
3. Greatest total number of goals scored (against all teams).
4. Apply #1–3 to games played on the road.
5. Apply #1–3 to games played at home.
6. If teams are still equal, ranking will be determined by a coin toss.

NOTE: If two clubs remain tied after another club with the same number of points advances during any step, the tiebreaker reverts to step 1 of the two-club format.

Attendance

See also: National Women's Soccer League attendance

Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.

Team	GP	Attendance	High	Low	Average
Chicago Red Stars	0	0	0	0	0
Houston Dash	0	0	0	0	0
North Carolina Courage	0	0	0	0	0
OL Reign	0	0	0	0	0
Orlando Pride	0	0	0	0	0
Portland Thorns FC	0	0	0	0	0
Sky Blue FC	0	0	0	0	0
Utah Royals FC	0	0	0	0	0
Washington Spirit	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0	0	0	0	0

Updated through end of regular season on January 5, 2020.[21]

Highest attendances

Regular season

Rank	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance	Date	Stadium

Statistical leaders

As of October 5, 2019[22]

Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals

Top assists Rank Player Club Assists

Shutouts Rank Player Club Clean Sheets

Hat-tricks Player For Against Score Date

Playoffs

Further information: NWSL Playoffs

The top four teams from the regular season compete for the NWSL Championship.

Challenge Cup

Main article: 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup

Hosted by Dell Loy Hansen, owner of Utah Royals FC, the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup will feature a preliminary round and a knockout round.[5] In the preliminary round, all nine teams will each play four games to determine seeding. The top eight teams based on results from the preliminary round will advance to a single-elimination knockout round.

Preliminary round

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	North Carolina Courage	4	4	0	0	7	1	+6	12
2	Washington Spirit	4	2	1	1	4	4	0	7
3	OL Reign	4	1	2	1	1	2	−1	5
4	Houston Dash	4	1	1	2	5	6	−1	4
5	Utah Royals FC (H)	4	1	1	2	4	5	−1	4
6	Chicago Red Stars	4	1	1	2	2	3	−1	4[lower-alpha 1]
7	Sky Blue FC	4	1	1	2	2	3	−1	4[lower-alpha 1]
8	Portland Thorns FC	4	0	3	1	2	3	−1	3

Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Host.
Notes:

1. Chicago Red Stars won the tiebreaker against Sky Blue FC on fewer yellow cards (1 to 4).

Knockout round

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	July 17 – Zions Bank Stadium
	Q1 North Carolina Courage	0
					July 22 – Rio Tinto Stadium
	Q8 Portland Thorns FC	1
					Portland Thorns FC	0
	July 17 – Zions Bank Stadium
					Houston Dash	1
	Q5 Utah Royals FC	0 (2)
									July 26 – Rio Tinto Stadium
	Q4 Houston Dash (p)	0 (3)
									Houston Dash	2
	July 18 – Zions Bank Stadium
									Chicago Red Stars	0
	Q3 OL Reign	0 (3)
					July 22 – Rio Tinto Stadium
	Q6 Chicago Red Stars (p)	0 (4)
					Chicago Red Stars	3
	July 18 – Zions Bank Stadium
					Sky Blue FC	2
	Q7 Sky Blue FC (p)	0 (4)
	Q2 Washington Spirit	0 (3)

Individual awards

As of October 16, 2019

Monthly Awards

Player of the Month

Further information: NWSL Player of the Month

Month	Player of the Month		Club	Month's Stateline

Team of the Month

Further information: NWSL Team of the Month

Month	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Ref

Weekly awards

Week	Player of the Week		Goal of the Week		Save of the Week		Reference
	Player	Club	Player	Club	Player	Club

Annual awards

Further information: NWSL awards

References

1. "2020 Champions Cup Presented by P&G and Secret Roster Rules" (PDF). NWSL. Retrieved 22 June 2020. The “2020 NWSL Season” will be defined by the NWSL as the number of games played by a team in the tournament. [...] There will be no “NWSL postseason/playoffs” in 2020...
2. "COVID-19 resources and updates for NWSL fans". NWSL. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
3. "NWSL Announces Full 2020 Season Schedule". NWSL Media Staff. February 25, 2020.
4. "All preseason matches have been canceled" (Press release). National Women’s Soccer League. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
5. Levine, Matthew (27 May 2020). "NWSL announces 2020 Challenge Cup presented by P&G and Secret". Retrieved 27 May 2020.
6. Levine, Matthew (22 June 2020). "NWSL announces 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup presented by P&G and Secret rules and regulations and awards". NWSL. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
7. Levine, Matthew (November 18, 2019). "Washington Spirit to split home games between Audi Field, Segra Field, and Maryland SoccerPlex in 2020". National Women's Soccer League. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
8. "Meijer Announced as New Front-Of-Jersey Sponsor for Chicago Red Stars". Chicago Red Stars. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
9. "Jane Campbell and Rachel Daly named Dash 2020 captains". Houston Dynamo. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
10. "Houston Dash join Dynamo, MD Anderson in Making Cancer History". Houston Dynamo. February 19, 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
11. "Sky Blue FC Announces Partnership with Hackensack Meridian Health". Sky Blue FC. June 23, 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
12. Van Dyk, Meg (March 9, 2020). "All Rise: The Queens are Back". Real Salt Lake. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
13. "Soleil Energy to Don the Front of URFC's Home and Away Jerseys Through the 2022 Season". Real Salt Lake. June 17, 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
14. "Washington Spirit announce CVS Health as Presenting and Official Health and Wellness Sponsor for the 2020 Season". Washington Spirit. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
15. "ANDONOVSKI DEPARTS REIGN FC; NAMED USWNT HEAD COACH". Reign FC. October 28, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
16. "FARID BENSTITI APPOINTED HEAD COACH OF REIGN FC". Reign FC. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
17. "Sky Blue FC Names Freya Coombe Head Coach". Sky Blue FC. December 17, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
18. "UTAH ROYALS FC PARTS WAYS WITH HEAD COACH LAURA HARVEY". Real Salt Lake. January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
19. "Utah Royals FC Appoints Craig Harrington as Head Coach". Real Salt Lake. February 7, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
20. "Rules & Regulations". NWSL.
21. "Schedule". NWSLsoccer.com. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
22. "NWSL Stats". NWSLsoccer.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.

External links

• Official website