2018 National Women's Soccer League season

The 2018 National Women's Soccer League season was the sixth 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 twelfth overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States. The league is operated by the United States Soccer Federation and receives major financial backing from that body. Further financial backing is provided by the Canadian Soccer Association. Both national federations pay the league salaries of many of their respective national team members in an effort to nurture talent in those nations and take the financial burden off individual clubs.

National Women's Soccer League

Season	2018
Champions	North Carolina Courage
NWSL Shield	North Carolina Courage
Matches played	108
Goals scored	278 (2.57 per match)
Top goalscorer	Sam Kerr (16 goals)
Highest scoring	ORL 3–4 NCC (May 23) CHI 2–5 ORL (May 26) HOU 6–1 SKY (August 25)
Longest winning run	4 games North Carolina Courage (March 24 – April 18) (May 12 - May 30)
Longest unbeaten run	12 games North Carolina Courage (March 24 – June 3)
Longest winless run	23 games Sky Blue FC (March 31 – September 4)
Longest losing run	10 games Washington Spirit (June 23 – August 25)
Highest attendance	21,144 POR 3–1 SEA (September 7)
Lowest attendance	1,913 SKY 0–1 SEA (April 15)
Total attendance	650,562
Average attendance	6,024
← 2017 2019 → All statistics correct as of September 8, 2018.

The off-season brought significant changes, with FC Kansas City and the Boston Breakers ceasing operations, while new club Utah Royals FC joined the league. The 2018 season began on March 24, and ended on September 8. Teams once again played 24 regular-season games this year, with the top four teams making a single-elimination playoff.^[1] The North Carolina Courage won the NWSL Shield with 15 more points than second place Thorns. The NWSL Playoffs began on September 15 with the two semifinal matches, which were won by the Thorns and the Courage. The NWSL Championship Game was held on September 22 at Providence Park in Portland.^[2][3] The Courage won 3–0, becoming the first team to win both the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship in the same season.

Teams, stadiums, and personnel

Stadiums and locations

See also: List of National Women's Soccer League stadiums

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.

Team Stadium Capacity Chicago Red Stars Toyota Park 20,000 Houston Dash BBVA Compass Stadium 7,000 (22,039) North Carolina Courage Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park 10,000 Orlando Pride Orlando City Stadium 25,500 Portland Thorns Providence Park 21,144 Seattle Reign FC Memorial Stadium 6,088 (12,000) Sky Blue FC Yurcak Field 5,000 Utah Royals FC Rio Tinto Stadium 20,213 Washington Spirit Maryland SoccerPlex 4,000

Red Stars Dash Courage Pride Thorns Reign Sky Blue Royals Spirit Locations National Women's Soccer League teams.

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All of the teams use Nike as their kit manufacturer.

Team	Head coach	Shirt sponsor
Chicago Red Stars	Rory Dames	Magellan Corporation
Houston Dash	Vera Pauw	BBVA Compass
North Carolina Courage	Paul Riley	Continental AG
Orlando Pride	Tom Sermanni	Orlando Health
Portland Thorns	Mark Parsons	Providence Health & Services
Seattle Reign FC	Vlatko Andonovski	Microsoft
Sky Blue FC	Denise Reddy	Meridian Health
Utah Royals FC	Laura Harvey	Conservice
Washington Spirit	Tom Torres (interim)	ProChain Solutions, Inc.

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Incoming manager	Date of appointment	Ref.
Seattle Reign FC	Laura Harvey	Mutual separation	November 7, 2017	Vlatko Andonovski	November 7, 2017	[4]
Sky Blue FC		Vacant	August 16, 2017	Denise Reddy	November 15, 2017	[5]
Utah Royals FC	New franchise			Laura Harvey	November 27, 2017	[6]
Houston Dash	Omar Morales	End of interim period	September 29, 2017	Vera Pauw	November 27, 2017	[7]
Washington Spirit	Jim Gabarra	Fired	August 21, 2018	Tom Torres (interim)	August 21, 2018	[8]

Competition format

• Each team will play each team 3 times, for a total of 24 games (12 home and 12 away).
• The four teams at the end of the season with the most points qualify for the playoffs.

League standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	North Carolina Courage (C)	24	17	6	1	53	17	+36	57	NWSL Shield
2	Portland Thorns FC	24	12	6	6	40	28	+12	42	NWSL Playoffs
3	Seattle Reign FC	24	11	8	5	27	19	+8	41
4	Chicago Red Stars	24	9	10	5	38	28	+10	37
5	Utah Royals FC	24	9	8	7	22	23	−1	35
6	Houston Dash	24	9	5	10	35	39	−4	32
7	Orlando Pride	24	8	6	10	30	37	−7	30
8	Washington Spirit	24	2	5	17	12	35	−23	11
9	Sky Blue FC	24	1	6	17	21	52	−31	9

Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions

Tiebreakers

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,^[9] going down the list until all teams are ranked.

1. Head-to-head win–loss record between the teams (or points-per-game if more than two teams).
2. Greater goal difference across the entire season (against all teams, not just tied teams).
3. Greatest total number of goals scored (against all teams).
4. Apply #1–3 to games played on the road.
5. Apply #1–3 to games played at home.
6. If teams are still equal, ranking will be determined by a coin toss.

NOTE: If two clubs remain tied after another club with the same number of points advances during any step, the tie breaker reverts to step 1 of the two-club format.

Attendance

See also: National Women's Soccer League attendance

Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.

Team	GP	Attendance	High	Low	Average
Portland Thorns FC	12	203,506	21,144	14,485	16,959
Utah Royals FC	12	113,593	19,203	7,137	9,466
North Carolina Courage	12	61,549	9,505	3,011	5,129
Orlando Pride	12	58,046	9,017	3,104	4,837
Chicago Red Stars	12	48,048	13,678	2,027	4,004
Washington Spirit	12	46,704	7,976	2,433	3,892
Seattle Reign FC	12	45,885	5,251	3,172	3,824
Houston Dash	12	42,859	5,846	2,376	3,572
Sky Blue FC	12	30,372	4,086	1,913	2,531
Total	108	650,562	21,144	1,913	6,024

Updated to games played on September 8, 2018.^[10][11]

Highest attendances

Regular season

Rank	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance	Date	Stadium
1	Portland Thorns FC	3–1	Seattle Reign FC	21,144	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)	Providence Park
1	Portland Thorns FC	0–3	North Carolina Courage	21,144	September 22, 2018 (2018-09-22)	Providence Park
3	Utah Royals FC	0–1	Chicago Red Stars	19,203	April 14, 2018 (2018-04-14)	Rio Tinto Stadium
4	Portland Thorns FC	2–2	Chicago Red Stars	18,631	August 18, 2018 (2018-08-18)	Providence Park
5	Portland Thorns FC	1–1	Sky Blue FC	18,237	June 27, 2018 (2018-06-27)	Providence Park
6	Portland Thorns FC	2–1	Sky Blue FC	17,986	August 22, 2018 (2018-08-22)	Providence Park
7	Portland Thorns FC	4–0	Utah Royals FC	17,930	July 6, 2018 (2018-07-06)	Providence Park
8	Portland Thorns FC	1–2	Orlando Pride	17,115	May 12, 2018 (2018-05-12)	Providence Park
9	Portland Thorns FC	2–1	Orlando Pride	16,466	April 15, 2018 (2018-04-15)	Providence Park
10	Portland Thorns FC	2–3	Seattle Reign FC	16,054	May 5, 2018 (2018-05-05)	Providence Park

Updated to games played on November 3, 2018.^[10]

Statistical leaders

Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals 1 Sam Kerr Chicago Red Stars 16 2 Lynn Williams North Carolina Courage 14 3 Lindsey Horan Portland Thorns FC 13 4 Rachel Daly Houston Dash 10 5 Jodie Taylor Seattle Reign FC 9 Christine Sinclair Portland Thorns FC 7 Debinha North Carolina Courage 8 Crystal Dunn North Carolina Courage Sofia Huerta Houston Dash 10 Tobin Heath Portland Thorns FC 7 Jessica McDonald North Carolina Courage Megan Rapinoe Seattle Reign FC Updated: September 8, 2018[NWSL Stats 1]

Top assists Rank Player Club Assists 1 Jessica McDonald North Carolina Courage 8 2 Yuki Nagasato Chicago Red Stars 7 Tobin Heath Portland Thorns FC 4 Sofia Huerta Houston Dash 6 Megan Rapinoe Seattle Reign FC Christine Sinclair Portland Thorns FC 7 Crystal Dunn North Carolina Courage 5 Lynn Williams North Carolina Courage 9 Danielle Colaprico Chicago Red Stars 4 Arin Gilliland Chicago Red Stars Kristen Hamilton North Carolina Courage Jaelene Hinkle North Carolina Courage Sam Kerr Chicago Red Stars Marta Orlando Pride Christine Nairn Orlando Pride Kealia Ohai Houston Dash Updated: September 8, 2018[NWSL Stats 1]

NWSL Playoffs

Further information: NWSL Playoffs

The top four teams from the regular season compete for the NWSL Championship. The North Carolina Courage secured the number one seed on August 5, winning their second straight NWSL Shield.

	Semi-finals					Championship
	1	North Carolina Courage	2
	4	Chicago Red Stars	0
						1	North Carolina Courage	3
						2	Portland Thorns FC	0
	2	Portland Thorns FC	2
	3	Seattle Reign FC	1

Semi-finals

Portland Thorns FC	2–1	Seattle Reign FC
Heath 43' Horan 77'	Report	Spencer 29'

September 15, 2018

3:00pm (EDT)

Providence Park
Portland, Oregon

Attendance: 14,179

Referee: Ramy Touchan

North Carolina Courage	2–0	Chicago Red Stars
McDonald 5' Mewis 86'	Report

September 18, 2018*

9:00pm (EDT)

Providence Park
Portland, Oregon

Attendance: 4,646

Referee: Tim Ford

*Originally scheduled for September 16 at Sahlen's Stadium in Cary, North Carolina; rescheduled and moved due to Hurricane Florence.^[12]

Championship

North Carolina Courage	3–0	Portland Thorns FC
Debinha 13' McDonald 40', 64'	Report Report

September 22, 2018

4:30pm (EDT)

Providence Park
Portland, Oregon

Attendance: 21,144

Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.

Individual awards

Monthly awards

Player of the Month

See also: NWSL Player of the Month

Month	Player of the Month		Club	Month's Statline
March		Megan Rapinoe[13]	Seattle Reign FC	1 goal, 1 assist, 6 shots on goal
April		Sofia Huerta[14]	Chicago Red Stars	2 goals, 6 shots on goal, 9 chances created
May		Rachel Daly[15]	Houston Dash	4 goals, 9 shots on goal, 11 chances created
June		Crystal Dunn[16]	North Carolina Courage	2 goals, 9 shots on goal, 8 chances created
July		Lindsey Horan[17]	Portland Thorns FC	3 goals, 1 assist, 5 shots on goal, 5 chances created
August		Samantha Kerr[18]	Chicago Red Stars	5 goals, 1 assist, 11 shots on goal, 8 chances created

Team of the Month

See also: NWSL Team of the Month

Month	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Ref
March	Jane Campbell, HOU	Jaelene Hinkle, NC Becky Sauerbrunn, UTA Emily Sonnett, POR Rachel Daly, HOU	Lindsey Horan, POR Debinha, NC Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir, UTA	Megan Rapinoe, SEA Mallory Pugh, WAS Crystal Dunn, NC	[19]
April	Aubrey Bledsoe, WAS	Jaelene Hinkle, NC Estelle Johnson, WAS Becky Sauerbrunn, UTA Emily Sonnett, POR	Sofia Huerta, CHI Crystal Dunn, NC McCall Zerboni, NC	Francisca Ordega, WAS Jessica McDonald, NC Mallory Pugh, WAS	[20]
May	Abby Smith, UTA	Steph Catley, SEA Abby Erceg, NC Becky Sauerbrunn, UTA Ali Krieger, ORL	Kristie Mewis, HOU Lindsey Horan, POR McCall Zerboni, NC	Rachel Daly, HOU Christine Sinclair, POR Crystal Dunn, NC	[21]
June	Alyssa Naeher, CHI	Becca Moros, UTA Abby Erceg, NC Becky Sauerbrunn, UTA Merritt Mathias, NC	Lindsey Horan, POR Yuki Nagasato, CHI McCall Zerboni, NC	Kealia Ohai, HOU Christine Sinclair, POR Crystal Dunn, NC	[22]
July	Adrianna Franch, POR	Katie Naughton, CHI Abby Erceg, NC Rachel Corsie, UTA Theresa Nielsen, SEA	Lindsey Horan, POR Yuki Nagasato, CHI McCall Zerboni, NC	Megan Rapinoe, SEA Rachel Daly, HOU Sam Kerr, CHI	[23]
August	Lydia Williams, SEA	Megan Oyster, SEA Abby Erceg, NC Taylor Comeau, HOU Theresa Nielsen, SEA	Lindsey Horan, POR Sofia Huerta, HOU Vanessa DiBernardo, CHI	Lynn Williams, NC Tobin Heath, POR Sam Kerr, CHI	[24]

Weekly awards

See also: NWSL Player of the Week

See also: NWSL Goal of the Week

See also: NWSL Save of the Week

Week	NWSL Player of the Week		NWSL Goal of the Week		NWSL Save of the Week		Reference
	Player	Club	Player	Club	Player	Club
1	Megan Rapinoe	Seattle Reign FC	Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir	Utah Royals FC	Adrianna Franch	Portland Thorns FC	[25][26][27]
2	Mallory Pugh	Washington Spirit	Lindsey Horan	Portland Thorns FC	Jane Campbell	Houston Dash	[28][29][30]
3	McCall Zerboni	North Carolina Courage	Lindsey Horan	Portland Thorns FC	Ashlyn Harris	Orlando Pride	[31][32][33]
4	Sofia Huerta	Chicago Red Stars	Merritt Mathias	North Carolina Courage	Aubrey Bledsoe	Washington Spirit	[34][35][36]
5	McCall Zerboni	North Carolina Courage	Tobin Heath	Portland Thorns FC	Aubrey Bledsoe	Washington Spirit	[37][38][39]
6	Alyssa Naeher	Chicago Red Stars	Diana Matheson	Utah Royals FC	Alyssa Naeher	Chicago Red Stars	[40][41][42]
7	Megan Rapinoe	Seattle Reign FC	Christine Nairn	Orlando Pride	Ashlyn Harris	Orlando Pride	[43][44][45]
8	Crystal Dunn	North Carolina Courage	Carli Lloyd	Sky Blue FC	Katelyn Rowland	North Carolina Courage	[46][47][48]
9	Rachel Daly	Houston Dash	Sydney Leroux	Orlando Pride	Ashlyn Harris	Orlando Pride	[49][50][51]
10	Yuki Nagasato	Chicago Red Stars	Katherine Reynolds	Portland Thorns FC	Haley Kopmeyer	Orlando Pride	[52][53][54]
11/12	Aubrey Bledsoe	Washington Spirit	Brittany Ratcliffe	Utah Royals FC	Britt Eckerstrom	Portland Thorns FC	[55][56][57]
13	Crystal Dunn	North Carolina Courage	Alanna Kennedy	Orlando Pride	Ashlyn Harris	Orlando Pride	[58][59][60]
14	Adrianna Franch	Portland Thorns FC	Kealia Ohai	Houston Dash	Adrianna Franch	Portland Thorns FC	[61][62][63]
15	Sam Kerr	Chicago Red Stars	Marta	Orlando Pride	Adrianna Franch	Portland Thorns FC	[64][65][66]
16	Lynn Williams	North Carolina Courage	Kristen Edmonds	Orlando Pride	Rachel Corsie	Utah Royals FC	[67][68][69]
17	Jane Campbell	Houston Dash	Toni Pressley	Orlando Pride	Rachel Corsie	Utah Royals FC	[70][71][72]
19	Lynn Williams	North Carolina Courage	Katie Stengel	Utah Royals FC	Ashlyn Harris	Orlando Pride	[73][74][75]
20	Adrianna Franch	Portland Thorns FC	Hayley Raso	Portland Thorns FC	Adrianna Franch	Portland Thorns FC	[76][77][78]
21	Katie Johnson	Sky Blue FC	Christine Sinclair	Portland Thorns FC	Ashlyn Harris	Orlando Pride	[79][80][81]
22	Sam Kerr	Chicago Red Stars	Tobin Heath	Portland Thorns FC	Ashlyn Harris	Orlando Pride	[82][83][84]
24	Lindsey Horan	Portland Thorns FC	Lindsey Horan	Portland Thorns FC	Nicole Barnhart	Utah Royals FC	[85][86][87]

Annual awards

See also: NWSL awards

Award	Winner
Golden Boot [88]	Sam Kerr	Chicago Red Stars	16 goals
Coach of the Year [89]	Paul Riley	North Carolina Courage	Won both NWSL Shield & Championship
Rookie of the Year [90]	Imani Dorsey	Sky Blue FC	4 goals, 1 assist
Goalkeeper of the Year [91]	Adrianna Franch	Portland Thorns FC	45 saves, three shutouts
Defender of the Year [92]	Abby Erceg	North Carolina Courage	All 2,160 minutes, fewest goals allowed
Most Valuable Player [93]	Lindsey Horan	Portland Thorns FC	13 goals, 2 assists, 1,800 minutes

NWSL Best XI
Position	First team [94]			Second team [94]
Goalkeeper	Adrianna Franch	Portland Thorns FC		Lydia Williams	Seattle Reign FC
Defender	Abby Erceg	North Carolina Courage		Steph Catley	Seattle Reign FC
Defender	Abby Dahlkemper	North Carolina Courage		Merritt Mathias	North Carolina Courage
Defender	Becky Sauerbrunn	Utah Royals FC		Julie Ertz	Chicago Red Stars
Defender	Emily Sonnett	Portland Thorns FC		Emily Menges	Portland Thorns FC
Midfielder	Tobin Heath	Portland Thorns FC		Debinha	North Carolina Courage
Midfielder	Lindsey Horan	Portland Thorns FC		Carli Lloyd	Sky Blue FC
Midfielder	McCall Zerboni	North Carolina Courage		Christine Sinclair	Portland Thorns FC
Forward	Crystal Dunn	North Carolina Courage		Sofia Huerta	Houston Dash
Forward	Sam Kerr	Chicago Red Stars		Lynn Williams	North Carolina Courage
Forward	Megan Rapinoe	Seattle Reign FC		Rachel Daly	Houston Dash

NWSL Championship Game MVP
Player	Club	Record
Jessica McDonald	North Carolina Courage	2 goals