The 2026 National Women’s Soccer League season is the biggest yet, with 16 teams vying for a title. And yet, with a little more than half the season completed, the likelihood of a player taking the Golden Boot crown from Kansas City Current’s Temwa Chawinga, and eclipsing her record of 20 goals in 2024, is already shrinking.

As the NWSL approaches the business end of the 2026 season, the league’s top scorer title is very much up for grabs — which is exciting.

The two perennial frontrunners, Chawinga and Orlando Pride forward Barba Banda, both started the year recovering from injuries suffered last season. The duo were eased in at the start of the year and have been on minute restrictions at other times.

The rescheduled Women’s African Cup of Nations, taking place between the last week of July and the first half of August, has further reduced the NWSL minutes available to Chawinga (Malawi) and Banda (Zambia).

Another neat wrinkle to 2026, is the emergence of the Utah Royals as a well-rounded team without a designated star or established goalscorer. Fresh from raucous 5-1 and 4-1 wins in the last two weeks, Jimmy Coenraets’s team boast the most goals scored in the NWSL (31) but do not have a player who has scored more than six (Cloé Lacasse). Utah is also tied with the Seattle Reign for having the most different goalscorers this season (11).

Here’s a look at the players to watch and what case they could make to win the Golden Boot come November.

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda currently leads the NWSL’s Golden Boot race. (Dustin Markland / Getty Images)

The leaders

Banda is currently leading the pack with 12 goals. In half a season, her tally is just one goal behind her personal best in an NWSL regular season, which she achieved t in 2024 when Orlando won the Shield and championship double.

The 26-year-old Zambian forward has never won the NWSL Golden Boot before. Over the last two seasons, she has often been keeping pace with Chawinga until the summer when either form or injury has resulted in her falling away.

Volume has been key to Banda’s success this year. No player has taken more shots per 90 minutes (five) than Banda. However, it’s not just about the quantity. Banda is a proven quality shot-taker too and has turned an expected goals (xG) total of 7.7 into an expected goals on target (xGOT) total of 10.9.

With Zambia’s elimination from WAFCON this week, Banda has likely boosted her chances of winning the NWSL Golden Boot. There’s a good chance she only misses three matches while away on international duty and could be available to play some role in Orlando’s road trip to Portland on Aug. 15.

Courage’s Ashley Sanchez has doubled her career-best single-season goals. (Johnnie Izquierdo / Getty Images)

Chasing Banda at the top of the goal chart are Ashley Sanchez of the North Carolina Courage, who has 10, and Chawinga, with nine.

Sanchez is having an outstanding career year and renaissance (Sanchessance?) under new Courage head coach Mak Lind. With 13 matches still to play, the 27-year-old American has already doubled her previous best goals tally in a single NWSL season (five in both 2023 and 2024).

Lind has got the best out of Sanchez as an advanced forward on the left side who can drive into the box on her right foot. All 10 of her goals have been scored in the box, seven on her right foot, two on her left and one with her head.

Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga currently leads the NWSL in expected goals. (Jay Biggerstaff / NWSL via Getty Images)

Of course, Banda and Sanchez could still easily be chased down by the reigning two-time Golden Boot winner, Chawinga.

The only thing holding back the 27-year-old Malawian is minutes on the pitch. Chawinga has scored nine goals in just 11 appearances (765 minutes) in 2026. Which is an average of over a goal every 90 minutes.

Chawinga’s total time on the pitch pales in comparison to Banda (15 appearances, 1,108 minutes) and Sanchez (17 appearances, 1,473 minutes). Even despite that lack of playing time, Chawinga is still in the best positions of any player in the NWSL and leads the league in total xG with 9.3.

With Malawi reaching the quarterfinals of WAFCON, Chawinga will not have as many opportunities to add to her tally. She could miss three more matches. But if Chawinga can come back fit and ready to keep up the pace she has established then she will be the favorite to hold onto the crown.

Sophia Wilson and Trinity Rodman have both returned to the leaderboard after missing most or all of the 2025 season. (Hannah Foslien / NWSL via Getty Images)

The challengers

Just below the Golden Boot frontrunners, both tied with eight goals each, are two U.S. women’s national team megastars: Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit) and Sophia Wilson (Portland Thorns).

The duo are both on comeback seasons for different reasons in 2026.

A chronic back injury, first suffered in September 2024, plagued Rodman’s 2025 before she injured her knee just before the playoffs. Wilson missed the 2025 season entirely to carry and birth her first child.

Rodman is currently the most in-form player in the Golden Boot race, with five of her eight goals coming over the last seven games and since the NWSL returned from its summer break a month ago.

No player in the Golden Boot race has played more matches (18) or had more minutes (1,502) than Rodman. If there were durability issues surrounding the NWSL’s most high-profile player coming into this season, she has answered those concerns.

Trinity Rodman leads the Washington Spirit in goals and assists. (Caean Couto / Getty Images)

Rodman’s do-it-all nature could hold her back from winning a goalscoring competition. The 24-year-old, who also boasts five assists, is not just relied upon to score. Her creation and intense pressing is almost of equal value.

Rodman averages 0.45 xG per 90 minutes, which is less than half of Chawinga’s total in the same statistic (1.08). She is getting fewer quality chances than some of the other players on this list. Although with 60 total shots this year, she is way ahead as the Spirit’s prime shot taker, which could change with the return of teammate Ashley Hatch.

Like Banda, volume is what sets Wilson apart from the chasing pack. She leads the NWSL in total shots (74), and is tied with Banda for shots per 90 minutes (five) and ranks behind only Chawinga for total xG (8.3).

Sophia Wilson has returned to her scoring ways for Portland. (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)

History, and perhaps muscle memory, is also on Wilson’s side. She’s been here before, winning the 2023 NWSL Golden Boot, albeit with 11 goals in a 22-game regular season. With 45 goals in her last 72 NWSL regular season games, only Chawinga and Banda can match that sort of consistency in recent years.

Something which also sets Wilson apart from the other top scorers in the NWSL is she takes penalty kicks. The Thorns were awarded an abnormally high total of nine penalty kicks last season.

So far in 2026, Portland has been awarded three penalties, with Wilson tucking away two and Olivia Moultrie scoring the third. If Wilson stays on spot kick duty, that could give her challenge a bit more bite.

Despite sharing the field with another leading goalscorer, Evelyn Ijeh has also found the back of the net several times this season for the Courage. (Matt Kelley / NWSL via Getty Images)

The outside chances

An outsider to watch is Courage forward Evelyn Ijeh with seven goals this season. Without her hat-trick in last weekend’s 5-0 thrashing of the Pride, she probably wouldn’t be in this conversation — but here we are.

As noted with Sanchez above, North Carolina has 13 games remaining, which is tied for the most in the league. With Banda and Chawinga also losing more game time at WAFCON, that puts Ijeh in a position to capitalize on those absences. Although, fighting with Sanchez for chances on the pitch with the Courage could also work against her.

Whereas many forwards on this list boast a high output, Ijeh is more of a qualitative striker. The Swede ranks 29th in the NWSL for total shots (30), but her xG (7.4) ranks sixth and her xG per 90 minutes (0.64) is even higher, ranking fourth. If she can be a bit more selfish as a central presence, taking more shots in the good positions she’s getting into, then there is potential for her to make a run at the Golden Boot.

Like Ijeh, a month ago, Trinity Byars (six goals) wouldn’t have been in the Golden Boot conversation but an uptick in goals and impact means, if you squint, there’s a pathway to the San Diego Wave forward shooting up the goal charts.

San Diego Wave strike early!

And that’s Trinity Byars’ 5th goal of the season 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/3P0OI5u28y

— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) July 18, 2026

In 2025, Byars missed the entirety of her rookie year in the NWSL as she recovered from an ACL injury that she suffered in her final year at the University of Texas. In 2026, with very limited minutes (439) and just three starts, the 23-year-old American has been one of the most impactful gamechangers in the NWSL.

Byars is behind only Chawinga for xG per 90 minutes (0.8) and if she can get more time on the pitch could be one to watch. She also matches Rodman for shots per 90 minutes (3.5). The question is, can she get on the pitch enough?

Ahead of Byars, with seven goals, is Denver Summit co-captain, full-back and league veteran Janine Sonis. Three converted penalty kicks has aided her tally, as has the 31-year-old’s availability (15 appearances, 1,286 minutes).

Speaking frankly though, Sonis shouldn’t really be considered in the hunt for the Golden Boot. This is the first time in her 10-year career, in both the NWSL and the Women’s Super League, that she has managed over four league goals.

Janine Sonis leads Denver Summit in goals scored despite her defensive role. (Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)

Sonis has taken just eight non-penalty shots inside the box this season, three of which went in the back of the net. Her only goal from outside the box was a flukey cross from the left-back position that bounced right in front of a wrong-footed Mackenzie Arnold and nestled into the corner. A defender, even one who is automatic from the penalty spot, is not a real contender for the Golden Boot.

The only other name to just about keep an eye on is the Utah Royals’ Lacasse, who has six goals. But even with WAFCON taken into account, could a player with half as many goals as Banda really catch up? It feels unlikely.

Lacasse is the highest scorer on the Royals, although she ranks 41st in the NWSL for xG (3.5), which is behind three Utah teammates: Mina Tanaka (5.7), Cece Delzer (5.3) and Kiana Palicios (4.3). With a league-high seven assists, it is clear that Lacasse is part of a hybrid Utah attack that spreads the ball to open up players, rather than systematically feeding one player.

If Lacasse can break double digits for goals or accumulate more than 15 goal contributions that would be a hugely successful season, and perhaps a case for an MVP shortlist nod, but she doesn’t feel like a Golden Boot threat.