Houston Dash Vs Utah Royals: 3 things we learned – The Dash survive

2. Straight to penalties

The NWSL hasn’t experienced penalties very much. This was only the second time in history. This tournament skips the traditional two 15-minute halves of extra-time and goes straight into the shootout.

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Of course, this helps the fitness of the players. They are competing in extreme circumstances and at a high elevation. The NWSL has already adopted the five substitutions amendment for 2020 and players are given hydration breaks throughout the game. It makes sense to extend such measures to penalties, too.

However, most fans would agree that there is a better way to determine who the better side is rather than going to a shootout. While shootouts make for good entertainment, it turns more into a guessing game between keeper and shooter rather than two teams trying to find the net as a whole unit.

Both sides of the argument bring valid points, and with the extreme circumstances we are in, going straight to penalties isn’t too outlandish for this competition. Ultimately, however you may feel about the decision, these are the rules that have been implemented and teams will have to learn to go with them as the knockout rounds continue.