Temwa Chawinga named NWSL MVP again

Ahead of the 2025 NWSL Championship, the NWSL celebrated the best of the best at the first-ever NWSL Awards. The glitzy and glamorous show, broadcast live on ESPN 2 on Wednesday night, honored the goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, rookie and coach of the year, the MVP, the Lauren Holiday Impact Award winner, and the Best XI first and second team.

The premiere award of the night went to Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga. For the second year in a row, Chawinga took home Golden Boot and MVP honors. In just her second season in the league, Chawinga became the first player in NWSL history to be named MVP in consecutive years. She joins Sam Kerr (2017, 2019) as the only players in league history to win multiple MVP accolades. Chawinga scored 15 goals and contributed three assists across her 23 regular season appearances to lead the Current in their historic Shield-winning season. The Malawi international was also named to the Best XI first team. The other finalists for MVP included fellow KC Current teammate and forward Bia Zaneratto, San Diego forward Delphine Cascarino, Gotham forward Esther González and North Carolina midfielder Manaka Matsukubo.

Kansas City teammate Lorena was named Goalkeeper of the Year, beating out Gotham’s Ann-Katrin Berger and Seattle’s Claudia Dickey. In 24 matches, Lorena conceded an NWSL record-low 13 goals — giving her more shutouts, 14, than games in which she allowed a goal, 10. Her 14 clean sheets and 690 consecutive shutout minutes set NWSL records. With the Brazilian anchoring the Current’s stalwart defensive unit, the club set NWSL records for clean sheets (16), consecutive shutout minutes (869), consecutive shutouts (9) and shutouts at home (8) in 2025. She finished the regular season with a .827 save percentage, first amongst goalkeepers with double-digit starts. Lorena was also named to the Best XI first team

Tara McKeown took home Defender of the Year in just her third year playing defense and will look to help cement her standout season with the Washington Spirit in the NWSL Championship on Saturday. One of Washington’s most consistent players across the past three seasons, the former forward played over 2,500 minutes across 31 matches in 2025. She recorded 140 clearances, 55 interceptions, and 44 blocks in regular-season play. McKeown was also named to the Best XI first team. The other finalists were Seattle Reign’s Jordyn Bugg, Houston Dash’s Avery Patterson, and two Current players, Kayla Sharples and Izzy Rodriguez.

Young North Carolina Courage star Manaka Matsukubo took home the Midfielder of the Year award. Though the Courage just barely missed out on the NWSL Playoffs, Matsukubo led all midfielders in the NWSL in goal contributions with 11 goals and four assists — no other player scored more than six goals while having at least four assists — appearing in all 26 of the Courage’s matches, starting all but two, and playing 2,106 minutes. She also became the youngest player in NWSL history to score a hat trick. The Japanese international was also named to the Best XI first team. Matsukubo was up against San Diego’s Kenza Dali, Portland’s Olivia Moultrie, and Kansas City’s Debinha and Claire Hutton.

Gotham FC defender Lilly Reale was honored as Rookie of the Year over forwards Maddie Dahlien (Seattle Reign) and Riley Tiernan (Angel City). The 22-year-old’s first professional season stood out as she appeared in all 26 regular-season matches, started 21, and became a fixture on one of the NWSL’s top defenses that allowed only 25 goals in 26 matches, the second-fewest in the league. She led Gotham in interceptions (36) and ranked second in tackles (54) and produced decisive attacking moments with one goal and one assist. Her impact carried straight into the postseason, where she started both the quarterfinal and semifinal, and will likely continue into Saturday’s Championship. Reale was named to the Best XI second team.

The awards for players’ on-field performances concluded with the Best XI first and second teams. The full Best XI first team consisted of Lorena (Kansas City Current), Izzy Rodriguez (Kansas City Current), Kayla Sharples (Kansas City Current), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current), Esther Gonzalez (Gotham FC) and Manaka Matsukubo (North Carolina Courage).

The Best XI second team was named Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC), Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC), Hailie Mace (Kansas City Current), Kenza Dali (San Diego Wave), Taylor Flint (Racing Louisville), Croix Bethune (Washington Spirit), Delphine Cascarino (San Diego Wave), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville) and Bia Zaneratto (Kansas City Current).

Racing Louisville head coach Bev Yanez won Coach of the Year in just her second year as a head coach, becoming the first American and first former NWSL player to win the award. Yanez led Louisville to a historic 2025 campaign where the club finished in seventh place, its highest-ever league standing, earning the first playoff berth in Racing’s history. The team set club records for: wins (10), points (37), goals scored (36) and road victories (5). Yanez won the award over two other finalists: Vlatko Andonovski of the Kansas City Current and Adrián González of the Washington Spirit.

Portland Thorns defender Sam Hiatt was named the winner of this year’s Lauren Holiday Impact Award, presented by Nationwide, securing $50,000 in charitable donation funds from Nationwide to support Candlelighters Oregon, a non-profit organization that supports families through every stage of childhood cancer across Oregon and southwest Washington. Hiatt’s commitment to community service and choice to work with Candlelighters Oregon grows from her personal experience since her younger brother was diagnosed with a rare lymphoma days before her professional debut in 2020. As her family navigated the challenges of his treatment, Hiatt experienced firsthand the impact of community, connection, and care, and has since dedicated time to give back that same support to others.