This season was one of the most competitive in the NWSL’s history. With the 2023 World Cup pulling players away from their clubs, despite scheduling changes to mitigate absences, the season featured ebbs and flows. Teams battled every week to gain an edge, and the final standings and playoff spots came down to the final day of matches on Sunday.

Consequently, it was an interesting year for individual performances. The San Diego Wave, the NWSL Shield winners, played gritty team football rather than being carried by one particular player. The Portland Thorns looked like the best team in the league at times, but they struggled with consistent form. And some of the best players of all couldn’t get their teams into the playoffs.

With many factors in play, here is my shortlist for 2023 NWSL MVP.

Kerolin, F, North Carolina Courage

Kerolin ticks a number of boxes that you want when you’re looking for an MVP candidate. She was a consistent goal scorer, finishing second in the Golden Boot race with 10 goals and three assists on the season. Her accumulative xG of 8.16, as compiled by American Soccer Analysis, was good enough for third in the league, and she delivered quality finishing in big moments.

She also has the argument of intangibles. The Courage lost a number of stars in the offseason, and it was unclear if they could pull together their new group in time to contend for the 2023 playoffs. North Carolina went on to surprise everyone, playing more methodically but staying equally as threatening in the attack, led by Kerolin’s steady performance.

In terms of how she compares to her peers in the league, and what she brings to a club that defied the odds to finish the season in third, Kerolin has to be considered an MVP frontrunner.

Sam Coffey, M, Portland Thorns

The Thorns had an up-and-down year of player availability, due to the World Cup and lingering injury issues. As a result, Portland’s success came in spurts, with different players adding to a collective whole. Sophia Smith was statistically the most impressive player in the league before international duty and a knee injury kept her sidelined for much of the final third of the season. Morgan Weaver then picked up the slack, making key goal contributions down the stretch to earn Portland a top-two finish for the second year in a row.

But in terms of consistency, Sam Coffey is the Thorns’ best MVP candidate. Coffey handled a USWNT World Cup snub with grace, anchoring the Portland midfield as a disruptor on defense and a distributive engine in the attack. She finished the season with eight assists, three more than the next closest player, while adjusting to an ever-changing lineup of players around her. She played alongside multiple attacking midfielders, never wavering in her ability to connect and facilitate the league’s most effective attack.

Although the Thorns fell just short of the Shield again in 2023, they played some of the most cohesive soccer throughout the season largely thanks to Coffey.

Adriana, F, Orlando Pride

Voting philosophies for MVP can take on different lines of thinking. Should the award reflect the best player on the best team? Should it reward the top statistical performer in the NWSL? Or should it showcase a player whose team would struggle the most without them?

If we’re arguing for the last point, Adriana needs to be in the conversation. Her contributions flew under the radar at times, despite her scoring six goals and notching four assists throughout the regular season. The Brazilian attacker had the stats to back up her performances, sitting third in American Soccer Analysis’ goals added metric in large part due to her magical abilities on the ball.

In addition to her striking talents, Adriana is an excellent dribbler of the ball, bringing a dynamism to the Orlando attack that almost carried the team into the playoffs for the first time since 2017. While they fell short this time, the Pride look like a team prepped for the future, with Adriana’s breakout success a key part of that foundation.

Jaedyn Shaw, F/M, San Diego Wave

The Wave never relied on one single player on their way to finishing at the top of the NWSL table. Abby Dahlkemper’s midseason return shook up their staunch defense, and the team went through a rough patch before rounding into form late in the year. Jaedyn Shaw stood out among the rest for taking her added responsibilities in the attack and the midfield in stride. And if MVP should reward consistency, growth, and team reliance, the teenager deserves a look.

Shaw has scored the most goals as a teenager in NWSL history, breaking the record previously held by Trinity Rodman. The 18-year-old added key elements to her game in 2023: She adjusted to becoming more of a playmaker and facilitator as much as a goal scorer, and she showcased dribbling and passing abilities that will only improve over time. Shaw scored six goals and notched three assists in the regular season, often keeping the Wave in games as they found their form.

In her second professional season, there’s an argument that Shaw is not only the best young player in the league, but also one of the best players regardless of age. As a key part of the Wave’s Shield run, she has a serious case for MVP.

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

The 2025 Women's World Cup journey of the U-17 USWNT came to an end on Tuesday, when the US fell to the Netherlands in the tournament's Round of 16 after a 1-1 draw led to a tense penalty shootout.

FC Twente forward Liv Pennock gave the Dutch a one-goal lead in the third minute before a bullet from Chicago Stars attacker Micayla Johnson pulled the USWNT level in the game's second half, but the US couldn't finish the job, losing 7-6 in penalties.

The USWNT has never won a U-17 Women's World Cup, finishing as runners-up in the tournament's inaugural 2008 competition before taking third in the 2024 edition.

With three pros on the roster — Johnson, Gotham FC striker Mak Whitham, and Utah Royals forward KK Ream — as well as one player, defender Sydney Schmidt, on an amateur contract with USL Super League side Sporting JAX, the U-17 USWNT did manage to put together their most impressive group-stage performance yet, taking all nine points from their three opening matches for the first time in team history.

Even more, the team did so in dominant fashion, taking down Ecuador 3-0 and China 5-2 before blasting Norway 5-0 to advance to the knockouts.

The young USWNT will have another shot at a world championship next year, when the now-annual U-17 World Cup returns for its second straight edition in Morocco.

Malawi made women's soccer history on Tuesday, qualifying for the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) for the first time in program history — and giving sister duo Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga the chance to shine on the global stage in 2026.

The Scorchers advanced through the second qualifying round with a 2-0 second-leg win over Angola on Tuesday, with defensive midfielder Faith Chinzimu's late brace securing the aggregate advantage to win the round.

Malawi now joins Cape Verde as the two debutantes to clinch spots in the expanded 16-team 2026 tournament.

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Even more, the Scorchers' breakthrough will give two of soccer's biggest club stars their biggest platform yet, as sisters Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga gear up for the first major international tournament of their decorated careers.

While 29-year-old OL Lyonnes forward Tabitha participated in this week's WAFCON qualifying round, 27-year-old Kansas City Current striker Temwa sat out after the 2024 NWSL MVP suffered an adductor strain in her club's 1-0 upset loss to the Houston Dash on October 18th.

"It means more opportunities and great exposure to both older and upcoming players. It is a continental platform to bring football dreams alive," Tabitha told BBC Sport Africa this week.

The 2026 WAFCON tournament will see the Chawinga sisters and Malawi contend with powerhouses like host nation Morocco and reigning 10-time champion Nigeria when the continental competition kicks off on March 17th.

The Kansas City Current and San Diego Wave are leveling up, with the NWSL teams set to represent the US in the first-ever North American edition of the seven-a-side tournament World Sevens Football (W7F).

Kicking off December 5th in Fort Lauderdale, the NWSL clubs will join Northern Super League side AFC Toronto, Brazilian powerhouse Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, and Colombian contender Deportivo Cali — as well as Liga MX titans Club América and Tigres UANL — on the W7F tournament pitch.

W7F will announce the eighth and final team to join the competition at a later date.

Armed with a $5 million prize pool, December's W7F competition follows a successful May 2025 debut of the soccer venture in Portugal.

"Our team thrives on intensity, creativity, and competition, which fit perfectly with the 7v7 style of play," said Kansas City assistant coach Milan Ivanovic. "This tournament is an incredible opportunity for our players to test themselves against some of the world's best in a dynamic, fast-paced environment."

"We're proud to represent Kansas City and the NWSL on the international stage and to continue pushing the women's game forward," added Ivanovic.

How to watch December's W7F tournament

There will be four competition sessions in the upcoming W7F event, with two days of group play before the semifinals, third-place, and championship matches take place on December 7th.

All W7F matches will stream live on DAZN.

Angel City co-founder Alexis Ohanian stirred the pot this week, divulging the circumstances behind the NWSL club's 2024 sale on Front Office Sports podcast "Portfolio Players" on Tuesday — and calling the original ownership model of the 2022 expansion team "a terrible idea."

Ohanian said he regretted relinquishing control to three of his co-founders — actor Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, and current club CEO Julie Uhrman — claiming they invested "no money" themselves.

"I was [the] founding control owner in the eyes of the league, so it's my ass on the line," Ohanian continued, adding that last year's $250 million sale of Angel City directly stemmed from the celebrity-driven investment group's unsustainable startup-like ownership structure. "That works great in tech. In sports, it's a terrible idea."

Following a clash between Ohanian and his fellow ACFC owners on the team's operational and financial future, Disney CEO Bob Iger and USC dean Willow Bay stepped in to purchase the team, aligning board control with stakeholder interest.

"I think the best outcome here is, you got Bob and Willow, they have board control, and it's good," he said. "It's a rebuild."

Angel City did not immediately respond to Ohanian's interview, with Portman and Uhrman remaining on the club's board of directors while Nortman is a non-voting investor.