Sam Kerr had plenty of reasons to celebrate goals and win the NWSL Golden Boot again. (Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports)
CHICAGO – Chicago Red Stars forward Sam Kerr is as the winner of 2018 NWSL Golden Boot, which awarded to the player with the most goals during the regular season.
Kerr, 24, became the first player in league history to capture the award in back-to-back seasons after finishing with 16 goals in 19 appearances despite missing the first month of the season at the Asian Cup. She also added four assists, which was tied for fifth in the league.
The Freemantle, Australia native had at least a goal in four consecutive games from Aug. 18 – Sept. 8, scoring six goals to end the 2018 campaign. She scored against all eight other teams in the league this season, with her four goals against the Orlando Pride and Sky Blue FC the most against any opponent.
Kerr scored all but one goal from inside the box while finishing 11 goals with her right foot and five goals with the head. She also registered two or more goals in four games, including a hat-trick against Sky Blue FC July 7.
The striker was voted the player of the week in Week 15 and 22 and the player of the month in August as well as being named to the team of the month in July and August.
Kerr joined a distinguish group of past winners including Lauren Holiday (12 goals – 2013), Kim Little (16 goals – 2014), Crystal Dunn (15 goals – 2015) and Lynn Williams (11 goals – 2016) and Kerr (17 goals – 2017).
The Red Stars face off against the North Carolina Courage in the semifinals of the 2018 NWSL Playoffs at Sahlen’s Stadium in Cary, N.C. Sunday, Sept. 16 at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN2).
See below for a complete log of Kerr’s goals in the 2018 NWSL season:
Goal |
Date |
Opponent |
Min |
Assist |
Result |
1 |
5/6/2018 |
North Carolina Courage |
37 |
Unassisted |
D 1-1 |
2 |
5/12/2018 |
Houston Dash |
20 |
Arin Gilliland |
D 2-2 |
3 |
5/26/2018 |
Orlando Pride |
21 |
Yuki Nagasato |
L 2-5 |
4 |
5/26/2018 |
Orlando Pride |
60 |
Yuki Nagasato |
L 2-5 |
5 |
6/2/2018 |
Washington Spirit |
25 |
Unassisted |
W 2-0 |
6 |
7/7/2018 |
Sky Blue FC |
40 |
Alyssa Mautz |
W 3-1 |
7 |
7/7/2018 |
Sky Blue FC |
46 |
Yuki Nagasato |
W 3-1 |
8 |
7/7/2018 |
Sky Blue FC |
63 |
Yuki Nagasato |
W 3-1 |
9 |
7/14/2018 |
Seattle Reign FC |
87 |
Yuki Nagasato |
W 1-0 |
10 |
8/10/2018 |
North Carolina Courage |
64 |
Vanessa DiBernardo |
D 1-1 |
11 |
8/18/2018 |
Portland Thorns FC |
44 |
Yuki Nagasato |
D 2-2 |
12 |
8/18/2018 |
Portland Thorns FC |
49 |
Vanessa DiBernardo |
D 2-2 |
13 |
8/25/2018 |
Orlando Pride |
44 |
Yuki Nagasato |
W 3-1 |
14 |
8/25/2018 |
Orlando Pride |
59 |
Unassisted |
W 3-1 |
15 |
9/4/2018 |
Sky Blue FC |
64 |
Brooke Elby |
W 5-0 |
16 |
9/8/2018 |
Utah Royals FC |
39 |
Arin Gilliland |
L 1-2 |