The NWSL dropped its end-of-year award shortlists on Monday, as the league gives standout players and coaches props for a quality 2025 regular season.

Back-to-back Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga is up for her second straight NWSL MVP award, with the Current star joined by San Diego Wave forward Delphine Cascarino, Gotham striker Esther González, North Carolina Courage attacker Manaka Matsukubo, and fellow Kansas City forward Bia Zaneratto as international front line stars swept the 2025 MVP shortlist.

Matsukubo is also up for 2025 NWSL Midfielder of the Year alongside Kenza Dali (San Diego), Debinha (Kansas City), Claire Hutton (Kansas City), and Olivia Moultrie (Portland).

Following a record-breaking 2025 NWSL Shield win, the Current received a league-leading eight nominations, with the aforementioned Chawinga, Zaneratto, Debinha, and Hutton joined by Goalkeeper of the Year nominee Lorena, Coach of the Year candidate Vlatko Andonovski, and Defender of the Year shortlisters Kayla Sharples and Izzy Rodriguez.

Notably, the defending champion Orlando Pride is the only club in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs to field zero end-of-season nods, while only Matsukubo, Rookie of the Year nominee Riley Tiernan (Angel City), and Defender of the Year candidate Avery Patterson (Houston Dash) represent teams finishing below the postseason cutoff line.

How to vote for the 2025 NWSL Awards

A weighted scale of players (40%), coaches and leadership (25%), media (25%), and fans (10%) will determine the 2025 NWSL award winners as well as the league's Best XI First and Second Teams, all of which will be revealed in a live ESPN2 broadcast at 5:30 PM ET on Wednesday, November 19th.

Fan voting for the 2025 NWSL Awards is open until 8 PM ET on Wednesday, November 12th.

The 2025 NWSL Award Shortlists

The 2025 NWSL Playoffs have finally arrived, with the league's Top 8 teams duking it out in quarterfinals all weekend — each hunting a ticket to November 22nd's championship match in San Jose, California.

Gearing up for the toughest quarterfinal battle is arguably No. 8 Gotham FC, with the NJ/NY club traveling to take on the No. 1 Kansas City Current on Sunday in an attempt to claim an historic upset to extend their season.

"I don't think there's an underdog mindset at all," a confident Gotham midfielder Jaedyn Shaw told JWS this week. "We know that we can come into this game, bring our style of play, and win this game."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Winning the 2025 NWSL Shield in record fashion, the Current haven't suffered a home loss all year — though that could change if an adductor strain continues to sideline Kansas City's back-to-back Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga.

The team has yet to provide an update on Chawinga, though the striker did sit out last Sunday's 2-1 win over the No. 6 San Diego Wave.

"Obviously Temwa's an amazing player, but our bench is is incredible," Kansas City defender Elizabeth Ball said ahead of the team's 2025 NWSL regular-season finale. "Our whole squad is always ready for whatever's thrown at us."

The Current hold a 2-0 winning record over the Bats this season, with Gotham managing just one regular-season win in their last five matches.

"We're not performing terrible — we're actually playing well," Shaw said. "We have moments in the games where we're doing really well. It's just the last touch to score goal, or the last block, or being in the right positioning to prevent a goal."

How to watch Kansas City vs. Gotham in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs

The No. 1 Kansas City Current will host No. 8 Gotham FC for their 2025 NWSL quarterfinals clash at 12:30 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ABC.

Despite missing the 2025 regular-season finale due to an adductor injury, No. 1 Kansas City Current star forward Temwa Chawinga picked up her second straight NWSL Golden Boot on Sunday.

Chawinga tallied 15 goals and three assists in the 2025 NWSL campaign, beating out Gotham forward Esther (13), North Carolina forward Manaka Matsukubo (11), Louisville forward Emma Sears (10), and Chicago forward Ludmilla (10) for this season's Golden Boot.

The 27-year-old, who set the league's single-season scoring record with 20 goals in 2024, is now just the second-ever NWSL player to earn back-to-back Golden Boots, joining former Chicago star Sam Kerr.

With the Malawi international still recovering from an injury incurred during the Current's October 18th match against the Houston Dash, her recovery remains front of mind as Kansas City gears up for the 2025 NWSL Playoffs.

In order to to stay in market and continue her rehab, Chawinga also pulled out of last week's WAFCON qualifiers in hopes of returning to the NWSL pitch to help the reigning Shield-winners secure a championship.

Kansas City manager Vlatko Andonovski said this week that "there's a chance" Chawinga could be available for the team's early postseason games, but that she was still "day-to-day."

"Deb is good. Kayla's good. Gabby. They're all good," Andonovski told reporters, running through his roster. "Temwa is still not good and we're not going to take any risks at this point. We'll see how she progresses."

After a historic season, Kansas City has to like their playoff chances — but a healthy Chawinga could be the club's key to lifting a first-ever NWSL championship trophy.