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.
| Championship, presented by Budweiser, of the 2020 National Women's Soccer League Challenge Cup presented by P&G and Secret | |||||||
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| Event | 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup | ||||||
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| Date | July 26, 2020 | ||||||
| Venue | Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah | ||||||
| Woman of the Match | Shea Groom, HOU | ||||||
| Referee | Katja Koroleva | ||||||
| Attendance | 0 (Behind closed doors) | ||||||
Houston Dash won the match 2–0 against Chicago Red Stars to win the tournament.
Road to the final edit
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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Final standings |
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| 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 edit
Details edit
        Houston Dash
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  Chicago Red Stars
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Woman of the Match:
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Match rules
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Broadcasting edit
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 edit
- ^ Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, excluding substitutions made at half-time.
References edit
- ^ @NWSL (July 26, 2020). "A shift worthy of a 🍺 @sheabayy2 is..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Dachman, Jason (June 30, 2020). "NWSL Makes Broadcast-Network Debut on CBS With Full REMI Workflow". Sports Video Group. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ a b Costa, Brandon (May 7, 2021). "NWSL Challenge Cup Final Brings Full Production Resources Back Onsite". Sports Video Group News. Retrieved July 19, 2023.