The 2015 National Women's Soccer League season was the third season of the
National Women's Soccer League
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...
, 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 ...
(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 Uni ...
(2001–2003), it was the ninth overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States. The league was 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 soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...
and received major financial backing from that body. Further financial backing was provided by the
Canadian Soccer Association
The Canadian Soccer Association (; branded as Canada Soccer) is the governing body for soccer in Canada. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, a ...
and the
Mexican Football Federation
The Mexican Football Federation (), abbreviated as FMF is the official governing body of football in Mexico. It administers the men's and women's national teams with all its youth teams, the national teams of futsal and beach soccer, Liga MX wit ...
. 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.
In January,
Jeff Plush was named NWSL commissioner, replacing
Cheryl Bailey.
To accommodate the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...
, the league announced it would take a two-week break from June 7–19, reduce the season to 20 games, and extend the playing calendar into September.
For the second straight season,
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 champio ...
defeated the
NWSL Shield
The NWSL Shield is an annual award given to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team with the best regular season record as determined by the NWSL points system. The NWSL Shield has been awarded annually since 2013 and is recognized as a ...
winners
Seattle Reign FC
Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...
1–0 to win the NWSL championship.
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''.
Personnel and sponsorship
Note: All of the teams use Nike as their kit manufacturer.
Player acquisition
Players were acquired through the
2015 Allocation of national team players on January 14
and the
2015 NWSL College Draft on January 16,
as well as free agency and trades.
Notable acquisitions and losses
*
Carli Lloyd
Carli Anne Hollins (; born July 16, 1982) is an American former professional Association football, soccer player. She is a two-time Olympic Games, Olympic gold medalist (2008 and 2012), two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion (2015 and 2019) ...
, the scoring and assist leader for the
US women's national team in 2014, was traded from the
Western New York Flash
The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American women's soccer club based in Elma, New York, that most recently competed in the United Women's Soccer league in 2018. They won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-Leag ...
to the
Houston Dash on October 16, 2014.
*
Heather O'Reilly, the scoring and assist leader for the
Boston Breakers
The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's 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 defu ...
in 2014,
was traded from Boston to
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 champio ...
on October 27, 2014.
*
Samantha Kerr, the leading scorer for the
Western New York Flash
The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American women's soccer club based in Elma, New York, that most recently competed in the United Women's Soccer league in 2018. They won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-Leag ...
in 2014,
[ was traded from Western New York to ]Sky Blue FC
Gotham Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 un ...
on November 24, 2014.
* Sophie Schmidt, a veteran Allocated Player for the Canadian women's national team, announced in January 2015 she would not play for either Sky Blue FC
Gotham Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, the team was known as Sky Blue FC from 2008 un ...
or the NWSL in order to focus on the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...
.
* Morgan Brian, the two-time Hermann Trophy
The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players.
History
In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...
winner, was chosen No. 1 overall by the Houston Dash in the College Draft on January 16, 2015.
* Jessica McDonald, the leading scorer for the Portland Thorns in 2014,[ was traded from Portland to the Houston Dash during the draft on January 16, 2015.
* Jodie Taylor, the leading scorer for the ]Washington Spirit
The Washington Spirit are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the USL W-League (1995� ...
in 2014,[ was traded from Washington to the Portland Thorns during the draft on January 16, 2015.
* ]Abby Wambach
Mary Abigail Wambach (born June 2, 1980) is an American retired Association football, soccer player, coach, and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on ...
, the scoring and assist leader for the Western New York Flash
The Western New York Flash (WNY Flash) was an American women's soccer club based in Elma, New York, that most recently competed in the United Women's Soccer league in 2018. They won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-Leag ...
in 2013, announced on March 18, 2015, she would not play for either Western New York or the NWSL in order to focus on the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...
. Her rights were subsequently traded to the Seattle Reign
Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...
in exchange for Sydney Leroux.
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 four opponents an extra time, split two opponents at home and two away.
* The four teams at the end of the season with the most points will qualify for the playoffs.
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).
Weekly live standings
''Considering each week to end on a Sunday''
Statistical leaders
Top scorers
Top assists
Goalkeeping
(Minimum of 900 minutes played)
NWSL Playoffs
The top four teams from the regular season will compete for the NWSL Championship.
Semi-finals
Championship
Individual awards
Monthly awards
Weekly awards
Annual awards
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Women's Soccer League 2015
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
1