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2023 National Women's Soccer League season

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National Women's Soccer League
Season2023
DatesMarch 25 – November 11
ChampionsNJ/NY Gotham FC
(1st title)
NWSL ShieldSan Diego Wave FC
(1st shield)
Challenge CupNorth Carolina Courage
(2nd cup)
CONCACAF W Champions CupNJ/NY Gotham FC
San Diego Wave FC
Portland Thorns FC
Matches played132
Goals scored339 (2.57 per match)
Top goalscorerSophia Smith
(11 goals)
Best goalkeeperCasey Murphy
(7 shutouts)
Biggest home win5 goals
ORL 5–0 CHI
(Aug 20)
Biggest away win5 goals
CHI 0–5 NC
(June 11)
Highest scoring7 goals
RGN 5–2 CHI
(Apr 22)
Longest winning run4 wins
North Carolina Courage
(Jun 10 – Jul 1)
Longest unbeaten run7 matches
Washington Spirit
(Mar 26 – May 13)
Longest winless run6 matches
Racing Louisville FC
(Mar 26 – May 6)
Longest losing run4 losses
Orlando Pride
(Mar 26 – Apr 23)
Kansas City Current
(May 7 – 26)
Highest attendance42,054
RGN 0–2 POR
(Jun 5)
Lowest attendance2,356
CHI 4–2 KC
(Apr 15)
Total attendance1,423,846
Average attendance10,869
2022
2024
All statistics correct as of October 15, 2023.

The 2023 National Women's Soccer League season was the eleventh 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 (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), it was the 17th overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States. Twelve teams compete in the league.

The NWSL regular season, comprising 22 games for each team, began on March 25 and ended on October 15, 2023. The playoffs followed from October 22 and ended with the championship match on November 11.[1] For the first time, the NWSL Challenge Cup ran entirely concurrent with the regular season from April to September 9, 2023.[1] NJ/NY Gotham FC won their first league championship by defeating OL Reign in the NWSL Championship at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California.[2]

Teams, stadiums, and personnel

[edit]

Stadiums and locations

[edit]
Team Stadium Capacity
Angel City FC BMO Stadium 22,000
Chicago Red Stars SeatGeek Stadium 20,000
Houston Dash Shell Energy Stadium 7,000[a]
Kansas City Current Children's Mercy Park 18,467
NJ/NY Gotham FC Red Bull Arena 25,000
North Carolina Courage Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park 10,000
OL Reign Lumen Field 10,000[b]
Orlando Pride Exploria Stadium 25,500
Portland Thorns FC Providence Park 25,218
Racing Louisville FC Lynn Family Stadium 11,700[c]
San Diego Wave FC Snapdragon Stadium 35,000
Washington Spirit Audi Field 20,000
  1. ^ Shell Energy Stadium has a capacity of 22,039, but the maximum capacity for Dash games is restricted to 7,000.[citation needed]
  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.[3]
  3. ^ Seated capacity; full capacity with standing room is 15,304.[4]

Personnel and sponsorship

[edit]

Note: All teams use Nike as their kit manufacturer as part of a league-wide sponsorship agreement renewed in November 2021.[5]

Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor
Angel City FC England Becki Tweed (interim) New Zealand Ali Riley[6] DoorDash[7]
Chicago Red Stars United States Ella Masar (interim) United States Alyssa Naeher[8] CIBC[9]
Houston Dash England Sarah Lowdon (interim) Canada Sophie Schmidt[10][11] MD Anderson Cancer Center[12]
Kansas City Current Finland Caroline Sjöblom (interim) United States Lo'eau LaBonta[13] Saint Luke's Health System[14]
NJ/NY Gotham FC Spain Juan Carlos Amorós United States Ali Krieger[15] Algorand[16]
North Carolina Courage United States Sean Nahas Republic of Ireland Denise O'Sullivan[17] Merz Aesthetics[18]
OL Reign England Laura Harvey United States Lauren Barnes[19] Black Future Co-op Fund[20]
Orlando Pride England Seb Hines Brazil Marta[21] Orlando Health[22]
Portland Thorns FC England Mike Norris Canada Christine Sinclair[23] Providence Health & Services[24]
Racing Louisville FC Sweden Kim Björkegren United States Jaelin Howell[25] GE Appliances[26]
San Diego Wave FC England Casey Stoney United States Alex Morgan[27] Kaiser Permanente[28]
Washington Spirit England Mark Parsons United States Aubrey Kingsbury[29] CVS Health[30]

Coaching changes

[edit]
Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming coach Date of appointment Ref.
NJ/NY Gotham FC England Hue Menzies (interim) End of interim period October 2, 2022 Preseason Spain Juan Carlos Amorós November 1, 2022 [31]
Orlando Pride England Seb Hines (interim) End of interim period October 2, 2022 Preseason England Seb Hines November 11, 2022 [32]
Washington Spirit United States Albertin Montoya (interim) End of interim period October 2, 2022 Preseason England Mark Parsons November 21, 2022 [33]
Houston Dash Spain Juan Carlos Amorós (interim) Resigned October 28, 2022 Preseason England Sam Laity December 21, 2022 [34][35]
Portland Thorns FC Canada Rhian Wilkinson Resigned December 2, 2022 Preseason England Mike Norris January 9, 2023 [36][37]
Kansas City Current England Matt Potter Fired April 19, 2023 11th Finland Caroline Sjöblom (interim) April 19, 2023 [38]
Angel City FC England Freya Coombe Fired June 15, 2023 11th England Becki Tweed (interim) June 15, 2023 [39]
Houston Dash England Sam Laity Fired September 6, 2023 10th England Sarah Lowdon (interim) September 8, 2023 [40][41]
Chicago Red Stars United States Chris Petrucelli Fired October 10, 2023 12th United States Ella Masar (interim) October 10, 2023 [42]

Regular season

[edit]

Standings

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 San Diego Wave FC (S) 22 11 4 7 31 22 +9 37 Playoff semifinals and W Champions Cup
2 Portland Thorns FC 22 10 5 7 42 32 +10 35
3 North Carolina Courage 22 9 6 7 29 22 +7 33 Playoff quarterfinals
4 OL Reign 22 9 5 8 29 24 +5 32
5 Angel City FC 22 8 7 7 31 30 +1 31
6 NJ/NY Gotham FC (C) 22 8 7 7 25 24 +1 31
7 Orlando Pride 22 10 1 11 27 28 −1 31
8 Washington Spirit 22 7 9 6 26 29 −3 30
9 Racing Louisville FC 22 6 9 7 25 24 +1 27
10 Houston Dash 22 6 8 8 16 18 −2 26
11 Kansas City Current 22 8 2 12 30 36 −6 26
12 Chicago Red Stars 22 7 3 12 28 50 −22 24
Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(C) Champions; (S) NWSL Shield

Tiebreakers

[edit]

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.[43]

  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).

Results

[edit]
Home \ Away CHI HOU KC LA LOU NC NJY ORL POR RGN SD WAS
Chicago Red Stars 1–2 4–2 2–2 1–0 0–5 1–2 1–0 2–3 0–3 1–0 1–1
Houston Dash 0–1 1–1 1–2 0–0 0–1[a] 1–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 0–3 1–1
Kansas City Current 6–3 0–2 0–1 0–2 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–4 1–0 0–2 2–3
Angel City FC 1–2 0–0 3–2 2–2 2–1 1–2 0–1 5–1 2–1 0–2 0–1
Racing Louisville FC 3–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 1–2 2–0 3–2 2–1 2–2 0–0 2–2
North Carolina Courage 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 3–3 3–0 3–3 1–0 0–0 1–2
NJ/NY Gotham FC 2–1 0–2 2–2 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 2–1 0–2 0–1 2–0
Orlando Pride 5–0 1–0 1–2 1–2 1–0 2–1 0–2 3–1 1–0 1–2 2–1
Portland Thorns FC 4–0 1–1 0–1 3–3 2–0 2–1 1–0 4–0 2–0 0–2 4–2
OL Reign 5–2 2–0 2–1 4–1 2–2 1–1 1–4 1–0 0–2 1–0 0–0
San Diego Wave FC 3–2 1–0 1–2 1–2 2–0 3–1 2–1 1–3 1–1 1–2 2–2
Washington Spirit 0–3 0–0 2–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–3 1–1 1–0 3–1
Source: NWSL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. ^ Match abandoned at the 52nd minute due to severe thunderstorms in the area.[44]

Attendance

[edit]

Average home attendances

[edit]

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.

Regular season
Team GP Attendance High Low Average
San Diego Wave FC 11 227,893 30,854 14,362 20,718
Angel City FC 11 217,313 22,000 16,682 19,756
Portland Thorns FC 11 208,094 25,218 14,972 18,918
OL Reign 11 149,704 42,054 6,132 13,609
Kansas City Current 11 124,878 15,671 9,409 11,353
Washington Spirit 11 119,748 15,479 7,073 10,886
Orlando Pride 11 69,878 8,504 4,290 6,353
NJ/NY Gotham FC 11 69,223 15,058 3,200 6,293
Racing Louisville FC 11 65,989 10,214 4,143 5,999
Houston Dash[a] 10 58,569 9,175 4,536 5,857
North Carolina Courage 11 59,225 10,434 4,000 5,384
Chicago Red Stars 11 53,332 8,961 2,356 4,848
Total 131 1,423,846 42,054 2,356 10,869

Updated through 2023 Season

  1. ^ The April 28, 2023, match between HOU and NC was abandoned at the 52nd minute before attendance could be reported.[44]

Highest attendances

[edit]
Regular season[45]
Rank Home team Score Away team Attendance Date Stadium
1 OL Reign 0–2 Portland Thorns FC 42,054[a] June 3, 2023 (2023-06-03) Lumen Field
2 OL Reign 0–0 Washington Spirit 34,130 October 6, 2023 (2023-10-06) Lumen Field
3 San Diego Wave FC 3–2 Chicago Red Stars 30,854 March 25, 2023 (2023-03-25) Snapdragon Stadium
4 San Diego Wave FC 2–0 Racing Louisville FC 30,312 October 15, 2023 (2023-10-15) Snapdragon Stadium
5 San Diego Wave FC 1–2 Angel City FC 25,515 June 17, 2023 (2023-06-17) Snapdragon Stadium
6 Portland Thorns FC 2–0 OL Reign 25,218 September 16, 2023 (2023-09-16) Providence Park
7 San Diego Wave FC 1–0 Houston Dash 24,936 September 3, 2023 (2023-09-03) Snapdragon Stadium
8 San Diego Wave FC 1–2 OL Reign 22,682 June 24, 2023 (2023-06-24) Snapdragon Stadium
9 Portland Thorns FC 2–1 North Carolina Courage 22,107 August 20, 2023 (2023-08-20) Providence Park
10 Angel City FC 1–2 NJ/NY Gotham FC 22,000 March 26, 2023 (2023-03-26) BMO Stadium

Updated through 2023 Season

  1. ^ The June 3 match between OL Reign and Portland Thorns FC was part of a doubleheader with Seattle Sounders FC. The attendance figure reflects the tickets counted for the Sounders match.[46]

Statistical leaders

[edit]
As of October 14, 2023.[47]

Playoffs

[edit]

The top six teams from the regular season will qualify for the NWSL Championship playoffs, with the top two teams receiving a quarterfinal bye. The playoffs begin with the quarterfinals on October 20, with semifinals scheduled for November 5 and the championship finals match on November 11[1] at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California.[51][52]

Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship
1 San Diego Wave FC 0
4 OL Reign 1 4 OL Reign 1
5 Angel City FC 0 4 OL Reign 1
6 NJ/NY Gotham FC 2
2 Portland Thorns FC 0
3 North Carolina Courage 0 6 NJ/NY Gotham FC (a.e.t.) 1
6 NJ/NY Gotham FC 2

Quarterfinals

[edit]
OL Reign1–0Angel City FC
  • Latsko 87'
Report
Attendance: 12,152
Referee: Brad Jensen

Semifinals

[edit]
Portland Thorns FC0–1 (a.e.t.)NJ/NY Gotham FC
Report
Attendance: 25,218
Referee: Danielle Chesky
San Diego Wave FC0–1OL Reign
Report

Championship

[edit]
OL Reign1–2NJ/NY Gotham FC
Report

Championship Game MVP: Midge Purce (NJNY)

Challenge Cup

[edit]

Individual awards

[edit]
As of July 10, 2023

Annual awards

[edit]
Award Winner Nominees[53] Ref.
Golden Boot United States Sophia Smith (11 G) Portland Thorns FC N/A [54]
Most Valuable Player Brazil Kerolin North Carolina Courage United States Sam Coffey, POR
Brazil Debinha, KC
United States Naomi Girma, SD
United States Sophia Smith, POR
[55]
Defender of the Year United States Naomi Girma San Diego Wave FC United States Sarah Gorden, LA
United States Ali Krieger, NJNY
United States Kaleigh Kurtz, NCC
United States Sam Staab, WAS
[56]
Goalkeeper of the Year United States Jane Campbell Houston Dash United States Katie Lund, LOU
Canada Kailen Sheridan, SD
[57]
Rookie of the Year United States Jenna Nighswonger NJ/NY Gotham FC United States Messiah Bright, ORL
United States Alyssa Thompson, LA
[58]
Coach of the Year Spain Juan Carlos Amorós NJ/NY Gotham FC England Casey Stoney, SD
England Becki Tweed, LA
[59]

Teams of the Year

[edit]

Announced November 6, 2023[60]

Best XI

POSITION PLAYER CLUB
Goalkeeper United States Jane Campbell Houston Dash
Defender United States Naomi Girma San Diego Wave FC
United States Ali Krieger NJ/NY Gotham FC
United States Sarah Gorden Angel City FC
United States Sam Staab Washington Spirit
Midfielder/Forward United States Sam Coffey Portland Thorns FC
Brazil Debinha Kansas City Current
United States Jaedyn Shaw San Diego Wave FC
Brazil Kerolin North Carolina Courage
United States Sophia Smith Portland Thorns FC
United States Lynn Williams NJ/NY Gotham FC

Second XI

POSITION PLAYER CLUB
Goalkeeper Canada Kailen Sheridan San Diego Wave FC
Defender United States Emily Fox North Carolina Courage
United States Kaleigh Kurtz North Carolina Courage
United States Jenna Nighswonger NJ/NY Gotham FC
United States M.A. Vignola Angel City FC
Midfielder/Forward United States Savannah DeMelo Racing Louisville FC
United States Savannah McCaskill Angel City FC
Republic of Ireland Denise O'Sullivan North Carolina Courage
United States Ashley Hatch Washington Spirit
United States Alex Morgan San Diego Wave FC
United States Trinity Rodman Washington Spirit

Most selections

[edit]

Monthly awards

[edit]

Player of the Month

[edit]
Month Player Team Ref.
March/April United States Sophia Smith Portland Thorns FC [61]
May United States Savannah DeMelo Racing Louisville FC [62]
June United States Sophia Smith (2) Portland Thorns FC [63]
July United States Savannah McCaskill Angel City FC [64]
August United States Messiah Bright Orlando Pride [65]
September/October United States Savannah McCaskill (2) Angel City FC [66]

Rookie of the Month

[edit]
Month Player Team Ref.
March/April United States Alyssa Thompson Angel City FC [67]
May United States Jenna Nighswonger NJ/NY Gotham FC [68]
June United States Paige Metayer Washington Spirit [69]
July United States Jenna Nighswonger (2) NJ/NY Gotham FC [70]
August United States Messiah Bright Orlando Pride [65]
September/October United States Alexa Spaanstra Kansas City Current [71]

Team of the Month

[edit]
Month Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards Ref.
March/April United States Phallon Tullis-Joyce, RGN [72]
May United States Abby Smith, NJY [73]
June United States Casey Murphy, NC [74]
July United States Emily Boyd, CHI [75]
August United States Adrianna Franch, KC [76]
September
/ October
United States Jane Campbell, HOU [77]

Weekly awards

[edit]
Week Player of the Week Save of the Week Ref.
Player Club Player Club
1 United States Lynn Williams NJ/NY Gotham FC
Not awarded
[78]
2 United States Sophia Smith Portland Thorns FC [79]
3 United States Phallon Tullis-Joyce OL Reign [80]
4 United States Lynn Williams (2) NJ/NY Gotham FC United States Abby Smith NJ/NY Gotham FC [81][82]
5 Brazil Debinha Kansas City Current United States Abby Smith (2) NJ/NY Gotham FC [83][84]
6 United States Crystal Dunn Portland Thorns FC United States Katie Lund Racing Louisville FC [85][86]
7 United States Abby Smith NJ/NY Gotham FC United States Abby Smith (3) NJ/NY Gotham FC [87][88]
8 United States Lynn Williams (3) NJ/NY Gotham FC United States Alyssa Naeher Chicago Red Stars [89][90]
9 Brazil Bruninha NJ/NY Gotham FC United States Alyssa Naeher (2) Chicago Red Stars [91][92]
10 United States Sydney Leroux Angel City FC Brazil Bruninha
United States Abby Smith (4)
NJ/NY Gotham FC [93][94]
11 Brazil Kerolin North Carolina Courage United States Phallon Tullis-Joyce OL Reign [95][96]
12 United States Tara McKeown Washington Spirit United States Phallon Tullis-Joyce (2) OL Reign [97][98]
13 United States Sophia Smith (2) Portland Thorns FC United States Phallon Tullis-Joyce (3) OL Reign [99][100]
14 United States Julie Doyle Orlando Pride United States Abby Smith (5) NJ/NY Gotham FC [101][102]
15 United States Messiah Bright Orlando Pride United States Abby Smith (6) NJ/NY Gotham FC [103]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "NWSL Announces Full 2023 Season Schedule" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. February 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Goff, Steven (November 11, 2023). "Gotham takes NWSL title after Reign star Megan Rapinoe's farewell is cut short". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  3. ^ Rantz, Susie (December 15, 2021). "OL Reign's move to Lumen Field, explained". Sounder At Heart.
  4. ^ Gardner, Hayes (October 14, 2021). "'A world-class city': Next month's NWSL Championship game moves to Louisville". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  5. ^ Carp, Sam (November 22, 2021). "NWSL's Nike extension is league's 'most substantial' sponsorship deal to date". SportsPro. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  6. ^ "Ali Riley's off-day tour of LA: Chinatown, plenty of food, but definitely no surfing". March 28, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
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  8. ^ Claire Watkins [@ScoutRipley] (March 15, 2023). "Chris Petrucelli confirms Alyssa Naeher is the new captain of the Red Stars" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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  10. ^ "Sarah Lowdon, the Dash's 'bridge' in the coaching room". The Striker. March 31, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023. 'When she [Sarah Lowdon] comes into the room, any tension or anything is just nonexistent,' Dash captain Sophie Schmidt told The Striker in May 2023.
  11. ^ Houston Dash [@houstondash] (April 26, 2023). "Captain Sophie Schmidt reporting for duty" – via Instagram.
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  13. ^ Lauletta, Dan (April 20, 2023). "Immediate aftermath of Potter firing: KC team shocked but go on to win first game of 2023". The Equalizer. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
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  16. ^ Cohen, Andrew (March 7, 2022). "Gotham FC Adds Algorand as Blockchain and NFT Partner". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  17. ^ Our New Captain (Video). North Carolina Courage. February 10, 2023 – via YouTube.
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  21. ^ David, Austin (March 25, 2023). "After long road back from injury, grateful Marta excited to return to field with Orlando Pride" (Press release). Orlando City SC. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
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  28. ^ Insixiengmay, Steph (March 15, 2022). "Wave FC unveil Kaiser Permanente as 1st health partner and sponsor". LAG Confidential. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
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  33. ^ Pittman, Sam (November 21, 2022). "Washington Spirit Names Mark Parsons New Head Coach" (Press release).
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  40. ^ FC, Houston Dynamo. "Houston Dash part ways with head coach | Houston Dynamo". Houston Dynamo FC.
  41. ^ FC, Houston Dynamo. "Houston Dash name Sarah Lowdon interim head coach | Houston Dynamo". Houston Dynamo FC.
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