# 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship

The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship was a soccer match held on July 26, 2020, at the Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. It was the final match of the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, a one-off competition marking the resumption of the 2020 National Women's Soccer League season following the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The match was played behind closed doors due to the pandemic and was broadcast on CBS beginning at 12:30 ET.
Houston Dash won the match 2–0 against Chicago Red Stars to win the tournament.

## Road to the final

The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup was a one-off tournament during the 2020 NWSL season to mark the league's return to action from the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight National Women's Soccer League teams participated in the tournament. The tournament, played behind closed doors in the Salt Lake City area, began on June 27 with a preliminary round, followed by a knockout round.
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first.
| Houston Dash | Houston Dash | Round | Chicago Red Stars | Chicago Red Stars |
| Opponent | Result | Preliminary round | Opponent | Result |
| Utah Royals FC | 3–3 | Match 1 | Washington Spirit | 1–2 |
| OL Reign | 2–0 | Match 2 | Portland Thorns FC | 0–0 |
| Sky Blue FC | 0–2 | Match 3 | North Carolina Courage | 0–1 |
| Washington Spirit | 0–1 | Match 4 | Utah Royals FC | 1–0 |
| Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 2 Washington Spirit 4 7 3 OL Reign 4 5 4 Houston Dash 4 4 5 Utah Royals FC (H) 4 4 6 Chicago Red Stars 4 4 Source: NWSL (H) Host | Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 2 Washington Spirit 4 7 3 OL Reign 4 5 4 Houston Dash 4 4 5 Utah Royals FC (H) 4 4 6 Chicago Red Stars 4 4 Source: NWSL (H) Host | Final standings | Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 4 Houston Dash 4 4 5 Utah Royals FC (H) 4 4 6 Chicago Red Stars 4 4 7 Sky Blue FC 4 4 8 Portland Thorns FC 4 3 Source: NWSL (H) Host | Pos Teamvte Pld Pts 4 Houston Dash 4 4 5 Utah Royals FC (H) 4 4 6 Chicago Red Stars 4 4 7 Sky Blue FC 4 4 8 Portland Thorns FC 4 3 Source: NWSL (H) Host |
| Opponent | Result | Knockout round | Opponent | Result |
| Utah Royals FC | 0–0 (3–2 p) | Quarter-finals | OL Reign | 0–0 (4–3 p) |
| Portland Thorns FC | 1–0 | Semi-finals | Sky Blue FC | 3–2 |

## Match
### Details

| Houston Dash | Chicago Red Stars |
| GK | 1 | Jane Campbell |
| RB | 9 | Haley Hanson | 82' |
| CB | 11 | Megan Oyster |
| CB | 25 | Katie Naughton |
| LB | 2 | Allysha Chapman |
| CM | 6 | Shea Groom |
| CM | 13 | Sophie Schmidt |
| CM | 19 | Kristie Mewis | | 29' |
| RW | 8 | Nichelle Prince | | 87' |
| CF | 3 | Rachel Daly (c) |
| LW | 14 | Brianna Visalli | | 78' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 20 | Lindsey Harris |
| GK | 99 | Amanda Dennis |
| DF | 17 | Erin Simon | 89' | 87' |
| DF | 23 | Ally Prisock |
| MF | 5 | CeCe Kizer | | 29' |
| MF | 10 | Christine Nairn |
| MF | 28 | Cami Privett |
| FW | 4 | Maegan Kelly |
| FW | 7 | Katie Stengel |
| FW | 12 | Veronica Latsko | | 78' |
| FW | 16 | Kayla McCoy |
| FW | 24 | Jamia Fields |
| FW | 26 | Bridgette Andrzejewski |
| Manager: ||
| James Clarkson ||
| GK | 1 | Alyssa Naeher |
| RB | 28 | Kayla Sharples | 4' | 68' |
| CB | 11 | Sarah Gorden |
| CB | 8 | Julie Ertz (c) |
| LB | 29 | Bianca St. Georges | | 89' |
| CM | 24 | Danielle Colaprico |
| CM | 10 | Vanessa DiBernardo |
| CM | 9 | Savannah McCaskill | | 78' |
| RW | 2 | Kealia Watt |
| CF | 5 | Rachel Hill |
| LW | 33 | Katie Johnson | | 79' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 21 | Emily Boyd |
| GK | 38 | Cassie Miller |
| DF | 14 | Zoe Morse | | 79' |
| DF | 23 | Julia Bingham | | 89' |
| DF | 30 | Hannah Davison |
| DF | 32 | Zoey Goralski | | 68' |
| MF | 25 | Cassie Rohan |
| FW | 7 | Michele Vasconcelos |
| FW | 15 | Makenzy Doniak | | 78' |
| FW | 19 | Sarah Luebbert |
| FW | 22 | Zoe Redei |
| Manager: ||
| Rory Dames ||
| Woman of the Match: Shea Groom, HOU Assistant referees: Jennifer Garner Tiffini Turpin Fourth official: Tori Penso | Match rules 90 minutes. Penalty shoot-out if scores level. Maximum of five substitutions. |

## Broadcasting

The match aired on CBS and CBS All Access in the United States and Canada, and on Twitch internationally. Jenn Hildreth and Lori Lindsey served as play-by-play announcer and analyst respectively on CBS, reporting remotely, while Mike Watts and Jen Cooper did the same on Twitch. Marisa Pilla was the on-field reporter. Most of the show's production staff operated off-site, including a fully remote integration model production, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television in the United States.
CBS Sports soccer reporter Sandra Herrera and studio host Sherree Burruss hosted the pre- and post-game shows on CBS Sports HQ along with Aly Wagner. Alex Morgan also joined the pregame show.
The match registered a 0.44 Nielsen rating and 653,000 viewers, becoming the league's largest-ever domestic broadcast audience. The match viewership represented a 293-percent increase over the 2019 NWSL Championship match.