2015 National Women's Soccer League season
The 2015 National Women's Soccer League season was the third 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 and the Women's United Soccer Association, it was the ninth 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.
In January, Jeff Plush was named NWSL commissioner, replacing Cheryl Bailey.
To accommodate the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup the league announced it would reduce the season to 20 games while extending the calendar length into September and take a two-week break from June 7–19.
For the second straight season, FC Kansas City defeated the Shield winners Seattle Reign FC 1–0 to win the NWSL title on October 1.
Teams, stadiums, and personnel
Stadiums and locations
Two teams, the Dash and Reign, do not make their stadiums' 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.| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
| Boston Breakers | Soldiers Field Soccer Stadium | 4,500 |
| Chicago Red Stars | Village Sports Complex | 3,600 |
| Houston Dash | BBVA Compass Stadium | 7,000 |
| FC Kansas City | Swope Soccer Village | 4,000 |
| Portland Thorns | Providence Park | 20,438 |
| Seattle Reign FC | Memorial Stadium | 6,000 |
| Sky Blue FC | Yurcak Field | 5,000 |
| Washington Spirit | Maryland SoccerPlex | 5,126 |
| Western New York Flash | Sahlen's Stadium | 13,768 |
Personnel and sponsorship
Note: All of the teams use Nike as their kit manufacturer.| Team | Head coach | Captain | Shirt sponsor |
| Boston Breakers |  Tom Durkin | | Steward Health Care |
| Chicago Red Stars | | | CJ Wilson Mazda |
| Houston Dash | | | BBVA Compass |
| FC Kansas City |  | | Research Medical Center |
| Portland Thorns |  |  | Providence Health & Services |
| Seattle Reign FC | | | Moda Health |
| Sky Blue FC | | | Meridian Health |
| Washington Spirit | | | ProChain Solutions, Inc. |
| Western New York Flash |  | Brittany Taylor | Sahlen's |
Player acquisition
Players were acquired through the 2015 Allocation of national team players on January 14and the 2015 NWSL College Draft on January 16,
as well as free agency and trades.
Notable acquisitions and losses
- Carli Lloyd, the scoring and assist leader for the US women's national team in 2014, was traded from the Western New York Flash to the Houston Dash on October 16, 2014.
- Heather O'Reilly, the scoring and assist leader for the Boston Breakers in 2014, was traded from Boston to FC Kansas City on October 27, 2014.
- Samantha Kerr, the leading scorer for the Western New York Flash in 2014, was traded from Western New York to Sky Blue FC on November 24, 2014.
- Sophie Schmidt, a veteran Allocated Player for the Canadian women's national team, announced in January 2015 she would not play for either Sky Blue FC or the NWSL in order to focus on the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.
- Morgan Brian, the two-time Hermann Trophy winner, was chosen No. 1 overall by the Houston Dash in the College Draft on January 16, 2015.
- Jessica McDonald, the leading scorer for the Portland Thorns in 2014, was traded from Portland to the Houston Dash during the draft on January 16, 2015.
- Jodie Taylor, the leading scorer for the Washington Spirit in 2014, was traded from Washington to the Portland Thorns during the draft on January 16, 2015.
- Abby Wambach, the scoring and assist leader for the Western New York Flash in 2013, announced on March 18, 2015 she would not play for either Western New York or the NWSL in order to focus on the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Her rights were subsequently traded to the Seattle Reign in exchange for Sydney Leroux.
Competition format
- Each team will play a total of 20 games, 10 home and 10 away.
- Each team will play all opponents twice, once home and once away, plus four opponents an extra time, split two opponents at home and two away.
- The four teams at the end of the season with the most points will qualify for the playoffs.
Results table
League standings
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:
- Head to Head win/loss record between the two teams.
- Greater goal difference across the entire season.
- Greatest total number of goals scored.
- Apply #1–3 to games played on the road.
- Apply #1–3 to games played at home.
- If teams are still equal, ranking will be determined by a coin toss.
- Points per game against all other tied teams.
- Greater goal difference across the entire season.
Weekly live standings
Statistical leaders
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Nation | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Crystal Dunn | Washington Spirit | 15 | |
| 2 | Kim Little | Seattle Reign FC | 10 | |
| 2 | Allie Long | Portland Thorns FC | 10 | |
| 2 | Christen Press | Chicago Red Stars | 10 | |
| 5 | Beverly Yanez | Seattle Reign FC | 9 | |
| 6 | Jess Fishlock | Seattle Reign FC | 8 | |
| 7 | Jessica McDonald | Houston Dash | 7 | |
| 8 | Sofia Huerta | Chicago Red Stars | 6 | |
| 8 | Samantha Kerr | Sky Blue FC | 6 | |
| 8 | Kristie Mewis | Boston Breakers | 6 | |
| 8 | Nadia Nadim | Sky Blue FC | 6 | |
| 8 | Amy Rodriguez | FC Kansas City | 6 |
Top assists
| Rank | Player | Nation | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Kim Little | Seattle Reign | 7 | |
| 2 | Vanessa DiBernardo | Chicago Red Stars | 5 | |
| 2 | Kealia Ohai | Houston Dash | 5 | |
| 2 | Kelley O'Hara | Sky Blue FC | 5 | |
| 2 | Megan Rapinoe | Seattle Reign FC | 5 | |
| 6 | Jen Hoy | Chicago Red Stars | 4 | |
| 6 | Allie Long | Portland Thorns FC | 4 | |
| 6 | Sam Mewis | Western New York Flash | 4 | |
| 6 | Christine Nairn | Washington Spirit | 4 | |
| 6 | Amy Rodriguez | FC Kansas City | 4 | |
| 6 | Meleana Shim | Portland Thorns FC | 4 | |
| 6 | Lynn Williams | Western New York Flash | 4 |
Goalkeeping
| Rank | Goalkeeper | Club | GP | MINS | SOG | SVS | GA | GAA | W-L-T | SHO |
| 1 | Michele Dalton | Chicago Red Stars | 12 | 1080 | 58 | 47 | 11 | 0.917 | 6–1–5 | 5 |
| 2 | Nicole Barnhart | FC Kansas City | 17 | 1530 | 70 | 54 | 16 | 0.941 | 8–6–3 | 8 |
| 3 | Haley Kopmeyer | Seattle Reign FC | 11 | 990 | 52 | 41 | 11 | 1.000 | 7–1–3 | 4 |
| 4 | Michelle Betos | Portland Thorns FC | 14 | 1260 | 63 | 45 | 18 | 1.286 | 5–7–2 | 2 |
| 5 | Brittany Cameron | Sky Blue FC | 20 | 1792 | 114 | 87 | 27 | 1.357 | 5–8–7 | 4 |
| 6 | Erin McLeod | Houston Dash | 11 | 932 | 74 | 60 | 15 | 1.364 | 3–4–3 | 2 |
| 7 | Kelsey Wys | Washington Spirit | 11 | 990 | 51 | 35 | 16 | 1.455 | 5–4–2 | 3 |
| 8 | Chantel Jones | Western New York Flash | 13 | 1155 | 81 | 60 | 21 | 1.615 | 4–4–5 | 2 |
| 9 | Alyssa Naeher | Boston Breakers | 12 | 1080 | 95 | 65 | 30 | 2.500 | 2–9–1 | 0 |