2020 National Women's Soccer League season

The 2020 National Women's Soccer League season was 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
Season2020
ChampionsCanceled[1]
NWSL ShieldCanceled[1]
Challenge CupHouston Dash
Community ShieldPortland Thorns FC
← 2019
2021 →

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]

On August 25, 2020, the NWSL announced a Fall Series where each NWSL team would play four games in September and October.[7] To minimize travel, the nine teams are divided into three three-team regional pods.

Teams, stadiums, and personnel

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

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[9]
Houston Dash James Clarkson Jane Campbell
Rachel Daly[10]		 MD Anderson Cancer Center[11]
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[12]
Utah Royals FC Amy LePeilbet (interim)[13] Amy Rodriguez[14] Soleil Energy[15]
Washington Spirit Richie Burke Tori Huster[16]
Andi Sullivan		 CVS Health[17]

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 [18][19]
Sky Blue FC Freya Coombe End of interim period December 17, 2019 Freya Coombe December 17, 2019 [20]
Utah Royals FC Laura Harvey Mutual separation January 6, 2020 Scott Parkinson (interim) January 6, 2020 [21]
Utah Royals FC Scott Parkinson (interim) End of interim period February 7, 2020 Craig Harrington February 7, 2020 [22]
Utah Royals FC Craig Harrington Administrative leave of absence[lower-alpha 1] September 20, 2020 Amy LePeilbet (interim) September 20, 2020 [13]
  1. The Royals terminated Harrington's contract on November 9, 2020.[23]

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,[24] 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

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, games were played behind closed doors.

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-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 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)
 

Fall Series

The nine NWSL teams are divided into three regional pods of three teams each.[7] Within each pod, the teams will play a four-game, home-and-away schedule between September 5 and October 17.

Northeast South West

The NWSL announced the full schedule of the Fall Series on September 3, 2020.[25] One day later, the NWSL announced that the winners of the Fall Series will receive the Verizon Community Shield and a grant of $25,000 to present to their chosen community partner; $15,000 and $10,000 will be presented to community partners of the second- and third-place teams, respectively.[26]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Portland Thorns FC (C) 4 3 1 0 10 3 +7 10 Community Shield
2 Houston Dash 4 3 0 1 12 7 +5 9 Runners-up
3 Washington Spirit 4 2 1 1 5 4 +1 7 Third place
4 Sky Blue FC 4 2 0 2 6 7 −1 6
5 North Carolina Courage 4 1 2 1 8 10 −2 5
6 Chicago Red Stars 4 1 1 2 7 7 0 4
7 OL Reign 4 1 1 2 6 8 −2 4
8 Orlando Pride 4 0 2 2 5 8 −3 2
9 Utah Royals FC 4 0 2 2 3 8 −5 2
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions.

Individual awards

As the regular season and the playoffs were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, regular awards (including season, team and player of the month, and weekly awards) were not awarded.

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. "NWSL to continue breakout 2020 season with fall series". NWSL. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  8. 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.
  9. "Meijer Announced as New Front-Of-Jersey Sponsor for Chicago Red Stars". Chicago Red Stars. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  10. "Jane Campbell and Rachel Daly named Dash 2020 captains". Houston Dynamo. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  11. "Houston Dash join Dynamo, MD Anderson in Making Cancer History". Houston Dynamo. February 19, 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  12. "Sky Blue FC Announces Partnership with Hackensack Meridian Health". Sky Blue FC. June 23, 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  13. Montgomery, Matt (20 September 2020). "Report: Utah Royals coach Craig Harrington on administrative leave". RSL Soapbox. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  14. Van Dyk, Meg (March 9, 2020). "All Rise: The Queens are Back". Real Salt Lake. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  15. "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.
  16. Martin, Alejandra (30 November 2020). "Spirit Re-Sign Co-Captain Tori Huster to a Multi-Year Deal". Washington Spirit. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  17. "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.
  18. "ANDONOVSKI DEPARTS REIGN FC; NAMED USWNT HEAD COACH". Reign FC. October 28, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  19. "FARID BENSTITI APPOINTED HEAD COACH OF REIGN FC". Reign FC. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  20. "Sky Blue FC Names Freya Coombe Head Coach". Sky Blue FC. December 17, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  21. "UTAH ROYALS FC PARTS WAYS WITH HEAD COACH LAURA HARVEY". Real Salt Lake. January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  22. "Utah Royals FC Appoints Craig Harrington as Head Coach". Real Salt Lake. February 7, 2020. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  23. "Utah Royals FC Announces Staffing Updates". Real Salt Lake. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  24. "Rules & Regulations". NWSL.
  25. "NWSL announces remaining 2020 fall series schedule and CBS broadcast talent". NWSL. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  26. Levine, Matthew (4 September 2020). "National Women's Soccer League and Verizon launch the Verizon Community Shield competition". NWSL. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.