The Seattle Reign FC ran away with the NWSL Shield in 2014 (by 13 points) and 2015 (by 10), but when it came time for the NWSL champion to be decided, FC Kansas City stole the crown. It won, 2-1, in the 2014 final when Amy Rodriguez scored both goal. And it won, 1-0, on Thursday night, and again A-Rod was the goalscorer, sending her teammate and close friend, Lauren Holiday, out with a championship.
1. Kansas City stars are again the difference.
In 2014, Holiday set up Rodriguez for both goals in the final. And again the retiring Holiday was involved in the winning goal on Thursday night. Her pass over the top deflected off a Seattle defender to Heather O'Reilly down the left side, and O'Reilly sent in a ball to Rodriguez that broke the deadlock in the 78th minute.
Holiday, Rodriguez and O'Reilly, along with defender Becky Sauerbrunn, gave FCKC four players who played on the U.S. Women's World Cup championship team. No other NWSL team finished the season with as many as four players on their roster.
“I couldn’t have wrote a better script,” said Holiday, who is retiring after the USA's Victory Tour. “This is absolutely incredible, to win for club and country is a dream come true.”
Sauerbrunn and Holiday have been with FC Kansas City since the beginning. Rodriguez was allocated to Seattle but never played for the Reign as she was pregnant and sat out the 2013 season. A-Rod and O'Reilly both came over in trades before the 2014 season. Of the three remaining players, O'Reilly was considered to be the longshot to make the 2016 Olympic roster after playing just 10 minutes at the Women's World Cup, but she has played well on the Victory Tour and was again instrumental in leading Kansas City to another NWSL crown.
2. Disappointing finish for the Reign again.
After last year's defeat to Kansas City at home, Reign coach Laura Harvey took full responsibility for the fact that winning the league was enough for her. After rolling past Washington in this year's semifinals, she said, "I never want that feeling again, ever, in my life.”
She said things would be different this time. But the Reign never played up to its level when it dominated teams throughout the NWSL season. Its two international stars, Scotswoman Kim Littleand Welsh international Jess Fishlock, were quiet, and Megan Rapinoe was ineffective.
"Last year we were very dominant in the final," Harvey said afterwards. "I didn't feel that this year."
3. Decision to play final in Portland was the right one.
The NWSL took a lot of heat for its decision to play the league final at Portland's Providence Park, home of the Thorns, who averaged more than twice as many fans as any other team in the league, and move the final to Oct. 1, 13 days after the semifinals and on a Thursday night no less. Much of the criticism was directed at the late timing of the announcements, but they proved to be the right moves.
The final drew 13,264 fans, the largest crowd for a women's league final since 15,321 fans for WUSA's 2002 Founder's Cup final between Carolina and Washington. The crowd got into the game -- making for good television -- even though it was nowhere near as loud as for Thorns games when capos lead the Portland supporters in song. Still, Portland fans got in good-matured digs at Hope Solo, the goalkeeper of the Thorns' archrival Reign, chanting, "Dodgy Keeper."
Playing the final in Portland was a natural, given that its the home of Nike, the league sponsor thatannounced this week that it was extending its agreement with the NWSL through the 2019 season. The final week gave the impression that the league is going to be around for its fourth year and many more -- something that never happened to WUSA and WPS.
TRIVIA. The NWSL title was the 10th in O'Reilly's career, the most of any player in the final. She won two NCAA titles with North Carolina. She won the inaugural Under-19 Women's Championship in 2002, Olympic women's soccer gold medals in 2004, 2008 and 2012 and the 2015 Women's World Cup title. At the club level, she won WPS with Sky Blue FC in her home state of New Jersey in 2009 and NWSL titles with FC Kansas City in 2014 and 2015.
Oct. 1 in Portland, Ore.
FC Kansas City 1 Seattle 0. Goal: Rodriguez 78.
FC Kansas City -- Barnhart, Brown, LePeilbet, Sauerbrunn, Moros, Buczkowski, Laddish (Averbuch, 90+2), Tymrak (Groom, 88), O’Reilly, Holiday, Rodriguez (Hagen, 90+3).
Seattle -- Solo, Fletcher, Corsie, Barnes, Cox (Reed, 77), Winters, Little, Fishlock, Mathias (Veje, 72), Rapinoe, Yanez.
Referee: Katja Koroleva.
Att.: 13,264.
1. Kansas City stars are again the difference.
In 2014, Holiday set up Rodriguez for both goals in the final. And again the retiring Holiday was involved in the winning goal on Thursday night. Her pass over the top deflected off a Seattle defender to Heather O'Reilly down the left side, and O'Reilly sent in a ball to Rodriguez that broke the deadlock in the 78th minute.
Holiday, Rodriguez and O'Reilly, along with defender Becky Sauerbrunn, gave FCKC four players who played on the U.S. Women's World Cup championship team. No other NWSL team finished the season with as many as four players on their roster.
“I couldn’t have wrote a better script,” said Holiday, who is retiring after the USA's Victory Tour. “This is absolutely incredible, to win for club and country is a dream come true.”
Sauerbrunn and Holiday have been with FC Kansas City since the beginning. Rodriguez was allocated to Seattle but never played for the Reign as she was pregnant and sat out the 2013 season. A-Rod and O'Reilly both came over in trades before the 2014 season. Of the three remaining players, O'Reilly was considered to be the longshot to make the 2016 Olympic roster after playing just 10 minutes at the Women's World Cup, but she has played well on the Victory Tour and was again instrumental in leading Kansas City to another NWSL crown.
2. Disappointing finish for the Reign again.
After last year's defeat to Kansas City at home, Reign coach Laura Harvey took full responsibility for the fact that winning the league was enough for her. After rolling past Washington in this year's semifinals, she said, "I never want that feeling again, ever, in my life.”
She said things would be different this time. But the Reign never played up to its level when it dominated teams throughout the NWSL season. Its two international stars, Scotswoman Kim Littleand Welsh international Jess Fishlock, were quiet, and Megan Rapinoe was ineffective.
"Last year we were very dominant in the final," Harvey said afterwards. "I didn't feel that this year."
3. Decision to play final in Portland was the right one.
The NWSL took a lot of heat for its decision to play the league final at Portland's Providence Park, home of the Thorns, who averaged more than twice as many fans as any other team in the league, and move the final to Oct. 1, 13 days after the semifinals and on a Thursday night no less. Much of the criticism was directed at the late timing of the announcements, but they proved to be the right moves.
The final drew 13,264 fans, the largest crowd for a women's league final since 15,321 fans for WUSA's 2002 Founder's Cup final between Carolina and Washington. The crowd got into the game -- making for good television -- even though it was nowhere near as loud as for Thorns games when capos lead the Portland supporters in song. Still, Portland fans got in good-matured digs at Hope Solo, the goalkeeper of the Thorns' archrival Reign, chanting, "Dodgy Keeper."
Playing the final in Portland was a natural, given that its the home of Nike, the league sponsor thatannounced this week that it was extending its agreement with the NWSL through the 2019 season. The final week gave the impression that the league is going to be around for its fourth year and many more -- something that never happened to WUSA and WPS.
TRIVIA. The NWSL title was the 10th in O'Reilly's career, the most of any player in the final. She won two NCAA titles with North Carolina. She won the inaugural Under-19 Women's Championship in 2002, Olympic women's soccer gold medals in 2004, 2008 and 2012 and the 2015 Women's World Cup title. At the club level, she won WPS with Sky Blue FC in her home state of New Jersey in 2009 and NWSL titles with FC Kansas City in 2014 and 2015.
Oct. 1 in Portland, Ore.
FC Kansas City 1 Seattle 0. Goal: Rodriguez 78.
FC Kansas City -- Barnhart, Brown, LePeilbet, Sauerbrunn, Moros, Buczkowski, Laddish (Averbuch, 90+2), Tymrak (Groom, 88), O’Reilly, Holiday, Rodriguez (Hagen, 90+3).
Seattle -- Solo, Fletcher, Corsie, Barnes, Cox (Reed, 77), Winters, Little, Fishlock, Mathias (Veje, 72), Rapinoe, Yanez.
Referee: Katja Koroleva.
Att.: 13,264.
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