Catch the spirit in two weeks

Two weeks from today, the Washington Spirit will be back in action in Utah. The COVID-19 pandemic turned the NWSL’s season plans upside down like the rest of sports across the county. So the NWSL decided that they will be holding a 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup from June 27 – July 26. They will also be the first major sports league to start up since COVID-19 shut the NBA, MLB, NHL, and other leagues down back in March. The Challenge Cup will be a 25 game tournament with the top eight teams advancing past the preliminary round to the quarterfinals. The Spirit will be kicking the tournament off against the Utah Royals FC one June 30th and follow that up with a match against OL Reign on the 4th of July.

The Washington Spirit finished one spot out of the playoffs in 2019, 4 points behind the Seattle Reign and look to build on that in this tournament. The Spirit are returning U.S. National Team member Rose Lavelle, Tori Huster and drafted standout Attacker Ashley Sanchez out of UCLA this year. It will be a mad dash to the quarterfinals where every goal and point count more then ever.

Upcoming Schedule

Preliminary Round
Tuesday, June 30: Washington Spirit v. Utah Royals FC

July 4: Washington Spirit v. OL Reign

July 8: Washington Spirit v. Portland Thorns FC

July 13: Washington Spirit v. Houston Dash

Quarterfinal Round
Friday, July 17: Game 1 and Game 2

Saturday, July 18: Game 3 and Game 4

Semifinal Round
Wednesday, July 22: Game 1 and Game 2

Final Round
Sunday, July 26: Championship Game

Where to Watch

CBS All Access will be streaming all 25 games live while the championship game will air on CBS. If you live outside the U.S. and Canada, you can live stream on Twitch.