Now that the NWSL playoffs are underway — with Kansas City and San Diego winning Sunday’s quarterfinals to move onto semifinal matchups with OL Reign and the Portland Thorns, respectively — Just Women’s Sports is handing out 2022 end-of-season awards.

Based on the list of award nominees individual performances from the end of April to the beginning of October, here are our picks for the NWSL’s Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year and Coach of the Year.

Drum roll, please …

MVP

Mallory Pugh, Chicago Red Stars

Mallory Pugh can do it all. Finishing the regular season just four goals behind Golden Boot winner Alex Morgan, she was the league’s fifth-top scorer with 11 goals, tied for the lead in assists with six, and in the upper ranks with an 80 percent tackle success rate. The chemistry she built with her Red Stars teammates was integral to their success, as they claimed the last playoff spot on the final day of the regular season and went toe-to-toe with the San Diego Wave in the quarterfinals.

In addition to setting up her teammates, Pugh showed that she could single-handedly carry the ball through walls of defenders and create scoring chances for herself when she needed to. Nominated for NWSL MVP last year as well, Pugh is continuing to play the best soccer of her career.

Defensive Player of the Year

Carson Pickett, North Carolina Courage

Named to four NWSL Teams of the Month this season, Carson Pickett has been the best fullback in the league. She finished the year tied for first in with six assists and in first with 52 chances created. Defensively, Pickett had a tackle success rate of 71 percent and registered 36 interceptions, six blocks and 32 clearances. She also scored a goal and helped the Courage emerge as one the most improved teams this season, rising to seventh place and one spot from a playoff berth after spending the first half of the year at the bottom of the standings.

Goalkeeper of the Year

AD Franch, Kansas City Current

AD Franch has been on her A game through all 1,800 minutes of the 20 matches she’s played this year. The highest-ranked goalkeeper in career playoff saves with 66, she recorded a league second-best five shutouts and a 72.5 percent save percentage in the regular season. Her ability to come up big in important moments, including penalty saves, helped Kansas City go on a 13-game unbeaten streak and reach the playoffs for the first time. After another dazzling performance in the quarterfinals on Sunday, Franch and the Current head to Seattle to play OL Reign in the semifinals.

Rookie of the Year

Naomi Girma, San Diego Wave FC

The talent in the 2022 rookie pool runs deep, but leading the pack is Naomi Girma, one of the most consistent and reliable defenders in the league. Starting all 19 games for the Wave this season, she won 71 percent of her duels and registered 14 blocks and 24 interceptions. Her 95 clearances contributed to San Diego ranking second in the league in clearances per match. In possession, the No. 1 draft pick had an 83 percent passing accuracy and a 41 percent long-ball success rate, in addition to six key passes. She was named to four NWSL Teams of the Month and honored as Rookie of the Month twice, in May and September.

Coach of the Year

Laura Harvey, OL Reign

There’s not a lot the OL Reign haven’t accomplished this year under Laura Harvey, most notably coming from behind to win their third NWSL Shield and tie the North Carolina Courage for the most in the league. Their defense recorded the most clean sheets in the league (nine) and the fewest number of goals against (19). On the attack, the Reign ranked second in shots (265) and shots on goal (129), and third in big chances created (38). Not only has Harvey created a successful product on the field, but she has also fostered a team culture in which players of all ages and levels can thrive.

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

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.