CARY, N.C. (Nov. 19, 2025) — The North Carolina Courage’s Manaka Matsukubo was named Midfielder of the Year at the NWSL Awards, presented by AT&T, Wednesday evening. Manaka is the first recipient of the award in Courage history.

Manaka was also named to the Best XI First Team, presented by Amazon Prime, and nominated for NWSL MVP. The Best XI honor is the 14th First-Team honor in Courage history and 28th Best XI honor overall for the club.

The 21-year-old midfielder took home the honors following a breakout season for the Courage that saw the young star lead all midfielders in the NWSL in goal contributions in 2025 with 15 (11 goals, 4 assists) and finish third in the Golden Boot race.

The Courage’s young star capped off the season on a magic run of form, scoring five goals in the final month of the season to earn her first career Player of the Month honor and third inclusion in the league’s monthly Best XI of the 2025 season. She also became the youngest player in NWSL history to score a hat trick when she scored three goals against Bay FC at just 21 years and 81 days old.

Manaka appeared in all 26 of the Courage’s matches, starting all but two and playing 2,106 minutes. No player in the league matched Manaka’s combination of scoring and creating, with no other player scoring more than six goals and having at least four assists. Manaka also led the NWSL in goal-creating actions with 13 and finished tied for the most big chances created with 10.

The NWSL awards were determined based on a weighted voting scale comprised of players (40%), owners/GMs/coaches (25%), media (25%), and fans (10%).