Sophia Smith for MVP, Becky Sauerbrunn for Defender of the Year, and Sam Coffey for Rookie of the Year
The NWSL announced the nominations for its 2022 end of year awards today, and the Thorns are thrice-represented.
Sophia Smith—who scored goals by the bucket in the regular season—is nominated for MVP. Becky Sauerbrunn is up for Defender of the Year, while Sam Coffey, who made her debut with the USWNT this year as well, is up for Rookie of the Year. Smith and Coffey were also named to the NWSL Best XI for the month of September today.
Fan voting is open now. Cast your vote between now and Tuesday, October 18 at 8:59 pm PT.
Full NWSL Press Release
National Women's Soccer League Announces Nominees for the 2022 NWSL Awards
Final round of voting now open, closes Tuesday, October 18 at 11:59 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (October 14, 2022) – The National Women's Soccer League announced today the nominees for the 2022 NWSL Awards featuring the Most Valuable Player presented by Budweiser, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Rookie of the Year presented by Ally and Coach of the Year. The 2022 NWSL Awards are voted upon in two rounds with fans having the opportunity to participate in the final round of the voting process.
In the preliminary round of voting, players, owners, general managers, coaches, and the media voted on the individual awards to determine the final nominees. The preliminary round used a weighted scale, broken down by players (50%), owners/GMs/coaches (25%) and media (25%). The nominees for each of those 2022 NWSL Awards are:
Most Valuable Player, presented by Budweiser: Debinha (NC), Naomi Girma (SD), Alex Morgan (SD), Mallory Pugh (CHI), Sophia Smith (POR)
Defender of the Year: Alana Cook (RGN), Naomi Girma (SD), Sofia Huerta (RGN), Carson Pickett (NC), Becky Sauerbrunn (POR)
Goalkeeper of the Year: AD Franch (KC), Kailen Sheridan (SD), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (RGN)
Rookie of the Year, presented by Ally: Sam Coffey (POR), Naomi Girma (SD), Diana Ordóñez (NC)
Coach of the Year: Laura Harvey (RGN), Matt Potter (KC), Casey Stoney (SD)
Additional awards to be voted on in the final round include:
Best XI, presented by Mastercard, honoring a first and second team representing the top 22 players in the league.
Fans wishing to vote on the individual award winners, Best XI, and Best XI Second Team can access the voting ballot here. All votes must be submitted by Tuesday, October 18 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The final round of voting uses a weighted scale of players (50%), owners/GMs/coaches (20%), media (20%) and fans (10%).
These award winners will be announced in the days surrounding the 2022 NWSL Championship game, which is set to kick off Saturday, October 29 at 8 p.m. ET at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. The contest will air live on CBS Television Network and stream live on Paramount+ and internationally on the NWSL’s Twitch channel.
In addition to the awards listed above, the winner of the second annual Nationwide Community Impact Award will be announced and honored at halftime of the 2022 NWSL Championship match. For more details on the Nationwide Community Impact Award, please click here. The league will also announce the Championship MVP presented by Budweiser during the postgame, on-field presentation.
