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.

Despite a few shocking upsets in the early rounds of the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament, the ACC has retained its status as the conference to beat, with the powerhouse sending three teams to this season's College Cup semifinals on Friday.

With two tickets to Monday's national championship match on the line, four-time title-winners and No. 3-seed Florida State will take on College Cup debutants TCU in Friday's first semi, with the No. 2 Horned Frogs booking their semifinals spot by ousting fellow SEC standout No. 1 Vanderbilt 2-1 last Saturday.

The nightcap, on the other hand, will be an all-ACC affair, as No. 2 Duke continues their hunt for a first-ever national title against the tournament's overall No. 1 seed, Stanford.

The three-time NCAA champ Cardinal has been unstoppable, outscoring their opponents 21-5 across the tournament's first four rounds to set up a season-first matchup with the Blue Devils.

The 2025 College Cup will take place for the first time at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, home of the NWSL's Kansas City Current.

How to watch the 2025 College Cup semifinals

Friday's 2025 College Cup semifinals will begin with No. 2 TCU vs. No. 3 Florida State at 6 PM ET, with No. 1 Stanford's clash against No. 2 Duke kicking off at 8:45 PM ET.

Both semifinals — plus Monday's 7PM ET championship match — will air live on ESPNU.

Playa Society is honoring the 25th anniversary of the classic sports film "Love & Basketball" this week, with the popular women's basketball outfitter dropping a capsule collection entitled "First Quarter: Ball Better Than You" — an homage to one of the film's iconic quotes.

"This is a love story, about our love for 'Love & Basketball,'" notes Playa Society about the collection. "Our love for [lead character] Monica, who served as the first representation of an unapologetic female athlete in film. Our love for [writer and director] Gina Prince-Bythewood for her persistence in delivering culture and truth. And our love for the energy of it all that inspired Playa Society to fill in the gaps for women in sports."

"I am so humbled by the enduring impact of the film on both ballers and non-athletes, who are inspired by characters who believe in themselves enough to fight for an impossible dream," Prince-Bythewood said of the project.

With New York Liberty teammates and girlfriends Natasha Cloud and Izzy Harrison serving as models, the "First Quarter" collection includes T-shirts, hoodies, and more.

This week's drop is just the first in the works between Prince-Bythewood and Playa Society founder Esther Wallace, with the LA Sentinel describing their collaboration as "blending nostalgia, culture, and women's sports in a way that honors the film while pushing the narrative forward."

How to purchase from Playa Society's "Love & Basketball" collection

All items from the "First Quarter" collection are now available in limited quantities at PlayaSociety.com.

The inaugural North American iteration of World Sevens Football (W7F) kicks off in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, when eight standout clubs will battle for three days for the the largest share of the 7v7 competition's $5 million prize pool.

All eight clubs boast championship backgrounds, including the reigning NWSL Shield-winning Kansas City Current, 2023 NWSL Shield-winners San Diego Wave, Liga MX Femenil Apertura winner Tigres UANL, current Northern Super League Shield-winner AFC Toronto, and more.

This weekend's edition is the second-ever W7F tournament, after the new venture launched with a Europe-centric competition in Portugal last May, crowning Bayern Munich as its debut champions.

In W7F, the 11v11 clubs instead field seven players per side on a pitch half the size of a regulation field, with matches comprised of two 15-minute halves along with smaller goals, no offside rule, and rolling substitutions throughout the games.

All eight clubs will compete in the group stage on Friday and Saturday, with the top four teams advancing to Sunday's knockout rounds.

How to watch this weekend's W7F tournament

The North American debut of W7F kicks off when the NWSL's Kansas City Current faces Brazilian powerhouse Clube de Regatas do Flamengo at 5 PM ET on Friday.

All games, including Sunday's 4:30 PM ET championship match, will air live on HBO Max as well we either TNT or truTV.

The SEC displayed its basketball dominance on Thursday's courts, as the conference won all four of the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge Day 2 matchups to feature at least one Top-25 team.

No. 2 Texas handled No. 11 North Carolina 79-64 while No. 3 South Carolina and No. 13 Ole Miss survived nail-biters against No. 22 Louisville and No. 18 Notre Dame, respectively.

"I thought [our players] got out and made big plays for themselves in the fourth and building the five-point lead," said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. "It was a turning point for us, whether we were going to succumb to losing the game or fight to get back in it."

No one had a better night than No. 5 LSU, however, as the Tigers faced their season's first Power Four opponent to a 93-77 result over unranked Duke, erasing a 14-point deficit behind six double-digit LSU scorers — led by 18 points from star guard Flau'jae Johnson.

"We scored 93 tonight, and look how poor we played in the first quarter. We were behind. Scoring the ball is not going to be a problem," said Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey. "Our problem is we have to just continue to get better on the defensive end and take care of the ball."

Across the 16 total 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge games, the SEC took 13 victories, with only unranked Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and SMU earning ACC wins — over Auburn, Florida, and Arkansas, respectively — this week.

How to watch Top-25 NCAA basketball this weekend

This weekend's NCAA docket sees the nonconference schedule cool down, with No. 16 USC hosting No. 21 Washington in the only ranked battle.

The Trojans and Huskies will tip off in LA at 8 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on the Big Ten Network.