It's the second consecutive year that Riley has won the award

North Carolina Courage head coach Paul Riley has been voted the 2018 NWSL Coach of the Year, the second consecutive year he has won the award. Riley wins the award after a record-setting regular season with the Courage. The award was voted on by fans, owners, general managers, coaches, players and media.

The 2018 season marked the second consecutive year that the Courage won the NWSL Shield, finishing with the NWSL’s best regular season record. In 2018, Riley and the Courage finished the regular season with a 17-1-6 record, setting NWSL regular season records for most wins (17), points (57), fewest losses (1), most goals scored (53), fewest goals allowed (17), goals against average (.71) and largest goal differential (+36). They also became the first team in NWSL history to go unbeaten on the road for an entire season, going 8-0-4 in the regular season away from North Carolina.

The Courage started out the regular season at 9-0-3, and finished it with an 8-0-3 run, with only the one loss to Utah Royals FC in the middle. The Courage went on to win the 2018 NWSL Championship, 3-0 over Portland Thorns FC. Outside of NWSL play, the Courage also beat Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyon to win the inaugural International Champions Cup.

It’s the fifth straight season that the coach of the NWSL Shield winners has been voted Coach of the Year. Seattle Reign FC head coach Vlatko Andonovski finished second and Portland Thorns FC head coach Mark Parsons finished third.

The list of finalists was decided after a preliminary round of voting by owners, general managers, coaches, players and media. The finalists were then voted on by fans, owners, general managers, coaches, players and media.

Voting Breakdown:

Preliminary Round: Owners/GMs/Coaches (25%), Media (25%) and Players (50%)

Final Round: Fans (20%), Owners/GMs/Coaches (20%), Media (20%) and Players (40%)

Coach FANS MEDIA CLUB PLAYER TOTAL Riley 31.3% 50.0% 44.4% 41.9% 41.9% Andonovski 23.5% 28.4% 33.3% 43.4% 34.4% Parsons 45.2% 21.6% 22.2% 14.7% 23.7%

Full list of NWSL Coaches of the Year

2013: Vlatko Andonovski, FC Kansas City

2014: Laura Harvey, Seattle Reign FC

2015: Laura Harvey, Seattle Reign FC

2016: Mark Parsons, Portland Thorns FC

2017: Paul Riley, North Carolina Courage

2018: Paul Riley, North Carolina Courage