Rose Lavelle and Marta finally break through this season

July 9, 2024 ndowd

Welcome to the unofficial halfway point of the 2024 NWSL season, where the league shuts down the regular season for the next six-plus weeks while the U.S. women’s national team competes in the Olympics.

That means it is now time for the third installment of our NWSL MVP Tracker. This one is more of a benchmark considering the timing — unlike the small sample size of our first tracker, the year-end MVP winner is more likely to come from this group now that over half the league’s games have been played. Most of the players on this tracker made the previous list, but there has been a lot of shuffling.

Injuries are again a factor in some of the movement on this list. Our No. 1 MVP candidate from the first tracker, Kansas City Current forward Bia Zaneratto, has dropped off after battling a foot injury. She got back on the field but recently fractured her foot, which could keep her out for up to two months (and will force her to miss the Olympics).

The battle at the top remains an enthralling race between the league’s top two scorers who happened to face off last weekend in a battle of unbeaten teams. They both scored for their respective squads to remain tied for the Golden Boot. Who pulled ahead in the MVP race?

As a reminder, our methodology is a mix of advanced data and the eye test. Through TruMedia and Stats Perform, we dive through the advanced stats and filter metrics, and we also watch all the games every week. Combined, this approach helps us find the true standouts and weigh offensive achievements with strong defending.

Now, let’s track some MVP candidates!

15. Vanessa DiBernardo, Kansas City Current attacking midfielder (Previous: 5)

If this feels like a similar note from our previous rankings, it’s because it is: DiBernardo has been in MVP form for a Kansas City team that was unbeaten up until Saturday. She has, however, missed the team’s last three games following a concussion, and she played limited minutes in the matches prior to that.

For that reason, her place on this version of the list is precarious, but her early-season work remains unavoidably impressive. DiBernardo still ranks among the league leaders in several offensive categories, including her five assists (tied for fourth in the league).

She has been the engine of this Kansas City team, although the Current have largely sustained success without her. She is expected back after the Olympic break and could reassert herself higher in these rankings.

14. Ouleye Sarr, Washington Spirit forward (Previous: 12)

Sarr continues to create chances — she ranks fourth in expected goals but has gone on a slight dry spell since our last rankings: Her goal on Saturday in a 3-0 win over Bay FC was her first since May 24.

Sarr has looked exceptional in front of the net at times this season and continues to benefit from the Spirit’s high chance creation as the team’s center-forward. She’ll need to be more consistent to maintain her place in this MVP race.

13. Marta, Orlando Pride midfielder (Previous: N/A)

Marta is a six-time world player of the year, but she celebrated Saturday’s victory over Kansas City after scoring the game-winner from the penalty spot with the kind of unbridled joy (and a touch of anger) that is driving this Orlando team forward. Yes, she is 38, and her best years seemed behind her given Orlando’s struggles in past years. This year is a completely different story.

Marta ranks in the top 10 in the NWSL for goals, assists, and chances created, and just outside that for passing percentage. Will she win the MVP award? Highly unlikely, especially considering the competition within her own team. We’d be remiss, however, if we didn’t note that the Marta of 2024 looks like the Marta we all knew for the past two-plus decades.

12. Taylor Flint, Racing Louisville defensive midfielder (Previous: 8)

Flint’s numbers remain impressive: First in the NWSL in tackles, interceptions, and duels won, and fourth in aerial wins. She continues to operate as a force of a defensive midfielder who has reignited her game since departing San Diego in the offseason.

We’ve previously discussed all these qualities on our NWSL MVP Tracker. Racing Louisville, however, remains stuck in neutral in ninth place after a relatively promising start to the season.

11. Ann-Katrin Berger, NJ/NY Gotham FC goalkeeper (Previous: 14)

Arguably the best goalkeeper in the league continues that form, and she is a big reason why Gotham’s defense (13 goals against in 16 games) is so stingy.

Berger leads the NWSL in post-shot expected goals minus goals against per 90, per FBRef, which is a measurement of superior shot-stopping (and/or superior luck, but either way it means she’s stopping shots that have a higher probability of being goals).

Gotham has only lost one of the 12 games with Berger in net this season.

Ann-Katrin Berger makes a diving save for Gotham FC

Ann-Katrin Berger makes a diving save toward the right post to keep Seattle goalless heading into the second half.

10. Sam Coffey, Portland Thorns defensive midfielder (Previous: 10)

The second of two defensive midfielders who remain on this list is steady as ever for a perennial contender.

Coffey is an all-around package of a central midfielder who doesn’t necessarily wow you in any single way but does everything consistently well — and the numbers support that. She is tied for 16th in the NWSL in shot creation and passing percentage. On the other side of the ball, she ranks tied for sixth in recoveries.

Coffey effectively allows the Thorns to do all the things they want to do, serving as a facilitator in the middle of the park.

9. Ashley Sanchez, North Carolina Courage midfielder (Previous: 7)

Ashley Sanchez’s impressive 2024 continued on June 29 with the game-winning goal against the team that abruptly traded her this offseason, the Washington Spirit. It is the only time the Spirit have lost in their last eight matches.

Sanchez remains the focal point of North Carolina’s attack, playing in between the lines of the No. 9 and No. 10 roles on any given day. She is brilliant on the ball and audacious with her decision-making. The Courage are quietly hanging around in the race for a home playoff game in large part because of Sanchez.

Ashley Sanchez scores in the 55′

8. Rose Lavelle, NJ/NY Gotham FC midfielder (Previous: N/A)

As summer heats up, so too does Lavelle’s form. This is not new for the USWNT playmaker — she has done this on several occasions, including the past two World Cup years. Much of the ebb and flow of her career has been dictated by injuries rather than isolated dips in form. Now, she’s on the rise again and meeting the moment as one of Gotham’s marquee offseason signings.

Lavelle is the team’s co-leading scorer alongside Ella Stevens — arguably the best ‘value’ signing of the entire NWSL offseason considering her output — and she is driving Gotham’s attack from central areas.

Her goal against Angel City FC on Saturday was a wonderful team effort capped by a world-class finish from Lavelle.

This is textbook everything from Gotham: the high regain, quick vertical progress, one-touch passing, and sublime finish from Rose Lavelle in stride.

Lavelle in this form is great news for #USWNT, too.pic.twitter.com/XaNO3V96zG

— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) July 7, 2024

7. Emily Sams, Orlando Pride defender (Previous: 11)

It’s difficult to choose who is the anchor of Orlando’s league-leading defense (12 goals against in 16 games), but it’s time to give Strom credit where it’s due. Rafaelle might be the best defender on the roster when she is on the field, and Kylie Strom is having a career season centrally after impressing last year as a full-back.

Sams is a younger, up-and-coming player who we’ve previously featured on this list, but Strom built off an impressive 2023 to be an integral piece of the best defense in the league and arguably the best team in the league. The only reason Sams — or any of her defensive partners — does not rank higher on this list is because the Pride’s defense is really a collective success. It’s difficult to pick just one player.

6. Mallory Swanson, Chicago Red Stars attacking midfielder (Previous: 13)

Swanson dipped in our previous tracker, but we should have known better. Swanson remains one of a handful of players in the league who can change results individually and in spite of how their team is playing.

She has been on a tear since our last version of the tracker. Swanson has scored in four straight games, helping the Red Stars earn 7 points along the way. She tallied a goal and an assist in a 2-2 draw with the then unbeaten Kansas City Current during that stretch.

For both club and country, Swanson appears to be nearly back to where she left off before tearing her patella tendon in April 2023 and missing the World Cup. She’s on fire. Next up? The Olympics.

Mal Swanson’s stunning strike puts Chicago ahead

Check out this fantastic goal from Chicago Red Stars’ Mallory Swanson to make it 1-0 vs. Houston Dash.

5. Trinity Rodman, Washington Spirit winger (Previous: 6)

A winger who can create goals and tracks back to defend and put in the dirty work? Yes, that is Rodman.

Rodman ranks second in the NWSL in chances created (key passes plus assists), per TruMedia, and in the top 10 in the league in goals, assists, shots and shots on goal. She is also among the league leaders in aerial duels won and recoveries, which speaks to her defensive work rate.

There are many reasons why the Spirit are so good this year. Rodman is prominent among them.

4. Sophia Smith, Portland Thorns FC forward (Previous: 2)

There has not been an MVP or Golden Boot race without Smith in recent years, and that remains the case in 2024.

Smith’s 10 goals this season rank third in the league, and her six assists are tied for second. She has added layers to her game by drifting into wider, deeper areas to get on the ball as defenses have attempted to mark her (or foul her) out of games, but she continues to be as productive as ever. Smith is once again a major reason that the Thorns are in the hunt for the Shield and an NWSL Championship.

Sophia Smith scores for Portland in the 73rd minute

3. Croix Bethune, Washington Spirit attacking midfielder (Previous: 4)

Spare me any hand wringing about a rookie being in the MVP race: Bethune continues to be the focal point of so much of the Washington Spirit’s success.

Bethune’s nine assists this season are three clear of the next closest challengers. She has created 31 chances this season per TruMedia, tied for fifth in the NWSL. The Spirit are third in the league and in the hunt for the NWSL Shield for a lot of reasons, Bethune chief among them.

If you don’t want to believe the numbers or me, take it from USWNT head coach Emma Hayes, who called Bethune into camp in June as a training player and was impressed enough to bring the attacking midfielder to the Olympics as an alternate despite being uncapped.

San Diego Wave defender Naomi Girma was an MVP finalist as a rookie in 2022, but we haven’t before seen a season like this from an attacking rookie in the NWSL.

2. Temwa Chawinga, Kansas City Current winger (Previous: 3)

Chawinga is the current NWSL Golden Boot leader by way of the assists tiebreaker. She can single-handedly change games by doing the unexpected, like chasing down a loose ball that nobody else possibly could, dribbling the length of the field to create a counterattack, or flicking the ball over to a defender and to herself and hitting a shot with the outside of her foot (as she did against Orlando on Saturday).

Chawinga is the game-changer on a Kansas City team that has almost everyone firing on all cylinders. If there is one criticism of the 25-year-old and it is a harsh one considering her output it is that the final product is not always as precise as it needs to be. That’s harsh considering her 12-goal output, but it is evident in some moments of indecision in front of net.

Those are champagne problems, to a degree, but that is the difference between first and second in the MVP race.

1. Barbra Banda, Orlando Pride forward (Previous: 1)

Banda led the Golden Boot race for less than two minutes on Saturday when she put Orlando ahead of Kansas City in the big battle of the unbeatens, and although Chawinga pulled level again and arguably had the better performance on the day, Banda’s efficiency and polished final product gives her the edge in this MVP race.

Banda’s 12 goals are equal to Chawinga’s (they have five assists and six assists, respectively), but they have come in 434 fewer minutes on the field. Banda is literally outperforming expectations, with 12 goals from 9.87 expected goals, per TruMedia, whereas Chawinga is scoring almost exactly as expected on a Current team that has 40 goals through 16 games. Chawinga also has nearly twice as many touches on the ball than Banda, per TruMedia.

Both Banda and Chawinga are players who occupy their own space as individual talents in the NWSL. Right now, Banda is making the most of her opportunities. She is also a major reason the Pride remain unbeaten and atop the NWSL table, now three points clear of Kansas City after a 2-1 victory over the Current (while down a player) on Saturday.