Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By CAITLIN MURRAY
The 2014 National Women’s Soccer League regular season is set with 108 games across a balanced schedule spanning from April to August.
The schedule, released by the NWSL Friday, gives an opening spotlight to the Houston Dash, the Dynamo-run expansion team that only joined the league in November. The Dash will host Portland Thorns at 8 p.m. ET on April 12 to kick off the season, in what should be a big match. FC Kansas City will host Sky Blue at the same time.
A match to circle on the calendar is May 3, when the Western New York Flash will host the Thorns in a rematch of last year’s NWSL championship. It will be the first time the two sides meet since Portland defeated the Flash there in Rochester N.Y. for the inaugural league title, 2-0.
The 2014 schedule will feature a balanced schedule with each team playing the rest of the league three times for a 24-game season. Last year, the schedule was unbalanced with teams only playing their closest rivals three times.
A league source told SBI the home/away balance in each match-up series is planned to be reversed in 2015 out of fairness. That means, a team in 2014 that only hosts once and plays away twice in a match-up will in 2015 get home field advantage twice in that match-up.
Check out the full 2014 schedule below:
2014 NWSL Schedule
|
Date |
Home Team |
Visitor |
Kickoff (ET) |
| Saturday, April 12 | Houston Dash | Portland Thorns | 8:00 PM |
| Saturday, April 12 | FC Kansas City | Sky Blue FC | 8:00 PM |
| Sunday, April 13 | Washington Spirit | WNY Flash | 4:00 PM |
| Sunday, April 13 | Seattle Reign | Boston Breakers | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, April 19 | Washington Spirit | FC Kansas City | 6:30 PM |
| Saturday, April 19 | Chicago Red Stars | WNY Flash | 6:00 PM |
| Saturday, April 19 | Sky Blue FC | Portland Thorns | 7:00 PM |
| Sunday, April 20 | Boston Breakers | Houston Dash | 6:30 PM |
| Wednesday, April 23 | Seattle Reign | Washington Spirit | 10:00 PM |
| Saturday, April 26 | Portland Thorns | FC Kansas City | 10:00 PM |
| Saturday, April 26 | Chicago Red Stars | Washington Spirit | 8:00 PM |
| Sunday, April 27 | Boston Breakers | Sky Blue FC | 6:30 AM |
| Sunday, April 27 | Seattle Reign | Houston Dash | 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday, April 30 | FC Kansas City | Chicago Red Stars | 8:00 PM |
| Wednesday, April 30 | Sky Blue FC | Seattle Reign | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, May 03 | Houston Dash | FC Kansas City | 8:00 PM |
| Saturday, May 03 | Washington Spirit | Seattle Reign | 6:30 PM |
| Saturday, May 03 | WNY Flash | Portland Thorns | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, May 03 | Sky Blue FC | Boston Breakers | 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday, May 07 | WNY Flash | FC Kansas City | 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday, May 07 | Sky Blue FC | Chicago Red Stars | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, May 10 | Portland Thorns | Seattle Reign | 10:00 PM |
| Sunday, May 11 | WNY Flash | Sky Blue FC | 3:00 PM |
| Sunday, May 11 | FC Kansas City | Washington Spirit | 6:00 PM |
| Sunday, May 11 | Chicago Red Stars | Houston Dash | 6:00 PM |
| Wednesday, May 14 | Houston Dash | Portland Thorns | 8:00 PM |
| Wednesday, May 14 | Seattle Reign | FC Kansas City | 10:00 PM |
| Thursday, May 15 | Boston Breakers | Chicago Red Stars | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, May 17 | Washington Spirit | WNY Flash | 6:30 PM |
| Sunday, May 18 | Boston Breakers | Chicago Red Stars | 6:30 PM |
| Sunday, May 18 | FC Kansas City | Houston Dash | 6:00 PM |
| Wednesday, May 21 | Portland Thorns | WNY Flash | 10:00 PM |
| Wednesday, May 21 | Washington Spirit | Sky Blue FC | 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday, May 21 | FC Kansas City | Seattle Reign | 8:00 PM |
| Friday, May 23 | Houston Dash | Chicago Red Stars | 8:00 PM |
| Saturday, May 24 | Portland Thorns | Sky Blue FC | 10:00 PM |
| Sunday, May 25 | Boston Breakers | FC Kansas City | 7:00 PM |
| Sunday, May 25 | Seattle Reign | WNY Flash | 7:00 PM |
| Monday, May 26 | Washington Spirit | Houston Dash | 4:00 PM |
| Wednesday, May 28 | Sky Blue FC | Chicago Red Stars | 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday, May 28 | Boston Breakers | Portland Thorns | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, May 31 | WNY Flash | Houston Dash | 7:00 PM |
| Sunday, June 01 | Boston Breakers | Washington Spirit | 6:30 PM |
| Sunday, June 01 | Sky Blue FC | Seattle Reign | 6:00 PM |
| Wednesday, June 04 | FC Kansas City | WNY Flash | 8:00 PM |
| Wednesday, June 04 | Chicago Red Stars | Washington Spirit | 8:00 PM |
| Saturday, June 07 | Portland Thorns | WNY Flash | 10:00 PM |
| Saturday, June 07 | FC Kansas City | Boston Breakers | 8:00 PM |
| Saturday, June 07 | Seattle Reign | Chicago Red Stars | 10:00 PM |
| Sunday, June 08 | Sky Blue FC | Houston Dash | 10:00 PM |
| Wednesday, June 11 | Houston Dash | WNY Flash | 9:00 PM |
| Wednesday, June 11 | Boston Breakers | Washington Spirit | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, June 14 | Houston Dash | FC Kansas City | 9:00 PM |
| Sunday, June 15 | Portland Thorns | Washington Spirit | 5:00 PM |
| Sunday, June 15 | Chicago Red Stars | Sky Blue FC | 2:00 PM |
| Wednesday, June 18 | WNY Flash | Chicago Red Stars | 7:00 PM |
| Thursday, June 19 | Boston Breakers | Seattle Reign | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, June 21 | Washington Spirit | Portland Thorns | 6:30 PM |
| Saturday, June 21 | FC Kansas City | Chicago Red Stars | 8:00 PM |
| Sunday, June 22 | WNY Flash | Seattle Reign | 3:00 PM |
| Sunday, June 22 | Sky Blue FC | Boston Breakers | 6:00 PM |
| Wednesday, June 25 | Portland Thorns | Sky Blue FC | 10:00 PM |
| Friday, June 27 | WNY Flash | Boston Breakers | 7:30 PM |
| Saturday, June 28 | Houston Dash | Washington Spirit | 9:00 PM |
| Saturday, June 28 | FC Kansas City | Portland Thorns | 8:00 PM |
| Saturday, June 28 | Seattle Reign | Sky Blue FC | 9:00 PM |
| Wednesday, July 02 | Washington Spirit | Boston Breakers | 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday, July 02 | WNY Flash | Seattle Reign | 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday, July 02 | Sky Blue FC | Houston Dash | 7:00 PM |
| Friday, July 04 | Portland Thorns | Chicago Red Stars | 2:00 PM |
| Saturday, July 05 | Houston Dash | WNY Flash | 9:00 PM |
| Sunday, July 06 | Sky Blue FC | FC Kansas City | 6:00 PM |
| Sunday, July 06 | Seattle Reign | Boston Breakers | 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday, July 09 | Chicago Red Stars | Portland Thorns | 8:00 PM |
| Friday, July 11 | Houston Dash | Boston Breakers | 9:00 PM |
| Saturday, July 12 | WNY Flash | Washington Spirit | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, July 12 | Chicago Red Stars | Seattle Reign | 8:00 PM |
| Sunday, July 13 | Portland Thorns | FC Kansas City | 5:00 PM |
| Thursday, July 17 | Houston Dash | Washington Spirit | 9:00 PM |
| Thursday, July 17 | Chicago Red Stars | Portland Thorns | 8:00 PM |
| Friday, July 18 | WNY Flash | FC Kansas City | 7:30 PM |
| Sunday, July 20 | Portland Thorns | Boston Breakers | 5:00 PM |
| Sunday, July 20 | Sky Blue FC | Washington Spirit | 6:00 PM |
| Sunday, July 20 | Seattle Reign | Chicago Red Stars | 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday, July 23 | Washington Spirit | Portland Thorns | 7:00 PM |
| Friday, July 25 | WNY Flash | Boston Breakers | 7:30 PM |
| Saturday, July 26 | Chicago Red Stars | Houston Dash | 8:00 PM |
| Sunday, July 27 | FC Kansas City | Sky Blue FC | 6:00 PM |
| Sunday, July 27 | Seattle Reign | Portland Thorns | 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday, July 30 | Houston Dash | Seattle Reign | 9:00 PM |
| Wednesday, July 30 | Washington Spirit | FC Kansas City | 7:00 PM |
| Thursday, July 31 | Sky Blue FC | WNY Flash | 7:00 PM |
| Saturday, August 02 | Washington Spirit | Chicago Red Stars | 6:30 PM |
| Saturday, August 02 | FC Kansas City | Seattle Reign | 8:00 PM |
| Sunday, August 03 | Boston Breakers | WNY Flash | 6:30 PM |
| Sunday, August 03 | Portland Thorns | Houston Dash | 5:00 PM |
| Wednesday, August 06 | FC Kansas City | Boston Breakers | 8:00 PM |
| Wednesday, August 06 | Seattle Reign | Houston Dash | 10:00 PM |
| Saturday, August 09 | Houston Dash | Sky Blue FC | 9:00 PM |
| Saturday, August 09 | Chicago Red Stars | FC Kansas City | 8:00 PM |
| Saturday, August 09 | Seattle Reign | Washington Spirit | 10:00 PM |
| Sunday, August 10 | Boston Breakers | Portland Thorns | 6:30 PM |
| Wednesday, August 13 | WNY Flash | Sky Blue FC | 7:00 PM |
| Wednesday, August 13 | Chicago Red Stars | Boston Breakers | 8:00 PM |
| Saturday, August 16 | Washington Spirit | Sky Blue FC | 6:30 PM |
| Saturday, August 16 | Chicago Red Stars | WNY Flash | 8:00 PM |
| Sunday, August 17 | Boston Breakers | Houston Dash | 6:30 PM |
| Sunday, August 17 | Portland Thorns | Seattle Reign | 5:00 PM |
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What do you think of the schedule? Which games are the big ones on your radar? How does your team’s schedule look?
Share your thoughts below.