The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) regular season came to a close on Oct. 15. The eleventh season of the league was made up of 22 match days and was won overall by San Diego Wave FC with a total of 37 points. Portland Thorns’ forward Sophia Smith was this season’s Golden Boot winner with a total of eleven goals and five assists.
This season included a wave of young talent, highlighted by Melanie Barcenas, who signed a three-year contract with the San Diego Wave in March. At the age of 15 years and 138 days, she was the youngest player in NWSL history to sign a contract. Another 15 year old, Chloe Ricketts, signed a contract in March with the Washington Spirit.
Standout players this season include Jaedyn Shaw, Messiah Bright, Ali Krieger and Naomi Girma. 18-year-old Shaw was a vital part of the San Diego Wave offense this season as a central attacking midfielder. As a result of her standout season, Shaw earned a call up to the United States Women’s National Team this fall.
Coming out of the second round of the 2023 NWSL Draft, Bright immediately impressed the coaching staff of Orlando Pride, according to Just Women’s Sports. With six goals, Bright led all rookies in goals scored and is a strong contender for the NWSL Rookie of the Year Award.
In her last season in professional soccer, Krieger was pivotal in Gotham FC’s journey to a playoff spot. Her presence in the air and her leadership as a captain have made her a key component in Gotham FC’s 2023 season.
Girma, who was the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, had another strong season for the San Diego Wave, as well as for the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) during the World Cup.
The Washington Spirit’s coach, Mark Parsons, will not return as the coach for the 2024 season. The club announced his departure on Oct. 17 after the team failed to make the NWSL playoffs for the second-straight season.
After resigning from the USWNT, it was announced that Vlatko Andonovksi will be returning to the NWSL as head coach for the KC Current. Before coaching the USWNT, Andonovksi coached the Current in 2013 and 2014 and coached Reign FC from Seattle before becoming the USWNT coach in 2019.
Next year, the Utah Royals FC and Bay FC (San Francisco) will join the league as part of the NWSL’s expansion program. This year, the league announced that the Boston Breakers will also be added to the league in 2026. According to ESPN, the ownership of the Boston Breakers will be 95% female and 40% people of color, which is unprecedented.
On Oct. 21, the Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season ended. Highlights of the year include the addition of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to Inter Miami FC. The signing of Messi specifically brought never-before-seen attention to MLS and potentially created $256 million revenue for the league.
With the addition of Messio, Busquets and Alba, Inter Miami were hoping for a late season run at the playoffs, but the team fell short, finishing the year in 14th place in the Eastern Conference.
This season, there were 29 teams split between two conferences. The winner of the Eastern Conference was FC Cincinnati with a total of 69 points, and the winner of the Western Conference was St. Louis City SC with 56 points.
San Diego FC will be the 30th MLS team and is slated to join in 2025. The new team recently unveiled its logo, which has since been criticized by fans for its design, one calling it “just truly, amazingly, completely awful” on X.
LAFC’s Dénis Bouanga won the 2023 Golden Boot award with 20 goals. Other standout players this season include Walker Zimmerman, Ben Cremaschi and Miles Robinson. Zimmerman is a two-time MLS Defender of the Year winner and was a key part of Nashville SC’s stellar back line, which only averaged 0.5 goals conceded per game this season. 18-year old Cremaschi has been nominated for MLS Young Player of the year and was a key part of the Inter Miami midfield. After coming off of an injury during the 2022 season, Robinson was an important center back for Atlanta United with around a 65% success rate for tackles and 70% success rate for duels, both in the air and on the ground.
Overall, there are many notable players in both the NWSL and MLS who have gained international attention, highlighting the rise of soccer in the US. Both leagues are also headed into the playoff season. With the NWSL playoffs starting mid October, and the MLS playoffs starting mid November, both tournaments promise to be competitive and full of excitement.
