# 2021 National Women's Soccer League season

The 2021 National Women's Soccer League season was the ninth 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 is the 15th overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States.
This season was the first in which the NWSL has been fully self-governing. After the 2020 season, the league terminated its management contract with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF or U.S. Soccer), which nonetheless continues to provide major financial support to the NWSL. Further financial backing is provided by the Canadian Soccer Association. 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 a major financial burden off of individual clubs.
On November 18, 2020, the NWSL announced new competition formats for the 2021 season. The Challenge Cup became a league cup competition played before the start of the regular season. The Cup was followed by the 24-match regular season, which began on May 15 and concluded on October 31. The playoffs were expanded to include the six teams, with the top two seeds receiving a first-round bye. Playoffs started on November 6 and concluded with the NWSL Championship on November 20.
In the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup, Portland Thorns FC and NJ/NY Gotham FC won the West and East Divisions, respectively, earning the right to play in the final. As Portland had the better record, they hosted the final, which was played on May 8 in Providence Park in Portland, Oregon. The game was a 1–1 draw after 90 minutes; Portland won the ensuing penalty shootout 6–5 to win the cup.
In the regular season, the Portland Thorns won the most points and thus earned the NWSL Shield.
In the playoffs, the Washington Spirit and Chicago Red Stars progressed to the final, which was played on Nov. 20, 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky. The Spirit prevailed 2–1 in overtime, winning the NWSL Championship.
The season was also marked by a sexual misconduct controversy that erupted on September 30, when The Athletic published an investigation into North Carolina Courage head coach Paul Riley that accused him of a pattern of sexual coercion and abuse, and also alleged numerous inappropriate comments about players' physical appearance and sexuality. More than a dozen players from every team Riley had coached since 2010 spoke to the publication, and two named players went on the record with allegations against him. The Courage fired Riley that day, and U.S. Soccer immediately suspended his coaching license. The next day, the NWSL called off all of its scheduled matches for that weekend, both FIFA and U.S. Soccer announced they were starting their own investigations into Riley, league commissioner Lisa Baird resigned, and league general counsel Lisa Levine was dismissed. Further reporting revealed systemic failure by NWSL leadership to investigate allegations against Riley, including some made in the 2021 season.

## Teams, stadiums, and personnel
### Team names

Before the start of the season, Sky Blue FC rebranded as NJ/NY Gotham FC with new team insignia, jerseys, and colors.
The new Kansas City team, which played the 2021 season under the placeholder name of Kansas City NWSL, announced its permanent identity of Kansas City Current at its final home game on October 30.

### Stadiums and locations

Capacities listed here are full capacities, and do not reflect COVID-19 restrictions.

### Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All teams use Nike as their kit manufacturer.
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Shirt sponsor |
| Chicago Red Stars | Rory Dames | Julie Ertz | |
| Houston Dash | James Clarkson | Jane Campbell Rachel Daly | MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| Kansas City | Huw Williams | Rachel Corsie | Palmer Square Capital Management |
| NJ/NY Gotham FC | Scott Parkinson | McCall Zerboni | Avaya |
| North Carolina Courage | Sean Nahas (interim) | Abby Erceg | Continental AG |
| OL Reign | Laura Harvey | Lauren Barnes Megan Rapinoe | Black Future Co-op Fund |
| Orlando Pride | Becky Burleigh (interim) | Ashlyn Harris | Orlando Health |
| Portland Thorns FC | Mark Parsons | Christine Sinclair | Providence Health & Services |
| Racing Louisville FC | Mario Sanchez (interim) | Michelle Betos | GE Appliances |
| Washington Spirit | | Tori Huster Andi Sullivan | IntelliBridge |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Racing Louisville FC | | | | Preseason | Christy Holly | August 12, 2020 |
| Kansas City | | | | Preseason | Huw Williams | December 7, 2020 |
| OL Reign | Farid Benstiti | Resigned | July 2, 2021 | 9th | Sam Laity (interim) | July 2, 2021 |
| Orlando Pride | Marc Skinner | Resigned | July 23, 2021 | 5th | Becky Burleigh (interim) | July 25, 2021 |
| OL Reign | Sam Laity (interim) | End of interim period | August 9, 2021 | 6th | Laura Harvey | July 15, 2021 |
| Washington Spirit | Richie Burke | Reassigned | August 10, 2021 | 7th | | |
| NJ/NY Gotham FC | Freya Coombe | Mutual separation | August 30, 2021 | 7th | Scott Parkinson | August 31, 2021 |
| Racing Louisville FC | Christy Holly | Terminated for cause | August 31, 2021 | 9th | Mario Sanchez (interim) | August 31, 2021 |
| North Carolina Courage | Paul Riley | Terminated | September 30, 2021 | 3rd | Sean Nahas (interim) | September 30, 2021 |
* ↑ Although Harvey was appointed on July 15, 2021, she officially took up the position on August 9, 2021.
* ↑ The Spirit initially re-assigned Burke to the front office but suspended him one day later pending an investigation by the league. He was terminated for cause on September 28, 2021, after the league concluded its investigation.

## Regular season

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 17 | +16 | 44 | NWSL Shield |
| 2 | OL Reign | 24 | 13 | 3 | 8 | 37 | 24 | +13 | 42 | Playoffs – Semi-finals |
| 3 | Washington Spirit (C) | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 26 | +3 | 39 | Playoffs – First round |
| 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 38 | Playoffs – First round |
| 5 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 24 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 35 | Playoffs – First round |
| 6 | North Carolina Courage | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 33 | Playoffs – First round |
| 7 | Houston Dash | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 32 | |
| 8 | Orlando Pride | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 27 | 32 | −5 | 28 | |
| 9 | Racing Louisville FC | 24 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 21 | 40 | −19 | 22 | |
| 10 | Kansas City | 24 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 15 | 36 | −21 | 16 | |

### Tiebreakers

The initial determining factor for a team's position in the standings (and hence playoff qualification and seeding) is 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 are tied in points, the NWSL uses the following tiebreaker criteria in the order listed:
* Head-to-head win–loss record, or points per game if more than two teams, between the teams tied in points.
* Greatest goal difference (against all teams, not just tied teams).
* Greatest total number of goals scored (against all teams, not just tied teams).
* Apply #1–3 to games played on the road.
* Apply #1–3 to games played at home.
* Coin toss or drawing of lots.
Note: If two clubs remain tied after another club with the same number of points advances during any step, tiebreaker determination restarts at step 1.

## Attendance

NWSL attendance in 2021 was impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Some early-season matches were closed to the public because of COVID restrictions, and when games were opened, many teams had lower average attendances than the most recent regular season in 2019. This table excludes the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup.

### Average home attendances

Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance.
| Team | GP | Attendance | High | Low | Average |
| Portland Thorns FC | 9 | 112,992 | 17,584 | 5,819 | 12,555 |
| Racing Louisville FC | 12 | 79,042 | 8,488 | 5,843 | 6,587 |
| OL Reign | 12 | 62,885 | 27,278 | 2,104 | 5,240 |
| North Carolina Courage | 12 | 59,837 | 7,064 | 3,523 | 4,986 |
| Kansas City | 12 | 58,043 | 6,345 | 3,449 | 4,837 |
| Orlando Pride | 12 | 50,728 | 5,755 | 3,407 | 4,227 |
| Washington Spirit | 10 | 41,304 | 6,002 | 2,233 | 4,130 |
| NJ/NY Gotham FC | 12 | 45,516 | 9,532 | 1,924 | 3,793 |
| Houston Dash | 13 | 44,017 | 4,792 | 1,929 | 3,386 |
| Chicago Red Stars | 12 | 37,710 | 4,488 | 2,265 | 3,143 |
| Total | 116 | 592,074 | 27,278 | 1,924 | 5,104 |
Updated through 2021 season. Two matches were not reported, mostly resulting from the absence of fans due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Portland Thorns FC were the only club not to report matches (versus Louisville June 5 and Kansas City June 20). Two matches (September 4 Washington at Portland and September 12 OL Reign at Washington) were declared forfeits by Washington due to COVID protocol violations and not played. Due to construction delays, Washington's scheduled home opener on May 26 at Segra Field became a road game at Houston, and the home date was not made up.

## Statistical leaders

    As of October 31, 2021.

## Playoffs

Beginning this season, the top six teams from the regular season competed for the NWSL Championship, with the top two teams receiving a first-round bye.
| First round | First round | First round | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Championship | Championship | Championship |
| | | | 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 1 | 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 2 | | | |
| 5 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 0 | | | | 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 1 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Washington Spirit (a.e.t.) | 2 |
| | | | 2 | OL Reign | 1 | | | |
| 3 | Washington Spirit (a.e.t.) | 1 | 3 | Washington Spirit | 2 | | | |
| 6 | North Carolina Courage | 0 | | | | | | |

### Championship

Championship MVP: Aubrey Bledsoe (WAS)

## Challenge Cup

The 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup was a tournament-style competition starting on April 9 and ending with a final played on May 8, before the start of the regular NWSL season. The tournament was organized as a group stage with two five-team, geographically chosen groups playing a round-robin, followed by a single-game final featuring the top team from each group. NJ/NY Gotham FC won the Eastern Division and the Portland Thorns won the Western one. In the final, held at Providence Park in Portland, these two teams tied 1-1 after 90 minutes and went straight to a penalty-kick shootout, with Portland prevailing 6–5 in seven rounds of penalties.

### East Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 8 | Qualification for the Championship |
| 2 | North Carolina Courage | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 7 | |
| 3 | Orlando Pride | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | |
| 4 | Washington Spirit | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 | |
| 5 | Racing Louisville FC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 2 | |

### West Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 10 | Qualification for the Championship |
| 2 | OL Reign | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 7 | |
| 3 | Houston Dash | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | |
| 4 | Chicago Red Stars | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 2 | |
| 5 | Kansas City | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 1 | |

### Championship
## Individual awards

    As of November 20, 2021

### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Winner | Nominees |
| Golden Boot | Ashley Hatch (10 G) | Washington Spirit | |
| Coach of the Year | Laura Harvey | OL Reign | Mark Parsons, POR Scott Parkinson, NJY |
| Rookie of the Year | Trinity Rodman | Washington Spirit | Emily Fox, LOU Victoria Pickett, KC |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Aubrey Bledsoe | Washington Spirit | Kailen Sheridan, NJY Bella Bixby, POR |
| Defender of the Year | Caprice Dydasco | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Sarah Gorden, CHI Emily Menges, POR Carson Pickett, NCC Alana Cook, RGN |
| Most Valuable Player | Jess Fishlock | OL Reign | Mallory Pugh, CHI Midge Purce, NJY Ashley Hatch, WAS Angela Salem, POR |

#### Teams of the Year

NWSL Teams of the Season :
| Pos. | Best XI | Best XI | Second XI | Second XI |
| GK | Kailen Sheridan | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Bella Bixby | Portland Thorns FC |
| DF | Carson Pickett | North Carolina Courage | Emily Fox | Racing Louisville FC |
| DF | Sarah Gorden | Chicago Red Stars | Emily Menges | Portland Thorns FC |
| DF | Alana Cook | OL Reign | Meghan Klingenberg | Portland Thorns FC |
| DF | Caprice Dydasco | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Sofia Huerta | OL Reign |
| MF/FW | Jess Fishlock | OL Reign | Lindsey Horan | Portland Thorns FC |
| MF/FW | Eugénie Le Sommer | OL Reign | Rachel Daly | Houston Dash |
| MF/FW | Angela Salem | Portland Thorns FC | Mallory Pugh | Chicago Red Stars |
| MF/FW | Midge Purce | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Sydney Leroux | Orlando Pride |
| MF/FW | Ashley Hatch | Washington Spirit | Bethany Balcer | OL Reign |
| MF/FW | Trinity Rodman | Washington Spirit | Ifeoma Onumonu | NJ/NY Gotham FC |
NWSL Championship Game MVP :
| Player | Club |
| Aubrey Bledsoe | Washington Spirit |

### Monthly Awards
#### Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Club |
| May | Alex Morgan | Orlando Pride |
| June | Lynn Williams | North Carolina Courage |
| July | Ashley Hatch | Washington Spirit |
| August | Megan Rapinoe | OL Reign |
| September | Bethany Balcer | OL Reign |
| October | Midge Purce | NJ/NY Gotham FC |

#### Team of the Month

| Month | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| May | Kailen Sheridan, NJY | Caprice Dydasco, NJY Emily Fox, LOU Phoebe McClernon, ORL Carson Pickett, NC | Debinha, NC Crystal Dunn, POR Jessica Fishlock, RGN | Sydney Leroux, ORL Alex Morgan, ORL Mallory Pugh, CHI |
| June | Michelle Betos, LOU | Caprice Dydasco, NJY (2) Abby Erceg, NC Courtney Petersen, ORL Becky Sauerbrunn, POR | Tori Huster, WAS Kristie Mewis, HOU Sam Mewis, NC | Marta, ORL Trinity Rodman, WAS Lynn Williams, NC |
| July | Bella Bixby, POR | Caprice Dydasco, NJY (3) Emily Menges, POR Meghan Klingenberg, POR Katie Naughton, HOU | Andi Sullivan, WAS Allie Long, NJY Morgan Gautrat, CHI | Sydney Leroux, ORL (2) Mallory Pugh, CHI (2) Ashley Hatch, WAS |
| August | Casey Murphy, NC | Caprice Dydasco, NJY (4) Emily Menges, POR (2) Ali Krieger, ORL Carson Pickett, NC (2) | Jessica Fishlock, RGN (2) Denise O'Sullivan, NC Angela Salem, POR | Nadia Nadim, LOU Ifeoma Onumonu, NJY Megan Rapinoe, RGN |
| September | Kailen Sheridan, NJY (2) | Tierna Davidson, CHI Sofia Huerta, RGN Estelle Johnson, NJY Casey Krueger, CHI | Morgan Gautrat, CHI (2) Dzenifer Marozsan, RGN Angela Salem, POR (2) | Bethany Balcer, RGN Rachel Daly, HOU Eugenie Le Sommer, RGN |
| October | Aubrey Bledsoe, WAS | Caprice Dydasco, NJY (5) Sofia Huerta, RGN (2) Sarah Gorden, CHI Sam Staab, WAS | Jessica Fishlock, RGN (3) Morgan Gautrat, CHI (3) Angela Salem, POR (3) | Ashley Hatch, WAS (2) Midge Purce, NJY Trinity Rodman, WAS (2) |

### Weekly awards

| Week | Player of the Week | Player of the Week | Save of the Week | Save of the Week | Ref. |
| Week | Player | Club | Player | Club | Ref. |
| 1 | Midge Purce | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Ashlyn Harris | Orlando Pride | |
| 2 | Emina Ekic | Racing Louisville FC | Erin McLeod | Orlando Pride | |
| 3 | Mallory Pugh | Chicago Red Stars | Kailen Sheridan | NJ/NY Gotham FC | |
| 4 | Lindsey Horan | Portland Thorns FC | Ashlyn Harris (2) | Orlando Pride | |
| 5 | Michelle Betos | Racing Louisville FC | Abby Smith | Kansas City | |
| 6 | Lynn Williams | North Carolina Courage | Michelle Betos | Racing Louisville FC | |
| 7 | Havana Solaun | North Carolina Courage | Ashlyn Harris (3) | Orlando Pride | |
| 8 | Ashley Hatch | Washington Spirit | Didi Haracic | NJ/NY Gotham FC | |
| 9 | Mallory Pugh (2) | Chicago Red Stars | Ashlyn Harris (4) | Orlando Pride | |
| 10 | Tziarra King | OL Reign | Ashlyn Harris (5) | Orlando Pride | |
| 11 | Eugenie Le Sommer | OL Reign | Bella Bixby | Portland Thorns FC | |
| 12 | Bethany Balcer | OL Reign | Christen Westphal | Portland Thorns FC | |
| 13 | Ifeoma Onumonu | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Ashlyn Harris (6) | Orlando Pride | |
| 14 | Megan Rapinoe | OL Reign | Sarah Bouhaddi | OL Reign | |
| 15 | Sarah Woldmoe | Chicago Red Stars | Ashlyn Harris (7) | Orlando Pride | |
| 16 | Bethany Balcer (2) | OL Reign | Ashlyn Harris (8) | Orlando Pride | |
| 17 | Sydney Leroux | Orlando Pride | Bella Bixby (2) | Portland Thorns FC | |
| 18 | Eugenie Le Sommer (2) | OL Reign | Ashlyn Harris (9) | Orlando Pride | |
| 19 | Games postponed | Games postponed | Games postponed | Games postponed | |
| 20 | Rachel Daly | Houston Dash | Ashlyn Harris (10) | Orlando Pride | |
| 21 | Midge Purce (2) | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Jess Fishlock | OL Reign | |
| 22 | Eugenie Le Sommer (3) | OL Reign | Kailen Sheridan (2) | NJ/NY Gotham FC | |