Just short of halfway through the regular season and on the eve of the 2025 summer break, it’s a good time to look into the individual performance awards and who my front-runners are at the moment. 

There are five individual awards: Most Valuable Player, Golden Boot, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. Additionally, there are Best XI First and Second team honors up for grabs. As per the current NWSL collective bargaining agreement (CBA), each of the previous awards comes with a $5,000 bonus and starting in 2027 those bonuses will increase.

Reference previous award winners: here

Golden Boot

The Golden Boot award goes to the player with the most goals in the NWSL regular season and is the only award that is not voted on. In case of a tie, the tiebreaker goes down to assists. In the 2023 regular season, Sophia Smith took home the trophy with 11 goals, and in 2024 Temwa Chawinga broke the NWSL season-high of 18 goals set by Sam Kerr back in 2019 by scoring 21 goals in the regular season.

Most Valuable Player

Looking at the award historically, forwards have received the award the last three seasons, seven of the 11 years the award has been given out—the other four have been given to midfielders—and seven out of 11 years the winner has also been the Golden Boot winner. 

While the top three in the golden boot race are easily candidates for MVP if they keep up their current form, San Diego’s Delphine Cascarino should also be in the conversation. Cascarino leads the NWSL in assists (5), big changes created (7), goal creating actions (8). Additionally she is second in progressive carries (43), progressive passes (89), and third in successful take-ons (19). Cascarino has also scored three goals this season. 

Goalkeeper of the Year

Only two goalkeepers with at least five games have conceded less than one goal per 90, with Orlando’s Anna Moorhouse (0.75) and Kansas City’s Lorena (0.83). Moorhouse also leads the league’s goalkeepers in save percentage (82.2%), while Lorena sits at third at 75%. Seattle’s Claudia Dickey is fourth in save percentage with 72.4% but leads the other two (and the rest of the league) in her expected goals on target minus goals conceded. 

Defender of the Year

After joining the Wave late in the secondary window last season, Perle Morroni is definitely one of the early frontrunners for defender of the year. Almost halfway through the season amongst defenders, Morroni is second in tackles won, possessions won, and sixth in interceptions. Additionally she has three assists and one goal among her five goal creating actions. 

North Carolina defender Kaleigh Kurtz has not only been dubbed “the backbone of the Courage” by teammates, she also is third in clearances amongst defenders, has an impressive 91% passing accuracy, and has scored a goal for the Courage this year. Kurtz also had her 100th consecutive start for the Courage last weekend, and is once again on track for another ironwoman season. 

In a Washington Spirit team that is unfortunately leading the league in player injuries/games missed, Tara McKeown has been a stalwart defender bringing stability to the backline. She is fourth in the league in blocks (22) and interceptions (23), and sixth amongst defenders in possessions won. Additionally the centerback has assisted in two goals – both of which received assist of the week.

Midfielder of the Year

In less than half of the 2025 season, 20-year-old Manaka Matsukubo has already doubled her 2025 regular season goals and tripled her assists. The Japanese international is sixth in non-penalty xG (4.4), and has had 40 shot creating actions and six goal creating actions. She recently became the fourth player in NWSL history to score in three straight regular-season matches before turning 21. 

Even with missing the last three matches for the Current due to a knee injury in May, Debinha has already scored five goals and earned one assist this season. She’s tied for second in chances created and has had 39 shot creating actions and five goal creating actions. If she can come back from the summer break fully healthy and continuing her form from the front-half of the season, she’s sure to be a finalist. 

Sam Coffey continues to be one of the best defensive midfielders in the league and a leader on the pitch for the Thorns (she’s wearing the Captain’s armband this year). With a penalty kick goal and two assists, Coffey is also tied for second in the league in chances created and third in both progressive passes and key passes. Additionally, she has had 42 shot creating actions and five goal creating actions. 

Rookie of the Year

Rookie of the Year is perhaps one of the harder awards to choose mid-year frontrunners from because the rookies are largely still getting settled and it covers all of the positions. That being said, Angel City’s forward Riley Tiernan has been making a good case for herself with seven goals (leading the team) and one assist. Defenders Trinity Armstrong (San Diego), Lilly Reale (Gotham), and Jayden Perry (Portland) also have good cases with their impressive defensive efforts and simultaneous goal-scoring (and assisting). 

Award Financials

Future End of Season Award info from the recently released CBA: