NWSL Best XI of May: Temwa Chawinga Shines
In a league built on fine margins, May belonged to the players who tilted games on their own terms.
The NWSL unveiled its Best XI of the Month for May, headlined by the unstoppable form of Kansas City Current star Temwa Chawinga, whose goals dragged defenses all over the country into chaos. Eight different clubs placed players in the team, but it was Utah Royals FC who quietly stole a large share of the spotlight with three selections and an undefeated month that also delivered the Coach of the Month award to Jimmy Coenraets.
A spine built on clean sheets
At the back, the XI starts with a goalkeeper who turned Utah’s resurgence into a weekly habit.
Mandy McGlynn anchored a Royals defense that refused to crack, posting three clean sheets in six matches. Utah’s back line bent, but with McGlynn behind them, it rarely broke, and that stability gave Coenraets the platform to send his team forward.
Ahead of her, the defense is stacked with storylines. Denver’s Janine Sonis, a Canadian fullback with a winger’s instinct, produced the kind of month attacking defenders dream about, striking braces in back-to-back games and turning the flank into a launchpad.
Sam Hiatt, the quiet constant in Portland Thorns FC’s back line, helped marshal a unit that matched Utah with three shutouts in May. No fuss, no drama, just a defense that repeatedly shut the door.
Then there is Kate Del Fava, the ironwoman of Utah. Sixteen tackles, six interceptions across six matches, and, just as striking, her 63rd consecutive start for the Royals since the club’s 2024 re-launch. She has become the reference point for everything Utah do without the ball.
Rounding out the defense, Gotham FC captain Tierna Davidson stitched together control and leadership. Gotham kept clean sheets in three of their four May matches, and Davidson added a landmark of her own, scoring her first goal since 2019. For a center back, that’s more than a footnote; it’s a sign of a player pushing the game at both ends.
Midfield engines and teenage bite
Midfield in this Best XI is less about quiet orchestration and more about impact.
For North Carolina, Manaka Matsukubo lit up the month with three goals and two assists in six games, the kind of production you expect from a forward, not a midfielder. She didn’t just link play; she sliced through it.
San Diego Wave’s Kimmi Ascanio, only 18, played with the edge of someone who’s been in the league for years. Thirteen tackles in six matches and her first goal of the season announced a player who relishes the fight in the middle of the park and has the confidence to step into the box when it matters.
And then there’s Croix Bethune of Kansas City, the 2024 Midfielder of the Year, who played like she has no intention of giving that title up. One goal, three assists, and a constant sense that whenever she picked up the ball, something was about to happen. In a Current side stacked with attacking talent, Bethune still managed to dictate the rhythm.
Chawinga leads a ruthless front line
Up front, the Best XI is all about ruthless efficiency.
Temwa Chawinga sits at the heart of it. The two-time reigning MVP produced seven goals in six games in May, a staggering return even by her standards. Defenses knew what was coming. They still couldn’t stop it.
Alongside her, Orlando Pride’s Barbra Banda matched the calendar with a perfect one-to-one strike rate: six goals in six matches. Every outing, a threat. Every half-chance, a potential turning point. Banda’s presence alone bends back lines out of shape.
Utah’s Mina Tanaka completes the trio and underlines why the Royals went unbeaten. Two goals and three assists in May tell part of the story; the rest lies in how she knits together an attack that already boasts eight different goalscorers this season. Tanaka doesn’t just finish moves; she starts them, links them, and often chooses the right moment to release a teammate instead of chasing her own numbers.
Utah’s rise, Kansas City’s firepower, and a league brimming with stars
Collectively, this Best XI paints a clear picture of where the power currents run in the NWSL right now. Utah’s three honorees and Coenraets’ coaching award signal a club that has moved from rebuilding to genuinely threatening. Kansas City’s double presence in Bethune and Chawinga underlines a side built to outscore anyone. Orlando, Gotham, Portland, North Carolina, San Diego, and Denver all see their standouts recognized, proof of a league where talent is spread and margins stay thin.
The NWSL Media Association, a group of writers who track this league week in, week out, selected the XI, distilling a frantic month into a single team sheet.
May’s stars have set a high bar. With Prime continuing to beam Friday night action into homes across the country, the question now is simple: who’s ready to rip up this list in June and write their own month into the league’s story?
