# 2020 National Women's Soccer League season

The 2020 National Women's Soccer League season was the eighth season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), it was the 14th overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States.
The league was operated by the United States Soccer Federation and received major financial backing from that body. Further financial backing was provided by the Canadian Soccer Association. Both national federations pay the league salaries of many of their respective national team members in an effort to nurture talent in those nations and lighten the financial burden of individual clubs.
The season was scheduled to start on April 18 and end on October 18. The top four teams were to advance to the NWSL Playoffs, with the two semifinal matches on November 8 and the 2020 NWSL Championship on November 14 at a predetermined venue.
On March 12, 2020, the preseason match schedule was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the NWSL announced on March 20 that the regular season start would be delayed.
On May 27, 2020, the NWSL announced that the 2020 NWSL regular season and playoffs were canceled due to the pandemic, and that the 2020 Challenge Cup would mark the league's return to action. The 25-game tournament, held from June 27 to July 26, was hosted by the owner of Utah Royals FC, Dell Loy Hansen. On June 22, 2020, the NWSL announced the full rules and regulations for the 2020 Challenge Cup. The Houston Dash won the 2020 Challenge Cup.
On August 25, 2020, the NWSL announced a Fall Series, in which each NWSL team would play four games in September and October. To minimize travel and COVID-19 exposure, the nine teams were divided into three three-team regional pods. Portland Thorns FC won the Fall Series and associated Verizon Community Shield.

## Teams, stadiums, and personnel
### Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All teams use Nike as their kit manufacturer.
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Shirt sponsor |
| Chicago Red Stars | Rory Dames | Julie Ertz | Meijer |
| Houston Dash | James Clarkson | Jane Campbell Rachel Daly | MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| North Carolina Courage | Paul Riley | Abby Erceg | Continental AG |
| OL Reign | Farid Benstiti | Megan Rapinoe Lauren Barnes | Zulily |
| Orlando Pride | Marc Skinner | Ashlyn Harris | Orlando Health |
| Portland Thorns FC | Mark Parsons | Christine Sinclair | Providence Health & Services |
| Sky Blue FC | Freya Coombe | Sarah Woldmoe | Hackensack Meridian Health |
| Utah Royals FC | Amy LePeilbet (interim) | Amy Rodriguez | Soleil Energy |
| Washington Spirit | Richie Burke | Tori Huster Andi Sullivan | CVS Health |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| OL Reign | Vlatko Andonovski | Resignation | October 28, 2019 | Farid Benstiti | January 17, 2020 |
| Sky Blue FC | Freya Coombe | End of interim period | December 17, 2019 | Freya Coombe | December 17, 2019 |
| Utah Royals FC | Laura Harvey | Mutual separation | January 6, 2020 | Scott Parkinson (interim) | January 6, 2020 |
| Utah Royals FC | Scott Parkinson (interim) | End of interim period | February 7, 2020 | Craig Harrington | February 7, 2020 |
| Utah Royals FC | Craig Harrington | Administrative leave of absence | September 20, 2020 | Amy LePeilbet (interim) | September 20, 2020 |
* ↑ The Royals terminated Harrington's contract on November 9, 2020.

## Attendance

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, games in both the Challenge Cup and Fall Series were played behind closed doors.

## Challenge Cup

Hosted by Dell Loy Hansen, owner of Utah Royals FC, the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup featured a preliminary round and knockout rounds. In the preliminary round, all nine teams were to play four games each. The top eight teams based on results from the preliminary round were to advance to a single-elimination knockout bracket, with seeding based on position in the preliminary-round standings. Before the tournament began, the Orlando Pride dropped out because of positive COVID-19 tests, and only eight teams played. The preliminary round therefore did not eliminate any teams and was played only for seeding the knockout rounds.

### Preliminary round

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | North Carolina Courage | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 12 |
| 2 | Washington Spirit | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | OL Reign | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 5 |
| 4 | Houston Dash | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 |
| 5 | Utah Royals FC (H) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 |
| 6 | Chicago Red Stars | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4 |
| 7 | Sky Blue FC | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4 |
| 8 | Portland Thorns FC | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 |
* 1 2 Chicago Red Stars won the tiebreaker against Sky Blue FC on fewer yellow cards (1 to 4).

### Knockout round

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| July 17 – Zions Bank Stadium | July 17 – Zions Bank Stadium | | | |
| Q1 North Carolina Courage | 0 | | | |
| Q1 North Carolina Courage | 0 | July 22 – Rio Tinto Stadium | July 22 – Rio Tinto Stadium | | |
| Q8 Portland Thorns FC | 1 | July 22 – Rio Tinto Stadium | July 22 – Rio Tinto Stadium | |
| Q8 Portland Thorns FC | 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 0 | |
| July 17 – Zions Bank Stadium | July 17 – Zions Bank Stadium | | Portland Thorns FC | 0 | |
| July 17 – Zions Bank Stadium | July 17 – Zions Bank Stadium | Houston Dash | 1 | |
| Q5 Utah Royals FC | 0 (2) | Houston Dash | 1 | |
| Q5 Utah Royals FC | 0 (2) | | | | July 26 – Rio Tinto Stadium | July 26 – Rio Tinto Stadium |
| Q4 Houston Dash (p) | 0 (3) | | | | July 26 – Rio Tinto Stadium | July 26 – Rio Tinto Stadium |
| Q4 Houston Dash (p) | 0 (3) | | | | Houston Dash | 2 |
| July 18 – Zions Bank Stadium | July 18 – Zions Bank Stadium | | | | | Houston Dash | 2 |
| July 18 – Zions Bank Stadium | July 18 – Zions Bank Stadium | | | | Chicago Red Stars | 0 |
| Q3 OL Reign | 0 (3) | | | | Chicago Red Stars | 0 |
| Q3 OL Reign | 0 (3) | July 22 – Rio Tinto Stadium | July 22 – Rio Tinto Stadium | | | |
| Q6 Chicago Red Stars (p) | 0 (4) | July 22 – Rio Tinto Stadium | July 22 – Rio Tinto Stadium | | | |
| Q6 Chicago Red Stars (p) | 0 (4) | Chicago Red Stars | 3 | | | |
| July 18 – Zions Bank Stadium | July 18 – Zions Bank Stadium | | Chicago Red Stars | 3 | | | |
| July 18 – Zions Bank Stadium | July 18 – Zions Bank Stadium | Sky Blue FC | 2 | |
| Q7 Sky Blue FC (p) | 0 (4) | Sky Blue FC | 2 | |
| Q2 Washington Spirit | 0 (3) | | | |

## Fall Series

The nine NWSL teams were divided into three regional "pods" of three teams each. Within each pod, the teams played a four-game, home-and-away schedule (i.e., two games against each of the two other teams) between September 5 and October 17.
| Northeast | South | West |
| Chicago Red Stars Sky Blue FC Washington Spirit | Houston Dash North Carolina Courage Orlando Pride | OL Reign Portland Thorns FC Utah Royals FC |
The NWSL announced the full schedule of the Fall Series on September 3, 2020. One day later, the NWSL announced that the winners of the Fall Series would receive the Community Shield trophy, named the Verizon Community Shield for sponsorship reasons, and a grant of $25,000 to present to their chosen community partner; $15,000 and $10,000 would be presented to community partners of the second- and third-place teams, respectively.
The Portland Thorns won the Fall Series and the 2020 Community Shield, and directed the accompanying $25,000 grant to Mimi's Fresh Tees, a Portland-area company specializing in social justice apparel. The Houston Dash were second and directed the corresponding $15,000 grant to the Houston branch of the civil rights organization NAACP. The Washington Spirit were third and directed the corresponding $10,000 grant to DC SCORES, which uses poetry and neighborhood soccer teams to help children in need.

### Northeast Pod

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | WAS | SKY | CHI |
| 1 | Washington Spirit | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 7 | — | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| 2 | Sky Blue FC | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 6 | 0–1 | — | 3–1 |
| 3 | Chicago Red Stars | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1–1 | 4–1 | — |

### South Pod

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | HOU | NC | ORL |
| 1 | Houston Dash | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 9 | — | 4–1 | 3–1 |
| 2 | North Carolina Courage | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 5 | 4–3 | — | 0–0 |
| 3 | Orlando Pride | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 2 | 1–2 | 3–3 | — |

### West Pod

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | POR | OLR | UTA |
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 10 | — | 4–1 | 3–0 |
| 2 | OL Reign | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 4 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 |
| 3 | Utah Royals FC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — |

### Overall standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC (C) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 10 | Community Shield |
| 2 | Houston Dash | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 9 | Runners-up |
| 3 | Washington Spirit | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 7 | Third place |
| 4 | Sky Blue FC | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 6 | |
| 5 | North Carolina Courage | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 5 | |
| 6 | Chicago Red Stars | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 | |
| 7 | OL Reign | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 4 | |
| 8 | Orlando Pride | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 2 | |
| 9 | Utah Royals FC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 | |

## Individual awards

As the regular season and the playoffs were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, regular awards (including season, team and player of the month, and weekly awards) were not awarded.