NWSL Announces Fall Plans For Season To Resume

SANDY, Utah – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) announced their fall plans for the season to resume.

They are going to do three 3-team pods, with those teams playing in friendlies before the season resumes. The season will start September 5 and will run until October 17.

The three teams in each pod will each play four games.

The pods are the following:

West

OL Reign
Portland Thorns FC
Utah Royals FC

Northeast

Chicago Red Stars
Sky Blue FC
Washington Spirit

South

North Carolina Courage
Orlando Pride
Houston Dash

The thrills continue 🎢#NWSL is back on September 5 🤗 pic.twitter.com/YpvRZXAm3v

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) August 25, 2020

“Building on the success of this summer’s Challenge Cup, I am so excited to smartly and safely take this next step on the NWSL’s journey,” said NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird. “The women of the NWSL want to compete and we’ve certainly heard from our fans all over the world looking for more action this year. I’d like to thank the NWSL Player’s Association for their constant collaboration, as well as CBS for continuing to invest in our league’s growth and this unprecedented opportunity to showcase the NWSL to a world-wide audience, week-in, week-out.”

The league kicked off the season earlier in July with the Challenge Cup that was played at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah and Rio Tinto Stadium and Sandy, Utah. Utah Royals FC picked up a 1-2-1 record in group play before being eliminated in the first round of the tournament to the eventual champion Houston Dash.

The Challenge Cup results counted towards the regular season standings. The Royals are currently tied for fourth place with four points. They are tied with Houston, Chicago and Sky Blue FC. North Carolina is at the top of the table with 12 points in four games. Washington has seven points, sitting in second place and the OL Reign are in third place with 5 points.