NWSL Best XI

NWSL Best XI and Second XI are annual awards presented to the best and second-best eleven players in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

As of 2023, the teams of the season awards are voted on by players (40%), owners/general managers/coaches (25%), media (25%), and fans (10%). Voters for the teams of the season awards are required to name one goalkeeper, four defenders, and a combination of six midfielders and forwards.

2013

Best XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB	NOTE
Goalkeeper	Nicole Barnhart	FC Kansas City	10 shutouts
Defender	Christie Rampone	Sky Blue FC	1.20 GAA
Defender	Leigh Ann Robinson	FC Kansas City	5 assists
Defender	Becky Sauerbrunn	FC Kansas City	1.00 GAA
Defender	Brittany Taylor	Western New York Flash	3 goals, 4 assists
Midfielder	Lori Chalupny	Chicago Red Stars	5 goals, 4 assists
Midfielder	Jess Fishlock	Seattle Reign FC	4 goals
Midfielder	Lauren Holiday	FC Kansas City	12 goals, 9 assists
Midfielder	Diana Matheson	Washington Spirit	8 goals, 3 assists
Forward	Sydney Leroux	Boston Breakers	11 goals, 2 assists
Forward	Abby Wambach	Western New York Flash	11 goals, 8 assists

Second XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB
Goalkeeper	Adrianna Franch	Western New York Flash
Defender	Rachel Buehler	Portland Thorns
Defender	Caitlin Foord	Sky Blue FC
Defender	Ali Krieger	Washington Spirit
Defender	Lauren Sesselmann	FC Kansas City
Midfielder	Megan Rapinoe	Seattle Reign FC
Midfielder	Desiree Scott	FC Kansas City
Midfielder	Erika Tymrak	FC Kansas City
Forward	Alex Morgan	Portland Thorns
Forward	Lianne Sanderson	Boston Breakers
Forward	Christine Sinclair	Portland Thorns

2014

Best XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB	NOTE
Goalkeeper	Alyssa Naeher	Boston Breakers	106 saves
Defender	Kendall Fletcher	Seattle Reign FC	.83 team GAA
Defender	Ali Krieger	Washington Spirit	1 goal
Defender	Christie Rampone	Sky Blue FC	1 goal, 2 assists
Defender	Becky Sauerbrunn	FC Kansas City	8 shutouts
Midfielder	Verónica Boquete	Portland Thorns FC	4 goals, 6 assists
Midfielder	Jess Fishlock	Seattle Reign FC	4 goals, 8 assists
Midfielder	Kim Little	Seattle Reign FC	16 goals, 7 assists
Forward	Lauren Holiday	FC Kansas City	8 goals, 7 assists
Forward	Nahomi Kawasumi	Seattle Reign FC	9 goals, 5 assists
Forward	Amy Rodriguez	FC Kansas City	13 goals, 3 assists

Second XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB	NOTE
Goalkeeper	Hope Solo	Seattle Reign FC	5 shutouts
Defender	Lauren Barnes	Seattle Reign FC	.83 team GAA
Defender	Stephanie Catley	Portland Thorns FC	5 assists
Defender	Stephanie Cox	Seattle Reign FC	.83 team GAA
Defender	Julie Johnston	Chicago Red Stars	Rookie of the Year
Midfielder	Carli Lloyd	Western New York Flash	8 goals, 5 assists
Midfielder	Allie Long	Portland Thorns FC	9 goals, 3 assists
Midfielder	Heather O'Reilly	Boston Breakers	9 goals, 5 assists
Forward	Christen Press	Chicago Red Stars	6 goals
Forward	Jessica McDonald	Portland Thorns FC	11 goals, 1 assist
Forward	Jodie Taylor	Washington Spirit	11 goals, 2 assists

2015

Announced September 24, 2015

Best XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB	NOTE
Goalkeeper	Michelle Betos	Portland Thorns FC	45 saves
Defender	Lauren Barnes	Seattle Reign FC	1,800 minutes
Defender	Julie Johnston	Chicago Red Stars	1.10 team GAA
Defender	Amy LePeilbet	FC Kansas City	1,800 minutes
Defender	Becky Sauerbrunn	FC Kansas City	1.00 GAA
Midfielder	Jess Fishlock	Seattle Reign FC	8 goals, 2 assists
Midfielder	Kim Little	Seattle Reign FC	10 goals, 7 assists
Midfielder	Allie Long	Portland Thorns FC	10 goals, 4 assists
Forward	Crystal Dunn	Washington Spirit	15 goals, 3 assists
Forward	Christen Press	Chicago Red Stars	10 goals, 2 assists
Forward	Beverly Yanez	Seattle Reign FC	9 goals

Second XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB	NOTE
Goalkeeper	Nicole Barnhart	FC Kansas City	8 shutouts
Defender	Stephanie Cox	Seattle Reign FC	1,800 minutes
Defender	Kendall Fletcher	Seattle Reign FC	2 goals, 2 assists
Defender	Arin Gilliland	Chicago Red Stars	1.10 team GAA
Defender	Leigh Ann Robinson	FC Kansas City	1,800 minutes
Midfielder	Danielle Colaprico	Chicago Red Stars	1,776 minutes
Midfielder	Lauren Holiday	FC Kansas City	2 goals, 2 assists
Midfielder	Carli Lloyd	Houston Dash	4 goals
Midfielder	Keelin Winters	Seattle Reign FC	1,654 minutes
Forward	Sofia Huerta	Chicago Red Stars	6 goals, 3 assists
Forward	Megan Rapinoe	Seattle Reign FC	5 goals, 5 assists

2016

Announced October 7, 2016

Best XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB	NOTE
Goalkeeper	Ashlyn Harris	Orlando Pride	62 saves
Defender	Lauren Barnes	Seattle Reign FC	1,775 minutes
Defender	Arin Gilliland	Chicago Red Stars	1.00 team GAA
Defender	Emily Menges	Portland Thorns FC	0.95 team GAA
Defender	Becky Sauerbrunn	FC Kansas City	1.00 team GAA
Midfielder	Tobin Heath	Portland Thorns FC	Goal, 10 assists
Midfielder	Allie Long	Portland Thorns FC	6 goals, 2 assists
Forward	Jessica McDonald	Western New York Flash	10 goals, 7 assists
Forward	Kealia Ohai	Houston Dash	11 goals, 4 assists
Forward	Christen Press	Chicago Red Stars	8 goals
Forward	Lynn Williams	Western New York Flash	11 goals, 5 assists

Second XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB	NOTE
Goalkeeper	Alyssa Naeher	Chicago Red Stars	1.00 GAA
Defender	Julie Johnston	Chicago Red Stars	1.00 team GAA
Defender	Ali Krieger	Washington Spirit	1.05 team GAA
Defender	Christie Rampone	Sky Blue FC	1,800 minutes
Defender	Casey Short	Chicago Red Stars	1,781 minutes
Midfielder	Danielle Colaprico	Chicago Red Stars	Goal, 2 assists
Midfielder	Vanessa DiBernardo	Chicago Red Stars	7 assists
Midfielder	Jess Fishlock	Seattle Reign FC	Goals, 4 assists
Midfielder	Kim Little	Seattle Reign FC	6 goals, 2 assists
Forward	Crystal Dunn	Washington Spirit	2 goals, 5 assists
Forward	Shea Groom	FC Kansas City	8 goals

2017

Announced October 12, 2017

Best XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB	NOTE
Goalkeeper	Adrianna Franch	Portland Thorns FC	11 shutouts, 80 saves, .83 GAA
Defender	Casey Short	Chicago Red Stars	1 goal, 3rd-best defense in NWSL
Defender	Abby Dahlkemper	North Carolina Courage	121 corner kicks taken, 2 assists
Defender	Becky Sauerbrunn	FC Kansas City	157 clearances, 24 blocks, 1 goal, 2 assists
Defender	Ali Krieger	Orlando Pride	99 clearances, 49 interceptions, 2 assists
Midfielder	Jess Fishlock	Seattle Reign FC	7 goals, 2 assists
Midfielder	Sam Mewis	North Carolina Courage	6 goals, 3 assists
Midfielder	McCall Zerboni	North Carolina Courage	3 goals, 1 assist
Forward	Marta	Orlando Pride	13 goals, 6 assists, 64 chances created
Forward	Sam Kerr	Sky Blue FC	17 goals, 4 assists, 2 hattricks, 1 4-goal game
Forward	Christen Press	Chicago Red Stars	11 goals, 4 assists

Second XI

Announced October 10, 2017

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB	NOTE
Goalkeeper	Katelyn Rowland	North Carolina Courage	39 saves, 8 shutouts
Defender	Steph Catley	Orlando Pride	2,032 minutes played
Defender	Abby Erceg	North Carolina Courage	1 goal, 2 assists
Defender	Meghan Klingenberg	Portland Thorns FC	6 assists
Defender	Emily Menges	Portland Thorns FC	2,063 minutes played
Midfielder	Danielle Colaprico	Chicago Red Stars	1,903 minutes played
Midfielder	Julie Ertz	Chicago Red Stars	4 goals, 3 assists
Midfielder	Lindsey Horan	Portland Thorns FC	4 goals, 2 assists
Midfielder	Sofia Huerta	Chicago Red Stars	6 goals, 4 assists
Forward	Alex Morgan	Orlando Pride	9 goals, 4 assists
Forward	Megan Rapinoe	Seattle Reign FC	12 goals, 1 assist

2018

Announced September 20, 2018

Best XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB
Goalkeeper	Adrianna Franch	Portland Thorns FC
Defender	Emily Sonnett	Portland Thorns FC
Defender	Abby Dahlkemper	North Carolina Courage
Defender	Becky Sauerbrunn	Utah Royals FC
Defender	Abby Erceg	North Carolina Courage
Midfielder	Tobin Heath	Portland Thorns FC
Midfielder	Lindsey Horan	Portland Thorns FC
Midfielder	McCall Zerboni	North Carolina Courage
Forward	Crystal Dunn	North Carolina Courage
Forward	Sam Kerr	Chicago Red Stars
Forward	Megan Rapinoe	Seattle Reign

Second XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB
Goalkeeper	Lydia Williams	Seattle Reign
Defender	Emily Menges	Portland Thorns FC
Defender	Merritt Mathias	North Carolina Courage
Defender	Steph Catley	Seattle Reign
Defender	Julie Ertz	Chicago Red Stars
Midfielder	Carli Lloyd	Sky Blue FC
Midfielder	Christine Sinclair	Portland Thorns FC
Midfielder	Debinha	North Carolina Courage
Forward	Lynn Williams	North Carolina Courage
Forward	Sofia Huerta	Houston Dash
Forward	Rachel Daly	Houston Dash

2019

Announced October 24, 2019

Best XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB
Goalkeeper	Aubrey Bledsoe	Washington Spirit
Defender	Abby Dahlkemper	North Carolina Courage
Defender	Ali Krieger	Orlando Pride
Defender	Becky Sauerbrunn	Utah Royals FC
Defender	Casey Short	Chicago Red Stars
Midfielder	Julie Ertz	Chicago Red Stars
Midfielder	Lindsey Horan	Portland Thorns FC
Midfielder	Rose Lavelle	Washington Spirit
Forward	Tobin Heath	Portland Thorns FC
Forward	Sam Kerr	Chicago Red Stars
Forward	Christen Press	Utah Royals FC

Second XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB
Goalkeeper	Alyssa Naeher	Chicago Red Stars
Defender	Lauren Barnes	Reign FC
Defender	Abby Erceg	North Carolina Courage
Defender	Kelley O'Hara	Utah Royals FC
Defender	Emily Sonnett	Portland Thorns FC
Midfielder	Bethany Balcer	Reign FC
Midfielder	Crystal Dunn	North Carolina Courage
Midfielder	Yūki Nagasato	Chicago Red Stars
Forward	Kristen Hamilton	North Carolina Courage
Forward	Carli Lloyd	Sky Blue FC
Forward	Megan Rapinoe	Reign FC

2021

Announced November 17, 2021

Best XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB
Goalkeeper	Kailen Sheridan	NJ/NY Gotham FC
Defender	Caprice Dydasco	NJ/NY Gotham FC
	Alana Cook	OL Reign
	Sarah Gorden	Chicago Red Stars
	Carson Pickett	North Carolina Courage
Midfielder/Forward	Ashley Hatch	Washington Spirit
	Jess Fishlock	OL Reign
	Eugénie Le Sommer	OL Reign
	Margaret Purce	NJ/NY Gotham FC
	Trinity Rodman	Washington Spirit
	Angela Salem	Portland Thorns FC

Second XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB
Goalkeeper	Bella Bixby	Portland Thorns FC
Defender	Sofia Huerta	OL Reign
	Emily Menges	Portland Thorns FC
	Emily Fox	Racing Louisville FC
	Meghan Klingenberg	Portland Thorns FC
Midfielder/Forward	Bethany Balcer	OL Reign
	Lindsey Horan	Portland Thorns FC
	Mallory Pugh	Chicago Red Stars
	Rachel Daly	Houston Dash
	Sydney Leroux	Orlando Pride
	Ifeoma Onumonu	NJ/NY Gotham FC

2022

Announced October 25, 2022

Best XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB
Goalkeeper	Kailen Sheridan	San Diego Wave FC
Defender	Alana Cook	OL Reign
	Naomi Girma	San Diego Wave FC
	Sofia Huerta	OL Reign
	Carson Pickett	North Carolina Courage
Midfielder/Forward	Sam Coffey	Portland Thorns FC
	Lo'eau LaBonta	Kansas City Current
	Alex Morgan	San Diego Wave FC
	Debinha	North Carolina Courage
	Mallory Pugh	Chicago Red Stars
	Sophia Smith	Portland Thorns FC

Second XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB
Goalkeeper	Adrianna Franch	Kansas City Current
Defender	Kelli Hubly	Portland Thorns FC
	Hailie Mace	Kansas City Current
	Tatumn Milazzo	Chicago Red Stars
	Becky Sauerbrunn	Portland Thorns FC
Midfielder/Forward	Kerolin	North Carolina Courage
	Jess Fishlock	OL Reign
	Rose Lavelle	OL Reign
	Diana Ordóñez	North Carolina Courage
	Megan Rapinoe	OL Reign
	Ebony Salmon	Houston Dash

2023

Announced November 6, 2023

Best XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB
Goalkeeper	Jane Campbell	Houston Dash
Defender	Naomi Girma	San Diego Wave FC
	Ali Krieger	NJ/NY Gotham FC
	Sarah Gorden	Angel City FC
	Sam Staab	Washington Spirit
Midfielder/Forward	Sam Coffey	Portland Thorns FC
	Debinha	Kansas City Current
	Jaedyn Shaw	San Diego Wave FC
	Kerolin	North Carolina Courage
	Sophia Smith	Portland Thorns FC
	Lynn Williams	NJ/NY Gotham FC

Second XI

POSITION	PLAYER	CLUB
Goalkeeper	Kailen Sheridan	San Diego Wave FC
Defender	Emily Fox	North Carolina Courage
	Kaleigh Kurtz	North Carolina Courage
	Jenna Nighswonger	NJ/NY Gotham FC
	M.A. Vignola	Angel City FC
Midfielder/Forward	Savannah DeMelo	Racing Louisville FC
	Savannah McCaskill	Angel City FC
	Denise O'Sullivan	North Carolina Courage
	Ashley Hatch	Washington Spirit
	Alex Morgan	San Diego Wave FC
	Trinity Rodman	Washington Spirit

Most selections

As of November 6, 2023. Only players with multiple total selections are included.

	Players still active in the NWSL
Bold*	Players on most recent list

Nat	Player	Best XI	Second XI	Total
	Becky Sauerbrunn	7	1	8
	Jess Fishlock	5	2	7
	Ali Krieger*	4	2	6
	Julie Ertz	2	4	6
	Megan Rapinoe	1	5	6
	Christen Press	4	1	5
	Sofia Huerta	1	4	5
	Crystal Dunn	2	2	4
	Adrianna Franch	2	2	4
	Lauren Holiday	2	2	4
	Lindsey Horan	2	2	4
	Emily Menges	1	3	4
	Alex Morgan*	1	3	4
	Carli Lloyd	0	4	4
	Abby Dahlkemper	3	0	3
	Tobin Heath	3	0	3
	Sam Kerr	3	0	3
	Lauren Barnes	2	1	3
	Debinha*	2	1	3
	Casey Krueger	2	1	3
	Kim Little	2	1	3
	Allie Long	2	1	3
	Christie Pearce	2	1	3
	Kailen Sheridan*	2	1	3
	Lynn Williams*	2	1	3
	Abby Erceg	1	2	3
	Alyssa Naeher	1	2	3
	Danielle Colaprico	0	3	3
	Steph Catley	0	3	3
	Sam Coffey*	2	0	2
	Alana Cook	2	0	2
	Naomi Girma*	2	0	2
	Sarah Gorden*	2	0	2
	Carson Pickett	2	0	2
	Sophia Smith*	2	0	2
	McCall Zerboni	2	0	2
	Nicole Barnhart	1	1	2
	Leigh Ann Brown	1	1	2
	Kendall Fletcher	1	1	2
	Ashley Hatch*	1	1	2
	Kerolin*	1	1	2
	Rose Lavelle	1	1	2
	Sydney Leroux	1	1	2
	Jessica McDonald	1	1	2
	Mallory Swanson	1	1	2
	Trinity Rodman*	1	1	2
	Emily Sonnett	1	1	2
	Arin Wright	1	1	2
	Bethany Balcer	0	2	2
	Stephanie Cox	0	2	2
	Rachel Daly	0	2	2
	Emily Fox*	0	2	2
	Meghan Klingenberg	0	2	2
	Christine Sinclair	0	2	2

See also

• List of sports awards honoring women
• NWSL Players' Awards
• NWSL records and statistics
• Women's soccer in the United States