Who has starred in the NWSL this season? Jeff Kassouf weighs in with his picks for Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year and more.
Who has starred in the NWSL this season? Jeff Kassouf weighs in with his picks for Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year and more. Who has starred in the NWSL this season? Jeff Kassouf weighs in with his picks for Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year and more.
Just like the top four teams in the NWSL were vastly superior to the rest of the pack this season, there are (in this humble writer’s opinion) a few obvious choices for individual awards.
That has been the story of this campaign: Last year’s historic parity was replaced by a landscape in which the best teams just kept winning and the bad teams couldn’t keep up. Top individual performers were also clearly superior to their peers in several cases.
With the regular season complete and the playoffs just days away, here are ESPN’s picks of the best players in the NWSL for 2024.
Most Valuable Player
Temwa Chawinga, Kansas City Current
I am one of the first people to argue that the Golden Boot winner should not automatically win the MVP award, and I’ve previously cast my votes with care to recognize players who consistently deliver in midfield and defense. This is not the year for that: Chawinga is the league MVP, and there is no argument.
Chawinga scored 20 goals in her first season in the league, breaking Sam Kerr‘s previous mark of 18. The Malawi star proved to be an electric forward from her debut in March, adapting quickly to read defenses and time her runs accordingly. Her speed is as unmatched as her work ethic, and she uses both skills to get behind defenses and to track back when the Current get caught in transition.
Chawinga also showed off her range of technical abilities with the type of goals she has scored this season, from line-drive shots and tap-ins, to the recent game-winning chip in the Summer Cup. (Yes, the latter does not technically count toward this MVP award, but it’s illustrative of her skill.)
The MVP race looked like a neck-and-neck battle between two newcomers, Chawinga and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda, but Banda only scored once following the Olympic break in July and early August. Since the league’s return, however, Chawinga has delivered with incredible consistency, scoring eight goals in the nine games she played — with one tally each in all eight of those matches.
It’s scary to think that the best single-season goal scorer in league history is an unfinished product, but the 26-year-old has plenty of room to grow. She should be tormenting NWSL defenses for years to come.
Honorable mentions
Barbra Banda, Orlando Pride: Thirteen goals could have won her a Golden Boot in some previous seasons. She is the proven goal scorer the Pride has needed, and a big reason Orlando set records en route to the NWSL Shield.
Trinity Rodman, Washington Spirit: Eight goals and six assists only tells part of the story for a player who looks largely unstoppable when she gets the ball on the wing. Her confidence is through the roof, and the world is taking notice.
Coach of the Year
Seb Hines, Orlando Pride
Let’s rattle off a few stats: 23 games unbeaten to start the season, 60 points, 18 wins, an eight-game winning streak. All of those set new league records. All of those were achieved by an Orlando team that any careful observer knew was much improved, but that even the most partisan fan could not have imagined would put together arguably the best season in league history.
Credit to the players, yes, and credit to Hines, whose rise from an assistant coach under three different regimes to an interim coach who earned himself the job — and became the first full-time Black head coach in NWSL history — is a remarkable story.
Even with Banda and Marta as headline names, Orlando’s roster on paper doesn’t match the firepower of the rest of the top four in the league. Orlando, however, has gotten career-year performances from almost every player, including less-heralded names like the versatile Kerry Abello, Kylie Strom, and Summer Yates.
Hines has also nailed the tactics, including in heavyweight showdowns against Kansas City, with every player fully buying into their role. As Marta said after Orlando won the Shield (the franchise’s first trophy), we might never see another season like this. Hines was the conductor of this magnificent orchestra.
Honorable mentions
Juan Carlos Amoros, NJ/NY Gotham FC: After winning a championship last year, Gotham attracted a quartet of USWNT stars. Like Hines in Orlando, however, Amoros has gotten the most out of every player, reaching deep into his roster to earn results — including a late-season victory over the Pride.
Jonatan Giráldez and Adrián González, Washington Spirit: Giráldez arrived from Barcelona midseason after González guided the ship as interim, and together they combined to lead the Spirit to a second-place finish and 18 wins, tying Orlando’s new league record.
Vlatko Andonovski, Kansas City Current: Offseason signings like Chawinga and Bia Zaneratto paid off in a big way as Kansas City contended for the Shield most of the season, one year after finishing second-from-bottom. Andonovski’s decision to overhaul his goalkeeper and center-back combination in the summer also stabilized the team defensively.
Rookie of the Year
Croix Bethune, Washington Spirit
Bethune tallied five goals and 10 assists in only 17 games while earning herself a place on the USWNT’s Olympic roster (and, ultimately, a gold medal) despite being uncapped at the time the roster was named. Her 10 assists tied Tobin Heath‘s record from 2016.
Imagine what Bethune could have done if she hadn’t missed the final nine matches due to a torn meniscus that she suffered while throwing out a celebratory first pitch at a baseball game?
Bethune’s composure on the ball is that of a veteran, and her vision made her one of the best attacking midfielders in the NWSL this year, regardless of any qualifiers about age or experience. She was a rookie playing at MVP-worthy levels, much like defender Naomi Girma did for the San Diego Wave in 2022.
Bethune was under pressure entering the season as the No. 10 expected to replace Ashley Sanchez after two huge draft-day trades. While Sanchez has excelled with the North Carolina Courage, Bethune filled the role brilliantly, allowing Rodman and striker Ouleye Sarr to thrive around her.
Despite her injury, Bethune still ended the season tied with Banda for the most goal-creating actions (18), per FBRef.
Honorable mentions
Hal Hershfelt, Washington Spirit: Bethune was the No. 3 pick in the draft and Hershfelt was the No. 5 pick. They both became immediate starters in Washington and made the trip to France for the Olympics with the USWNT. Hershfelt is a more understated workhorse who patrols the deeper areas of the midfield.
Claire Hutton, Kansas City Current: Earlier this year, an executive at another NWSL team told ESPN that the 18-year-old Hutton is “the real deal,” while Andonovski said she could play at the 2027 World Cup. Hutton owned the holding mid role typically reserved for veterans, only missing time for the Under-20 World Cup.
Emma Sears, Racing Louisville FC: A recent call-up to the USWNT — and historic one goal, one assist debut — confirmed Sears is a winger with special talent, even if she wasn’t a focal point of Louisville’s attack.
Ally Sentnor, Utah Royals: The stats (three goals, four assists) won’t wow anyone, but Sentnor’s talent is clear even amid Utah’s early-season struggles. A USWNT look at the January futures camp should follow.
Midfielder of the Year
Vanessa DiBernardo, Kansas City Current
This is a newly created award and thus the voting could go in any direction. And what is the point of creating this award if not to honor those whose work goes beyond goals and assists? And how many great midfielders of yesteryear won nothing at all because they weren’t the flashy, scoring types?
Bethune would be a justified winner of this award, too, but this season has featured numerous vintage performances by NWSL veterans who turned back the clock. It might be the hardest decision of all the awards, and my vote is going to the do-everything midfielder who is the common denominator in so much of Kansas City’s success.
DiBernardo is Kansas City’s engine. Sure, it helps to have Chawinga, Zaneratto, Debinha, and Michelle Cooper to find with a final pass, and DiBernardo has done that too with six assists. She has also scored some spectacular goals — five total this season, including from open play, free kicks, and the historic first goal in CPKC Stadium history.
But the intangibles run deep for the 32-year-old DiBernardo, and she is very much the glue to this team. DiBernardo has done everything for Kansas City: from playing as an attacking midfielder tasked with linking up play, to more defensive roles, like when Kansas City sat in conservatively for a scoreless draw in Orlando.
Honorable mentions
Marta, Orlando Pride: Marta is having her best NWSL season to date at 38 years old. She finished the regular season with nine goals, capped off by Saturday’s incredible game-winner. She’s playing with joy and freedom we haven’t seen in years, and she is doing it in a free No. 10 role. Marta ranks 16th in the league in chances created, per TruMedia.
Ashley Sanchez, North Carolina Courage: The best possession team in the league runs through Sanchez, who is playing with more freedom than she ever had in Washington. Her form earned her a USWNT recall this fall.
Taylor Flint, Racing Louisville FC: Flint was the best defensive midfielder in the league this year in several statistical categories, including tackles and interceptions. She likely didn’t get as much attention for her work because it is an unglamorous position, and Louisville was too inconsistent as a team.
Defender of the Year
Emily Sams, Orlando Pride
USWNT head coach Emma Hayes said in June that Sams was arguably the best player of the NWSL season at that point. Hayes had just named Sams as an Olympic alternate following injury to Catarina Macario, and Sams would go on to earn the rare feat of winning an Olympic gold medal (by making a gameday roster) while remaining uncapped.
Sams took time to grow into her role as a rookie in 2023, adapting to the NWSL for a Pride team that was undergoing its own wider transformation. This year, she was the central anchor to a defense that earned 13 shutouts. Her one-on-one defending is spectacular, and she is exceptional at recovering in the rare moments she or her team get caught out of position.
Orlando’s defending has truly been a team effort that starts with smart pressure from the forward line, but Sams is the standout among many high performers for the Pride.
At 25, Sams has a shot at becoming a long-term answer at center-back for the USWNT alongside Girma (who is arguably the best defender in the world, but had few opportunities to shine in league play this year due to San Diego’s wretched season).
Honorable mentions
Kaleigh Kurtz, North Carolina Courage: Kurtz has played every single minute at center-back for the Courage for three straight seasons. Her game isn’t flashy (central partner Malia Berkely is the big-pass distributor), but she is consistent. Per TruMedia Kurtz ranked second in the league in blocked shots and expected goals prevented by blocked shots.
Tara McKeown, Washington Spirit: McKeown earned her first ironwoman award this season, an incredible feat considering she spent last season learning the center-back position as a converted forward. She ranked third in the league in tackles, per TruMedia.
Goalkeeper of the Year
Ann-Katrin Berger, NJ/NY Gotham FC
We’ve saved the most difficult award for last. Several goalkeepers have strong cases to win this award, but Berger gets this writer’s vote for a few reasons.
For one, Berger has dealt with rotation in front of her in a way that Orlando’s Anna Moorhouse has not. That continuity goes a long way in establishing a defensive unit. Gotham has been strong defensively despite rotation in front of her thanks in large part to Berger’s shot-stopping ability.
Berger ranked first in the league in post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed, a measurement of shot-stopping ability per FBRef. She frequently makes outrageous, difficult saves.
Berger is also a savvy player capable of sparking Gotham’s attack from a quick throw or an accurate punt upfield. There are goalkeepers whose teams hope to play through and then there are goalkeepers who can serve as an extra playmaker. Berger is the latter.
Honorable mentions
Anna Moorhouse, Orlando Pride: A league record 13 shutouts in a season, and a first call-up to England, made for a career year for Moorhouse. She might rightfully feel slighted if she doesn’t win this award, but Berger has the individual statistical edge in shot-stopping categories as well as with her feet.
Mandy Haught, Utah Royals FC: Yes, she conceded 34 goals, but Utah was awful for the first half of the season. Haught still ranked second in the league in post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed. Like when Alyssa Naeher won this award in 2014 while playing for a bad Boston Breakers team, Haught was spectacular individually and when considering the circumstances.
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