And at that moment, the 10-team NWSL will become the first top-tier U.S. women’s pro venture to begin a fourth season. The Women’s United Soccer Association, featuring Mia Hamm and the first wave of female superstars, lasted from 2001 to ‘03. The second try, Women’s Professional Soccer, was done in three as well, folding in 2011.

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But with a prudent business model and backing from the U.S. and Canadian federations, the NWSL has avoided the pitfalls of its predecessors and lived to see a fourth year.

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“It’s a huge deal for women’s soccer to go to a fourth season but also have that feeling and mentality that we are going to grow this and it’s going to be better,” said Spirit Coach Jim Gabarra, whose involvement in the women’s pro game dates to the WUSA’s Washington Freedom in 2001.

Beyond the symbolism of a fourth season, the NWSL appears to have turned a corner. Unlike the first two attempts to sustain a league, there is stability: All eight original teams remain in business, two expansion teams joined and additional cities are eyeing franchises.

The U.S. World Cup championship last summer in Canada lifted attendance late in the 2015 season and raised the profile of the NWSL’s core attractions, the national team players.

Carli Lloyd has returned to the Houston Dash and Alex Morgan jumped to the expansion Orlando Pride from the Portland Thorns. Hope Solo is back with the Seattle Reign and 2015 league MVP Crystal Dunn, the last player cut from the World Cup squad but an emerging star this year, will charge the Spirit.

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All but one of the players in contention for a spot on the 18-strong U.S. Olympic squad, which will chase a fourth consecutive gold medal this summer in Brazil, are aligned with NWSL teams. (The exception is UCLA-bound forward Mallory Pugh.) To avoid Olympic scheduling conflicts, the league will shut down for most of August. [Full schedule]

“We have the best young women in the world playing the most important sport in the world, and we have them in our backyard,” NWSL Commissioner Jeff Plush said. “It gives you a lot of confidence for what our future looks like.”

Players noticed a shift after the World Cup last year.

“We hit a tipping point, something unlike I’ve seen before,” said Spirit midfielder Joanna Lohman, 33, a Silver Spring native who played in WPS. “It was such an incredible moment because you realized the work you put in to make the league succeed. It felt like, ‘Alright, I think we can hang around for a long time.’ Before, you just never knew.”

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The Spirit averaged 4,084 at Maryland SoccerPlex in Montgomery County, a 22.5 percent rise over 2014. Team owner Bill Lynch, a Virginia-based software executive, needs to average 4,000 to break even.

All but one team experienced attendance growth last year. Still, the league is very much a work in progress. Portland averaged 15,639, but no others drew more than 6,500 per game and three were below 3,000. The New York area franchise, New Jersey-based Sky Blue FC, was last at 2,268. The regular season league average was about 5,000.

There are other challenges: still no teams in California and a national TV deal with Fox Sports 1 that calls for coverage of just six matches, all after the Olympics and only three in the regular season. (All other games are streamed on the NWSL’s YouTube channel.)

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Two-dozen U.S. stars and 10 Canadian players are well compensated by their respective federations – the salaries cover both national team and NWSL work – and some notable players have arrived from overseas. The biggest import this year is Portland’s French midfielder, Amandine Henry, who won the Silver Ball as the second-best player at the World Cup last year. (Lloyd won the Golden Ball.)

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But the rank and file earns between $7,200 and $39,700 on six-month contracts. Both figures rose slightly this year. Many players have offseason jobs and, during the season, live with host families.

The salary cap is $278,000 per team. U.S. and Canadian national team players are exempt. [Roster rules and guidelines]

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“We know there is certainly more to be done, especially at the lower end of the pay scale,” Plush said. He cited the need to increase revenue through ticket sales and sponsorship, and create more opportunities for players to make money on the side.

Since WPS folded, Lohman said, the pay has been “only a regression, but, in a way, it has to be in order for the league to be sustainable.”

Meantime, the elite U.S. players are in a well-publicized labor dispute with the U.S. Soccer Federation over bonuses and other issues related to national team service. They have threatened to boycott the Olympics if new terms are not reached.

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As talks continue, the players are focused on the NWSL.

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“It’s not a distraction for us because it’s what’s right,” said Spirit defender Ali Krieger, a national team veteran from Dumfries, Va. “We want fair pay for fair play; we want respect. It’s great timing and we have such good leverage.”

Meantime, after surviving uncertainty of the previous years, league officials are taking a long-term approach.

“We’ve talked about a 10-year plan,” Plush said. “To get there, we need to show growth in lots of areas.”

For those involved in the weekly grind, optimism abounds.

“I see dreams that you can reach out and touch,” Gabarra said. “The dreams we had in WUSA and WPS were really just dreams. It’s different because of the growth of the game, the strength of the league’s business model and the overall feeling of optimism and sustainability that has completely pushed aside all of those concerns: Is the league going to be here next year? Will this team be around next year?

“It’s another chapter. It’s a place we’ve never gone.”

NWSL Opening Weekend

All times are Eastern

Saturday

Boston Breakers at Washington Spirit, 7 p.m.

Chicago Red Stars at Houston Dash, 8:30

Western New York Flash at FC Kansas City, 8:30

Sunday

Sky Blue FC at Seattle Reign, 7 p.m.