KC Current players (and coach Andonovski) are finalists for annual NWSL awards
Temwa Chawinga is officially an MVP finalist.
The National Women’s Soccer League this week announced finalists for its annual season-ending awards. and Chawinga is one of several KC players selected. Also nominated (and finalist for Coach of the Year) is Vlatko Andonovski.
Other KC players nominated for the NWSL’s 2024 awards include Lo’eau LaBonta and Vanessa DiBernardo (both are up for Midfielder of the Year) and Claire Hutton, who is in the running for Rookie of the Year.
Winners will be announced around during festivities surrounding the Saturday, Nov. 23 NWSL Championship Game in Kansas City. This year’s title match will take place at CPKC Stadium.
The Current currently sits one win away from appearing in that match: KC plays a semifinal game in Florida on Sunday against the top-seeded Orlando Pride. The winner advances to the final.
For now, let’s take a closer look at KC’s awards finalists:
About the finalists
We have to start with Chawinga, who burst onto the scene this year by scoring 20 goals and providing six assists during the regular season.
Since the NWSL expanded past 10 teams, Chawinga is the first player in the league to score against every other club during a single season. She also broke league records for most goals and most goals plus assists in a season in 2024.
Other MVP finalists this year: Barbra Banda (Orlando), Marta (Orlando), Trinity Rodman (Washington), and Sophia Smith (Portland).
LaBonta, meanwhile, played a deeper role in the midfield yet still scored six goals and contributed an assist. DiBernardo scored five goals — including the first goal at the newly built CPKC Stadium — and also had six assists.
Other finalists in the Midfielder of the Year category include Croix Bethune (Washington), Marta (Orlando), and Ashley Sanchez (North Carolina).
Under Andonovski’s leadership, the Current lost just three times in 26 games this year. KC won 16 matches and settled for draws in seven, finishing with the most goals scored in a season in NWSL history. The Current also tied with Orlando for the league’s largest goal differential in 2024.
Other Coach of the Year finalists: Juan Carlos Amorós (Gotham), and Seb Hines (Orlando).
Hutton, a U-18 initiative signing, was a revelation after going mostly unnoticed by pro scouts. She played in 23 matches (20 starts), totaling 1,700 minutes in her first season at the pro level.
She ranked among the league’s top 10 in “goal-creating actions” and finished sixth with 44 tackles won. This year’s other Rookie of the Year finalists are Croix Bethune (Washington), and Ally Sentnor (Utah).
Other awards categories
The Current had no finalists for Goalkeeper of the Year or Defender of the Year.
The finalists for Goalkeeper of the Year are Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham), Mandy Haught (Utah) and Anna Moorhouse (Orlando).
The finalists for Defender of the Year are Naomi Girma (San Diego), Kaleigh Kurtz (North Carolina), Tara McKeown (Washington), Emily Sams (Orlando) and Kylie Strom (Orlando).
Finalists for the annual NWSL awards were determined using a weighted scale of votes: players’ votes count for 40%, owners/GMs/coaches 25%, media 25% and fans 10%.
This story was originally published November 13, 2024 at 2:03 PM.