The regular season continues with midweek action in the National Women’s Soccer League on Wednesday night. A triple header of games is on the board as the North Carolina Courage hosts the Orlando Pride at WakeMed Soccer Plex, Racing Louisville FC hosts San Diego Wave FC and Portland Thorns FC takes on the Washington Spirit. Fans can watch every game through Paramount+.
This is how you can see the upcoming games:
How to watch NWSL games
Wednesday, May 18
- North Carolina Courage vs Orlando Pride, 7 p. m. ET (Paramount+)
- Racing Louisville FC vs San Diego Wave FC, 7:30 p. m. ET (Paramount+)
- Portland Thorns FC vs Washington Spirit, 10 p. m. ET (Paramount+)
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Will North Carolina get its first win of the regular season?
The Courage have only played one game so far this season. Before the Challenge Cup semi-final, they had their second week match rescheduled due to overlap with the tournament. After winning the 2022 Challenge Cup, the team had several players ruled out thanks to COVID-19 protocols, as did their week three opponent NJ/NY Gotham FC, so their week three game will also be postponed.
North Carolina now finally returns to regular season action against Orlando Pride, looking for its first regular season win after a week one loss to Angel City FC on April 29. Orlando won’t make things easy, they are unbeaten in their last two games and striker Sydney Leroux has returned from injury to bring some reliability up front. Leroux is second on the team with four chances created and scored the game-winner against Angel City.
San Diego tests road win streak
Wave FC are the only team to have won three games this season and are coming off a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Red Stars, but their streak is about to be tested again, this time on a long road trip. After a two-game homestand, San Diego will have its next four games on the road, beginning with a midweek battle against Racing Louisville FC at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.
The team has been led by a combination of one-two goals provided by Alex Morgan and Kailen Sheridan’s goalkeeping. Morgan has five of San Diego’s seven goals, with three penalties converted. Sheridan has two clean sheets and is second in the league in save percentage at 90%.
La Ola is averaging one penalty per game and Racing will have to make sure they defend without adding to that average.
Will Washington get back in the win column?
The Spirit will try to bounce back on the road after a loss against Angel City on Sunday. The team is in a quick turnaround to face the Portland Thorns at Providence Park. The heavy match load is not unheard of for the Spirit, who played three matches in seven days with an overlapping Challenge Cup in the first week of the regular season.
It will now be two games in four days for the defending 2021 NWSL champions, who have been dealing with injuries and player turnover due to the compressed schedule. Ashley Sanchez’s absence in the first half on Sunday was significant for a position-thin Spirit team, already missing Jordan Baggett and Andi Sullivan with a calf injury.
The Thorns will be a challenge as all three of their defenses have more players making things difficult in the middle third for opposing teams.
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