2014 National Women's Soccer League season
The 2014 National Women's Soccer League season is the second 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 is the eighth overall season of FIFA and USSF-sanctioned top division women's soccer in the United States. The league is operated by the United States Soccer Federation and receives major financial backing from that body. Further financial backing is expected  to be provided by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Mexican Football Federation. All three national federations pay the league salaries of many of their respective national team members in an effort to nurture talent in those nations. The regular season began the weekend of April 12–13 and ended August 20, with the championship game played on August 30. FC Kansas City defeated the Shield winners Seattle Reign FC 2–1 to win the NWSL title. The league had announced it would not expand for the 2014 season and was not expected to contract. However, after a push from the Houston  Dynamo, the league approved the expansion of the Houston Dash. Teams, stadia, and personnel. Stadia and locations. See also List of National Women's Soccer League stadiums Two teams, the Dash and Reign, do not make their stadia's entire capacity available for home games, instead restricting ticket sales at a lower level. The full capacities of their venues are included in parentheses and "italics". The Boston Breakers, FC Kansas City, and Seattle Reign FC moved to new stadia for 2014, while the Houston Dash was an expansion franchise. Player Acquisition. Players were acquired through the 2014 Allocation of national  team players announced on January 3, the 2014 NWSL Expansion Draft (for expansion team Houston) on January 10, and the 2014 NWSL College Draft on January 17, as well as free agency, trading, and loans. Notable acquisitions Competition format. Results table. "" League standings. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> Tiebreakers. The initial determining factor for a team's position in the standings is most 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 tie in point total, when determining rank and playoff qualification and seeding, the NWSL  uses the following tiebreaker rules, going down the list until all teams are ranked. If two teams tie: If three or more teams tie, the following rules apply until only two teams remain tied, at which point the two-team tiebreakers listed above are used: NWSL Playoffs. The top four teams from the regular season qualified for the championship playoffs. The highest-seeded semi-final winner then hosted the championship final. Attendance. Average home attendances. Ranked from highest to lowest average attendance. A new NWSL attendance record of 19,123 was set on August 3 in a game between Portland and  Houston at Providence Park in Portland, breaking the previous record of 17,619 set in 2013. Playoff Attendance. Semi-final No. 1, August 23, Portland at Kansas City: 2,997 Semi-final No. 2, August 24, Washington at Seattle: 4,540 Final, August 31, Kansas City at Seattle: 4,252