Below is a selection of moments to watch for and notes to know entering the 2023 NWSL Championship, presented by Bud Light. Championship coverage begins Saturday, November 11, as No. 4 OL Reign takes on No. 6 NJ/NY Gotham FC in primetime at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California.

*Below is a selection of moments to watch for and notes to know entering the 2023 NWSL Championship, presented by Bud Light. Championship coverage begins Saturday, November 11, as No. 4 OL Reign takes on No. 6 NJ/NY Gotham FC in primetime at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California.

Additional match details can be found below.*

NOTES TO KNOW

HOW TO WATCH

The 2023 NWSL Championship, presented by Bud Light, will air in primetime at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on the CBS Television Network and Paramount+. Pre-match coverage begins at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Golazo Network with an hour-long episode of the “Attacking Third” women’s soccer show live from San Diego. Coverage continues live from Snapdragon Stadium with the 2023 NWSL Championship Pregame Show, presented by Ally, from 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET until kickoff.

The match will be available to fans tuning in internationally on Watch.NWSLSoccer.com. For more coverage details, click here.

RAPINOE AND KRIEGER

Two of the most storied careers in women’s soccer will come to an exciting end on Saturday, as OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe and NJ/NY Gotham FC defender Ali Krieger face each other in the Championship, as both try to win their first NWSL titles. The two NWSL originals have won together on the international stage many times, including a CONCACAF Women’s Championship and two FIFA Women’s World Cup titles and will now end their careers facing off against each other.

AWARD WINNERS IN ACTION

Saturday’s match will feature multiple 2023 award winners from Gotham FC, including three Mastercard Best XI winners, as Ali Krieger and forward Lynn Williams both made the Mastercard Best XI First Team and rookie defender Jenna Nighswonger made the second team. Nighswonger was also named the 2023 NWSL Rookie of the Year, presented by Ally.

2023 NWSL Coach of the Year Juan Carlos Amorós will lead Gotham FC against OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey, a three-time winner of the award.

The OL Reign roster features 2021 NWSL Most Valuable Player Jess Fishlock, plus several players who have earned previous Best XI honors, including Megan Rapinoe, Sofia Huerta, Lauren Barnes, Alana Cook, Emily Sonnett, Rose Lavelle and Bethany Balcer. Huerta and Barnes are the all-time regular season leaders in assists and minutes played, respectively. For Barnes, Fishlock, Rapinoe and coach Laura Harvey, this will be their third trip to the Championship together.

INAUGURAL CHAMPIONSHIP THROWBACK

Gotham FC’s roster features three players from the inaugural NWSL Championship in 2013, as midfielders Allie Long and Mana Shim were part of Portland Thorns FC 2-0 win against midfielder McCall Zerboni’s Western New York Flash in Rochester, New York.

MILESTONES AND RECORDS

FIRST TIME CHAMPIONS

The NWSL will crown a first-time champion this year, as neither OL Reign nor Gotham FC have won the title before. OL Reign, a three-time NWSL Shield winner, played in the Championship match in 2014 and 2015 as Seattle Reign FC, losing to FC Kansas City in both years. Their opponent, Gotham FC, will make their Championship debut on Saturday and look to become the third team in league history to win the Championship in their first appearance.

LYNNSANITY

Lynn Williams is no stranger to the NWSL Championship, having played in four title games already, winning with the Western New York Flash in 2016 and the North Carolina Courage in 2018 and 2019. This weekend, Williams will play in her fifth Championship match, matching her former teammate Kristen Hamilton’s NWSL record. If Gotham FC wins on Saturday, she will become the first player in league history to play in and win four Championships.

Williams is the NWSL playoffs all-time leader in minutes (1131), extra-time goals (3), shots (40), shots on goal (18) and is tied for first all-time in both playoff starts (11) and assists (3).

SHUTOUT STREAKS

Six NWSL Championships have ended in a shutout, most recently in 2022 with Portland Thorns FC defeating the Kansas City Current 2-0 with goalkeeper Bella Bixby recording a clean sheet. OL Reign keeper Claudia Dickey and Gotham FC keeper Mandy Haught both recorded shutouts in the first two rounds of the 2023 NWSL Playoffs, presented by Bud Light, becoming the second and third keepers in league history to record shutouts in their first two playoff starts. No keeper has ever recorded a clean sheet in their first three playoff appearances. Only two teams, FC Kansas City in 2015 and the Courage in 2018, allowed no goals throughout the playoffs, both before the NWSL expanded the playoffs from four teams to six in 2021.

Both keepers could break the record of 247 consecutive shutout minutes in the playoffs, set by Cassie Miller in 2021 during Chicago Red Stars’ run that saw them reach the Championship for the first time. Dickey played 180 minutes through the first two rounds while Haught played 210.

CAN SHE DO IT AGAIN

Veronica Latsko has more momentum than anyone after scoring game winners in the first two rounds. Reign’s forward found the back of the net in the 87th minute in the quarterfinals against Angel City FC and the 47th minute in the semifinals against the Thorns, becoming the first player to score in consecutive playoff matches since 2019. If she scores in the Championship, Latsko will become the first player in league history to score in three straight playoff games in the same season.