Final round of voting now open, closes Tuesday, October 18 at 11:59 p.m. ET
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (October 14, 2022) – The National Women’s Soccer League announced today the nominees for the 2022 NWSL Awards with Wave FC represented in five categories. Forward Alex Morgan and defender Naomi Girma are up for Most Valuable Player presented by Budweiser. Naomi Girma, who was nominated three times, is also in the running for Defender of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Kailen Sheridan has been nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year, presented by Ally, and Casey Stoney for 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. The league will also announce the Championship MVP presented by Budweiser during the postgame, on-field presentation.
San Diego Wave FC looks to become the first expansion franchise to win the NWSL Championship in their inaugural campaign when they face No. 6 seed Chicago in the quarterfinals Sunday, October 16 at Snapdragon Stadium. The match, set for a 10 p.m. ET kickoff, will air live on CBS Sports Network and internationally on the NWSL’s Twitch channel.
After selling out Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 17, with 32,000 fans, the club looks to pack out the stadium again with tickets for Oct. 16 on sale now.
