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.

2020 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship
Championship, presented by Budweiser, of the 2020 National Women's Soccer League Challenge Cup presented by P&G and Secret
Event2020 NWSL Challenge Cup
Houston Dash Chicago Red Stars
2 0
DateJuly 26, 2020 (2020-07-26)
VenueRio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
Woman of the MatchShea Groom, HOU
RefereeKatja Koroleva
Attendance0 (Behind closed doors)

Houston Dash won the match 2–0 against Chicago Red Stars to win the tournament.

Road to the final
Further information: 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup

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 Round 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 Team 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 Team 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 Dash2–0Chicago Red Stars
  • Schmidt 5' (pen.)
  • Groom 90+1'
 Report
Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)
Houston Dash
Chicago Red Stars
GK1United States Jane Campbell
RB9United States Haley HansonYellow card 82'
CB11United States Megan Oyster
CB25United States Katie Naughton
LB2Canada Allysha Chapman
CM6United States Shea Groom
CM13Canada Sophie Schmidt
CM19United States Kristie Mewisdownward-facing red arrow 29'
RW8Canada Nichelle Princedownward-facing red arrow 87'
CF3England Rachel Daly (c)
LW14United States Brianna Visallidownward-facing red arrow 78'
Substitutes:
GK20United States Lindsey Harris
GK99United States Amanda Dennis
DF17United States Erin SimonYellow card 89'upward-facing green arrow 87'
DF23United States Ally Prisock
MF5United States CeCe Kizerupward-facing green arrow 29'
MF10United States Christine Nairn
MF28United States Cami Privett
FW4Canada Maegan Kelly
FW7United States Katie Stengel
FW12United States Veronica Latskoupward-facing green arrow 78'
FW16Jamaica Kayla McCoy
FW24United States Jamia Fields
FW26United States Bridgette Andrzejewski
Manager:
England James Clarkson
GK1United States Alyssa Naeher
RB28United States Kayla SharplesYellow card 4'downward-facing red arrow 68'
CB11United States Sarah Gorden
CB8United States Julie Ertz (c)
LB29Canada Bianca St. Georgesdownward-facing red arrow 89'
CM24United States Danielle Colaprico
CM10United States Vanessa DiBernardo
CM9United States Savannah McCaskilldownward-facing red arrow 78'
RW2United States Kealia Watt
CF5United States Rachel Hill
LW33Mexico Katie Johnsondownward-facing red arrow 79'
Substitutes:
GK21United States Emily Boyd
GK38United States Cassie Miller
DF14United States Zoe Morseupward-facing green arrow 79'
DF23United States Julia Binghamupward-facing green arrow 89'
DF30United States Hannah Davison
DF32United States Zoey Goralskiupward-facing green arrow 68'
MF25United States Cassie Rohan
FW7United States Michele Vasconcelos
FW15United States Makenzy Doniakupward-facing green arrow 78'
FW19United States Sarah Luebbert
FW22United States Zoe Redei
Manager:
United States Rory Dames

Woman of the Match:
Shea Groom, HOU[1]
Assistant referees:
Jennifer Garner
Tiffini Turpin
Fourth official:
Tori Penso

Match rules

Broadcasting

The match aired on CBS and CBS All Access in the United States and Canada, and on Twitch internationally.[2] 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.[3][4]

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.[4]

Notes
  1. Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, excluding substitutions made at half-time.

References
  1. @NWSL (July 26, 2020). "A shift worthy of a 🍺 @sheabayy2 is..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Levine, Matthew (July 25, 2020). "NWSL announces broadcast talent for championship, presented by Budweiser, of the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup presented by P&G and Secret" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  3. Dachman, Jason (June 30, 2020). "NWSL Makes Broadcast-Network Debut on CBS With Full REMI Workflow". Sports Video Group. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  4. Costa, Brandon (May 7, 2021). "NWSL Challenge Cup Final Brings Full Production Resources Back Onsite". Sports Video Group News. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
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