2017 NWSL Schedule Released

Opening day is only six weeks away and the NWSL has released the full 2017 season schedule. The NC Courage start the season away to the Washington Spirit on April 15th in a re-match of the 2016 NWSL Championship. A week later, the team will open their home schedule to the Portland Thorns.

This season will enable the NWSL to build momentum and keep continuity since the US Women’s National Team does not have a major tournament to play in or qualify for. The league will observe the international breaks during the weekends of June 10-11, July 29-30 and Sept. 16-17.

Head Coach Paul Riley spoke about the schedule saying, the "Schedule release is always full of expectation and hope.” He went onto say that, “With the Courage playing our first game in history, it has extra spice and excitement. There are so many quality teams in the league, and every game is a battle. Fans love the competitive element of the league, and I'm sure throughout the country they are buzzing with anticipation to get the 2017 season rolling."

Thanks to the quirks of North American soccer, like travel and the number of teams in the league, the Courage will play two teams back to back this year. First, in June the team will host the Boston Breakers on the 17th and then travel to Jordan Field the next week. While facing the last place Breakers, who the Flash scored 17 goals in four games against last year, may not be a troubling prospect, the team will face the Seattle Reign in back to back matches as well. On August 5th, the teams will play in North Carolina before traveling to Seattle on August 13th.