NWSL expansion sides suffer defeats in season debuts
The 2026 NWSL season kicked off in the United States on Saturday, March 14, with two expansion teams making their league debuts — Boston Legacy and Denver Summit. Neither side, however, celebrated a first victory, and both finished their matches with ten players.
Denver opened their campaign away at Bay FC, but their task became much harder in the 27th minute when former Louisville player Janine Sonis was shown a red card.
Boston, meanwhile, had the advantage of playing at home but faced defending champions Gotham FC in their season opener. Gotham began their title defence with a win thanks to a goal from Esther González.
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