One week after the NWSL Draft, the news became official: the Boston Breakers would cease operations, effective immediately. The 2018 NWSL season will now feature a nine-team league, and each club will play 24 games—facing each opponent three times in the regular season.
This heartbreaking news for Boston fans and players came seemingly out of nowhere, but occurred after a new potential owner backed out just before the draft. As Dan Lauletta reported, the league looked to secure a last-minute purchaser to at least operate the team in 2018, but a deal never surfaced.