2016 National Women's Soccer League season

National Women's Soccer League

Season	2016
Matches played	15
Goals scored	31 (2.07 per match)
Top goalscorer	Diana Matheson (3 goals)
Biggest home win	2 goals: HOU 3–1 CHI (Apr 16) ORL 3–1 HOU (Apr 23)
Biggest away win	3 goals: BOS 0–3 SEA (Apr 24) WNY 0–3 WSH (Apr 29)
Highest scoring	4 goals: HOU 3–1 CHI (Apr 16) ORL 3–1 HOU (Apr 23)
Longest winning run	3 games: Washington Spirit (Apr 16–present)
Longest unbeaten run	3 games: Washington Spirit (Apr 16–present) 3 games: Portland Thorns FC (Apr 17–present)
Longest winless run	3 games: Boston Breakers (Apr 16–present) 3 games: FC Kansas City (Apr 16–present)
Longest losing run	3 games: Boston Breakers (Apr 16–present)
Highest attendance	23,403 ORL 3–1 HOU (Apr 23)
Lowest attendance	2,529 CHI 1–0 WNY (Apr 23)
Total attendance	94,869 [1]
Average attendance	6,325
← 2015 2017 → All statistics correct as of May 1, 2016.

The 2016 National Women's Soccer League season is the fourth 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 is the tenth 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. Both national federations pay the league salaries of many of their respective national team members in an effort to nurture talent in those nations.

To accommodate the 2016 Olympics the league announced it would suspend play for most of the month of August. In addition, the league would respect all FIFA windows, leaving the 20-game, 19-week regular season extend into late September for the second year in a row.^[2]

Teams, stadiums, and personnel

Stadiums and locations

Two teams, the Dash and Reign, do not make their stadiums' 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.

Team Stadium Capacity Boston Breakers Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium 4,500 Chicago Red Stars Toyota Park 20,000 Houston Dash BBVA Compass Stadium 7,000 (22,039) FC Kansas City Swope Soccer Village (primary)[3] Children's Mercy Park (secondary) 4,000 18,467 Orlando Pride Camping World Stadium 60,219 Portland Thorns Providence Park 20,438 Seattle Reign FC Memorial Stadium 6,000 (12,000) Sky Blue FC Yurcak Field 5,000 Washington Spirit Maryland SoccerPlex 5,126 Western New York Flash Sahlen's Stadium 13,768

Breakers Red Stars Dash Kansas City Pride Thorns Reign Sky Blue Spirit Flash Locations of teams for the 2016 National Women's Soccer League season.

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All of the teams use Nike as their kit manufacturer.

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor
Boston Breakers	Beard, MattMatt Beard	Engen, WhitneyWhitney Engen/ Kallman, KasseyKassey Kallman	Steward Health Care
Chicago Red Stars	Dames, RoryRory Dames	Press, ChristenChristen Press	Illinois Bone and Joint Institute
Houston Dash	Waldrum, RandyRandy Waldrum	Lloyd, CarliCarli Lloyd	BBVA Compass
FC Kansas City	Andonovski, VlatkoVlatko Andonovski	Sauerbrunn, BeckyBecky Sauerbrunn	Domino's
Orlando Pride	Sermanni, TomTom Sermanni	Morgan, AlexAlex Morgan	Orlando Health
Portland Thorns	Parsons, MarkMark Parsons	Sinclair, ChristineChristine Sinclair/ Heath, TobinTobin Heath	Providence Health & Services
Seattle Reign FC	Harvey, LauraLaura Harvey	Winters, KeelinKeelin Winters	Microsoft
Sky Blue FC	Holly, ChristyChristy Holly	Rampone, ChristieChristie Rampone	Meridian Health
Washington Spirit	Gabarra, JimJim Gabarra	Krieger, AliAli Krieger	ProChain Solutions, Inc.
Western New York Flash	Riley, PaulPaul Riley	Erceg, AbbyAbby Erceg	Sahlen's

Competition format

• Each team will play a total of 20 games, 10 home and 10 away.
• Each team will play all opponents twice, once home and once away, plus one local rival two extra times, also once home and away.
• The four teams at the end of the season with the most points will qualify for the playoffs.

Results table

Abbreviation and Color Key: Boston Breakers – BOS • Chicago Red Stars – CHI • Houston Dash – HOU • FC Kansas City – KC • Orlando Pride – ORL Portland Thorns FC – POR • Seattle Reign FC – SEA • Sky Blue FC – NJ • Washington Spirit – WAS • Western New York Flash – WNY Win  • Loss  • Tie  • Home Game
Club	Match
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Boston Breakers	WAS	SEA	POR	CHI	NJ	KC	WNY	WAS	CHI	WNY	SEA	ORL	NJ	ORL	KC	HOU	POR	WNY	HOU	WNY
	1–0	0–3	0–1	May7	May13	May22	May27	Jun10	Jun18	Jun24	Jul2	Jul10	Jul17	Jul31	Aug28	Aug31	Sep4	Sep8	Sep11	Sep24
Chicago Red Stars	HOU	WNY	ORL	BOS	KC	SEA	NJ	POR	BOS	POR	WNY	WAS	ORL	HOU	KC	NJ	SEA	KC	KC	WAS
	3–1	1–0	1–0	May7	May13	May22	May29	Jun12	Jun18	Jun22	Jul1	Jul9	Jul16	Jul23	Jul30	Aug27	Sep4	Sep7	Sep11	Sep24
Houston Dash	CHI	ORL	NJ	KC	WAS	ORL	WAS	SEA	KC	ORL	NJ	POR	CHI	WNY	WNY	BOS	ORL	POR	BOS	SEA
	3–1	3–1	1–1	May7	May14	May20	May27	Jun12	Jun19	Jun23	Jul9	Jul16	Jul23	Jul30	Aug27	Aug31	Sep3	Sep7	Sep11	Sep25
FC Kansas City	WNY	POR	SEA	HOU	CHI	BOS	ORL	NJ	HOU	SEA	WAS	POR	WAS	WNY	CHI	BOS	NJ	CHI	CHI	ORL
	0–1	1–1	1–0	May7	May13	May22	May28	Jun11	Jun19	Jun25	Jul2	Jul9	Jul16	Jul23	Jul30	Aug28	Sep4	Sep7	Sep11	Sep24
Orlando Pride	POR	HOU	CHI	SEA	WNY	HOU	KC	WNY	WAS	HOU	POR	BOS	CHI	SEA	BOS	WAS	HOU	NJ	NJ	KC
	2–1	3–1	1–0	May8	May14	May20	May28	Jun11	Jun18	Jun23	Jun26	Jul10	Jul16	Jul23	Jul31	Aug26	Sep3	Sep7	Sep10	Sep24
Portland Thorns FC	ORL	KC	BOS	WAS	SEA	WAS	SEA	CHI	WNY	CHI	ORL	NJ	KC	HOU	SEA	SEA	BOS	HOU	WNY	NJ
	2–1	1–1	0–1	May7	May14	May21	May29	Jun12	Jun17	Jun22	Jun26	Jul2	Jul9	Jul16	Jul30	Aug27	Sep4	Sep7	Sep11	Sep25
Seattle Reign FC	NJ	BOS	KC	ORL	POR	CHI	POR	HOU	NJ	KC	BOS	WNY	WNY	ORL	POR	POR	CHI	WAS	WAS	HOU
	1–2	0–3	1–0	May8	May14	May22	May29	Jun12	Jun19	Jun25	Jul2	Jul9	Jul16	Jul23	Jul30	Aug27	Sep4	Sep7	Sep11	Sep25
Sky Blue FC	SEA	WAS	HOU	WNY	BOS	WNY	CHI	KC	SEA	WAS	POR	HOU	BOS	WAS	WAS	CHI	KC	ORL	ORL	POR
	1–2	1–2	1–1	May7	May13	May21	May29	Jun11	Jun19	Jun25	Jul2	Jul9	Jul17	Jul23	Jul30	Aug27	Sep4	Sep7	Sep10	Sep25
Washington Spirit	BOS	NJ	WNY	POR	HOU	POR	HOU	BOS	ORL	NJ	KC	CHI	KC	NJ	NJ	ORL	WNY	SEA	SEA	CHI
	1–0	1–2	0–3	May7	May14	May21	May27	Jun10	Jun18	Jun25	Jul2	Jul9	Jul16	Jul23	Jul30	Aug26	Sep3	Sep7	Sep11	Sep24
Western New York Flash	KC	CHI	WAS	NJ	ORL	NJ	BOS	ORL	POR	BOS	CHI	SEA	SEA	KC	HOU	HOU	WAS	BOS	POR	BOS
	0–1	1–0	0–3	May7	May14	May21	May27	Jun11	Jun17	Jun24	Jul1	Jul9	Jul16	Jul23	Jul30	Aug27	Sep3	Sep8	Sep11	Sep24

Updated to games played on May 1, 2016.^[4]

Scores listed as home-away

League standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Washington Spirit	3	3	0	0	6	1	+5	9	NWSL Shield
2	Portland Thorns FC	3	2	1	0	4	2	+2	7	NWSL Playoffs
3	Seattle Reign FC	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6
4	Chicago Red Stars	3	2	0	1	3	3	0	6
5	Houston Dash	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
6	Sky Blue FC	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
7	Orlando Pride	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
8	Western New York Flash	3	1	0	2	1	4	−3	3
9	FC Kansas City	3	0	1	2	1	3	−2	1
10	Boston Breakers	3	0	0	3	0	5	−5	0

Updated to match(es) played on May 1, 2016. Source: NWSL
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

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,^[5] going down the list until all teams are ranked.

1. Head to Head win/loss record between the teams (or points-per-game if more than two teams).
2. Greater goal difference across the entire season (against all teams, not just tied teams).
3. Greatest total number of goals scored (against all teams).
4. Apply #1–3 to games played on the road.
5. Apply #1–3 to games played at home.
6. If teams are still equal, ranking will be determined by a coin toss.

NOTE: If two clubs remain tied after another club with the same number of points advances during any step, the tie breaker reverts to step 1 of the two-club format.

Weekly live standings

Considering each week to end on a Sunday

Team \ Week	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
Washington Spirit	5	1	1
Portland Thorns FC	3	2	2
Seattle Reign FC	6	3	3
Chicago Red Stars	10	8	4
Houston Dash	1	5	5
Sky Blue FC	2	6	6
Orlando Pride	7	4	7
Western New York Flash	4	7	8
FC Kansas City	8	9	9
Boston Breakers	9	10	10

Attendance

Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.

Team	GP	High	Low	Average
Orlando Pride	1	23,403	23,403	23,403
Portland Thorns FC	1	16,073	16,073	16,073
Houston Dash	2	7,440	5,081	6,261
FC Kansas City	2	8,022	3,022	5,522
Seattle Reign FC	2	4,083	3,987	4,035
Boston Breakers	2	3,743	3,698	3,721
Western New York Flash	1	3,615	3,615	3,615
Washington Spirit	1	3,578	3,578	3,578
Chicago Red Stars	2	4,024	2,529	3,277
Sky Blue FC	1	2,571	2,571	2,571
Total	15	23,403	2,529	6,325

Highest attendances

Regular season

Rank	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance	Date	Stadium
1	Orlando Pride	3–1	Houston Dash	23,403	April 23, 2016	Orlando Citrus Bowl
2	Portland Thorns FC	2–1	Orlando Pride	16,073	April 17, 2016	Providence Park
3	FC Kansas City	0–1	Western New York Flash	8,022	April 16, 2016	Children's Mercy Park
4	Houston Dash	3–1	Chicago Red Stars	7,440	April 16, 2016	BBVA Compass Stadium
5	Houston Dash	0–0	Sky Blue FC	5,081	April 29, 2016	BBVA Compass Stadium
6	Seattle Reign FC	1–0	FC Kansas City	4,083	May 1, 2016	Memorial Stadium
7	Chicago Red Stars	1–0	Orlando Pride	4,024	May 1, 2016	Toyota Park
8	Seattle Reign FC	1–2	Sky Blue FC	3,987	April 17, 2016	Memorial Stadium
9	Boston Breakers	0–3	Seattle Reign FC	3,743	April 24, 2016	Jordan Field
10	Boston Breakers	0–1	Portland Thorns FC	3,698	May 1, 2016	Jordan Field

Updated to games played on May 1, 2016.^[6]

Statistical leaders

Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals 1 Diana Matheson Washington Spirit 3 2 Dagný Brynjarsdóttir Portland Thorns FC 2 Lindsey Horan Portland Thorns FC Kim Little Seattle Reign FC Christen Press Chicago Red Stars Updated: May 1[6]

Top assists Rank Player Club Assists 1 Tobin Heath Portland Thorns FC 4 2 Crystal Dunn Washington Spirit 3 3 Rachel Daly Houston Dash 2 Kim Little Seattle Reign FC Taylor Lytle Sky Blue FC Updated: May 1[6]

Clean Sheets Rank Player Club Clean Sheets 1 Stephanie Labbé Washington Spirit 2 Alyssa Naeher Chicago Red Stars Hope Solo Seattle Reign FC 4 Sabrina D'Angelo Western New York Flash 1 Adrianna Franch Portland Thorns FC Caroline Stanley Sky Blue FC Lydia Williams Houston Dash Updated: May 1[6]

NWSL Playoffs

The top four teams from the regular season will compete for the NWSL Championship.

	Semi-finals					Championship

Individual awards

Monthly awards

Month	Player of the Month		Club	Month's Statline
April		Tobin Heath[7][8]	Portland Thorns FC	3A in 2 games; Thorns 1-0-1 in April
May
June
July
August

Weekly awards

Week
	Player	Nation	Club	Reference
1	Rachel Daly	ENG	Houston Dash	[9]
2	Kim Little	SCO	Seattle Reign FC	[10]
3	Kim Little	SCO	Seattle Reign FC	[11]

References

1. "160501 NWSL Statistics.pdf". May 1, 2016.
2. "NWSL ANNOUNCES FULL 2016 SCHEDULE". February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
3. "FC Kansas City to play at Swope Soccer Village in 2015". January 13, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
4. "National Women's Soccer League 2016". Nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
5. "2016 Competition Rules and Regulations – National Womens Soccer League".
6. "2016 Statistics". NWSL.
7. "Portland Thorns midfielder Tobin Heath named NWSL Player of the Month". OregonLive.com. May 4, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
8. "THORNS FC'S TOBIN HEATH VOTED PLAYER OF THE MONTH Heath's three assists in two games helped lead Portland to a 1-0-1 record during April". May 4, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
9. "Dash Forward Rachel Daly Voted Player of the Week". Nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
10. "Reign FC Midfielder Kim Little Voted Player of the Week". Nwslsoccer.com. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
11. Blakely, Chris (4 May 2016). "Kim Little named NWSL Player of the Week for second straight week". Vavel. Retrieved 4 May 2016.

External links

Official website