The 2013

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federati ...

season was the inaugural 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 U ...

(2001–2003), this was the seventh overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States. The league was (and 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 was 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 paid the league salaries of many of their respective national team members in an effort to nurture talent in those nations. The league started on April 13 with

FC Kansas City FC Kansas City was an American professional women's soccer club based in Kansas City, Missouri. The team was one of the eight founding clubs of the National Women's Soccer League in 2012, and began play in 2013. They were two-time NWSL champion ...

hosting

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 ...

. The last regular season matches were played on August 18, followed by postseason playoffs which culminated with a one-game final on August 31. In the final,

defeated the

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 Profes ...

2–0 to win the inaugural

NWSL Championship The National Women's Soccer League Playoffs (or NWSL Playoffs) are a single elimination tournament among six teams in the National Women's Soccer League of the United States, deciding the winner of the NWSL Championship. Since playoff games cann ...

Teams, stadiums, and personnel

Stadiums and locations

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All teams used

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 given ...

as kit manufacturer.

Player Acquisition

Players were acquired through the 2013 Allocation of national team players announced on January 11, the

2013 NWSL College Draft The 2013 NWSL College Draft was the first annual college draft held by the National Women's Soccer League to assign the NWSL rights of college players to the eight NWSL teams. It took place on January 18, 2013 at the National Soccer Coaches Assoc ...

on January 18, and the

2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft The 2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft took place on February 7, 2013. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 See also *List of NWSL drafts * List of foreign NWSL players References External links NWSL Supplemental Draft to Commen ...

on February 7, along with free agency, trading and loans. The Portland Thorns received an allocation with a notably strong offensive record including

Alex Morgan Alexandra Morgan Carrasco (born Alexandra Patricia Morgan; July 2, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker and captains for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division o ...

and

Christine Sinclair Christine Margaret Sinclair (born June 12, 1983) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward and captains both National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Portland Thorns FC and the Canadian national team. An Olympic ...

, the 2012 U.S. and Canadian Players of the Year and leading scorers for their national teams respectively, as well as a U.S. allocation (Morgan,

Tobin Heath Tobin Powell Heath (born May 29, 1988) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for OL Reign of the NWSL, as well as the United States national team. Heath has been described as "perhaps the USA's most skillful player" b ...

, and

Rachel Buehler Rachel Marie Buehler Van Hollebeke ( ; ; born August 26, 1985) is an American former soccer player who last played as a defender for the Portland Thorns FC and the United States women's national soccer team. In 2015, Van Hollebeke retired fro ...

) that accounted for 1/3 of their national team's assists in 2012.

Competition format

The regular season began on April 13 and ended on August 18. Each team played a total of 22 games: 11 at home and 11 away. Each team played * three other teams (based on an east/west geographical split) four times each: twice at home and twice away * two other teams twice each: once at home and once away * and the remaining two teams three times each: one twice at home and once away, the other vice versa The four teams at the end of the season with the most points qualified for the playoffs. Two semifinal games were played on August 24, with the winners advancing to the league final to be played on August 31.

Results table

''Scores listed as home-away''

League standings

NWSL Championship

The top four teams from the regular season qualified for the championship playoffs. In the semifinals, the regular season winner hosted the fourth-placed team and the regular season runner-up hosted the third-placed team. The highest-seeded semifinal winner then hosted the championship final. All match-ups were one-game series (as opposed to home-and-away series).

Semi-finals

Championship

Attendance

Average home attendances

Highest Attendance: 17,619 (August 4, Kansas City at Portland) Lowest Attendance: 688 (May 8, Chicago at Sky Blue) Total Attendance: 375,846 (88 games total) League Average: 4,271

Playoff attendance

Semifinal 1, Portland at FC Kansas City: 4,016 Semifinal 2, Sky Blue at Western New York: 7,316 Championship, Portland at Western New York: 9,129

Statistical leaders

Top scorers

Source:

Top assists

Source:

Goalkeeping

(Minimum of 540 Minutes Played) Source:

Individual awards

Monthly awards

Weekly awards

Annual awards

Statistics

Scoring

* First goal of the season: Renae Cuellar for

against

, 3rd minute (April 13) * Earliest goal in a match: 2 minutes **

CoCo Goodson Courtney Kathryn "CoCo" Goodson (born June 19, 1990) is an American soccer defender who last played for Sky Blue FC in the National Women's Soccer League. She previously played for FC Twente in the Dutch Eredivisie Vrouwen. Early life Goodson ...

for

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 201 ...

against

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 con ...

(April 27) * Latest goal in a match: 90+6 minutes ** Lori Chalupny for

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) ...

against

(July 14) * Widest winning margin: 4 goals **

Sky Blue Sky blue is a shade of light blue comparable to that of a clear daytime sky. The term (as "sky blew") is attested from 1681. A 1585 translation of Nicolas de Nicolay's 1576 ''Les navigations, peregrinations et voyages faicts en la Turquie'' i ...

5–1

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' ...

(June 1) **

4–0

(May 4) * Most goals scored in a match: 7 **

2–5

(July 27) ** Portland Thorns 4-3

(June 6) * First Own Goal:

McCall Zerboni McCall RaNae Zerboni (born December 13, 1986) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for and captains NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Early life Born in Camarillo, California, to pare ...

for

(April 14) * Average goals per match: 2.705

Hat-tricks

Discipline

* First yellow card:

Kristie Mewis Kristen Anne Mewis (born February 25, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. Early life Mewis grew up in Hanson, ...

for

against

, 43rd minute (April 13) * Most yellow cards in a match: 6 **

2–1

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, ...

– 3 for Portland (

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 ...

, Angie Kerr, &

Nikki Washington Madeline Nicole Washington (born August 1, 1988) is an American retired professional soccer forward and right midfielder who last played for Boston Breakers in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and is currently an assistant coach for th ...

) and 3 for Seattle (

Elli Reed Elli Kayla Burris (; born August 10, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who last played as a defender for OL Reign of the NWSL. She previously played for FCR 2001 Duisburg in the Frauen-Bundesliga, Melbourne Victory in the Austra ...

Christine Nairn Christine Marie Nairn (born September 25, 1990) is an American retired soccer player from Annapolis, Maryland. She previously played for the Houston Dash, Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit and Seattle Reign FC in the NWSL and has had regular ...

, & Jessica Fishlock) (April 21)

Streaks

* Longest winning streak: 5 games **

, games 5–9 * Longest unbeaten streak: 10 games **

, games 11–20 * Longest winless streak: 13 games **

, games 7–19 * Longest losing streak: 9 games **

, games 2–10 * Longest shutout: 435 minutes by Brittany Cameron for

* Longest drought: 541 minutes for

Other firsts

* First player to score twice in a match:

Heather O'Reilly Heather Ann O'Reilly (born January 2, 1985) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Irish club Shelbourne of the Women's National League. She played for the United States women's national soccer team (USWNT), ...

for

against

(April 27) * First come-from-behind victory:

2–1

(April 27)

Home team record

(Regular season only) * 8 wins, 8 losses, 6 ties – 1.364 PPG * 28 goals for, 26 goals against – +2 GD

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:National Women's Soccer League 2013

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...