Saturday, Sept. 26, will be packed with NWSL Fall Series action, including the Game of the Week between the Chicago Red Stars and the Washington Spirit screened by CBS and two other matches.

The National Women’s Soccer League resumes this weekend with all three games taking place on Saturday. 

First in the schedule is the NWSL Fall Series Game of the Week between the Chicago Red Stars and the Washington Spirit at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill., starting at 1 p.m. ET. Following Saturday’s opener is a match between the Utah Royals and OL Reign, who will face-off at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, starting at 3:30 p.m. ET. And to close out the action on Saturday, the Houston Dash will host the Orlando Pride at the BBVA Stadium in Houston, Texas, starting at 8:30 p.m. ET. 

Match of the Week: Chicago Red Stars vs Washington Spirit 

The last time these two sides met was in earlier this month with the Spirit picking up a 2-1 win. Moreover, Washington leads the all-time series over the Chicago Red Stars 10W-7L-4D. 

Chicago Red Stars 

The Chicago Red Stars are coming off a 4-1 win over Sky Blue FC last Sunday. Chicago was clinical, amassing to 10 shots, seven on target and four goals. 

On the other hand, Washington lost to Sky Blue on opening day. However, the Red Stars fell to the Spirit 2-1 in their first game of the Fall Series. 

The Red Stars will have a chip on their shoulders coming into the game. The four attacking players, including Kealia Watt, Sarah Luebbert, Vanessa DiBernardo and Zoey Goralski, were all involved in at least one of the four goals. 

Playing a high press would be a good option to disrupt Washington’s possessive oriented style. 

Washington Spirit 

The Washington Spirit made the best out of Chicago’s Vavanna McCaskill red card in the 46th minute, having been down 1-0 at the half. Washington pulled-off the comeback on the 93rd minute when Jessie Scarpa scored after Bayley Feist’s tying goal. 

The Spirit’s win was needed after losing on opening day to Sky Blue 2-1. The Red Stars showed their full potential on Sunday, putting four goals past the Beez. 

Washington’s manager Richie Burke will emphasize minimizing mistakes in their half and closing down space when dispossessions happen. 

Talk of the Week: NWSL player tests positive for COVID-19 

The Houston Dash released a statement on Wednesday, Sept. 23, which stated that a player tested positive for COVID-19. A second test for the player confirmed the positive result. The Dash disclosed that the player is asymptomatic and self-isolating.  

The Dash proceeded to test players and staff after the player tested positive, and all members of the team returned with consecutive negative results and do not have symptoms. Moreover, all team and staff members are self-isolating, and the team implemented contact tracing. The team sessions were temporarily postponed and resumed Thursday.  

This is the first positive COVID-19 result since the Orlando fiasco before the NWSL Challenge Cup.  

Houston Dash’s game against the Orlando Pride at the BBVA Stadium remains scheduled on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 8:30 p.m. ET.  

Kickoff times, dates, broadcast channels for NWSL Fall Series matches on Saturday, Sept. 26