With five games remaining in the NWSL regular season, the players who have excelled in 2023 are beginning to wrap up their individual awards campaigns. While the 2023 World Cup took a number of stars away from their squads, a well-timed Challenge Cup break allowed many to miss as few regular season matches as possible, making the awards race as compelling as ever.

As we head into the home stretch of the season, here’s how my current NWSL awards ballot is shaping up.

MVP: Sophia Smith, Portland Thorns

Shortlist: Kerolin, Adriana, Sam Coffey

While Smith has missed a few regular season games due to the World Cup (and may miss more due to an MCL sprain), she has once again been a standout among many in 2023. She leads the league in goals scored with 11, in addition to an impressive tally of five assists. Her dribbling abilities are unmatched, as teams build their entire game plans around trying to stop her from running in on goal to little avail.

If Smith misses the rest of the season due to her injury, the scales might tip out of her favor simply due to availability. But based on her per-game 90-minute impact, she is worthy of the MVP trophy for a second straight year.

Defender of the Year: Sam Staab, Washington Spirit

Shortlist: Sarah Gorden, Ali Krieger, Michelle Alozie

Sam Staab is such a steady presence along the Washington Spirit backline that at times she undeservedly fades into the background of the awards conversation. Partnering with first-time center-back Tara McKeown, she is the anchor of a defense that has undergone extensive change in recent years. While Washington’s defense hasn’t been perfect this year, Staab consistently controls space while playing a key role in the Spirit’s ball progression, including long-ball distribution.

Washington’s defense has tightened up in the second half of the season, giving Staab my nod over players in more staunch units. She’s been one of the better center-backs in the league for years, and 2023 is no different.

Goalkeeper of the Year: Katie Lund, Racing Louisville

Shortlist: Kailen Sheridan, Aubrey Kingsbury, Abby Smith

Katie Lund has been overlooked for major postseason awards due to Louisville’s difficulty with getting above the playoff line, but 2023 should be her year. She’s consistently one of the best shot-stoppers in the league, excelling both when Louisville’s defense is struggling and when she has seasoned veterans like Abby Erceg in front of her. Lund leads the NWSL in saves and leads the league’s goalkeepers in American Soccer Analysis’ goals added metric, based on her elite ability to stop shots.

Louisville increasingly looks like a team with a number of stars that can’t quite find the winning combination to contend for the playoffs, but Lund has been a steady standout for years.

Coach of the Year: Becki Tweed, Angel City

Shortlist: Juan Carlos Amorós, Mark Parsons, Sean Nahas

It’s unconventional to put an interim manager up for Coach of the Year, but Becki Tweed has flipped the script. Tweed has only been in charge of Angel City since June 14, after the club parted ways with Freya Coombe, but her ability to build off the team’s foundation has been impressive to witness. The squad is currently undefeated under her management, without having drastically changed their style of play. Tweed has simply adjusted the clarity of instruction to help turn Angel City’s players into the best versions of themselves.

Tweed’s candidacy for Coach of the Year may be dependent on the Los Angeles club qualifying for their first playoff appearance, but her work is at least deserving of a permanent job and a shot at steering the team in the future.

Rookie of the Year: Messiah Bright, Orlando Pride

Shortlist: Paige Metayer, Alyssa Thompson, Jenna Nighswonger

When Messiah Bright fell to the second round of the 2023 NWSL Draft, it seemed fated that the forward out of TCU would make a number of teams regret letting her pass them by. Bright has been a spark plug for a rising Orlando Pride team, collaborating well with players like Adriana and Marta and developing a talent for putting the ball in the back of the net.

With six goals so far during the regular season, she’s showcasing a tenacity that will only grow with the more NWSL minutes she plays. Whether she can get Orlando above the playoff line remains to be seen, but Bright has the skills to excel in the league for years to come.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

The New York Liberty appear to be back on track, with the reigning champs leapfrogging the Phoenix Mercury to reclaim the No. 2 spot in the WNBA standings on Wednesday night.

Led by a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double from star forward Breanna Stewart, the Liberty punched a 98-77 win over a Caitlin Clark-less No. 6 Indiana Fever, as the 2025 WNBA All-Star captain remains day-to-day with a groin injury.

With Wednesday's victory, New York is now riding a three-game winning streak into All-Star weekend — and there's even more good news is on the horizon for the Liberty with starting center Jonquel Jones expected to return from her ankle injury after the break.

As for now-No. 3 Phoenix, New York's gain is the Mercury's loss, as their Wednesday clash with the league-leading Lynx ended 79-66 in Minnesota's favor while injured Phoenix stars Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper rode the bench.

Expansion upstart Golden State has also started to skid, leaving the Valkyries entering the break at No. 9 with three consecutive losses — including a 67-58 stumble against the No. 4 Seattle Storm on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the No. 8 Las Vegas Aces have begun to regroup, entering the All-Star break on a two-game winning streak behind 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson and her combined 71 points and 26 rebounds over the last two games.

With the second half of the 2025 season tipping off following this weekend's All-Star festivities, momentum will be at a premium as early performances roll into postseason trajectories.

World No. 13 Italy advanced to the 2025 Euro semifinals on Wednesday, defeating No. 16 Norway 2-1 in dramatic fashion to make it past the tournament's quarterfinals for the first time since 1997.

Captain Cristiana Girelli played hero, scoring both of Italy's goals — including a 90th-minute game-winner to successfully avoid extra time.

"I felt something different, something special," Girelli said following the match. "I have seen in the eyes of my teammates a special light."

Norway, however, faced a disappointing tournament exit, after captain Ada Hegerberg missed a penalty before scoring the team's lone goal in the second half.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Next on the 2025 Euro quarterfinals pitch are No. 6 Sweden and No. 5 England, as the European heavyweights face off in one of the round's most-anticipated matchups.

Sweden topped Group C with three emphatic wins, setting them up to take on the runners-up of the competition's notorious "Group of Death" — the reigning Euro champion Lionesses.

England enters the matchup on a two-game winning streak, picking up points against the No. 11 Netherlands and No. 30 Wales after falling to No. 10 France to open group play.

"They're relentless when it comes to tournament football," England captain Leah Williamson said of the Tokyo Olympic silver medalists. "They're just a very organized team."

How to watch Sweden vs. England in the 2025 Euro quarterfinals

The 2025 quarterfinals continue with Sweden taking on England at 3 PM ET on Thursday, live on FOX.

The WNBA has set the scene for this weekend's 2025 All-Star Game, laying out a handful of special rules meant to liven up the on-court action.

The game will introduce four major changes: a four-point shot, a 20-second shot clock, live-play substitutions, and automatic points for free throws.

While four-point shots aren't a new All-Star Game invention, last year's matchup between the WNBA All-Stars and Team USA did not feature them.

To sink a four-point shot on Saturday, the shooting player must have contact with one of the four marked circles on the court, located 28 feet from the rim.

With four seconds taken off the shot clock to speed up the game, All-Star squads will also be able to make a one-player substitution while the ball is in play — so long as the team in question has possession in their backcourt.

As for the "No Free-Throws" rule, free-throw shooting will only occur in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, plus the full length of any overtime period(s).

Prior to the final two minutes of regulation, players will be automatically credited the maximum available point(s) incurred by the foul.

How to watch the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will tip off in Indianapolis at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the game will air on ABC.

Women won big at Wednesday's 2025 ESPY Awards, with star athletes from across women's sports earning top honors for outstanding performances over the past year.

Leading the charge was seven-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles with ESPYS for both Best Athlete, Women's Sports and Best Championship Performance for her trio of golds at last summer's Paris Games.

"Six-year-old me, who first started tumbling on my parents' sofa in the living room, is floored to be standing before you right now," Biles shared in one of her speeches.

Biles's Team USA teammate Suni Lee, who brought her doctor to the awards, won Best Comeback Athlete after battling kidney disease to return to top the Olympic podium.

The night's Best Breakthrough Athlete was USA Rugby star and 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Ilona Maher, who used part of her speech to encourage young women and girls, telling them to "Take up space. Pitch it faster. Run harder. Put another plate on the bar. And never tone it down."

Also snagging honors as the top athletes in their respective sports were Coco Gauff (Best Tennis Player), Caitlin Clark (Best WNBA Player), Katie Taylor (Best Boxer), and JuJu Watkins (Best College Athlete, Women's Sports).

Meanwhile, USWNT icon Alex Morgan and WNBA legend Diana Taurasi shared this year's Icon Award in recognition of the new retirees' impacts on their respective sports.

"Our mission has always been very similar," Morgan said in her acceptance speech alongside Taurasi. "We fought to leave our game in a better place than where we found it."

Off-court efforts earn 2025 ESPY Awards

Sports leaders whose impact surpassed the proverbial playing field also took home trophies on Wednesday night.

In recognition of her foundation's commitment to promoting diversity and providing tennis opportunities to underserved communities, US legend Sloane Stephens won this year's Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.

Later, Penn State volleyball head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley earned a standing ovation alongside her Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.

Schumacher-Cawley, who became the first woman to helm a national title-winning volleyball team by leading her Nittany Lions to the 2024 NCAA Championship last December, did so while battling breast cancer.

"Cancer changed my life, but it didn't take it," said an emotional Schumacher-Cawley. "It didn't take my belief, it didn't take my spirit, and it didn't take my team."