NWSL Shield

NWSL Shield
Awarded for	National Women's Soccer League team with the best record in the regular season
Presented by	National Women's Soccer League
First awarded	2013
Currently held by	Portland Thorns FC (first shield)
Most awards	Seattle Reign FC (two shields)

The NWSL Shield is an annual award given to the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team with the best regular season record, as determined by the NWSL points system. The NWSL Shield has been annually awarded since 2013, and is recognized as a major trophy by the league.

Seattle Reign FC, having earned two NWSL Shields since the league's inception in 2013, have won the most shields of any NWSL team as of 2016.

Portland Thorns FC is the current (2016 season) holder of the award.

When the NWSL was launched in 2013, the league's format was set up similarly to other contemporary North American leagues. After the regular season, the NWSL Playoffs were held with the top four teams vying for a spot in the postseason championship match. The club with the most regular-season points was awarded the NWSL Shield and earned the top seed in the playoffs.

Since the 2013 inaugural season, the system of awarding points in the NWSL is the same as the international standard: three points for a win, one for a draw, and no points for a loss. In the event of an end-of-season tie in total accumulated points, the following tie-breakers are used among all teams with the same number of points:

All tiebreakers involving goal counts (goal differential, goals for) include all regular-season games, not just games against tied teams.

Over the first three years of the NWSL, all NWSL Shield winners have beaten the 4th-place team in the semifinals and then lost to the 2nd- or 3rd-place team in the NWSL Championship game.

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