NWSL Championship
Founded | 2013 |
---|---|
Region | National Women's Soccer League (CONCACAF) |
Current champions | Orlando Pride (1st title) |
Most successful team(s) | Portland Thorns FC (3 titles) |
Television broadcasters |
|
Website | nwslsoccer.com |
2024 NWSL Championship |
The NWSL Championship is the annual championship game of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top-flight women's soccer league in the United States. It is the culmination of the NWSL playoffs, which is contested by the teams with the best record in the preceding regular season.
The NWSL uses a playoff tournament following the regular season to determine its annual league champion, similar to every other major North American sports league. This format differs from most soccer leagues around the world, which consider the club with the most points at the end of the season to be the champion; the NWSL honors that achievement with the NWSL Shield. Since 2024, the top eight teams in the regular-season standings earn a berth into the playoff tournament; previously, only the top four or top six teams qualified for the playoffs.
History
The first NWSL Championship was held at Sahlen's Stadium in Rochester, New York, on August 31, 2013. Tobin Heath and Christine Sinclair helped lead Portland Thorns FC to a 2–0 victory over NWSL Shield winners Western New York Flash.[1] Seattle Reign FC won the Shield the following two seasons and appeared in both championship games, losing each time to FC Kansas City.[2] The North Carolina Courage became the first team to win the Shield and Championship in the same season, doing so in both 2018 and 2019.[3]
The 2021 NWSL Championship set an attendance record for the league final with 25,011 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California; in the retirement game of two legends of the sport, Megan Rapinoe's Reign lost 2–1 to Ali Krieger's NJ/NY Gotham FC.[4][5] The 2024 championship game was the most-watched game in NWSL history, drawing 967,900 viewers on CBS as the Orlando Pride defeated the Washington Spirit 1–0.[6]
Finals
† | Match went to extra time |
---|---|
‡ | Match decided by a penalty shootout after extra time |
§ | Team also won the NWSL Shield |
Results by team
As of 2024[update], 10 of the 17 teams that have played in the league have appeared in an NWSL Championship, and 7 have won a championship. Portland Thorns FC has appeared at and won the NWSL Championship the most times, with three championships in four appearances.
Club | Won | Runner-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
Portland Thorns FC | 3 |
1 |
2013, 2017, 2022 | 2018 |
North Carolina Courage | 2 |
1 |
2018, 2019 | 2017 |
FC Kansas City | 2 |
0 |
2014, 2015 | |
Washington Spirit | 1 |
2 |
2021 | 2016, 2024 |
Western New York Flash | 1 |
1 |
2016 | 2013 |
NJ/NY Gotham FC | 1 |
0 |
2023 | |
Orlando Pride | 1 |
0 |
2024 | |
Seattle Reign FC[a] | 0 |
3 |
2014, 2015, 2023 | |
Chicago Red Stars | 0 |
2 |
2019, 2021 | |
Kansas City Current | 0 |
1 |
2022 |
See also
Notes and references
- ^ "Portland Thorns take inaugural NWSL championship with 2–0 win over Western New York Flash". Major League Soccer. September 1, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Grainey, Tim (October 2, 2015). "Reign fall short in NWSL Championship — again". The Equalizer. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Papich, Michael (October 28, 2019). "NC Courage Make History with Dominant Championship Win at Home". CaryCitizen. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ "Gotham FC wins championship in front of record crowd at Snapdragon Stadium". KPBS-FM. November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Goff, Steven (November 10, 2023). "Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger are retiring. First, they have a final to play". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ a b Anzidei, Melanie (November 26, 2024). "NWSL title match was most-watched game in league history: How media rights deal shaped its success". The Athletic. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Arnold, Geoffrey C. (August 31, 2013). "Thorns defeat Western New York 2–0 to win NWSL championship". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Wood, Terry (August 31, 2014). "FC Kansas City beats Seattle 2–1, wins National Women's Soccer League title". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Deitsch, Richard (July 8, 2019). "Media Circus: What is the broadcast future for women's soccer in the United States?". The Athletic. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Goldberg, Jamie (October 2, 2015). "FC Kansas City wins second consecutive National Women's Soccer League championship title". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Dart, Tom (October 9, 2016). "Western New York Flash win NWSL title on penalties after 124th-minute equalizer". The Guardian. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Goldberg, Jamie (October 14, 2017). "Portland Thorns win 2017 NWSL Championship with 1-0 victory over North Carolina Courage". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Goldberg, Jamie (September 22, 2018). "NC Courage shuts out Portland Thorns for NWSL championship, avenging 2017 title game". The News & Observer. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Mikula, Jeremy (October 28, 2019). "Chicago Red Stars get overpowered in their 1st-ever NWSL final, losing 4–0 to the North Carolina Courage". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ a b c Shea, Bill (November 1, 2022). "What NWSL's big title game audience means, World Series up but struggling: Sports on TV". The Athletic. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Goff, Steven (November 20, 2021). "Washington Spirit defeats Chicago Red Stars to win first National Women's Soccer League title". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Goff, Steven (October 29, 2022). "Portland turns back Kansas City, wins its third NWSL title". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Rueter, Jeff (November 11, 2023). "Gotham FC hold on to defeat OL Reign, capture first NWSL Championship in franchise history". The Athletic. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Lucia, Joe (November 15, 2023). "NWSL Championship slips in primetime on CBS from last year". Awful Announcing. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ Goff, Steven (November 24, 2024). "In a breakout year for women's sports, the NWSL shows how far it has come". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2024.