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 Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

(2009–2011) and the

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Un ...

(2001–2003), 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 The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

and receives major financial backing from that body. Further financial backing is expected to be provided by the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer) is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides ...

and the

Mexican Football Federation The Mexican Football Federation (; abbreviated as Femexfut or FMF) is the governing body of association football in Mexico. It adm the Mexico national team, the Liga MX and all affiliated amateur sectors, and controls promoting, organizing, dire ...

. 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 OL Reign is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...

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 The Houston Dash is a professional women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 season, and is affiliated with the MLS team Houston Dynamo FC. History Establishment On November ...

Teams, stadia, and personnel

Stadia and locations

See also List of National Women's Soccer League stadiums Two 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.

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All teams use

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

as kit manufacturer.

Player Acquisition

Players were acquired through the 2014 Allocation of national team players announced on January 3, the 2014 NWSL Expansion Draft (for expansion team Houston) on January 10, and the

2014 NWSL College Draft The 2014 NWSL College Draft was the second annual meeting of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchises to select eligible college players. It was held on January 17, 2014, at the NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was open ...

on January 17, as well as free agency, trading, and loans. Notable acquisitions *

Christen Press Christen Annemarie Press (born December 29, 1988) is an American soccer player for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. She first appeared for the United States national team during an ...

, 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 Beverly Goebel Yanez (born Beverly June Goebel; July 19, 1988) is an American soccer coach and former professional player who is currently the assistant coach of Racing Louisville FC and most recently at NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's So ...

, 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 Verónica Boquete Giadans (born 9 April 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or midfielder for Italian Serie A club Fiorentina. As well as in her native Spain, she has played professionally for clubs in the United ...

, 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

''Scores listed as home-away''

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 (against all teams, not just tied teams). # Greatest total number of goals scored (against all teams). # 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. 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: # Points per game against all other tied teams (total all points earned in games against tied teams and divide by games played against tied teams). # Greater goal difference across the entire season (against all teams, not just tied teams).

Positions by gameweek

''Considering each week to end on a Sunday''

Positions by games played

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. 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: 2,997 Semi-final No. 2, August 24, Washington at Seattle: 4,540 Final, August 31, Kansas City at Seattle: 4,252

Statistical leaders

Top scorers

Source:

Top assists

Source:

Goalkeeping

(Minimum of 1,080 Minutes Played) 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 NJ/NY Gotham FC is a professional women's soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 until 2020. A founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2013 ...

(April 12) * Earliest goal in a match: 33 seconds ** Jessica McDonald for Portland Thorns against

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) sin ...

(July 17) * Latest goal in a match: 90+4 minutes **

Yael Averbuch Yael Averbuch West (born Yael Friedman Averbuch; November 3, 1986) is a former American professional soccer player. She was formerly the executive director of the National Women's Soccer League Players Association and is the current general ma ...

for

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and cont ...

against

(August 2) * Widest winning margin: 6 goals ** FC Kansas City 1–7

Portland Thorns FC The Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which receives support from the Uni ...

(July 13) * Most goals scored in a match: 9 **

6–3

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's ...

(July 20) * First Own Goal:

Amy Barczuk Amy Elizabeth Barczuk (born October 28, 1990) is a retired American professional soccer player. She was a defender for the Western New York Flash and Boston Breakers in the National Women's Soccer League. Early life Barczuk grew up in Centennia ...

Western New York Flash The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American soccer club based in Elma, New York that competed in the United Women's Soccer league. They have won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-League in 2010, Women's Pro ...

for

(April 13) * Average goals per match: 2.98

Hat-tricks

Discipline

* First yellow card:

Allie Long Alexandra Linsley Long (born August 13, 1987) is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder for NJ/NY Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League and the United States national team. She made her debut for the national team on May ...

for

against

(April 12) * First red card:

Lisa de Vanna Lisa Marie De Vanna (born 14 November 1984) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Perth Glory. She has previously played for Adelaide Sensation, Western Waves, Doncaster Rovers Belles, AIK, Perth Glory, Washi ...

for

against

* Most yellow cards in a match: 9 **

3–1

– 4 for Seattle and 5 for Chicago * Most yellow cards: 6 ** Courtney Jones (

)

Streaks

* Longest winning streak: 7 games **

, games 1–7 ** FC Kansas City, games 11–17 * Longest unbeaten streak: 16 games **

, games 1–16 * Longest winless streak: 8 games **

, games 17–24 * Longest losing streak: 6 games **

, games 19–24 * Longest shutout: 587 minutes by Nicole Barnhart for FC Kansas City * Longest drought: 379 minutes for

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Women's Soccer League 2014

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...