Sofia Huerta Named to June Best XI of the Month, Presented by Mastercard

The National Women’s Soccer League announced today the 11 players named to the Best XI of the Month, presented by Mastercard, for the month June by the NWSL Media Association and the NWSL’s on-air broadcast talent. OL Reign is one of seven teams represented in this month’s Best XI.

OL Reign defender Sofia Huerta was selected for the league’s June Best XI of the Month, marking the seventh time throughout her career that she has received this honor. Huerta started and played all 90 minutes in all four of OL Reign’s regular season matches in the month of June. She led the league in crosses (29), was tied for second in assists (2) and had 10 chances created, tied for fourth in the league during the month of June.

The defender also notched her first goal of the season in June and helped the Reign earn one clean sheet and go unbeaten in three of the four games she appeared in. With her assist against the Kansas City Current on June 24, Huerta tied the all-time NWSL assist record (31). She was also one of four players in the league to record a goal and an assist in the same game in June, and the only defender to do so.

NWSL JUNE TEAM OF THE MONTH PRESENTED BY MASTERCARD:

GK – Casey Murphy (NCC): Murphy recorded four clean sheets for North Carolina in June, including her 30th career regular season shutout on June 24. At 27 years old, Murphy is the youngest goalkeeper to reach the milestone. The Courage currently lead the league with eight shutouts this season.

D – Abby Erceg (LOU): Featuring in every minute of action for Racing, Erceg currently owns a 93 percent passing accuracy in Racing’s defensive half and 90 percent overall pass success rate.  

D – Sofia Huerta (RGN): Huerta tallied her first goal-and-assist performance since last July in OL Reign’s 2-1 win over Kansas City on June 10. The defender also added a game-winning assist to help the club to a 2-1 result against San Diego Wave FC on June 24.

D – Kaleigh Kurtz (NCC): A steady presence on the Courage backline, Kurtz has appeared in every minute of play for the Courage during the regular season. Securing her 50th straight regular season start for North Carolina on June 3, Kurtz broke the club record for consecutive starts. The veteran centerback also recorded an assist in the Courage’s 5-0 rout of Chicago.  

D – M.A. Vignola (LA): Vignola found the back of the net in back-to-back matches in June, first scoring against Washington on June 10 before providing late heroics with the game-winning goal in Angel City’s 2-1 victory over league rival San Diego Wave FC on June 17.

M – Sam Coffey (POR): The league assists leader (6) heading into Week 15, Coffey tallied her second multi-assist game of the year with a pair of assists in Portland’s 4-2 win over the Washington Spirit on June 23.

M – Debinha (KCC): Scoring her 41st regular-season goal in Kansas City’s 2-1 win over Orlando on June 24, Debinha is now tied with Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock for 10th on the all-time scoring list. The Brazilian international’s productive month of play (4G, 1A) also included a brace in the club’s 4-0 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup win over Chicago on June 14.

M – Savannah DeMelo (LOU): Earning her second-straight Best XI of the Month selection, the May Player of the Month continued her scoring ways in June, adding three goals across the regular season and Challenge Cup. So far this season, Racing Louisville is unbeaten when DeMelo scores.

F – Kerolin (NCC): Recording her first hat trick and the third multi-goal performance of her career, Kerolin tallied a trio of goals in North Carolina’s 5-0 win against Chicago before adding the game-winning goal in the club’s 3-0 shutout of Orlando. Thanks to her four-goal month, the midfielder currently sits second in the Golden Boot race with eight goals in 13 regular season matches.

F – Sophia Smith (POR): With a hat trick in Portland’s 4-2 win over Washington on June 24, Smith became the youngest NWSL player to score 30 goals in the regular season and just the third player in league history to tally two hat tricks in one season. Notching six goals in four matches in June, Smith comfortably leads the Golden Boot race with 10 tallies in 13 matches.

F – Lynn Williams (NJNY): A three-time Best XI of the Month selection, Williams has continued to shine in her first season with Gotham FC, scoring a pair of goals and recording 24 shots in four matches throughout the month.

Mastercard and the NWSL launched the Best XI of the Month awards platform with the First Team and Second Team honors for the 22 top players of the league after the 2021 season. Mastercard believes that our world is full of brilliant possibilities and unlocking the potential in every person across all parts of their life is what Priceless is all about. The development of the Best XI is a further commitment from the company to connect NWSL fans to the league and the athletes they love. 
   
The NWSL Best XI of the Month is selected each month of the regular season by the NWSL Media Association, a collection of writers that cover the league on a consistent basis, and the NWSL’s on-air broadcast talent.