The NWSL schedule for the 2023 season finally has arrived.

The league released the long-awaited schedule on Wednesday afternoon, 45 days before the first games kicks off on March 25. The season runs through the championship match on Nov. 11, two weeks later than in 2022.

Why the longer season? Thank the 2023 World Cup, which will run from July 20 through Aug. 20 in Australia and New Zealand.

While the NWSL will not break for the full tournament, the league will take two separate weeks off during the World Cup. The league will not play any matches from July 10-20 and from Aug. 7-17, which will leave two weekends free of competition.

Also to accommodate the World Cup, the NWSL will avoid regular-season matches from July 10 through Aug. 17. Instead, the league will concentrate on the in-season edition of its Challenge Cup tournament during that timeframe.

“For me personally, I don’t want to miss a lot of games with San Diego,” Wave and U.S. women’s national team forward Alex Morgan told CBS Sports. “I also don’t think that fans should have to choose between watching an NWSL game and a World Cup game.”

It's a new season!

Let's gooooooo 🏆

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) February 8, 2023

USWNT players also were concerned about when exactly the league would release them for international duty.

While the NWSL only is required to do so during established FIFA international windows, the league agreed to release players to their national teams on June 26, two weeks before the FIFA window opens on July 10. The move came only after pushback from players, The Equalizer reported.

Each of the league’s 12 teams will play 22 games in the regular season, the same number as they played in 2022, for a total of 132 games. For the first time in NWSL history, all 12 teams will compete on the final day of the regular season as clubs jockey for final playoff positioning. Casey Stoney, San Diego Wave manager and the 2022 NWSL Coach of the Year, had advocated for this format last season.

Each team will also play six Challenge Cup matches, either played on Wednesdays across April, May and June or during the World Cup window in July and August. The tournament will culminate in the semifinals on Sept. 6 and the final on Sept. 9.

Five NWSL matches to watch in 2023

March 25 (2 p.m.): North Carolina Courage vs. Kansas City Current

The first day of matches brings a barn burner, as 2022 MVP finalist Debinha returns with her new team to face the new-look Courage.

April 1 (12:50 p.m.): Kansas City Current vs. Portland Thorns

The Thorns visit Kansas City for a rematch of the 2022 NWSL Championship. Portland claimed a 2-0 victory and the crown in October, but the Current look ready to challenge for the title again.

April 23 (8 p.m.): Angel City FC vs. San Diego Wave

The two California expansion teams made quite the impression in their inaugural seasons, and they’ll aim to keep that momentum in their sophomore campaigns.

May 28 (5 p.m.): Washington Spirit vs. Gotham FC

Kelley O’Hara made the biggest splash of NWSL free agency when she joined Gotham FC. This match will mark her first return to Washington, the club with which she won a title in 2021.

Sept. 16 (10:30 p.m.): Portland Thorns vs. OL Reign

The top two finishers from the 2022 season meet in this late-season contest, which could hold significant playoff implications.

*All times ET

The PWHL is officially expanding, with the second-year pro women's hockey league awarding Vancouver its seventh franchise on Wednesday.

The league's first-ever expansion squad faces a short run-up, joining the current six-team roster when the puck drops on the 2025/26 PWHL season.

"To be able to grow this fast is just a testament to the great sport, our great athletes, and how people feel about the work that we’re doing and what our players are putting out on the ice," said PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer.

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Vancouver fanbase bolstered city's PWHL bid

Commenting on the eight-month expansion evaluation process, Scheer called Vancouver's bid "unbelievably robust," and noted that the city's "engaged, vibrant, fun" fanbase and its "remarkable commitment to growing the game of hockey" helped earn the Canadian community a team.

That commitment was on display at the PWHL's recent 2025 Takeover Tour, which drew major crowds as the league tested expansion prospects in non-market cities across North America.

Vancouver stood out, notching the the fourth-largest crowd in PWHL history when 19,038 fans showed up on January 8th — and claiming the highest social media engagement across all nine Tour stops.

That fan enthusiasm helped push Vancouver across the PWHL's expansion line, with the new team already making league history.

Besides marking the league's first-ever footprint on the the West Coast, Vancouver will become the first PWHL team to serve as the primary tenant in its home venue at the Pacific Coliseum.

The 17,713-seat arena and its adjacent PNE Agrodome — PWHL Vancouver's main training facility — will undergo extensive upgrades for the incoming franchise.

"The expansion brings greater visibility to the West Coast, expands out geographic footprint, and, most importantly, grows the game," said PWHL EVP of hockey operations Jayna Hefford.

League eyes next steps for expansion team

While the PWHL still has over 20 proposals from markets requesting a team — and rumors swirling that Seattle could join Vancouver as a 2025/26 season expansion contingent — the league is currently making more concrete plans for its official seventh squad.

"With this team comes more opportunities for the best women's hockey players in the world to continue competing in one league," remarked Hefford. "The talent pool has never been deeper, and with a strong 2025 draft class ahead, we're pleased that even more women are going to be able to play at the professional level."

Details for an upcoming expansion draft to begin stocking Vancouver's roster will be announced shortly, and the team will also take part in the 2025 PWHL Draft on June 24th.

"The PWHL is setting a new standard for women's hockey. The game has never been faster, more physical, or more skilled," Hefford added. "We're so excited for this city to experience the parity and the competitiveness that our league has every single game."

The NWSL is heading back to the ballpark, with 2024 expansion side Bay FC announcing Tuesday that the club will take on the Washington Spirit inside Oracle Park, the home of MLB's San Francisco Giants.

Shifting the August 23rd match to the baseball diamond isn't just a spectacle — the move builds on Bay FC's continuous ambitions to claim the top NWSL attendance record by filling the Bay Area ballpark's 40,260 seats.

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Though the 25-year-old Oracle Park has previously hosted men's contests, August's NWSL match will be the first professional women's soccer game in the venue's history.

Similarly, while this will be the first NWSL competition in San Francisco's baseball venue, it's not the first league match in an MLB stadium.

Last summer, the Chicago Stars hosted Bay FC at Wrigley Field, packing an NWSL-record 35,038 soccer fans into the MLB home of the Chicago Cubs.

That June 8th, 2024, attendance surpassed the previous league-record crowd of 34,130 that attended USWNT icon Megan Rapinoe's final Seattle home game in 2023.

How to attend Bay FC vs. Washington at Oracle Park

To be a part of the potentially record-breaking August 23rd crowd, tickets will be available for general purchase beginning at 12 PM ET on May 6th.

Fans interested in securing pre-sale tickets can add their names to the online list.

In Tuesday night's NWSL action, Portland upset a rising Gotham side 4-1 behind three debut goals from the Thorns' promising rookie class.

The rare midweek match came courtesy of next month's Concacaf W Champions Cup. Both Gotham and Portland advanced to the international club event's semifinals last October, forcing them to pull double-duty and add this week's extra regular-season NWSL game to accommodate the tournament's schedule.

The tight turnaround certainly didn't rattle the Thorns.

Portland newcomers Marie-Yasmine "Mimi" Alidou, Caiya Hanks, and Jayden Perry all earned their first NWSL goals in the match, before offseason signee Deyna Castellanos reinforced the victory with an 80th-minute chip.

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As for Gotham, 32-year-old star forward Esther provided a bright spot for the NJ/NY squad, notching her fifth goal of the young season to boost herself to the top of the league's early Golden Boot race.

Despite the loss, Friday's strong outing against Angel City has Gotham still holding steady at No. 4 in the standings. However, both No. 5 Portland and No. 6 ACFC are close on the Bats' heels, with all three teams currently tied at eight points apiece.

"What I told the team is that we lost the battle tonight, but this is a long war," said Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amoros following the match. "We're there together on this."

How to watch Gotham, Portland this weekend

Gotham will take the pitch once again on Saturday, when they'll face East Coast rivals Washington at 1 PM ET. Live coverage will air on CBS.

Meanwhile, Portland will close out the NWSL's sixth matchday by hosting Racing Louisville at 4 PM ET on Sunday, streaming live on Paramount+.

The Soccer Tournament (TST) presented by RBC Wealth Management revealed its 2025 women's bracket on Tuesday, with 16 7v7 teams gearing up to compete for the $1 million winner-take-all grand prize this June.

The US Women's Team is back to defend their 2024 title, fueled by World Cup-winning USWNT vets Heather O'Reilly, Carli Lloyd, and Ali Krieger, plus retired Scotland national and Bay FC defender Jen Beattie.

Additional teams participating in the competition include 7v7 offshoots of NWSL clubs Angel City, KC Current, and 2024 runners-up NC Courage, as well as former USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo's Solo FC.

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Returning to Cary, North Carolina, for its third year, TST doubled the size of its women's bracket after a successful eight-team debut in 2024.

"Our inaugural women's championship game viewership performed exceptionally well, as we grew our audience 452% from the beginning of the game until the moment the game-winning goal was scored," TST founder and CEO Jon Mugar told The Athletic.

"TST soccer is electrifying," Mugar added. "Our goal is to become the preeminent soccer festival in the world. Judging by the number of returning fans and teams, we are well on our way."

How to attend, watch the 2025 TST 7v7 contest

TST's 7v7 women's competition kicks off on June 5th and runs through the $1 million championship game on June 9th.

Tickets to attend are currently available online.

All matches will air live on either YouTube or ESPN platforms.