NWSL 2020 Fall Series Schedule

[Monika]

On the heels of the successful 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, the National Women's Soccer League has put together an 18-game schedule over seven weeks in September and October.

Each of the league's nine teams will be broken down into three pods of three teams apiece. Each team will play the other two teams in its pod twice; once home and once away. Teams will play a total of four games. The pods are broken down as follows:

West
OL Reign (Tacoma, Washington)
Portland Thorns FC (Portland, Oregon)
Utah Royals FC (Sandy, Utah)

Northeast
Chicago Red Stars (Bridgeview, Illinois)
Sky Blue FC (Piscataway, New Jersey)
Washington Spirit (Germantown, Maryland)

South
Houston Dash (Houston, Texas)
North Carolina Courage (Cary, North Carolina)
Orlando Pride (Orlando, Florida)

The Fall Series is not scheduled to crown a champion, as the Challenge Cup did. However, the NWSL has partnered with Verizon to establish the Verizon Community Shield. Each team will partner with a small business or program in its community. The top three teams in terms of points at the end of the Series will earn grants to their community partner; $25,000 for first place, $15,000 for second and $10,000 for third. 

“The Verizon Community Shield is an opportunity for our league to showcase small businesses and organizations in the communities that our clubs live, play and work,” said NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird in a league press release. “As we fight this pandemic and confront the sad reality of systemic racism in our country, we want to use the Fall Series to play for a purpose. The Verizon Community Shield provides our players and clubs that opportunity and I want to thank Verizon for stepping up and helping us make this happen.”

The NWSL suspended its season in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as did every other sports league in the country and elsewhere.

The NWSL came up with the Challenge Cup over the course of June and July in which teams played four seeding games each, with the eight competing teams then playing in a playoff (the Orlando Pride pulled out shortly prior to the competition when some of their players and staff tested positive for the virus). On June 26, the Houston Dash defeated the Chicago Red Stars 2-0 to claim the Challenge Cup championship. All Games in the tournament were played in Orlando, Florida.

As in the Challenge Cup, strict protocols will be in place for the players, coaches and staffs in order to prevent contracting or spreading the virus. That includes no fans in the stadiums during games. Unlike the Challenge Cup, games will be played at each team's home stadium.

UPDATE (9/14/20): The Portland Thorns' home game against OL Reign was postponed to September 30 due air quality concerns stemming from numerous wildfires in the area. The game had previously been postponed from September 12 to the 15th for the same reason. No word released yet regarding the Thorns' home game against Sky Blue FC scheduled for September 20.

All games of the Fall Series will be either broadcast by CBS or CBS Sports Network, or available for streaming on CBS All Access or Twitch (designations are made in the match ups in the schedule below). All schedule times are pacific and are subject to change. Where applicable, click on the final score for the boxscore from the NWSL official website.

SCHEDULE
Sat., Sept. 5 - Sky Blue FC 2, Washington Spirit (H) 1
Fri., Sept. 12 - North Carolina Courage (H) 4, Houston Dash 3
Sat., Sept. 12 - Washington Spirit (H) 2, Chicago Red Stars 1
Sat., Sept. 19 - Orlando Pride (H) 0, North Carolina Courage 0
Sat., Sept. 20 - Chicago Red Stars (H) 4, Sky Blue FC 1
Sun., Sept. 20 - Portland Thorns FC (H) 3, Utah Royals 0
Sat., Sept. 26 - Washington Spirit 1, Chicago Red Stars (H) 1
Sat., Sept. 26 - OL Reign 2, Utah Royals FC (H) 2
Sat., Sept. 26 - Houston Dash (H) 3,Orlando Pride 1
Wed., Sept. 30 - Portland Thorns FC (H) 4, OL Reign 1
Sat., Oct. 3 - Washington Spirit 1, Sky Blue FC (H) 0
Sat., Oct. 3 - Portland Thorns FC 1, Utah Royals FC (H) 1
Sun., Oct. 4 - Houston Dash (H) 4, North Carolina Courage 1
Fri., Oct. 9 - Houston Dash 2, Orlando Pride (H) 1
Sat., Oct. 10 - Sky Blue FC (H) 3, Chicago Red Stars 1
Sat., Oct. 10 - Portland Thorns FC 2, OL Reign (H) 1
Sat., Oct. 17 - North Carolina Courage 3, Orlando Pride (H) 3
Sat., Oct. 17 - OL Reign (H) 2, Utah Royals FC 0

FINAL STANDINGS
Portland Thorns FC 3-0-1 (10)
Houston Dash 3-1-0 (9)
Washington Spirit 2-1-1 (7)
Sky Blue FC 2-2-0 (6)
North Carolina Courage 1-1-2 (5)
Chicago Red Stars 1-2-1 (4)
OL Reign 1-2-1 (4)
Orlando Pride 0-2-2 (2)
Utah Royals FC 0-2-2 (2)

HOME PITCHES 
Chicago Red Stars -- Seatgeek Stadium; Bridgeview, Illinois
Houston Dash -- BBVA Compass Stadium; Houston, Texas
North Carolina Courage -- WakeMed Soccer Park; Cary, North Carolina
Orlando Pride -- Osceola County Stadium; Kissimmee, Florida. Exploria Stadium; Orlando, Florida
Portland Thorns FC -- Providence Park; Portland, Oregon
Reign FC -- Cheney Stadium; Tacoma, Washington
Sky Blue FC -- YMSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field; Montclair, New Jersey
Utah Royals -- Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Washington Spirit -- Segra Field; Leesburg, Virginia

Note: Some teams' stadiums for the Fall Series (listed above) may differ from their regular season stadiums.

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[Monika]

After going undefeated with just a single tie in the Fall Series, the Thorns claimed the Verizon Community Shield. The Fall Series title procured a $25,000 grant to the Thorns' community partner, Mimi's Fresh Tees. The Thorns finished atop the Fall Series standings with 10 points; a mark of 3-0-1. Each team in the NWSL partnered with a local entity with earnings going toward that partner for the top three teams.

The Houston Dash (9 points; 3-1-0) claimed second place. They earned a $15,000 grant toward their community partner, the NAACP Houston. Third-place Washington Spirit secured a $10,000 grant for their partner, DC Scores.

Per the Thorns website, "Mimi’s Fresh Tees is a Portland-based t-shirt company that amplifies tough social justice conversations and allows people to wear their truth. Motivated by systemic racism her Black son experienced in the education system, owner and designer Kamelah Adams wanted to create a product that brought conversations around discrimination out into the open, in a quick and straightforward way. She started designing t-shirts as a way for people to take a stand, break the silence and start a dialogue by wearing their feelings on their chest."