2023 NWSL Challenge Cup

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2023 NWSL Challenge Cup
2023 UKG National Women's Soccer League Challenge Cup
Tournament details
CountryUnited States
DatesApril 19 – September 9
Teams12
Defending champions North Carolina Courage
Final positions
Champions North Carolina Courage (2nd title)
Runner-up Racing Louisville FC
Tournament statistics
Matches played39
Goals scored101 (2.59 per match)
Top goal scorer(s) Kristen Hamilton
(5 goals)
MVP Kristen Hamilton
All statistics correct as of September 9, 2023.
←  2022
2024  →
Manaka Matsukubo was named MVP of the 2023 Challenge Cup final. 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup final, 594.jpg
Manaka Matsukubo was named MVP of the 2023 Challenge Cup final.

The 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup, known as the 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, [1] was a league cup competition that took place during the 2023 National Women's Soccer League season. [2] [3] It will be the fourth edition of the NWSL Challenge Cup tournament.

Contents

The 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup was the first time the NWSL Challenge Cup was played concurrently with the regular season, bringing it in line with most other league cup competitions worldwide. [4] [5] It was also the first edition under a multi-year sponsorship with UKG, which increased the pool of prize money to $1 million toward a goal of achieving equal compensation when compared to men's leagues and open cup competitions in the United States. [6] [7]

Format

The 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup was a multi-stage tournament. All 12 NWSL teams participated in the Challenge Cup, and the tournament was played concurrently with the regular season. [1] The tournament was split into three groups of four teams each, and each team played a six-game double round-robin with its group. Following the group stage, the top team of each group and the highest-placing group runner-up advanced to the single-elimination semifinals on September 6, with the winners competing in the final on September 9. [1] [8] Matches did not have extra-time periods, and semifinal and final matches drawn during regulation proceeded directly to kicks from the penalty mark. [8]

Prize money

Players in the four semifinal teams divide the tournament's $1 million pool of prize money. Sponsor UKG determined a prize pool of that size would draw the tournament's rewards closer to that of the men's MLS is Back tournament, which had a $1.1 million prize pool in 2020. For comparison, the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup prize pool was estimated to be about or less than $500,000. [6]

Tiebreakers

A team's position in the divisional standings was determined by points, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a tie, and zero points for a loss. If two or more teams in the same group are tied on points at the end of the group stage, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied to determine the final group standings: [8]

  1. Greatest goal difference across all group stage matches.
  2. Most goals scored across all group stage matches.
  3. Direct head-to-head points record with teams involved in the tie.
  4. Direct head-to-head goal difference in matches between teams involved in the tie.
  5. Direct head-to-head number of goals scored in matches between teams involved in the tie.
  6. Fewest disciplinary points accrued. Points will be awarded as follows, and players can receive only one disciplinary points assessment per match, with the highest taking precedent:
    1. Yellow card.svg yellow card: 1 point;
    2. Yellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svg indirect red card (as a result of two yellow cards): 3 points;
    3. Red card.svg direct red card: 4 points;
    4. Yellow card.svg Red card.svg yellow card and direct red card: 5 points.
  7. If teams still could not be separated using the tiebreaking procedures, the NWSL would decide ranking using the random drawing of lots.

In the case of two or more teams from different divisions being tied on points at the end of the group stage, the competition follows the same procedure except for the use of the head-to-head scenarios by virtue of the fact teams from different divisions would not have played each other during the group stage. [8]

Group stage

East Division

PosTeamPldWTLGFGAGDPtsQualification NC NJY WAS ORL
1 North Carolina Courage 6321155+1011Advance to knockout stage — 1–1 6–0 0–0
2 NJ/NY Gotham FC 6321107+311 2–0 — 1–0 1–1
3 Washington Spirit 63031013−39 1–2 4–2 — 4–2
4 Orlando Pride 6024515−102 1–1 1–3 0–1 —
Source: NWSL
Orlando Pride 1–1 North Carolina Courage
  • Watt Soccerball shade.svg56'
 Report
Exploria Stadium , Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 3,139
Referee: Gabriele Giusti
NJ/NY Gotham FC 1–0 Washington Spirit
Report
Red Bull Arena , Harrison, New Jersey
Attendance: 7,543
Referee: Shawn Tehini
North Carolina Courage 1–1 NJ/NY Gotham FC
Report
WakeMed Soccer Park , Cary, North Carolina
Attendance: 2,761
Referee: Joshua Encarnación
Washington Spirit 4–2 Orlando Pride
Report
Audi Field , DC
Attendance: 4,991
Referee: Joshua Encarnación
Washington Spirit 1–2 North Carolina Courage
Report
Audi Field , DC
Attendance: 5,778
Referee: Mathew Corrigan
North Carolina Courage 6–0 Washington Spirit
Report
WakeMed Soccer Park , Cary, North Carolina
Attendance: 4,063
Referee: Thomas Snyder
Orlando Pride 1–3 NJ/NY Gotham FC
Report
Exploria Stadium , Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 4,051
Referee: Shawn Tehini
Washington Spirit 4–2 NJ/NY Gotham FC
Report
Audi Field , DC
Attendance: 4,732
Referee: Danielle Chesky
North Carolina Courage 5–0 Orlando Pride
Report
WakeMed Soccer Park , Cary, North Carolina
Attendance: 3,543
Referee: Greg Dopka
Orlando Pride 0–1 Washington Spirit
Report
Exploria Stadium , Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 3,661
Referee: Brad Jensen
NJ/NY Gotham FC 2–0 North Carolina Courage
Report
Red Bull Arena , Harrison, New Jersey
Attendance: 3,004
Referee: Elvis Osmanovic
NJ/NY Gotham FC 1–1 Orlando Pride
Report
Red Bull Arena , Harrison, New Jersey
Attendance: 2,038
Referee: Jeremy Scheer

Central Division

PosTeamPldWTLGFGAGDPtsQualification KC LOU HOU CHI
1 Kansas City Current 6411144+1013Advance to knockout stage — 3–0 3–1 4–0
2 Racing Louisville FC 6402106+412Advance to knockout stage based on ranking 3–2 — 3–0 2–0
3 Houston Dash 6204411−76 0–2 1–0 — 2–0
4 Chicago Red Stars 6114310−74 0–0 0–2 3–0 —
Source: NWSL
Houston Dash 0–2 Kansas City Current
Report
Shell Energy Stadium , Houston, Texas
Attendance: 4,124
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
Houston Dash 2–0 Chicago Red Stars
Report
Shell Energy Stadium , Houston, Texas
Attendance: 3,696
Referee: Adorae Monroy
Racing Louisville FC 3–2 Kansas City Current
Report
Lynn Family Stadium , Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 4,303
Referee: Alexandra Billeter
Chicago Red Stars 0–2 Racing Louisville FC
Report
SeatGeek Stadium , Bridgeview, Illinois
Attendance: 1,762
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
Racing Louisville FC 3–0 Houston Dash
Report
Lynn Family Stadium , Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 4,983
Referee: JC Griggs
Kansas City Current 4–0 Chicago Red Stars
Report
Children's Mercy Park , Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 8,226
Referee: Shawn Tehini
Racing Louisville FC 2–0 Chicago Red Stars
Report
Lynn Family Stadium , Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 5,499
Referee: Nabil Bensalah
Kansas City Current 3–1 Houston Dash
Report
Children's Mercy Park , Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 11,014
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
Chicago Red Stars 0–0 Kansas City Current
Report
SeatGeek Stadium , Bridgeview, Illinois
Attendance: 2,959
Referee: Abdou Ndiaye
Houston Dash 1–0 Racing Louisville FC
Report
Shell Energy Stadium , Houston, Texas
Referee: Gaad David Flores Ramírez
Kansas City Current 3–0 Racing Louisville FC
Report
Children's Mercy Park , Kansas City, Kansas
Attendance: 9,321
Referee: Jon Freemon
Chicago Red Stars 3–0 Houston Dash
Report
SeatGeek Stadium , Bridgeview, Illinois
Attendance: 3,137
Referee: Karen Callado

West Division

PosTeamPldWTLGFGAGDPtsQualification RGN LA POR SD
1 OL Reign 642070+714Advance to knockout stage — 0–0 0–0 1–0
2 Angel City FC 622278−18 0–2 — 2–1 2–1
3 Portland Thorns FC 621387+17 0–1 3–2 — 4–1
4 San Diego Wave FC 6114411−74 0–3 1–1 1–0 —
Source: NWSL
Angel City FC 0–2 OL Reign
Report
BMO Stadium , Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 10,021
Referee: Anya Voigt
San Diego Wave FC 1–0 Portland Thorns FC
Report
Snapdragon Stadium , San Diego, California
Attendance: 9,504
Referee: Brandon Stevis
OL Reign 0–0 Angel City FC
Report
Lumen Field , Seattle, Washington
Attendance: 5,511
Referee: Adam Kilpatrick
San Diego Wave FC 0–3 OL Reign
Report
Snapdragon Stadium , San Diego, California
Attendance: 9,763
Referee: Anya Voigt
Portland Thorns FC 3–2 Angel City FC
Report
Providence Park , Portland, Oregon
Attendance: 16,429
Referee: Adorae Monroy
Portland Thorns FC 0–1 OL Reign
Report
Providence Park , Portland, Oregon
Attendance: 16,252
Referee: Matthew Thompson
Portland Thorns FC 4–1 San Diego Wave FC
Report
Providence Park , Portland, Oregon
Attendance: 16,393
Referee: Ricardo Fierro
OL Reign 1–0 San Diego Wave FC
Report
Lumen Field , Seattle, Washington
Attendance: 7,513
Referee: Alyssa Nichols
Angel City FC 2–1 Portland Thorns FC
Report
BMO Stadium , Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 13,154
Referee: Brandon Stevis
San Diego Wave FC 1–1 Angel City FC
Report
Snapdragon Stadium , San Diego, California
Attendance: 14,408
Referee: Elijio Arreguin
OL Reign 0–0 Portland Thorns FC
Report
Lumen Field , Seattle, Washington
Attendance: 12,061
Referee: Mathew Corrigan

Ranking of second-placed teams

The best second-placed team from the group stage advances to the knockout stage.

PosGrpTeamPldWTLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 Central Racing Louisville FC 6402106+412Advance to knockout stage
2 East NJ/NY Gotham FC 6321107+311
3 West Angel City FC 622278−18
Source: NWSL

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, the semifinals occurred on September 6 and the final took place on September 9. [1]

Bracket

Semifinals Championship
      
1 OL Reign 0
4 Racing Louisville FC 1
4 Racing Louisville FC 0
3 North Carolina Courage 2
2 Kansas City Current 0
3 North Carolina Courage 1

Semi-finals

Kansas City Current 0–1 North Carolina Courage
Report
Attendance: 4,590
Referee: Anya Voigt
OL Reign 0–1 Racing Louisville FC
Report
Attendance: 3,906
Referee: Natalie Simon

Final

North Carolina Courage 2–0 Racing Louisville FC
Report
Attendance: 3,068
Referee: Alex Billeter

Notes

A. ^ Match was interrupted and delayed approximately three hours by inclement weather. Attendance numbers were therefore imprecise and unreported. [9]

Statistics

Goalscorers

There were 101 goals scored in 39 matches, for an average of 2.59 goals per match.

5 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Source: NWSL

Statistics do not include penalty-shootout goals.

Discipline

A player is automatically suspended for the next match in the tournament for the following offenses: [8]

Awards

Manaka Matsukubo was awarded the MVP of the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup final match, [10] and Kristen Hamilton was named the overall MVP of the tournament. [11]

Named to the All-Tournament team: [12] [13]

Pos.PlayerClub
GK Flag of the United States.svg Katie Lund Racing Louiville FC
DF Flag of the United States.svg Malia Berkely North Carolina Courage
Flag of New Zealand.svg Abby Erceg Racing Louiville FC
Flag of the United States.svg Shae Holmes OL Reign
Flag of the United States.svg Jenna Nighswonger NJ/NY Gotham FC
MF Flag of Brazil.svg Debinha Kansas City Current
Flag of the United States.svg Savannah DeMelo Racing Louiville FC
Flag of the United States.svg Jaelin Howell Racing Louiville FC
FW Flag of the United States.svg Kristen Hamilton Kansas City Current
Flag of the United States.svg Brittany Ratcliffe North Carolina Courage

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "NWSL Announces 2023 Season Schedule Footprint". National Women's Soccer League. November 17, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  2. ↑ Herrera, Sandra (November 17, 2022). "NWSL: Key dates to know for 2023 including opening day, Challenge Cup, championship and more". CBS Sports . Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  3. ↑ Megdal, Howard (November 17, 2022). "What We Know About The 2023 NWSL Season". Forbes . Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  4. ↑ Yanchulis, Kate (November 17, 2022). "NWSL Challenge Cup will take place in-season after scheduling, injury concerns". Just Women's Sports.
  5. ↑ "NWSL Challenge Cup to run concurrently with season". SportBusiness Media. November 17, 2022.
  6. 1 2 Yang, Steph (April 13, 2023). "NWSL sponsor ups Challenge Cup prize pool to $1 million in pay equity effort". The Athletic . Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ "UKG's NWSL Challenge Cup sponsorship brings pay parity to the pitch". May 10, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "2023 NWSL Challenge Cup Rules and Regulations" (PDF). National Women's Soccer League . Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  9. ↑ Herrera, Sandra (September 9, 2023). "North Carolina vs. Racing Louisville score: Courage win second straight NWSL Challenge Cup after long delay". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  10. ↑ Cattry, Pardeep (September 10, 2023). "Manaka Matsukubo a 'star in the making' for North Carolina Courage after NWSL Challenge Cup win". CBS Sports .
  11. ↑ Munson, Bella (September 7, 2023). "Kristen Hamilton named Challenge Cup MVP – Equalizer Soccer". The Equalizer.
  12. ↑ "Kansas City Current forward Kristen Hamilton named UKG NWSL Challenge Cup Tournament MVP, presented by Bud Light - Kansas City Current". Kansas City Current . September 7, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Thorns FC's Morgan Weaver named to 2023 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup All-Tournament Team". Portland Thorns FC .