April’s gone and along with it, memorable performances all around the league.
Who stood out in the rookie, coach and player of the month department?
Player of the Month
North Carolina’s Ashley Sanchez was chosen as Player of the Month for April by the NWSL Media Association and the league’s on-air broadcast crew.
The Courage went unbeaten in April and a lot had
to do with her contributions. Three goals in three matches, with one of those goals being the winning one against Houston. The other two tallies were against Boston and Portland.
Coach of the Month
Washington Spirit’s coach Adrián González was chosen as Coach of the Month for the month of April after leading the team to an unbeaten streak during that month.
Washington collected three clean sheets and scored seven goals catapulted the team to third place in the table by the end of April.
Rookie of the Month
Gotham FC’s Jordynn Dudley was chosen as Rookie of the Month for April.
The 21-year-old scored the first goal of her professional career against Chicago and contributed with an assist in the win over Bay FC.
Those performances will surely make a case for her to continue starting for the Bats.
April’s Best XI
The league chose the Best XI for April, which includes:
Washington Spirit Sandy MacIver, who kept three clean sheets in three games played in April. Washington’s defenders Esme Morgan and Tara Rudd who helped goalkeeper MacIver with such a feat. Also, as part of the backline, there are Portland Thorns’ centerback Sam Hiatt and San Diego Wave’s Kennedy Wesley. The first one has helped Portland to climb to the top of the table and Wesley played every minute and scored her first goal of the year last month.
If we talk about midfielders, Player of the Month Ashley Sanchez is included here, as well as Washington’s Leicy Santos, who scored a brace against Kansas. Gotham’s Rose Lavelle also scored two goals in April, except that she did so in two different games, helping her team to get the wins in both matches.
The forwards are Washington’s Trinity Rodman, who had three goal contributions last month; Orlando Pride’s Barbra Banda, who’s at the top of the Golden Boot race, and Houston Dash’s Kiki van Zanten, who tallied her second brace of the season, this time against Racing Louisville.
