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On Thursday, the NWSL released the 2026 regular season schedule featuring 30 games for each of the league's 16 clubs. The increase from 26 in 2025 to 30 this year is a result of the league adding two new expansion teams: Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC. The season begins on March 13, when the Washington Spirit hosts Portland Thorns FC. NJ/NY Gotham FC will play in their season opener the following day.
Fans, as always, will scour the schedule for notable and interesting matchups, even more so this year given the two expansion teams and larger number of games. Here are five games that Gotham FC fans should watch in 2026.
5 Gotham FC games to watch in 2026
5. First visits to the expansion clubs
When it comes to expansion teams, one of the most anticipated matchups is always making the first-ever trip to these new cities. Gotham FC gets their first visit out of the way immediately when they travel to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on opening weekend to take on the Legacy on Saturday, March 14 at 12:30 PM on ABC. Long-time NWSL fans will know that this is Boston's second team in the NWSL, and this visit will mark Gotham's first to Boston since September 30, 2017, when then-Sky Blue FC beat the Boston Breakers 4-3.
The Boston game will be the chosen one to watch, but there is a bonus match fans should watch, too. The NJ/NY side will then visit Denver to take on the Summit on Sunday, September 6, at 2:00 PM on CBS. This will be Denver's first-ever pro women's soccer team, not just in NWSL, but in the previous two leagues as well. Denver recently made news when they announced the signing of Colorado native and USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps, marking her return to NWSL for the first time since 2021.
4. Home opener against North Carolina
Gotham fans won't have long to wait for their home opener as they welcome the North Carolina Courage to Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday, March 21, at 6:30 PM on Ion. It has been a rough time for the Bats in home openers as they have not won in their first home game of the regular season since 2021.
3. First visit back to CPKC Stadium
On Saturday, April 4, Gotham will return to CPKC Stadium to face the Kansas City Current for the first time since their playoff upset in last year's quarterfinals. The team's 2-1 win in extra time marked just the second time that the Current have lost at that stadium since it opened at the beginning of the 2024 season. The game is scheduled for a 4:00 PM kickoff on CBS.
2. A championship rematch
Gotham FC will face off against the Washington Spirit on Wednesday, July 15, at 7:00 PM on NWSL+. This will be the first meeting between the two sides since the 2025 Championship game, where the Bats came out 1-0 victors. While this fixture falling on a Wednesday and the venue still being listed as "TBA" does potentially take something away from this game from a fan and atmosphere standpoint, the Spirit won't care and will be doing everything possible to avenge last season's championship loss
1. The final playoff rematch
While Gotham plays the Orlando Pride at home in their fourth game of the season, they do not return to Inter&Co Stadium, the sight of last year's playoff semifinal, until the second-to-last week of the campaign on Sunday, October 25 at 3:00 PM on CBSSN. Not only will this be a replay of last year's semi-final, but it could also shape up to be a pretty important match when it comes to playoff seeding and who does and doesn't end up hosting a quarterfinal playoff matchup.