The Washington Spirit and Chicago Red Stars both scored upset road wins in Sunday’s league semifinals and advanced to next weekend’s NWSL Championship game at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville.
The No. 3-seeded Spirit toppled OL Reign by a 1-0 score before the No. 4 seed Red Stars defeated Portland Thorns FC, 2-0.
Those results set the matchup for a noon Saturday kickoff in front of a growing audience — tickets are on sale at www.racingloufc.com/racingloufc/NWSL-Championship — with CBS to broadcast.
As with any high-stakes NWSL game, plenty of star power is set to take the field in Louisville.
Four Spirit players — defender Emily Sonnett, midfielders Ashley Sanchez and Andi Sullivan plus forward Ashley Hatch — are on the roster for the U.S. Women’s National Team’s upcoming trip to Australia. Red Stars defender Tierna Davidson will join them as the run up to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup begins.
Washington’s Hatch scored 10 goals in 20 regular season games to claim the NWSL Golden Boot award. Not to be overlooked is her younger teammate Trinity Rodman, the No. 2 NWSL Draft pick who at just 19 years old numbered 6 goals and 6 assists as a rookie.
Also on Chicago’s roster is Arin Wright, who was inducted earlier this year to the University of Kentucky’s Hall of Fame. The former West Jessamine High School star — named Kentucky’s Miss Soccer in 2010 — was twice a finalist for college player of the year at UK before going on to her decorated professional career.
The NWSL postseason whittled down from six teams over the course of two weekends to set the final at Lynn Family Stadium, home to NWSL’s Racing Louisville FC and the USL Championship’s Louisville City FC. Opened in 2020, the soccer-specific venue has a 15,304 capacity.
