DIGITAL ROADMAP OF THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S SOCCER LEAGUE
Provided by: Women Kick Balls - Jackie Gutierrez
INTRO TO
THE NWSL 2023
ABOUT WOMEN KICK BALLS:
Jackie Gutierrez is the founder of Women Kick Balls, which is an independent, one-woman run media company.
Gutierrez covers the National Women’s Soccer League and the U.S. Women’s National Team. Through her coverage and content, she strives to provide accessibility with free articles matched with quality information for soccer fans at all levels.
Additionally, she also provides freelance Marketing and Public Relations services to sports organizations and athletes.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Page 4 - Team Overview
Page 6 - Coaches By Teams
Page 9 - Key Players
Page 10 - How To Watch
Page 11 - NWSL TIMELINE
INTRO TO THE NWSL 2023
Portland Thorns FC: 2022 NWSL Champions
1. ANGEL CITY FC
City: Los Angeles, CA
Established: 2022
NWSL Championship Titles: None
Fun Fact: Founded by Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman.
2. CHICAGO RED STARS
City: Chicago, IL
Established: 2012
NWSL Championship Titles: None
Fun Fact: Hold the record for the longest playoff streak (2017-2022) with six straight NWSL appearances.
3. HOUSTON DASH
City: Houston, TX
Established: 2014
NWSL Championship Titles: 2020
Fun Fact: First team to win the inaugural Challenge Cup title.
4. KANSAS CITY CURRENT
City: Kansas City, KS
Established: 2021 (Rejoined the league)
NWSL Championship Titles: 2014 and 2015
(Under different ownership)
Fun Fact: The Current are the first to construct a purpose-built stadium for an NWSL team.
TEAM OVERVIEW
5. NJ/NY GOTHAM FC
City: Harrison, NJ
Established: 2013 (Rebranded to Gotham in 2021)
NWSL Championship Titles: None
Fun Fact: Previously known as Sky Blue FC, the club was part of the W-League in 2007.
9. PORTLAND THORNS FC
City: Portland, OR
Established: 2013
NWSL Championship Titles: 2013, 2017, 2022
Fun Fact: The Thorns were one of the original eight teams in the league.
6. NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE
City: Cary, NC
Established: 2017
(Rights acquired from Western New York Flash)
NWSL Championship Titles: 2018, 2019
Fun Fact: The Courage are the largest youth-to-pro club in the nation.
7. OL REIGN
City: Seattle, WA
Established: 2013
(Formerly known as Seattle Reign, Reign FC)
NWSL Championship Titles: None
Fun Fact: The Reign are led by Laura Harvey, who is the winningest head coach in NWSL history.
8.
ORLANDO PRIDE
City: Orlando, FL
Established: 2016
NWSL Championship Titles: None
Fun Fact: In Jan. 2023, the Pride set the NWSL record for the largest trade of $350,000 in allocation money.
10.
RACING LOUISVILLE FC
City: Louisville, KY
Established: 2021
NWSL Championship Titles: None
Fun Fact: The club name has ties to the history of horse racing in Kentucky.
11. SAN DIEGO WAVE FC
City: San Diego, CA
Established: 2022
NWSL Championship Titles: None
Fun Fact: The Wave had less than a year to prepare for their first season and made it to the 2022 NWSL semi-finals.
12. WASHINGTON SPIRIT
City: Washington, D.C.
Established: 2012
NWSL Championship Titles: 2021
Fun Fact: The game-winning goal came from a header in overtime to lead the Spirit to their first Championship win.
COACHES BY TEAMS:
ANGEL CITY FC - FREYA COOMBE
Freya Coombe previously served as head coach of NJ/NY Gotham FC. She joined Gotham in September 2019 as interim head coach and went on to guide the team to a Challenge Cup semi-final in 2020 and the Challenge Cup final in 2021.
CHICAGO RED STARS - CHRIS PETRUCELLI
Chris Petrucelli joined the Chicago Red Stars after serving as the head coach at Southern Methodist University for nine seasons. He spent 31 years as a college coach and was a two-time National Coach of the Year.
HOUSTON DASH - SAM LAITY
Sam Laity became the fourth head coach for the Dash in Dec. 2022. He spent a decade with OL Reign where he coached in more than 200 NWSL regular season games and served as the interim head coach in 2021 for six games.
KANSAS CITY CURRENT - MATT POTTER
Matt Potter joined the Kansas City Current in 2022 and was a 2022 NWSL Coach of the Year finalist after taking the Current from last place to the NWSL Championship.
NJ/NY GOTHAM FC - JUAN CARLOS AMORÓS
Juan Carlos Amorós previously served as the interim head coach of the Houston Dash in the 2022 NWSL season. Prior to joining the league, he was a head coach of clubs in the top leagues in Spain, England, and the U.S. With Real Betis Féminas, he led the club to an unbeaten streak.
NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE - SEAN NAHAS
Sean Nahas has been with the North Carolina Courage since 2017. As an assistant coach, he contributed to the Courage’s NWSL Championship titles, NWSL Shields, and their ICC Championship title.
OL REIGN - LAURA HARVEY
Laura Harvey holds the league record for the most NWSL Coach of the Year selections with three titles (2014, 2015, 2021). Harvey was the first-ever head coach for the club for five seasons and made her return to the club in 2021.
ORLANDO PRIDE - SEB HINES
Seb Hines officially became the head coach of the Orlando Pride in November 2022, which made him the first Black head coach in the NWSL. After eight years of being around the Pride and Orlando City SC, Hines retired in 2017 and shadowed the club, which led him to being a full-time staff in 2020.
PORTLAND THORNS FC - MIKE NORRIS
Mike Norris joined the Thorns in 2022 as an assistant coach and previously coached with Canada Soccer for eight years in a variety of roles from coaching the youth level to serving as a goalkeeper coach for the Senior National Team.
RACING LOUISVILLE FC - KIM BJORKEGREN
Kim Bjorkegren enters his second coaching season with Racing Louisville as he previously led Cyprus’s Apollon Ladies FC to an undefeated season. He also coached in China and Sweden and ended his playing career as a goalkeeper at 23 years old due to an injury.
SAN DIEGO WAVE FC - CASEY STONEY
Casey Stoney is the first coach for San Diego Wave FC and led the club to the NWSL semifinals in her first season. She also previously coached Manchested United Women and led the club to a Championship title in her first year. Stoney also formerly captained the England Women’s National Team.
WASHINGTON SPIRIT - MARK PARSONS
Mark Parsons previously coached the Portland Thorns for five seasons, winning the 2017 NWSL Championship, the 2017 NWSL Shield, and 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup. He also coached the Netherlands Women’s National Team for a year and makes his return to Washington as he previously coached the Spirit in their first three seasons.
..
Position: Forward
Club: San Diego Wave FC
National Team: USA
Awards: Two-time World Cup Champion, Olympic gold medalist, 2022 NWSL Golden Boot
Key Players
Position: Forward Club: Houston Dash
National Team: England
Awards: Named NWSL Player of the Month in Aug. 2022, scored the first hat trick for the Dash in July 2022
Position: Midfielder
Club: Kansas City Current
Awards: Holds club records in goals with 14 goals scored (6 from penalty kicks)
Position: Forward Club: Portland Thorns
National Team: USA
Awards: 2022 NWSL MVP, 2022 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year
Position: Forward Club: Orlando Pride
National Team: Brazil
Awards: Six-time FIFA Women’s Player of the Year, All-time goals leader in World Cup history with 17 goals
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: OL Reign
Awards: Earned five NWSL Save of the Week awards during her first 11 NWSL appearances
CBS will host NWSL games on a variety of platforms. Paramount+ will stream all additional NWSL matches live in the U.S. A select number of matches will stream on the CBS Sports Golazo Network.
*The CBS Television Network will air six matches, including both the broadcast of the 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup Final and the 2023 Ally NWSL Championship.
Sign
International Viewers:
All 2023 regular season and Challenge Cup matches will be streamed live internationally for free on watch.nwslsoccer.com.
For Canadaian viewers, TSN and TSN+ will stream games including the 2023 NWSL Championship.
up for Paramount+ here
NWSL Timeline
SCHEDULE OVERVIEW
The NWSL is in its 11th regular season, which will include a 22-match campaign with 11 home games and 11 away games per team. The regular season includes 132 games within 22 weeks along with a newly formatted NWSL Challenge Cup.
The NWSL Challenge Cup began as a way to adapt during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and has been integrated into the season, which will now allow for a total of 176 games during the 2023 season.
Women Kick Balls provides a free PDF document of the 2023 NWSL Schedule, which can be downloaded here.
Important Dates:
Regular season kick off: March 25
Challenge Cup Semi-finals: September 6
Challenge Cup Final: September 9
Quarterfinals: October 22
Semifinals: November 4
NWSL Championship: November 11
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