NWSL opening weekend: 6 standout players across the league's first six fixtures

Goals. Goals. And even more goals. Week one of the 2024 NWSL regular season saw half the clubs in action convert more than one chance to open up their campaign. In the 2023 season, the six opening matches produced nine fewer goals compared to this year's first set of contests. The battle for supremacy between the two purple-dominated outfits, Racing Louisville FC and Orlando Pride in the Bluegrass State was the only fixture that saw the points split evenly.

Though we still haven't seen two clubs begin their regular seasons, this could very well be the most entertaining year of this league to date. We saw offense shine on Saturday, and defense stand tall to close out the match week on Sunday evening. Amid all the chaos on both sides of the country, there were individuals who shined more than the rest. It is an improbable task to cover all the individual excellence we saw in week one, but here are our six standout players from the first six fixtures in 2024.

6 standouts from Week 1 in the 2024 NWSL regular season

1. Claire Hutton, Kansas City Current

Age has always been just a number in the NWSL since Olivia Moultrie broke the barrier. If you can ball, you can ball.

Vlatko Andonovski was not kidding when he said that he thought that 18-year-old Claire Hutton could be Kansas City Current's starting number six from the get-go. Sure, Lo'eau LaBonta, Bia Zaneratto, and Vanessa DiBernardo played their role in KC's historic triumph, but in her first 90 minutes in the NWSL, the young New York native was exceptional in the midfield. She carried that momentum from captaining the U-19 USYNT down in Chile in the fall into a memorable debut in teal and red. Not many knew who No. 14 for KC was before the opening whistle. By the time regulation concluded, everyone in the NWSL community knew that Hutton was a force to be reckoned with.

Playing predominantly next to veteran LaBonta, Hutton did not lose a single tackle she attempted while finishing with the most tackles plus interceptions of any of her teammates. She won nine out of her 10 ground duels, tied for the most in the match alongside the Canadian national team on pitch leader Jessie Fleming.

2. Elexa Bahr, Racing Louisville FC

A ball of energy down the right flank in Kentucky. That was Colombian international Elexa Bahr in a nutshell on Saturday afternoon. 13 minutes into her career in the NWSL, she had chipped a goalkeeper to put her side up 1-0. Talk about confidence. Credit to the rookie Reilyn Turner for the brilliant through ball, but my goodness, what a finish that was to open the scoring.

Just a few minutes after she found the back of the net to open up her NWSL account, Bahr earned a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. There were questions about whether the Georgia native could make the jump after playing in her home country and the Spanish second tier. I think it's fair to say that she will be just fine. Bahr is a straight-up livewire, already showing the ability to make plays for herself and her partners on the Lousiville forward line.

Though it wasn't the most powerful seam-breaking pass, it reached the Nigerian international Uchenna Kanu who made no mistake with a top-quality left-footed finish. Compared to last year, the Racing frontline looked much more lively under Bev Yanez. Bahr was a massive reason for that in week one. Only Savannah Demelo was able to match the Colombian in the shot-creating actions category for Yanez's side.

3. Denise O'Sullivan, North Carolina Courage

It was St. Patrick's Day weekend, so you just knew an Irish star was going to thrive. Sure, Denise O'Sullivan was nearly sent off for a challenge on Andressa Alves, but it was impossible to ignore how influential she was in a dominant home opener against Houston Dash. Her physicality at the base of the midfield is vital in allowing for the creativity of the club's attacking players to flourish.

O'Sullivan's strong intervention on Isabella Briede in the Dash's half led to Haley Hopkins having a free run at Houston's backline. The second-year player finished the chance off nicely after leaving Jyllissa Harris in the dust. The midfielder completed over 83 percent of her passes while coming out on top in five more duels than any Courage player on Saturday evening. The Irish midfielder is a true captain, leading through unselfish and often-forgotten work. O'Sullivan's ability to disrupt Houston's attack played a key role in its struggles to open up the Fran Alonso era. Five tackles attempted, and four successfully completed. Not a bad day out for the Irish star especially after missing the last FIFA international window due to injury.

— Caden Charpentier, @CCharp16