# 2013 National Women's Soccer League season

The 2013 National Women's Soccer League season was the inaugural 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), this was the seventh overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States. The league was (and is) operated by the United States Soccer Federation and received major financial backing from that body. Further financial backing was provided by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Mexican Football Federation. All three national federations paid the league salaries of many of their respective national team members in an effort to nurture talent in those nations.
The league started on April 13 with FC Kansas City hosting Portland Thorns FC. The last regular season matches were played on August 18, with the Western New York Flash topping the standings to win the NWSL Shield. This was followed by postseason playoffs, which culminated in a final on August 31. In the final, Portland Thorns FC defeated the Western New York Flash 2–0 to win the inaugural NWSL Championship.

## Teams, stadiums, and personnel
### Personnel and sponsorship

Note: All teams used Nike as kit manufacturer.
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Shirt sponsor |
| Boston Breakers | Lisa Cole (until August 2) | Cat Whitehill | Ocean Spray |
| Boston Breakers | Cat Whitehill (after August 2) | Cat Whitehill | Ocean Spray |
| Chicago Red Stars | Rory Dames | Lori Chalupny | JimmyBars |
| FC Kansas City | Vlatko Andonovski | Becky Sauerbrunn | Title Boxing Club |
| Portland Thorns | Cindy Parlow Cone | Christine Sinclair | Providence Health & Services |
| Seattle Reign FC | Laura Harvey | Keelin Winters | Moda Health |
| Sky Blue FC | Jim Gabarra | Christie Rampone | 2NDFLOOR Youth Helpline |
| Washington Spirit | Mike Jorden (until June 30) | Lori Lindsey | ProChain Solutions, Inc. |
| Washington Spirit | Mark Parsons (after June 30) | Lori Lindsey | ProChain Solutions, Inc. |
| Western New York Flash | Aaran Lines | McCall Zerboni | Sahlen's |

### Player Acquisition

Players were acquired through the 2013 Allocation of national team players announced on January 11, the 2013 NWSL College Draft on January 18, and the 2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft on February 7, along with free agency, trading and loans.
The Portland Thorns received an allocation with a notably strong offensive record including Alex Morgan and Christine Sinclair, the 2012 U.S. and Canadian Players of the Year and leading scorers for their national teams respectively, as well as a U.S. allocation (Morgan, Tobin Heath, and Rachel Buehler) that accounted for 1/3 of their national team's assists in 2012.

## Competition format

The regular season began on April 13 and ended on August 18. Each team played a total of 22 games: 11 at home and 11 away. Each team played
* three other teams (based on an east/west geographical split) four times each: twice at home and twice away
* two other teams twice each: once at home and once away
* and the remaining two teams three times each: one twice at home and once away, the other vice versa
The four teams at the end of the season with the most points qualified for the playoffs. Two semifinal games were played on August 24, with the winners advancing to the league final to be played on August 31.

### Results table

Abbreviation and Color Key: Boston Breakers – BOS • Chicago Red Stars – CHI • FC Kansas City – KC • 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 | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match | Match |
| Club | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Boston Breakers | WAS | WNY | CHI | WAS | KC | WAS | NJ | WNY | CHI | NJ | SEA | NJ | SEA | POR | NJ | POR | KC | WAS | WNY | POR | KC | WNY |
| Boston Breakers | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2-1 |
| Chicago Red Stars | SEA | POR | BOS | NJ | POR | WNY | POR | BOS | KC | KC | WNY | SEA | WNY | WAS | KC | WAS | SEA | POR | SEA | WAS | NJ | KC |
| Chicago Red Stars | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4-1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2-1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 1-0 | 3–3 | 1–2 |
| FC Kansas City | POR | SEA | SEA | WNY | BOS | NJ | POR | SEA | CHI | CHI | WAS | NJ | POR | WAS | WNY | CHI | SEA | BOS | NJ | POR | BOS | CHI |
| FC Kansas City | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1-0 | 1–2 |
| Portland Thorns FC | KC | SEA | CHI | WAS | CHI | NJ | WAS | SEA | CHI | KC | SEA | NJ | KC | BOS | WNY | BOS | CHI | NJ | KC | BOS | WNY | SEA |
| Portland Thorns FC | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 2-1 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Seattle Reign FC | CHI | POR | KC | KC | NJ | WAS | NJ | POR | KC | POR | WNY | BOS | CHI | BOS | WNY | WAS | KC | CHI | CHI | WNY | WAS | POR |
| Seattle Reign FC | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1–2 |
| Sky Blue FC | WNY | WAS | WNY | CHI | SEA | POR | SEA | KC | BOS | WNY | BOS | POR | KC | BOS | WAS | BOS | WNY | KC | POR | WAS | CHI | WAS |
| Sky Blue FC | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 |
| Washington Spirit | BOS | WNY | NJ | POR | BOS | SEA | POR | BOS | WNY | KC | WNY | KC | NJ | CHI | SEA | CHI | BOS | WNY | NJ | CHI | SEA | NJ |
| Washington Spirit | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–5 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Western New York Flash | NJ | WAS | BOS | NJ | KC | CHI | BOS | NJ | WAS | CHI | SEA | WAS | CHI | KC | SEA | POR | NJ | WAS | BOS | SEA | POR | BOS |
| Western New York Flash | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
Scores listed as home-away

## League standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Western New York Flash | 22 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 36 | 20 | +16 | 38 | NWSL Shield |
| 2 | FC Kansas City | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 34 | 22 | +12 | 38 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 3 | Portland Thorns FC (C) | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 38 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 4 | Sky Blue FC | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 26 | +5 | 36 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 5 | Boston Breakers | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 30 | |
| 6 | Chicago Red Stars | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 32 | 36 | −4 | 30 | |
| 7 | Seattle Reign FC | 22 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 22 | 36 | −14 | 18 | |
| 8 | Washington Spirit | 22 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 39 | −23 | 14 | |

## NWSL Championship

The top four teams from the regular season qualified for the championship playoffs. In the semifinals, the regular season winner hosted the fourth-placed team and the regular season runner-up hosted the third-placed team. The highest-seeded semifinal winner then hosted the championship final. All match-ups were one-game series (as opposed to home-and-away series).
| Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Championship | Championship | Championship |
| 1 | Western New York Flash | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Sky Blue FC | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Sky Blue FC | 0 | 1 | Western New York Flash | 0 |
| | | | 3 | Portland Thorns FC | 2 |
| 2 | FC Kansas City | 2 | 3 | Portland Thorns FC | 2 |
| 3 | Portland Thorns FC (AET) | 3 | | | |

### Championship
## Attendance
### Average home attendances

| Team | Average Attendance |
| Boston Breakers | 2,427 |
| Chicago Red Stars | 1,713 |
| FC Kansas City | 4,626 |
| Portland Thorns FC | 13,320 |
| Seattle Reign FC | 2,306 |
| Sky Blue FC | 1,677 |
| Washington Spirit | 3,626 |
| Western New York Flash | 4,485 |
Highest Attendance: 17,619 (August 4, Kansas City at Portland)
Lowest Attendance: 688 (May 8, Chicago at Sky Blue)
Total Attendance: 375,846 (88 games total)
League Average: 4,271

### Playoff attendance

Semifinal 1, Portland at FC Kansas City: 4,016
Semifinal 2, Sky Blue at Western New York: 7,316
Championship, Portland at Western New York: 9,129

## Statistical leaders
### Goalkeeping

(Minimum of 540 Minutes Played)
| Rank | Goalkeeper | Club | GP | MINS | SOG | SVS | GA | GAA | W-L-T | SHO |
| 1 | Adrianna Franch | Western New York Flash | 22 | 1978 | 119 | 98 | 20 | 0.909 | 10–4–8 | 7 |
| 2 | Brittany Cameron | Sky Blue FC | 18 | 1619 | 83 | 65 | 17 | 0.945 | 9–4–5 | 8 |
| 3 | Nicole Barnhart | FC Kansas City | 20 | 1800 | 86 | 67 | 19 | 0.950 | 10–5–5 | 10 |
| 4 | Karina LeBlanc | Portland Thorns FC | 21 | 1890 | 114 | 92 | 23 | 1.095 | 11–5–5 | 7 |
| 5 | Alyssa Naeher | Boston Breakers | 9 | 765 | 47 | 36 | 11 | 1.222 | 4–2–2 | 2 |
| 6 | Taylor Vancil | Chicago Red Stars | 6 | 540 | 31 | 23 | 8 | 1.334 | 3–2–1 | 1 |
| 7 | Hope Solo | Seattle Reign FC | 14 | 1260 | 101 | 81 | 19 | 1.357 | 5–6–2 | 0 |
| 8 | Erin McLeod | Chicago Red Stars | 16 | 1430 | 92 | 64 | 28 | 1.750 | 5–6–5 | 4 |
| 9 | Ashley Phillips | Boston Breakers | 11 | 945 | 51 | 32 | 20 | 1.818 | 2–5–4 | 1 |
| 10 | Ashlyn Harris | Washington Spirit | 18 | 1620 | 118 | 85 | 33 | 1.882 | 2–11–4 | 1 |
| 11 | Michelle Betos | Seattle Reign FC | 7 | 630 | 49 | 34 | 14 | 2.000 | 0–6–1 | 0 |
Source:

## Individual awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Player of the Month | Club | Month's Statline |
| April | Christine Sinclair | Portland Thorns FC | 2 G, 1 A in 3 games; Thorns 2–0–1 in April |
| May | Brittany Cameron | Sky Blue FC | 0.5 GAA, 4SHO in 6 games; SBFC 4–1–1 in May |
| June | Lauren Cheney | FC Kansas City | 6 G, 1 A in 5 games; FCKC 4–2–1 in June |
| July | Erika Tymrak | FC Kansas City | 3 G, 1 A in 6 games; FCKC 3–0–3 in July |
| August | Mónica Ocampo | Sky Blue FC | 3 G, in 3 games |

### Weekly awards

| Week | Player of the Week | Club | Week's Statline |
| Week 1 | Brittany Cameron | Sky Blue FC | 5 SVS, SHO |
| Week 2 | Jessica Fishlock | Seattle Reign FC | 1 G (74') |
| Week 3 | Heather O'Reilly | Boston Breakers | 2 G (16', 83'), GWG |
| Week 4 | Sydney Leroux | Boston Breakers | 3 G (26', 74', 84'), GWG |
| Week 5 | Abby Wambach | Western New York Flash | 2 G (34', 39'), GWG |
| Week 6 | Christie Rampone | Sky Blue FC | 180min, 0 GA |
| Week 7 | Lianne Sanderson | Boston Breakers | 3 A |
| Week 8 | Lisa De Vanna | Sky Blue FC | 2 G (14', 56'), 1 A |
| Week 9 | Abby Wambach | Western New York Flash | 1 G (82'), 1 A |
| Week 10 | Lori Chalupny | Chicago Red Stars | 1 A |
| Week 11 | Karina LeBlanc | Portland Thorns FC | 7 SVS |
| Week 12 | Carli Lloyd | Western New York Flash | 3 G (3', 22', 56') |
| Week 13 | Sydney Leroux | Boston Breakers | 3 G, 2 Games |
| Week 14 | Karina LeBlanc | Portland Thorns FC | 5 SVS |
| Week 15 | Erika Tymrak | FC Kansas City | 1 G (86'), 1 A |
| Week 16 | Megan Rapinoe | Seattle Reign FC | 2 G (6', 68'), 1 A |
| Week 17 | Lauren Holiday | FC Kansas City | 2 G (23', 55') |
| Week 18 | Diana Matheson | Washington Spirit | 1 G, 1 A in 2 Games |
| Week 19 | Jen Hoy | Chicago Red Stars | 2 G (45', 92') |

### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Winner | Winner | Runner-up | Runner-up | Third place | Third place |
| Golden Boot | Lauren Holiday | FC Kansas City | 12 Goals | Abby Wambach | Western New York Flash | Sydney Leroux | Boston Breakers |
| Rookie of the Year | Erika Tymrak | FC Kansas City | 6 Goals, 4 Assists | Adrianna Franch | Western New York Flash | Sydney Leroux | Boston Breakers |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Nicole Barnhart | FC Kansas City | 10 Shutouts | Adrianna Franch | Western New York Flash | Karina LeBlanc | Portland Thorns |
| Defender of the Year | Becky Sauerbrunn | FC Kansas City | 1710min, 1.00 GAA | Christie Rampone | Sky Blue FC | Leigh Ann Robinson | FC Kansas City |
| Coach of the Year | Vlatko Andonovski | FC Kansas City | 11–6–5, 2nd reg. season | Jim Gabarra | Sky Blue FC | Aaran Lines | Western New York Flash |
| Most Valuable Player | Lauren Holiday | FC Kansas City | 1st in G and A, 4th in S and SOG | Abby Wambach | Western New York Flash | Lori Chalupny | Chicago Red Stars |
NWSL Best XI :
| Position | First team | First team | First team | Second team | Second team | Second team |
| Goalkeeper | Nicole Barnhart | FC Kansas City | 10 shutouts | Adrianna Franch | Western New York Flash | 98 Saves |
| Defense | Christie Rampone | Sky Blue FC | 1.20 GAA | Rachel Buehler | Portland Thorns FC | 1.15 GAA |
| Defense | Leigh Ann Robinson | FC Kansas City | 5 assists | Caitlin Foord | Sky Blue FC | NWSL youngest player |
| Defense | Becky Sauerbrunn | FC Kansas City | 1.0 GAA | Ali Krieger | Washington Spirit | 1 goal |
| Defense | Brittany Taylor | Western New York Flash | 3 goals, 4 assists | Lauren Sesselmann | FC Kansas City | 0.84 GAA |
| Midfield | Lori Chalupny | Chicago Red Stars | 5 goals, 4 assists | Megan Rapinoe | Seattle Reign FC | 5 goals, 1 assist |
| Midfield | Jess Fishlock | Seattle Reign FC | 4 goals | Desiree Scott | FC Kansas City | 1.00 GAA |
| Midfield | Lauren Holiday | FC Kansas City | 12 goals, 9 assists | Erika Tymrak | FC Kansas City | 6 goals, 4 assists |
| MF // FW | Diana Matheson | Washington Spirit | 8 goals, 3 assists | Alex Morgan | Portland Thorns FC | 8 goals, 5 assists |
| Forward | Sydney Leroux | Boston Breakers | 11 goals, 2 assists | Lianne Sanderson | Boston Breakers | 5 goals, 7 assists |
| Forward | Abby Wambach | Western New York Flash | 11 goals, 8 assists | Christine Sinclair | Portland Thorns FC | 8 goals, 2 assists |
NWSL Championship Game MVP :
| Player | Club | Record |
| Tobin Heath | Portland Thorns FC | Scored game-winning goal in first league Championship Game |

## Statistics
### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Renae Cuellar for FC Kansas City against Portland Thorns FC, 3rd minute (April 13)
* Earliest goal in a match: 2 minutes
** CoCo Goodson for Sky Blue FC against Washington Spirit (April 27)
* Latest goal in a match: 90+6 minutes
** Lori Chalupny for Chicago Red Stars against FC Kansas City (July 14)
* Widest winning margin: 4 goals
** Sky Blue 5–1 Boston Breakers (June 1)
** Western New York Flash 4–0 Washington Spirit (May 4)
* Most goals scored in a match: 7
** Washington Spirit 2–5 Boston Breakers (July 27)
** Portland Thorns 4-3 FC Kansas City (June 6)
* First Own Goal: McCall Zerboni of Western New York Flash for Sky Blue FC (April 14)
* Average goals per match: 2.705

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Sydney Leroux | Boston Breakers | Chicago Red Stars | 4–1 | May 4, 2013 |
| Carli Lloyd | Western New York Flash | Washington Spirit | 4–0 | June 28, 2013 |

### Discipline

* First yellow card: Kristie Mewis for FC Kansas City against Portland Thorns FC, 43rd minute (April 13)
* Most yellow cards in a match: 6
** Portland Thorns FC 2–1 Seattle Reign FC – 3 for Portland (Allie Long, Angie Kerr, & Nikki Washington) and 3 for Seattle (Elli Reed, Christine Nairn, & Jessica Fishlock) (April 21)

### Streaks

* Longest winning streak: 5 games
** Sky Blue FC, games 5–9
* Longest unbeaten streak: 10 games
** FC Kansas City, games 11–20
* Longest winless streak: 13 games
** Washington Spirit, games 7–19
* Longest losing streak: 9 games
** Seattle Reign FC, games 2–10
* Longest shutout: 435 minutes by Brittany Cameron for Sky Blue FC
* Longest drought: 541 minutes for Washington Spirit

### Other firsts

* First player to score twice in a match: Heather O'Reilly for Boston Breakers against Western New York Flash (April 27)
* First come-from-behind victory: Boston Breakers 2–1 Western New York Flash (April 27)

### Home team record

(Regular season only)
* 8 wins, 8 losses, 6 ties – 1.364 PPG
* 28 goals for, 26 goals against – +2 GD