Welcome back to NWSL Vibe Check! The place where you get my unfiltered takes and an insider’s view on all things women’s soccer. All 14 NWSL clubs have played 8-9 games, which means there’s just a handful of matches till the 2024 regular season reaches the halfway point of the season. There’s still plenty of time in the 26-game schedule for things to change on the league table, but several individual performances are shining week to week, driving the conversation around end-of-year awards as the middle of the season looms.
Individual awards consist of five categories and are the more traditional individual recognition. Most valuable player, best coach, defender, goalkeeper, and rookie of the year. There’s also the NWSL Golden Boot that gets awarded. Nearly each of these categories already has some early midway candidates.
So it got me thinking, with front runners already taking shape for the league’s typical yearly awards, is it time to expand the award pool to include more recognition? NWSL is celebrating its 12th year and defining its next decade, so let’s have some fun and introduce some awards that need to be added.
Newcomer of the Year
The NWSL has always had international athletes playing in the…
