Washington Spirit announce 2019 NWSL schedule

The Washington Spirit, along with the rest of the NWSL, announced their 2019 schedule today. The Spirit’s 24-game slate will run from mid-April to mid-October. The NWSL playoffs should take place the weekend of October 18-20, with the championship game scheduled for October 26.

The Spirit will play 11 of their 12 home games on Saturday nights, which is the club’s long-standing preference. Of those games, two (the Orlando Pride on August 24, and Reign FC on September 14) look very likely to take place at Audi Field, the home of D.C. United. The Spirit press release says that the stadium for those two games will be announced after the 2019 World Cup ends, but all signs point to a return to the District after the Spirit established a new club attendance record in last year’s 1-0 loss to Portland Thorns FC at the Buzzard Point venue.

All NWSL games will be streamed on Yahoo! Sports, while Spirit fans in the DMV will have access to a minimum of 12 games on local TV and/or online streams thanks to the Spirit’s deal with NBC Sports Washington and Monumental Sports Network. The specific games that deal will cover should be announced in the next month or so.

Fans of both the Spirit and United may find themselves making some tough choices this season, as the schedules of both teams conflict frequently. There are only 5 Spirit home games that fans can attend without missing at least part of a United game the same day.