NWSL Team of the Week: Sam Coffey leads Portland Thorns; Savy King named honorary captain after heart surgery

The 2025 NWSL regular season rolls on as clubs narrow the margins of competition after week nine. The league is marching steadily toward the halfway point of the season, and that means Attacking Third’s team of the week is back. 

After weekly fixtures throughout the 2025 NWSL campaign, Attacking Third analysts select a best XI and a coach based on standout performances across the weekend. 

As we say farewell to week nine, there are plenty of new players who have cracked our Best XI. While there have been some repeats, the competitive parity has returned as we’re well past the quarter mark of the season, and different faces are emerging for our team of the week. If you’re keeping tabs on who has cracked the Best XI, be sure to reference our week eight team of the week where Christen Press turned back the clock..

There’s plenty to look forward to in week ten, and fans can watch select NWSL regular season matches across CBS platforms, including CBS, CBS Sports Network, Paramount+, and CBS Sports Golazo Network.

Take a look at our best XI:

Goalkeeper: Lorena (Kansas City Current)

The Brazilian goalkeeper signed in the offseason with Kansas City and has been a reliable presence in the net through nine matches this year. The 28-year-old leads the league in shutouts after she picked up her fifth clean sheet of the season against the Orlando Pride. Not an easy task to do against Barbra Banda and Marta, but she faced 11 shots and made four saves to extend Kansas City’s first-place lead at the top of the table. 

Defender: Trinity Armstrong (San Diego Wave)

The rookie defender is standing strong on the backline for San Diego and had another big performance in week nine. With centerback partner Kennedy Wesley out on red card suspension, the 17-year-old was quick to establish chemistry alongside veteran Kristen McNabb and aided in shutting out Gotham FC. She was effective in her duels and led the team in success rate (75%).

Defender: Phoebe McClernon (Seattle Reign)

As Seattle head coach Laura Harvey irons out defensive tactics for the roster moving forward, McClernon has rapidly become a leading face of the Reign’s back line. Reading dangerous attacks before they happen by covering lots of ground with her positioning, and led defenders in recoveries (two). 

Defender: Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit)

While some players need a full game to make an impact, others just need a half, and Kreuger delivered a relentless performance for the Spirit during a wild six-goal draw against Utah. Krueger’s halftime substitution shifted the match entirely, as the outside back was constantly getting involved in attack and disrupting attempts by Utah. Scoring the game’s equalizer at the death is just perfect end to a chaotic game.

Defender: Kayla Sharples (Kansas City Current)

Sharples earns Best XI honors and returns to our team of the week after another solid performance on the back line where she stepped into challenges and did a good job marking. She led the team in clearances (five), and helped the backline stay organized when the team had to manage a game-changing injury substitution for Alana Cook. 

Midfielder: CeCe Kizer (Utah Royals FC)

Kizer showed off some vintage form during a wild match against the Spirit. Not only did she score a goal for the Royals, but she was the catalyst for chaos after she jumped and headed her way to force an own goal that was the fifth score in just 36 minutes. 

Midfielder: Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage)

A third consecutive appearance for the Irish international on our Best XI. Another week where the midfielder was both enforcer and connector for the Courage, and gave zero opportunities to the opposition for a chance at controlling the middle third. She delivered an assist on Manaka Matsukubo’s opening goal. 

Midfielder: Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns)

The Thorns keep cruising, and Sam Coffey is in the driver’s seat. The defensive midfielder is a constant threat in maintaining tempo for the team, as they manage to produce a different goal scorer every week. Coffey joined the goalscoring committee in week nine when she converted a penalty and provided an assist on Pietra Tordin’s goal. 

Forward: Maddie Dahlien (Seattle Riegn)

The rookie class keeps delivering, and Dahlien is making it more and more difficult for opposing defenders to keep her out of the final third. She doesn’t shy away from taking defenders on and is effective in counterpressing, tracking alongside generating attacks. She was responsible for three of Seattle’s four total shot attempts. 

Forward: Manaka Matsukubo (North Carolina Courage)

The Japan international finally got on the scoreboard for North Carolina this season, and her breakout two-goal game could be a turning point for North Carolina. The 20-year-old, third-year, Courage player led the team in total shots (five) and created two chances against Chicago. 

Forward: Pietra Tordin (Portland Thorns)

First goal, first team of the week honors for the Thorns rookie. She showed off her skillset with a flick on the ball for a first touch and shook off her defender before turning to take her shot. It extended the Thorns’ lead, and Portland never looked back as they extended their unbeaten streak to five matches. 

Coach: Albertin Montoya (Bay FC)

Changing up tactics and player rotation gave Bay FC an added layer of unpredictability this week, a major victory for a side that hasn’t picked up a win in three weeks. Now it’ll be about finding a consistent path forward.

Captain: Savy King (Angel City FC)

Following a week where hearts and minds were with defender Savy King following her emergency heart surgery, the center back’s presence was felt throughout matchweek nine. The 20-year-old is back at home and recovering, and players and teams throughout the league managed another emotional week. Sometimes it is bigger than soccer.