NWSL records and statistics

The following is a compilation of notable records and statistics for teams and players in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The NWSL's inaugural season was kicked off on April 13, 2013 with 8 participating clubs, four of the eight inaugural clubs still exist with their original names.[1][2] For Historical purposes, the league's stats and records include active and defunct clubs.

Statistics for the NWSL Challenge Cup, a competition originally created in place of the 2020 season that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are treated separately from regular season statistics.

Champions and shield winners

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By season

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Through November 3, 2024 (Regular season and Playoff matches)

Season Playoff final Regular season
Champions Score Runners-up Shield winners Points Runners-up
2013 Portland Thorns FC 2–0
Details
Western New York Flash Western New York Flash 38–38
Standings
FC Kansas City
2014 FC Kansas City 2–1
Details
Seattle Reign FC Seattle Reign FC 54–41
Standings
FC Kansas City
2015 FC Kansas City 1–0
Details
Seattle Reign FC Seattle Reign FC 43–33
Standings
Chicago Red Stars
2016 Western New York Flash 2–2 AET, 3–2 PKs
Details
Washington Spirit Portland Thorns FC 41–39
Standings
Washington Spirit
2017 Portland Thorns FC 1–0
Details
North Carolina Courage North Carolina Courage 49–47
Standings
Portland Thorns FC
2018 North Carolina Courage 3–0
Details
Portland Thorns FC North Carolina Courage 57–42
Standings
Portland Thorns FC
2019 North Carolina Courage 4–0
Details
Chicago Red Stars North Carolina Courage 49–44
Standings
Chicago Red Stars
2021 Washington Spirit 2–1 AET
Details
Chicago Red Stars Portland Thorns FC 44–42
Standings
OL Reign
2022 Portland Thorns FC 2–0
Details
Kansas City Current OL Reign 40–39
Standings
Portland Thorns FC
2023 NJ/NY Gotham FC 2–1
Details
OL Reign San Diego Wave FC 37–35
Standings
Portland Thorns FC
2024 Orlando Pride 1–0
Details
Washington Spirit Orlando Pride 60–56
Standings
Washington Spirit

Total trophies by team

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Through November 23, 2024 (2024 NWSL Playoffs)

Italics indicates a defunct team.

Team Seasons* Playoff appearances Championships Shields Challenge Cups Total
North Carolina Courage 7 5 2 (2018, 2019) 3 (2017, 2018, 2019) 2 (2022, 2023) 7
Portland Thorns FC 11 9 3 (2013, 2017, 2022) 2 (2016, 2021) 1 (2021) 6
Seattle Reign FC/OL Reign/Reign FC 11 7 3 (2014, 2015, 2022) 3
FC Kansas City 5 3 2 (2014, 2015) 2
Western New York Flash 4 2 1 (2016) 1 (2013) 2
San Diego Wave FC 3 2 1 (2023) 1 (2024) 2
Orlando Pride 8 2 1 (2024) 1 (2024) 2
Washington Spirit 11 5 1 (2021) 1
NJ/NY Gotham FC/Sky Blue FC 11 3 1 (2023) 1
Houston Dash 10 1 1 (2020*) 1
Chicago Red Stars 11 7 0
Angel City FC 3 1 0
Kansas City Current 4 1 0
Bay FC 1 0 0
Utah Royals 3 0 0
Racing Louisville FC 4 0 0
Boston Breakers 5 0 0

*While there was no 2020 regular season (i.e., it is not included in the second column), 2020 did include the inaugural Challenge Cup, which was won by the Houston Dash. It also included the 2020 Fall Series, in which the "Community Shield" (separate from the NWSL Shield and thus not included here) was won by the Portland Thorns.

Team records

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Wins

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Losses

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Attendance by season

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Season Matches Overall Highest Lowest Playoff
mean
Total Mean Median Club Mean Club Mean
2013 88 375,743 4,270 3,007 Portland Thorns FC 13,320 Sky Blue FC 1,664 6,820
2014 108 446,311 4,133 3,014 Portland Thorns FC 13,362 Sky Blue FC 1,639 3,763
2015 90 454,100 5,046 3,367 Portland Thorns FC 15,639 Sky Blue FC 2,268 6,766
2016 100 555,775 5,558 3,997 Portland Thorns FC 16,945 Sky Blue FC 2,162 10,863
2017 120 609,960 5,083 3,576 Portland Thorns FC 17,653 FC Kansas City 1,788 12,111
2018 108 650,562 6,024 4,025 Portland Thorns FC 16,959 Sky Blue FC 2,531 13,323[a]
2019 108 792,409 7,337 5,565 Portland Thorns FC 20,098 Sky Blue FC 3,338 8,956
2021[b] 120 567,072 5,155 Portland Thorns FC 14,391 Chicago Red Stars 3,222 8,774
2022 132 1,042,063 7,917 Angel City FC 19,105 Orlando Pride 4,385 21,730
2023 132 1,366,581 10,869 San Diego Wave FC 20,718 North Carolina Courage 5,384 19,581
2024 182 2,040,348 11,211 San Diego Wave FC 19,575[c] Houston Dash 6,194
  1. ^ A semifinal that would have been played in North Carolina was moved to Portland due to Hurricane Florence.
  2. ^ Due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, many teams had reduced capacities for part or all of the season, including some games with zero fans.
  3. ^ Due to a match being relocated to Louisville, San Diego played only 12 home matches in the 2024 season.

Goals

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Regular season records

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Through 2024 season (regular season games only)[3][4][5]

Pts rank
(prev.
season)
PPG rank
(prev.
season)
Club Seasons[a] GP W D L GF GA GD Pts PPG 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Finishing positions
1 (1) 2 (2) Portland Thorns FC 11 (2013–) 252 119 62 71 411 295 116 419 1.663 2 4 3
2 (2) 3 (3) Seattle Reign FC[b] 11 (2013–) 252 111 62 79 364 292 72 395 1.567 3 1 1 1
3 (3) 6 (7) Chicago Red Stars 11 (2013–) 252 105 63 84 352 334 18 356 1.413 2 1 3
4 (4) 11 (10) Washington Spirit 11 (2013–) 252 88 62 102 317 355 -38 326 1.294 2 1 2
5 (5) 13 (13) NJ/NY Gotham FC[c] 11 (2013–) 252 84 63 105 301 339 -68 315 1.250 1 1
6 (6) 1 (1) North Carolina Courage 7 (2017–) 166 87 31 48 282 168 114 292 1.759 3 1
7 (7) 15 (11) Houston Dash 10 (2014–) 230 70 50 110 254 331 -77 260 1.130 1
8 (8) 9 (12) Orlando Pride 8 (2016–) 186 69 39 78 241 276 -35 246 1.323 1 1
9 (-) 4 (-) FC Kansas City 5 (2013–2017) 110 45 27 36 152 125 27 168 1.527 2 1
10 (12) 5 (14) Kansas City Current[d] 4 (2021–) 94 37 22 35 131 132 -1 133 1.415 1
11 (-) 8 (-) Western New York Flash 4 (2013–2016) 86 33 22 31 142 118 24 119 1.384 1 1
12 (14) 16 (15) Racing Louisville FC 4 (2021–) 94 23 31 40 102 138 -36 100 1.064
13 (15) 7 (3) San Diego Wave FC 3 (2022–) 70 27 17 26 87 78 9 98 1.400 1 1
14 (-) 17 (-) Boston Breakers 5 (2013–2017) 110 25 20 65 132 212 -80 95 0.864
15 (-) 12 (-) Utah Royals 3 (2018–2019, 2024–) 74 26 16 32 69 88 -19 94 1.270
16 (16) 14 (9) Angel City FC 3 (2022–) 70 23 18 29 83 99 -16 84[e] 1.200[e]
17 (-) 10 (-) Bay FC 1 (2024–) 26 11 1 14 31 41 -10 34 1.308

Sort order is points, finishing positions, wins.
Italics denote defunct teams.

  1. ^ No regular season in 2020.
  2. ^ Known as Seattle Reign FC from 2013–2018, Reign FC in 2019, and OL Reign from 2020–2023.
  3. ^ Known as Sky Blue FC from 2013–2020.
  4. ^ Known as Kansas City NWSL in 2021.
  5. ^ a b The NWSL docked Angel City FC three points during the 2024 season for violating player compensation rules.[6]

Playoff records

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Through 2023 playoffs

Rank Club Championships Runners-up Seasons
qualified
GP W L D[a] Penalty
wins[a]
PPG GF GA GD
1 Portland Thorns FC 3 1 9/10 13 7 6 0 0 1.615 19 18 +1
2 North Carolina Courage 2 1 5/6 8 5 3 0 0 1.875 14 5 +9
3 FC Kansas City 2 0 3/5 5 4 1 0 0 2.400 10 4 +6
4 Washington Spirit 1 1 4/10 7 4 2 1 0 1.857 10 10 0
5 Western New York Flash 1 1 2/4 4 2 1 1 1 1.750 8 7 +1
6 NJ/NY Gotham FC 1 0 3/10 5 3 2 0 0 1.800 5 4 +1
7 Seattle Reign FC 0 3 7/10 10 3 7 0 0 0.900 10 15 −5
8 Chicago Red Stars 0 2 7/10 10 3 7 0 0 0.900 7 16 −9
9 Kansas City Current 0 1 1/3 3 2 1 0 0 2.000 4 3 +1
10 San Diego Wave FC 0 0 2/2 3 1 2 0 0 1.000 3 4 -1
11 Angel City FC 0 0 1/2 1 0 1 0 0 0.000 0 1 -1
12 Orlando Pride 0 0 1/7 1 0 1 0 0 0.000 1 4 −3
13 Houston Dash 0 0 1/9 1 0 1 0 0 0.000 1 2 -1
14 Racing Louisville FC 0 0 0/3 Have not qualified
15 Utah Royals 0 0 0/2
16 Boston Breakers 0 0 0/5

Sort order is championships, runners-up, PPG, fraction of seasons qualified.
Italics denote defunct teams.
Bold text denotes a column's maximum value.

  1. ^ a b Draws after 120 minutes are decided by penalties.

Player records

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Boldface indicates players currently active in the league.

Most minutes played

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Most minutes played in NWSL
(Regular season only; as of December 31, 2023)[7]
Rank Player Minutes played Games
1   Lauren Barnes 18,298 211
2   McCall Zerboni 16,141 204
3   Jess Fishlock 15,305 180
4   Ali Krieger 15,026 176
5   Abby Erceg 14,921 169
6   Allie Long 14,753 172
7   Alyssa Naeher 14,580 163
8   Christine Sinclair 14,426 176
9   Sofia Huerta 14,286 161
10   Becky Sauerbrunn 14,071 164
11   Merritt Mathias 14,020 183
12   Kristie Mewis 13,987 171
13   Emily Menges 13,850 160
14   Vanessa DiBernardo 13,426 166
15   Danielle Colaprico 13,398 165
16   Megan Montefusco 13,257 155
17   Meghan Klingenberg 13,049 156
18   Tori Huster 13,013 159
19   Nicole Barnhart 12,674 144
20   Jessica McDonald 12,593 182

Most appearances, regular season only

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2013–2023 regular seasons, a total of 226 matches for each team that has been active since the start of the NWSL.[8]

Most NWSL appearances
(Regular season only; as of December 31, 2023)
Rank Player Games
1   Lauren Barnes 211
2   McCall Zerboni 204
3   Merritt Mathias 183
4   Jessica McDonald 182
5   Jess Fishlock 180
6   Christine Sinclair 176
  Ali Krieger 176
8   Allie Long 172
  Jasmyne Spencer 172
10   Kristie Mewis 171
11   Erika Tymrak 168
12   Vanessa DiBernardo 166
  Abby Erceg 166
14   Danielle Colaprico 165
15   Becky Sauerbrunn 164
16   Amber Brooks 163
  Alyssa Naeher 163
18   Sofia Huerta 161
19   Emily Menges 160
20   Tori Huster 159

Goals

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  • First NWSL goal: Renae Cuellar for FC Kansas City against Portland Thorns FC, 3rd minute (April 13, 2013)
  • Fastest goal: Michelle Cooper for Kansas City Current against Washington Spirit, 22 seconds (June 18, 2023)[9]
  • Most goals in a regular season (24 games): 18, Sam Kerr (2019)
  • Most goals in a regular season (26 games): 21, Temwa Chawinga (2024)
  • Most goals per team game in a season: 0.81, Temwa Chawinga (2024)
  • Most goals in a regular season by a rookie: 11, Diana Ordonez (2022, 22-game season)
  • Most goals in a game: 4, Sam Kerr (August 19, 2017);[10][11] Kristen Hamilton (July 5, 2019);[12][13] Alex Morgan (May 7, 2022)[14][15]
  • Most goals in a half: 4, Sam Kerr (August 19, 2017)[11]
  • Most hat-tricks in a season: 2, Sam Kerr (2017);[10][11] Kristen Hamilton (2019)[13]
  • Most consecutive seasons to score at least 10 goals: 3
    • Sam Kerr, 2017–2019 (with Sky Blue FC, Chicago Red Stars)
    • Sophia Smith, 2022-2024 (Portland Thorns FC)
  • Most consecutive seasons to score at least 15 goals: 3
    • Sam Kerr, 2017–2019 (with Sky Blue FC, Chicago Red Stars)
  • Most different clubs to score for: 6
    • Jessica McDonald for Seattle Reign FC, Portland Thorns FC, Houston Dash, Western New York Flash, North Carolina Courage, and Racing Louisville FC
  • Youngest player to score: Alex Pfeiffer, 16 years, three months and 9 days (March 16, 2024, for Kansas City Current against Portland Thorns FC)[16][17]
  • First goal by a goalkeeper: Michelle Betos (June 19, 2015 for Portland Thorns FC against FC Kansas City)[18]

Top scorers

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Goals, regular season only

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NWSL all-time leading goalscorers
(Regular season only; as of October 13, 2024)[19]
Rank Player Goals
1   Lynn Williams 80
2   Sam Kerr 77
3   Christine Sinclair 64
4   Alex Morgan 60
5   Jessica McDonald 54
6   Megan Rapinoe 51
7   Christen Press 48
8   Ashley Hatch 50
9   Debinha 44
10   Carli Lloyd 43
11   Jess Fishlock 42
12   Sydney Leroux 41
13   Amy Rodriguez 39
14   Crystal Dunn 38
  Nadia Nadim
16   Rachel Daly 37
17   Allie Long 36
18   Sofia Huerta 35
19   Kealia Watt 33
20   Kim Little 32
  Sophia Smith
  Jodie Taylor

Leading goalscorers in playoffs

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NWSL all-time playoff leading goalscorers
Last updated after 2023 season.
Rank Player Goals
1   Amy Rodriguez 6
2   Crystal Dunn 5
3   Jessica McDonald 4
  Samantha Mewis
  Lynn Williams
5   Debinha 3
  Tobin Heath
  Lindsey Horan
  Megan Rapinoe
  Christine Sinclair

NWSL top goal scorers by regular season

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Top regular-season goal scorers
Last updated after 2024 season.[20]
Year Player Team Goals Games GPG
2013   Lauren Holiday FC Kansas City 12 18 .666
2014   Kim Little Seattle Reign FC 16 23 .695
2015   Crystal Dunn Washington Spirit 15 20 .75
2016   Lynn Williams Western New York Flash 11 19 .579
2017   Sam Kerr Sky Blue FC 17 22 .773
2018   Sam Kerr Chicago Red Stars 16 19 .842
2019   Sam Kerr Chicago Red Stars 18 21 .857
2021   Ashley Hatch Washington Spirit 10 20 .50
2022   Alex Morgan San Diego Wave FC 15 17 .882
2023   Sophia Smith Portland Thorns FC 11 18 .611
2024   Temwa Chawinga Kansas City Current 21 26 .80

*GPG = goals ger game

Assists

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Most assists

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Most assists (career)
(Regular season only; as of January 1, 2024)[24]
Rank Player Assists
1   Sofia Huerta 31
  Jessica McDonald
3   Lynn Williams 28
4   Alex Morgan 27
5   Nahomi Kawasumi 26
  Megan Rapinoe
7   Jess Fishlock 25
8   Vanessa DiBernardo 24
  Crystal Dunn
  Tobin Heath
  Sam Kerr
  Yūki Nagasato

Assists leaders by season

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Most assists per regular season
Last updated after 2024 season.[20]
Year Player Assists Apps
2013   Lauren Holiday 9 18
2014   Jessica Fishlock 8 22
2015   Kim Little 7 20
2016   Tobin Heath 10 15
2017   Nahomi Kawasumi 9 24
2018   Jessica McDonald 8 23
2019   Yūki Nagasato 8 24
2021*   Trinity Rodman 6 22
  Sofia Huerta 23
2022*   Carson Pickett 6 20
  Mallory Swanson 16
2023   Sam Coffey 8 22
2024   Croix Bethune 10 17

*Joint record

Goalkeepers

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Clean sheets

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Most shutouts (career)
(Regular season only; as of December 31, 2023)[24]
# Player Shutouts Apps Shutout %
1   Nicole Barnhart 52 144 36.1%
2   Alyssa Naeher 43 163 26.4%
3   Adrianna Franch 42 127 33.1%
4   Casey Murphy 32 80 40.0%
5   Kailen Sheridan 31 117 26.5%
6   Jane Campbell 30 103 29.1%
  Aubrey Kingsbury 119 25.2%
8   Bella Bixby 24 57 42.1%
9   Ashlyn Harris 22 135 16.3%
10   Katelyn Rowland 20 60 33.3%

Saves

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Most saves (career)
(Regular season only; as of October 2, 2022)[24]
# Player Saves
1   Ashlyn Harris 518
2   Alyssa Naeher 494
3   Nicole Barnhart 468
4   Kailen Sheridan 401
5   Adrianna Franch 395
6   Aubrey Kingsbury 362
7   Michelle Betos 340
8   Jane Campbell 336
9   Erin McLeod 288
10   Haley Kopmeyer 239

Match records

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Stats". National Women's Soccer League. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  2. ^ NWSL (March 20, 2024). "Events and Milestones | National Women's Soccer League Official Site". NWSL. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Club Information | National Women's Soccer League Official Site". nwslsoccer.com. National Women's Soccer League. March 20, 2024. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  4. ^ "2024 NWSL Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  5. ^ "NWSL table 2023, form and next opponent". FotMob. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  6. ^ Kassouf, Jeff (October 3, 2024). "Angel City FC docked 3 points, fined for salary cap violation". ESPN. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  7. ^ "NWSL Player Stats".
  8. ^ Cooper, Jen (2024), "Field Player Registry", Keeper Notes NWSL Almanac, pp. 294-362
  9. ^ Sperry, Daniel (June 18, 2023). "Kansas City Current squander late lead, lose to Washington Spirit in NWSL home match". The Kansas City Star.
  10. ^ a b "Sam Kerr finishes NWSL season with bushel of scoring records". Soccer America. October 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  11. ^ a b c Siracusa, Claire (August 20, 2017). "Sam Kerr scores four goals in Sky Blue FC comeback win". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  12. ^ Purdy, Jacqueline (July 5, 2019). "Kristen Hamilton scores four, Courage win 5-2" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  13. ^ a b "NWSL Friday: Kristen Hamilton packs on four goals for Courage". The Equalizer. July 5, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  14. ^ "National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  15. ^ Togerson, Derek (May 7, 2022). "Alex Morgan Scores 4 Goals in Wave FC Win". www.nbcsandiego.com. KNSD. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  16. ^ Kassouf, Jeff (March 16, 2024). "Kansas City Current open 'game-changing' stadium with 5-4 win". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  17. ^ Herrera, Sandra (March 16, 2024). "Alex Pfeiffer becomes youngest NWSL goalscorer at 16 years of age in Kansas City Current's wild win". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  18. ^ Lauletta, Dan (June 20, 2015). "Thorns draw late on goal by keeper Betos". Equalizer Soccer. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  19. ^ Cooper, Jen (2023), Keeper Notes NWSL Almanac, Keeper Notes, p. 8.
  20. ^ a b NWSL. "National Women's Soccer League Official Site". NWSL. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  21. ^ Braeback, Jeremiah Mitchell (December 13, 2016). "Tobin Heath Named US Soccer Female Player of the Year". Stumptown Footy. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  22. ^ NWSL. "National Women's Soccer League Official Site". NWSL. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  23. ^ Ltd, Simplestream. "Nahomi Kawasumi named Player of the Week". www.nwslsoccer.com. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  24. ^ a b c http://www.fbref.com [bare URL]
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