Bethune, Chawinga Land on NWSL May Best XI of the Month, Pres. by Amazon Prime

Kansas City Current midfielder Croix Bethune and forward Temwa Chawinga have been selected to May’s NWSL Best XI of the Month, presented by Amazon Prime, the league announced on Friday. Bethune and Chawinga combined for eight goals and four assists in six games last month. 

Bethune earned the monthly recognition for the fifth time in her career, and first as a member of the KC Current. Chawinga has now garnered 11 career NWSL Best XI of the Month honors, moving into sole possession of No. 2 all-time in league history.  

Chawinga was also named May’s Player of the Month for the sixth time in her career, extending her own NWSL record. 

Bethune started the month with a goal and game-winning assist on May 2 at North Carolina. It was the second time in her career she had registered a goal and an assist in the same match. She then followed that up with the game-winning assist eight days later against Chicago, the second time she had ever dished out an assist in consecutive regular season games.  

She then provided yet another feed vs. Portland on May 24 for what was her 15th career regular season assist and her eighth career regular season game-winning assist. In just 48 regular season appearances, Bethune became the fourth fastest player in league history to reach 15 regular season assists. No player has recorded more assists since the start of the 2024 campaign than Bethune. 

Chawinga scored seven goals in six regular season matches last month to move into second place on the Golden Boot leaderboard. The two-time defending NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner hit 50 goal contributions in May, doing so in just 53 regular season games to become the fastest player in league history to reach that milestone. 

She made history on May 10 vs. Chicago by recording the first regular season hat trick in club history, which was also the first hat trick in league play this season and the eighth fastest hat trick in NWSL history. Chawinga then had a brace five days later against Houston, and her five goals are tied for the most in league history in a two-game stretch. She also scored against Portland on May 24 and Boston on May 30, both which were the game-winning goals.  

The NWSL Best XI of the Month is selected by the NWSL Media Association, a collection of writers that cover the league consistently, and the NWSL’s on-air broadcast talent. Awards for the month of May are based on performances during regular season matches.