NWSL Best XI for May: Temwa Chawinga Shines

In a league built on fine margins and frantic finishes, May belonged to the players who turned tight games into statements.

The National Women’s Soccer League unveiled its Best XI of the Month for May on Friday in New York, a star‑studded lineup headlined by Player of the Month Temwa Chawinga and powered by an unbeaten Utah Royals FC side that forced its way into the conversation as one of the stories of the season.

Eight different clubs place players in the XI. Utah lead the way with three selections after storming through May without a loss, a run that also delivered Head Coach Jimmy Coenraets the Coach of the Month award.

Royals’ spine sets the standard

Utah’s resurgence has not happened by accident. It has been built from the back.

In goal, Mandy McGlynn takes the goalkeeper spot after anchoring a Royals defense that posted three clean sheets in six matches. She organized, she commanded, and she gave a new‑look side the calm it needed in pressure moments.

In front of her, Kate Del Fava’s work has been relentless. The center back racked up 16 tackles and six interceptions across those six games and hit a milestone along the way, recording her 63rd consecutive start for the club since its re‑launch in 2024. Durability is one thing; maintaining that level while leading an unbeaten month is another.

Higher up the pitch, Mina Tanaka provided the craft and cutting edge that turned Utah’s solidity into points. Two goals, three assists, and a central role in an attack that already boasts eight different goalscorers this season underline her influence. When Utah needed a final ball or a composed finish, Tanaka repeatedly stepped into the moment.

Chawinga leads a ruthless front line

At the top of the XI sits the league’s most devastating weapon.

Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga, the two‑time reigning MVP, produced seven goals in six games in May. Defenses knew what was coming and still could not live with her. Her inclusion as Player of the Month and as the centerpiece of the Best XI feels less like a nod of recognition and more like confirmation that she remains the standard by which attacking players are judged.

She is not alone.

Alongside her, Orlando Pride star Barbra Banda delivered a clinical one‑to‑one goal‑to‑game return, striking six times in six matches. Every touch in the box carried menace. Every run threatened to tilt a match.

The forward line is rounded out by Tanaka, whose blend of goals and assists for Utah gives this Best XI an attacking trio that combines power, pace, and precision.

Defenders who do more than defend

May’s Best XI back line is not just about clearances and blocks; it is loaded with players who changed games at both ends.

Denver’s Janine Sonis turned fullback into a goalscoring role, hitting braces in back‑to‑back matches in the middle of the month. Few defenders in any league can claim that kind of output in such a short burst. When Denver needed an extra runner, she arrived, and she finished.

In Portland, Sam Hiatt quietly stitched together the kind of month coaches crave from a center back. She was a key cog in a Thorns unit that also kept three clean sheets, reading danger early and giving Portland a platform to play.

Gotham FC captain Tierna Davidson completes the defensive quartet. She marshalled a back line that held opponents scoreless in three of four matches and added a landmark of her own, scoring her first goal since 2019. For a defender known for her composure and positioning, that long‑awaited strike added an extra layer to a commanding month.

Midfield engines and creators

Between those defenders and that ruthless front line sits a midfield that did a bit of everything.

For North Carolina, Manaka Matsukubo drove the Courage forward with three goals and two assists in six games. She threaded passes, arrived late in the box, and consistently found ways to unpick defenses. When North Carolina needed invention, she supplied it.

San Diego Wave’s 18‑year‑old Kimmi Ascanio brought bite and bravery. Thirteen tackles in six matches show her willingness to do the dirty work, and her first goal of the season added a breakthrough moment to an already impressive stretch. At an age when many are still finding their feet, she stamped her name onto the month.

Kansas City’s midfield maestro Croix Bethune, the 2024 Midfielder of the Year, picked up exactly where she left off. One goal and three assists in May underline her status as the Current’s creative heartbeat. With Chawinga finishing at such a ferocious rate, Bethune’s ability to slide passes into dangerous spaces remains invaluable.

A league of shared spotlight

The spread of clubs in this Best XI tells its own story. Utah’s three selections and Coenraets’ coaching honor underline a team on the rise. Kansas City’s double presence in attack and midfield highlights a side built to overwhelm. Established powers like Portland, North Carolina, and Gotham are still supplying elite performers, while Denver, Orlando, and San Diego inject fresh faces and new narratives.

The NWSL Media Association, a group of writers who track the league week in, week out, cast the votes that produced this XI. Their choices reflect a month in which goalkeepers steadied, defenders surged forward, teenagers tackled fearlessly, and the league’s biggest stars delivered exactly as advertised.

If May looked like this, what will these same names do when the stakes climb higher in the summer stretch?