One of the first things Jessica Berman told CBS and Ally Financial when she stepped into the role of NWSL commissioner in April was that having the league championship on primetime was a priority moving forward.

So, they made it happen.

For the first time in the league’s 10-year history, the 2022 Ally Financial NWSL Championship will air on primetime, with CBS broadcasting the game at 8 p.m. ET on Oct. 29 from Audi Field in Washington, D.C. The stadium features a grass field and holds 20,000 fans.

“What I’ve heard from our players is that in order for them to deliver on their value proposition and to maximize their potential, they need first-class facilities and they need to feel like they’re being treated like the first-class athletes that they are, and for them, being on primetime is really important,” Berman told Just Women’s Sports.

Last season, players criticized the league and CBS for originally scheduling the championship game for 9 a.m. local time on a turf field in Portland, Ore. The match was eventually moved to 12 p.m. local time in Louisville, K.Y.

9am start is laughable. Im tired of staying quiet. We deserve better. https://t.co/mFhehvJvJp

— Ashlyn Harris (@Ashlyn_Harris) September 6, 2021

This year’s final was originally scheduled to kick off at noon ET before it moved into the 8 p.m. slot, the league said in a press release Tuesday.

“We point to some of the record viewership that we’ve had already with our partnership with the NWSL,” said CBS’ head of programming Dan Weinberg. “We’re proud of that. We think this is the next step in that.”

CBS’ streaming service, Paramount+, will offer exclusive pre-match coverage at 7 p.m. ET and will also serve as an alternative viewing platform for the match. International viewers will be able to watch the game live on Twitch.

For Berman, the first benefit to being on primetime is showcasing the NWSL to a broader audience. Most games during the regular season are only available to viewers with a Paramount+ subscription, making it harder for the league to attract new or casual fans. The championship’s primetime national television slot will give people who may have never seen an NWSL game the opportunity to watch the league’s best compete.

Last year’s championship game drew an average of 525,000 viewers on CBS, marking a 216 percent increase from the ratings of the 2019 NWSL Championship.

“You’re gonna get anyone that likes sports to get interested, and the more people that we can get to put eyes on NWSL and to see the caliber of play and just to see how exciting this game is just gives us a much better chance to have a really strong long-term trajectory in terms of audience growth and expansion of what we all want to see this league be,” said Andrea Brimmer, Ally’s chief marketing offer and public relations officer.

“I think we’re all going to get behind it big time and make a big push so that we get a lot of eyeballs and a lot of people there.”

The historic move will mark the end of Berman’s first year as NWSL commissioner. Having stepped into the position in the midst of a league-wide abuse scandal, Berman emphasizes the importance of being surrounded by partners like CBS and Ally, who share the league’s values and are willing to take new approaches to help it grow.

“We need people to be courageous and bold,” said Berman, who views the championship game milestone as scratching the surface of what she hopes to accomplish with the NWSL.

“We have a lot of catching up to do, like we should be bigger than we already are,” she added. “We need our partners to be like-minded in the way they show up on behalf of the league … [I’m] so excited to have CBS and Ally be the ones who are fireside, making this happen.”

In addition to the championship game, CBS aired a regular-season match in June and is scheduled to broadcast one more on Sept. 10 between the Washington Spirit and San Diego Wave.

The NWSL quarterfinals will air on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+ during the weekend of Oct. 15, and the semifinals will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network the weekend of Oct. 22. All matches will also stream internationally on Twitch.

On Aug. 31, tickets will go on sale for the championship game at Audi Field, home of the defending NWSL champion Washington Spirit.

“We’re always excited to crown champions on CBS. It’s what we do,” Weinberg said. “We’re super excited to do it with the NWSL again this year. Doing it in primetime, I think, ramps things up even more from a visibility standpoint, from an exposure standpoint. Really thrilled that the piece came into place. We think it’s good for everybody, frankly.”

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

League-leaders Orlando will play for​ their first-ever piece of hardware on Sunday, when a win over second-place Washington would see the Pride clinch the 2024 NWSL Shield.

If the undefeated Pride record a draw, a single win in the the season's last three matches would snag them the Shield. Should the Spirit hand Orlando their first season loss on Sunday, finishing atop the table would likely require two additional Pride victories.

While Orlando is very much in control of their destiny, Washington poses tough task, particularly considering a Spirit win or draw this weekend would clinch the playoff-bound club quarterfinal hosting duties.

However, the Pride may benefit from ongoing injuries to key Spirit players. After losing star rookie Croix Bethune to a season-ending injury in late August, Washington defender Casey Krueger is still out nursing an adductor injury while forward Trinity Rodman's recent back spasms have her questionable to compete this weekend.

When asked about Krueger and Rodman's availabilities on Wednesday, Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez said he would not play anyone who is not "100% available."

Speaking about Sunday's match, Giráldez said "[Orlando is] doing a good job, but we are doing a good job, too. We have chances to win and we have to face the game in the same way that we faced the game against Angel City." That Friday tilt with ACFC saw Washington claim the 2-1 win in a road match in which Rodman and Krueger did not travel with the team.

How to watch Orlando vs. Washington

The Pride will try to cross the 2024 NWSL Shield finish line by defeating the Spirit on Sunday at 5 PM ET, airing live on ESPN2.

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NWSL weekend to clarify postseason picture

Playoff positioning isn't just on the line for the Pride and Spirit this weekend. With four matchdays left in the NWSL's regular season, this weekend's action has multiple end-of-season scenarios on the table.

Like the Spirit, third-place Gotham and fourth-place Kansas City have the chance to secure quarterfinal home-field advantage. Each must log a Saturday win and have a little help from 10th-place San Diego to do so.

Their opponents, eighth-place Bay FC and ninth-place Racing Louisville, respectively, have arguably the most to lose in tomorrow's tilts, as both are fighting to finish above the postseason cutoff line.

Fifth-place North Carolina is on the cusp of clinching their playoff berth, though it's the Courage's demise against the Wave on Saturday that would grant Gotham and KC hosting rights.

Meanwhile, Utah, Houston, Seattle, and Angel City could all be eliminated from playoff contention by Sunday night.

The WNBA announced Thursday that Indiana guard Caitlin Clark is the 2024 Rookie of the Year, giving the Fever back-to-back ROTYs after Aliyah Boston's 2023 win.

Nearly mirroring Boston's unanimous election, Clark garnered 66 of the 67 votes. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, whose season was cut short due to a wrist injury, received the remaining first-place vote.

"I am incredibly honored to be named Rookie of the Year, but more than that, I am grateful to everyone that supported me throughout this past season – my family and friends, my teammates, the Fever organization and everyone that cheered us on all season," Clark said in the Fever's statement. "I am so proud of what we accomplished and so excited for what the future holds."

Clark's rookie season is one for the record books

This year has been all gas, no brakes for the 2024 WNBA Draft's overall No. 1 pick. During the regular season, Clark led all rookies in scoring at 19.2 points per game and topped the league with 8.4 assists per game and with 122 total three-pointers.

In July, the 2024 All-Star became the first rookie in WNBA history to ever put up a triple-double. Not satisfied with that, Clark recorded a second one in early September.

She ultimately inked her name into the league's history books with multiple records, including single-season and single-game assists, and single-season rookie scoring.

In the Fever's first .500 season in eight years, Clark helped Indiana to a 20-20 record after a sputtering 1-8 season start. As a result, the Fever made their first postseason run since 2016.

The franchise also smashed viewership and attendance records thanks in large part to Clark's popularity. Indiana home games ultimately drew over 90,000 more fans than the league's previous home attendance season record, set at 250,565 by the Liberty in 2001.

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First-year stars join Clark on WNBA All-Rookie Team

The 2024 All-Rookie Team ​also dropped on Thursday, with Clark, Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, Rickea Jackson, and Leonie Fiebich all getting the nod.

Reese, Clark's biggest ROTY competition before her season-ending injury, claimed records of her own in her abbreviated first campaign. The 2024 All-Star now holds the league's record for consecutive double-doubles, the single-season rebound mark, and boasts the WNBA's highest rebound average in history.

Reese's Chicago teammate, center Cardoso, also put up stunning rookie season numbers, ultimately leading all first-year players with an impressive 52.1% field goal percentage. Meanwhile, forward Jackson made an immediate impact on the Sparks's stat sheet as the team's second leading scorer.

The Liberty's Fiebich is a WNBA rookie, but the 24-year-old German's overseas career already earned her MVP honors in Spain's pro league. Her All-Rookie Team honor is based on Fiebich's regular-season play, but she's still making key contributions in New York's ongoing WNBA postseason run.

Back-to-back defending champs Las Vegas​ will attempt to stave off a sweep in tonight's 2024 WNBA semifinals, as twin losses in New York have the Aces scrambling for a vital Game 3 win at home.

The No. 4-seed Aces, who've failed to register a win against top-seeded New York in 2024, will face a Liberty team who are 16-4 on the road this season. Las Vegas, on the other hand, have lost seven games at home and six away.

Las Vegas will be further shorthanded in Game 3 after center Kiah Stokes was ruled out with a concussion late Thursday evening.

Acknowledging that her team faces "an uphill battle," Aces head coach Becky Hammon told reporters after their Game 2 loss that they "fully intend on pushing to five games."

Should the Aces bounce back to take the best-of-five series, Las Vegas will become the first team to ever reach the WNBA Finals after falling to 0-2 in the semis.

Connecticut brings it home

Sitting at an even 1-1 split, the No. 2-seed Lynx and No. 3-seed Sun will take their highly competitive WNBA semifinal series to Connecticut tonight, where the pressure's on for Minnesota to grab a game on the road.

The Lynx must win at least one game on the Sun's home court to extend the series to five — or possibly secure a four-game victory.

The Sun are just as good at home as they are on the road this year, going 14-6 in both scenarios this season. The Lynx are also 14-6 on the road, but failed to protect home court in last Sunday's semifinals Game 1.

How to watch Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals tonight

Game 3 between the Sun and the Lynx tips off at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN2. The Aces and the Liberty follow at 9:30 PM ET, also airing on ESPN2.

On Thursday, US Soccer announced that the USWNT will cap off its 2024 campaign with a December 3rd friendly against the Netherlands in The Hague — the team's 23rd game this year.

The match comes three days after the US side's previously announced meeting with 2022 European champions and 2023 World Cup finalists England at London's iconic Wembley Stadium. 

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To stay the best, the USWNT will play the best

Following their gold medal-winning run at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the USWNT reclaimed their world No. 1 ranking. In order to stay there, head coach Emma Hayes noted, the team must seek out matches against other top international foes.

"It was a fantastic summer for our team, and we’re going to take a lot of great lessons and memories from our time in France, but now we are looking forward to continuing our process,” said Hayes.

"In order for our team to keep learning and growing, and for the coaching staff to continue to evaluate players, we need to play the best teams possible. Playing matches in Europe against some of the world’s top teams will be an important part of our journey."

With England sitting at No. 2 in the world and the Dutch at No. 11, this final 2024 road trip is exactly what the US boss ordered.

The Dutch are a familiar friendly foe

In their 11 previous meetings with the Netherlands, the USWNT has only lost once: a 4-3 defeat in their first-ever matchup in 1991. In the years since, the States have had the upper hand, logging eight wins and two draws.

The duo has ramped up the drama in their matches, though, facing each other in world championships in three of their last four bouts.

The USWNT's 2019 World Cup final win is arguably the team's most meaningful Dutch defeat, though recent tilts have appeared significantly tougher. While the US walked away with the win in the pair's 2021 Olympic quarterfinal, they needed penalty kicks to do so. And in the States's admittedly disappointing 2023 World Cup run, they played the Netherlands to a 1-1- draw in the group stage.

How to watch the USWNT's European friendlies

The US will take on England on November 30th at 12:20 PM ET. Their meeting with the Netherlands will kick off at 2:45 PM ET on December 3rd.

Both friendlies will air live on TNT, or you can stream the games via Max and Peacock.