The Washington Spirit will begin play in the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup against the Chicago Red Stars this Saturday, June 27 at 10 pm ET at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, UT. The Spirit will now also play against the North Carolina Courage in their second fixture.
This change in schedule comes after the Orlando Pride withdrew from the 2020 Challenge Cup due to players and staff testing positive for the Coronavirus.
During the 2019 season, the Spirit had mixed results against the Red Stars with two losses and one win. The Red Stars finished the 2019 NWSL season with 44 points, 10 above the Spirit’s total of 34, but fell in the NWSL Championship game 4-0 to the North Carolina Courage.
The second match will be played on July 1 at 10 pm ET against the reigning NWSL champion North Carolina Courage. North Carolina is another team in which the Spirit ended the season series in 2019 with two losses and one win. The Courage finished the 2019 NWSL season in first place with 49 points and won the NWSL Championship for the second year in a row.
The third match will be on July 5 at 10 pm ET against Portland Thorns FC, which the Spirit split the season series in 2019, with one win, one draw and one loss. The competitive nature of the Spirit’s matches with Portland was also seen in the standings last season, as the Thorns finished just six points above the Spirit with 40, grabbing the third playoff spot.
Following the match against Portland, the Spirit will finish up preliminary play on July 12 at 12:30 pm ET against the Houston Dash. In 2019, the Spirit split the season against the Dash with two draws and one loss, and have a record of seven wins, three draws and seven losses over their history.
All doubleheaders through the semifinals will be played at 12:30 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET. Both the tournament opener and the Final will air on CBS and will be streamed on the CBS All Access subscription service. All other games will be live on CBS All Access in the U.S. and Canada and will re-air on CBS Sports Network. Fans outside the U.S. and Canada can stream the full tournament on Twitch.
Washington Spirit 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup Schedule
Date and time – Opponent – Location
June 27 10 pm ET – Chicago Red Stars – Zions Bank Stadium
July 1 10 pm ET – North Carolina Courage – Zions Bank Stadium
July 5 10 pm ET – Portland Thorns – Zions Bank Stadium
July 12 12:30 pm ET – Houston Dash – Zions Bank Stadium
ABOUT THE WASHINGTON SPIRIT
The Washington Spirit is the professional women’s soccer team based at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md. Launched in 2012, the Spirit play in the National Women’s Soccer League, the premier women’s soccer competition in North America. For more information about the Spirit, visit www.WashingtonSpirit.com