Providence Par
Portland, OR
Seattle Reign FC 0
FC Kansas City 1
The NWSL Championship at Providence Park in Portland brought together familiar foes. Seattle Reign FC and FC Kansas City met in a rematch of the 2014 final won 2-1 by FCKC at Starfire Stadium. The 2015 NWSL Championship was a match with interesting subplots and two very worthy clubs.
The first half ended 0-0, but had good flow and some end to end action with few clear chances. The only real drama of the first half was the condition of Reign FC midfielder jess Fishlock, who took a hard knock in a collision in the 40th minute, stayed down, and was not the same as she walked off the field to the locker room. Play got much more physical as the half wore on, but only three fouls were called despite a fair amount of contact.
The second half continued some pretty physical play, with Kendall Fletcher coming off in the 77th after tangling a couple times with Erika Tymrak. Seattle fans had to feel a sense of bad deja vu when Amy Rodriguez broke through in the 78th to make it 1-0.
Despite throwing everything forward as the match wound down, Kansas City managed to hold on to repeat as NWSL Champions. Seattle takes the Shield in 14 and 15. Kansas City take the crown both times.
Photos by Melissa Levin