NWSL playoff contention came down to the last game of the regular season on Oct. 2, proving just how competitive this year has been. Players’ exhilarating performances kept game results and league standings unpredictable all the way from May to October.

As the playoffs head into the semifinal round this Sunday, we recognize the NWSL talent that stood a head above the rest with Just Women’s Sports’ picks for the 2022 Best XI of the Year.

Goalkeeper

AD Franch, Kansas City Current

With 66 saves and a 72.5 percent save percentage this season, AD Franch helped her team reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Kansas City improved from last place in 2021 to fifth this year thanks in large part to a 13-game unbeaten streak that included five shutouts.

One of Franch’s most memorable plays came against the Washington Spirit in July, when she saved a penalty shot in stoppage time. Her efforts preserved a 1-0 win for the Current and extended their unbeaten streak to six at the time. The 31-year-old’s show-stopping performance in the quarterfinals on Sunday helped Kansas City pull off a 2-1 win and advance to a semifinal matchup with OL Reign.

AD had the last word.

Absolutely relentless. pic.twitter.com/oPV1512YgA

— KC Current (@thekccurrent) July 10, 2022

Defenders

Carson Pickett, North Carolina Courage

Carson Pickett makes an impact no matter where she is on the field. She finished the season as the league leader in chances created (52) and tied for the league lead in assists (six) while also recording a goal for the Courage. Defensively, Pickett had a 71 percent tackle success rate, 36 interceptions, six blocks and 32 clearances. Named to the NWSL Team of the Month three times this year, she helped the Courage rise from last in the league standings to seventh, one draw away from earning the final playoff spot.

Naomi Girma, San Diego Wave FC

In an impressive first season in the NWSL, Naomi Girma was named to three NWSL Teams of the Month and earned Rookie of the Month in May and September. Playing every minute of every game she appeared in, the 2022 No. 1 draft pick recorded an 83 percent success rate in distribution and a 71 percent success rate in duels. She helped the semifinal-bound San Diego Wave concede just 21 goals, the second-best mark in the league this season.

Kristen Edmonds, Kansas City Current 

The first player to appear in 50 games across all competitions for her club, Kristen Edmonds has been a game-changer on the Current’s backline. Winning 69.3 percent of her duels, 50 percent of her aerial duels and 62.8 percent of her tackles, Edmonds has also been critical in possession, completing 81 percent of her passes and making 12 key passes. In September, she recorded a game-tying assist in stoppage time against the Portland Thorns to keep Kansas City one point ahead of the Thorns in the standings at the time.

Sofia Huerta, OL Reign

Starting 18 of 19 games without being subbed off, Sofia Huerta helped the OL Reign backline defense concede a league-best 19 goals this season. The tenacious wingback recorded 10 blocks, 20 interceptions and 18 clearances en route to the Reign’s NWSL Shield. She also applied pressure on the attack with 14 shots and one goal, while ranking third in the league with nine big chances created and registering four assists and 36 key passes.

Sofia Huerta with a ROCKET 🚀

What a way to get the equalizer 🍿 pic.twitter.com/5TLWQZCzyA

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) July 31, 2022

Midfielders

Rose Lavelle, OL Reign

Like many of her USWNT teammates, Rose Lavelle is having arguably the best season of her NWSL career. Ranked second in the league for possession won in the final third, she averaged a 60 percent tackle success rate across the field. The 27-year-old has been productive on the attack, with five goals, an assist and 25 key passes. She also successfully distributed 80.6 percent of her passes and hit her target on long balls 72.4 percent of the time.

Hina Sugita, Portland Thorns FC

Hina Sugita has been unstoppable in possession in her first season with the Thorns. With an 82 percent passing success rate, the patient midfielder completed nine successful crosses and a whopping 42 key passes. She directly contributed to nearly 20 percent of the Thorns’ 49 goals while scoring five of her own — including two game-winners — and recording four assists.

Sophie Schmidt, Houston Dash

Starting all 18 games she appeared in this season, Sophie Schmidt was the backbone of the Dash midfield that helped carry the team to its first NWSL playoff appearance in franchise history. The well-rounded defensive midfielder dominated in possession, tackles, duels, aerial duels and long passes, and she read the game exceptionally with 40 interceptions. Accumulating three goals and one assist, she demonstrated a knack for shooting from anywhere, including loose balls in front of net and one-timer rockets from outside the 18-yard box.

SOPHIE SCHMIDT MY GOODNESS. 🚀

Doesn't get much better than that. 💪 pic.twitter.com/aiJ5TnVwxm

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) July 31, 2022

Forwards

Alex Morgan, San Diego Wave FC

For the first time since joining the league in 2013, Alex Morgan won the NWSL Golden Boot with a career-high 15 goals in 17 games. Her three braces tied for second in the league in 2022, and she became the third player in league history to score four goals in one game. Her 11th goal this season was the 50th of her NWSL career, making her the fifth player to reach that milestone. Morgan’s efforts helped San Diego finish third in league play and become the first expansion team to reach the NWSL playoffs in its inaugural season.

Sophia Smith, Portland Thorns FC

The Player of the Month in June, Sophia Smith was a menace in the final third all season, leading the league with 76 shots and 48 shots on goal. She ranked second in the Golden Boot race with 14 goals, just one behind Morgan. From June 8 to Aug. 5, Smith scored in five straight games, a stretch that included three of her four braces this season. The USWNT star showed this season just how dominant she can be with both feet, scoring nine goals with her right and five with her left. Her three assists also tied her with Morgan and Mallory Pugh as the league leaders in combined goals and assists with 17.

Mallory Pugh, Chicago Red Stars

Mallory Pugh can orchestrate games with her dribbling, set-up plays, finishing and defending, recording an 80 percent success rate on tackles in 2022. She finished the season as a top-five scorer with 11 goals and tied with Pickett for the league lead in assists with six. To cap an impressive campaign in which she scored five game-winning goals, Pugh notched the goal that earned the Red Stars the final NWSL playoff spot in a 2-0 win over Angel City FC.

Sarah Luebbert sets it up, Mal Pugh puts it away✨@chicagoredstars | #MKOT pic.twitter.com/rJ6aIKTIzY

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 2, 2022

JWS’ Best XI Second Team

GK — Phallon Tullis-Joyce, OL Reign

D — Becky Sauerbrunn, Portland Thorns

D — Alana Cook, OL Reign

D — Tatumn Milazzo, Chicago Red Stars

D — Emily Fox, Racing Louisville FC

M — Debinha, North Carolina Courage

M — Sam Coffey, Portland Thorns

M — Lo’eau Labonta, Kansas City Current

F — Kerolin, North Carolina Courage

F — Megan Rapinoe, OL Reign

F — María Sánchez, Houston Dash

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

Arsenal advanced to their first UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) final in 18 years on Sunday, defeating eight-time tournament winners Lyon 4-1 to punch their ticket to next month's title matchup against reigning champs FC Barcelona.

The Gunners overcame a 2-1 first-leg deficit to beat Lyon, with the French side suffering their first Champions League semifinal ousting since 2009.

"We are very, very, very proud," said Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers. "I think this was the biggest challenge so far, coming back from a 2-1 loss at the [Arsenal Stadium] against this top team with so much quality, and then coming out here, so calm and composed, with so much belief in what we're doing and courage on the pitch."

Powerhouse Barcelona awaits Arsenal in Champions League final

Overcoming an opening loss has been a theme for Arsenal throughout their 2024/25 Champions League campaign. Other than the tournament's very first qualifying round, the Gunners have dropped the first match of every single round thus far, using high-octane offense to claim the wins needed to keep advancing.

There are no multiple matches in the next round, however, where Arsenal will play underdog to titans Barcelona in the competition's final match.

The decorated Spanish club handed WSL-leaders Chelsea back-to-back 4-1 thrashings to seal their place in the 2024/25 Champions League final, ending the Blues' historic quadruple quest in the process.

Barcelona has now reached five of the last six Champions League title matches, taking home the trophy in 2021, 2023, and 2024.

Arsenal, on the other hand, is the only English team to ever lift the European trophy — a feat the Gunners accomplished back in 2007.

The teams will have a little less than a month to prepare for the tournament's grand finale, as the 2024/25 UWCL championship match will kick off in Lisbon, Portugal, on May 24th.

Former South Carolina star MiLaysia Fulwiley officially joined the Gamecocks' SEC rival LSU on Friday, putting the cherry on top of the Tigers' winning NCAA basketball transfer period.

According to multiple reports, the Columbia, South Carolina, product actually committed to LSU weeks ago — the same day she announced she'd be leaving her hometown school.

The rising junior won a national championship with South Carolina in 2024, but started only three of her 77 games with the talent-loaded Gamecocks — despite averaging 11.7 points per game and shooting 42.6% from the field.

Fulwiley's move only deepens one of the hottest rivalries of both the powerhouse SEC and the NCAA at-large, with either South Carolina or LSU featuring in each of the last four national championship games.

The guard won the SEC tournament's Most Outstanding Player award in 2024, after the Gamecocks beat the Tigers to secure last year's conference title.

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Transfers reshape NCAA landscape ahead of 2025/26 season

This year's transfer portal has profoundly impacted the women's college basketball field, with more than 1,500 athletes — almost 30% of all Division I players — looking to jump ship.

Even though the NCAA basketball portal closed last week, there are no deadlines for transfers to commit to a new program — or return to their original school, should an athlete's roster spot still be available.

While Fulwiley and other NCAA basketball stars have locked in their 2025/26 NCAA homes, talented transfers like former USC guard Kayleigh Heckel are reportedly still looking for the right fit.

As the dust finished settling on a highly competitive 2024/25 season, roster shakeups could transform some teams into bonafide championship contenders — though history proves that building a superteam doesn't always guarantee a national title.

The North Carolina Courage earned their first winning results of the 2025 NWSL season in high-scoring style, when a last-gasp goal by attacker Ashley Sanchez handed the previously undefeated Kansas City Current their first loss on Saturday.

The Courage trailed Kansas City 2-1 just before the end of regulation, after goals from Haley Hopkins and Bia Zaneratto put the Current in the lead.

Center back Kaleigh Kurtz's 90th-minute equalizer flipped the script for the Courage, before Sanchez buried the closer three minutes later in second-half stoppage time.

The comeback victory boosted the formerly last-place Courage to No. 11 in the standings, while the league-leading Current's grip on No. 1 is loosening as they pull level in points with No. 2 Orlando.

Gotham caps roller-coaster week with win over Washington

Elsewhere on Saturday, No. 4 Gotham downed East Coast rivals No. 3 Washington 3-0, solidifying their spot in the NWSL's top five.

The victory was buoyed by a brace from Golden Boot-leader Esther González, whose seven season goals have all come in the last four matches — tying the NWSL record for most goals scored in a four-game span.

Still at the start of her third season with the NJ/NY side, the 32-year-old has already become the team's second all-time leading scorer, passing both Carli Lloyd and Midge Purce with her 18th Gotham goal on Saturday.

That weekend win capped off a crowded three-match week for the Bats. Before securing their multi-goal victory over DC, Gotham first beat Angel City 4-0 the previous Friday, then fell 4-1 to Portland last Tuesday.

"This was one of the proudest moments for us as a team and as a club," Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said after Saturday's match. "I couldn't be prouder of the players. I think they've been outstanding the whole week."

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As for injury-ridden Washington, their performance wasn't a total loss, as 2024 Rookie of the Year Croix Bethune returned to the pitch for the first time since tearing her meniscus shortly after winning Olympic gold with the USWNT last summer.

"I do feel like I'm about 90%," Bethune told reporters after the match. "I had a hip/quad situation — I feel like that gave me a little bit more time to get stronger for my knee and just make sure I'm overall 100%."

While the Spirit continue dealing with an onslaught of injuries, Gotham — now just one point behind Washington in the standings — is steadily creeping in on the 2024 NWSL Championship runners-up's third-place spot.

Sixth NWSL matchday fueled by high-scoring results

Saturday's high-scoring tally fit right in with the rest of the NWSL, with the league's weekend slate delivering a high-octane 24 goals across its seven matches.

Defending champion Orlando secured a three-point result with a 3-2 comeback win over the visiting No. 9 Angel City, while the last-place Chicago Stars suffered a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of No. 5 San Diego.

However, it was No. 6 Portland and No. 12 Louisville that produced the most dramatic scoreline of the season's sixth matchday, settling for a 3-3 Sunday draw after the Thorns converted two penalty kicks.

"This is just another example of how good this league is, and how you literally cannot relax even for a second regardless of who you play and where you play them," said Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski, summing up a strong showing across the NWSL.

As PWHL action returned to the ice following the IIHF World Championship international break, the Toronto Sceptres booked their 2024/25 postseason berth this weekend, leaving just two spots left in this year's Walter Cup Playoffs.

Despite Toronto's 3-0 Saturday loss to the Boston Fleet, New York's 2-0 win over Minnesota on Sunday gave the second-place Sceptres enough of a point differential over the fifth-place Frost to solidify their postseason position.

Meanwhile, Saturday's games saw the Sirens suffer playoff elimination for the second straight year, with New York immediately banking Sunday's victory points toward securing yet another overall No. 1 pick in June's 2025 PWHL Draft under the league's Gold Plan.

Three teams hunt two remaining spots in 2024/25 PWHL Playoffs

With this weekend's results, the Sceptres join the league-leading Montréal Victoire in clinching a 2024/25 postseason berth, leaving three teams — the Fleet, the Frost, and the Ottawa Charge — battling for the final two spots.

Minnesota's Sunday loss, however, has the reigning PWHL champions on the brink of elimination.

With both Boston and Ottawa holding a significant points advantage over the Frost, Minnesota needs to win both of the final regular-season games and have either the Fleet or the Charge lose their two last matchups to squeeze above the PWHL table's cutoff line.

Following the close of the regular season on May 3rd, the 2024/25 PWHL Playoffs — featuring a semifinals round before the Walter Cup final — will begin the week of May 5th.