2014 National Women's Soccer League season
The 2014 National Women's Soccer League season is 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 and the Women's United Soccer Association, this is the eighth 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 expected to be provided by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Mexican Football Federation. All three national federations pay 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. FC Kansas City defeated the Shield winners Seattle Reign FC 2–1 to win the NWSL title.
The league had announced it would not expand for the 2014 season and was not expected to contract. However, after a push from the Houston Dynamo, the league approved the expansion of the Houston Dash.
Teams, stadia, and personnel
Stadia and locations
See also List of National Women's Soccer League stadiumsTwo 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,
FC Kansas City,
and Seattle Reign FC
moved to new stadia for 2014, while the Houston Dash was an expansion franchise.
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
| Boston Breakers | Harvard Stadium | 30,323 |
| Chicago Red Stars | Village Sports Complex | 3,600 |
| Houston Dash | BBVA Compass Stadium | 7,000 |
| FC Kansas City | Verizon Field | 3,200 |
| Portland Thorns | Providence Park | 20,438 |
| Seattle Reign FC | Memorial Stadium | 6,000 |
| Sky Blue FC | Yurcak Field | 5,000 |
| Washington Spirit | Maryland SoccerPlex | 5,126 |
| Western New York Flash | Sahlen's Stadium | 13,768 |
Personnel and sponsorship
Note: All teams use Nike as kit manufacturer.| Team | Head coach | Captain | Shirt sponsor |
| Boston Breakers |  Tom Durkin | | Steward Health Care |
| Chicago Red Stars | | | CJ Wilson Mazda |
| Houston Dash | |  | BBVA Compass |
| FC Kansas City |  | | Research Medical Center |
| Portland Thorns |  | | Providence Health & Services |
| Seattle Reign FC | | | Moda Health |
| Sky Blue FC | | | Meridian Health |
| Washington Spirit | | | ProChain Solutions, Inc. |
| Western New York Flash |  | | Sahlen's |
Player Acquisition
Players were acquired through the 2014 Allocation of national team players announced on January 3, the 2014 NWSL Expansion Draft on January 10, and the 2014 NWSL College Draft on January 17, as well as free agency, trading, and loans.Notable acquisitions
- Christen Press, top scorer of the 2013 Damallsvenskan in Sweden, was allocated to Chicago.
- Nahomi Kawasumi, named Best Player of the 2013 L. League in Japan, was loaned to Seattle from INAC Kobe Leonessa.
- Beverly Goebel, top scorer of the 2013 L. League in Japan, was loaned to Seattle from INAC Kobe Leonessa.
- Kim Little, PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year for 2012–13 and top scorer of the 2012 FA WSL in England, was signed as a free agent by Seattle.
- Verónica Boquete, Player of the Year of the 2011 WPS in the U.S., was signed as a free agent by Portland, arriving June 7.
Competition format
- Each team will play a total of 24 games, 12 home and 12 away. Each teams will play four opponents twice at home and once away, and will play the other four opponents once at home and twice away.
- The four teams at the end of the season with the most points will qualify for the playoffs. The two semi-final games will be played on the weekend of August 23–24, and the final will be played on August 30.
Results table
League standings
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, going down the list until all teams are ranked.If two teams tie:
- Head to Head win/loss record between the two teams.
- Greater goal difference across the entire season.
- Greatest total number of goals scored.
- Apply #1–3 to games played on the road.
- Apply #1–3 to games played at home.
- If teams are still equal, ranking will be determined by a coin toss.
- Points per game against all other tied teams.
- Greater goal difference across the entire season.
Positions by gameweek
| Team \ Week | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| Team \ Week | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
Positions by games played
| 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 |
| Team \ Game | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
NWSL Playoffs
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
Attendance
Average home attendances
Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.| Team | Average | Total | No. of games | High | Low |
| Portland Thorns FC | 13,362 | 160,341 | 12 | 19,123 | 9,672 |
| Houston Dash | 4,650 | 55,801 | 12 | 8,097 | 3,561 |
| Seattle Reign FC | 3,666 | 43,996 | 12 | 5,957 | 1,754 |
| Washington Spirit | 3,335 | 40,019 | 12 | 4,667 | 2,306 |
| Western New York Flash | 3,177 | 38,125 | 12 | 4,339 | 1,786 |
| Chicago Red Stars | 2,949 | 35,393 | 1 | 15,743 | 1,039 |
| Chicago Red Stars | 2,949 | 35,393 | 11 | 3,032 | 1,039 |
| Boston Breakers | 2,437 | 29,248 | 12 | 4,191 | 1,263 |
| FC Kansas City | 2,018 | 24,215 | 12 | 3,107 | 1,212 |
| Sky Blue FC | 1,640 | 19,682 | 12 | 3,471 | 582 |
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.
Playoff Attendance
Semi-final No. 1, August 23, Portland at Kansas City: 2,997Semi-final No. 2, August 24, Washington at Seattle: 4,540
Final, August 31, Kansas City at Seattle: 4,252
Statistical leaders
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Nation | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Kim Little | Seattle Reign FC | 16 | |
| 2 | Amy Rodriguez | FC Kansas City | 13 | |
| 3 | Jessica McDonald | Portland Thorns FC | 11 | |
| 3 | Jodie Taylor | Washington Spirit | 11 | |
| 5 | Nahomi Kawasumi | Seattle Reign FC | 9 | |
| 5 | Samantha Kerr | Western New York Flash | 9 | |
| 5 | Heather O'Reilly | Boston Breakers | 9 | |
| 5 | Allie Long | Portland Thorns FC | 9 | |
| 9 | Lauren Holiday | FC Kansas City | 8 | |
| 9 | Carli Lloyd | Western New York Flash | 8 | |
| 9 | Diana Matheson | Washington Spirit | 8 |
Source:
Top assists
| Rank | Player | Nation | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Jessica Fishlock | Seattle Reign FC | 8 | |
| 2 | Lauren Holiday | FC Kansas City | 7 | |
| 2 | Kim Little | Seattle Reign FC | 7 | |
| 4 | Verónica Boquete | Portland Thorns FC | 6 | |
| 4 | Vicky Losada | Western New York Flash | 6 | |
| 4 | Diana Matheson | Washington Spirit | 6 | |
| 7 | Carli Lloyd | Western New York Flash | 5 | |
| 7 | Nahomi Kawasumi | Seattle Reign FC | 5 | |
| 7 | Kelley O'Hara | Sky Blue FC | 5 | |
| 7 | Heather O'Reilly | Boston Breakers | 5 |
Source:
Goalkeeping
| Rank | Goalkeeper | Club | GP | MINS | SOG | SVS | GA | GAA | W-L-T | SHO |
| 1 | Hope Solo | Seattle Reign FC | 20 | 1800 | 83 | 65 | 18 | 0.900 | 13–2–5 | 5 |
| 2 | Karina LeBlanc | Chicago Red Stars | 21 | 1890 | 97 | 76 | 21 | 1.000 | 9–6–6 | 6 |
| 3 |  Lydia Williams | Western New York Flash | 14 | 1183 | 65 | 49 | 15 | 1.141 | 6–6–1 | 2 |
| 4 | Nicole Barnhart | FC Kansas City | 22 | 1935 | 100 | 71 | 29 | 1.349 | 11–6–5 | 8 |
| 5 |  Nadine Angerer | Portland Thorns FC | 22 | 1917 | 104 | 74 | 30 | 1.408 | 8–8–6 | 4 |
| 6 | Jillian Loyden | Sky Blue FC | 17 | 1530 | 94 | 69 | 25 | 1.471 | 7–5–5 | 4 |
| 7 | Ashlyn Harris | Washington Spirit | 19 | 1710 | 97 | 66 | 31 | 1.632 | 10–5–4 | 4 |
| 8 | Erin McLeod | Houston Dash | 19 | 1755 | 120 | 83 | 35 | 1.750 | 4–12–3 | 2 |
| 9 | Alyssa Naeher | Boston Breakers | 24 | 2115 | 159 | 106 | 53 | 2.208 | 6–16–2 | 3 |
Source:
Individual awards
Weekly awards
Monthly awards
Annual awards
Statistics
Scoring
- First goal of the season: Amy Rodriguez for FC Kansas City against Sky Blue FC
- Earliest goal in a match: 33 seconds
- * Jessica McDonald for Portland Thorns against Chicago Red Stars
- Latest goal in a match: 90+4 minutes
- * Yael Averbuch for Washington Spirit against Chicago Red Stars
- Widest winning margin: 6 goals
- * FC Kansas City 1–7 Portland Thorns FC
- Most goals scored in a match: 9
- * Portland Thorns FC 6–3 Boston Breakers
- First Own Goal: Amy Barczuk of Western New York Flash for Washington Spirit
- Average goals per match: 2.98
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Jazmine Reeves | Boston Breakers | Portland Thorns FC | 4–1 | 5/28 |
| Christine Sinclair | Portland Thorns FC | Boston Breakers | 6–3 | 7/20 |
| Nadia Nadim | Sky Blue FC | Houston Dash | 3–1 | 8/09 |
Discipline
- First yellow card: Allie Long for Portland Thorns FC against Houston Dash
- First red card: Lisa de Vanna for Boston Breakers against Sky Blue FC
- Most yellow cards in a match: 9
- * Seattle Reign FC 3–1 Chicago Red Stars – 4 for Seattle and 5 for Chicago
- Most yellow cards: 6
- * Courtney Jones
Streaks
- Longest winning streak: 7 games
- * Seattle Reign FC, games 1–7
- * FC Kansas City, games 11–17
- Longest unbeaten streak: 16 games
- * Seattle Reign FC, games 1–16
- Longest winless streak: 8 games
- * Houston Dash, games 17–24
- Longest losing streak: 6 games
- * Houston Dash, games 19–24
- Longest shutout: 587 minutes by Nicole Barnhart for FC Kansas City
- Longest drought: 379 minutes for Houston Dash