Major League Soccer has unveiled a revised expansion timeline with the inaugural seasons for three of its four new teams delayed by a year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The new timeline is the result of the impact of the pandemic on the start of business operations and stadium development, the league said.
Major League Soccer Announces New Expansion Timeline: https://t.co/uM0b4rt6wl pic.twitter.com/QsodXSuE49
The North Carolina Courage have been, by far, the best team in the NWSL. The two-time reigning league champs were the only team to go unbeaten and the only team to finish with a positive goal difference in the four-game preliminary round at the NWSL Challenge Cup.
But when it mattered most in 2020, North Carolina came up short.
Rookie Morgan Weaver scored a 68th-minute winner as Portland Thorns FC stunned the N.C. Courage 1-0 in the opening match of the knockout rounds of the NWSL Challenge Cup on Friday.
Frankie Amaya scored his first career goal in the 76th minute, and FC Cincinnati took advantage of short-handed Atlanta United to pull off a stunning 1-0 victory Thursday in the MLS is Back Tournament near Orlando.
The win was the first of the season for Cincinnati (1-0-3, 3 points), and an even bigger upset within Group E at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Cincinnati lost its opener 4-0 to rival Columbus, but prevailed thanks to an undisciplined Atlanta side that finished the match with nine men.
When it comes to his footballing abilities, Geoff Cameron is one of my favorite players of the last two decades. His versatility to play anywhere on the pitch for the Houston Dynamo from 2008-12 helped propel him onto the USMNT’s 2014 World Cup roster and a six-year stint with Stoke City in the Premier League.
Off the pitch, however, Cameron is now one of my least favorite players after spreading harmful misinformation on his Instagram account.
The NWSL Challenge Cup has taken the place of the season that was cancelled due to COVID-19. As the preliminary matches are coming to an end before the knockout rounds begin, many players are being tested to their limit. Even though this was the risk all players and coaches had to come to terms with to just get back to playing, the fatigue these players are experiencing is leaving many injured.
On July 11, 2020, the National Women’s Soccer League announced that teams would use the matchdays of July 12 and 13 to show support for Pride Month.
The league itself wrote and released the press release, which is a new and groundbreaking move.
The Washington Spirt defeated the Houston Dash 1-0 in the final match of the preliminary round for both teams with Bayley Feist’s 16th-minute strike proving the difference.
Even without Rose Lavelle in the squad, the Spirit controlled the match while completing a Challenge Cup-best total of 507 passes. 18 of those came in one passage of play that included nine different Spirit players and ended with Feist providing the finish from the edge of the area.
Jesse Marsch is enjoying success as a head coach in Europe, but there is one position that could lure him back to the United States: coach of the U.S. men's national team.
"It's a hard one," Marsch, 46, told Bleacher Report. "I try not to look too much into the future and I try just to enjoy the moment, but I would be honored and I'm very hopeful to someday coach the national team."
The National Women’s Soccer League athletes have taken many risks and sacrifices going into the Challenge Cup. While they are isolated in Salt Lake City, Utah, the players have spent the past few weeks strictly going to and from practice or matches and to get food from the cafeteria. With limited exposure and interaction from the outside world, these players need to follow precautionary measures to stay safe. While they can’t really go anywhere or see anyone, one thing these players requested as a top priority is good coffee.
Nashville SC became the second club to be removed from the "MLS Is Back Tournament" after nine players tested positive for COVID-19, Major League Soccer said on Thursday.
FC Dallas was dropped from the Orlando-based tournament on Monday after 10 players and a staff member tested positive.
Nashville SC withdrawn from MLS is Back Tournament.