2018 National Women's Soccer League Season
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The 2018 National Women's Soccer League season was the sixth 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 (2009–2011) and the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2003), it was the twelfth 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 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 receives major financial backing from that body. Further financial backing is 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 ...
. Both national federations pay the league salaries of many of their respective national team members in an effort to nurture talent in those nations and take the financial burden off individual clubs. The off-season brought significant changes, with FC Kansas City and the Boston Breakers ceasing operations, while new club Utah Royals FC joined the league. The 2018 season began on March 24, and ended on September 8. Teams once again played 24 regular-season games this year, with the top four teams making a single-elimination playoff. The
North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acqui ...
won the NWSL Shield with 15 more points than second place Thorns. The
NWSL Playoffs The National Women's Soccer League playoffs (or NWSL playoffs) are a single-elimination tournament among eight teams in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) of the United States. The final round of the playoffs is the NWSL Championship. Si ...
began on September 15 with the two semifinal matches, which were won by the Thorns and the Courage. The NWSL Championship Game was held on September 22 at
Providence Park Providence Park (formerly Jeld-Wen Field; PGE Park; Civic Stadium; originally Multnomah Stadium; and from 1893 until the stadium was built, Multnomah Field) is an outdoor soccer venue located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland, Oregon ...
in Portland. The Courage won 3–0, becoming the first team to win both the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship in the same season.


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.


Coaching changes


Competition format

* Each team will play each team 3 times, for a total of 24 games (12 home and 12 away). * The four teams at the end of the season with the most points qualify for the playoffs.


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. # Head-to-head win–loss record between the teams (or points-per-game if more than 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. 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.


Attendance


Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance. Updated to games played on September 8, 2018.


Highest attendances

Regular season Updated to games played on November 3, 2018.


Statistical leaders


Top scorers

Updated: September 8, 2018


Top assists

Updated: September 8, 2018


NWSL Playoffs

The top four teams from the regular season compete for the NWSL Championship. The
North Carolina Courage The North Carolina Courage are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It was founded on January 9, 2017, after Stephen Malik acqui ...
secured the number one seed on August 5, winning their second straight NWSL Shield.


Semi-finals

*''Originally scheduled for September 16 at Sahlen's Stadium in
Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, Wake, Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham, and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Cary, NC M ...
; rescheduled and moved due to Hurricane Florence.''


Championship


Individual awards


Monthly awards


Player of the Month


Team of the Month


Weekly awards


Annual awards


References

; NWSL Statistics


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Women's Soccer League 2018
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
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 ...