NWSL

The North Carolina Courage have been, by far, the best team in the NWSL. The two-time reigning league champs were the only team to go unbeaten and the only team to finish with a positive goal difference in the four-game preliminary round at the NWSL Challenge Cup.

But when it mattered most in 2020, North Carolina came up short.

Rookie Morgan Weaver scored a 68th-minute winner as Portland Thorns FC stunned the N.C. Courage 1-0 in the opening match of the knockout rounds of the NWSL Challenge Cup on Friday. 

The NWSL Challenge Cup has taken the place of the season that was cancelled due to COVID-19. As the preliminary matches are coming to an end before the knockout rounds begin, many players are being tested to their limit. Even though this was the risk all players and coaches had to come to terms with to just get back to playing, the fatigue these players are experiencing is leaving many injured.

On July 11, 2020, the National Women’s Soccer League announced that teams would use the matchdays of July 12 and 13 to show support for Pride Month.

The league itself wrote and released the press release, which is a new and groundbreaking move.

The Washington Spirt defeated the Houston Dash 1-0 in the final match of the preliminary round for both teams with Bayley Feist’s 16th-minute strike proving the difference.

Even without Rose Lavelle in the squad, the Spirit controlled the match while completing a Challenge Cup-best total of 507 passes. 18 of those came in one passage of play that included nine different Spirit players and ended with Feist providing the finish from the edge of the area.

The National Women’s Soccer League athletes have taken many risks and sacrifices going into the Challenge Cup. While they are isolated in Salt Lake City, Utah, the players have spent the past few weeks strictly going to and from practice or matches and to get food from the cafeteria. With limited exposure and interaction from the outside world, these players need to follow precautionary measures to stay safe. While they can’t really go anywhere or see anyone, one thing these players requested as a top priority is good coffee.

The number of COVID-19 cases per football league is a question on everyone’s mind these days. The ebb and flow of the virus around the world has left our leagues in different states of recovery.

Here we’ve made a list of the number of COVID-19 cases per football league and the number of COVID-19 cases in their respective regions of the world. 

The list of the number of COVID-19 cases per football league comes in no particular order, but we will save the best for last, so be ready.

The Louisville NWSL team finally has an official name, and thankfully it’s not Proof Louisville FC as originally planned. Introducing Racing Louisville FC, which will become the 10th NWSL team in 2021. 

Our club  https://t.co/H2kbLpdCsz pic.twitter.com/3CywJkoUB6

A rematch of the 2019 NWSL Championship again finished in favor of the North Carolina Courage on Sunday thanks to an 81st minute header from captain Abby Erceg. The final scoreline was kinder to the Chicago Red Stars this time thanks to some inspirational play from Julie Ertz at the back, but the club is still stuck on one point from its opening three matches at the Challenge Cup. 

Professional team sports returned to the U.S. on Saturday with the start of the NWSL Challenge Cup. America was watching, if the latest NWSL viewership numbers are anything to go by.

The NWSL Challenge Cup started with a bang on multiple fronts. Along with the amazing soccer played, the teams made an impressive stance in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.