NWSL 2015 CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Seattle Reign, who finished first in the regular season for the second straight year with 43 points, and FC Kansas City, who finished in third with 32 points but defeated Seattle last year for the title in Seattle, faced off again in neutral Portland, Oregon in front of 13,264 on Thursday, October 1st.

The final result was again that the underrated FC Kansas City Blues defeated the favorites 1-0 for their second championship in a row, on a late headed goal (a rarity) by 2015 U.S. Women's World Cup winning striker Amy Rodriguez after a cross from international and club teammate Heather O'Reilly. The goal came against the run of play when Seattle had really taken hold on the second half and was launching numerous attacks on Kansas City's goal. Afterwards, Reign head coach and former Arsenal and Birmingham City women's manager Laura Harvey felt that her side had let the game get away from them in the first half but came out better in the second half.

Harvey explained: "They caught us [with the goal] when we were on top and pushing. That's Kansas [City]; when you are on top, that's when sometimes they can be at their most dangerous….We are massively disappointed but we will learn from it."

FC Kansas City head coach Vlatko Andonovski - a native of Macedonia who played professionally at home and indoors in the U.S. and also coached the Missouri Comets indoor men's team to a professional title in 2013-14 - admitted that they had to attack Seattle down the wings in the game: "Seattle played the way that we expected; we were getting ready for lots of players around the middle, two players around [retiring U.S. international Lauren] Cheney and two players around Rodriguez, so we knew the game tonight would be decided from Erica [Tymrak, who played on loan successfully for Bayern Munich in 2013-14] or HAO [Heather O'Reilly]. Cheney did an unbelievable job and sacrificed some of her game to allow us to build through midfielders Maddy Laddish and Jen Buzkowski, so they could provide those balls for HAO and Erica. All together everyone played their role. Some had to sacrifice some of their game for the good of the team."

The final was held almost three weeks after the semifinals on Sunday, September 13th, for a FIFA international break - during which the U.S. National Team defeated Haiti twice in Victory Tour matches. The huge crowd on a weeknight for two neutral teams was again a testament to the sustainability of the growth of the women's game during this Women's World Cup year, and its positive affect on the league.

OTHER NWSL NEWS

The league owner meetings were held in Portland in conjunction with the final and some updates, not all of it officially confirmed yet, include:

Former Chelsea women's coach Mark Parsons has resigned as head coach of the Washington Spirit - where he led the side to two semifinals in his two full seasons in charge - and is rumored to be taking the Portland Thorns head coaching position, replacing Paul Riley, who's contract was not renewed.

The Thorns have a wealth of riches, particularly in attack with English World Cup forward Jodie Taylor (who played for Parsons in 2014), Canadian international forward Christine Sinclair (who has played in four World Cups and 2 Olympic Games) and American superstar forward Alex Morgan. Look for Parsons - a very astute coach - to consolidate the team and bring in a few new key players, including a few from the U.K., in order to have the team back in the playoffs next season.

Another rumor that should be confirmed next week is that the NWSL will have 10 teams next season as Orlando City of Major League Soccer (where Brazilian forward Kaka now plays) will add a women's side to the league. Orlando, which moved up to MLS for 2015 after four seasons in the minor league USL Pro (where they won two league titles) after acquiring the Austin Aztec franchise late in 2010. Orlando is the third MLS owned team in NWSL - along with Portland Thorns and Houston Dash.

Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike announced a four-year extension to their marketing agreement with NWSL as the league's official uniform, apparel and equipment provider for all teams. Nike will continue to offer the NWSL the option to collaborate on innovation initiatives in soccer technology and design throughout the duration of the agreement, as well as providing a sport-science resource to each team in the league. Andrea Perez, the North American General Manager of Soccer for Nike, announced: "We are extremely proud to continue our partnership with the NWSL. This extension not only gives soccer fans more opportunities to see their favorite athletes in action, but it also reinforces Nike's overall leadership in women's soccer, helping to grow the women's game beyond where it stands today."

NWSL WANTS GLOBAL CLUB COMPETITION

Before the 2015 NWSL Final, League Commissioner Jeff Plush and Seattle Reign Head Coach Laura Harvey talked about the possibility of the NWSL champion participating in a FIFA official or unofficial world club championship for women, such as the three year old International Women's Club Championship held in Japan late in the year (which Chelsea and Arsenal participated in as guests from UEFA).

Harvey immediately talked enthusiastically about the benefits of playing internationally: "That was one of the first things I ever spoke to Jeff about [when he came on as commissioner ahead of this season]. The way that our season is set up I think there is a possibility for teams to have an opportunity. It could be an opportunity in the long-term that we can take advantage of, hosting within the U.S. I think it's a huge opportunity for the teams and also for the players to pitch themselves against whether it be Japan's best or Europe's best or Germany's best or England's best, just to see where we're truly at. Because I think it's always a question mark of how our teams will compete against other teams across the world."

She took her team to play two exhibitions in Japan during the pre-season ahead of the Reign's first season in 2013 and American forward Beverly Yanez, who was playing for INAC of Japan at the time, is a legacy of that trip: "From a coaching standpoint, one of the hardest games we ever played was probably that first-ever game playing against INAC in Japan. So if all the little bits could fit together and timing could work, my personal opinion would be that it is a huge opportunity for sure."

Plush agreed with Harvey's sentiment, saying: "It's certainly an area that we've been exploring and excited about what the future might hold there."