NWSL records and statistics
Notable records and statistics in the NWSL
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
By season
Through November 11, 2023 (Regular season and Playoff matches)
Total trophies by team
Through March 15, 2024 (NWSL Challenge Cup 2024)
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
OL Reign /Reign FC/Seattle 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
Washington Spirit
11
4
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
Orlando Pride
8
1
–
–
–
0
Bay FC
1
0
–
–
–
0
Utah Royals FC
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
Wins
Most wins in a season (24 games): 17, North Carolina Courage (2018 )
Fewest wins in a season (20 games): 3, Boston Breakers (2016 )
Fewest wins in a season (24 games): 1, Sky Blue FC (NJ/NY Gotham FC) (2018 )
Most consecutive wins in a season (26 games): 8, Orlando Pride (April 12th, 2024 - May 24, 2024)
Most consecutive games without a win: 23, Sky Blue FC (2018 )
Most consecutive away games without a win: 19, Boston Breakers (between August 6, 2014 and July 10, 2016)
Most consecutive home wins in a season: 7, joint record:
Most consecutive home wins: 8, Portland Thorns FC (between June 28, 2017 and April 15, 2018)
Most total wins in regular season (226 games): 109, Portland Thorns FC (April, 13, 2013 - October 15, 2023)[ 3]
Losses
Fewest losses in a season (24 games): 1, North Carolina Courage (2018 )
Longest unbeaten run: 20 games, Washington Spirit (between September 26, 2021 and May 7, 2022)
Most losses in total (204 games): 94, NJ/NY Gotham FC
Fewest home losses in a season (12 games): 0, Seattle Reign FC (2014 )
Most consecutive losses in a season: 11, NJ/NY Gotham FC (2022 )
Most consecutive home games undefeated: 22, Seattle Reign FC (between April 13, 2014 and August 29, 2015)
Attendance by season
Season
Overall
Highest
Lowest
Playoff mean
Total
Mean
Median
Club
Mean
Club
Mean
2013
375,743
4,270
3,007
Portland Thorns FC
13,320
Sky Blue FC
1,664
6,820
2014
446,311
4,133
3,014
Portland Thorns FC
13,362
Sky Blue FC
1,639
3,763
2015
454,100
5,046
3,367
Portland Thorns FC
15,639
Sky Blue FC
2,268
6,766
2016
555,775
5,558
3,997
Portland Thorns FC
16,945
Sky Blue FC
2,162
10,863
2017
609,960
5,083
3,576
Portland Thorns FC
17,653
FC Kansas City
1,788
12,111
2018
650,562
6,024
4,025
Portland Thorns FC
16,959
Sky Blue FC
2,531
13,3231
2019
792,409
7,337
5,565
Portland Thorns FC
20,098
Sky Blue FC
3,338
8,956
2021 2
567,072
5,155
Portland Thorns FC
14,391
Chicago Red Stars
3,222
8,774
2022
1,042,063
7,917
Angel City FC
19,105
Orlando Pride
4,385
21,730
2023
1,366,581
San Diego Wave
20,718
North Carolina Courage
5,384
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.
Goals
Most goals scored in a season: 54, North Carolina Courage (2019 )
Fewest goals scored in a season: 12, Washington Spirit (2018 )
Most goals conceded in a season: 53, Orlando Pride (2019 )
Fewest goals conceded in a season (joint record): 17, North Carolina Courage (2018 ), Portland Thorns (2021 )
Best goal difference in a season: 36, North Carolina Courage (2018 )
Most goals scored in total: 283, Portland Thorns FC
Most goals conceded in total: 279, Sky Blue FC /NJ/NY Gotham FC
Most consecutive games scoring: 28 games, FC Kansas City (2013 –2014 ) includes 3 playoff games
Most consecutive games scoring 2+ goals: 7 games, Western New York Flash (2013 )
Longest shutout streak (joint record): 5 games, Seattle Reign FC (2016 ), North Carolina Courage (2021 )
Regular season records
Through 2023 season (regular season games only ) [ 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 (2)
4 (2)
Portland Thorns FC
10 (2013–)
226
109
58
59
374
260
+114
385
1.704
2
4
3
2 (1)
3 (1)
OL Reign [ b]
10 (2013–)
226
105
57
64
337
248
89
372
1.646
3
1
1
1
3 (6)
7 (6)
Chicago Red Stars
10 (2013–)
226
95
61
70
321
296
25
324
1.434
2
1
3
4 (11)
10 (11)
Washington Spirit
10 (2013–)
226
70
60
96
266
327
-61
270
1.195
1
1
2
5 (12)
13 (12)
NJ/NY Gotham FC [ c]
10 (2013–)
226
67
58
101
260
319
-89
259
1.146
1
6 (7)
1 (7)
North Carolina Courage
6 (2017–)
140
75
28
37
248
140
108
253
1.807
3
1
7 (4)
11 (4)
Houston Dash
9 (2014–)
204
65
45
94
234
289
-55
240
1.176
1
8 (10)
12 (10)
Orlando Pride
7 (2016–)
160
51
33
76
195
256
-61
186
1.163
1
9 (-)
6 (-)
FC Kansas City
5 (2013–2017)
110
45
27
36
152
125
27
168
1.527
2
1
10 (-)
8 (-)
Western New York Flash
4 (2013–2016)
86
33
22
31
142
118
24
119
1.384
1
1
11 (-)
16 (-)
Boston Breakers
5 (2013–2017)
110
25
20
65
132
212
-80
95
0.864
12 (5)
14 (5)
Kansas City Current [ d]
3 (2021–)
68
21
15
32
74
101
-27
78
1.083
15 (3)
2 (3)
San Diego Wave FC
2 (2022–)
44
21
10
13
63
43
20
73
1.659
1
1
14 (9)
15 (9)
Racing Louisville FC
3 (2021–)
68
16
24
28
69
99
-30
72
1.000
12 (-)
6 (-)
Utah Royals FC
2 (2018–2019)
48
19
12
17
47
48
-1
69
1.438
16 (8)
9 (8)
Angel City FC
2 (2022–)
44
16
12
16
54
57
-3
60
1.364
Sort order is points, finishing positions, wins
^ No regular season in 2020.
^ Known as Seattle Reign FC from 2013–2018 and as Reign FC in 2019.
^ Known as Sky Blue FC from 2013–2020.
^ Known as Kansas City NWSL in 2021.
Playoff records
Through 2022 playoffs
Sort order is championships, runners-up, PPG, fraction of seasons qualified
^ a b Draws after 120 minutes are decided by penalties.
Player records
Boldface indicates players currently active in the league.
Most minutes played
Most minutes played in NWSL (Regular season only; as of December 31, 2023) [ 6]
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
2013–2023 seasons, a total of 226 matches for each team that has been active since the start of the NWSL .[ 7]
Goals
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)[ 8]
Most goals in a regular season (24 games): 18, Sam Kerr (2019)
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);[ 9] [ 10] Kristen Hamilton (July 5, 2019);[ 11] [ 12] Alex Morgan (May 7, 2022)[ 13] [ 14]
Most goals in a half: 4, Sam Kerr (August 19, 2017)[ 10]
Most hat-tricks in a season: 2, Sam Kerr (2017);[ 9] [ 10] Kristen Hamilton (2019)[ 12]
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)[ 15] [ 16]
First goal by a goalkeeper: Michelle Betos (June 19, 2015 for Portland Thorns FC against FC Kansas City)[ 17]
Top scorers
Goals, regular season only
Leading goalscorers in playoffs
NWSL top goalscorers by season (regular season only)
Assists
Most assists
Top assists by season
*Joint record
Goalkeepers
Clean sheets
Saves
Match records
As of October 2, 2022[update]
Largest victories
Winning margin
Date
Home team
Result
Away team
6
July 13, 2014
Portland Thorns FC
7–1
FC Kansas City
June 24, 2016
Western New York Flash
7–1
Boston Breakers
September 11, 2019
North Carolina Courage
6–0
Portland Thorns FC
June 19, 2022
Portland Thorns FC
6–0
Orlando Pride
5
June 7, 2014
Portland Thorns FC
0–5
Western New York Flash
June 21, 2014
Washington Spirit
1–6
Portland Thorns FC
July 6, 2014
Sky Blue FC
0–5
FC Kansas City
July 27, 2014
Seattle Reign FC
5–0
Portland Thorns FC
August 12, 2017
Orlando Pride
5–0
Sky Blue FC
August 25, 2018
Houston Dash
6–1
Sky Blue FC
September 4, 2018
Chicago Red Stars
5–0
Sky Blue FC
September 8, 2018
North Carolina Courage
5–0
Houston Dash
April 17, 2019
North Carolina Courage
5–0
Orlando Pride
July 24, 2019
Portland Thorns FC
5–0
Houston Dash
September 14, 2019
North Carolina Courage
6–1
Orlando Pride
May 16, 2021
Portland Thorns FC
5–0
Chicago Red Stars
May 28, 2021
North Carolina Courage
5–0
Racing Louisville FC
Highest scoring
Goals scored
Date
Home team
Result
Away team
9
July 20, 2014
Portland Thorns FC
6–3
Boston Breakers
July 22, 2017
Seattle Reign FC
5–4
Sky Blue FC
August 19, 2017
Sky Blue FC
5–4
Seattle Reign FC
October 7, 2023
Kansas City Current
6–3
Chicago Red Stars
March 16, 2024
Kansas City Current
5–4
Portland Thorns FC
8
July 13, 2014
Portland Thorns FC
7–1
FC Kansas City
June 24, 2016
Western New York Flash
7–1
Boston Breakers
May 13, 2017
Seattle Reign FC
6–2
Washington Spirit
April 20, 2019
Chicago Red Stars
4–4
Portland Thorns FC
7
June 6, 2013
Portland Thorns FC
4–3
FC Kansas City
July 27, 2013
Washington Spirit
2–5
Boston Breakers
June 21, 2014
Washington Spirit
1–6
Portland Thorns FC
August 3, 2014
Boston Breakers
3–4
Western New York Flash
August 6, 2015
Portland Thorns FC
5–2
Boston Breakers
May 21, 2016
Western New York Flash
5–2
Sky Blue FC
July 23, 2016
Seattle Reign FC
5–2
Orlando Pride
May 6, 2017
Washington Spirit
4–3
Sky Blue FC
September 30, 2017
Boston Breakers
3–4
Sky Blue FC
May 23, 2018
Orlando Pride
3–4
North Carolina Courage
May 26, 2018
Chicago Red Stars
2–5
Orlando Pride
August 25, 2018
Houston Dash
6–1
Sky Blue FC
July 5, 2019
North Carolina Courage
5–2
Houston Dash
July 6, 2019
Orlando Pride
4–3
Washington Spirit
July 14, 2019
Portland Thorns FC
4–3
Orlando Pride
September 14, 2019
North Carolina Courage
6–1
Orlando Pride
June 19, 2022
North Carolina Courage
3-4
Houston Dash
July 10, 2022
Washington Spirit
4–3
San Diego Wave FC
April 22, 2023
OL Reign
5–2
Chicago Red Stars
See also
References
^ "Stats" . National Women's Soccer League. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2014 .
^ NWSL (March 20, 2024). "Events and Milestones | National Women's Soccer League Official Site" . NWSL . Retrieved August 20, 2024 .
^ NWSL (March 20, 2024). "Club Information | National Women's Soccer League Official Site" . NWSL . Retrieved August 20, 2024 .
^ "2023 NWSL Stats" . FBref.com . Retrieved April 16, 2024 .
^ "NWSL table 2023, form and next opponent" . FotMob . Retrieved April 16, 2024 .
^ "NWSL Player Stats" .
^ Cooper, Jen (2024), "Field Player Registry", Keeper Notes NWSL Almanac, pp. 294-362
^ Sperry, Daniel (June 18, 2023). "Kansas City Current squander late lead, lose to Washington Spirit in NWSL home match" . The Kansas City Star .
^ a b "Sam Kerr finishes NWSL season with bushel of scoring records" . Soccer America . October 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017 .
^ 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 .
^ Purdy, Jacqueline (July 5, 2019). "Kristen Hamilton scores four, Courage win 5-2" (Press release). National Women's Soccer League . Retrieved August 27, 2022 .
^ a b "NWSL Friday: Kristen Hamilton packs on four goals for Courage" . The Equalizer . July 5, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2022 .
^ "National Women's Soccer League Official Site | NWSL" . www.nwslsoccer.com . Retrieved May 28, 2022 .
^ Togerson, Derek (May 7, 2022). "Alex Morgan Scores 4 Goals in Wave FC Win" . www.nbcsandiego.com . KNSD . Retrieved August 27, 2022 .
^ Kassouf, Jeff (March 16, 2024). "Kansas City Current open 'game-changing' stadium with 5-4 win" . ESPN.com . Retrieved March 16, 2024 .
^ 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 .
^ Lauletta, Dan (June 20, 2015). "Thorns draw late on goal by keeper Betos" . Equalizer Soccer . Retrieved July 15, 2024 .
^ Cooper, Jen (2023), Keeper Notes NWSL Almanac, Keeper Notes, p. 8.
^ Braeback, Jeremiah Mitchell (December 13, 2016). "Tobin Heath Named US Soccer Female Player of the Year" . Stumptown Footy . Retrieved April 5, 2023 .
^ Ltd, Simplestream. "Nahomi Kawasumi named Player of the Week" . www.nwslsoccer.com . Retrieved December 4, 2017 .
^ a b c http://www.fbref.com [bare URL ]
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