2019 Schedule is Released by NWSL
The NWSL announced the full regular season schedule as well as the date of the 2019 Championship on Thursday. The news comes ahead of preseason camp that begins on March 4th as well as the 2019 She Believes Cup that kicks off next week.
The NWSL will enter its seventh season, the longest-running professional women’s league in the United States, months prior to the anticipated 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup held in France.
NWSL Soccer News: The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) released the full 2019 regular season schedule on Thursday ahead of preseason camp scheduled to kick off in two weeks. All nine clubs will play a 24-game regular season schedule with 12 home and 12 away matches.
Preseason will begin on March 4th and the opening weekend of the regular season will be April 13-14. The NWSL will take a break for the group stage of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup from June 3-14 and return to play June 15-16. The regular season will conclude with four matches on October 12. There will be 12 mid-week (Wednesday) matches and one game on Monday this season.
The 2019 NWSL Championship will take place on October 26th. The venue will be announced at a later date.
The full 2019 NWSL regular season schedule can be viewed here.
The NWSL also announced the cancelation of its partnership with A+E Networks earlier this week. For 2019, fans in the United States can watch all of the NWSL’s regular season matches via streaming on Yahoo! Sports. International fans will be able to follow the action on the NWSL app and the league’s website.
Portland Thorns FC fans will have to wait until June 2nd for its home opener. All of the other NWSL teams have their home openers in April, but Providence Park has been undergoing a large expansion construction project that will be completed later this spring.
The 2019 campaign kicks off with the reigning 2018 NWSL Champions, the North Carolina Courage, taking on two-time Golden Boot winner and NWSL’s all-time leading goalscorer Sam Kerr and the Chicago Red Stars on April 13th at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., at 7:00 p.m. ET. The fixture will be a rematch of the 2017 and 2018 NWSL semifinals.
The Courage defeated Chicago in the 2018 NWSL semifinal, 2-0, after the match was moved to Providence Park due to Hurricane Florence. North Carolina also beat the Red Stars in the 2017 semifinal. Despite a 3-1-2 record for the Red Stars versus the Courage during the last two regular seasons, they have been unable to topple an experienced and well-rounded North Carolina squad during the postseason.
This match could be the professional debut of U.S. Women’s National Team defender Tierna Davidson who was drafted by the Red Stars with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft.
The opening week will also see the Washington Spirit host Sky Blue FC on Saturday, April 13, at 7:00 p.m. ET. The Orlando Pride will host Portland Thorns FC on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. ET. The Houston Dash and Reign FC will close out opening weekend on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. ET at BBVA Compass Stadium in Texas.
Related Article: 2019 NWSL College Draft Recap
