2022 National Women's Soccer League Challenge Cup | |
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Tournament details | |
Country | United States |
Dates | March 18–May 7 |
Teams | 12 |
Defending champions | Portland Thorns FC |
Final positions | |
Champions | North Carolina Courage (1st title) |
Runner-up | Washington Spirit |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 39 |
Goals scored | 106 (2.72 per match) |
Top goal scorer(s) | Ashley Hatch (6 goals) |
MVP | Debinha |
The 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup was a league cup competition that took place during the 2022 National Women's Soccer League season. It was the third iteration of the NWSL Challenge Cup tournament. In the 2022 championship game, the North Carolina Courage won their first title, defeating the Washington Spirit 2–1.[1]
The 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup was a multi-stage tournament. All 12 NWSL teams participated in the Challenge Cup, an increase of two from the previous edition due to the addition of expansion franchises Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC during the offseason. As a result, the competition was split into three regional groups of four teams each; East, Central and West. Each team played a six-game double round-robin in which every team played all others in its division at home and away. The winner from each of the three divisions along with the highest-ranked group stage runner-up progressed to the knockout stage, which consisted of three single-elimination matches: two semifinals and one final.[2] As a result of the expanded group stage, teams played a minimum of six games, two more than in 2021, and a maximum of eight, three more than in 2021. A total of 39 matches were played, 18 more than the 21 matches played during the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup.
No matches had extra time. In the group stage, matches could end in a tie at the end of normal playing time. In the knockout stage, if a match was tied at the end of normal playing time, the game was decided by a penalty shoot-out.[2]
Teams were required to have a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 20 players on a matchday roster. A maximum of nine players could be named as substitutes with a maximum of five substitutions in three stoppages (excluding half-time) permitted to be used during a match. No substitutes could be made after the end of normal playing time (except if a goalkeeper was unable to continue before or during the penalty shoot-out). Two "concussion substitutes" could also be used in accordance with IFAB rules.[2]
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 were tied on points at the end of the group stage, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied to determine the final group standings:[2]
In the case of two or more teams from different divisions being tied on points at the end of the group stage, the same procedure was followed 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.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | NC | WAS | NJY | ORL | |
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1 | North Carolina Courage | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
2 | Washington Spirit | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage based on ranking | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 4–1 | |
3 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 6 | 1–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | ||
4 | Orlando Pride | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 2 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | — |
NJ/NY Gotham FC | 1–1 | North Carolina Courage |
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Orlando Pride | 2–4 | North Carolina Courage |
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Pos | Team | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KC | CHI | LOU | HOU | |
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1 | Kansas City Current | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 13 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | |
2 | Chicago Red Stars | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 8 | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | ||
3 | Racing Louisville FC | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 6 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–3 | ||
4 | Houston Dash | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 13 | −6 | 6 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 2–1 | — |
Racing Louisville FC | 1–1 | Kansas City Current |
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Chicago Red Stars | 0–0 | Racing Louisville FC |
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Chicago Red Stars | 2–0 | Houston Dash |
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Racing Louisville FC | 1–1 | Chicago Red Stars |
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Pos | Team | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RGN | POR | SD | LA | |
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1 | OL Reign | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 14 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | |
2 | Portland Thorns FC | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 10 | 0–1 | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | ||
3 | San Diego Wave FC | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 5 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 4–2 | ||
4 | Angel City FC | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 4 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — |
OL Reign | 1–1 | Portland Thorns FC |
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Angel City FC | 1–1 | San Diego Wave FC |
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Angel City FC | 1–3 | OL Reign |
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OL Reign | 2–1 | Angel City FC |
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San Diego Wave FC | 1–1 | OL Reign |
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Angel City FC | 1–0 | Portland Thorns FC |
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The best second-placed team from the group stage advanced to the knockout stage.
Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | T | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
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1 | East | Washington Spirit | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | West | Portland Thorns FC | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 10 | |
3 | Central | Chicago Red Stars | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 8 |
The seeding of the division winners was determined by points accumulated in the group stage, followed if necessary by any applicable tiebreakers. The advancing second-place team was automatically made the #4 seed.[2]
Semifinals | Championship | ||||||||
1 | OL Reign | 0 (8) | |||||||
4 | Washington Spirit (p) | 0 (9) | |||||||
4 | Washington Spirit | 1 | |||||||
3 | North Carolina Courage | 2 | |||||||
2 | Kansas City Current | 1 | |||||||
3 | North Carolina Courage | 2 |
There were 106 goals scored in 39 matches, for an average of 2.72 goals per match.
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal
Source: NWSL
Statistics do not include penalty-shootout goals.
A player was automatically suspended for the next match in the tournament for the following offenses:[2]
The following suspensions were served during the tournament:
Player / Coach | Offense(s) | Suspension |
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Amber Brooks, WAS | vs. NJY, March 25 | vs. NC, March 30 |
Savannah McCaskill, LA | vs. RGN, March 26 | vs. POR, March 30 |
Lauren Barnes, RGN | vs. POR, March 18 vs. LA, March 26 |
vs. POR, April 2 |
Kylie Strom, ORL | vs. WAS, March 19 vs. NJY, March 30 |
vs. WAS, April 3 |
McCall Zerboni, NJY | vs. WAS, March 25 vs. ORL, March 30 |
vs. NC, April 3 |
Tegan McGrady, SD | vs. LA, March 19 vs. LA, April 2 |
vs. RGN, April 14 |
Bianca St-Georges, CHI | vs. HOU, March 20 vs. HOU, April 2 |
vs. LOU, April 16 |
Malia Berkely, NC | vs. WAS, March 30 vs. NJY, April 3 |
vs. ORL, April 16 |
Jennifer Cudjoe, NJY | vs. NCC, March 19 vs. NCC, April 3 |
vs. WAS, April 17 |
Taylor Aylmer, WAS | vs. ORL, March 19 vs. NJY, April 17 |
vs. NCC, April 23 |
Kristen McNabb, SD | vs. LA, March 19 vs. POR, April 17 |
vs. RGN, April 23 |
Kelcie Hedge, HOU | vs. LOU, March 25 vs. KCC, April 15 |
vs. LOU, April 24 |
Ava Cook, CHI | vs. KCC, March 25 vs. LOU, April 16 |
vs. KCC, April 24 |
Freja Olofsson, LOU | vs. HOU, March 25 vs. CHI, April 16 |
vs. HOU, April 24 |
Debinha was named the MVP for the second consecutive Challenge Cup.[3]
# Tournament MVP
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