Season | 2014 |
---|---|
Champions | FC Kansas City |
NWSL Shield | Seattle Reign FC |
Matches played | 108 |
Goals scored | 328 (3.04 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Kim Little (16 goals) |
Biggest home win | POR 7–1 KC (July 13) |
Biggest away win |
POR 0–5
WNY (June 7) WAS 1–6 POR (June 21) NJ 0–5 KC (July 6) |
Highest scoring | POR 6–3 BOS (July 20) |
Highest attendance | 19,123 – POR 1–0 HOU (August 3) [1] |
Lowest attendance | 582 – NJ 0–2 SEA (April 30) [2] |
Total attendance | 446,820 (August 20) |
Average attendance | 4,137 |
←
2013
2015 → |
The 2014 National Women's Soccer League season was the second season of the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Including the NWSL's two professional predecessors, Women's Professional Soccer (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), this was the eighth overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States. The league was operated by the United States Soccer Federation and received major financial backing from that body. Further financial backing was provided by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Mexican Football Federation. All three national federations paid the league salaries of many of their respective national team members in an effort to nurture talent in those nations.
The regular season began the weekend of April 12–13 and ended August 20, with the championship game played on August 30. [3] FC Kansas City defeated the NWSL Shield winners Seattle Reign FC 2–1 to win the NWSL title. [4]
The league had announced it would not expand for the 2014 season [5] and was not expected to contract. [6] However, after a push from the Houston Dynamo, the league approved the expansion of the Houston Dash. [7]
See also List of National Women's Soccer League stadiums
Two teams, the Dash and Reign, do not make their stadia's entire capacity available for home games, instead restricting ticket sales at a lower level. The full capacities of their venues are included in parentheses and italics. The Boston Breakers, [8] FC Kansas City, [9] and Seattle Reign FC [10] moved to new stadia for 2014, while the Houston Dash was an expansion franchise. [11]
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Locations of teams for the 2014 National Women's Soccer League season.
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Note: All teams use Nike as kit manufacturer.
Players were acquired through the 2014 Allocation of national team players announced on January 3, the 2014 NWSL Expansion Draft (for expansion team Houston) on January 10, and the 2014 NWSL College Draft on January 17, as well as free agency, trading, and loans.
Notable acquisitions
Abbreviation and Color Key: Boston Breakers – BOS • Chicago Red Stars – CHI • Houston Dash – HOU • FC Kansas City – KC • Portland Thorns FC – POR Seattle Reign FC – SEA • Sky Blue FC – NJ • Washington Spirit – WAS • Western New York Flash – WNY Win • Loss • Tie • Home Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Club | Match | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | |
Boston Breakers | SEA | HOU | NJ | NJ | CHI | CHI | KC | POR | WAS | KC | WAS | SEA | NJ | WNY | WAS | SEA | HOU | POR | WNY | WNY | KC | POR | CHI | HOU |
3–0 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 6–3 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | |
Chicago Red Stars | WNY | WAS | KC | NJ | HOU | BOS | BOS | HOU | NJ | WAS | SEA | NJ | WNY | KC | POR | POR | SEA | POR | SEA | HOU | WAS | KC | BOS | WNY |
1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 | |
Houston Dash | POR | BOS | SEA | KC | CHI | POR | KC | CHI | WAS | WNY | NJ | WNY | KC | WAS | WNY | BOS | WAS | CHI | SEA | POR | SEA | NJ | BOS | NJ |
0–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
FC Kansas City | NJ | WAS | POR | CHI | HOU | WNY | WAS | SEA | HOU | SEA | BOS | WNY | BOS | HOU | CHI | POR | NJ | POR | WNY | NJ | WAS | SEA | BOS | CHI |
1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–5 | 7–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | |
Portland Thorns FC | HOU | NJ | KC | WNY | SEA | HOU | WNY | NJ | BOS | WNY | WAS | WAS | NJ | KC | CHI | CHI | KC | CHI | BOS | WAS | SEA | HOU | BOS | SEA |
0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 1–6 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 7–1 | 1–1 | 6–3 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
Seattle Reign FC | BOS | WAS | HOU | NJ | WAS | POR | KC | KC | WNY | NJ | CHI | BOS | WNY | NJ | WNY | BOS | CHI | CHI | POR | HOU | KC | HOU | WAS | POR |
3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | |
Sky Blue FC | KC | POR | BOS | SEA | BOS | CHI | WNY | WAS | POR | CHI | SEA | HOU | CHI | BOS | POR | SEA | KC | WAS | KC | WNY | HOU | WNY | WAS | HOU |
1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | |
Washington Spirit | WNY | KC | SEA | CHI | SEA | KC | WNY | NJ | HOU | BOS | CHI | BOS | POR | POR | HOU | BOS | WNY | HOU | NJ | POR | KC | CHI | SEA | NJ |
1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–6 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | |
Western New York Flash | WAS | CHI | POR | KC | NJ | WAS | POR | SEA | HOU | KC | POR | HOU | CHI | SEA | BOS | SEA | HOU | WAS | KC | BOS | NJ | BOS | NJ | CHI |
1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 2–3 | 3–3 |
Scores listed as home-away
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Seattle Reign FC | 24 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 50 | 20 | +30 | 54 | NWSL Shield |
2 | FC Kansas City (C) | 24 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 41 | NWSL Playoffs |
3 | Portland Thorns FC | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 39 | 35 | +4 | 36 | |
4 | Washington Spirit | 24 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 36 | 43 | −7 | 35 | |
5 | Chicago Red Stars | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 32 | 26 | +6 | 35 | |
6 | Sky Blue FC | 24 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 34 | |
7 | Western New York Flash | 24 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 42 | 38 | +4 | 28 | |
8 | Boston Breakers | 24 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 37 | 53 | −16 | 20 | |
9 | Houston Dash | 24 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 23 | 44 | −21 | 18 |
The initial determining factor for a team's position in the standings is most points earned, with three points earned for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. If two or more teams tie in point total, when determining rank and playoff qualification and seeding, the NWSL uses the following tiebreaker rules, going down the list until all teams are ranked.
If two teams tie:
If three or more teams tie, the following rules apply until only two teams remain tied, at which point the two-team tiebreakers listed above are used:
Considering each week to end on a Sunday
Team \ Week | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seattle Reign FC | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
FC Kansas City | 4 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Portland Thorns FC | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Washington Spirit | 8 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Chicago Red Stars | 6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Sky Blue FC | 4 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
Western New York Flash | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
Houston Dash | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
Boston Breakers | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
Team \ Game | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seattle Reign FC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
FC Kansas City | 5 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Portland Thorns FC | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
Washington Spirit | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Chicago Red Stars | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
Sky Blue FC | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Western New York Flash | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Houston Dash | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
Boston Breakers | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
The top four teams from the regular season qualified for the championship playoffs. The highest-seeded semi-final winner then hosted the championship final.
Semi-finals | Championship | ||||||||
1 | Seattle Reign FC | 2 | |||||||
4 | Washington Spirit | 1 | |||||||
1 | Seattle Reign FC | 1 | |||||||
2 | FC Kansas City | 2 | |||||||
2 | FC Kansas City | 2 | |||||||
3 | Portland Thorns FC | 0 |
FC Kansas City | 2–0 | Portland Thorns FC |
---|---|---|
Rodriguez ![]() Phillips ![]() Holiday ![]() |
Report |
Menges ![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | 2–1 | Washington Spirit |
---|---|---|
Little ![]() Rapinoe ![]() Fletcher ![]() |
Report |
Averbuch ![]() Pérez ![]() Nairn ![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | 1–2 | FC Kansas City |
---|---|---|
Rapinoe ![]() Solo ![]() |
Report Report Report |
Rodriguez ![]() LePeilbet ![]() |
Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.
Team | Average | Total | No. of games | High | Low |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Portland Thorns FC | 13,362 [26] | 160,341 | 12 | 19,123 [1] | 9,672 |
Houston Dash | 4,650 [26] | 55,801 | 12 | 8,097 [27] | 3,561 |
Seattle Reign FC | 3,666 [26] | 43,996 | 12 | 5,957 [28] | 1,754 |
Washington Spirit | 3,335 [26] | 40,019 | 12 | 4,667 [29] | 2,306 |
Western New York Flash | 3,177 [26] | 38,125 | 12 | 4,339 [30] | 1,786 |
Chicago Red Stars | 2,949 [26] | 35,393 | 1 ( Toyota Park) | 15,743 [31] | 1,039 [32] |
11 ( Benedictine Stadium) | 3,032 [33] | ||||
Boston Breakers | 2,437 [26] | 29,248 | 12 | 4,191 [34] | 1,263 [35] |
FC Kansas City | 2,018 [26] | 24,215 | 12 | 3,107 [36] | 1,212 |
Sky Blue FC | 1,640 [37] | 19,682 | 12 | 3,471 [38] | 582 [2] |
A new NWSL attendance record of 19,123 was set on August 3 in a game between Portland and Houston at Providence Park in Portland, breaking the previous record of 17,619 set in 2013. [1]
Semi-final No. 1, August 23, Portland at Kansas City: 2,997 [39]
Semi-final No. 2, August 24, Washington at Seattle: 4,540 [40]
Final, August 31, Kansas City at Seattle: 4,252 [41]
Top scorers
Source: [42]
|
Top assists
Source: [42]
|
(Minimum of 1,080 Minutes Played)
Rank | Goalkeeper | Club | GP | MINS | SOG | SVS | GA | GAA | W-L-T | SHO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | 20 | 1800 | 83 | 65 | 18 | 0.900 | 13–2–5 | 5 |
2 |
![]() |
Chicago Red Stars | 21 | 1890 | 97 | 76 | 21 | 1.000 | 9–6–6 | 6 |
3 |
![]() |
Western New York Flash | 14 | 1183 | 65 | 49 | 15 | 1.141 | 6–6–1 | 2 |
4 |
![]() |
FC Kansas City | 22 | 1935 | 100 | 71 | 29 | 1.349 | 11–6–5 | 8 |
5 |
![]() |
Portland Thorns FC | 22 | 1917 | 104 | 74 | 30 | 1.408 | 8–8–6 | 4 |
6 |
![]() |
Sky Blue FC | 17 | 1530 | 94 | 69 | 25 | 1.471 | 7–5–5 | 4 |
7 |
![]() |
Washington Spirit | 19 | 1710 | 97 | 66 | 31 | 1.632 | 10–5–4 | 4 |
8 |
![]() |
Houston Dash | 19 | 1755 | 120 | 83 | 35 | 1.750 | 4–12–3 | 2 |
9 |
![]() |
Boston Breakers | 24 | 2115 | 159 | 106 | 53 | 2.208 | 6–16–2 | 3 |
Source: [42]
Month | Player of the Month | Club | Month's Statline | |
---|---|---|---|---|
April |
![]() |
Kim Little [62] | Seattle Reign FC | 4G in 4 games; Reign 4-0-0 in April |
May |
![]() |
Kim Little [63] | Seattle Reign FC | 4G in 5 games; Reign 3-0-2 in May |
June |
![]() |
Nicole Barnhart [64] | FC Kansas City | 1.1 GAA, 4SHO in 4 games; FCKC 5-0-0 in June |
July |
![]() |
Kim Little [65] | Seattle Reign FC | 3G, 4A in 6 games; Reign 4-1-1 in July |
August |
![]() |
Nadia Nadim [66] | Sky Blue FC | 5G, 1A in 2 games; Sky Blue 4-0-0 in August |
Award | Winner | Runner-up | Third place | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Golden Boot [67] |
![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | 16 Goals |
![]() |
FC Kansas City |
![]() ![]() |
Portland Thorns FC Washington Spirit |
Rookie of the Year [68] |
![]() |
Chicago Red Stars | 2 goals, 2 assists |
![]() |
Houston Dash |
![]() |
Washington Spirit |
Goalkeeper of the Year [69] |
![]() |
Boston Breakers | 106 saves |
![]() |
Seattle Reign FC |
![]() |
Washington Spirit |
Defender of the Year [70] |
![]() |
FC Kansas City | 1935 minutes, 1.33 GAA |
![]() ![]() |
Washington Spirit Chicago Red Stars |
||
Coach of the Year [71] |
![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | 16–2–6 regular season |
![]() |
Washington Spirit |
![]() |
FC Kansas City |
Most Valuable Player [72] |
![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | 16 goals, 7 assists |
![]() |
Portland Thorns |
![]() |
FC Kansas City |
NWSL Best XI [73] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position | First team | Second team | ||||
Goalkeeper |
![]() |
Boston Breakers | 106 saves |
![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | 5 shutouts |
Defender |
![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | .83 team GAA |
![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | .83 team GAA |
Defender |
![]() |
Washington Spirit | 1 goal |
![]() |
Portland Thorns FC | 5 assists |
Defender |
![]() |
Sky Blue FC | 1 goal, 2 assists |
![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | .83 team GAA |
Defender |
![]() |
FC Kansas City | 8 shutouts |
![]() |
Chicago Red Stars | Rookie of the Year |
Midfielder |
![]() |
Portland Thorns FC | 4 goals, 6 assists |
![]() |
Western New York Flash | 8 goals, 5 assists |
Midfielder |
![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | 4 goals, 8 assists |
![]() |
Portland Thorns FC | 9 goals, 3 assists |
Midfielder |
![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | 16 goals, 7 assists |
![]() |
Boston Breakers | 9 goals, 5 assists |
Forward |
![]() |
FC Kansas City | 8 goals, 7 assists |
![]() |
Portland Thorns FC | 11 goals, 1 assist |
Forward |
![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | 9 goals, 5 assists |
![]() |
Chicago Red Stars | 6 goals |
Forward |
![]() |
FC Kansas City | 13 goals, 3 assists |
![]() |
Washington Spirit | 11 goals, 2 assist |
NWSL Championship Game MVP [4] | ||
---|---|---|
Player | Club | Record |
![]() |
FC Kansas City | Two assists including for the game-winning goal |
Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jazmine Reeves [75] | Boston Breakers | Portland Thorns FC | 4–1 | 5/28 |
Christine Sinclair | Portland Thorns FC | Boston Breakers | 6–3 | 7/20 |
Nadia Nadim [76] | Sky Blue FC | Houston Dash | 3–1 | 8/09 |