CHICAGO – ESPN and the National Women’s Soccer League announced Thursday an agreement to televise 14 league matches during the rest of the 2019 season.

Eight matches will air on ESPNEWS, and the remaining six, including the two semifinals and the championship, will air on ESPN2.

The NWSL features many of the world’s top players such as:

* Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), who scored the most goals by a player in a Women’s World Cup game June 11

* Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC), who set a Women’s World Cup tournament record June 16 with a goal in her sixth consecutive game

* Marta (Orlando Pride), the all-time leader of men and women soccer players with her record 17th World Cup goal

* And Megan Rapinoe (Reign FC), who has scored four goals in the 2019 World Cup knockout round and has the most goals scored in Reign FC history.

NWSL telecasts will begin Sunday, July 14, at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS, with a matchup of the Portland Thorns vs. Orlando Pride from Portland’s Providence Park. Portland’s roster features U.S. national team stars Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan and Canadian captain Christine Sinclair, while Orlando’s stars include six-time FIFA Player of the Year and Brazil captain Marta and Morgan.

The NWSL Championship will air Sunday, Oct. 27, at 4 p.m. on ESPN2, with tickets going on sale this month. All NWSL match telecasts on ESPN networks will stream live on the ESPN App.

“NWSL is a global leader in women’s professional soccer, with collectively the most talented players in the world,” NWSL president Amanda Duffy said. “Together with the reach of ESPN’s vast network, we have the opportunity to bring more games to a broader audience across the country and world. Even in the year leading up to the Women’s World Cup, we have continued to experience tremendous growth through the support, engagement, and visibility from our fans.”

 

2019 NWSL Schedule on ESPN

Date                      Time (ET)             Event                                                                                    Platforms

Sun, Jul 14           3 p.m.                   Portland Thorns FC vs. Orlando Pride                       ESPNEWS

Sun, Jul 21           6 p.m.                   Chicago Red Stars vs. North Carolina Courage      ESPN2

Sat, Jul 27            10 p.m.                 Utah Royals FC vs. North Carolina Courage            ESPNEWS

Fri, Aug 2             7 p.m.                   Houston Dash vs. Reign FC                                           ESPNEWS

Sun, Aug 11         3 p.m.                   Portland Thorns FC vs. North Carolina Courage    ESPNEWS

Sun, Aug 18         1 p.m.                   Sky Blue FC vs. Reign FC                                                 ESPNEWS

Sun, Aug 25         3 p.m.                   Portland Thorns FC vs. Chicago Red Stars               ESPNEWS

Wed, Sep 11       7 p.m.                   Orlando Pride vs. Chicago Red Stars                         ESPNEWS

Tue, Sep 17         7:30 p.m.             North Carolina Courage vs. Houston Dash              ESPNEWS

Wed, Sep 25       9 p.m.                   Houston Dash vs. Washington Spirit                         ESPN2

Sun, Sep 29         2 p.m.                   Reign FC vs. Portland Thorns FC                                 ESPN2

Sun, Oct 20          2 p.m.                   Semifinal I                                                                           ESPN2

                                4 p.m.                   Semifinal II                                                                          ESPN2

Sun, Oct 27          4 p.m.                   NWSL Championship                                                      ESPN2

 

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.