2016 National Women's Soccer League season

National Women's Soccer League
Season	2016
Champions	Western New York Flash
NWSL Shield	Portland Thorns FC
Matches	100
Goals	263 (2.63 per match)
Top goalscorer	Kealia Ohai; Lynn Williams; (11 goals)
Biggest home win	6 goals:; WNY 7–1 BOS; (Jun 24)
Biggest away win	4 goals:; BOS 0–4 WNY; (Sep 24)
Highest scoring	8 goals:; WNY 7–1 BOS; (Jun 24)
Longest winning run	4 games:; Portland Thorns FC; (June 17 – July 2); (Sept 4 – Sept 25)
Longest unbeaten run	12 games:; Portland Thorns FC; (Apr 17 – July 2)
Longest winless run	8 games:; Orlando Pride; (July 16 – Sept 24)
Longest losing run	6 games:; Houston Dash; (May 14 – Jul 10)
Highest attendance	23,403; ORL 3–1 HOU; (Apr 23)
Lowest attendance	1,252; NJ 1–2 WNY; (May 7)
Total attendance	555,775
Average attendance	5,558
	← 2015 2017 → All statistics correct as of September 25, 2016.

The 2016 National Women's Soccer League season was the fourth season of the National Women's Soccer League, 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 tenth 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 and received significant financial backing from that body. Further financial backing was provided by the Canadian Soccer Association. Both national federations paid the league salaries of many of their respective national team members in an effort to nurture talent in those nations.

Season2016

ChampionsWestern New York Flash

NWSL ShieldPortland Thorns FC

Matches100

Quick facts Season, Champions ...

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To accommodate the 2016 Olympics, the league suspended play for most of the month of August. In addition, the league did not schedule games during FIFA windows, leaving the 20-game, 19-week regular season ending in late September for the second year in a row.^[2]

In the regular season, the Portland Thorns topped the standings and thus won the NWSL Shield. In the playoffs, the Washington Spirit and Western New York Flash won their opening matches to set up a meeting in the final. They tied 2-2 after extra time, with the Flash winning 3-2 on penalties to take the NWSL Championship.

[1]

[2]

Team	Head coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor
Boston Breakers	Matt Beard	Whitney Engen Kassey Kallman	Steward Health Care
Chicago Red Stars	Rory Dames	Christen Press	Illinois Bone and Joint Institute
Houston Dash	Randy Waldrum	Kealia Ohai	BBVA Compass
FC Kansas City	Vlatko Andonovski	Becky Sauerbrunn	Domino's
Orlando Pride	Tom Sermanni	Alex Morgan	Orlando Health
Portland Thorns	Mark Parsons	Christine Sinclair Tobin Heath	Providence Health & Services
Seattle Reign FC	Laura Harvey	Keelin Winters	Microsoft
Sky Blue FC	Christy Holly	Christie Rampone	Meridian Health
Washington Spirit	Jim Gabarra	Ali Krieger	ProChain Solutions, Inc.
Western New York Flash	Paul Riley	Abby Erceg	Sahlen's

Abbreviation and Color Key: Boston Breakers – BOS • Chicago Red Stars – CHI • Houston Dash – HOU • FC Kansas City – KC • Orlando Pride – ORL Portland Thorns FC – POR • Seattle Reign FC – SEA • Sky Blue FC – NJ • Washington Spirit – WAS • Western New York Flash – WNY Win • Loss • Tie • Home Game
Club	Match
Club	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Boston Breakers	WAS	SEA	POR	CHI	NJ	KC	WNY	WAS	CHI	WNY	SEA	ORL	NJ	ORL	KC	HOU	POR	WNY	HOU	WNY
Boston Breakers	1–0	0–3	0–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	4–0	1–1	3–0	7–1	2–0	2–1	2–3	1–0	0–2	1–3	5–1	2–2	4–1	0–4
Chicago Red Stars	HOU	WNY	ORL	BOS	KC	SEA	NJ	POR	BOS	POR	WNY	WAS	ORL	HOU	KC	NJ	SEA	KC	KC	WAS
Chicago Red Stars	3–1	1–0	1–0	0–1	0–0	1–2	1–1	1–1	3–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–1	1–1	1–0	1–3	2–2	2–3	0–0	3–1
Houston Dash	CHI	ORL	NJ	KC	WAS	ORL	SEA	KC	ORL	NJ	POR	CHI	WNY	WAS	WNY	BOS	ORL	POR	BOS	SEA
Houston Dash	3–1	3–1	0–0	1–2	1–0	0–1	1–0	0–1	0–1	1–0	3–0	1–1	3–3	1–2	2–2	1–3	4–2	3–0	4–1	2–3
FC Kansas City	WNY	POR	SEA	HOU	CHI	BOS	ORL	NJ	HOU	SEA	WAS	POR	WAS	WNY	CHI	BOS	NJ	CHI	CHI	ORL
FC Kansas City	0–1	1–1	1–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	2–0	1–1	0–1	0–0	2–0	1–2	2–3	0–1	1–0	0–2	2–1	2–3	0–0	1–2
Orlando Pride	POR	HOU	CHI	SEA	WNY	HOU	KC	WNY	WAS	HOU	POR	BOS	CHI	SEA	BOS	WAS	HOU	NJ	NJ	KC
Orlando Pride	2–1	3–1	1–0	2–0	1–0	0–1	2–0	1–0	2–0	1–0	1–2	2–1	0–1	5–2	1–0	1–2	4–2	1–1	1–2	1–2
Portland Thorns FC	ORL	KC	BOS	WAS	SEA	WAS	SEA	CHI	WNY	CHI	ORL	NJ	KC	HOU	SEA	SEA	BOS	HOU	WNY	NJ
Portland Thorns FC	2–1	1–1	0–1	0–0	1–1	4–1	0–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–2	2–1	1–2	3–0	1–0	3–1	5–1	3–0	3–2	1–3
Seattle Reign FC	NJ	BOS	KC	ORL	POR	CHI	POR	HOU	NJ	KC	BOS	WNY	WNY	ORL	POR	POR	CHI	WAS	WAS	HOU
Seattle Reign FC	1–2	0–3	1–0	2–0	1–1	1–2	0–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	2–0	3–2	1–1	5–2	1–0	3–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	2–3
Sky Blue FC	SEA	WAS	HOU	WNY	BOS	WNY	CHI	KC	SEA	WAS	POR	HOU	BOS	WAS	WAS	CHI	KC	ORL	ORL	POR
Sky Blue FC	1–2	1–2	0–0	1–2	1–0	5–2	1–1	1–1	0–0	1–2	2–1	1–0	2–3	1–0	3–1	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–2	1–3
Washington Spirit	BOS	NJ	WNY	POR	HOU	POR	BOS	ORL	NJ	KC	CHI	KC	NJ	NJ	HOU	ORL	WNY	SEA	SEA	CHI
Washington Spirit	1–0	1–2	0–3	0–0	1–0	4–1	1–1	2–0	1–2	2–0	2–0	2–3	1–0	3–1	1–2	1–2	1–1	2–1	2–0	3–1
Western New York Flash	KC	CHI	WAS	NJ	ORL	NJ	BOS	ORL	POR	BOS	CHI	SEA	SEA	KC	HOU	HOU	WAS	BOS	POR	BOS
Western New York Flash	0–1	1–0	0–3	1–2	1–0	5–2	4–0	1–0	0–2	7–1	2–0	3–2	1–1	0–1	3–3	2–2	1–1	2–2	3–2	0–4

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portland Thorns FC	20	12	5	3	35	19	+16	41	NWSL Shield
2	Washington Spirit	20	12	3	5	30	21	+9	39	NWSL Playoffs
3	Chicago Red Stars	20	9	6	5	24	20	+4	33
4	Western New York Flash (C)	20	9	5	6	40	26	+14	32
5	Seattle Reign FC	20	8	6	6	29	21	+8	30
6	FC Kansas City	20	7	5	8	18	20	−2	26
7	Sky Blue FC	20	7	5	8	24	30	−6	26
8	Houston Dash	20	6	4	10	29	29	0	22
9	Orlando Pride	20	6	1	13	20	30	−10	19
10	Boston Breakers	20	3	2	15	14	47	−33	11

Team	GP	Attendance	High	Low	Average
Portland Thorns FC	10	169,449	21,144	13,752	16,945
Orlando Pride	10	87,851	23,403	5,842	8,785
Houston Dash	10	56,963	7,440	4,570	5,696
Seattle Reign FC	10	46,018	5,888	3,987	4,602
Western New York Flash	10	38,683	6,449	2,235	3,868
Washington Spirit	10	37,817	5,750	3,036	3,782
Boston Breakers	10	35,704	4,379	1,435	3,570
FC Kansas City	10	31,624	8,022	2,217	3,162
Chicago Red Stars	10	30,045	4,024	2,068	3,005
Sky Blue FC	10	21,621	3,780	1,252	2,162
Total	100	555,775	23,403	1,252	5,558

Rank	Home team	Score	Away team	Attendance	Date	Stadium
1	Orlando Pride	3–1	Houston Dash	23,403	April 23, 2016 (2016-04-23)	Camping World Stadium
2	Portland Thorns FC	3–2	Western New York Flash	21,144	September 11, 2016	Providence Park
3	Portland Thorns FC	1–0	Seattle Reign	19,231	July 30, 2016	Providence Park
4	Portland Thorns FC	0–0	Seattle Reign	18,114	May 29, 2016 (2016-05-29)	Providence Park
5	Portland Thorns FC	5–1	Boston Breakers	17,152	September 4, 2016 (2016-09-04)	Providence Park
6	Portland Thorns FC	1–2	FC Kansas City	16,942	July 9, 2016 (2016-07-09)	Providence Park
7	Portland Thorns FC	2–0	Chicago Red Stars	16,931	June 22, 2016 (2016-06-22)	Providence Park
8	Portland Thorns FC	2–1	Orlando Pride	16,073	April 17, 2016 (2016-04-17)	Providence Park
9	Portland Thorns FC	4–1	Washington Spirit	15,823	May 21, 2016 (2016-05-21)	Providence Park
10	Portland Thorns FC	2–0	Sky Blue	14,287	July 2, 2016 (2016-07-02)	Providence Park

2016 National Women's Soccer League season

Teams, stadiums, and personnel

Stadiums and locations

Personnel and sponsorship

Competition format

Results table

League standings

Tiebreakers

Weekly live standings

Attendance

Average home attendances

Highest attendances

Statistical leaders

Top scorers

Top assists

Clean sheets

NWSL Playoffs

Semi-finals

Championship

Individual awards

Monthly awards

Weekly awards

Annual awards

References

External links

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks

Week →	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	7R	16	17	18	19
Team ↓
Portland Thorns FC	3	2	2	3	3	3	2	3	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	1
Washington Spirit	5	1	1	1	1	1	3	4	3	4	3	3	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	2
Chicago Red Stars	10	8	4	2	2	2	1	1	1	2	4	4	4	5	4	4	3	3	3	3
Western New York Flash	4	7	8	7	8	5	5	2	4	3	2	2	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4
Seattle Reign FC	6	3	3	6	7	6	7	6	6	7	5	7	7	6	6	6	5	5	5	5
FC Kansas City	8	9	9	9	9	10	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	6
Sky Blue FC	2	6	6	8	5	8	6	7	7	6	7	6	5	4	5	5	6	6	6	7
Houston Dash	1	5	5	4	6	7	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	7	8	8
Orlando Pride	7	4	7	5	4	4	4	5	5	5	6	5	6	7	7	7	7	9	9	9
Boston Breakers	9	10	10	10	10	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

Semi-finals			Championship

1	Portland Thorns FC	3

4	Western New York Flash (a.e.t.)	4
			4	Western New York Flash (pen.)	2 (3)

			2	Washington Spirit	2 (2)
2	Washington Spirit (a.e.t.)	2

3	Chicago Red Stars	1

Washington Spirit	2–2 (a.e.t.)	Western New York Flash
Dunn 9', 91' Wys 120+2'	Report	Mewis 14' Zerboni 84' Williams 120+4'
Penalties
Krieger Nairn Stengel Huster Matheson	2–3	Dahlkemper Hinkle McDonald Williams Mewis

Month		Club	Month's Statline
April	Tobin Heath^[5]^[6]	Portland Thorns FC	3 assists in 2 games; Thorns 1-0-1 in April
May	Alyssa Naeher^[7]	Chicago Red Stars	3 shutouts, 1 goal allowed in 4 games; Red Stars 3-0-2 in May
June	Christine Sinclair^[8]	Portland Thorns FC	3 goals and 1 assist; Thorns 3-0-1 in June
July	Estefania Banini^[9]	Washington Spirit	4 goals; Spirit 4-1-0 in July
August/Olympics	Christine Sinclair^[10]	Portland Thorns FC	Both as "Olympian of the Month" and "Player of the Olympics"
September	Allie Long^[11]	Portland Thorns FC	5 goals in 4 games; Thorns 4-0-0 in September

Week	NWSL Player of the Week		NWSL Goal of the Week		NWSL Save of the Week
Week	Player	Club	Player	Club	Player	Club
1	Rachel Daly^{[a 1]}	Houston Dash	Steph Catley^{[a 2]}	Orlando Pride	Michelle Betos^{[a 3]}	Portland Thorns FC
2	Kim Little^{[a 4]}	Seattle Reign FC	Ali Krieger^{[a 5]}	Washington Spirit	Ashlyn Harris^{[a 6]}	Orlando Pride
3	Kim Little^{[a 7]}	Seattle Reign FC	Christen Press^{[a 8]}^{[a 9]}	Chicago Red Stars	Ashlyn Harris^{[a 10]}	Orlando Pride
4	Chioma Ubogagu^{[a 11]}	Houston Dash	Christen Press^{[a 12]}^{[a 13]}	Chicago Red Stars	Ashlyn Harris^{[a 14]}	Orlando Pride
5	Alyssa Naeher^{[a 15]}	Chicago Red Stars	Alex Morgan^{[a 16]}^{[a 17]}	Orlando Pride	Lydia Williams^{[a 18]}	Houston Dash
6	Tobin Heath^{[a 19]}	Portland Thorns FC	Tobin Heath^{[a 20]}^{[a 21]}	Portland Thorns FC	Ashlyn Harris^{[a 22]}	Orlando Pride
7	Lynn Williams^{[a 23]}	Western New York Flash	Erika Tymrak^{[a 24]}	FC Kansas City	Katherine Reynolds^{[a 25]}	Portland Thorns FC
8	Britt Eckerstrom^{[a 26]}^{[a 27]}	Western New York Flash	Christen Press^{[a 28]}^{[a 29]}	Chicago Red Stars	Ashlyn Harris^{[a 30]}	Orlando Pride
9	Sofia Huerta^{[a 31]}^{[a 32]}	Chicago Red Stars	Becky Sauerbrunn^{[a 33]}	FC Kansas City	Ashlyn Harris^{[a 34]}	Orlando Pride
10	Jessica McDonald^{[a 35]}	Western New York Flash	Jasmyne Spencer^{[a 36]}	Orlando Pride	Ashlyn Harris^{[a 37]}	Orlando Pride
11	Nahomi Kawasumi^{[a 38]}	Seattle Reign	Dagný Brynjarsdóttir^{[a 39]}	Portland Thorns FC	Nicole Barnhart^{[a 40]}	FC Kansas City
12	Kristen Edmonds^{[a 41]}	Orlando Pride	Kristen Edmonds^{[a 42]}	Orlando Pride	Michelle Betos^{[a 43]}	Portland Thorns FC
13	Estefania Banini^{[a 44]}	Washington Spirit	Estefania Banini^{[a 45]}	Washington Spirit	Michelle Betos^{[a 46]}	Portland Thorns FC
14	Nicole Barnhart^{[a 47]}	FC Kansas City	Rachel Daly^{[a 48]}	Houston Dash	Kendall Fletcher^{[a 49]}	Seattle Reign FC
15	Kealia Ohai^{[a 50]}	Houston Dash	Rachel Daly^{[a 51]}	Houston Dash	Michelle Betos^{[a 52]}	Portland Thorns FC
16	Manon Melis^{[a 53]}	Seattle Reign FC	Christine Nairn^{[a 54]}	Washington Spirit	Alyssa Naeher^{[a 55]}	Chicago Red Stars
17	Kealia Ohai^{[a 56]}	Houston Dash	Alex Morgan^{[a 57]}	Orlando Pride	Alyssa Naeher^{[a 58]}	Chicago Red Stars
18	Samantha Kerr^{[a 59]}	Sky Blue FC	Christen Press^{[a 60]}	Chicago Red Stars	Ashlyn Harris^{[a 61]}	Orlando Pride
19	Allie Long^{[a 62]}	Portland Thorns FC	Kealia Ohai^{[a 63]}	Houston Dash	Lydia Williams^{[a 64]}	Houston Dash

Award	Winner
Golden Boot ^[12]	Lynn Williams	Western New York Flash	11 goals
Rookie of the Year ^[13]	Raquel Rodriguez	Sky Blue FC	1,461 minutes
Goalkeeper of the Year ^[14]	Ashlyn Harris	Orlando Pride	1.33 GAA, 62 saves
Defender of the Year ^[15]	Lauren Barnes	Seattle Reign FC	531 consecutive SO minutes
Coach of the Year ^[16]	Mark Parsons	Portland Thorns FC	12–3–5 regular season
Most Valuable Player ^[17]	Lynn Williams	Western New York Flash	11 goals, 5 assists

NWSL Best XI ^[18]
Position	First team			Second team
Goalkeeper	Ashlyn Harris	Orlando Pride	62 saves	Alyssa Naeher	Chicago Red Stars	1.00 GAA
Defender	Lauren Barnes	Seattle Reign FC	1,775 minutes	Julie Johnston	Chicago Red Stars	1.00 team GAA
Defender	Arin Gilliland	Chicago Red Stars	1.00 team GAA	Ali Krieger	Washington Spirit	1.05 team GAA
Defender	Emily Menges	Portland Thorns FC	0.95 team GAA	Christie Rampone	Sky Blue FC	1,800 minutes
Defender	Becky Sauerbrunn	FC Kansas City	1.00 team GAA	Casey Short	Chicago Red Stars	1,781 minutes
Midfielder	Tobin Heath	Portland Thorns FC	Goal, 10 assists	Danielle Colaprico	Chicago Red Stars	Goal, 2 assists
Midfielder	Allie Long	Portland Thorns FC	6 goals, 2 assists	Vanessa DiBernardo	Chicago Red Stars	7 assists
FW // MF	Jessica McDonald	Western New York Flash	10 goals, 7 assists	Jess Fishlock	Seattle Reign FC	Goal, 4 assists
FW // MF	Kealia Ohai	Houston Dash	11 goals, 4 assists	Kim Little	Seattle Reign FC	6 goals, 2 assists
Forward	Christen Press	Chicago Red Stars	8 goals	Crystal Dunn	Washington Spirit	2 goals, 5 assists
Forward	Lynn Williams	Western New York Flash	11 goals, 5 assists	Shea Groom	FC Kansas City	8 goals

NWSL Championship Game MVP
Player	Club	Record
Sabrina D'Angelo	Western New York Flash	3 saves in PK shootout