Temwa Chawinga Leads NWSL Best XI for May
NEW YORK — The NWSL’s May belonged to goalscorers, iron‑clad back lines, and a Utah Royals side that simply refused to lose.
The league confirmed its Best XI of the Month for May, with two-time reigning MVP Temwa Chawinga taking top billing as Player of the Month and Utah’s unbeaten run powering three Royals into the lineup. That dominance also delivered Head Coach Jimmy Coenraets the Coach of the Month award, underlining Utah’s rapid rise as one of the league’s most disciplined and dangerous outfits.
Eight different clubs are represented in the XI. The message is clear: this is a league where stars are scattered everywhere, and May’s form book was ruthless in deciding who stood tallest.
Royals’ backbone sets the tone
In goal, Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals FC) earns the nod after anchoring a Utah defense that smothered opponents throughout May. Three clean sheets in six matches tell part of the story; the calm, repeatable reliability behind a back line that rarely broke tells the rest.
In front of her, the Royals’ defensive heartbeat appears again. Center back Kate Del Fava not only piled up 16 tackles and six interceptions over six games, she also recorded her 63rd consecutive start for Utah, a streak that stretches all the way back to the club’s 2024 re-launch. Durability, consistency, and bite in the challenge — Del Fava brought all of it.
Up the pitch, Mina Tanaka completes the Utah trio. Two goals, three assists, and a constant presence in an attack that has already produced eight different goalscorers this season. Tanaka didn’t just score; she linked, created, and kept Utah’s front line humming as the Royals navigated the month without a single defeat.
Defensive leaders with attacking teeth
The rest of the back four reflects the modern NWSL defender: as comfortable shutting games down as they are changing them.
Janine Sonis (Denver) turned fullback into a weapon, hitting braces in back‑to‑back games in the middle of the month. Few defenders influence the scoreline like that, and her inclusion underlines how dangerous Denver’s wide channels have become.
Alongside her, Sam Hiatt (Portland Thorns FC) provided the steel. A key figure in a Thorns back line that matched Utah’s standard with three clean sheets in May, Hiatt’s positioning and timing helped steady Portland through a crucial stretch of the season.
Tierna Davidson (Gotham FC), wearing the captain’s armband, drove Gotham to three clean sheets in four matches. The defender also found the net for the first time since 2019, a landmark moment for a player whose leadership and composure continue to shape one of the league’s most ambitious projects.
Midfield engines and creators
Midfield belonged to players who tilted games with both numbers and nuance.
For North Carolina, Manaka Matsukubo stitched together a standout month: three goals, two assists, and six matches of relentless involvement in the final third. She dictated tempo, arrived in scoring positions, and turned half-chances into decisive moments.
At just 18, Kimmi Ascanio (San Diego) muscled her way into the conversation. Thirteen tackles across six matches show the defensive work rate, but it was her first goal of the season that underlined her growing confidence. A teenager stepping into the league’s spotlight and refusing to blink.
Croix Bethune (Kansas City Current), the 2024 Midfielder of the Year, played like someone determined to keep that title. One goal, three assists, and a constant creative spark as Kansas City continued to lean on her vision and timing between the lines. When the Current needed a pass to split a defense or a run to open space, Bethune was there.
A forward line built on pure menace
Up front, the Best XI front three reads like a nightmare for defenders.
Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Current) headlined the month with seven goals in six games. The reigning MVP didn’t slow down; she accelerated. Whether running in behind, pressing from the front, or finishing with clinical precision, Chawinga set the standard for attacking dominance and made the Player of the Month award feel inevitable.
Alongside her, Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride) matched efficiency with power. Six goals in six matches gave her a perfect one‑to‑one goal-to-game ratio in May, a blistering return that confirmed her status as one of the league’s most feared forwards. Give her a yard, and the ball usually ends up in the net.
Tanaka’s presence completes a front line that blends ruthlessness, variety, and intelligence. With Chawinga’s explosiveness, Banda’s physical edge, and Tanaka’s craft, May’s Best XI attack reflects the evolving, global firepower now defining the NWSL.
A league of rising standards
The NWSL Best XI of the Month, selected by the NWSL Media Association — a group of writers who track the league week in, week out — has become a sharp barometer of form. May’s list shows a competition stretching its ceiling: veterans rediscovering scoring touches, teenagers breaking through, captains locking down back lines, and a Utah side turning an unbeaten month into a statement.
If this is what May looks like, the question now is who can keep this pace — and who will crash the party in June.
