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The NWSL is known to be the deepest league in the world for a reason. The current player pool is deep with emerging talent and every year we see a handful of new players have a breakout season. We\u2019re a month into the NWSL season, and we\u2019ve already seen some virtuoso performances from players you may not have heard of seen of coming into this season. That\u2019s what we\u2019re here for, here\u2019s GSN top standouts from the first month of the NWSL season.<\/p>\n
\nThe Houston Dash started the season off with a blockbuster trade sending two starters in Yasmeen Ryan and Delanie Sheehan to the Denver Summit. This in turn opened the door for Kiki van Zanten to shine. The former Notre Dame star has getting the job done for both club and country with some great performances for Jamaica as well. Kiki van Zanten\u2019s goals have come in bunches with two braces this season. One against the Boston Legacy and the second against Racing Louisville. Time will tell if she can keep it up, but based on how young Houston\u2019s roster is, Van Zanten will have plenty of opportunities to keep herself in the Golden Boot race this season. According to PIRLo Stats, van Zanten is in the top top 25 players in all the NWSL in terms of their ratings which factor in 50 possible playing actions during the match. The eye test and stats don\u2019t like, Kiki van Zanten could be in the middle of a breakout season for the Houston Dash.<\/p>\n
Melissa K\u00f6ssler<\/h3>\n
\nMelissa K\u00f6ssler has proven to be one of best signings of the offseason and entered the NWSL as a relative unknown from the American perspective. In the Frauen Bundesliga, all K\u00f6ssler did was score goals for both Turbine Potsdam and TSG Hoffenheim with 38 combined over five seasons. Now all she\u2019s done is bring that with her to the NWSL. Denver has been incredibly competitive in every game this season and Kossler has been a big reason why. Four out of the six games feature a goal from K\u00f6ssler, with two of those coming against the run of play. K\u00f6ssler managed to do this against Orlando and Gotham, two teams that have won the last two NWSL Championships. If K\u00f6ssler can keep finishing like this, she\u2019ll have Denver in the running for a playoff spot while potentially getting her way back into Germany\u2019s national team.<\/p>\n
Alex Pfeiffer<\/h3>\n
\nThe Kansas City Current let Alex Pfeiffer walk away in free agency and Bay FC made a great move to pick her up. Pfeiffer is still just 18 and within the first few weeks of the season, she made Kansas City look bad for letting her leave. Pfeiffer has scored twice for a team that is in the bottom half of the league in goals scored. Not only did she score but both goals were beautiful runs down the right wing while taking on and beating defenders. For a young player to show that level of fearlessness and attacking prowess is rare and it had to feel good for Bay FC\u2019s front office to see her play like this right away. It appears that Bay FC will give her more minutes unlike Kansas City did. This will only help Pfeiffer\u2019s development, growth and confidence. This first month was a great platform for her to build off of.<\/p>\n
Abby Smith<\/h3>\n
\nAbby Smith has been a true NWSL vet who has suited up for six different NWSL teams prior to Denver adding her in the offseason. It\u2019s great to see her finally get her flowers based on her recent performances for Denver. The Summit have had two 0-0 games already this season and Smith leads the league in saves with 25. It\u2019s been great to see Smith have a career resurgence in Denver and she is more than likely going to end up in the top 5 in saves this year even if she doesn\u2019t hold her spot at the top.<\/p>\n
Kennedy Wesley<\/h3>\n
\nKennedy Wesley has come into the NWSL and become a key player for the San Diego Wave in her first three seasons as a pro. 2026 is turning into a breakout campaign for Wesley as she\u2019s performed well for club and country. Heading into a huge showdown with Portland, the Wave sit in first place with one of the best defensive records in the league. Wesley currently leads the league in passes completed which shows how involved she\u2019s been in team possession. Now, passes can be a misleading stat because defenders passes sometimes don\u2019t pass more than 5 yards at a time but Wesley has also played 18 accurate long balls this season. It\u2019s this level of play that got Emma Hayes to take notice and call her back into the USWNT. Wesley took full advantage with a goal and assist in her last game against Japan. For both team USA and the San Diego Wave, Kennedy Wesley has had an elite first month to the season.<\/p>\n
Featured image via @kikivanzanten<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
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GIRLS SOCCER NETWORK: YOUR SOURCE FOR GIRLS SOCCER NEWS<\/h4>\n
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