CARY, N.C. (Oct. 25, 2022) – Four members of the North Carolina Courage have earned Mastercard Best XI honors for the 2022 NWSL season. Midfielder Debinha and defender Carson Pickett have been named to the Best XI First Team while forward Diana Ordóñez and midfielder Kerolin Nicoli earn Best XI Second Team honors, as announced today by the league office.
Four players on the combined teams matches Portland for second-most, trailing only regular-season champion OL Reign’s five. The Best XI First Team and Best XI Second Team are based on weighted voting scale comprised of players (50%), owners/GMs/coaches (20%), media (20%) and fans (10%). Each athlete will receive a cash bonus for their achievements this season as part of Mastercard’s celebration of the Best XI and Best XI Second Team. Debinha was the NWSL Player of the Month in September as she led the Courage on a ferocious climb up the table to catapult into playoff contention. Overall, the league MVP candidate scored 12 goals to finish third in the Golden Boot race and her four assists ranked fifth in the NWSL. Debinha and Mallory Pugh (Chicago) were the only two players to finish the regular season in the top five in both goals and assists this season. Pickett was the definition of consistency at left back, finding herself in the monthly Best XI four times throughout the season. Pickett led the NWSL with six assists, serving as the primary corner kick taker, and scored once herself. Defensively, she helped the Courage to a strong finish with five clean sheets over their final seven matches. Ordóñez set the NWSL rookie scoring record, netting 11 goals on the season, to earn a Rookie of the Year nomination. She was the August NWSL Rookie of the Month and Best XI honoree after setting the Courage record, and tying the NWSL record, with goals in six straight matches. Kerolin was massive in helping the Courage capture the 2022 Challenge Cup, but an injury forced her to miss the early portion of the regular season. She responded nicely, though, with six goals and four assists in 13 matches.
ABOUT THE MASTERCARD BEST XI AWARDS
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.
