NWSL – Page 7 – Women's Soccer Express

NWSL News of Note, Teams Edition: Courage deal falls through, Orlando training facility, Expansion update, Boston name do-over?

On Black Friday, Sportico reported that billionaire investor Marc Lasry’s planned acquisition of a 60% controlling stake in the North Carolina Courage will not be going forward.

The owners of the Orlando Pride and its Major League Soccer counterpart, Orlando City SC, are pursuing an expansion of Orlando City’s training facility and headquarters, which would apparently convert it into a fully combined facility for both clubs.

A few days before Thanksgiving, the 2026 Boston franchise launched a listening campaign that includes an online form which asks for “feedback on the team name”, “BOS Nation FC”.

Regarding the other 2026 expansion team, that is apparently down to bid from Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Denver, per a statement from NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman.

Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang pledges to give $30 million over five years to U.S. Soccer in support of women’s soccer development

On November 19th, in a joint press conference with U.S. Soccer, Michele Kang, majority owner of the NWSL’s Washington Spirit, announced that she has pledged to give a total of $30 million over the next five years to U.S. Soccer. Kang’s pledged gift has three stated purposes:

First, to double the number of youth women’s national team camps.
Second, to ramp up women’s youth talent identification by expanding U.S. Soccer’s digital talent identification platform.
Third, to double the number of licensed female coaches and female referees.

Beyond the stated purposes of the pledged gift, there were not much details about how the $30 million will be spent.

The first stated purpose of “doubl[ing] the number of” women’s youth “national team camps” from their current level is noteworthy because the number of WYNT camps held in 2024 is about half the number of camps compared to several years ago.

2024 NWSL Championship — Broadcast Details and Referee Assignments

On Saturday, November 23rd, the 2024 postseason of the National Women’s Soccer League concludes with the NWSL Championship match between the Orlando Pride, who won the 2024 NWSL Shield as the team with the best overall record in the league, and the Washington Spirit, who finished second in the table.

In the United States, the 2024 NWSL Championship will be nationally televised by CBS, with pre-match broadcast coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. Kick-off is slated for 8:14 p.m. ET. Additional pre-match and post-match coverage will be on the free CBS Sports Golazo Network streaming channel.

Alyssa Nichols will have the whistle for the Championship. She has refereed NWSL matches since 2020 and earned her FIFA badge in 2023.

The match will be played in Kansas City, Missouri, at CPKC Stadium, which is the home of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current.

NWSL News of Note: Angel City’s new training facility, Current upgrade Caitlin Carducci to GM, Courage’s Cortnee Vine on mental health break

This week, Angel City announced that they will move “next door” into a training facility recently vacated by the Los Angeles Rams. The to-be-renovated facility is expected to be ready ahead of the 2025 NWSL preseason.

Also, the Kansas City Current’s interim general manager Caitlin Carducci is “interim” no more after a title upgrade on Wednesday.

Finally, Australian international Cortnee Vine is “taking some time off” to prioritize her mental health.

2024 NWSL Playoffs: Semifinals Details, including Referee Assignments

#2 Washington Spirit vs. #3 NJ/NY Gotham FC

Date: Saturday, November 16th
Start Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Streaming: Paramount+ (with Showtime)
Referee: Matt Thompson
VAR: Greg Dopka

#1 Orlando Pride vs. #4 Kansas City Current

Date: Sunday, November 17th
Start Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Streaming: ESPN+
Referee: Danielle Chesky
VAR: Shawn Tehini

Source for Referee Assignments: PRO

For the full playoffs schedule and more details about streaming options, see “NWSL: 2024 Playoffs Schedule with USA TV and Streaming Details”.

NWSL News of Note: Trinity Byars signed by Wave, Jess Fishlock and Ryan Williams extend, Celia Jiménez Delgado to retire, Rafaelle on SEI List

Leading the notables from the past week is the San Diego Wave’s signing of Texas forward Trinity Byars, who was a standout player for both the Longhorns and the USA’s U-20 WYNT.

Meanwhile, two key players for their teams, midfielder Jess Fishlock of the Seattle Reign and defender Ryan Williams of the North Carolina Courage, are extending their stays in the NWSL. Also, the Orlando Pride’s Celia Jiménez Delgado has announced that she will retire after the conclusion of the playoffs.

Additionally, the Brazilian international Rafaelle was placed on the season-ending injury list by the Orlando Pride due to a “partial tear” of a tendon in her right thigh, and Houston Dash back-up goalkeeper Heather Hinz has been loaned to Fort Lauderdale United of the USL Super League for the NWSL off-season.

Finally, some good news: Brazilian midfielder Luana, whose first season in the NWSL was cut short by a cancer diagnosis, completed a series of chemotherapy treatments for Hodgkin’s lymphoma in October and has had follow-up tests which show no evidence of the disease.

NWSL Referee Assignments: 2024 Playoffs — Quarterfinals

Friday, November 8th

#1 Pride vs. #8 Red Stars: Alyssa Nichols (VAR: Ekaterina Koroleva)

Saturday, November 9th

#4 Current vs. #5 Courage: Brad Jensen (VAR: Greg Dopka)

Sunday, November 10th

#2 Spirit vs. #7 Bay FC: Ekaterina Koroleva (VAR: Shawn Tehini)
#3 Gotham FC vs. #6 Thorns: Danielle Chesky (VAR: Alyssa Nichols)

Source: PRO

For the full playoffs schedule, see “NWSL: 2024 Playoffs Schedule with USA TV and Streaming Details”.

NWSL: 2024 Playoffs Schedule with USA TV and Streaming Details

The 2024 regular season of the National Women’s Soccer League has come to close, with the Orlando Pride claiming the NWSL Shield as the top team of the league table, but eight teams are still in the hunt for the NWSL Championship trophy.

The 2024 NWSL playoffs officially get underway on Friday, November 8th, and continue through to the Championship match on Saturday, November 23rd.

In the United States, six of the seven playoff matches will be broadcast live on CBS or ABC. Only one match, the November 8th quarterfinal between the Orlando Pride and the Chicago Red Stars, will be shown solely on a paid streaming service.

This post was updated after the quarterfinals and semifinals.

For more on the Championship match, see “2024 NWSL Championship — Broadcast Details and Referee Assignments”.

NWSL News of Note: Chicago Red Stars rebrand; Leroux, DiBernardo, McNabb, and Brown extend; Lacasse and Ordóñez on SEI List; Montefusco retires

Among the notables that happened during the international break…

The Chicago Red Stars drop “Red” from the club’s name and introduced a new crest.
Four players signed new contracts: Sydney Leroux of Angel City, Vanessa DiBernardo of the Kansas City Current, Kristen McNabb of the San Diego Wave, and Ryanne Brown of the Seattle Reign.
Also, Megan Montefusco (née Oyster) of the Orlando Pride officially announced her retirement. Montefusco was twice capped by the senior USWNT.
Two players, Cloé Lacasse (ACL/meniscus) of the Utah Royals and the Houston Dash’s Diana Ordóñez (shoulder surgery) were moved to the Season-Ending Injury List.
In coaching news, Utah Royals interim head coach Jimmy Coenraets is no longer “interim” after signing a two-year contract.
The NWSL Disciplinary Committee announced additional match suspensions for Chicago Red Stars forward Ludmila and Washington Spirit forward Rosemonde Kouassi.

Additionally, the league announced that Grammy-winner Melissa Etheridge will be performing the National Anthem at the 2024 NWSL Championship in Kansas City, Missouri.

NWSL Referee Assignments: November 1 to 3, 2024

This is the final weekend of the regular season.

The three bolded matches involve the three teams that are still in the hunt for the final two playoff spots: Portland Thorns, Bay FC, and Racing Louisville. If the Thorns and Bay FC do not lose their matches on Friday and Saturday, respectively, then Racing will be eliminated before their match kicks off.

The three italicized matches involve qualified playoff teams that could move up and/or down in their ranking slots. Besides Shield winner Orlando Pride, only #5 North Carolina Courage cannot change its positioning. The Spirit, Gotham, and Current are fighting for the #2 seed , which would mean home-field advantage for the semifinals, in addition to the quarterfinals.

For playoff scenario involving the #2 seed and the final two playoff spots, see this NWSL press release.

Referee Assignments

Friday, November 1st

Royals vs. GOTHAM FC: Adorae Monroy (VAR: Alyssa Nichols)
THORNS vs. Angel City: Brad Jensen (VAR: Greg Dopka)

Saturday, November 2nd

Pride vs. Reign: Melinda Homa (VAR: Danielle Chesky)
Courage vs. SPIRIT: Elvis Osmanovic (VAR: Kevin Broadley)
Dash vs. BAY FC: Matt Thompson (VAR: Katja Koroleva)

Sunday, November 3rd

RED STARS vs. CURRENT: Jaclyn Metz (VAR: Corbyn May)
Wave vs. RACING: Greg Dopka (VAR: Brad Jensen)

Source: PRO