The 2024 Golden Boot Race came down to the wire. In the end, Khyah Harper’s 16 goals earned the Salvo SC striker the coveted title as the WPSL’s regular season top scorer. 

Entering the Colorado Pride’s season finale, top scorer, Bello, needed three goals to catch Harper. She fell just short, tallying twice in the club’s final regular season match coming up a single goal short of Harper’s mark. 

Right behind them, Seven Castain of the Utah Avalanche, and Tatum Thomason of SC del Sol, each finished the regular season with 14 goals, with Rhode Island Rogues’ Hannah McNulty rounding out the top five with 13. 

 

 

1. KHYAH HARPER — 16 GOALS — Salvo SC

Khyah Harper entered the season playing with a chip on her shoulder after Salvo came up just short of the 2023 WPSL Champions title. She banged in an incredible 16 goals to win the 2024 WPSL Golden Boot. 

Harper kicked the 2024 season off with her first of two hat tricks before exploding for four goals in a single match two games later. She earned Central Region Player of the Week twice, in Week 5 when she tallied the winner in Salvo’s 1-0 win over Minnesota United, while adding three more in the club’s next two games that week, and in Week 7 when she netted seven goals in two games, earning her National Player of the Week honors on top of the region’s best award.

Harper helped Salvo to an 8-0-1 record to finish second in the Central Region’s Northern Conference. She appeared in all nine of Salvo’s 2024 matches and scored goals in eight games. Salvo finished the season ranked No. 5 in the National Power Rankings and No. 4 in the Central Region. The club peaked at No. 1 in both polls in back-to-back Week 6 & 7.

 

Goals: 16

Appearances: 9

Assists: 2

Region Player of the Week: Week 5, 7

National Player of the Week: Week 7

College Career: 

2023: University of Minnesota (Academic All-Big Ten)

2022: University of Minnesota (Academic All-Big Ten)

2021: University of Minnesota

 

 

2. BELLO — 15 GOALS — COLORADO PRIDE

After rising through the ranks of the Nigerian Youth Women’s National Team, Bello made an instant name for herself in Southern Colorado after banging in goals for fun as the Pride earned its first Rockies Division title after three consecutive second-place finishes. Bello finished the regular season with 15 goals and five assists while appearing in all eight of the club’s regular season games. 

Bello made an immediate impact with five goals and an assist in the Pride’s home opener to earn her Central Region Player of the Week honors. After Pride’s shocking 1-0 loss to longtime rivals, Indios Denver FC, Bello was back on the scoresheet by scoring 10 goals and serving up four assists over the next six games – including a hat trick in the club’s 5-1 division-deciding win over PDS Academy. 

Bello may not be done scoring goals this year. She will have at least one more chance to add to her 2024 totals as the Pride plays in the Central Region Playoffs in Sioux Falls, S.D. 

Bello’s 15 goals pushed the Colorado Pride to a 7-0-1 record and finished five points clear at the top of the Rockies Division standings. The club finished the regular season ranked No. 4 in the National Power Rankings and No. 3 in the Central Region - both rankings are season highs for the Pride.  

 

Goals: 15

Appearances: 8

Assists: 5

Region Player of the Week: Week 3

College Career: 

2023: Otero College

 

3. SEVEN CASTAIN — 14 GOALS — UTAH AVALANCHE

Sevan Castain was the early leader in the Golden Boot race this season. The Utah Avalanche’s front-heavy schedule left the rest of the field playing catch up to Castain’s early barrage of goals. Castain scored in seven of the eight matches in which she appeared for the Avalanche – including three two-goal games and two hat tricks. She tallied all three goals in the season finale, a 4-3 barnburner win at rivals La Roca FC, to finish the season with a personal-high 14 goals and one assist. 

Castain’s goal scoring prowess over the last two WPSL seasons has been a huge factor to the Avalanche’s dominance of the Wasatch Division play. In the Avalanche’s first two seasons, Castain helped the club to a 15-0-1 regular season record, winning the Wasatch Division both seasons. In 2023 she led the Wasatch Division and Mountain Conference in scoring with nine goals. 

The Avalanche finished the 2024 regular season 6-2-2 and third in the Wasatch Division. The Avalanche finished the regular season ranked No. 9 in the Central Region. The club peaked at No. 3 in the National and No. 2 in the Central Region rankings in Weeks 3 and 4.

 

Goals: 14

Appearances: 8

Assists: 1

College Career: 

2023: Texas Christian University (First Team All-Big 12)

2022: Texas Christian University (Big 12 All-Freshman Team)

 

 

3. TATUM THOMASON — 14 GOALS — SC del SOL

Averaging 2.3 goals in every game she appeared, the most amongst the top five in the Golden Boot race, Tatum Thomason’s 14 goals helped SC del Sol to its second consecutive Desert Conference title. 

The University of Washington’s leading scorer in 2023 with six goals, Thomason marked her return to the Phoenix-based club with a hat trick to open the 2024 season. She returned to the lineup after a three-week absence to score once in the following two games before tallying her second hat trick of the season. 

After scoring the leveling goal in a 2-1 road win to bring her season total to eight, Thomason earned the West Region Player of the Week honors. Thomason banged in a record six goals in the club’s season finale to push her into the ranks of the league’s elite scorers – earning her the region’s Player of the Week honors for the second straight week. 

SC del Sol finished the Desert Conference play 9-1-0 to become back-to-back conference champions. The club outscored its opponents 34/7. Del Sol finished the regular season ranked No. 12 in the National Power Rankings and No. 2 in the West Region.

 

Goals: 14

Appearances: 6

Assists: 0

Region Player of the Week: Week 7, 8

National Player of the Week:

College Career: 

2023: University of Washington (CSC Academic All-District)

2022: University of Washington 

 

 

5. HANNAH McNULTY — 13 GOALS — RHODE ISLAND ROGUES

With two goals in one of the last games on the WPSL regular season schedule, Hannah McNulty became the fifth leading scorer in the league with 13 goals. McNulty appeared in all eight of the Rhode Island Rogues matches this season and was also credited with two assists on the season. 

McNulty opened the season with a brace in a 5-1 win over the New York Shockers. A week later she tallied the first of her two hat tricks in a 4-1 win over Merrimack Valley Hawks FC – earning her East Region Player of the Week and National Player of the Week honors. She closed out the season the same way she began, with a brace against the New York Shockers to bring her total to 13 goals for the season. 

McNulty accounted for 13 of Rhode Island’s conference-best 28 goals in the club’s second-place run in the Northeastern Conference. 

 

Goals: 13

Appearances: 8

Assists: 2

Region Player of the Week: Week 3

National Player of the Week: Week 3

College Career: 

2021: Providence College

2020-21: Providence College (Preseason All-Big East Team)

2019: Providence College (All-Big East First team; All-New England Second Team) 

2018: Providence College (All-Big East Second Team; United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Third Team)

2017: Providence College (Big East Weekly Honor Roll)