NWSL top scorers 2023: Alex Morgan, Sophia Smith & the race for the Golden Boot

A knee strain sidelined Sophia Smith for a good chunk of the 2023 season but she still won the Golden Boot. She also racked up five assists to go with her 11 goals, despite only playing 17 games.

One of the most exciting global stars in the NWSL, Brazil international Kerolin was a top signing by the North Carolina Courage in 2022. A few weeks on the sidelines with an injury meant we didn't see the 23-year-old in full flow in her first year but she had an outstanding 2023.

No off-season move caught the eye more than Debinha's switch from the North Carolina Courage to the Kansas City Current before the 2023 campaign and the Brazil international did not hesitate to showcase her world-class qualities in her new environment.

Winner of the Golden Boot in 2021, Ashley Hatch's goals were crucial that year in helping the Washington Spirit to a first ever NWSL Championship. After a disappointing 2022 campaign, the Spirit had much better season in 2023, with Hatch's form just one of the reasons why. That said, the team still couldn't secure a play-off spot and head coach Mark Parsons departed as a result.

Recipient of this award in 2022, Alex Morgan started her defence of the Golden Boot in a strong fashion and, although she ultimately didn't retain the individual award, her goals helped the San Diego Wave win the NWSL Shield in just its second ever year as a club.

Morgan Weaver was chosen by the Portland Thorns as the second overall pick in the 2020 NWSL Draft and, in 2022, we got a real look at why she is so highly-rated. The midfielder netted seven goals across the season as the Thorns won the Championship and she carried that form into 2023, matching that total for goals while also racking up four assists.

After 10 months out injured, Lynn Williams returned to action with the USWNT in January and marked her first game back with a goal. She made a similarly impressive return to NWSL action, on the scoresheet in her first outing for new club Gotham after a blockbuster trade on draft night saw her leave the Kansas City Current. Williams' goals helped fire Gotham into the play-offs for the first time in 10 years.

In her first season in the NWSL after arriving in Florida from Corinthians, Brazil international Adriana made a strong start to life as an Orlando Pride player, most notably netting twice in the victory over the Portland Thorns, the reigning champion, in June.

After breaking through in her homeland with Japanese giants INAC Kobe, Hina Sugita had an impressive first season with the Portland Thorns, the 2022 NWSL champions, and she only continued that in 2023.

A member of the inaugural NXGN Nine, GOAL's most talented teenagers on the planet, Jaedyn Shaw burst onto the scene in 2022 after joining the San Diego Wave and she has since proved that form was not a flash in the pan. The forward is one of the most exciting prospects the U.S. has and she earned her first USWNT call-up in September 2023 as a result.

Despite all of her goals coming after a mid-season switch of clubs, Cece Kizer enjoyed her best scoring season in the NWSL yet in 2022, netting seven times in 18 games for the Kansas City Current. She carried that form into 2023.

The 2019 Rookie of the Year, Bethany Balcer got herself off to a flying start in 2023. In conversation with Indivisa in March, team-mate Jess Fishlock said the 26-year-old was looking great going into the new campaign - and she was right.

After spending just one season with Angel City, Tyler Lussi joined the North Carolina Courage ahead of the 2023 season and started the campaign strongly, matching her best ever tally for goals in a NWSL season before the end of May. She went on to better it by some distance, five of her six goals giving the Courage 1-0 wins.

Picked in the second round of the 2023 NWSL Draft, Messiah Bright arrived at the Orlando Pride with quite the reputation as a goal-scorer, having broken multiple records at Texas Christian University. She's already showing that she can translate that form onto the big stage of the NWSL, too.

For the USWNT, Crystal Dunn is often a full-back. For the Portland Thorns, she's a midfielder - and a very prolific one at that. Dunn has won the Golden Boot before back in 2015, the same year she was named the league's MVP.

When USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski announced his 2023 Women's World Cup roster, he stressed what a huge role Savannah DeMelo's NWSL form had played in landing her a spot on it. The midfielder scored four goals in her rookie season in 2022 and had already bettered that just a few months into year two.

The 2021 Rookie of the Year, Trinity Rodman looked back to her brilliant best at times in 2023 after the Washington Spirit had a really disappointing 2022.

One of the Washington Spirit's most creative players, Ashley Sanchez can find the back of the net herself, too. At the midway point of the 2023 season, she had already matched her tally for 2022.

After arriving at OL Reign midway through 2022, Jordyn Huitema built on that half-season with a decent goal-scoring campaign in 2023. Her first league goal of the campaign was a crucial one, too - a 90th minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Racing Louisville.