The NWSL season gets going this weekend, and Ion has refreshed its studio team to include several high-profile former players.
On Wednesday, the Scripps-owned network announced a quartet of studio analysts that will rotate throughout the NWSL season for its Saturday Night Soccer broadcast. Former New Zealand international and NWSL star Ali Riley headlines the crew. Riley, it was announced on Wednesday, will also serve as an analyst for Prime Video’s NWSL coverage this season.
She’ll be joined by former NWSL player Jordan Angeli, former NWSL forward Darian Jenkins, and former Colombian national team midfielder Chelsea Cabarcas. Sebastian Salazar will return as host of Ion’s Saturday Night Soccer coverage.
Ion’s lead broadcasting team remains in tact from last season, lead by veteran play-by-play voice JP Dellacamera and former USWNT goalkeeper Jill Loyden in the analyst spot. Maura Sheridan and Marion Crowder once again fill out the second team, while Michael Wottreng and Merritt Mathias will call the third games on tripleheader nights.
Ion is introducing expanded pre- and post-match coverage this season, blocking out 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET each Saturday night across the 16-week NWSL season. During weeks that Ion airs three games, coverage will begin a couple hours earlier.
The network’s season kicks off on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET for a match between the Kansas City Current and Utah Royals FC, the first of three matches for Ion that day. The following Saturday will also feature tripleheader action.
One quirk to note this NWSL season: the league will pause action during the month of June as to not compete with the FIFA World Cup hosted in North America. Matches will pick back up in July, with the NWSL Final set for November 21.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.