USWNT captain Lindsey Horan beaten to Player of the Season award in France by PSG star Tabitha Chawinga

Chawinga, on loan at PSG this season from Wuhan Jianghan University in China, won the top individual prize for her 18 goals and 10 assists during the 2023-24 league campaign. Horan, who has helped Lyon retain the D1 title and reach another Champions League final, both at PSG's expense, was nominated for the award. PSG captain Grace Geyoro completed the three-strong shortlist.

A small consolation for Horan was that she did make it into the league's team of the season alongside four of her Lyon team-mates: Ellie Carpenter, Griedge Mbock Bathy, Damaris Egurrola and Eugenie Le Sommer, as well as Ines Benyahia, on loan at Le Havre. Chawinga and Geyoro made the team too, as did PSG's Elisa De Almeida and Sakina Karchaoui, and Paris FC goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie. Meanwhile, Lyon boss Sonia Bompastor, expected to be Chelsea's choice to replace USWNT-bound Emma Hayes this summer, won Coach of the Season for the second year in a row.

Horan was offered a scholarship to play soccer at the University of North Carolina on the legendary Tar Heels team that developed players like Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tobin Heath. But she took an unusal path for an American player by skipping college altogether to sign a professional contract with PSG straight out of high school at the age of 18. She signed with Portland Thorns of the NWSL after four years, but eventually returned to France in 2022 to join Lyon.

As captain, Horan will lead a United States team into the Olymics on French soil this summer. Under the guidance of new head coach Hayes, the Americans will be looking to reassert their global power following a poor last 16 exit at the 2023 World Cup. They will also want to end a 12-year gold medal drought at the Olympics, surprisingly missing out on a medal altgother in 2016 and having to settle for just a bronze at the delayed 2020 Games.