Temwa Chawinga Leads NWSL Best XI for May 2024

NEW YORK – The National Women’s Soccer League’s Best XI of the Month for May reads like a snapshot of a season tilting toward its biggest names and sharpest risers. At the very top: Temwa Chawinga, again.

The Kansas City Current forward, already a two-time reigning MVP, headlined the 11-player squad announced Friday by the NWSL. Chawinga’s seven goals in six games in May turned another blistering month into yet more hardware, as she powered a Kansas City attack that continues to terrorize back lines across the league.

Utah Royals FC, though, quietly stole a large share of the spotlight. Undefeated across the month, the expansion side placed three players in the Best XI and saw head coach Jimmy Coenraets named Coach of the Month. For a club still in the early chapters of its relaunch, May felt like a statement.

Utah’s spine earns its reward

The Royals’ resurgence has been built from the back, and the Best XI reflects it.

In goal, Mandy McGlynn takes the gloves after anchoring a Utah defense that posted three clean sheets in six matches. She provided the calm at the base of a unit that rarely broke, even under sustained pressure.

In front of her, center back Kate Del Fava’s month was a mix of grit and remarkable durability. Sixteen tackles, six interceptions, and her 63rd consecutive start for Utah since the club’s 2024 relaunch underline how central she has become to the Royals’ identity.

Up the pitch, Mina Tanaka gave Utah the cutting edge. Two goals, three assists, and a constant presence in an attack that already boasts eight different goalscorers this season. She wasn’t just finishing moves; she was stitching them together.

That spine – McGlynn, Del Fava, Tanaka – is why Utah went through May unbeaten. The league took notice.

Defenders driving the narrative

The back line of this Best XI is anything but anonymous.

Janine Sonis turned May into a personal highlight reel for Denver. The Canadian fullback delivered braces in back-to-back games, a rare burst of scoring from deep that changed games and pushed her into the conversation as one of the most dangerous attacking defenders in the league.

Sam Hiatt’s work in Portland was more understated but no less vital. As a key piece of the Thorns’ back line, she helped guide Portland to three clean sheets in May, steadying a defense that has often had to match the club’s attacking reputation with resilience.

Gotham FC captain Tierna Davidson rounds out the defensive group, the heartbeat of a back line that recorded three shutouts in four matches. She also chipped in her first goal since 2019, a landmark moment for a player whose leadership and reading of the game remain elite.

Midfield maestros set the tempo

Across the middle, the Best XI recognizes three very different types of influence.

For North Carolina, Manaka Matsukubo lit up May with end product and imagination. Three goals, two assists in six games – numbers that reflect her ability to arrive in the right spaces and punish opponents who give her a yard too much.

San Diego Wave teenager Kimmi Ascanio brought a different edge. At just 18, she threw herself into the month with 13 tackles across six matches and scored her first goal of the season. Energy, bite, and a breakthrough moment in front of goal: the kind of profile that hints at a long NWSL future.

Then there is Croix Bethune in Kansas City, the reigning 2024 Midfielder of the Year. A goal and three assists in May only tell part of the story. She remains the Current’s creative engine, threading passes into Chawinga’s path and dictating tempo in the final third.

Relentless forwards, ruthless finishing

If the midfield supplied the ideas, the forwards provided the ruthlessness.

Chawinga’s seven goals in six games were a reminder of why she has dominated the league’s awards conversation for two straight years. Defenders know what’s coming. They still can’t stop it.

On the opposite coast, Barbra Banda matched that sense of inevitability for Orlando. Six goals in six matches, a perfect one-to-one strike rate for May, underlined her status as one of the most lethal finishers in the game. Give her a chance, and the net usually bulges.

Tanaka’s inclusion completes a front line that blends power, pace, and precision. Between them, the three forwards turned May into a showcase of clinical finishing.

Recognition from those who watch closest

The NWSL Best XI of the Month is selected by the NWSL Media Association, a group of writers who track the league week after week. Their choices for May reflect a landscape where established stars are still dictating headlines, but new and emerging names are forcing their way into the frame.

Eight different clubs are represented in this month’s XI. The spread tells its own story: there is no single dominant power running away with the season. Instead, there is a league where a teenager in San Diego, a captain in Gotham, a relentless scorer in Kansas City, and a resurgent side in Utah can all shape the narrative.

May belonged to Chawinga and the unbeaten Royals. The question now is who will seize June.