2018 Sky Blue FC season

The 2018 Sky Blue FC season was the team's ninth season as a professional women's soccer team. Sky Blue FC plays in the National Women's Soccer League, the top tier of women's soccer in the United States.^[1] Sky Blue had a difficult season in 2018 as they finished in last place. They went 23 games without winning a game, setting the mark for the longest winless streak in NWSL history.^[2] Sky Blue finally won on September 8 as they beat the Orlando Pride 1-0 in their final game of the 2018 season.^[3]

Sky Blue FC

2018 season
President & CEO	Thomas Hofstetter
Head coach	Denise Reddy
Stadium	Yurcak Field Piscataway, New Jersey (Capacity: 5,000)
Top goalscorer	Carli Lloyd Imani Dorsey Katie Johnson (4)
Home colors Away colors
← 2017 2019 →

There were numerous reports of off-field issues that came out after former Sky Blue player Sam Kerr spoke to the media following the Sky Blue vs Chicago game on July 7. Reports of poor management and training facilities as well as housing, travel, and transportation issues were also reported, and were believed to be contributing factors to the team's poor performance on the field.^[4]

Team

First-team roster

Source: Sky Blue FC^[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  CAN Kailen Sheridan 2 FW  USA McKenzie Meehan 6 FW  USA Shea Groom 7 FW  USA Jen Hoy 8 DF  USA Erica Skroski 9 DF  USA Amanda Frisbie 10 MF  USA Carli Lloyd 11 MF  CRC Raquel Rodriguez 13 DF  NZL Rebekah Stott

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 FW  MEX Katie Johnson 16 MF  USA Sarah Killion 17 DF  USA Domi Richardson 21 FW  USA Savannah McCaskill 22 DF  USA Mandy Freeman 27 GK  USA Caroline Casey 28 MF  USA Imani Dorsey 29 DF  CAN Amandine Pierre-Louis 31 DF  USA Christina Gibbons 73 MF  USA Madison Tiernan

Match results

Preseason

Sky Blue FC v PSU

24 February 2018 (2018-02-24)	Sky Blue FC	0–1	PSU	Manalapan, New Jersey
2:00 p.m.		Report	Jean 73'	Stadium: Sportika Sports

Sky Blue FC v UNC

3 March 2018 (2018-03-03)	Sky Blue FC	2–1	UNC	Manalapan, New Jersey
	Groom 8' (Meehan) Meehan 75' (Groom)	Report	UNC Goal 43'	Stadium: Sportika Sports

Sky Blue FC v WVU

10 March 2018 (2018-03-10)	Sky Blue FC	1–0	WVU	Manalapan, New Jersey
1:00 p.m.	Rodriguez 29' (penalty)	Report		Stadium: Sportika Sports

Sky Blue FC v St. John's University

18 March 2018 (2018-03-18)	Sky Blue FC	6–0	St. John's University	Manalapan, New Jersey
2:00 p.m.	Beckie 11' Rodriguez 34' Beckie 46' (Groom) Leon 56' (McCaskill) McCaskill 63' Groom 65'	Report		Stadium: Sportika Sports

Regular season

North Carolina Courage v Sky Blue FC

31 March 2018 (2018-03-31) 1	North Carolina Courage	1–0	Sky Blue FC	Cary, North Carolina
3:00 p.m. EST	McDonald 90+2' (Hinkle)	Report	Gibbons  66' Rebekah Stott  86'	Stadium: Sahlen's Stadium Attendance: 4,078 Referee: Danielle Chesky Assistant referees: Jennifer Garner, Jordan Davis Fourth official: Forrest Ambrose Man of the Match: Erica Skroski

Sky Blue FC v Seattle Reign FC

15 April 2018 (2018-04-15) 2	Sky Blue FC	0–1	Seattle Reign FC	Piscataway, New Jersey
5:00 p.m. EST	McCaskill  50'	Box Report	Rapinoe 6' (pen.) Dallstream  82'	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 1,913

Chicago Red Stars v Sky Blue FC

21 April 2018 (2018-04-21) 3	Chicago Red Stars	1–1	Sky Blue FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
8:00 p.m. EST	Huerta 1' (Mautz)	Report	McCaskill 78' (Johnson)	Stadium: Toyota Park Attendance: 2,413

Sky Blue FC v Houston Dash

5 May 2018 (2018-05-05) 4	Sky Blue FC	2–3	Houston Dash	Piscataway, New Jersey
7:00 p.m. EST	Johnson 57' (Groom), 73' (Killion) McCaskill  64'	Report	Prince 24' (Agnew) Daly 59' (Ohai)  84' Latsko 79' (Kgatlana)	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 2,065

Seattle Reign FC v Sky Blue FC

12 May 2018 (2018-05-12) 5	Seattle Reign FC	4–1	Sky Blue FC	Seattle, Washington
10:00 p.m. EST	Taylor 5' (Catley)  88' Rapinoe 38', 60' (Kawasumi) Long 84'	Box Report	Skroski  21' McCaskill 62' (Lloyd)	Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 3,607

Sky Blue FC v North Carolina Courage

19 May 2018 (2018-05-19) 6	Sky Blue FC	1–2	North Carolina Courage	Piscataway, New Jersey
7:00 p.m. EST	Lloyd  15' 90+4' (Killion) Tiernan  85'	Report	Dunn 19' (McDonald) Mewis 27' Rowland  70'	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 1,923 Referee: Danielle Chesky

Washington Spirit v Sky Blue FC

23 May 2018 (2018-05-23) 7	Washington Spirit	1–0	Sky Blue FC	Boyds, Maryland
7:30 p.m. EST	Ordega  16' Hatch 64' (Sullivan)	Report		Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 2,433

Sky Blue FC v Seattle Reign FC

26 May 2018 (2018-05-26) 8	Sky Blue FC	0–1	Seattle Reign FC	Piscataway, New Jersey
7:00 p.m. EST		Report	Rapinoe 64' (Westphal)	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 2,814

Sky Blue FC v Utah Royals FC

2 June 2018 (2018-06-02) 9	Sky Blue FC	1–2	Utah Royals FC	Piscataway, New Jersey
7:00 p.m. EST	Groom 10' (Johnson) Tiernan  90+2'	Report	Matheson 3' (Jónsdóttir) Freeman 85' (o.g.)	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 2,229 Referee: Lorant Varga Assistant referees: Walter Heatherly,Matthew Osterhouse Fourth official: Szczepan Dziewa

Sky Blue FC v Washington Spirit

8 June 2018 (2018-06-08) 10	Sky Blue FC	0–0	Washington Spirit	Piscataway, New Jersey
7:00 p.m. EST	Meehan  39' Killion  67'	Report	Dougherty Howard  50' Dydasco  88'	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 2,188

Orlando Pride v Sky Blue FC

16 June 2018 (2018-06-16) 11	Orlando Pride	3–2	Sky Blue FC	Orlando, Florida
7:30 p.m. EST	Leroux 2' (Ubogagu), 31' (Nairn)  75' Hill 83' (Morgan)	Report	McCaskill 16' Tiernan 37' Gibbons  45+1' Lloyd  85'	Stadium: Orlando City Stadium Attendance: 4,445

Portland Thorns FC v Sky Blue FC

27 June 2018 (2018-06-27) 12	Portland Thorns FC	1–1	Sky Blue FC	Portland, Oregon
10:30 p.m. EST	Horan 45' (Sinclair) Salem  90+2'	Report	Beckie  41' Lloyd 77' (pen.) Freeman  90+3'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 18,237

Utah Royals FC v Sky Blue FC

30 June 2018 (2018-06-30) 13	Utah Royals FC	3–1	Sky Blue FC	Sandy, Utah
10:00 p.m. EST	Press 7' Stengel 25' (Press), 29' (Gorry) Tymrak  90+1' Jonsdottir  90+3'	Report	Lloyd 62' (Dorsey) Freeman  89'	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 8,394

Sky Blue FC v Chicago Red Stars

7 July 2018 (2018-07-07) 14	Sky Blue FC	1–3	Chicago Red Stars	Piscataway, New Jersey
3:30 p.m. EST	Dorsey 73' (McCaskill)	Report	Kerr 40' (Mautz), 46' (Nagasato), 63' (Nagasato)	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 2,846

Sky Blue FC v North Carolina Courage

14 July 2018 (2018-07-14) 15	Sky Blue FC	0–4	North Carolina Courage	Piscataway, New Jersey
7:00 p.m. EST	Lloyd  85'	Report	Erceg 15' (Hamilton) Williams 56' (Hamilton), 72' (Debinha), 89'	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 2,376

Sky Blue FC v Portland Thorns FC

21 July 2018 (2018-07-21) 16	Sky Blue FC	1–2	Portland Thorns FC	Piscataway, New Jersey
7:00 p.m. EST	Dorsey 27' (McCaskill)	Report	Raso 4' (Sinclair) Crnogorčević 7' Christine Sinclair  80'	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 2,338 Referee: Reyna Fonseca

Chicago Red Stars v Sky Blue FC

28 July 2018 (2018-07-28)	Chicago Red Stars	postponed	Sky Blue FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
8:00 p.m. EST				Stadium: Toyota Park
Note: Match postponed due to the cancellation of Sky Blue's flight to Chicago

Orlando Pride v Sky Blue FC

5 August 2018 (2018-08-05) 17	Orlando Pride	2–2	Sky Blue FC	Orlando, Florida
7:30 p.m. EST	Edmonds  32' Marta 51' Weatherholt 73' Camila  78' Kennedy  90+3'	Report	Dorsey 53' (Groom) Groom 59' (McCaskill) Lloyd  90+6'	Stadium: Orlando City Stadium Attendance: 4,577

Sky Blue FC v Houston Dash

11 August 2018 (2018-08-11) 18	Sky Blue FC	1–2	Houston Dash	Piscataway, New Jersey
7:00 p.m. EST	Tiernan 64'	Report	Daly 7' (Ohai), 73' (pen.)	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 2,126

Sky Blue FC v Utah Royals FC

18 August 2018 (2018-08-18) 19	Sky Blue FC	2–2	Utah Royals FC	Piscataway, New Jersey
7:00 p.m. EST	Johnson 14' (Rodriguez), 48' Killion  39' Lloyd  69' Tiernan  76'	Report	Richardson 58' (o.g.) Rodriguez 90+4' (Press)	Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 3,468

Portland Thorns FC v Sky Blue FC

22 August 2018 (2018-08-22) 20	Portland Thorns FC	2–1	Sky Blue FC	Portland, Oregon
11:00 p.m. EST	Sinclair 13' (pen.) Heath 54'	Report	Tiernan  41' McCaskill  67' Johnson  75' Killion 84' Hoy  88'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 17,986 Referee: Mark Allatin

Houston Dash v Sky Blue FC

25 August 2018 (2018-08-25) 21	Houston Dash	6–1	Sky Blue FC	Houston, Texas
8:30 p.m. EST	Motlhalo 22' Latsko 48' (Huerta) Huerta 65' (Ohai) Daly 67' (pen.) Hanson 88' (Simon) Kgatlana 90' (Hanson)	Report	Dorsey 54'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 4,257

Washington Spirit v Sky Blue FC

1 September 2018 (2018-09-01) 22	Washington Spirit	1–1	Sky Blue FC	Boyds, Maryland
7:00 p.m. EST	Ship 71'	Report	Killion  58' 87' (Tiernan)	Stadium: Maryland SoccerPlex Attendance: 3,461
Note: Game was postponed until Sunday, September 2 at 10 a.m. (ET) due to lightning.

Chicago Red Stars v Sky Blue FC

4 September 2018 (2018-09-04) 23	Chicago Red Stars	5–0	Sky Blue FC	Bridgeview, Illinois
7:30 p.m. EST	Mautz 18' (Gilliland), 46' (Gilliland) Kerr 64' (Elby) White 80' (Kerr) Vasconcelos 90+7' (White)	Report		Stadium: Toyota Park Attendance: 2,974 Referee: Ismir Pekmic
Note: Match was originally scheduled for July 28th, was postponed due to the cancellation of Sky Blue's flight to Chicago.

Sky Blue FC v Orlando Pride

8 September 2018 (2018-09-08) 24	Sky Blue FC	1–0	Orlando Pride	Piscataway, New Jersey
12:00 p.m. EST	Sheridan  32' Lloyd 73' (Groom)	Report		Stadium: Yurcak Field Attendance: 4,086

League table

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

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	Pts	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD
24	9	1	17	6	21	52	−31	1	9	2	10	22	−12	0	8	4	11	30	−19

Last updated: September 8, 2018.
Source: NWSLsoccer.com

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Stadium	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	A	H
Result	L	L	D	L	L	L	L	L	L	D	L	D	L	L	L	L	D	L	D	L	L	D	L	W
Position[a]	—	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9

Updated to match(es) played on September 8, 2018. Source: ^[6]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Honors and awards

NWSL Yearly Awards

NWSL Rookie of the Year

Player	Player Statistics	Ref.
Imani Dorsey	4 Goals; 1 Assist; 14 Appearances	[7]

NWSL Team of the Year

Team	Position	Player	Ref.
Second XI	Midfielder	Carli Lloyd	[8]

NWSL Weekly Awards

NWSL Player of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref
21	Won	Katie Johnson	[9]

NWSL Save of the Week

Week	Result	Player(s)	Ref.
3	Nominated	Kailen Sheridan	[10]
9	Nominated	Kailen Sheridan and Rebekah Stott	[11]
11/12	Nominated	Kailen Sheridan	[12]
19	Nominated	Kailen Sheridan	[13]
20	Nominated	Kailen Sheridan	[14]
21	Nominated	Kailen Sheridan	[15]
24	Nominated	Kailen Sheridan	[16]

NWSL Goal of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
4	Nominated	Savannah McCaskill	[17]
7	Nominated	Savannah McCaskill	[18]
8	Won	Carli Lloyd	[19]
10	Nominated	Shea Groom	[20]
11/12	Nominated	Savannah McCaskill	[21]
24	Nominated	Carli Lloyd	[22]

Player transactions

2018 NWSL College Draft

Source: National Women's Soccer League^[23]

Round	Pick	Nat.	Player	Pos.	Previous Team
Round 1	4		Michaela Abam	F	University of West Virginia
Round 1	5		Imani Dorsey	F	Duke University
Round 1	6		Amandine Pierre-Louis	D	University of West Virginia
Round 2	13		Casey Murphy	GK	Rutgers University
Round 4	35		Kiana Palacios	F	University of California, Irvine

In

Date	Player	Positions played	Previous club	Fee/notes	Ref.
December 13, 2017	Thaisa	MF	Grindavík	Signed in offseason	[24]
December 29, 2017	Christina Gibbons	DF	Utah Royals FC	Acquired in trade for Kelley O'Hara, Taylor Lytle, and Utah's 4th overall pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.	[25]
December 29, 2017	Shea Groom	FW	Utah Royals FC	Acquired in trade for Kelley O'Hara, Taylor Lytle, and Utah's 4th overall pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.	[25]
January 11, 2018	Katie Johnson	FW	Seattle Reign	Acquired in trade for the rights to Caitlin Foord	[26]
January 11, 2018	Rebekah Stott	FW	Seattle Reign	Acquired in trade for the rights to Caitlin Foord	[26]
January 19, 2018	Carli Lloyd	MF	Houston Dash	Acquired as part of a three team trade that also included Janine Beckie, Christen Press, Sam Kerr, Nikki Stanton and Jen Hoy. Draft picks and international roster spot were also part of trade.	[27]
January 19, 2018	Janine Beckie	FW	Houston Dash	Acquired as part of a three team trade that also included Carli Lloyd, Christen Press, Sam Kerr, Nikki Stanton and Jen Hoy. Draft picks and international roster spot were also part of trade.	[27]
January 19, 2018	Jen Hoy	FW	Chicago Red Stars	Acquired as part of a three team trade that also included Carli Lloyd, Christen Press, Sam Kerr, Nikki Stanton and Janine Beckie. Draft picks and international roster spot were also part of trade.	[27]
January 30, 2018	Savannah McCaskill	FW	Boston Breakers	Acquired during Boston Breakers Dispersal Draft	[28]
January 30, 2018	Adriana Leon	FW	Boston Breakers	Acquired during Boston Breakers Dispersal Draft	[28]
January 30, 2018	Amanda Frisbie	FW	Boston Breakers	Acquired during Boston Breakers Dispersal Draft	[28]

Out

Date	Player	Positions played	Destination club	Fee/notes	Ref.
December 29, 2017	Kelley O'Hara	DF	Utah Royals FC	Traded to Utah Royals FC along with Taylor Lytle for Katie Johnson, Christina Gibbons, and Utah's 4th overall pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.	[25]
December 29, 2017	Taylor Lytle	MF	Utah Royals FC	Traded to Utah Royals FC along with Kelley O'Hara for Katie Johnson, Christina Gibbons, and Utah's 4th overall pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.	[25]
January 19, 2018	Samantha Kerr	FW	Chicago Red Stars	Traded to the Chicago Red Stars as part of a three team trade that also included Janine Beckie, Christen Press, Carli Lloyd, Nikki Stanton and Jen Hoy. Draft picks and international roster spot were also part of trade.	[27]
January 19, 2018	Nikki Stanton	MF	Chicago Red Stars	Traded to the Chicago Red Stars as part of a three team trade that also included Janine Beckie, Christen Press, Carli Lloyd, Sam Kerr and Jen Hoy. Draft picks and international roster spot were also part of trade.	[27]
May 4, 2018	Erin Simon	DF		Waived.	[29]
June 12, 2018	Adriana Leon	MF	Seattle Reign	Traded to the Seattle Reign for Seattle's 4th Round pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft	[30]
June 15, 2018	Kayla Mills	DF		Waived.	[31]
July 25, 2018	Michaela Abam	FW	Paris FC	Waived. Signed with Paris FC in the Division 1 Féminine.	[32]
July 25, 2018	Thaisa	MF	A.C. Milan	Waived. Signed with A.C. Milan in the Serie A.	[32]
August 9, 2018	Janine Beckie	FW	Manchester City	Transferred to Manchester City in the FA Women's Super League	[33]

See also

• 2018 National Women's Soccer League season
• 2018 in American soccer

Notes

1. SBFC's position at the end of the matchweek, not their match.