The number of NWSL games left in the 2023 season has now hit single digits, and more than a few players have brought goal-scoring fireworks. It has not been a particularly impressive season for NWSL defenses thus far, and as a result, our midseason MVP shortlist is primarily made up of attackers.

Shootouts and big scorelines have been common this season. Players facing up on goal have shifted outcomes with ease, and many of those gearing up for the World Cup stage have raised their games to new levels. In contrast, some teams near the top of the table have found success by sharing the load.

Here are our picks for NWSL MVP frontrunners, with two-thirds of the season behind us.

Sophia Smith, F, Portland Thorns

It’s Sophia Smith’s world, and we’re all just living in it. Smith leads the league in goals scored with 10, is second in assists with five, and features as the focal point of the NWSL’s most vaunted attack. She scored her first two career hat tricks in 2023, leads the league in both shots and shots on goal, and is the top field player in generating xG and American Soccer Analysis’s g+ calculation.

SOPHIA SMITH JUST WENT THROUGH KC CURRENT'S ENTIRE TEAM TO SCORE. 😳

Wow. 👏 pic.twitter.com/IvlBb1sKLx

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) April 1, 2023

It can be difficult to say definitively that a player already at an MVP level has raised their game, but in a crucial World Cup year, Smith has managed to do just that. Her campaign will take a slight hit with her missing at least two regular season games due to the World Cup, but if she returns to the NWSL in a form anywhere near how she left it, she’ll be a near lock for a second-straight MVP award.

Kerolin, F, North Carolina Courage

Kerolin was already a mid-season force in 2022, but taking on an expanded role in 2023, she’s become one of the premier attackers in the NWSL. With her eight regular season goals, the Courage have shot toward the top of the league table, a stunning reversal of fortunes considering the team lost talent like Debinha and Diana Ordoñez in the offseason.

KERO HATTY!

The Brazilian makes it 5-0, and takes the lead in the Golden Boot race💫 pic.twitter.com/j7jaWzKPY4

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 11, 2023

Kerolin’s underlying stats also support her growing influence on matches. She’s currently sixth among field players in xG generated, having notched a hat trick in June, and her impressive dribbling stats showcase how important she is to North Carolina’s overall ball progression.

Lynn Williams, F, Gotham FC

If you believe an MVP award represents in part what a player means to their team, Lynn Williams is a necessary addition to the shortlist. Where Williams goes, so goes Gotham, who have jumped from last place in 2022 to playoff contender in 2023 thanks to the striker’s clinical form.

LYNN WILLIAMS WITH A GOAL ON HER GOTHAM DEBUT. 👏

What a finish. 😤 pic.twitter.com/SVrzAS9V2v

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) March 27, 2023

Williams, who recently signed a three-year contract extension with Gotham after getting trade to the club in January, has adjusted her playing style to fit more of a lone striker role and scored seven goals, many of which have been opportunistic strikes off of turnovers. Her shots to shots-on-goal ratio competes with Smith’s. She’s shown the ability to step up and execute in crucial moments, leading Gotham in key attacking stats like xG and ASA’s g+ metric. She might not end up being the NWSL’s top performer in 2023, but in terms of value, she’s irreplaceable for a team on the rise.

Ashley Hatch, F, Washington Spirit

Keep an eye on Ashley Hatch. One of the first players left off the USWNT’s World Cup squad, the Washington Spirit forward has been just as efficient in front of goal in 2023 as in past seasons. She’s quietly scored eight goals in the regular season and is second behind Smith in xG generated.

Sanchez magic + @ash_hatch33 finish 👌 pic.twitter.com/SGWklPji4T

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 24, 2023

She also will be with her club team consistently throughout the rest of the season, unlike the other World Cup players on this shortlist. Even with the league’s short break during the international competition, Hatch should have more opportunities — and extra motivation from a World Cup snub — to contend for a second-career NWSL Golden Boot honor.

Our pick: Sophia Smith

Smith has two Player of the Month awards to her name already in 2023, and she’s got a clear runway to continue her dominant run. She’s first in the most concrete stat available (goals scored), and she leads the competition in almost every other relevant advanced stat. There are a few players close to reaching Smith’s level, but none that have overtaken her thus far, making her our midseason MVP.

Whether Portland can pull off a repeat NWSL championship remains to be seen, but Smith’s two-year period of dominance has left no doubts. She’ll take her form to the international level before finishing business at home.

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

The USA wheelchair basketball team and sitting volleyball team will both compete for Paralympic gold this weekend, after thrilling semifinal wins in the final days of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

USA sitting volleyball took down Brazil 3-1 on Thursday, and will continue their long-held Paralympic rivalry against China on Saturday at 1:30pm ET. Then on Sunday, the US wheelchair basketball team will take on the Netherlands in a gold medal rematch of group play at 7:45am ET.

Breaking through

US wheelchair basketball reached their first Paralympic gold medal game since Rio 2016 on Friday with a thrilling 50-47 win over China, exacting revenge on the squad who defeated them in their semifinal in Tokyo. Chicago native Ixhelt Gonzalez scored 11 points off the bench, after another strong game against Great Britain in the teams quarterfinal.

The US struggled at times with China's full court defense, but a strong third quarter performance put them in position to hold China off despite a late fourth quarter push. They will look to erase their only loss of the tournament thus far, taking on the Netherlands at 7:45AM ET on Sunday.

Familiar gold medal opponent

USA sitting volleyball's gold medal foe is very familiar, as the US and China have played each other for Paralympic gold in every Games since 2008, with China's Paralympic final streak dating back to 2004.

The US are the reigning champions, winning gold in 2020 and 2016 after falling to China in 2012 and 2008.

Team USA will look for another strong match from outside hitter Katie Holloway Bridge, who led all scorers with 21 points in the team's semifinal win over Brazil.

TEAM USA WILL PLAY FOR GOLD!

Women's sitting volleyball moves onto the FINAL after a win over Brazil. 🇺🇸 #ParisParalympics pic.twitter.com/iQuOjNI2i0

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) September 5, 2024

“The team’s gone through a lot since they’ve been here," head coach Bill Hamiter said after the match. "To come together and keep playing, and play well enough to get into that championship match was good."

For the second year in a row, there will be a US tennis player facing Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the US Open, after Jessica Pegula wrapped up the best week of her career.

Having reached the quarterfinals in all four major tournaments, Pegula finally broke through to her first Slam semifinal and then final this week with wins over Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova.

A career-best run

Currently ranked No. 6 in the world, Pegula has played some of the best tennis of her career recently, reaching the quarterfinal of the Australian Open in 2021-23, and the quarterfinal of the French Open in 2022, and the US Open in 2023.

But Wednesday's straight-set win over World No. 1 Swiatek proved to be her first time breaking 'the quarterfinal curse,' with the hope of carrying the momentum all the way to the final.

Pegula had to battle back from a slow first set in her semifinal on Thursday, as Muchova took an early 6-1 lead and then a 3-0 advantage in the second set.

"I came out flat, but she was playing unbelievable," Pegula said after the match. "She made me look like a beginner. I was about to burst into tears because it was embarrassing. She was destroying me." But the 30-year-old battled back to take the second set 6-4 and rolled to a 6-2 win in the deciding third set, continuing her impressive 15-1 record since the Paris Olympics.

"I was able to find a way, find some adrenaline, find my legs," Pegula said. "At the end of the second set into the third set, I started to play how I wanted to play. It took a while but I don't know how I turned that around honestly."

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Finishing the job

Pegula will face World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated her in Cincinnati, and who advanced past Emma Navarro in straight sets on Thursday. Sabalenka has only dropped one set this US Open, after not participating in the Olympics. The Belarusian will be looking for her second-ever Grand Slam title after coming up just short against Coco Gauff in New York in 2023.

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"Hopefully I can get some revenge out here," said Pegula.

USWNT icon Alex Morgan announced today that she is retiring from professional soccer, and will lace up her boots one last time for the San Diego Wave on Sunday, September 8th. Morgan, one of the faces of the USWNT's fight toward equal pay, retires a two-time World Cup champion, Olympic gold medalist, and UWCL and NWSL champion.

The 35-year-old also announced on Thursday that she is pregnant with her second child, growing her family after having her daughter, Charlie, in 2020.

Morgan's off-pitch legacy changed the game

Not only did Morgan help oversee the USWNT’s fight for equal pay, which was ratified in the team's CBA in 2022, she also played a huge part in the NWSL's 2021 watershed change that enacted policies to protect players.

“We're changing lives, and the impact we have on the next generation is irreversible, and I'm proud of the hand I had in making that happen,” said Morgan in a video posted to X.

“Charlie came up to me the other day and said that when she grows up she wants to be a soccer player,” Morgan explained. “And it just made me immensely proud. Not because I wish for her to become a soccer player when she grows up, but because a pathway exists that even a four year old can see now.”

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On-field accomplishments made Morgan an international icon

Bursting onto the USWNT scene in 2010, Morgan's legacy includes her "Baby Horse" moniker and crucial goal contributions on the field.

Her most well-known scoring moments include notching the final goal of the USWNT’s Olympic semifinal match against Canada en route to their 2012 gold medal, and her soaring header in their 2019 World Cup semifinal against England — the goal that spurred her world-famous "sipping tea" celebration.

Morgan’s 176 combined international goals and assists ranks fifth all-time in USWNT history. She trails only Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Kristine Lilly, and Carli Lloyd on the national team's stat sheet.

In NWSL play, Morgan's resume includes the 2013 league championship, the 2022 Golden Boot title, and the 2023 NWSL Shield.

Ultimately, Morgan will be remembered as the face of a USWNT generation that excelled during a crucial era of the team's success — though the change she helped usher in off the pitch will arguably have an even bigger impact.

In her first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal victory, No. 6-seed Jessica Pegula knocked No. 1 Iga Świątek​ out of the 2024 US Open in straight sets Wednesday night.

Now in uncharted territory, the US tennis star will aim at extending her historic run in tonight's semifinal against unseeded Czech opponent, Karolina Muchová.

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Quarterfinal victory proved Pegula's dominance

The 30-year-old Pegula, who has yet to drop a set all tournament, took control of yesterday's match immediately, winning the first game on Świątek's serve — the five-time Grand Slam winner's first broken serve in 26 games.

Świątek, the 2022 US Open champion, committed 18 unforced errors in the first set. Visibly frustrated with her performance, the Polish phenom retreated to the locker room to regroup — a move that ultimately proved unsuccessful in the wake of Pegula's relentless 6-2, 6-4 victory.

After six previous Grand Slam quarterfinal attempts, Pegula celebrated, telling the crowd post-match that "there have been so many freaking times, and I just kept losing.... So thank God I was able to do it. And finally — finally! — I can say, 'Semifinalist.'"

Two US contenders will feature in tonight's semis

Pegula isn't the only contender making her Grand Slam semifinal debut tonight. Before Pegula takes the court, fellow US player No. 13 Emma Navarro will take on reigning back-to-back Australian Open champion No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.

Sabalenka, who fell to US star Coco Gauff in last year's US Open, hopes for better luck against Navarro — the player who ousted the No. 3 defending champ last weekend.

If both Pegula and Navarro emerge victorious, Saturday's US Open final would be the first contested by two US athletes since Sloane Stephens defeated Madison Keys for the 2017 title. It would also pit two New York locals against each other on their home Grand Slam court: Pegula hails from Buffalo, NY, while Navarro was born in NYC.

How to watch the 2024 US Open semifinals

Navarro and Sabalenka will kick off tonight's Grand Slam action at 7 PM ET, with Pegula's match against Muchová immediately following. Both semis will air on ESPN.