Not sure if there's enough interest to justify a thread but I'm still riding the post World Cup high so thought I'd throw it out there.

Watching the first ESPN game tonight (POR vs ORL) and it's had everything: terrible goalkeeping, end-to-end play, great Portland crowd, and Marta scoring Marta goals. Looking forward to the rest of the season!

Orlando ties it in the 90th only to receive a dagger at the end. What a match!

I may sound horrible, but I have tried to watch it.

It's difficult to watch.

I'll watch the USWNT play every day any day. I just can't watch that level of play just to watch soccer.

It's cool...to each their own.

For those of us who grew up playing women's soccer, it's exciting to see how far the sport has grown. I think a lot of fans struggle with switching between watching elite men and elite women which is just a whiplash of a comparison. NWSL is much more akin to watching the NCAA tournament...it's solid quality for women's football and there's been a surge in technical competency in recent years, but it's just completely different in terms of style and pace.

So we'll see...maybe there are some others out there who enjoy the women's game and if not, this thread will die a quick death. It's all good.

littlebitofhifi said:

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It's cool...to each their own.

For those of us who grew up playing women's soccer, it's exciting to see how far the sport has grown. I think a lot of fans struggle with switching between watching elite men and elite women which is just a whiplash of a comparison. NWSL is much more akin to watching the NCAA tournament...it's solid quality for women's football and there's been a surge in technical competency in recent years, but it's just completely different in terms of style and pace.

So we'll see...maybe there are some others out there who enjoy the women's game and if not, this thread will die a quick death. It's all good.

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I'd say it's more like watching the WNBA. Unless you have rooting interest it's hard to wa5vh.

And this is from someone whose favorite pastime is watching his daughters U13 team play.

One of my biggest complaints is how hard it is to watch the msl in this country. I can easily watch four or more European league games every weekend but can only watch maybe 1 or 2 mls games without something special to watch with. If I need a soccer fix I will watch the Nwsl but the league is so watered down it's just not quality. And that comes from a girls high school coach I would love to support both leagues if it's easy to watch

I also want to add I can barely stomach MLS games on TV.

I will also watch any level live.

Should be an interesting weekend with the US internationals returning to their clubs. Most notably Sunday's ESPN2 matchup will feature 8 returners (Ertz, Naeher, Brian, Davidson for Chicago & Dahlkemper, Dunn, Mewis, McDonald for North Carolina).

Looks like Rose Lavelle will be sidelined vs the Dash due to her WWC hamstring injury. She's likey to return next week (7/24) vs Sky Blue FC.

First match of the weekend underway with Utah-Portland tied 1-1 going into half. Had some sloppiness for sure but 2 fantastic goals.

And welcome home Christen Press:

Record crowd of 17,000+ came out to see Chicago top North Carolina. I like that each team has several USWNT players and a few big international players scattered in as well.

No idea why Corsie doesn't close this down but what a sick volley from Hamilton!

This was an extremely fun week of soccer to watch.

I missed some of the Seattle game, is Rapinoe sitting for rest reasons? I figure she could at least sit with her teammates in uniform, but probably not a bad idea to have her in the stands to mingle with fans.

She's still out with a slight Achilles injury plus just rest. Rumor is she'll be available for the USWNT friendly on Saturday but I wouldn't expect her to play much. She should be back to league after that.

There were definitely some crazy games this weekend. 2 complete blowouts and 3 really tight matches.

It's also nice to see 7 teams actually in playoff contention right now. Orlando & Sky Blue are pretty much out of it but everyone else is within 4 points of the playoffs. I think Chicago & Utah have seen the biggest lift from having their USWNT players back...will be interesting to see if they take a hit with folks out again for the upcoming friendlies.

Good to see some NWSL chatter. If anyone wants Dash tickets, PM me as I have some vouchers for the upcoming games.

Weekend games start tonight with Houston vs Seattle on ESPN News.

Good news: We get a USWNT victory match tomorrow night.
Bad news: NWSL teams are without their US internationals again (plus a handful of other int'l at Pan Am games)

I think that Chicago/Utah match tomorrow is going to suffer the most from players being out. Houston has the best chance to capitalize with no players out and taking on a Reign team they've drawn twice with this year.

Surprised they scheduled games tonight against the Descendants 3 premier.

Not NWSL related but didn't want to start a new thread.

In other professional women's league news, FA made a huge move today in announcing that all FAWSL matches will be available to stream globally this season. Great move to drive visibility of one of the top 3 leagues.

Now this is something I am excited about, unless the games start before 8am

Yeah same here. I'm hoping to find a way to watch some Division 1 Feminine (France) as well but haven't found any legal streaming options yet.

Sadly, lots of early games for us, just like EPL. Looks like most matches kickoff between noon-3pm local on Sundays, so 6-9am CST. . Hopefully they're available for replay so we don't have to get up early!

Shea Groom suffered a fractured and dislocated rib in her game today. She is honestly the biggest reason why I watch Reign FC over other teams. Hoping for a speedy recovery.

Yeah that collision looked painful. I don't know if I've ever seen a team suffer the quantity of injuries that Reign has had this season. Best wishes for Shea.

In other news, I was at the Lyon / NC Courage ICC match tonight and holy crap we need an actual World Club Championship so bad. Such a fun match.

I think they plan to expand it to a 8 team tournament. There was discussion of doing it this year. Hopefully next year. It would include 4 international teams and 4 NWSL teams. There is even talk of eventually having 16 teams involved at some point.

Completely blanked that yesterday would be the ICC final. I'll settle for the replay or highlight reel.

I'm excited for the upcoming PTFC vs Chicago game. I have a feeling if PTFC wins, they will run away with the season. They look really good with all their WWC players together.

Its worth a watch. I think the replay is on WatchESPN.

I think the playoffs are pretty much set. I don't see Seattle (with their injuries) or Dash (with their general suckiness) able to make a push.

I'm pulling for Utah to win it all though. Press has been on FIRE since returning from France. Almost like she's validating that Texags was right and she should have had more playing time.

Sonnett is always good for a meme

ACL tears have been rampant this season. Merritt Mathias out before playoffs. If you haven't seen her twitter response to the injury, it is entertaining to say the least.

With Shea Groom out currently with a rib, does this mean all former Aggie players (Groom, Mathias, and Mautz) are out with injury? I feel like I am missing someone.

Haha...yeah I kept debating whether to post Merritt's tweet here. It's...um, something.

And I think that's all the Ags. We've got Katie Jo still coaching for the Spirit, but no other players.

Probably not enough interest for a 2020 thread but solid media news coming for the upcoming season(s).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/03/05/nwsl-/