Chicago Red Stars captain and midfielder, Vanessa DiBernardo, was named to the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Best XI for the month of September, the league announced today.

DiBernardo played an integral role for the Red Stars all season, starting in every regular-season match and helping the Red Stars clinch a playoff spot for the seventh year in a row. Throughout September, the Naperville native only missed four minutes in the entirety of the four games, had a 73.4 percent passing accuracy and was the Red Star with the most recoveries on the defensive end (47) and most completed passes in the final third (43). The team celebrated DiBernardo’s 150th NWSL regular-season appearance Wednesday, September 14.

This is DiBernardo’s third time being named to the NWSL Best XI since the awards began in 2017, with the previous two inclusions in the Best XI coming in August 2018 and July 2019. Other Red Stars who were named to the Best XI during the 2022 season includes defender Tatumn Milazzo, who was named to the team in June, and forward Mallory Pugh who was named to the May Best XI.

The NWSL Team of the Month is selected each month of the regular season by the NWSL Media Association, a collection of writers that cover the league on a consistent basis.