Cary, NC (PSF) — This week the NWSL’s 11th season will kick off. There have already been a few team scrimmages, and more are on the way. For the first time since 2019, the first games of the NWSL season will have playoff implications, as the league moved the Challenge Cup to be an in-season tournament. The season kicks off Saturday, with the North Carolina Courage hosting the Kansas City Current at 2pm ET on Paramount+. All games this season will be broadcast on the CBS family of networks. New jerseys are dropping (with many mixed reactions) and fans are becoming increasingly excited.

The off-season has brought a lot of changes. The league’s first free agency period meant more players controlled their own destiny, and they took advantage of that. Trades were fewer than in past seasons, but there were still quite a few. The most shocking trade came during draft day, when the Kansas City Current announced that Forward Lynn Williams was being traded to NY/NJ Gotham FC in exchange for the second pick in the draft. Williams missed the entirety of the 2022 season due to a hamstring injury, so she never actually played for the Current (she was traded from NC in late 2021). Another draft day trade came with Emily Sonnett being traded to OL Reign from the Washington Spirit. Mike Parsons, the new Spirit Head Coach and Sonnett have some negative history, so it was not entirely surprising for Sonnett to leave the Spirit. However, the trade was not handled well; during the draft, Sonnett was announced as a ‘player to be named later.’ Fans speculated Sonnett had not been made aware of the trade yet.

Teams are also turning to younger talent, with both San Diego and Washington signing players under 16 to their rosters. Portland already had an under 18-year-old with Olivia Moultrie. These players have given up their college eligibility to play professionally. Alyssa Thompson of Angel City is another example of this. The only difference there is that Thompson was drafted. It’s unclear how much time these young players are going to get this season. Moultrie did not play that much in 2022. However, these young players are making impacts just by signing with their teams.

Overall, the NWSL’s 11th season is sure to be a good one. From the changed schedule format to the impact of free agency, this season is sure to be fun.