Annual soccer championship game
This article is about the championship game. For the tournament, see
NWSL playoffs .
Football tournament
TheNWSL Championship is the annual championship game of theNational Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top-flight women'ssoccer league in the United States. It is the culmination of theNWSL 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 majorNorth 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 theNWSL 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.
Thefirst NWSL Championship was held atSahlen's Stadium inRochester, New York , on August 31, 2013.Tobin Heath andChristine Sinclair helped leadPortland Thorns FC to a 2–0 victory overNWSL Shield winnersWestern New York Flash .[ 1] Seattle Reign FC won the Shield the following two seasons and appeared in both championship games, losing each time toFC Kansas City .[ 2] North Carolina Courage became the first team to win the Shield and Championship in the same season, doing so in both2018 and2019 .[ 3]
The2021 NWSL Championship set an attendance record for the league final with 25,011 atSnapdragon Stadium inSan Diego , California; in the retirement game of two legends of the sport,Megan Rapinoe 's Reign lost 2–1 toAli Krieger 'sNJ/NY Gotham FC .[ 4] [ 5] 2024 championship game was the most-watched game in NWSL history, drawing 967,900 viewers onCBS as theOrlando Pride defeated theWashington Spirit 1–0.[ 6]
NWSL Championships Date Winners Score Runners-up Venue Attendance U.S. TV broadcasters U.S. TV viewership Ref. August 31, 2013 Portland Thorns FC 2–0 Western New York Flash §Sahlen's Stadium , Rochester, New York9,129 Fox Sports 2 [ 7] August 31, 2014 FC Kansas City 2–1 Seattle Reign FC §Starfire Sports Stadium , Tukwila, Washington4,252 ESPN2 156,000 [ 8] [ 9] October 1, 2015 FC Kansas City 1–0 Seattle Reign FC §Providence Park , Portland, Oregon13,264 Fox Sports 1 167,000 [ 9] [ 10] October 9, 2016 Western New York Flash 2–2 (3–2p ) Washington Spirit BBVA Compass Stadium , Houston, Texas8,255 Fox Sports 1 180,000 [ 9] [ 11] October 14, 2017 Portland Thorns FC 1–0 North Carolina Courage §Orlando City Stadium , Orlando, Florida8,124 Lifetime 132,000 [ 9] [ 12] September 22, 2018 North Carolina Courage §3–0 Portland Thorns FC Providence Park , Portland, Oregon21,144 Lifetime [ 13] October 27, 2019 North Carolina Courage §4–0 Chicago Red Stars Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park , Cary, North Carolina10,227 ESPN2 166,000 [ 14] [ 15] November 20, 2021 Washington Spirit 2–1 Chicago Red Stars Lynn Family Stadium , Louisville, Kentucky10,360 CBS 525,000 [ 15] [ 16] October 29, 2022 Portland Thorns FC 2–0 Kansas City Current Audi Field , Washington, D.C.17,624 CBS 915,000 [ 15] [ 17] November 11, 2023 NJ/NY Gotham FC 2–1 OL Reign [ a] Snapdragon Stadium , San Diego, California25,011 CBS 817,000 [ 18] [ 19] November 23, 2024 Orlando Pride §1–0 Washington Spirit CPKC Stadium , Kansas City, Missouri11,500 CBS 967,900 [ 6] [ 20]
Portland Thorns FC celebrate winning the2022 NWSL Championship .As of 2024[update] Portland Thorns FC has appeared at and won the NWSL Championship the most times, with three championships in four appearances.
The first NWSL Championship trophy, used from 2013 to 2022, was a five-sided piece of silver metal that depicted the league's logo—a silhouette of a woman kicking a soccer ball; the golden soccer ball was cutout from the silver shape. The trophy was described as "spatula-like".[ 21] [ 22] Tiffany & Co. for the league as part of a sponsorship agreement. The second trophy, made of 24-karatgold andsterling silver , depicts a soccer ball atop a vertical base between two curved handles, similar to theFIFA Women's World Cup trophy.[ 22] [ 23]
Notes and references [ edit ] ^a b Seattle Reign FC was previously known as Reign FC and OL Reign. ^ "Portland Thorns take inaugural NWSL championship with 2–0 win over Western New York Flash" .Major League Soccer . September 1, 2013. RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 .^ Grainey, Tim (October 2, 2015)."Reign fall short in NWSL Championship — again" .The Equalizer . RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 . ^ Papich, Michael (October 28, 2019)."NC Courage Make History with Dominant Championship Win at Home" .CaryCitizen . RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 . ^ "Gotham FC wins championship in front of record crowd at Snapdragon Stadium" .KPBS-FM . November 23, 2023. RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 .^ Goff, Steven (November 10, 2023)."Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger are retiring. First, they have a final to play" The Washington Post . RetrievedNovember 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 . RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 . ^ Arnold, Geoffrey C. (August 31, 2013)."Thorns defeat Western New York 2–0 to win NWSL championship" .The Oregonian . RetrievedNovember 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 . RetrievedNovember 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 . RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 . ^ Goldberg, Jamie (October 2, 2015)."FC Kansas City wins second consecutive National Women's Soccer League championship title" .The Oregonian . RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 . ^ Dart, Tom (October 9, 2016)."Western New York Flash win NWSL title on penalties after 124th-minute equalizer" .The Guardian . RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 . ^ Goldberg, Jamie (October 14, 2017)."Portland Thorns win 2017 NWSL Championship with 1-0 victory over North Carolina Courage" .The Oregonian . RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 . ^ Goldberg, Jamie (September 22, 2018)."NC Courage shuts out Portland Thorns for NWSL championship, avenging 2017 title game" .The News & Observer . RetrievedNovember 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 . RetrievedNovember 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 . RetrievedNovember 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 . RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 . ^ Goff, Steven (October 29, 2022)."Portland turns back Kansas City, wins its third NWSL title" The Washington Post . RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 . ^ Rueter, Jeff (November 11, 2023)."Gotham FC hold on to defeat OL Reign, capture first NWSL Championship in franchise history" .The Athletic . RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 . ^ Lucia, Joe (November 15, 2023)."NWSL Championship slips in primetime on CBS from last year" .Awful Announcing . RetrievedNovember 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 . RetrievedNovember 26, 2024 . ^ Kassouf, Jeff (November 13, 2023)."Big-time NWSL championship a sign of where the league can go" . ESPN. RetrievedJanuary 1, 2025 . ^a b Herrera, Sandra (October 17, 2023)."NWSL unveil new-look championship trophy for the first time since the league's founding; MVP also redesigned" .CBS Sports . RetrievedJanuary 1, 2025 . ^ Flores, Elizabeth (October 17, 2023)."Tiffany & Co. redesigned the NWSL Championship trophy and MVP award" .USA Today . RetrievedJanuary 1, 2025 .
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