CHICAGO – The National Women’s Soccer League Monday announced the schedule for the preliminary rounds of the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup.

Commissioner Lisa Baird was live in the CBS Sports HQ studio on Monday to reveal the full tournament draw.

The 25-game tournament will kick off on June 27 at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah.

Following the preliminary rounds, the top eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals set for Friday, July 17 and Saturday, July 18. The semifinals and final presented will be played in Sandy, Utah at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday, July 22 and Sunday, July 26, respectively.

Some key matchups out of the draw are back-to-back champions North Carolina Courage taking on Portland Thorns FC on opening day and the Cascadia battle between Thorns FC and OL Reign on July 12.

The host team, Utah Royals FC will open its tournament play on Tuesday, June 30 against the Washington Spirit. Many eyes will be on Sky Blue FC, which meets OL Reign on June 30, after several offseason trades and acquisitions.

While spectators will not be in attendance, fans can catch the action via CBS, CBS All Access, and Twitch for fans outside the U.S. and Canada.

Game times will be announced soon.

The complete draw results and full preliminary schedule are below.

 

DRAW RESULTS:
Team 1: Chicago Red Stars
Team 2: Washington Spirit
Team 3: Houston Dash
Team 4: Utah Royals FC
Team 5: North Carolina Courage
Team 6: Sky Blue FC
Team 7: Portland Thorns FC
Team 8: OL Reign
Team 9: Orlando Pride

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE:

June 27, 2020 July 4, 2020 July 9, 2020
Chicago Red Stars v. Orlando Pride Chicago Red Stars v. Utah Royals FC Orlando Pride v. Sky Blue FC
NC Courage v. Portland Thorns FC Washington Spirit v. OL Reign Chicago Red Stars v. Houston Dash
June 30, 2020 July 5, 2020 July 12, 2020
Washington Spirit v. Utah Royals FC NC Courage v. Orlando Pride Utah Royals FC v. NC Courage
OL Reign v. Sky Blue FC Houston Dash v. Sky Blue FC Portland Thorns FC v. OL Reign
July 1, 2020 July 8, 2020 July 13, 2020
Portland Thorns FC v. Orlando Pride Washington Spirit v. Portland Thorns FC Chicago Red Stars v. Sky Blue FC
NC Courage v. Houston Dash Utah Royals FC v. OL Reign Washington Spirit v. Houston Dash

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.