Author: RJ Allen

Backline Chat: NWSL Buy/Sell/Hold and the China Friendlies

Posted on by RJ Allen

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Let’s start things off with a quick round of discussion about the national team friendlies coming up against China. What do people expect from these games? Is there anything in particular you’ll be watching for?

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): I want Ellis to sit Morgan and Sauerbrunn and co. We know what they can do and we know what they are both good and bad at. I want to see what the other less experienced players are good and bad at. I am pretty sure I am not going to get what I want.

Allison Cary (@findingallison): Agreed. I’d like to see Crystal Dunn get some time, since she’s been great for the Courage so far this season. I’d also like to see some experimentation, particularly on defense. But like RJ said, I don’t really expect to get that. Also please don’t break Rose Lavelle.

Charles Olney: Given that Midge Purce is now out, do we think there’s any chance Dunn plays a more forward role? Or is she definitely going to stick at fullback for both games?

RJ Allen: No. I think they need her in the back or it is going to be basically giving up the wings. Mathias is a very good outside back. For Paul Riley. I don’t know if Ellis can bring that level out in her.

Charles Olney: I’m certainly skeptical of Mathias, though I don’t mind them giving her a look. We’ve seen a lot of players excel when surrounded by the rest of the NC lineup, who don’t necessarily translate that to other environments. But they’re playing a fairly weak China team, so this sure seems like a decent place to test her out.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I agree with both of those statements. I’d like to see her get a chance.

RJ Allen: I think the US is too scared to not win these matches by a few goals. I don’t like it, but that’s what it looks like and has for 20 years.

Allison Cary: Yeah. Ellis has shown in the past that she’s not really willing to use these games to try something new, so I’m not sure why we would expect more out of her now.

RJ Allen: The last coach who tried as fired for it.

Charles Olney: Speaking of Lavelle, my hot take when the news came that she’d joined the roster was: don’t worry, she won’t play, this is mostly just for assessment. Am I being overly optimistic? Do y’all think she actually sees more than a few minutes?

RJ Allen: Yes. Yes you are. I think she might start the second game or be a 45 minute sub.

Allison Cary: I honestly don’t know. So I’ll defer to RJ on this one.

Charles Olney: Let’s make it a mini-bet. If she plays under 30 minutes, you owe me a beer at the championship. Over 45, I owe you a cider. In between and we’ll call it a draw.

RJ Allen: I will take that bet. I do seriously wonder if Ellis thinks of a lot of the young players as just expendable though.

Becky Schoenecker(@Beckster20): I’m with @olneyce on that bet.

Charles Olney: Any final thoughts on this topic?

RJ Allen: I really hope Naeher doesn’t play all 180 minutes.

Allison Cary: I second that.

Charles Olney: Third. Even as someone who generally is more accepting of ‘give Naeher a lot of time.’

Allison Cary: I think Naeher is the best keeper in that group, but I also think its important for other players to get time. We know Naeher is good. Give someone else a chance.

Charles Olney: Alright, let’s turn to the main topic for today. A round of ‘buy/sell/hold’ for the NWSL teams. Basically: given where the team is sitting today, do you expect them to go up, stay about the same, or fade away by the end of the season.

Let’s start at the top with the North Carolina Courage. They’re in first place with a 12 point buffer. Can they possibly get better? Or will they inevitably fade a bit? Buy, sell, or hold?

RJ Allen: It has to be hold, right? They can’t go any higher than dropping just 6 points in 12 matches.

Becky Schoenecker: They’re going to be just as strong, I don’t see them fading unless you consider giving a player a bit of a break and using some usual subs as starters near the end.

Charles Olney: I’m tempted to offer a hot take that they’ll get even better, but…yeah, I think hold is probably fair. They’ll probably lose a game at some point, but I don’t see anyone making it competitive for the Shield

Allison Cary: Yeah. I don’t really see them fading.

Becky Schoenecker: Who do you see beating them?

RJ Allen: Themselves. That’s the only team good enough.

Charles Olney: I really thought Houston was going to get it done this weekend, but frankly the draw was probably fair. And that was with like 70% of the NC squad off the pitch. They’re very very good.

RJ Allen: Are they better than the 2014 Seattle Reign?

Charles Olney: I think I’d take the Reign by a hair, but I do sort of think this NC team might be better at disrupting the Reign than the Reign would be at carving them up. If they can keep playing this well all season, I think they’ll have a strong case for the best single season performance in the league to date. They’re just so relentless and can rip you apart so quickly. Those six minutes or so against Portland last week were incredibly impressive.

Becky Schoenecker: I would take NC over 2014 Reign, but it would be a hell of a game.

Charles Olney: Speaking of the Reign, in second place are the Seattle Reign, sitting on 18 points, and with a game (or two) in hand over most other teams in the playoff hunt. Are they punching above their weight, or can they sustain as the #2 team in the league?

Becky Schoenecker: I see them dropping, but still making playoffs.

RJ Allen: I think Seattle ends up second or third. So mostly a hold.

Allison Cary: Admittedly, I’ve missed a lot of the Reign’s games due to the time difference. But I think they stay in #2. Maybe slip down to third. But I think they keep it close.

Charles Olney: I’m tempted to buy on Seattle, because I’m a big believer in Vlatko, and I think things will start to gel even more. But results so far have gone of gone in the opposite direction–with great performances right at the start, and uglier ones (though still with some solid results) in the last month. So I’ll stick with hold. If I had to bet, I’d stay with them to get a home playoff game. But I think it’ll be close either way.

Alright, third place: the Orlando Pride, on 16 points. In many ways it seems like they still haven’t quite found their feet. Are people optimistic that they’ll kick on the afterburners again like they did last year?

Allison Cary: The Pride are there own worst enemy. I honestly can’t predict what will happen to them this season. They could get better– there is a ton of room for improvement on that squad, considering the talent they have. But they could also fall off the deep end.

RJ Allen: I think sell. I really think things are going to come off the bus with a midfield that weak.

Charles Olney: I’ll say sell. Not because I think they’re bad, but just that they’re at the most risk of a minor injury disrupting their season, because they’re quite bare in a few spots. Basically: what RJ said.

Becky Schoenecker: They have some great moments and a pretty good roster, but I’m selling.

Allison Cary: I agree about the injury thing, especially on defense. They have big name players, but they’ve been completely unable to perform. I still stand by what I said at the beginning of the season: I think they’ll be right on the edge of the playoffs. Probably 4th or 5th, although I could see more of a range if the table stays this tight.

RJ Allen: I think 5th is where they end up. Krieger being out is a big blow.

Charles Olney: It would not surprise me in the least if they reel off four or five straight wins and race ahead of the competition. But I could also see things falling apart a bit. That said, I do think that Sermanni is a really underrated coach. Not that people think he’s bad, but a lot of the stuff he does goes under the radar. So I’m going to stick with ‘sell’ but I think I’d still bet on them to squeak over the line into the playoffs.

RJ Allen: He is good at some things for sure. But I do not trust that midfield.

Charles Olney: Fourth place are the defending champs: the Portland Thorns. It’s been a bit of a rocky road this year, but they’re currently in a playoff position, albeit by the skin of their teeth. Buy, sell, hold?

RJ Allen: Sell.

Charles Olney: Mmmm, I’ll say buy. What’s your argument?

RJ Allen: I don’t know what is going on in Thornland but I feel like something is going really wrong there. It’s like Parsons has lost the plot.

Charles Olney: Things have definitely felt a little scattered, but I think they’ve been coming together a lot. The game against North Carolina was a nightmare, but I thought Portland actually played pretty well. They just ran into a brick wall.

Becky Schoenecker: I think they make the playoffs, but just barely. In saying that I wouldn’t be surprised if they lost a lot of games they shouldn’t and just miss it. Overall though if they have to get a win in the end to get a spot I think they’ll pull it through, but only at the last minute.

RJ Allen: I don’t like Portland’s style of play so I might be more harsh on them for it.

Allison Cary: I think they have some really magical moments, but I don’t think it’s enough to lift them up. Like the Pride, I see them probably at either 4th or 5th. If they make the playoffs, I’d say just barely.

Becky Schoenecker: I think if it came down to the Thorns vs anyone else to get the playoff spot though they make it over almost anyone else.

RJ Allen: Points are a funny thing, though.

Charles Olney: To some extent, I look down the roster and find it hard to justify to myself why they wouldn’t make the playoffs. Then again, we’ve seen Portland struggle to put it all together even with a great roster before. In the end, I think talent wins and they find a way to grind out the results they need. But I find it hard to argue with any of the doubters here.

RJ Allen: One of their best rosters ever got them 5th. I can see it happening again.

Charles Olney: For all these teams in the 2-6 range, you kind of have to ask yourself: how are they going to respond in the final two weeks if they’re scrapping for a playoff spot? I see Portland as the best equipped to bulldoze through people if that’s what it takes.

Allison Cary: I agree with that. Especially over someone like Orlando. Or Utah, if they worked their way up.

Charles Olney: Fifth place are the Chicago Red Stars. I wrote a pretty long piece documenting some of their struggles, which also acknowledged some reasons to expect improvement. I’m curious where others fall. Will Chicago be in the playoffs in September?

RJ Allen: Sell. Any team that keeps Sam Kerr from doing what she does best and she has to break the plan to be Kerr, should be sold.

Becky Schoenecker: I want to believe they will be, but if it was between Thorns and Red Stars I’d have to go with Thorns pulling it out.

Charles Olney: I really want to convince myself to buy here. Kerr is coming into form, DiBernardo is coming back, and is going to be huge. Short is coming back and is going to solidify things. Ertz will round back into form. I could go on. But…I just can’t make myself believe it. I think they’ll hang around the whole season, but end up on the outside looking in. So I guess that’s a hold.

RJ Allen: I think Dames has not adapted to his new team in anyway. It’s like he still thinks it’s 2015 with what he is doing.

Allison Cary: Yeah. I don’t know. I mean, Kerr has three goals in her last two games. Like you said, DiBernardo and Short coming back, and Ertz getting back into form. But I’m not sure.

Charles Olney: I already said my piece about this on twitter so won’t belabor the point here, but Dames’s comments about wanting this team to play like Guardiola’s Man City are…worrisome. I really hope Chicago does find a way to ease into a more possession-oriented game, and gives Kerr the support she deserves. I’m just not sure I see it happening.

RJ Allen: Yeah that isn’t Chicago at all. Did Dames ever see Kerr play before he traded for her?

Charles Olney: Sixth place are the Utah Royals. They’re sitting just behind the three teams ahead of them, and have a couple games in hand. Do people see them moving up, or have they settled about where you’d expect?

Allison Cary: I don’t see them moving up.

RJ Allen: Buy, if they get Press. I think ARod finding her form, O’Hara coming back and that defense is going to help them. I think they squeeze in.

Becky Schoenecker: I’ll be optimistic and say they’ll move up – especially if they got Press, but I can see them moving up.

RJ Allen: Their defense is really, really good.

Charles Olney: I really like what Utah has done this year, and have been super impressed with Harvey. I think she’s made it clear that she really does know what she’s doing and it wasn’t just a one-time thing with that great Seattle team. That said, it’s felt to me all year like they were getting a little lucky about results. I think they could actually improve a bit and still not move up the table. So I’ll sell.

If they’re able to pick up HAO, or Press, or someone that can help them score some goals, that could be the difference-maker.

RJ Allen: They NEED someone else to help out that attack. They could really use Gibbons or Groom.

Allison Cary: I agree. But if they get Press or HAO or anyone else to help the attack, I’m still not sure I see them doing it this season. I think they could move up a slot or two, but probably not playoffs.

RJ Allen: Harvey is the trade master.

Becky Schoenecker: If the trade master can get another attacking threat I think they can make a playoff spot.

RJ Allen: Hegerberg to Utah. Either one of them.

Charles Olney: Seventh place is the Houston Dash. They were just a few minutes away from being the first team to beat North Carolina this weekend, and (astonishingly) would have moved up into the playoff spots if they’d managed it. They’ve defied pundits all season. Do you think it will continue?

RJ Allen: Hold. I don’t think they finish higher than 6. Not with Mewis out and Press refusing to play there. Unless Press is traded and they get a good deal for her.

Allison Cary: I think they’re getting better. But I also think they’re the type of team that could be devastated by one or two injuries. I think they’ll survive losing Kristie Mewis, but if Daly or Ohai gets injured, I think they’re done.

Charles Olney: I’m playing mostly to type here, but yeah I have to go with sell. The performances really have improved a ton, with three good games out of their last four. And the team spirit seems to be flying. That said, their roster is just so much weaker than everyone around them.

Allison Cary: I really like what they’re doing on both ends of the pitch right now. And I think they’ve got some good defenders, if they can find a bit more chemistry they could be really dangerous. But they have like no depth.

Charles Olney: I really hope I’m wrong. The Dash defying the odds has been my favorite story of the season so far.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I didn’t expect to find myself cheering for them at the beginning of the year. But, here I am.

Becky Schoenecker: I don’t see Houston making playoffs, but I do see them ruining some other teams days. They are a better team than I think a lot of people expected them to be and they have relentless work ethics. I’m absolutely cheering for them, but overall would say hold.

RJ Allen: They kind of bore me because of the style they have to play to win. But I get they have to play that style.

Charles Olney: I will say that, for all I have criticized Van Wyk, I think she’s been much more solid lately. That’s been helped by the formational shift giving her more protection when she steps up and misses a tackle. But she’s great in the air and is no longer a liability like I think she was at the start of the season.

RJ Allen: But is she worth the international spot?

Charles Olney: Probably not, but she’s a better use than they’re getting from some of the other spots, so…

Alright, eight place: the Washington Spirit. I don’t think anyone expected them to dominate this year, but I think many saw them being at least in the mix with the playoff teams. So far, we’ve seen very little of that. Do people think it will change? Sub-question: does Jim Gabarra last through the end of the season?

RJ Allen: I am selling them until Gabarra is gone. I think he is a bad coach.

Charles Olney: I’ve been a Gabarra-defender a lot over the years. I think he’s a strange coach, who makes a lot of indefensible decisions, but who also manages to get a lot of things right. But things really feel like they’re going off the rails at this point.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I don’t see them improving.

Charles Olney: I’ll still buy, because the roster is stacked with young talent. But I worry for them getting their heads on right.

Becky Schoenecker: They’re a much better team on paper than what they’re producing. They’re having the most shocking season to me. I keep waiting for them to connect things and they just aren’t.

RJ Allen: Church is just not a fast enough to be used the way he wants to use her. Sullivan has look bad at times. Pugh and Hatch can’t find the same page.

Charles Olney: It does astonish me that more teams don’t just sit back, wait for Washington to come at them, and then launch balls over the top. Easiest way in the league to get a one-on-one with the keeper.

Allison Cary: Kind of a separate note, but I was happy to see Tori Huster’s sister get signed as a national team replacement and I hope they get to play together on Friday.

Charles Olney: Agreed. Huster the younger feels like a victim of league contraction, so I’m glad to see her getting a spot.

So that brings us to last place: still sitting on just one point after nine games, Sky Blue. They have to improve. Right? Right?

I’m buying. This team just isn’t that bad.

Allison Cary: I feel like they’ve got too much talent on that roster NOT to get better.

RJ Allen: I am selling (to Mia Hamm).

Charles Olney: Strong move.

RJ Allen: It feels like a death of 1000 cuts. The ownership group having people in charge who don’t get it and hiring a coach without giving her support and then bringing in Lloyd and players that don’t fit together.

Becky Schoenecker: I’ve enjoyed seeing McCaskill play with them, I think she brings a lot to the table as a player

Charles Olney: Denise Reddy seems, by all accounts, to have a pretty good eye for talent, and to be a solid tactical coach. Nothing we’ve seen so far this year really confirms that but I still think she’ll turn things around.

RJ Allen: I have no faith in this team to turn it around right now. I feel for the players and the fans. But even if they win two games they are worst than even the worst Boston had to offer. With better players. (edited)

Charles Olney: But I think the example of Houston is pretty telling. It’s not like the Dash have any holding midfielders, either, but they’ve managed to at least get things stabilized in spite of that. Sky Blue are making some progress (they’ve been better in the last couple games), but it’s still a long ways off.

RJ Allen: 0-8-1 should get you fired.

Becky Schoenecker: Their backline is hard to watch, they just seem so much slower than other teams. So even with good moments one on the other end and they’re down and I don’t see them as a team that can come back, maybe have a chance of holding onto a lead, but not making up goals.

Allison Cary: I agree, RJ.

Tyler Nguyen (@tdn_): If I can just pop in here for a second: the difference between Sky Blue and Houston is that Houston has people in midfield who at least in theory can be dangerous on the ball. Sky Blue has a completely dysfunctional midfield right now. Sky Blue won’t improve until they roll the dice and put McCaskill in the middle.

RJ Allen: Which they won’t do over Lloyd.

Charles Olney: It’s worth noting, on that point, that they looked a lot more coherent this weekend. Not necessarily better, but more coherent. Janine Beckie isn’t even really a major change over Lloyd in that attacking midfield role, but at least her speed created another set of problems for the defense to think about

RJ Allen: Lloyd looks like she has given up most of the time.

Charles Olney: The big question for me about Sky Blue is whether they start making some significant changes. Whether or not Reddy’s initial plans made sense, at a certain point resignation sets in and even good ideas just aren’t going to work. You’ve got to be willing to make a change.

RJ Allen: In real sports the GM and the coach would be sacked – at the latest – at the end of the season. But it doesn’t seam like anyone wants to do that in women’s soccer, at least in the US.

Charles Olney: If this were Serie A, Sky Blue would be on the fourth manager by now.

Alright, with all that said, one final question that we’ve already talked a bit around: name the eventual playoff teams.

I’ll say North Carolina, Seattle, Portland, Orlando. With Chicago juuuust barely missing out.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. Not entirely sure of the order, but I see the current top four as the final top four.

RJ Allen: North Carolina. Seattle. Portland. Utah. Y’all convinced me to move Portland higher.

Becky Schoenecker: I’ll say North Carolina, Portland, Seattle, Utah.

Charles Olney: Well, none of us picked Chicago, so that pretty much guarantees they make it, right?

Route Two Soccer: There’s No Such Thing as an ‘International Level’ Player

Posted on by RJ Allen

Today I want to challenge one of the most durable, and least well-founded, myths in women’s soccer: the idea that there is an “international level,” where play is more difficult than the domestic leagues.

This belief is so widespread that, according to a piece this week from Jeff Kassouf which detailed the US Women’s National Team selection process, it’s apparently taken seriously by key principals within US Soccer itself.

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But if one applies even some casual scrutiny, the whole idea falls apart like cotton candy in a pool.

The argument here is pretty straightforward. The world contains four top-level international leagues—the NWSL in the US, the Frauen Bundesliga in Germany, the D1F in France, the WSL in England—along with five or six other weaker but still relatively high quality leagues (in Sweden, Spain, Denmark, etc.). But the reality is that the vast majority of the world’s top players are concentrated in those four big leagues.

For a league without much competitive balance, that produces a top tier which is absolutely stacked. In France, for example, Lyon effectively has a version of the French national team, supplemented with a few more of the best players from other countries. In leagues that are more balanced—like the NWSL—there is no single team that can compare with the top international sides, but the distribution of talent means that there are no gimmes. The worst team in the league would probably be a top 20 international side.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at the roster.

Sky Blue has been anchored to the bottom of the NWSL table all season. This is a team with Carli Lloyd, Janine Beckie, Savannah McCaskill, Kailen Sheridan, and Thaisa Moreno—all of whom have received recent call-ups for teams in the world top 10. Then you have Raquel Rodriguez, one of the best players on the world’s #32 team. And Rebekah Stott, a regular for the world’s #20 team. Then there are players like Shea Groom, Christina Gibbons, Erica Skroski, and Sarah Killion—who would be regular internationals if they were playing for virtually any country in the world besides the United States.

Put Sky Blue into the next Women’s World Cup, and I think they’d be even money to make it out of the group stage. And this is the roster of the team with one point through eight games in the NWSL.

Then look at some of the teams higher up the table. North Carolina’s first XI is packed with key players for the #1 team in the world, and supplemented with a few key contributors from other top international sides. Put North Carolina into the next World Cup and they’d be among the favorites to win the whole thing.

No one would deny that there are differences between club and international competitions. Some players flourish in a stable club environment, but find it difficult to turn in the same performance when playing for their country. Conversely, some players are at their best in international duty, while only being average for club. There’s a variety of potential factors in play here: the individual psychology of the player, their adaptability and flexibility, the support system around them in different environments. And some of it may simply be random. Normal distribution of chance means some players will always be outliers, but this doesn’t necessarily carry any predictive meaning.

All of which is to say: even if there are some players whose performance levels vary between club and country, there’s certainly no reason to think the imbalance goes only in one direction.

In some cases, the talent pool for a given country will be clogged enough to close out a top-quality player. One could make this argument for the forward position in the US national team, where players like Christen Press and Lynn Williams—arguably among the top dozen strikers in the world—have struggled to find minutes. But that’s very different from saying that a player outperforming their competition at the club level lacks some undefined ‘international quality’ and therefore can’t be expected to transfer her performance between levels.

Long story short: a top player in the NWSL is a top player in world soccer, and there’s absolutely no reason to think that they wouldn’t be able to hang at the international level. A player who can dominate in a league that contains North Carolina, Portland, Orlando, Seattle, Chicago, etc. is one of the world’s best players, full stop.

One can only hope that the decision-makers in US Soccer understand this, and aren’t really taking their ‘5 point’ system seriously.

The NWSL Podium: Top Performances in Week 9

Posted on by RJ Allen

The NWSL Podium: Top Performances is a weekly series that looks at the best attacking, defensive, and goalkeeping performances each week.

Week 9 of NWSL action was a wild one. Across the seven matches played– three midweek and four over the weekend–there were 26 goals. The Orlando Pride, who scored eight of those goals, seem to have found their stride on the attacking side, while still being held back by arguably the sloppiest defense in the league. The Houston Dash had a fantastic week, taking six points in their two matches against the Seattle Reign and the Washington Spirit. The Reign have slowed down since their 4-1 win over Sky Blue in Week 7, with just two goals scored in their last three matches. And the Chicago Red Stars, who haven’t won a match since April 18th, will need to pick up the pieces after allowing the Orlando Pride to score five goals in Saturday’s Lifetime Game of the Week.

It was a great week for offense, but not so great of a week for goalkeeping. Here is a full list of scores from Week 9:

Orlando Pride vs. North Carolina Courage (3-4)

Washington Spirit vs. Sky Blue (1-0)

Houston Dash vs. Seattle Reign (2-1)

Portland Thorns vs. Utah Royals (2-0)

Chicago Red Stars vs. Orlando Pride (2-5)

Sky Blue vs. Seattle Reign (0-1)

Houston Dash vs. Washington Spirit (3-2)

Top Three Goalkeepers

1. Kailen Sheridan— Goalkeepers was a tough category this week. Kailen Sheridan allowed two goals while her team suffered two losses. Britt Eckerstrom and Lydia Williams, who each played one game this week, each got a clean sheet and Aubrey Bledsoe got the clean sheet against Sky Blue on Wednesday. But Bledsoe fell apart in the weekend match against the Houston Dash, and both Williams and Eckerstrom weren’t forced to make a lot of saves in their respective matches. Sheridan was challenged by both the Spirit and the Reign, and she managed to hold each team to only one goal. She faced 23 shots between the two games and made a total of seven saves. Her most impressive moment came towards the end of the match against the Seattle Reign. In the 80th minute, Rapinoe came charging down the field with the ball. She took her shot and Sheridan made a diving save, though the ball continued to roll slowly behind her. Jasmyne Spencer tried to finish Rapinoe’s shot, but Rebekah Stott was there to clear it. The moment earned them an NWSL Save of the Week nomination.

2. Lydia Williams— Williams appeared in the weekend match for the Reign after Michelle Betos had been in the goal midweek when Seattle travelled to Houston. Williams earned herself a clean sheet against Sky Blue, making some nice saves in the first half. She faced ten shots and made four saves. The most memorable came in the 9th minute. A through ball on the left side found Carli Lloyd in the box, and Lydia Williams made a diving save to keep her shot out of goal. The ball rebounded, and Williams was ready to stop the second chance, but the ball ran past the goal and had to be chased down by Savannah McCaskill.

3. Ashlyn Harris— Now, I know what you’re thinking: how can I possibly put a goalkeeper that allowed six goals in two matches as one of the top keepers of the week? Especially when the Pride’s midweek match against the North Carolina Courage was one of the worst defensive performances of the year, with Harris being responsible for two of their four goals? Those are good questions. I highlight Harris here only for her performance against Chicago, especially her one-on-ones with Sam Kerr. Even acknowledging that Kerr scored two goals, there was still some impressive work from Harris, who made two impressive stops. The first came just moments before Kerr knocked one back for Chicago’s first goal of the match, and the second came in the 47th minute, when Kerr tried to slide the ball between Harris’s legs, but Harris blocked the shot with her knee. In the second half, Kerr tried to chip Harris, but she jumped in the air and snatched the ball. And on one of Chicago’s last chances of the match, Sarah Gorden took a shot and tried to send the ball over the goalkeeper, but Harris jumped in the air and punched the ball out.

Top Three Defenders

1. Rebekah Stott— Stott had a particularly impressive performance against the Seattle Reign, where she came up big numerous times. Some of her moments that made the highlight reel include a tackle inside the 18-yard box in the 18th minute and a stop in the 86th minute, when Jasmyne Spencer came charging down the field and wanted to add to the Seattle Reign’s lead. Her best moment of the night came on that previously mentioned save in the 80th minute, when Sheridan blocked Rapinoe’s shot and Stott cleared the ball before Spencer could finish off the rebound. 

2. Meghan Klingenberg— Klingenberg is a versatile player, who often has an impact on both ends of the field. In Friday night’s match, Klingenberg assisted Lindsey Horan’s goal in the 39th minute that put the Thorns up 2-0 over the Utah Royals. But it was her defensive skill just a few moments later that earned Klingenberg an NWSL Save of the Week nomination. In the 44th minute, Tymrak took a shot that was heading right towards Eckerstrom. Amy Rodriguez jumped in front of Eckerstrom and redirected the ball, and it would have gone into the net if not for a goal line save by Klingenberg. It was an important moment, not only for maintaining the clean sheet, but for allowing the Portland Thorns to carry that momentum from Lindsey Horan’s goal into halftime.

3. Becky Sauerbrunn— The U.S Women’s National Team leader always manages to come up big for her squad, and she definitely had another solid defensive performance for the Utah Royals this weekend against the Portland Thorns. While her team did lose 2-0, the score easily could have been higher without some skilled moments from Sauerbrunn. In the 35th minute, Christine Sinclair took a shot for the Thorns. Abby Smith made the stop, but the ball remained in the box, and Tobin Heath tried to follow up on the rebound. She took her shot, but Sauerbrunn slid in front of her and blocked the ball, knocking it out of play. Another moment came at the start of the second half, when Sinclair tried to play the ball ahead for Ana Crnogorcevic, but Sauerbrunn intercepted the ball before Crnogorcevic could set up a shot. 

Top Three Attackers

1. Rachel Daly— Daly played the full 90 minutes in both matches for the Houston Dash this week, scoring twice and helping set up another. Against Washington, after a nice long ball found Nichelle Prince on the far side of the field, Prince ran towards the 18-yard box and set up a cross for Daly, who got in front of the defense and finished it off. Daly’s second goal came in the 78th minute, after a sloppy giveaway from the Washington Spirit found Aubrey Bledsoe way out of her net. She tried to make the stop, but she couldn’t, and Daly basically ran the ball into the net. Daly now leads the Houston Dash with four goals this season, and her talents were enough to earn her the NWSL Player of the Week. 

2. Sydney Leroux— Despite some solid attacking performances for the Pride, Leroux had failed to score for the Pride this season coming into the match against Chicago. She didn’t start the match after an illness kept her out of training this week, but she came on as a substitute for Marta in the 52nd minute. In the 60th minute, Sam Kerr snatched away the Pride lead with a goal and the match was even at 2-2. But less than a minute later, Leroux made her presence known. The Pride moved the ball forward, and Krieger sent a ball inside the box. It was in the perfect position to find Leroux, who dived for the header and knocked it past Alyssa Naeher. Only about two minutes later, Krieger came charging down the field again. She handed off the ball to Emily Van Egmond, who then slid the ball in for Morgan inside the 18-yard box. Morgan couldn’t take the shot herself, so she sent the ball across looking for Leroux. Leroux had to run back to get the ball and hold off Sarah Gorden. But Leroux got the ball, turned, and took her shot, sending the ball into the top corner of the net and giving Orlando a 4-2 lead in the course of three minutes. 

3. Jessica McDonald— McDonald had two goals for the North Carolina Courage in their 4-3 win over the Orlando Pride midweek. Her first goal opened the scoring for the Courage in the 31st minute. Up until that point, McDonald and her teammates had a couple of good chances but just couldn’t finish them. This time, the ball was sent into the box and bounced around between a couple of Courage players. It McDonald who got her foot on it finally and sent it past Harris, the perfect touch to find the back of the net. McDonald’s second goal was the final one of the night, after the Pride had come back to tie the game 3-3. In the 89th minute, Jaelene Hinkle sent the ball into the box for the Courage. McDonald got a head to it, and it first it looked like there might not be enough on it, but the Pride defense failed to keep it out of the net. It ended up being the game-winning goal for the Courage, who were happy to earn three points on the road and maintain their dominance in this league. 

Honorable Mentions: Rachel Hill and Ashley Hatch— There were a ton of good offensive plays this week, and it was difficult to choose just three top attackers. I specifically put Rachel Hill and Ashley Hatch in as honorable mentions this week because they each had two goals and each played a critical role in their team’s success. Hill, who sometimes gets overlooked in the star-studded offense of the Orlando Pride, came in as a substitute in the match against North Carolina in the 75th minute. Less than ten minutes later, Marta found some space and ran down the left flank. She sent the ball into the box, and it rolled right past Alex Morgan, but Rachel Hill came in to finish it off and equalize for the Pride. While the defense were unable to maintain that score line, Hill definitely kept the momentum going for the Pride and almost had enough for them to take away points. She clearly impressed Sermanni, who put her into the starting line-up against Chicago on Saturday. Within two minutes, Hill found the back of the net, sparking the Pride offense and giving Orlando an early lead. Hatch found the lone goal for the Washington Spirit in their 1-0 win over Sky Blue FC. Andi Sullivan took a free kick outside of the box and Hatch got her head on it, sending it past Sheridan in the 64th minute and earning her team the win. While her goal wasn’t enough to beat the Houston Dash on Sunday night, Hatch found her third goal of the season towards the end of that match. She was able to capitalize off a bad giveaway by the Houston defense and slide the ball past Jane Campbell. The list of impressive attacking performances this week could go on, with solid performances by Sam Kerr, Veronica Latskos, Christine Sinclair, and others. 

Euro Roundup: Champions, Champions League and WSL Restructure

Posted on by RJ Allen

Before you go ahead and read this article, please note that the Euro Roundup will be taking a little break over the summer period with the majority of leagues finished. There will be a roundup looking at the next round of results from World Cup Qualifications next month but that will be it for a while up until September.

Champions

As previously mentioned, many leagues have finished or are nearing their conclusion with the champions already crowned. In England, WSL1 was won by the unbeaten Chelsea. It was close between them and Manchester City with not much between the two. Ultimately it was points dropped by City late on in the season that cost them the title and a second full season in a row with an unbeaten side winning the title. Chelsea’s unbeaten run almost came to a halt in the last match with Liverpool taking an early 2-0 lead but 20 minutes from the end, Chelsea scored three in reply and secured that run. They also won the FA Cup this season with this being the second time they’ve won the double.

In Spain, it was another close-fought title race between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. Atletico Madrid just managed to claim the title with Barcelona one point behind. Previous matches between the two in the league saw them evenly matched as both matches ended in 1-1 draws. Barcelona’s two losses let them down with those coming against Granadilla Tenerife Sur and Athletic Club. Atletico’s only loss came against Rayo Vallecano.

In France, it was business as usual with Lyon blowing the opposition away. At the time of writing this, they are still unbeaten in the league with one game to go. They’ve recorded 20 wins and one draw. That draw came against PSG on May 18th. Lyon faces Rodez on the final day. Unfortunately for PSG, they are eight points behind with 17 wins, two draws, and two losses.

German giants Wolfsburg won yet another title with the same point difference but still have two games to go. This is their second time of winning it twice in a row after the 2012/13 and 2013/14 wins. Between these feats, Bayern Munich achieved a double title win and that is who Wolfsburg travel to next.

Italy saw the closest title race in Europe with the title having to be decided in a championship decider match between Juventus and Brescia. The two teams finished the Series A season with identical records, 20-2. They each won against each other in the league with Juventus’ second loss against Fiorentina and Brescia’s against Mozzanica. Like the title race, the decider was a very close one with neither team scoring in 120 minutes. It took penalties to separate the two and Juventus triumphed winning it 5-4.

Champions League

Lyon triumphed over Wolfsburg in what was a crazy ending to the Champions League. That was Lyon’s fifth title and third in a row. Both teams looked equally matched in the regulation 90 minutes with chances for both.

It all started to change when Pernille Harder put Wolfsburg ahead just a few minutes into extra time. After being put through a grueling cup match just days before, this was a bit of a surprise and they looked to hold on to the lead. It didn’t take long for the match to implode on itself. Alexandra Popp committed a late challenge and having been booked already, she received her second one and was sent off. Lyon immediately pounced on this with Amandine Henry equalizing and Le Sommer putting them ahead just moments later. The win was pretty much wrapped up when Ada Hegerberg scored a record 15th goal of the UWCL campaign. Lyon added another late one in the 2nd half of extra time with Camille Abily getting the perfect send-off as she scored in her 81st and final European game.

WSL Restructure

The WSL started up in 2011 with a second league being added on in 2014. The next big change from then on was the recent 2017/18 season. The WSL had always been a summer season as it fitted in well with having the league as its own entity and filling a gap between normal seasons elsewhere. It changed to a winter season recently to put it in line with most other UK leagues as well as the European calendar. This was to help the top teams compete more in Europe as well as helping the national team. Not long after the season started, the news dropped that there would be a restructuring of the top four tiers which rendered promotion and relegation obsolete for this season.

The restructure seems minimal in Tier3  and Tier 4. That’s where the Women’s Premier League is and it will be renamed to the Women’s National League. The top Tier 1 and Tier 2 are where the main change is happening. WSL1 will revert back to the original name of WSL and WSL2 will become the Championship. There have already been licenses issued to various teams in both. All but 1 team in WSL1 has been granted a new one, with Sunderland waiting til the second round of application and Brighton going up from WSL2 to WSL1 after being granted a Tier 1 license.

There are seven confirmed teams in the Championship. Oxford United and Watford didn’t apply first time around but they could be included in the second round. The winner of the WPL Play-Off Final between Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic will be in the Championship next season subject to the license. This leaves four spots in WSL and four spots in Tier 2. One of those four in Tier 2 looks to be filled by Manchester United who are starting a women’s team again but look to be taking it seriously with Casey Stoney set to become the manager.

The teams in both tiers will be confirmed on Monday, May 28th, so when you are reading this, you may be able to find out just who is in and who is out.

Backline Chat: USWNT Roster, Lyon, and Where Will Press Go?

Posted on by RJ Allen

Welcome to a new feature here at Backline: our weekly soccer chat. This week, we discussed the new USWNT roster, Lyon’s victory in the Champions League, and the continuing saga of Christen Press’s club situation. 

The transcript below has been lightly edited.

Charles Olney (@olneyce) : Welcome everyone, to our first edition of the Backline Soccer chat. To kick things off, let’s start with the most recent piece of news: the roster for the US Women’s National Team, which just dropped an hour or two ago. What from this roster strikes people as worth discussing? McCall Zerboni getting a callup? Christen Press coming back in after missing the last set of friendlies? The lack of a single natural fullback in the squad?

Alanna Fairbairn (@jfhobbit): I was a little surprised to see Campbell left off the GK list, honestly. The Dash has been the Dash for most of the season, but she’s kept them in striking distance in a lot of games.

Charles Olney: Campbell does feel like a big omission. It’s hard to look at her and Harris, for example, and explain the difference. I’m certainly excited to see Casey Murphy on the list, though, given the issues that all the other big names have been having.

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): I think the lack of experienced outside backs worries me most. The center backs are all real center backs. The outside backs are not.

Alanna Fairbairn: Yeah, the defense list was a head-scratcher

Tyler Nguyen (@tdn_): Do we think that Ellis just sees no fullbacks in the NWSL for her to choose from? Is anyone an obvious miss?

Alanna Fairbairn: I think all the fullbacks in the NWSL that have seen looks for the National Team have been exiled from the lists for one reason or another; Hinkle, Krieger, etc

RJ Allen: With Short and O’Hara out I think Ellis is less picking real replacements and more just shrugging her shoulders.

Charles Olney: I do think that the fullback pool is pretty weak right now. Looking at other options, Hinkle and Krieger are the two names that certainly leap out for me. Obviously, there are reasons why both might not get the call, but if you’re not going to take them, I’m not sure who else is really making a case for themselves.

Tyler Nguyen: Last season I would have said Gilliland is the obvious miss, but something’s up with her form this year. Good to see Purce get called up but she’s not really the finished product yet.

RJ Allen: I see no reason to call Krieger in at this point. Ellis has made it clear that Krieger’s time moving forward with the national team is done. Calling her up now to be a stopgap just takes the slot away from a player she might more likely take to the WWC in 2019.

Alanna Fairbairn: I see some reason to call Klingenberg, even with the fitness issues that she has. At least she’s experienced and would work well with Heath on the left side.

Charles Olney: Gilliland would be an interesting pick. Ellis has never seemed too enthusiastic about her, and her performances this year have been a little hit or miss. But when on, she’s been very good.

RJ Allen: Do we think Kristie Mewis would have gotten a look at outside back later in the year?

Tyler Nguyen: Oof. Too soon.

Alanna Fairbairn: I don’t think her play at outside back was anything to write home about. She didn’t really blossom until she was put up in the attacking formation

RJ Allen: Mewis was better than Huerta at outside back. (edited)

Charles Olney: Mewis (and Gilliland, et al) does raise the larger question of where this team stands in terms of depth. Ellis very clearly has strong opinions about a lot of players, and while we’ve seen a lot more movement in and out of the marginal slots recently, there do seem to be a batch of players that she simply thinks of as B/B+ players, and no matter how good their form, she just doesn’t buy them as national teamers. Do people think that’s a fair characterization? If so, is that a problem? Or just a quirk?

Tyler Nguyen: It does seem like Ellis hasn’t really ever accepted that players on the national team could just be role players.

RJ Allen: I really think Ellis is holding out hope that O’Hara and Short recover and are fine by next year. She doesn’t seem to really be testing out reasonable people for any new position, much less outside back.

Alanna Fairbairn: I think it’s a problem if they get zero looks at all on the international level. If they get called up and can’t hang, that’s one thing. If they’re prejudged without a call-up that’s an issue. But I also agree with RJ. She seems set on her lineup and these call-ups are just stopgaps until her Chosen Ones recover.

RJ Allen: Talent scouting is part of the job though. As much as I don’t always agree with the ones who are called up you can’t call up everyone in the set up the USWNT has.

Charles Olney: Let’s put this another way. Imagine that Ellis had to step away and you were put in charge of the team. What would you be doing differently in terms of personnel right now?

RJ Allen: Does cutting Carli Lloyd count?

Charles Olney: Sure does

RJ Allen: I really think Ellis is holding on to players that she shouldn’t. Lloyd being one of them. They don’t have the hold on her that someone like a Wambach, Boxx or Pearce had. But I think some of her thoughts are stuck in 2015.

Charles Olney: My approach would be to pretty radically shift things. My feeling is: China at this point isn’t dangerous enough to pose a serious threat to the best US squad, and we’re nowhere close to the World Cup yet. I’d take the chance to blood a bunch of new folks, try out young players that could fill in depth positions, or who might still grow into realistic first choice players a year from now. The Tournament of Nations is coming up and will give us plenty of time to see the first XI play together. Right now, let’s see the kids play, and give the vets a little bit of rest.

RJ Allen: I think this far in to the cycle is not the idea time to try out a bunch of people. I wouldn’t do that until after 2020 but I get why you would want to now. I agree some vets need the rest though.

Becky Schoenecker (@Beckster20): I would start with goalkeeping and shake that up a bit. I would have also called in different players, but I would use this time to like Charles said radically switch things up, but specifically with the keepers.

Alanna Fairbairn: I would kick Allie Long to the curb. I feel like she’s proved that while she’s spectacular in the league, she doesn’t provide much in any position for the NT except *maybe* forward, and we already have tons of those.

RJ Allen: I think Zerboni can do all Long can and a bunch of things she can’t. Long I think has the benefit of being willing to do whatever she is asked. She seems to have no problem playing wherever Ellis wants her.

Charles Olney: I’ve been a Long-skeptic for quite a while, and I generally agree with Alanna. But it would be pretty strange to cut her right now, when she’s playing about as well as I think she’s ever played. I’m not convinced it will last, but at least for the moment, Long is pretty clearly one of the best US midfielders.

RJ Allen: At a club level. Not at a USWNT level.

Charles Olney: I’m not convinced there’s a difference

RJ Allen: Not against China, no. Against England it is.

Becky Schoenecker: Long won’t lose a game for the US, I think she’s a safe roster position until some others step up.

Tyler Nguyen: Midfield for me is not a huge concern area at the moment. I think that US Soccer needs to better decide what they want from their fullbacks. It seems like the main objective is for them to be able to run the line all game, but they’re also expected to contribute to attack and there just isn’t talent out there to do both of those things on both sides of the field. The turnover at fullback in the past year or so has been pretty absurd

Charles Olney: Agree, Tyler.

RJ Allen: The only spots where I am pretty worry-free is centerback and forward. I think the three centerbacks are perfect and we have enough forward talent to make up for a lot of the midfield issues.

Charles Olney: Alright, I think there’s still plenty of national team conversation for us to have, but we’ll certainly have time to cover some of those issues over the next few weeks. For now, why don’t we turn to a different topic: the Champions League.

Lyon defeated Wolfsburg last week in a pretty peculiar game that saw very little action for 90 minutes and then all hell breaking loose as soon as extra time hit. Let’s talk for a bit about the game. How do people feel about the result?

Tyler Nguyen: Lyon are so stacked. Van De Sanden was the best player on the field and OL only brought her on after extra time started.

RJ Allen: I think the Champions League shows why most of the clubs don’t care about their regular club season.

Charles Olney: I get what you’re saying RJ, but I think that’s an exaggeration. Lyon is the exception who doesn’t have to worry about their domestic league. Most of the other big teams have serious competition.

RJ Allen: I am going to be called out for this – I’ll owe it – but I think the CL really contributes to the European leagues being so weak.

Charles Olney: We’ll need to bring on Chloe for a conversation soon, but I think there’s more depth in most of the European leagues than is often credited. Certainly, the attitude and structure of the leagues (and focus on Champions League as the height of competition) creates a system with less parity, but the mid-tier teams in England are still pretty good. The French league strikes me as the huge exception, and I wonder how much of that is driven by peculiarities of the French developmental system.

RJ Allen: I don’t see the English league as very strong. Though they just did a reshuffle on it.

Tyler Nguyen: Lots of players in the NWSL also go to the English leagues and vice versa so it should be pretty easy to compare the two. Look at Crystal Dunn and Nadia Nadim, two players who both swapped the two leagues recently. Both look like they’re more or less the same player.

Charles Olney: If anything, Dunn has been better on both sides of her time in England.

RJ Allen: I think a lot of the top teams might get a win against an NWSL side but over a 24 game season I don’t think any would beat the likes of Orlando, NCC, Portland, Seattle, Utah, Houston week in and week out the way they win games over there.

Charles Olney: Okay, so let’s take that back to Lyon for a second. I think it’s generally accepted that they’re the best in the world. But let’s have fun speculating a bit. How would they do if they were in the NWSL? I think it’s safe to say that they’d win the Shield, but by how much? Would it be close? What percentage chance would you give them to win the title?

RJ Allen: At best they would be maybe 3rd. At worst 6th. I don’t think they win the shield or get close.

Tyler Nguyen: I think the hardest part for Lyon would be cutting their roster down to 20. But I’d back them to get a home playoff spot and then crush the playoffs.

Alanna Fairbairn: I would say the same as Tyler. They just have so much pure talent and I don’t think most of the NWSL has the defensive lines needed to contain them

RJ Allen: Look, maybe I am crazy and maybe I’m not. But super teams don’t often do well in this league. It is really hard to play week in and week out against the other teams in the league and 1) keep everyone healthy 2) keep everyone happy and 3) not get complacent.

Charles Olney: I think those are all fair points. But I also think that Lyon’s second XI would be a playoff team in the NWSL. They’re just ridiculously stacked

RJ Allen: I am unimpressed with them as a team. They have a lot of great parts but I think the sum is weaker than the parts. But would I take Ada Hegerberg to play on any team in the league? Yes.

Charles Olney: I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on that point. But maybe another way to think about things would be to reverse the question. What if some of the top NWSL teams were in Europe? How would North Carolina and Portland do if they were in the Champions League this year? Would North Carolina win the WSL in England?

RJ Allen: I think Orlando, Seattle or NCC would do very well over in Europe. And without the same salary cap I think a lot of the coaches would have a blast pulling in a few more key players.

Alanna Fairbairn: I think Portland would strive to match Lyon for a stacked roster if they didn’t have the salary cap, which would definitely help them compete

Charles Olney: I think the point about roster limits and salary caps is important. But, of course, this is the whole reason why the NWSL is as balanced as it is. A Portland that didn’t have to deal with roster restrictions would really just be Lyon 2.0, wouldn’t it?

RJ Allen: Which would make the league weaker as a whole because it would create an imbalance that a lot of teams, money or not, wouldn’t be able to overcome. This is why I am a strong advocate for the leagues being more balanced and having tighter rules in place to keep it that way.

Charles Olney: Alright. One final topic for this week: Where in the world is Christen Press going to end up? Some news came out today suggesting that Göteborg might not be willing, or able, to cover the cost of her contract when it’s up in a few weeks. She has been good in Sweden—unsurprisingly—but the team is doing poorly, and it seems like they might be wondering whether the investment is worth it. That said, it doesn’t seem like any of the issues that led to her going to Sweden in the first place have really been resolved. Houston still owns her rights and doesn’t appear particularly inclined to negotiate.

So, the question: where do people think Press is in September? Back in the NWSL? Still in Sweden? Signed with a big European team in one of the top leagues?

RJ Allen: I think Mewis being hurt is going to force Houston’s hand. They need help and she is their biggest chip right now.

Alanna Fairbairn: I think it’s a matter of how stupid Houston’s front office is going to be about it. Or how stubborn, maybe is a better way to put it. I do not think she’s going to end up in Houston, no matter how much they may want her. They need to understand that, and get some serious value for her

Becky Schoenecker: I doubt she’ll end up in Houston, but I would like her to. I think they have a chance to get to the playoffs, which was a bit unthinkable at the beginning of the year. With Mewis out they need a Press to have any chance now I think.

Alanna Fairbairn: Houston already dealt with Carli Lloyd not really wanting to play there, I don’t really want them to have another unhappy star. It’s not a good look, and it doesn’t do anyone really any good.

Tyler Nguyen: Houston definitely feels like they need some value right now but I still don’t really see a trade out there that they’d be willing to accept. I don’t actually think Houston should play Press since their forward line looks so good at the moment. You want to bench Prince or Daly right now?

Charles Olney: If Press wanted to play for Houston, I think she’d actually slot in fairly well. She and Daly would play off each other well, and Press would alleviate some of the problems they have holding possession through the middle. But I agree: she’s almost certainly never kicking a ball for the Dash, so there’s not much point in speculating.

Becky Schoenecker: Which team could use her the most/would be willing to trade for her?

RJ Allen: I’d really like Press to go to Utah. I think she and ARod could make some magic happen and it would even things out. But I don’t know what Utah could give up for her. Seattle has pieces the Dash could use but they want a NT player, or they did, so unless they want to give up Long I don’t see it.

Charles Olney: I agree with RJ that Press would fit extremely well into the Utah system, but it’s hard to see what deal Houston would be willing to accept. One consideration: Heather O’Reilly is finished in England and Utah has her rights. It’s hard to see her being willing to go to Houston, either, but I have wondered whether a three-way deal could be possible that would send O’Reilly somewhere else.

RJ Allen: To be fair HAO doesn’t have to be willing. Houston just has to think she is.

Alanna Fairbairn: If O’Reilly were hypothetically willing to play in Houston, I would cry with happiness. I don’t know that they would be able to woo her, but she would help so much.

RJ Allen: Draft picks I would think. Or an extra international slot.

Charles Olney: If you were Houston, would you do a straight swap of Press for HAO (assuming you got some confirmation that she’d actually be willing to play for you)? I would.

Alanna Fairbairn: In a heartbeat.

Becky Schoenecker: Absolutely. I think HAO would fit in to their team much better as well.

RJ Allen: Assuming she was willing I think they would want HAO and a draft pick or something.

Alanna Fairbairn: I think it’s not just a talent thing either. HAO strikes me as the type of person who would fit in well with the ethos Pauw is trying to implement

Charles Olney: So it’s settled. HAO for Press. Both teams get better, and the we all get to watch some great players come back to the league. It’s a win for everyone.

RJ Allen: The other thing is that if Houston doesn’t trade her I’m not sure they get anything. The NWSL might have offered them something if LA gets a team and she’s moved there but there is no guarantee they will.

Charles Olney: That’s the other big question mark. If they expect to get decent value there, then it really might make sense to just hold her rights and wait for the payout. If all they’ll get is a draft pick or something, then it’s a pretty bad idea to give up a good trade chit when you could extract real value from Seattle/Utah/etc.

Tyler Nguyen: Last from me: I really want Houston to lean into their role of scrappy underdog team where players who just haven’t worked out on other teams prove their value. But it doesn’t seem like their front office really knows what their identity as a team is.

Charles Olney: Absolutely. Given how well the team has managed to do in terms of results, there’s a real chance to wipe away a lot of the bad taste from previous bungling. It’s just a matter of actually getting it done.

Route Two Soccer: What’s Wrong With Chicago?

Posted on by RJ Allen

Going into the 2017 NWSL season, the Chicago Red Stars were widely regarded as a leading contender for the title. Through the first ten games, they seemed to be living up to the promise, earning 18 points and playing an aggressive, exciting brand of soccer.

The back half of 2017, however, saw a serious downswing. The strong start gave them a cushion which was enough to hold off challengers for the final playoff spot, but they did very little with their semifinal berth, going down in a rough-and-tumble game against the North Carolina Courage.

There have been some signs of life this year, but the results have remained difficult to come by. Combining their ten games this year with their final fourteen of 2017–a full season’s worth of matches–they’ve picked up a meager 31 points.

NWSL results – based on most recent 24 games for each team

Now, 31 points isn’t nothing. It’s much better, for example, than the 17 points the beleaguered Washington Spirit have managed in that same period. But 31 points is well below a normal playoff pace and is well below what a reasonable observer would anticipate given the quality of players on this roster.

Any team will suffer ebbs and flows in performance, so one shouldn’t overreact to a few bad results. But a full season’s worth of results is more than just a blip or a bad run. It’s clear, at this point, that Chicago is stagnating. That certainly doesn’t mean they can’t right the ship. But it does invite some serious questions about why this is happening and what can be done to fix it.

Chicago has struggled with a serious injury crisis

When searching for theories, it’s hard not to start with injuries. After a consistently great bill of health for most of last year, Chicago’s roster began to run down toward the end of the year, and those problems have more than carried over into 2018. They’ve had to do without some critical players, starting with Julie Ertz, who has only recently returned and still doesn’t seem to be close to 100%. They’ve also desperately missed Vanessa DiBernardo, whose incisive passing is critical to unlocking the Chicago attack. Casey Short was one of the league’s best defenders in 2017, but has missed all of this season. Then consider that Chicago was missing some key players on international duty for most of April. Not least of which: Sam Kerr.

Given these conditions, Chicago has relied heavily on supporting players so far. These include Taylor Comeau and Sarah Gorden in defense, Nikki Stanton in the central midfield, and Alyssa Mautz, Summer Green, and Michele Vasconcelos in the attack. On the whole, these players have done reasonably well, but there is a reason that they are generally not first-choice when the full roster is available.

Of course, every team suffers injuries, so it’s not like the Red Stars are the only ones being forced to turn to second and third choice options. But Chicago’s list is arguably the worst of any team in the league. That has to be part of the equation.

Chicago has played a packed schedule

It’s also worth noting that Chicago has been forced to fit a lot of games into a compact schedule. In a nine-team league, every squad is going to have busier and lighter sections of the schedule, but Chicago hit theirs at a particularly rough moment. It’s certainly notable that the team is winless in their last six games, even as they’ve gotten back their internationals and some of their injured players. It’s unlikely that this is all due to tired legs, but it’s probably a factor. 

Unfortunately for Chicago, these effects aren’t quickly resolved, either. Players who are run into the ground early will need extended recovery breaks to get things back in order—breaks that the schedule simply doesn’t contain.

Chicago is still struggling with their tactical evolution

Last October, I wrote an autopsy on the Red Stars season, in which I argued for some necessary evolution of their playing style. Their rigid adherence to a midfield diamond was blocking many of the teams’ strengths in possession and passing, and doing little to take advantage of their greatest asset: Christen Press. This year, finally, Chicago seems to be making real changes. They have generally set up in a 4-3-3, relying heavily on their fullbacks to both push high and to drift inward—bolstering the wide attack as well as the central midfield. The goal has been to build a smoother attacking style, one organized more around controlled possession and less fixated on direct assaults.

Ironically, they made this change even as they swapped out Press for Kerr. I say ‘ironic’ because Kerr would have been far more suited to the direct style they played last year, while Press fits more naturally into a possession game.

That being said, Kerr is a world-class striker in any system. While things haven’t quite clicked yet, it’s only a matter of time before she reels off a string of goals. And the possession game is a better utilization of Chicago’s overall roster, particularly once they get DiBernarndo back. Her ability to thread the perfect through-ball has been sorely missed so far this year. In the long term, they’ll be a better team if they focus on cultivating more diversity in their range of play. Assuming that they still see themselves as playoff contenders (as they should), their goal should be to get ready to play their best in September.

If this style continues to falter, they may eventually be forced to revert to type. But for now, at least, it’s an experiment still worth pursuing.

We’re approaching make-or-break time for Rory Dames

Broadly speaking, women’s leagues see much less turnover in coaching positions than their male equivalents. Still, try to imagine a coach in the English Premier League or Serie A being allowed to spend this long with this talented a roster and this poor a run of results. It’s pretty difficult. Even in the comparatively lower temperature environment of the NWSL, Dames’ seat has to be getting just a little bit hot.

This by no means is meant to impugn Dames’ obvious qualities as a coach. His tenure at Chicago has been extremely impressive. He built this team up from the ground, assembling a squad of superb players who have grown and developed together. It’s been an incredible achievement, and one well-worth celebrating. Given all that success, it would hardly be unreasonable to give him more time to put things back on track.

At the same time, one can’t help but wonder if there may be diminishing returns to Dames’ contributions in this position. It’s the rare case for a coach to serve more than a few years in a position. Ideas start to go stale, personalities start to clash, motivations falter. This implies no personal failing of the coach; it’s just a natural part of the process. There are, of course, a few notable exceptions—coaches who survive for decades by reinventing themselves and their teams—but for every Sir Alex Ferguson, there are a dozen big names who hop quickly from team to team. 

This year, the NWSL has already seen two big moves, with Vlatko Andonovski and Laura Harvey swapping jobs. Each had seemed inseparable from the team they had built, but not only have Utah and Seattle survived the transition just fine, both teams actually seem revitalized.

A team like Chicago—stacked with talent and anxious to break their semifinal curse—may eventually be forced to consider whether it’s time to part ways. That decision certainly shouldn’t be taken lightly. Still, considering the malaise hanging over the Red Stars over the past twelve months, it’s worth at least entertaining the idea.

The darkest hour is just before dawn?

The Red Stars are an enigma, probably the hardest team in the league to assess. The underlying quality is obviously there, and it’s very easy to put a positive shine on things. Injuries, missing internationals, an evolving style of play—all these point toward a team primed for improvement. What’s more, while Chicago has struggled to find points this year, that has been primarily been driven by a surprising number of draws. A few more lucky breaks here and there could easily have turned a couple draws into wins, which would give them a lot more breathing room. And even without those extra points, they’re hardly in serious danger.  12 points from 10 games isn’t great, but it would only take a couple wins on the bounce to rocket them back up the table. That’s eminently possible, and should give Chicago supporters plenty of reason for hope. 

At their best, Chicago are one of the league’s most exciting teams to watch. For the sake of neutrals everywhere, here’s hoping that the optimists are right and that Chicago turns a corner sooner rather than later.

NWSL QuickCap: 9 1/2 Weeks (of Soccer)

Posted on by RJ Allen

Three games in one night is a beautiful thing. In theory. In reality it’s the same “Inside Barca” ad every time you flip a channel between games. With my poor home internet, it also takes me back to the pre-cable days of fuzzy antenna television at times, too, which is something you Millennial Falcons hopefully never experience.

Orlando Pride 3-4 North Carolina Courage
3-3-3/8-0-2
This one was 1-0 NCC when I turned to Survivor and quite a surprise when I looked back. Jessica McDonald scored from in front of Orlando’s net at 32′, with the assist to Denise O’Sullivan. Then Wendell dominated the Immunity Challenges but couldn’t sell himself to the bitter jury and I started to get worried. Orlando should also be worried, because including McDonald, much of NCC play was crashing in on net without much obstruction. Chioma Ubogagu tied at 52’ on a Marta cross, with a quick response from Debhina at 57’ then Samantha Mewis (from Crystal Alyssia Dunn) at 62’. NWSL Instagram reports the Mewis goal as an Ashlyn Harris own goal and gives different times than the NWSL website box score, but hey, alternate facts. Alanna Kennedy at 65’ (from Christine Nairn’s wonderful crossing powers) and Rachel Hill at 83’ (assist, and accolades, to Marta). The 3-3 tie lasted a whole 7+’, which was a huge scoring drought for this second half, until Jessica McDonald put in one at 90’ (assist to Jaelene Hinkle, NWSL Most Improved.)

Washington Spirit 1-0 Sky Blue FC
2-5-2/0-6-1
Ashley Hatch with her second of the season at 64’ on an Andi Sullivan free kick and assist. Savannah McCaskill, probably after seeing what Rookie of the Year can do to your scoring touch, did not start but came in at 61’. She later almost served up a Lloyd goal on a free kick, but Aubrey Bledsoe catches things for a living. In the biggest news of the game, Rose Lavelle logged 16 minutes of game time, coming on for Estafania Banini at 74’. I continue to be befuddled by this NJ roster not being able to score, but since they can’t really defend either, I guess I’m also puzzled how Washington can only get 1.

Houston Dash 80s Night 2-1 Seattle Reign
2-4-4/4-2-2
I know some on-field purists hate the shenanigans of promotions and spectacle, but as someone that started high school while it was still the 80s, I’m all in favor of being reminded that people who weren’t even born when I was in school…well, that’s going to take a dark turn, so never mind. Bev Yanez (which seems overly familiar, NWSL box score, when you’re using full names and seven initials for other players) put Seattle up at 13’ on an assist from Jodie Taylor. Earlier in the season, no one would have been surprised if that result held. But wait. On a Rachel Daly free kick after Seattle’s Kristen McNabb was booked at 67’, Kristie Mewis managed to get the deflection in for a 68’ goal. But wait…there’s even more if you call now. At 90+2’, Veronica Latsko took a pass from Thembi Kgatlana, took a shot that bounced off defender Steph Catley then knuckled past Michelle Betos into goal for Houston’s second win of the season.

The NWSL Podium: Top Performances in Week 8

Posted on by RJ Allen

The NWSL Podium: Top Performances is a weekly series that looks at the best attacking, defensive, and goalkeeping performances each week.

NWSL’s Week 8 was a bit slow, with only five goals being scored across four matches. The North Carolina Courage continued their unbeaten streak with a 2-1 win over Sky Blue FC, but failed to maintain their clean sheet thanks to a last-minute goal from Carli Lloyd. The Portland Thorns finally bounced back with a 1-0 win over the Washington Spirit. In that match, Ellie Carpenter surpassed Mallory Pugh as the youngest goal-scorer in NWSL history at the age of 18. And the Chicago Red Stars managed to silence the Seattle Reign at home. Here is a full list of the scores from Week 8:

Utah Royals vs. Houston Dash (1-0)

Washington Spirit vs. Portland Thorns (0-1)

Sky Blue FC vs. North Carolina Courage (1-2)

Seattle Reign FC vs. Chicago Red Stars (0-0)

Top Goalkeeping Performances

1. Katelyn Rowland— Rowland started in her second match this season for the North Carolina Courage on Saturday, with Sabrina D’Angelo out with an ankle injury. Rowland faced eight shots in the match against Sky Blue and had to make four saves. She had a spectacular save in the 6th minute off a shot from Shea Groom. Groom set up her shot in the corner of the 18-yard box and launched it towards the far corner of the net, but Rowland leaped into the air and sent the ball out of play. Rowland’s most impressive moment came in the 72nd minute. The North Carolina defense gave up a penalty kick, and Carli Lloyd lined up to take it. Rowland made a diving save to deny Lloyd on the initial shot and then denied Raquel Rodriguez on the rebound, pushing the ball out of play.

2.  Lydia Williams— Williams faced eleven shots and made four saves in Saturday night’s late game against the Chicago Red Stars. Williams had good saves against shots from Sofia Huerta and Julie Ertz early in the second half, but it was her save at the end of the first half that earned her a Save of the Week nomination. In the 42nd minute, there was some chaos in the box and Williams was surrounded by a sea of Reign and Red Stars players. A corner kick came in from Danielle Colaprico, and the Red Stars were hoping to just finish it off and head it into the net. Arin Gilland got a head to it, but Williams swatted the ball away. Rapinoe attempted to clear the ball, but it only got as far as Samantha Johnson. Johnson took a shot of her own, but it went right at Williams, who caught the ball and ended the Red Stars’ chance.

3.  Jane Campbell— While Campbell failed to get the clean sheet or the win on the road this weekend against the Utah Royals, she managed to shut down their offense for most of the match and made a couple of very impressive saves, especially in the first half. In the 31st minute, Katrina Gorry sent a beautiful ball upfield for Amy Rodriguez, who settled it and took a shot. Campbell made a diving save and Chapman cleared the ball out of the 18. A few minutes later, the referee gave a penalty to the Utah Royals after Amy Rodriguez was tripped inside the box by Amber Brooks. Diana Matheson took the penalty kick for Utah, but Campbell dove the right way and made the stop. At the end of the match, Utah tried to tack on more following Erika Tymrak’s goal, but Campbell wouldn’t let them through. She made a total of 4 saves in 18 shots faced.

Top Defensive Performances

1.  Lauren Barnes— Facing the likes of Sam Kerr and Sofia Huerta is no small task for a backline. But Barnes and her fellow defenders stepped up to the task. Barnes had a couple of good clearances early in the match and did a good job at shutting down the Red Stars attack. She almost had a bad giveaway early in the match, where she couldn’t quite clear the ball out of the box, but Kristen McNabb was there to save the day. The Seattle Reign have a lot of talent on defense, and the efforts of Williams, Barnes, McNabb, and others helped get the Seattle Reign their second clean sheet of the season.

2. Allysha Chapman— The Houston Dash defense admittedly looked a little shaky this weekend against the Utah Royals, but in just her second appearance for the Dash this season, Chapman once again managed to step up in a big way. She played a physical match, going head-to-head (literally) with the Utah Royals offense, and she made a couple of critical clearances and dispossessions that kept the Houston Dash in that match. She did make one big mistake in the 51st minute when she was caught ball-watching in front of the net and allowed Erika Tymrak’s goal to roll right past her. While this may have been a step back for the Dash’s defense, Chapman remains an important addition to a defense that has impressed in the past and could become a force to be reckoned with, with a bit more chemistry.

3. Kristen McNabb— McNabb played a critical role in the success of the Seattle Reign’s backline on Saturday night. McNabb had a particularly nice moment in the 11th minute of the match. Barnes kept trying to clear the ball, but she couldn’t quite head it out. Colaprico saw an opportunity and charged the ball, taking her shot but McNabb was there to stop it. Her effort helped get the Seattle Reign their second clean sheet of the season.

Top Attacking Performances

1. Carli Lloyd— Taking on the undefeated North Carolina Courage is no small task, especially for a team that has struggled this season like Sky Blue. But they stepped up to the plate, and as they settled into the match, put up a good performance against the #1 team. Lloyd had two particularly good moments towards the end of the match. In the 70th minute, she drew a penalty kick for Sky Blue. Unfortunately for Lloyd, both the shot and the rebound were brilliantly saved by Katelyn Rowland. But Lloyd wasn’t done yet. In the final moments of the game, Lloyd took a free kick just outside of the 18-yard box. Lloyd’s shot curled past Rowland into the top corner of the net for her first goal of the NWSL season. The goal wasn’t enough to earn Sky Blue points, but it was a sign of the potential this team has moving forward (and ended the Courage’s chance at another clean sheet).

2. Ellie Carpenter— Carpenter made her third appearance for the Thorns this weekend, coming on in the 64th minute for Midge Purce. Less than five minutes later, the Thorns faced the Spirit defense in a three-on-four attack. The Thorns had the edge, and Tobin Heath crossed the ball in front of the Spirit defense. The players got a bit tangled in the middle, but the ball rolled on to the feet of Carpenter, who sent the ball into the back of the net. The goal was ultimately enough to get the Portland Thorns their first win in over a month.

3. Erika Tymrak— Prior to this week, Tymrak had been a consistent substitute, but never a starter, for Laura Harvey’s Utah Royals. But with Kelley O’Hara out with a hamstring injury, Tymrak got her chance to step into the starting line-up this weekend. She made her chance count, scoring the lone goal of the match in the 51st minute. Gunny Jonsdottir found space and moved with the ball towards Houston’s 18-yard box. She passed the ball off to Rodriguez, who the Dash were marking. So, Rodriguez let the ball slide past her to a wide open Tymrak, who slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net. The goal was ultimately enough to earn the Utah Royals their second win of the season.

Honorable Mention: North Carolina Courage— It is difficult to single out one offensive player on this team that stood out this weekend, but North Carolina’s counter-attack is clinical and proved dangerous this weekend against Sky Blue. Their first goal came from Crystal Dunn, but it was a beautiful set up from Debinha, who sent the ball out to Jessica McDonald, who slid the ball right past three Sky Blue defenders to Dunn, who tucked it away in the far corner. This North Carolina Courage team is something special, and they are fun to watch.