NWSL
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| Country | United States |
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| Confederation | CONCACAF (North America) |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Current champions | Western New York Flash (1st title) |
| Current NWSL Shield | Portland Thorns FC (1st shield) |
| Most championships | FC Kansas City (2 titles) |
| Most NWSL Shields | Seattle Reign FC (2 shields) |
| Website | nwslsoccer |
 2017 NWSL season
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The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league, run by the United States Soccer Federation. At the top of the United States league system, it represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The NWSL was established in 2012 as a successor to Women's Professional Soccer (2007–2012) which was the successor to Women's United Soccer Association (2001-2003). The league began play in 2013 with eight teams; four of which were former members of Women's Professional Soccer. With the addition of two expansion teams in Houston and Orlando since the league's founding, it now has 10 teams based throughout the United States.
Since the league's inaugural 2013 season, three clubs have been crowned NWSL Champions and three clubs have claimed the NWSL Shield. The current champions are the North Carolina Courage, who won their first NWSL title in the 2016 playoffs as the Western New York Flash before relocating to the Research Triangle area of North Carolina in the 2016–17 offseason. The current shield winner is Portland Thorns FC, who finished first in the 2016 season.
The NWSL season runs from April–September with each team scheduled for 20 regular season games, 10 each of home and road. At the end of the regular season, the team with the highest point total is awarded the regular season title. The four clubs with the most points from the regular season standings qualify for the NWSL playoffs, which consist of two semifinal single knockout matches (1 seed plays 4; 2 seed plays 3), with the winner of each semifinal advancing to the championship final hosted by the team with most regular season points.
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