The North Carolina Courage successfully defended their 2022 Challenge Cup title Saturday, taking home the 2023 crown with a 2-0 win over Racing Louisville. With the victory, the club has seven NWSL titles in seven years – two Challenge Cups, three Shields, and two league championships.

After knocking on the door throughout the Challenge Cup, Kerolin got the Courage on the board early and they never looked back. Manaka Matuskubo got the team’s second in the 54th minute, making the 19-year-old the youngest player to score in any NWSL title game and earning her MVP honors.

“It’s a world-class finish,” Courage coach Sean Nahas said of Matuskubo’s strike. “I don’t think anyone else would have thought about hitting that first time out of the air. I think it shows the level of IQ she has. … I’m thrilled for her.

“She was shocked that she won the MVP. But for a 19-year-old to come into this environment and have an impact I think says a lot about her.”

In addition to Matuskubo, who deserves to be among the Best XI for the Challenge Cup semifinals and championship match? Just Women’s Sports makes our picks from the North Carolina Courage, Racing Louisville, OL Reign and Kansas City Current.

2023 NWSL Challenge Cup: Best XI

GK – Casey Murphy (North Carolina)

While the goal scorers were key for the Courage, the USWNT goalkeeper recorded two clean sheets in the semifinals and the final, saving three shots total, to help ensure consecutive Challenge Cup titles for her team.

D – Ryan Williams (North Carolina)

Williams played a key role on the Courage back line, which allowed just three shots on target throughout the Challenge Cup semifinal and final. In the championship match, she won three of her tackles and recorded two interceptions.

D – Malia Berkely (North Carolina)

Against Kansas City in Wednesday’s 1-0 semifinal win, Berkely recorded three tackles and one interception, while recording a game-high 97.7% completion rate on her passes, finishing on 86 of 88 attempts. Against Louisville, she also recorded a shot on target.

D – Phoebe McClernon (OL Reign)

McClernon was all over the field defensively for OL Reign in their semifinal loss to Racing Louisville, recording a game-high six tackles and three interceptions. She also held a 72.4% completion rate on 58 attempted passes, and her 42 completions were second only to teammate Sofia Huerta.

M – Brianna Pinto (North Carolina)

Pinto scored the game-winner in North Carolina’s semifinal matchup against Kansas City in stoppage time to send the team to the Challenge Cup final. While she had just 11 touches, she made the most of them, completing five of six total passes.

M – Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina)

The foundation of North Carolina’s defensive midfield, O’Sullivan winning a game-high seven tackles in the championship match. Against Kansas City in the semifinal, she had an astounding 90.8% completion rate on her passes, and she had two tackles and one block while also recording a shot.

M – Savannah DeMelo (Louisville)

Before leaving for the World Cup with the USWNT, DeMelo was one of Louisville’s best Challenge Cup players. And she picked up where she left off upon her return. Against OL Reign, she had three shots – including one on target – while also recording two tackles and two blocks. Her 0.3 xG was the best for Louisville in that game.

M – Mana Matsukubo (North Carolina)

North Carolina’s 19-year-old midfielder made history in the NWSL Challenge Cup final, earning her a spot on the tournament’s Best XI. She had two shots – both of which were on target – in the final, converting on the one.

F – Kerolin (North Carolina)

The Brazilian star placed among the league’s top shot-takers throughout the Challenge Cup but had not converted until Saturday, when she scored the game-winner against Louisville. She finished the match with five shots, three of them on target. She also played well in the semifinal, recording two shots, one tackle and a team-high four blocks.

F – Michelle Cooper (Kansas City)

The 20-year-old rookie out of Duke had a great semifinal game for the Current, recording a team-high two shots and three tackles. Her 0.6 xG led the Current, and she also had a 72.2% completion rate on her passes.

F – Kirsten Davis (Louisville)

Davis helped Racing Louisville to their first-ever NWSL championship game with a goal against OL Reign in the semifinal. She also had a tackle and a block in that game while completing 78.6% of her passes.

In today's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins takes a deep dive into the end-of-season NWSL awards, comparing her ballot with the announced finalists to predict this year's winners. Watkins then gives her final picks from the pool of nominees, choosing the best of the best in a year flush with impressive performances.

Later, Watkins previews the blockbuster NWSL semifinal matchups between the league's top four teams, predicting the results and forecasting who will ultimately win a ticket to Kansas City to compete in the 2024 NWSL Championship.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.

The NWSL announced more details around November 22nd's second annual Skills Challenge on Thursday, including competition rules and eight participating athletes.

Beginning at 6 PM ET the evening before November 23rd's 2024 NWSL Championship match, two teams of league stars will compete in a trio of skills contests. The winning squad will split a $30,000 check from sponsor CarMax — up from $25,000 last year.

Retired NWSL and USWNT icon Sam Mewis will host the event.

Three events await Skills Challenge contenders

The 2024 edition of the Skills Challenge returns two events — Player Shootouts and the Crossbar Challenge — while replacing last year's 2-on-2 TeqBall competition with a new contest called the Gauntlet.

Meant to highlight athletes' agility and dribbling skills, the Gauntlet places a player within a starting circle surrounded by five mini-goals of various sizes. The smaller the goal, the more points it is worth.

The athlete will have 60 seconds to score as many points as possible, but must exit the circle to take a shot. At the same time, the other team's defenders will attempt to thwart scoring attempts, but they cannot enter the circle.

Reminiscent of penalty kicks (PKs), the Shootout's nine rounds will feature one player against the opposing team's goalkeeper. Unlike PKs in a match, goalkeepers have freedom of movement and are not limited to staying on the goal line. Similarly, the attacker can dribble away from the starting spot to shoot from anywhere on the pitch, as long as they do so within eight seconds.

Finally, in the Crossbar Challenge, the two Skills Challenge teams will take turns trying to hit the crossbar from the 18-yard line, with each hit adding one point to the team total.

After reaching five points, a team will double the distance from goal to 36 yards. The first team to hit the crossbar from there, while still alternating shots, wins the event.

Stars gear up to showcase their skills

Though full 2024 Skills Challenge rosters will be revealed in the coming days, the NWSL dropped eight contenders in Thursday's announcement.

The lone veteran from the 2023 competition is Houston forward Michelle Alozie, who will join Skills Challenge rookies Angelina (Orlando), Kate Del Fava (Utah), Savannah DeMelo (Louisville), Jaelin Howell (Seattle), Savy King (Bay), Kailen Sheridan (San Diego), and Morgan Weaver (Portland).

Should Orlando advance from this weekend's NWSL semifinals to November 23rd's NWSL Championship, Angelina will withdraw from the skills competition.

How to watch the 2024 NWSL Skills Challenge

The Friday event at the University of Kansas Health System Training Center is free and open to the public.

Those unable to attend in person can watch a full replay of the event on the afternoon of Sunday, November 24th, when the Skills Challenge will air nationwide on CBS.

Welcome back to Fast Friends with Kelley O'Hara and Lisa Leslie!

In today's episode, our hosts kick things off by chatting through last weekend's NWSL quarterfinals, with the top four teams proving their dominance in four heated battles. O'Hara then shouts out the two center backs who notched their first goals of the year this postseason: Washington's Tara McKeown and Gotham's Tierna Davidson.

Later turning to the NWSL semifinals, Leslie zeroes in on this weekend's bout between No. 1 Orlando and No. 4 Kansas City — a game that pits leading goalscorers Temwa Chawinga and Barbra Banda against one another. "Is the matchup that we've been waiting for?" she asks.

O'Hara agrees with her co-host. While she dubs the semifinal between No. 2 Washington and No. 3 Gotham more of a "chess match," O'Hara predicts the Current and Pride's clash to be "end line to end line soccer."

"Orlando was able to stay top of the table [while] Kansas City is fourth, so in reality you would think Orlando should walk into this game feeling very confident and know what you need to do to be successful," says O'Hara. "But it's playoffs, so anything can happen."

"I'm just gonna be sat on the couch, locked in," she adds. "Get the popcorn out, get ready."

Fast Friends discusses NWSL awards

Before moving on from the pitch, Leslie and O'Hara discuss the NWSL's end-of-season awards frontrunners. The hosts gamble that Chawinga will take MVP honors while Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune will walk away as the 2024 Rookie of the Year — despite only playing 17 matches before a post-Olympics knee injury limited her to the sidelines.

Then, the legendary athletes turn to the tennis courts to celebrate Coco Gauff's recent WTA Finals win before chatting through the top teams and players headlining NCAA basketball's early season action.

And last but not least, O'Hara and Leslie reveal a few of the special guests joining them onstage at their upcoming NWSL Championship Weekend Live Show.

About Fast Friends with Kelley O'Hara and Lisa Leslie

Coming off the success of JWS's Olympic commentary show The Gold Standard, Fast Friends features two legendary athletes serving up insider insights and unique takes on the biggest stories in women's sports every week.

Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.

The NWSL announced the finalists for the 2024 end-of-year awards on Tuesday, with lists showcasing heavy-hitters around the league.

The 2024 MVP award is an all-attacker affair, as the league's top scorers all earned nominations. The Orlando Pride's Barbra Banda and Marta both snagged nods, with Kansas City's Golden Boot-winner Temwa Chawinga, Washington's Trinity Rodman, and Portland's Sophia Smith rounding out the shortlist.

The Rookie of the Year category is similarly stacked, as injured Washington rookie Croix Bethune and her record-tying 10 assists goes up against Utah standout Ally Sentnor and KC Current star Claire Hutton for top honors.

Position players snag share of NWSL awards spotlight

The NWSL's top position players are also vying for solo hardware this season.

In the league's first-ever Midfielder of the Year category, Kansas City's Vanessa DiBernardo and celly queen Lo LaBonta earned nominations, as did Orlando's Marta and North Carolina's Ashley Sanchez. Washington rookie Croix Bethune's short but impressive season also scored her a nod.

Battling in the backline for Defender of the Year are North Carolina's Kaleigh Kurtz and Washington's forward-turned-center back Tara McKeown. Both Iron Women are in the running alongside San Diego’s Naomi Girma and Orlando’s Emily Sams and Kylie Strom.

As the new NWSL single-season shutout leader, Orlando's Anna Moorhouse headlines the Goalkeeper of the Year race, with Gotham's Ann-Katrin Berger and Utah's Mandy Haught in hot pursuit.

Top sideline leaders earn NWSL Coach of the Year nominations

After flipping Orlando from a non-playoff team into 2024’s Shield-winners with a record-setting 23-match undefeated streak, Pride boss Seb Hines is the frontrunner for Coach of the Year (COTY).

However, Hines faces tough competition from Gotham's Juan Carlos Amorós and Kansas City's Vlatko Andonovski.

Andonovski took the Current from a second-to-last 2023 finish to fourth-place on this season's table, while 2023 COTY winner Amorós is one of just two coaches to defeat Orlando this year.

How to vote for the 2024 NWSL individual awards

Fan ballots account for 10% of the final tally, so weigh in by voting online for this season's individual awards, as well as the Best XI First Team and Best XI Second Team. Ballots are due by 3 PM ET on Friday.