Due to the way in which the W League’s schedule is built, all regular season matches will remain within respective divisions. So there’s some limitations of superstar matchups, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a bucketful of great matches between budding rivals. Last year’s losses will need to be revenged and expansion sides will look to make their mark in a new league. Should be a fun one! This is part one of our Circle the Date: USL W League series, with Dan Vaughn and Josh Duder.

FC Miami City dominated 2022, can they repeat in 2023?

Palm city americanas vs FC Miami City

MAY 10th at 6:30 PM (EST)

FC Miami City finished 2022 losing to the eventual W League champions in the opening match of the playoffs. After a fantastic season, where the club finished the regular season undefeated and took home a Southeast Divisional title, that quick exit from the playoffs had to feel pretty abrupt. Coming into 2023, the team will look to regroup and start over, hoping to get further this year than the last. The division added two expansion sides and Palm City Americanas is one of them. Featuring a logo with a VERY pissed off eagle, this club is the combination of 7 different soccer organizations and should leverage that diversity into a strong showing in its first year in the W League. This matchup will be a great first test. Will we see a new club on the rise or will last year’s cream rise to the top again?

Oly Town Artesians vs PDX FC

May 14th at 3:30 pm (PST)

Oly Town are one of a handful of expansion sides from the Pacific Northwest - however, the Artesians have been operating a women’s squad for a few years and have a head start on the teams from Portland. Additionally, they have a great Head Coach appointment in Chris Wells, who has experience coaching in the NWSL with Seattle Reign and has won multiple amateur championships in the NWPL with Seattle Stars. Meanwhile, PDX FC, who seems like a late add to the season and are likely filling in for OVF Alliance (who vacated both their men’s and women’s positions in USL) have not announced a women’s coach, technical staff, or any players so far - but do have one of the best traveling supporters groups in the Northwest and at the very least, will make a loud start to the season.

South GeorgiA Tormenta vs Chattanooga Red Wolves

June 1st at 7:00 PM (EST)

Everyone remembers Tormenta hoisting the inaugural W League championship trophy in 2022, but maybe some have forgotten that if you checked the South Central Division standings, Tormenta won by a single point. The club only lost once in 2022 and that single loss was against Chattanooga Red Wolves. That single point was enough to keep CRW out of the W League playoffs. The Wolves have had a full off season to sit and think about what could of been and will be coming into this match looking for revenge. The defending champions will be hoping to establish a stranglehold on the division with a big win at home against their biggest divisional rivals. You cannot ask for a better matchup than this one.

Oakland Soul vs California Storm

June 4th At 7:00 PM (PST)

Talk about a clash of different styles! Oakland Soul come into this season as a true expansion side. Zero history to lean on, but the Soul bring a ton of swagger and flashy packaging. Will those will translate to wins on the field this season? Hard to say, but their opponent for this match has all the pedigree and silverware Oakland is building towards. California Storm are fresh off a WPSL title and are considered the favorites in the newly-formed NorCal Division. Storm will no doubt be looking to put their stamp on the W League in a big way in 2023. This matchup should be a fun one, featuring two clubs with entirely different histories, one new, one old. Hard not to expect Storm to run away with it, but there’s a reason we play the matches.

Detroit City Women will be hoping to come out strong in 2023.

Midwest United vs Detroit City FC

June 6th At 8:00 PM (EST)

When W League split up the Great Lakes Division and put Indy Eleven and Racing Louisville into the new Valley Division, it created a power vacuum. Without a doubt, Midwest United is hoping to slide into that top slot, having finished second last season. Detroit City, on the other hand, finished mid-table in 2023 and will be hoping to make a big move. Given the support Le Rouge has from the DCFC faithful, United will certainly be angling to pull down three points hosting this match. The rematch at Keyworth will be three days later, so this could be a big decider of how these clubs finish the season.

CFC Atletica vs Lane United

June 18th at 2:00 pm (PST)

Allegedly, both Lane United and Capital FC Atletica are expansion sides - but don’t be fooled. Both squads have operated in the past, and at fairly high levels - CFC Atletica played their inaugural season as a squad in the WPSL, then moved to the Northwest Premier League (NWPL, a regional amateur league chock full of some of the most talented players and coaches in Cascadia). They have won a championship, and came runners-up twice in the Oregon Women’s Open Cup; a contest in which they played an iteration of Lane United, when they were called Timbers Azul and plied their trade in the WPSL. Both sides have fantastic players who have been playing together for years and are coached by some of Oregon’s best - to have this as an Oregon Derby in year one is a treat for the league as a whole.