2025 National Women's Soccer League season

The 2025 season is the 13th season for the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), 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 is the 19th overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States.

National Women's Soccer League

Season	2025
Dates	March 14 – October 31 / November 2 (regular season) November 14–16 – November 22 (playoffs)
Challenge Cup	Washington Spirit (1st cup)
Matches played	112
Goals scored	303 (2.71 per match)
Top goalscorer	Esther González 11 goals
Biggest home win	6 goals ORL 6–0 CHI (Mar 14)
Biggest away win	4 goals LA 0–4 GFC (Apr 18)
Highest scoring	7 goals WAS 3–4 LA (May 2) SD 5–2 NC (May 25)
Longest winning run	8 wins Kansas City Current (May 11 – Aug 8)
Longest unbeaten run	9 matches Kansas City Current (May 11 – present)
Longest winless run	12 matches Chicago Stars FC (Apr 19 – present)
Longest losing run	4 losses Utah Royals (May 23 – Jun 21)
Highest attendance	26,942 CHI 2–2 SEA (Jun 14)
Lowest attendance	1,806 CHI 0–1 LOU (Mar 30)
Total attendance	1,168,025
Average attendance	10,429
← 2024 2026 → All statistics correct as of August 18, 2025.

The league has 14 teams, unchanged from the 2024 season, which set a record for average attendance and television ratings.^[1] It is the second under a set of national broadcasting agreements with CBS Sports, ESPN, Amazon Prime Video and Scripps Sports that run through the 2027 season.^[2] The 2025 season is not expected to see the return of the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, an international competition between clubs from the NWSL and Liga MX Femenil of Mexico.^[3] It will be the first season without a college draft; the 2025 rookie class will enter the league as free agents.^[4] All teams will play 26 matches.^[5]

The defending NWSL Championship and NWSL Shield winner is Orlando Pride.^[6]

Teams, stadiums, and personnel

Team names

The Chicago Red Stars re-branded to Chicago Stars FC prior to the season.^[7]

NJ/NY Gotham FC re-named to Gotham FC prior to the season.^{[citation needed]}

Stadiums and locations

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

Team	Stadium	Capacity
Angel City FC	BMO Stadium	22,000
Bay FC	PayPal Park	18,000
Chicago Stars FC	SeatGeek Stadium	20,000
Houston Dash	Shell Energy Stadium	22,039
Kansas City Current	CPKC Stadium	11,500
Gotham FC	Sports Illustrated Stadium	25,000
North Carolina Courage	Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park	10,000
Orlando Pride	Inter&Co Stadium	25,500
Portland Thorns FC	Providence Park	25,218
Racing Louisville FC	Lynn Family Stadium	11,700[a]
San Diego Wave FC	Snapdragon Stadium	35,000
Seattle Reign FC	Lumen Field	10,000[b]
Utah Royals	America First Field	20,213
Washington Spirit	Audi Field	20,000

1. Seated capacity; full capacity with standing room is 15,304.^[8]
2. Lumen Field has a capacity of 68,740; standard configuration for Reign games seats 10,000 but can expand based on demand for individual games.^[9]

Angel City

Bay

Stars

Dash

Current

Gotham

Courage

Pride

Thorns

Racing

Wave

Reign

Royals

Spirit

Locations of the National Women's Soccer League teams in 2025.

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All teams use Nike as their kit manufacturer as part of a league-wide sponsorship agreement renewed in November 2021.^[10]

Team	Head coach	Captain(s)	Shirt sponsor
Angel City FC	Alexander Straus	Ali Riley Sarah Gorden	DoorDash
Bay FC	Albertin Montoya	Abby Dahlkemper Tess Boade[11]	Sutter Health
Chicago Stars FC	Ella Masar (interim)	Alyssa Naeher	Wintrust
Gotham FC	Juan Carlos Amorós	Tierna Davidson[12] Mandy Freeman	CarMax
Houston Dash	Fabrice Gautrat	Jane Campbell[13]	MD Anderson Cancer Center
Kansas City Current	Vlatko Andonovski	Lo'eau LaBonta	United Way of Greater Kansas City
North Carolina Courage	vacant	Denise O'Sullivan	Merz Aesthetics
Orlando Pride	Seb Hines	Marta	Orlando Health
Portland Thorns FC	Rob Gale	Sam Coffey[14]	ring[15]
Racing Louisville FC	Bev Yanez	Arin Wright[16]	GE Appliances
San Diego Wave FC	Jonas Eidevall	Kailen Sheridan[17]	Kaiser Permanente
Seattle Reign FC	Laura Harvey	Lauren Barnes
Utah Royals	Jimmy Coenraets	Paige Monaghan	America First Credit Union
Washington Spirit	Adrián González	Aubrey Kingsbury	CVS Health

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming coach	Date of appointment	Ref.
San Diego Wave FC	Landon Donovan (interim)	End of interim period	November 18, 2024	Preseason	Jonas Eidevall	January 7, 2025	[18][19]
Houston Dash	Ricky Clarke (interim)	End of interim period	December 9, 2024	Preseason	Fabrice Gautrat	January 3, 2025	[20][21]
Angel City FC	Becki Tweed	Fired	December 9, 2024	Preseason	Eleri Earnshaw (interim)	December 9, 2024	[22]
Angel City FC	Eleri Earnshaw (interim)	End of interim period	January 22, 2025	Preseason	Sam Laity (interim)	January 22, 2025	[23]
Chicago Stars FC	Lorne Donaldson	Fired	April 30, 2025	14th	Masaki Hemmi (interim)	April 30, 2025	[24]
Angel City FC	Sam Laity (interim)	End of interim period	May 31, 2025	7th	Alexander Straus	June 1, 2025	[25]
Washington Spirit	Jonatan Giráldez	Signed with Lyon	June 23, 2025	4th	Adrián González	July 18, 2025	[26]
Chicago Stars FC	Masaki Hemmi (interim)	End of interim period	July 3, 2025	13th	Ella Masar (interim)	July 3, 2025	[27]
North Carolina Courage	Sean Nahas	Fired	August 6, 2025	9th			[28]

Regular season

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Kansas City Current	16	13	1	2	32	10	+22	40	NWSL Shield, playoffs, and CONCACAF W Champions Cup
2	San Diego Wave FC	16	8	5	3	28	18	+10	29	Playoffs, and CONCACAF W Champions Cup
3	Orlando Pride	16	8	4	4	22	12	+10	28	Playoffs
4	Washington Spirit	16	8	4	4	25	22	+3	28
5	Portland Thorns FC	16	7	5	4	25	17	+8	26
6	Seattle Reign FC	16	7	4	5	24	20	+4	25
7	Racing Louisville FC	16	6	4	6	22	27	−5	22
8	Gotham FC	16	5	5	6	20	16	+4	20
9	North Carolina Courage	16	5	5	6	20	23	−3	20
10	Houston Dash	16	5	3	8	19	26	−7	18
11	Bay FC	16	4	5	7	18	22	−4	17
12	Angel City FC	16	4	5	7	21	27	−6	17
13	Chicago Stars FC	16	1	6	9	15	32	−17	9
14	Utah Royals	16	1	4	11	12	31	−19	7

Updated to match(es) played on August 18, 2025. Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total goal differential; 3) total wins; 4) total goals scored; 5) head to head points; 6) head to head goal goals scored; 7) fewer disciplinary points; 8) coin toss (2 clubs tied) or drawing of lots (≥3 clubs tied)

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 total points total when determining rank, playoff qualification, and seeding, the NWSL uses the following tiebreaker criteria, going down the list until all teams are ranked.^[29]

1. Greater goal difference across the entire regular season (against all teams, not just tied teams).
2. Most total wins across the entire regular season (against all teams, not just tied teams).
3. Most goals scored across the entire regular season (against all teams, not just tied teams).
4. Head-to-head results (total points) between the tied teams.
5. Head-to-head most goals scored between the tied teams.
6. Fewest disciplinary points accumulated across the entire regular season (against all teams, not just tied teams).
7. Coin flip (if two teams are tied) or drawing of lots (if three or more teams are tied).

Format

The regular season will begin on March 14 with each team playing 26 matches—13 at home and 13 away. Matches will be paused from June 23 to July 31 to accommodate international competitions, including the UEFA Women's Euro and Copa América Femenina. The regular season will culminate with "Decision Day" on November 2.^[30][31] The NWSL playoffs will begin on November 7 and finish with the NWSL Championship on November 22.^[32]

Results

Home \ Away	BAY	CHI	HOU	KC	LA	LOU	NC	NJY	ORL	POR	SD	SEA	UTA	WAS
Bay FC	—	1–2	2–2	Sep 6	2–0	2–0	Oct 17	Sep 21	0–1	1–0	1–2	1–1	Sep 27	Aug 23
Chicago Stars FC	1–1	—	1–2	1–3	Nov 2	0–1	Aug 22	1–1	Sep 7	Sep 14	0–3	2–2	Oct 5	2–3
Houston Dash	2–2	Sep 19	—	Oct 18	1–3	1–2	2–1	0–0	Oct 3	1–4	2–3	Aug 24	1–0	1–2
Kansas City Current	4–1	Sep 26	2–0	—	1–0	4–2	Aug 30	Oct 11	0–0	3–1	Nov 2	Sep 20	3–0	Sep 13
Angel City FC	Sep 1	2–2	Oct 12	Oct 6	—	2–3	1–2	0–4	Aug 21	Oct 19	1–1	2–1	2–0	Sep 18
Racing Louisville FC	Nov 2	Oct 10	Aug 29	0–2	Sep 27	—	1–1	1–0	2–0	Sep 5	1–4	0–1	3–2	0–2
North Carolina Courage	0–1	2–0	2–1	3–2	Sep 13	Oct 4	—	Nov 2	1–1	1–1	0–0	1–2	Sep 6	Oct 11
Gotham FC	2–1	0–0	1–2	1–2	Sep 7	Oct 19	3–1	—	0–2	Sep 26	0–1	Oct 5	Aug 23	0–0
Orlando Pride	Sep 13	6–0	1–0	0–1	3–2	1–1	Sep 19	Aug 29	—	Oct 10	2–1	Nov 2	1–1	0–1
Portland Thorns FC	Oct 4	1–0	Nov 2	Aug 23	1–1	3–3	0–0	4–1	1–0	—	Sep 20	4–2	Aug 29	2–0
San Diego Wave FC	2–1	Oct 18	Sep 7	0–2	1–1	Aug 24	5–2	Sep 12	Sep 26	1–1	—	1–2	3–2	0–0
Seattle Reign FC	Oct 10	3–3	0–1	1–0	2–0	Sep 14	Sep 28	1–1	0–1	1–0	Aug 29	—	Oct 17	1–2
Utah Royals	1–1	1–0	Sep 14	0–1	0–0	Sep 19	0–2	0–3	1–3	0–1	Oct 11	1–4	—	Nov 2
Washington Spirit	2–0	Aug 31	Sep 28	0–2	3–4	2–2	3–1	0–3	Oct 18	2–1	Oct 5	Sep 7	3–3	—

Updated to match(es) played on August 18, 2025. Source: NWSL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Attendance

See also: National Women's Soccer League attendance

Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.

Regular season

Rank	Team	GP	Attendance	High	Low	Average
1	Portland Thorns FC	8	142,032	21,811	15,373	17,754
2	Angel City FC	7	119,321	19,728	14,933	17,046
3	Washington Spirit	8	121,914	19,254	12,140	15,239
4	San Diego Wave FC	8	106,975	18,465	10,433	13,372
5	Bay FC	8	105,574	15,002	11,484	13,197
6	Kansas City Current	7	80,500	11,500	11,500	11,500
7	Orlando Pride	8	74,283	19,237	6,665	9,285
8	NJ/NY Gotham FC	8	72,769	13,860	7,115	9,096
9	Utah Royals	9	81,484	17,085	5,051	9,054
10	Seattle Reign FC	8	61,037	10,117	5,912	7,630
11	North Carolina Courage	8	60,273	9,366	6,235	7,534
12	Chicago Stars FC	8	47,729	26,492	1,806	5,966
13	Houston Dash	9	52,903	7,671	5,084	5,878
14	Racing Louisville FC	8	41,231	8,113	2,847	5,154
	Total	112	1,168,025	26,492	1,806	10,429

Updated through August 18, 2025

Highest attendances

Regular season^[33]

Rank	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance	Date	Stadium
†	Chicago Stars FC	2–2	Seattle Reign FC	26,942†	June 14, 2025	Soldier Field
1	Portland Thorns FC	4–2	Seattle Reign FC	21,811	August 10, 2025	Providence Park
2	Angel City FC	1–1	San Diego Wave FC	19,728	March 16, 2025	BMO Stadium
3	Washington Spirit	0–2	Kansas City Current	19,254	March 22, 2025	Audi Field
4	Orlando Pride	6–0	Chicago Stars FC	19,237	March 14, 2025	Inter&Co Stadium
5	San Diego Wave FC	3–2	Utah Royals	18,465	March 22, 2025	Snapdragon Stadium
	Angel City FC	0–4	Gotham FC	18,465	April 18, 2025	BMO Stadium
7	Portland Thorns FC	1–0	Orlando Pride	17,776	May 3, 2025	Providence Park
8	Washington Spirit	3–1	North Carolina Courage	17,625	June 8, 2025	Audi Field
9	Angel City FC	2–2	Chicago Stars FC	17,538	June 7, 2025	BMO Stadium
10	Utah Royals	1–0	Chicago Stars FC	17,085	April 18, 2025	America First Field

Updated through June 13, 2025

^† Doubleheader match with Major League Soccer team; not included in ranking.

Statistical leaders

As of August 18, 2025.^[34]

Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals 1 Esther González Gotham FC 11 2 Temwa Chawinga Kansas City Current 10 3 Barbra Banda Orlando Pride 8 4 Riley Tiernan Angel City FC 7 5 Emeri Adames Seattle Reign FC 6 Ashley Hatch Washington Spirit Emma Sears Racing Louisville FC 8 Debinha Kansas City Current 5 Penelope Hocking Bay FC Ludmila Chicago Stars FC Gift Monday Washington Spirit Alyssa Thompson Angel City FC Reilyn Turner Portland Thorns FC Bia Zaneratto Kansas City Current

Top assists Rank Player Club Assists 1 Delphine Cascarino San Diego Wave FC 5 Sarah Schupansky Gotham FC 3 Jessie Fleming Portland Thorns FC 4 Rosemonde Kouassi Washington Spirit Hailie Mace Kansas City Current Manaka Matsukubo North Carolina Courage Perle Morroni San Diego Wave FC Izzy Rodriguez Kansas City Current Janine Sonis Racing Louisville FC Gisele Thompson Angel City FC

Clean sheets Rank Player Club Clean sheets 1 Lorena Kansas City Current 8 2 Anna Moorhouse Orlando Pride 6 3 Ann-Katrin Berger Gotham FC 5 Aubrey Kingsbury Washington Spirit 5 Claudia Dickey Seattle Reign FC 4 Casey Murphy North Carolina Courage Kailen Sheridan San Diego Wave FC Jordan Silkowitz Bay FC 9 Bella Bixby Portland Thorns FC 3 10 Mackenzie Arnold Portland Thorns FC 2 Jordyn Bloomer Racing Louisville FC Jane Campbell Houston Dash Mandy McGlynn Utah Royals

Hat-tricks See also: List of NWSL hat-tricks Player For Against Score Date Ref. Barbra Banda Orlando Pride vs. Utah Royals 3–1 May 23, 2025 [35]

Challenge Cup

Main article: 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup

March 7, 2025 (2025-03-07)

8:00 pm EDT

Orlando Pride	1–1	Washington Spirit
Souza 41'	Report	Santos 72'
Penalties
Doyle Angelina Yates Lemos	2–4	Hatch Bernal Miura McKeown

Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, Florida

Referee: Alex Billeter

Individual awards

As of August 9, 2025

Monthly awards

Player of the Month

Further information: NWSL Player of the Month

Month	Player	Team	Ref.
March	Temwa Chawinga	Kansas City Current	[36]
April	Esther González	Gotham FC	[37]
May	Temwa Chawinga (2)	Kansas City Current	[38]
June	Esther González (2)	Gotham FC	[39]

Rookie of the Month

Further information: NWSL Rookie of the Month

Month	Player	Team	Ref.
March	Maggie Graham	Houston Dash	[40]
April	Riley Tiernan	Angel City FC	[41]
May	Riley Tiernan (2)	Angel City FC	[42]
June	Pietra Tordin	Portland Thorns FC	[43]

Coach of the Month

Month	Player	Team	Ref.
March	No award
April	No award
May	Jonas Eidevall	San Diego Wave FC	[44]
June	Vlatko Andonovski	Kansas City Current	[45]

Team of the Month

Further information: NWSL Team of the Month

Month	Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards	Ref.
March	Lorena, KC	Kerry Abello, ORL Jordyn Bugg, SEA Alana Cook, KC Ryan Williams, NC	Gia Corley, SD Debinha, KC Lo'eau LaBonta, KC	Barbra Banda, ORL Temwa Chawinga, KC Ashley Hatch, WAS	[46]
April	Aubrey Kingsbury, WAS	Lilly Reale, GFC Izzy Rodriguez, KC Emily Sonnett, GFC Ryan Williams, NC (2)	Kenza Dali, SD Debinha, KC (2) Lo'eau LaBonta, KC (2)	Barbra Banda, ORL (2) Delphine Cascarino, SD Esther González, GFC	[47]
May	Claudia Dickey, SEA	Trinity Armstrong, SD Casey Krueger, WAS Hailie Mace, KC Gisele Thompson, LA	Sam Coffey, POR Taylor Flint, LOU Manaka Matsukubo, NC	Barbra Banda, ORL (3) Temwa Chawinga, KC (2) Riley Tiernan, LA	[48]
June	Lorena, KC (2)	Jordyn Bugg, SEA (2) Caprice Dydasco, BAY Courtney Petersen, LOU Kayla Sharples, KC	Sam Coffey, POR (2) Kenza Dali, SD (2) Manaka Matsukubo, NC (2)	Emeri Adames, SEA Temwa Chawinga, KC (3) Esther González, GFC (2)	[49]

Weekly awards

Week	Player of the Week		Save of the Week		Ref.
	Player	Club	Player	Club
1	Barbra Banda	Orlando Pride	Kailen Sheridan	San Diego Wave FC	[50][51]
2	Gia Corley	San Diego Wave FC	Lorena	Kansas City Current	[52][53]
3	Ashley Hatch	Washington Spirit	Mackenzie Arnold	Portland Thorns FC	[54][55]
4	Alyssa Thompson	Angel City FC	Jordan Silkowitz	Bay FC	[56][57]
5	Delphine Cascarino	San Diego Wave FC	Kailen Sheridan (2)	San Diego Wave FC	[58][59]
6	Esther González	Gotham FC	Lorena (2)	Kansas City Current	[60][61]
7	Riley Tiernan	Angel City FC	Jordyn Bloomer	Racing Louisville FC	[62][63]
8	Debinha	Kansas City Current	Aubrey Kingsbury	Washington Spirit	[64][65]
9	Manaka Matsukubo	North Carolina Courage	Mandy McGlynn	Utah Royals	[66][67]
10	Adriana Leon	San Diego Wave FC	Mandy McGlynn (2)	Utah Royals	[68][69]
11	Brittany Ratcliffe	Washington Spirit	Claudia Dickey	Seattle Reign FC	[70][71]
12	Jessie Fleming	Portland Thorns FC	Ann-Katrin Berger	Gotham FC	[72][73]
13	Aubrey Kingsbury	Washington Spirit	Lorena (3)	Kansas City Current	[74][75]
14	Croix Bethune	Washington Spirit	Aubrey Kingsbury (2)	Washington Spirit	[76][77]
15	Jordyn Bloomer	Racing Louisville FC	Jordyn Bloomer (2)	Racing Louisville FC	[78][79]
16	Jordyn Huitema	Seattle Reign FC	Aubrey Kingsbury (3)	Washington Spirit	[80][81]

Week	Goal of the Week		Assist of the Week		Ref.
	Player	Club	Player	Club
1	Kiki Pickett	Bay FC	Mandy McGlynn	Utah Royals	[82][83]
2	Jordyn Bugg	Seattle Reign FC	Ally Sentnor	Utah Royals	[84][85]
3	Alyssa Thompson	Angel City FC	Kennedy Fuller	Angel City FC	[86][87]
4	Leicy Santos	Washington Spirit	Jameese Joseph	Chicago Red Stars	[88][89]
5	Kiki Pickett (2)	Bay FC	Delphine Cascarino	San Diego Wave FC	[90][91]
6	Reilyn Turner	Portland Thorns FC	Jayden Perry	Portland Thorns FC	[92][93]
7	Gisele Thompson	Angel City FC	Alyssa Thompson	Angel City FC	[94][95]
8	Christen Press	Angel City FC	Tara McKeown	Washington Spirit	[96][97]
9	Casey Krueger	Washington Spirit	Tara McKeown (2)	Washington Spirit	[98][99]
10	Adriana Leon	San Diego Wave FC	Bia Zaneratto	Kansas City Current	[100][101]
11	Emma Sears	Racing Louisville FC	Casey Krueger	Washington Spirit	[102][103]
12	Ludmila	Chicago Stars FC	Gisele Thompson	Angel City FC	[104][105]
13	Geyse	Gotham FC	Nealy Martin	Gotham FC	[106][107]
14	Trinity Rodman	Washington Spirit	Croix Bethune	Washington Spirit	[108][109]
15	Kiki Van Zanten	Houston Dash	Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir	Angel City FC	[110][111]
16	Alyssa Naeher	Chicago Stars FC	Taylor Malham	Chicago Stars FC	[112][113]