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.
TeamStadiumCapacity Chicago Red Stars SeatGeek Stadium 20,000 Houston Dash PNC Stadium 7,000 Kansas City Legends Field 10,385 NJ/NY Gotham FC Red Bull Arena 25,000 MSU Soccer Park 5,000 North Carolina Courage Sahlen's Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park 10,000 OL Reign Cheney Stadium 6,500 Orlando Pride Exploria Stadium 25,500 Portland Thorns FC Providence Park 25,218 Racing Louisville FC Lynn Family Stadium 11,700Washington Spirit Audi Field 20,000 Segra Field 5,000
Personnel and sponsorship
Note: All teams use Nike as their kit manufacturer.
Team Head coach Captain Shirt sponsor Chicago Red Stars Julie Ertz Houston Dash Jane Campbell Rachel Daly MD Anderson Cancer Center Kansas City Palmer Square Capital Management NJ/NY Gotham FC Avaya North Carolina Courage (interim) Abby Erceg Continental AG OL Reign Lauren Barnes Megan Rapinoe Black Future Co-op Fund Orlando Pride (interim) Ashlyn Harris Orlando Health Portland Thorns FC Christine Sinclair Providence Health & Services Racing Louisville FC (interim) Michelle Betos GE Appliances Washington Spirit Tori Huster IntelliBridge
Coaching changes TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming coachDate of appointmentRef. Racing Louisville FC Preseason August 12, 2020 Kansas City Preseason December 7, 2020 OL Reign Resigned July 2, 2021 9th (interim) July 2, 2021 Orlando Pride Resigned July 23, 2021 5th (interim) July 25, 2021 OL Reign (interim) End of interim period August 9, 2021 6th July 15, 2021 Washington Spirit Reassigned August 10, 2021 7th NJ/NY Gotham FC Mutual separation August 30, 2021 7th August 31, 2021 Racing Louisville FC Terminated for cause August 31, 2021 9th (interim) August 31, 2021 North Carolina Courage Terminated September 30, 2021 3rd (interim) September 30, 2021
Regular season
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 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
Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Ashley HatchWashington Spirit102 Bethany BalcerOL Reign9 Rachel DalyHouston Dash Midge PurceNJ/NY Gotham FC5 Sydney LerouxOrlando Pride8 Ifeoma OnumonuNJ/NY Gotham FC7 Eugénie Le SommerOL Reign7 Sophia SmithPortland Thorns FC Lynn WilliamsNorth Carolina Courage10 Megan RapinoeOL Reign6 Trinity RodmanWashington Spirit Ebony SalmonRacing Louisville FC
Top assists RankPlayerClubAssists1 Sofia HuertaOL Reign6 Trinity RodmanWashington Spirit3 Caprice DydascoNJ/NY Gotham FC5 Carson PickettNorth Carolina Courage5 Jess FishlockOL Reign4 Nahomi KawasumiNJ/NY Gotham FC Kristie MewisHouston Dash Ifeoma OnumonuNJ/NY Gotham FC Courtney PetersenOrlando Pride Mallory PughChicago Red Stars Kealia WattChicago Red Stars
Clean sheets RankPlayerClubClean sheets1 Casey MurphyNorth Carolina Courage112 Bella BixbyPortland Thorns FC93 Aubrey BledsoeWashington Spirit84 Adrianna Franch2 teams7 Sarah BouhaddiOL Reign6 Kailen SheridanNJ/NY Gotham FC67 Cassie MillerChicago Red Stars58 Michelle BetosRacing Louisville FC4 Jane CampbellHouston Dash10 Ashlyn HarrisOrlando Pride3 Alyssa NaeherChicago Red Stars
Hat-tricks To date, 2021 was the only NWSL season in which there were no hat-tricks.
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
Semi-finals
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
West Division
Championship
Individual awards
Annual awards
AwardWinnerNomineesRef. Golden Boot Ashley Hatch (10 G) Washington Spirit Coach of the Year Laura HarveyOL Reign Mark Parsons, POR Scott Parkinson, NJY Rookie of the Year Trinity RodmanWashington Spirit Emily Fox, LOU Victoria Pickett, KC Goalkeeper of the Year Aubrey BledsoeWashington Spirit Kailen Sheridan, NJY Bella Bixby, POR Defender of the Year Caprice DydascoNJ/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 SeasonPos.Best XISecond XIRef. GK Kailen Sheridan NJ/NY Gotham FC Bella Bixby Portland Thorns FC DF Carson Pickett North Carolina Courage Emily Fox Racing Louisville FC Sarah Gorden Chicago Red Stars Emily Menges Portland Thorns FC Alana Cook OL Reign Meghan Klingenberg Portland Thorns FC Caprice Dydasco NJ/NY Gotham FC Sofia Huerta OL Reign MF/FW Jess Fishlock OL Reign Lindsey Horan Portland Thorns FC Eugénie Le Sommer OL Reign Rachel Daly Houston Dash Angela Salem Portland Thorns FC Mallory Pugh Chicago Red Stars Midge Purce NJ/NY Gotham FC Sydney Leroux Orlando Pride Ashley Hatch Washington Spirit Bethany Balcer OL Reign Trinity Rodman Washington Spirit Ifeoma Onumonu NJ/NY Gotham FC
NWSL Championship Game MVPPlayerClub Aubrey BledsoeWashington Spirit
Monthly Awards Player of the Month
Month Player Club Ref. 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