Season | 2015 |
---|---|
Champions | FC Kansas City |
NWSL Shield | Seattle Reign FC |
Matches played | 90 |
Goals scored | 251 (2.79 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Crystal Dunn (WAS), 15 goals |
Biggest home win | SEA 5–1 WNY (Apr 12) KC 4–0 WNY (Aug 8) |
Biggest away win | NJ 0–3 CHI (June 28) HOU 0–3 SEA (Aug 22) |
Highest scoring | POR 5–2 BOS (Aug 5) |
Longest winning run | 6 games Seattle Reign FC (July 22 – August 26) |
Longest unbeaten run | 8 games Seattle Reign FC (May 2 – July 11) (July 22 – September 5) |
Longest losing run | 4 games Boston Breakers (July 22 – August 5) Houston Dash (August 1 – August 21) |
Highest attendance | 21,144 @ POR 0–1 SEA (July 22) |
Lowest attendance | 953 @ NJ 1–3 WAS (Apr 26) |
Total attendance | 454,100 [1] |
Average attendance | 5,046 |
← 2014 2016 → All statistics correct as of September 6, 2015. |
The 2015 National Women's Soccer League season was the third 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), it was the ninth 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.
In January, Jeff Plush was named NWSL commissioner, [2] replacing Cheryl Bailey.
To accommodate the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the league announced it would take a two-week break from June 7–19, reduce the season to 20 games, and extend the playing calendar into September. [3]
For the second straight season, FC Kansas City defeated the NWSL Shield winners Seattle Reign FC 1–0 to win the NWSL championship. [4]
Two teams, the Dash and Reign, do not make their stadiums' 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.
| Locations of teams for the 2015 National Women's Soccer League season. |
Note: All of the teams use Nike as their kit manufacturer.
Players were acquired through the 2015 Allocation of national team players on January 14 [6] and the 2015 NWSL College Draft on January 16, [7] as well as free agency and trades.
Notable acquisitions and losses
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 | |
Boston Breakers | POR | HOU | WNY | CHI | POR | NJ | KC | WAS | SEA | WNY | KC | CHI | CHI | NJ | SEA | POR | WAS | KC | SEA | HOU |
4–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | |
Chicago Red Stars | SEA | POR | NJ | BOS | HOU | KC | SEA | WNY | NJ | HOU | BOS | BOS | WAS | KC | POR | NJ | WAS | WNY | WNY | HOU |
3–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | |
Houston Dash | WAS | NJ | BOS | KC | CHI | POR | NJ | POR | WNY | WAS | CHI | KC | WNY | KC | WAS | NJ | SEA | SEA | BOS | CHI |
2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
FC Kansas City | NJ | WAS | SEA | HOU | WNY | WNY | CHI | BOS | POR | SEA | WAS | BOS | HOU | HOU | CHI | WNY | POR | BOS | WAS | NJ |
0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | |
Portland Thorns FC | BOS | WNY | CHI | WAS | BOS | HOU | WAS | HOU | KC | NJ | NJ | SEA | SEA | WNY | BOS | CHI | KC | NJ | WAS | WNY |
4–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2–3 | |
Seattle Reign FC | WNY | CHI | KC | WAS | NJ | CHI | NJ | BOS | KC | WNY | WNY | WAS | POR | POR | BOS | HOU | HOU | BOS | NJ | WAS |
5–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | |
Sky Blue FC | KC | HOU | WAS | CHI | SEA | WAS | BOS | HOU | SEA | CHI | POR | POR | WNY | BOS | WNY | HOU | CHI | POR | SEA | KC |
0–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | |
Washington Spirit | HOU | KC | NJ | SEA | POR | NJ | WNY | POR | BOS | HOU | KC | SEA | CHI | HOU | BOS | WNY | CHI | KC | POR | SEA |
2–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | |
Western New York Flash | SEA | POR | BOS | KC | KC | WAS | CHI | HOU | BOS | SEA | SEA | NJ | HOU | POR | NJ | KC | WAS | CHI | CHI | POR |
5–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 |
Scores listed as home-away
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Seattle Reign FC | 20 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 41 | 21 | +20 | 43 | NWSL Shield |
2 | Chicago Red Stars | 20 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 33 | NWSL Playoffs |
3 | FC Kansas City (C) | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 32 | 20 | +12 | 32 | |
4 | Washington Spirit | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 28 | +3 | 30 | |
5 | Houston Dash | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 21 | 26 | −5 | 24 | |
6 | Portland Thorns FC | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 29 | −2 | 23 | |
7 | Western New York Flash | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 34 | −10 | 23 | |
8 | Sky Blue FC | 20 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 22 | 28 | −6 | 22 | |
9 | Boston Breakers | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 22 | 43 | −21 | 15 |
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
Top scorers
| Top assists
|
(Minimum of 900 minutes played)
Rank | Goalkeeper | Club | GP | MINS | SOG | SVS | GA | GAA | W-L-T | SHO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | Chicago Red Stars | 12 | 1080 | 58 | 47 | 11 | 0.917 | 6–1–5 | 5 |
2 | ![]() | FC Kansas City | 17 | 1530 | 70 | 54 | 16 | 0.941 | 8–6–3 | 8 |
3 | ![]() | Seattle Reign FC | 11 | 990 | 52 | 41 | 11 | 1.000 | 7–1–3 | 4 |
4 | ![]() | Portland Thorns FC | 14 | 1260 | 63 | 45 | 18 | 1.286 | 5–7–2 | 2 |
5 | ![]() | Sky Blue FC | 20 | 1792 | 114 | 87 | 27 | 1.357 | 5–8–7 | 4 |
6 | ![]() | Houston Dash | 11 | 932 | 74 | 60 | 15 | 1.364 | 3–4–3 | 2 |
7 | ![]() | Washington Spirit | 11 | 990 | 51 | 35 | 16 | 1.455 | 5–4–2 | 3 |
8 | ![]() | Western New York Flash | 13 | 1155 | 81 | 60 | 21 | 1.615 | 4–4–5 | 2 |
9 | ![]() | Boston Breakers | 12 | 1080 | 95 | 65 | 30 | 2.500 | 2–9–1 | 0 |
The top four teams from the regular season will compete for the NWSL Championship.
Semi-finals | Championship | ||||||||
1 | Seattle Reign FC | 3 | |||||||
4 | Washington Spirit | 0 | |||||||
1 | Seattle Reign FC | 0 | |||||||
3 | FC Kansas City | 1 | |||||||
2 | Chicago Red Stars | 0 | |||||||
3 | FC Kansas City | 3 |
Chicago Red Stars | 0–3 | FC Kansas City |
---|---|---|
Johnson ![]() | Report | Rodriguez ![]() Tymrak ![]() |
Seattle Reign FC | 3–0 | Washington Spirit |
---|---|---|
Mathias ![]() Yanez ![]() Rapinoe ![]() Nogueira ![]() | Report |
Seattle Reign FC | 0–1 | FC Kansas City |
---|---|---|
Report | Sauerbrunn ![]() Rodriguez ![]() |
Month | Player of the Month | Club | Month's Statline | |
---|---|---|---|---|
April | ![]() | Christen Press [20] | Chicago Red Stars | 4G, 1A in 2 games; Red Stars 1-0-1 in April |
May | ![]() | Sofia Huerta [21] | Chicago Red Stars | 5G, 1A in 5 games; Red Stars 3-0-2 in May |
June | ![]() | Kim Little [22] | Seattle Reign FC | 3G, 1A in 3 games; Reigh FC 3-0-0 in June |
July | ![]() | Carli Lloyd [23] | Houston Dash | 3G in 3 games; Dash 2-1-1 in July (2-0-1 in Lloyd appearances) |
August | ![]() | Crystal Dunn [24] | Washington Spirit | 6G, 1A in 6 games; Spirit 2-1-3 in August |
Award | Winner | ||
---|---|---|---|
Golden Boot [46] | ![]() | Washington Spirit | 15 goals |
Rookie of the Year [47] | ![]() | Chicago Red Stars | Played in all 20 games |
Goalkeeper of the Year [48] | ![]() | Portland Thorns FC | 1.286 GAA, 45 saves |
Defender of the Year [49] | ![]() | FC Kansas City | 990 minutes |
Coach of the Year [50] | ![]() | Seattle Reign | 13–3–4 regular season |
Most Valuable Player [51] | ![]() | Washington Spirit | 15 goals, 3 assists |
NWSL Best XI [52] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position | First team | Second team | ||||
Goalkeeper | ![]() | Portland Thorns FC | 45 saves | ![]() | FC Kansas City | 8 shutouts |
Defender | ![]() | Seattle Reign FC | 1,800 minutes | ![]() | Seattle Reign FC | 1,800 minutes |
Defender | ![]() | Chicago Red Stars | 1.10 team GAA | ![]() | Seattle Reign FC | 2 goals, 2 assists |
Defender | ![]() | FC Kansas City | 1,800 minutes | ![]() | Chicago Red Stars | 1.10 team GAA |
Defender | ![]() | FC Kansas City | 1.00 team GAA | ![]() | FC Kansas City | 1,800 minutes |
Midfielder | ![]() | Seattle Reign FC | 8 goals, 2 assists | ![]() | Chicago Red Stars | 1,776 minutes |
Midfielder | ![]() | Seattle Reign FC | 10 goals, 7 assists | ![]() | FC Kansas City | 2 goals, 2 assists |
Midfielder | ![]() | Portland Thorns FC | 10 goals, 4 assists | ![]() | Houston Dash | 4 goals |
FW // MF | ![]() | Washington Spirit | 15 goals, 3 assists | ![]() | Seattle Reign FC | 1,654 minutes |
Forward | ![]() | Chicago Red Stars | 10 goals, 2 assists | ![]() | Chicago Red Stars | 6 goals, 3 assists |
Forward | ![]() | Seattle Reign FC | 9 goals | ![]() | Seattle Reign FC | 5 goals, 5 assists |
NWSL Championship Game MVP [4] | ||
---|---|---|
Player | Club | Record |
![]() | FC Kansas City | Scored the game-winning goal |
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