| 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship | |
| Other Titles: | Championship, presented by Budweiser, of the 2020 National Women's Soccer League Challenge Cup presented by P&G and Secret |
| Event: | 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup |
| Team1: | Houston Dash |
| Team1score: | 2 |
| Team2: | Chicago Red Stars |
| Team2score: | 0 |
| Stadium: | Rio Tinto Stadium |
| City: | Sandy, Utah |
| Woman Player1: | Shea Groom, HOU |
| Woman Player1name: | Woman of the Match |
| Referee: | Katja Koroleva |
| Attendance: | 0 (Behind closed doors) |
| Next: | 2021 |
The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship was a soccer match held on July 26, 2020, at the Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. It was the final match of the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, a one-off competition marking the resumption of the 2020 National Women's Soccer League season following the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The match was played behind closed doors due to the pandemic and was broadcast on CBS beginning at 12:30 ET.
Houston Dash won the match 2–0 against Chicago Red Stars to win the tournament.
The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup was a one-off tournament during the 2020 NWSL season to mark the league's return to action from the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight National Women's Soccer League teams participated in the tournament. The tournament, played behind closed doors in the Salt Lake City area, began on June 27 with a preliminary round, followed by a knockout round.
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first.
| Houston Dash | Round | Chicago Red Stars | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Preliminary round | Opponent | Result | |
| Utah Royals FC | 3–3 | Match 1 | Washington Spirit | 1–2 | |
| OL Reign | 2–0 | Match 2 | Portland Thorns FC | 0–0 | |
| Sky Blue FC | 0–2 | Match 3 | North Carolina Courage | 0–1 | |
| Washington Spirit | 0–1 | Match 4 | Utah Royals FC | 1–0 | |
| Final standings | |||||
| Opponent | Result | Knockout round | Opponent | Result | |
| Utah Royals FC | 0–0 | Quarter-finals | OL Reign | 0–0 | |
| Portland Thorns FC | 1–0 | Semi-finals | Sky Blue FC | 3–2 | |
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| Woman of the Match: Shea Groom, HOU[1] Assistant referees
| Match rules
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The match aired on CBS and CBS All Access in the United States and Canada, and on Twitch internationally.[2] Jenn Hildreth and Lori Lindsey served as play-by-play announcer and analyst respectively on CBS, reporting remotely, while Mike Watts and Jen Cooper did the same on Twitch. Marisa Pilla was the on-field reporter. Most of the show's production staff operated off-site, including a fully remote integration model production, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television in the United States.[3]
CBS Sports soccer reporter Sandra Herrera and studio host Sherree Burruss hosted the pre- and post-game shows on CBS Sports HQ along with Aly Wagner. Alex Morgan also joined the pregame show.
The match registered a 0.44 Nielsen rating and 653,000 viewers, becoming the league's largest-ever domestic broadcast audience. The match viewership represented a 293-percent increase over the 2019 NWSL Championship match.[4]
