Category: NWSL

Houston Dash Preview: Can Houston Stop Being Their Own Worst Enemy?

Posted on by RJ Allen

It’s been a busy offseason in Houston, with the arrival of a new head coach and some significant roster turnover. Given all that change, it may take some time for the real Dash to make themselves known. Still, even with everything that’s up in the air, there are a few clear themes, so let’s dig in and see what we find.

Head Coach: Vera Pauw

2017 record: 7-3-14 (24 points), eighth in the league

Projected Starting XI: You could probably ask 20 people to project Houston’s starting XI and get 25 answers, so there’s no point in pretending that there is a single obvious setup here. With that said, here’s one possible lineup:

Goalkeeper: Jane Campbell
Defenders: Rachel Daly, Amber Brooks, Janine Van Wyk, Cami Levin
Midfielders: Cari Roccaro, Kristie Mewis, Hailey Hanson
Forwards: Nichelle Prince, Savannah Jordan, Kealia Ohai

We’ve seen some signs that Rachel Daly might take on a permanent switch to fullback, which would make her the obvious choice for right back. If that doesn’t pan out, there aren’t a lot of other great options, but Lindsay Agnew is another possibility. At left back, Cami Levin might return, or it could be Lotta Ökvist. Or Agnew. Roccaro played some fullback last year and could swap over. Or any one of a half dozen forwards that likely won’t see much time in actual forward roles.

And you could make comments like this about almost every slot on the pitch. Apart from a few core names, there’s very little reason to think anything is locked down at this point.

Player you should know: Kealia Ohai tied for the Golden Boot in 2016, a performance that earned her a chance with the national team that fall. Unfortunately, an ACL tear took her out for the final two thirds of the entire 2017 season. If she can get back her form from the latter half of 2016, she might just have enough to keep the Houston offense afloat.

Under the radar: Amber Brooks is the rock at the heart of this team. The longtime midfielder made a midseason switch last year to center back and brought some crucial stability to a shaky backline. She’s an important team leader, and a big part of what makes the Dash tick.

Biggest offseason acquisition: The Dash acquired plenty of names this offseason, but by far the biggest was Christen Press. Unfortunately, it seems like all they actually acquired here was the name, since Press herself won’t be playing for them. The next-best choice on the list, then, is probably Savannah Jordan–who has yet to show anything professionally, but has all the potential in the world.

Biggest rival: Themselves.

Most memorable moment from 2017: There are a few candidates here, none of them great. There was the 5-1 shellacking by Seattle in the second game of the season, the firing of Randy Waldrum, the “home” match played five hours away in Edinburg, the heatstroke incident at the end of the 3 PM Lifetime start, and the ACL injury to the captain and star, Kealia Ohai. 2017 did have some good moments, of course, but the most memorable moments were unfortunately mostly negative.

Why they’re the team to watch in 2018: There isn’t another team in the league facing as many huge questions as the Dash. After a series of perplexing offseason moves, and after several years of malaise, will the Pauw regime finally shake off the dust and unleash the attacking potential of this team? Will they be able to emerge from the wreckage of the Press trade, and come together to build some team unity? Is it possible to convert half your roster from forward to defense in one season? If everything comes together, it will make for an incredible story. If it doesn’t, it will be an incredible trainwreck. Either way, there are plenty of huge storylines that deserve following.

Predicted finish: There’s a decent amount of talent on this roster, and if Pauw is able to get them all singing from the same hymnal, a strong finish is by no means implausible. But looking up and down the league, and then looking at the Houston roster, it’s hard to pick any team that you’d put money on the Dash outpacing. My heart says things will stick together and grit out some decent results–maybe even sticking around in the playoff hunt for most of the season. My head says they’ll start out slow and finish slower. I hope my head is wrong, but can’t in good conscience predict anything other than Ninth.

Success depends on: Cobbling together a sustainable defensive unit out of converted forwards and limited defenders. This is not a squad that looks likely to lock games down in the midfield, nor like a team ready to assemble a defensive wall capable of repulsing the superpowered attacks being developed around the league. But at the end of the day, building a stable backline depends as much on organization and commitment as it does on raw talent. If Pauw and her staff are able to get them working together, the team might be able to generate enough stability to unlock the powerful array of offensive weapons at their disposal.

Fun prediction: Rachel Daly’s conversion to fullback works well, and she becomes a regular in the England squad.

The NWSL Attendance Issues are Hit and Miss

Posted on by RJ Allen

Charges too much for parking; doesn’t allow backpacks; won’t allow bottle caps on water bottles purchased at the park; only has 1 men’s restroom open for an entire half of the stadium but has 2 women’s restrooms open; the food vendors are too slow. – Chicago

Too many rules around smoke bombs in supporters section, crowd engagement during game. – North Carolina 

Old facility with terrible bench seating and gross bathrooms. Only serves beer in a single beer garden with long lines. Unable to bring beer back to seats. – Seattle

When Backline ran a pair of surveys of NWSL fans, one for the general public and a second that focused on fans more than 100 miles away from an NWSL city, these were some of the replies on what the NWSL teams aren’t doing right.

Attendance in the NWSL is a hotly debated topic. It’s something that everyone thinks they have a fix for when you ask on Twitter or strike up a conversation at a game. But the reality is, the issues people have with most teams aren’t as fixable as “open more men’s bathrooms” or “have jerseys in more sizes at games.”

For instance, a team like the Seattle Reign only has so many options of where to play. Seattle has other soccer facilities, but there isn’t a perfect space that will fix apathy among Sounders fans, or the fact that even during the 2015 season, when Seattle was the best team in the league, the Reign barely broke 4,000 a game. Similarly, the Reign can only do so much about the rules when it comes to where beer can and can’t be taken, since the Seattle school district has its own rules for alcohol consumption on its property.

There are common issues among the teams. Most teams have comments about the team focusing more on young fans at the expense of older fans. Nearly every team had at least one comment about access via public transport or issues with parking.

Primary Problems vs Secondary Problems

When I look at the responses people submitted they mostly fall into two categories: primary problems and secondary problems.

The primary problems are the base problems. For instance, the team doesn’t play in a place that is easy to get to. These are deep issues that don’t have an easy fix. Most teams can’t just move to a new stadium that has great public transport and affordable rent—if they could, they would have already.

Secondary problems, or First-World Problems as they might be called on Twitter, are the type of problems that could be addressed and either aren’t because, 1) the team doesn’t know they are issues, 2) the team doesn’t know how to fix the problem, or 3) the problem isn’t a big enough issue for the team to dedicate resources to fix it.

A secondary problem would be, “there are not enough vegan options” at Portland Thorns games. Is it a problem for vegan fans? Yes. Overall, if the worst thing you can say is that a certain dietary restriction isn’t accomodated at a game, the team is doing pretty well. The team could—and in Portland maybe even should—address something like this, but they haven’t yet. But it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that they will. 

Oftentimes, the biggest issue is fans treating primary problems as if they have solutions as easy as secondary problems. An Orlando fan wrote in, “Change the time. 3 pm in Florida is unacceptable for the players and the fans. Don’t schedule the local NWSL team to play at the same time as the away game of the local MLS team.”

Let me first say that I understand the frustration this fan feels. Mid-afternoon in the south—and even some places up north—is a horrible time to be outside in the heat of the summer. But there is nothing that Orlando or even the NWSL, can do about the time. Is it something ugly that the league, thankfully, worked to mitigate in 2018? Yes. But can it be totally solved unless Lifetime decides to give the NWSL Primetime slots? No.

Same with when NWSL and MLS teams from the same city play. It’s not ideal, but the two leagues only have so much to do with each other. The NWSL doesn’t often get the first choice of times for their venues. They usually have to take what they can get.

The thing about primary problems is, they are still problems, but there is only so much that can be done about them by one team or during any one season.

Contrast this with an issue written in by someone who attends Sky Blue games: “Not enough merch for sale, could also use visiting team rosters maybe simple game day program.”

This is a perfect example of a secondary problem. It is not unreasonable for Sky Blue to get more merchandise to sell at games or to up their game day program game. They might have to invest more money to have more merchandise, but it is not an unreasonable request, nor is it something impossible for them to do in any given season.

The Universal Issue Around the League

The universal issue that really does pop up all over the NWSL is this question: when teams look at which fans to invest the most effort into, who wins out?

However, every team had someone write in about needing to improve on or fix the tension between adult fans vs kids and families. From Sky Blue to Portland, from Chicago to Orlando, it was the most ubiquitous issue brought up.

And honestly?

I don’t think most of the changes people want or that would help the atmosphere can come from the clubs. To make the change real and lasting, those changes have to come from fans and supporters’ groups.

It is absolutely true that some teams hinder their fan bases and supporter groups by imposing rules that can detract from adult fan experiences. Some teams actively try to limit fans chanting swear words during the matches. At the NWSL Championship in Orlando, a security guard—whether on his own or because of team/league rules is unclear—told fans they were not permitted to use a chant with the f-word in it because it was a women’s soccer match. Some teams prevent supporters groups from bringing in large percussion instruments, or smoke bombs, or other staples of soccer supporter groups all over the world.

And yes, there are some teams who lean a little heavily into the aren’t-these-women-just-great-please-support-our-team narrative that makes the league sound like they should play Sarah McLachlan before every game.

But by and large, most teams are just trying to make the fans that show up happy.

A strong group of fans, organized in a true supporters’ group or not, is the key to the game-day experience most fans want. The clubs should be open to working and supporting these groups as much as they can, as long as the groups follow the rules set.

We’ve seen in Portland what can happen when a team’s front office doesn’t stand in the way of a strong supporters’ group. It takes time to build up a solid fan culture for a team and some groups have been trying as long as the league has been around. But building it from the fan side will always be stronger than the club trying to build out in that direction.

Straight From the Fans’ Keyboards

People being upset about the $20 parking fee in Chicago or the marketing in Houston is something that will prevent some from going to games if the issues add up high enough or even if one issue persists long enough.

Going through the responses, I did find some answers that give a solid showing of the issues fans have with each of the teams. I also found some answers that showed what at least some fans liked about their game day experiences. Those who wrote in also did a great job of giving valid points that summed things up nicely. They also brought up things I hadn’t thought about before. Below are some of the best of the replies:

Chicago

The Bad – Stadium is a drive and parking can be expensive if you are not a STH (season ticket holder). Also, we sit in the sunny part of the stadium and they are not always prepared for crowds/heat (see Orlando game – they didn’t have enough cold water handy).

The Good – Toyota Park is a very nice stadium once you get there. Good view of the field, good announcing, fun halftime. They run a pub to pitch bus. Just wish there were more people there.

And a Third Thing – (About season tickets) Too expensive, staff has not treated friends in friendly manner, not worth the fuss. You can’t sell them for anything if you cannot attend a game making them only for personal use.

Houston

The Bad – The FO needs to at least appear like they’re thinking things through. They also need to appeal to their STH – married couples without kids. Play some older music that makes you want to rip into the other team. Stop making the Dash a charity case.

The Good – They’ve started doing Game Day emails to tell you what to expect. Just wish they wouldn’t send it late in the day on Friday.

And a Third Thing – Attendance won’t get better until we treat it like a grassroots effort – eating, sleeping, breathing your team. Create a sense of FOMO. We circle jerk about the NWSL on social media, but I think we’re doing it in a vacuum. Only those who seek us out will find us. We have to think outside the box.

North Carolina

The Bad – Charge too much for beer and police our songs.

The Good – Free parking, on-site parking, space to tailgate, stadium has good variety of food and drinks, activities for kids, players stay for autographs and photos at end of game.

And a Third Thing – I think there is a untapped market of young adults for NWSL. People in there 20s/30s who love soccer and have disposable income to support teams. Unfortunately promotion can be so geared toward families, it turns people off.

Orlando

The Bad – Chants. Supporters groups & team do terrible getting entire crowd involved in supporting Team during the game.

The Good – Nice experience, good atmosphere, largeish crowds, very personal and inclusive, love the games and tents on the streets before the game to win fun things.

And a Third Thing – I am aware of & want to support the league & the team so I attend all games as work schedule permits; in terms of attracting others to attend more games, the team front office needs to improve the visibility of the team through better marketing/advertising. There needs to be better cross promotion between Orlando City and Orlando Pride. If I didn’t know about the league then I would never know there is a professional women’s soccer team in this city because I can’t think of a single incidence of advertising during the regular season. They only promoted for the home opener & when the Pride made the playoffs.

Portland

The Bad – The streets around the stadium aren’t closed like they are for the Timbers games, and the Thorns crowd usually warrants it, size wise . Sometimes giving out Timbers swag rather than Thorns swag (bookmarks, for example).

The Good – The fan experience is amazing due to the supporter’s group. The team helps by working with them on atmosphere. They provide a wonderful product to watch with good facilities and access to good stadium food and drinks, including alcohol.

And a Third Thing – I think the security is too tight. I realize how important that security is, however it prevents fans from meeting the players, one of the key things the NWSL does that I love more than any other league.

Seattle

The Bad – Very few activities before the game, food lines can get long (food trucks), lack of advertising immediately outside of stadium – you can be at Seattle Center and have no idea a soccer game is taking place. Restocking bathrooms before half time.

The Good – Good atmosphere, food truck options, pop-up team shop, usually some activities for kids, beer garden for adults, DJ. Last but not least, performance on the pitch!

And a Third Thing – I’m a small sample size, but from my point of view the Reign are in a tough spot where there core market is tapped out. There are thousands of girls who play soccer in Seattle. The problem is that they and their parents have a ton of other obligations and commitments.

Sky Blue 

The Bad – Sky Blue FC needs a lot more with game day experience for “grown up” fans… it feels like their motivation is to encourage just the young fans to attends And not enticing to grown ups.

The Good – Gives Cloud 9 our own section and lets us in early to put up signs and on the field after games to take down banners.

And a Third Thing – NWSL revenue focus should be on new-age international market (via internet/online sponsorship), rather than on 20th century conventional ticket sales. Soccer venues should be “broadcast-focused”, not focused on local ticket sales. Team locale should be irrelevant to that team’s main revenue stream. As its funding base, NWSL should go after corporations that think globally like big tech (Apple, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Intel, Cisco) and big sports (Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Puma, Reebok, Gatorade).

Washington 

The Bad – Catering to adults on any level—everything is centered around youth soccer—which is great short term but not in terms of sustaining and growing a fan base; marketing in DC (very few people—DC United fans included—actually know the team exists); creating an actual game day experience-feels more like a 90 min event.

The Good – The field is immaculate, and the setting is nice. Parking is free, and food prices are cheap compared to pro sporting events in the region.

And a Third Thing – I’m worried about the long-term viability of a team whose attendance appears to have more or less plateaued in their current location. Soccer fans in the region who aren’t devoted woso fans will have reason to choose skipping long trips to the Soccerplex in favor of easier trips to a fancy new soccer stadium. With the NWSL moving forward aggressively, it might not be possible to keep up in the years to come without moving to the new stadium or building a stadium of their own (which, in this area, would be borderline impossible to do without accepting major financial losses and requiring political connections the team does not appear to have). If the Spirit were selling the Soccerplex out on a regular basis, this wouldn’t be a concern, but their numbers appear to lean heavily on nice weather and star players coming to town.

Final Thoughts 

The hard truth is some of the current teams may need to move from the areas they currently are to area that are more conductive to having better attendance if they can’t figure out how to bring in more fans per game. While the number of fans at each match is not the only metric to how teams are doing it does show engagement of the area the teams are located in.

We’ve already seem FC Kansas City and Western New York move as well as the Boston Breakers fold. While not directly related to their attendance track records, if these teams were pulling in Portland level numbers there is a greater chance these teams may have been able to survive.

I don’t know how to put more butts in seats for the NWSL, but I do know the league needs to start figuring it out. Teams like Sky Blue, Chicago, Seattle and Washington, the group without MLS/USL backing, are going to have a harder and harder go to things if they stay as both independent teams and have lower attendance numbers.

Something has to be figured out before the next team goes under due to the costs outweighing the benefits to the ownership. The fans building up a strong culture by showing up and being present while clubs giving these groups the tools they need to build that culture may be the best way forward for both sides.

Route Two Soccer: Is There a Method to Houston’s Madness?

Posted on by RJ Allen

It’s been a strange offseason for the Houston Dash, in more ways than one. The last few months have been filled with peculiar decisions, many of which have baffled even the friendliest evaluators. And it’s all truly come to a head now–just a couple weeks before the start of the season–with the breaking news that Christen Press (the supposed coup de grace of the whole offseason) would not be playing for the club. 

In this column, I’m going to walk through some of the big decisions and try to explain them. That will be more difficult for some than others, and I won’t shy away from calling out the bad and weird choices. But the overall theme of the column is simple: it’s been a strange offseason, but maybe not quite as incoherent as many seem to think. I’m not ready to say that we should “trust the process,” but I do think there is some method to the madness.

The New Coaching Staff

To begin, it’s crucial to note the excellent pedigree of the new coaching staff. Head coach Vera Pauw has a strong record in the international game, having spent the last two decades coaching Scotland, the Netherlands, Russia, and South Africa. While she won no major trophies in those jobs, she achieved some real success, including a semifinals appearance at Euro 2009.

The Dash often seems to make decisions haphazardly, and with little attention to detail, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here. Pauw was a strong hire, and that was augmented by the good decision to bring in Lisa Cole as the assistant coach. Transitioning from the international game to a domestic league is always somewhat difficult, and the NWSL is a special challenge—with roster limits, harsh spending caps, and byzantine transfer rules. Having someone with some experience in the league is a very good idea, and Cole fits the bill.

That said, some of the more confusing decisions this offseason do seem to reflect a poor understanding of the league structure and/or lack of familiarity with the current player pool. Still, some growing pains are to be expected. The question isn’t whether Pauw has hit the ground running, but whether her overall vision is strong enough to handle the inevitable bumps in the road.

We won’t really know the answer for a while. The Dash have been a mess for four years now, and realistically the best hope for 2018 is to patch together some of the major holes and get things in line for a strong push in 2019. Miracles can happen, of course, and the Dash certainly shouldn’t treat this season as a lost cause before it starts. But in terms of setting expectations, it’s probably more important to look for evidence of growth than to focus too much on results as such.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the big issues of the offseason and assess what they mean:

Trading Andressinha for Savannah Jordan

On its face, this is a tough one to explain. Andressinha is one of the best creative midfielders in the league and has a real chance of turning the corner to become a genuine superstar. Plus, it’s not like Houston was overflowing with talent in this role and could afford to make a move. The step down from her to their next best option (Kristie Mewis?) is enormous. Meanwhile, Savannah Jordan is a good young talent but has yet to really show outside of college. Plus, Houston already has a boatload of young forwards with potential. Jordan could break out and become a star, but at the moment it’s not even obvious that she’s a starter.

So there’s a lot to dislike about the trade. But it’s worth considering two mitigating factors. First, if Andressinha wanted out (which seems to have been the case), there really wasn’t anything Houston could do to stop it. The NWSL isn’t a cartel and any player of sufficient ability can simply hop on a plane to Europe. Given that, Houston was over a barrel in trade negotiations. They not only had to find a deal they liked, they had to find a deal that the player would accept. If she said “Portland, or nothing,” that would leave Houston with almost no leverage in trade negotiations. Better to get a good player by trading her to Portland than nothing at all.

Second, while Houston has plenty of forwards (more on that below), Jordan is a different type of player than most of their other options. They have a lot of technical attackers with blistering pace, but (apart from one year with Jess McDonald) they’ve never had much luck finding a true number nine. Jordan could be the answer. That’s an even more pressing concern if the next-best option (Rachel Daly) might not be available on the forward line this year (again, more on that below).

The College Draft

Thanks to their eighth-place finish last year, Houston went into the draft with the third overall pick. Before the draft even started, though, they traded that pick to Washington, in exchange for Lindsay Agnew and the sixth pick. Once again, this was an initially puzzling move. Agnew is yet another forward, and while she has some experience at fullback it’s hardly obvious that counting on a converted forward in that role was worth trading down in picks. That felt even truer when Washington used that number three pick to select Rebecca Quinn—precisely the sort of player that Houston desperately needs. Still, Agnew is a useful contributor, and Houston certainly need flexible players, so it’s not impossible to understand the move.

With their picks in the draft, Houston did reasonably well, picking up one player who seems likely to fit right into a starting role (Haley Hanson) along with several others who could easily be real contributors. Moreover, the choices seem to indicate what sort of qualities Pauw values: grit, determination, and flexibility.

Houston’s ethos has always been scrappy, but the fight has tended to drain away over the long doldrum periods each year when the team drifts aimlessly. It seems that Pauw may be focused on bolstering that spirit, bringing in fighters who will put everything on the line. There’s some reason to think that doubling down on that attitude could bring positive results. Many “small” teams over the years have thrived by cultivating a strong collective ethos, one which allows them to punch above their weight.

It remains an open question whether Pauw is able to actually produce such a result. Initial results are promising but tell us relatively little; enthusiasm is always high in the preseason but lags once results start to drift away. We will need to check back in come July or August to see whether spirits remain high and whether the ethic of giving 100% for the team has persisted.

International Signings

Houston made two splashes into the international market this winter, picking up two young South African players—Thembi Kgatlana and Linda Motlhalo. The former is yet another forward, while the latter seems to be an attacking midfielder. I don’t pretend to know enough about these players to say whether they are worthwhile gambles, but they are certainly known quantities to Pauw from her time coaching South Africa.

Perhaps they will be revelations, and evidence that bringing in a coach with more experience in the international game was a wise move. However, there’s also a real possibility that they are dud signings. We have plenty of experience over the years of new coaches coming into jobs and immediately signing the players they know from their previous, worse team. It rarely goes well. When it does work, it’s often because those new players fit well into a coach’s preferred style and can help the other players integrate into that mold. It remains to be seen what exactly Pauw’s style is, but once we’ve seen half a season, we’ll be in a much better position to assess these moves.

Still, there’s a problem above and beyond the question of whether these players are actually any good. Put simply: international slots are valuable and Houston is now committed to using two of them on players who (even in the best case scenario) only project as supplemental. Was there anyone else available willing to come to Houston? Maybe not. After all, that’s the constant problem of bad teams: precisely because they’re poorly run, it’s hard to attract talent. Still, slots can be traded. Is it inconceivable that Houston could have dealt one or both of these slots to Seattle in exchange for some good defensive players?

It is possible that I’ll be proven wrong, but this feels like a major case of Pauw failing to grasp the importance of NWSL rules and structure. International slots are useful commodities, and Houston simply is not extracting full value here.

The Dispersal Draft

Houston was given the sixth pick in the dispersal draft, which locked them out of some of the best players, but also gave them the 13th pick. Given the wealth of options available, they could be confident of picking up two extremely useful players that might plausibly fill some of the big holes in the defense and the midfield.

However, when their turn came, Houston did not choose a player like Angela Salem, Allysha Chapman, Julie King, or Christen Westphal—solid NWSL defenders with proven track records—but instead selected the rights to Kyah Simon. Notably, because Simon was not actually on Boston’s roster, she did not come with the waiver attached to all the other Boston players. That means Houston will have to use an international slot and roster spot on her.

For those following along, this was an utterly baffling decision, made all that much harder to explain when Pauw suggested that they would have taken Simon second if they’d had the chance and that they were thankful that another team had voluntarily passed on her in order to let Houston get her. This feels like another example of extreme naiveté and has been roundly criticized. Then consider that Simon is a fine player, but hardly a game-changer, and that Houston already has a virtual clone of Simon in Kristie Mewis, and the decision feels even more inexplicable.

For a while, it wasn’t even clear that they would be able to sign Simon, which would have turned a strange pick into a complete disaster. However, they were able to get the deal done. To add another layer, Simon came down with an injury and seems likely to miss a month or more of the season. When she eventually does make it back, many will be watching with great anticipation to see whether this enormous gamble will pay off.

With their 13th pick, Houston once again passed on Salem, opting instead for another young international: Lotta Okvist. The jury will have to remain out there for a while, but it once again felt strange to see Houston doubling down on young, unproven talent.

The Big Trade

Over the past two years, when Carli Lloyd started, the Dash played like a playoff contender, earning 23 points from 13 games. Without Lloyd, they managed 23 points in 31 games. For all her limitations, Lloyd made a big difference for this team. But she wanted out, leading Houston to get themselves involved in the single biggest offseason deal: sending Lloyd and Janine Beckie to Sky Blue in a three-way trade that netted them the rights to Christen Press.

As soon became clear, however, obtaining the rights to Press does not necessarily mean the same thing as obtaining Press herself. Doubts began to flow fairly quickly, as Press made no effort to even acknowledge the trade. Still, the front office insisted that she’d be playing for the Dash, and any claims to the contrary were just rumors. Little changed over the next seven weeks, with the season drawing ever nearer and Press apparently no closer to actually putting on a Houston kit. Still, the Dash continued to act as if she’d be joining them and there was never any clear evidence to the contrary. 

All that changed on Friday evening, when Corey Roepken reported that she would not be joining the Dash.

This is obviously a huge blow to Houston, who appear to have traded one reluctant superstar (and a useful contributor, too) for an even more reluctant superstar. They may eventually be able to trade Press to a team she actually wants to play for, but (just as with Andressinha), it’s hard to imagine them getting anything close to good value under these conditions.

So what happened here, and is there any good justification for Houston’s decision-making process?

Well, it’s not had to understand why they wanted her. As I’ve written before, Press is a true superstar and one who is far closer to her peak than Lloyd. There are few players in the world the equal of Press, and she would have been an excellent fit in the Houston system–providing a rock of stability in the middle of the attack, improving all the players around her, and pitching in plenty of wonder-goals in the process. Strictly in terms of player value, the trade made a ton of sense for Houston. 

But unfortunately for Houston, players aren’t just numbers on paper; they’re human beings with free will. And Press just doesn’t seem to have been willing to play for Houston. 

At this point, one can’t help but ask a few pointed questions. First, why did Press turn them down? It may not have anything to do with Houston in particular, but the general sense of chaos and confusion that surrounds this organization certainly can’t have helped. Second, why didn’t they get a commitment from the player before making the deal? There’s some risk in every deal, but you can manage that risk significantly by looking before you leap. Third, even if they couldn’t get a firm commitment, why didn’t they negotiate some terms to the deal which provided them compensation if Press held out? Chicago made out like bandits in this deal; was there really no way that Houston could have extracted something else?

At the end of the day, Houston badly miscalculated here, on several levels. And while there are mitigating circumstances here, they can only mitigate so much.

Looking forward, will the Dash at least be able to make some lemonade out of these lemons? Possibly. Maybe Press will discover that holding out is harder than expected, and join the team in a month or two. Maybe they’ll eventually get a deal they like from a team where Press is willing to play. Maybe US Soccer will step in and ‘persuade’ Press to make nice. Or maybe they’ll provide Houston with some sort of competence-subsidy to make up for their blunder here. And least likely of all: maybe the league will hire a commissioner who will broker a deal that’s acceptable to all parties.

Putting it All Together: What is the Logic Behind this Team?

Taking all these moves together, it feels difficult to isolate a motivating theme. What sort of team is Pauw building? One based on commitment and team effort…except from the big marquee signings? One based on a powerful attack that plans to win a bunch of 4-3 games, or a deep-defending squad that will lump balls up to the forwards and hope for a bit of individual genius? More bluntly: Why are they stockpiling forwards when the defense was (by far) the biggest weakness? Are they simply abandoning the idea of a strong central midfield spine? If so, how will they set up to compensate for the hole in the center of the pitch?

I have an idea here, which isn’t quite a grand unified theory of the Houston offseason, but which does try to fit together all the available facts into a relatively coherent model. It goes like this: the Dash simply don’t have the pieces to put together a rock solid roster for 2018, so there’s no point in trying to fight on the level. Better to play a high-variance game and hope that some lottery tickets pay off.

Why trade for Press without any commitment that she’ll play? Because Press is good enough to take the risk. Maybe she’ll grit her teeth and play hard for the sake of her national team spot. Or maybe you’ll even be able to convince her that Houston is a team on the rise and that she wants to be part of it. If so, you get a world class striker in a good trade. If not…well, nothing helps a team bond like adversity.

Why invest in so many forwards and hope that you’re able to convert several to more defensive roles? Because forwards are generally the most skillful players, and it’s easier to learn to defend than it is to learn how to create. It won’t work for every player, but maybe you get lucky and find a clear conversion success story. They struck gold with Amber Brooks last year, maybe they’ll do the same with Rachel Daly this year.

Why not sign or trade for any shuttling midfielders to fill the huge hole in the center of the pitch? That’s a dangerous choice since all the attackers in the world won’t accomplish much without decent suppliers. On the other hand, precisely because that job is so difficult, it’s really hard to acquire those players. You can try to bring in cut-rate replacements, but they’re likely to just get overrun. Given limited resources, then, it might make more sense to jump ship and focus on other strengths. After all, if you have the pace to burn and a target forward who can play with back to goal and draw in the rest of the attack (i.e. Christen Press), you might be able to get away with bypassing the midfield.

Why not get yourself a rock solid holding midfielder? Well…okay, I’ve got nothing here. I have no idea what they’re doing. Perhaps they can use Okvist or Cari Roccaro? But yes, this seems like a huge problem, and it’s very confusing why they haven’t done anything to fix it.

The Bottom Line

The biggest problem with Houston’s roster is the overabundance of C+ and B- players. These folks aren’t bad, and they can be quite useful in the right circumstances. But Houston has a lot of them, and unless several make a big leap forward, they’re simply going to have a weaker roster than most of their competition. That was true even when it seemed like they would be building around Press. It’s even more true now.

Compounding that, it’s also a strangely constructed group, overloaded with attackers and seeming to rely quite heavily on some questionable players in key roles. Can Janine Van Wyk do better? Maybe, if she’s given a system in which her lack of pace and poor footwork isn’t so exposed. If not, who else can play center back? Will Daly and/or Agnew successfully transition into rampaging fullbacks? Maybe. But if not, what’s Plan B? Who exactly is going to supply all these forwards with the ball?

These are all fair questions, and it’s not obvious if Pauw and her staff have the answers. But when push comes to shove, a team’s success often has as much to do with attitude and execution as it does with pure ability. If Pauw can get the team playing for each other, and can instill a clear defensive structure, the Dash might end up far more solid than critics are expecting. On the other side, if they can find the right equations to get their attacking players working together, Houston might end up scoring quite a few goals.

Neither is a sure bet by any means, but if Houston is the consensus worst team in the league this year (which I think they probably are), they have a bigger variance than some of the similarly-situated teams of the last few years. That’s hardly a ringing endorsement, but it’s at least a word of caution to those already prepared to write them off. There is plenty to criticize about Houston’s offseason. And chances are high that they will struggle. But there are some glimmers of daylight here, and it’s worth giving them a chance to show what they’ve got before passing final judgment.

Five Aussies to Watch in 2018 (Other than Sam Kerr)

Posted on by RJ Allen

Australia have been climbing the high heights of world soccer in recent years. The Matildas, Australia’s women’s national team, climbed to fourth in the FIFA rankings last year, beat Brazil three times, and beat the USA for the first time ever in the 2017 Tournament of Nations. Despite all this, there’s still a sense that the Matildas aren’t accorded the recognition they deserve. Sam Kerr failed to make the three-woman shortlist for FIFA player of the year after scoring 17 goals and having an all-time great NWSL season. When asked about the snub, Kerr wasn’t as unhappy about the personal aspect as she was about “people [not] respecting the Australian football culture.”

There were six Australian players in the NWSL last season; with all the offseason additions—as well as one departure—there are now ten. Australians take up more international spots than any other nationality (Canadians technically outnumber them, but Canadian players are considered allocated). Many of the Australian players returning this year were former NWSL bit-part players who return to the league as some of the best players in their position, keen to impose themselves against top competition in the run-up to the 2019 World Cup. The 2018 NWSL season could end up being an Australian renaissance.

You already know about Sam Kerr, the all-time top scorer in the NWSL. Here are five more Aussies to watch in 2018.

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Katrina Gorry

It’s fair to say that Katrina Gorry wasn’t fully appreciated the last time she was in the NWSL. As a 21-year-old, Gorry played ten games—mostly as a substitute—in a hectic 2014 season for Kansas City. She came on in stoppage time against the Portland Thorns in the NWSL semifinal. The very same year she couldn’t break into the team at Kansas, she went on to win the Asian Player of the Year for her performances for her country.

The 25-year old (who stands at just 5’1″) has 59 appearances for her country and is an integral part of a high-energy Australian midfield that’s capable of squeezing the life out of other top international teams. Australia announced their midfield dominance back in 2016 Olympic qualifying when they outplayed a very technical Japanese team to earn their first-ever victory against Japan, in Japan.

At Brisbane Roar, her Australian club, she’s given license to run games the way she wants to. She’s a workhorse, coming deep to collect the ball and make tackles and moving forward to play decisive passes. At the Utah Royals, Gorry is an essential part of Laura Harvey’s attempt to shape the Royals midfield into the hard-charging, high-pressing midfield she likes to coach. Gorry isn’t exactly like Jess Fishlock, the player Laura Harvey built Seattle around; where Fishlock prefers to make forward runs, Gorry is much more of a playmaker, though she is capable of scoring the odd screamer.

At her height, the biases of the development system make it hard to imagine Gorry being played in a US youth team at anywhere other than as a winger, if she made it on the field at all. If Gorry gets the opportunity to light up the league like she’s capable of doing, she could completely change the way a lot of Americans think about soccer.

Emily Van Egmond

Part of the lack of FIFA recognition for Australian players is down to the fact that Australians almost never play in Europe. The only games Australia plays on the old continent most years are in the Algarve Cup, and though it’s not uncommon for Australians to play in Norway, very few ever play in England, France, Sweden or Germany.

Van Egmond is one the players who have made that jump. After a 2013 season in Seattle where she did not get many starts, and a decent season in Chicago, she made the switch to Germany, playing for Frankfurt for one season before switching to Wolfsburg. She struggled to get minutes at Wolfsburg, and subsequently broke her contract in late 2017 in order to return to the W-League, where she captained Newcastle Jets into the playoffs for the first time since their very first season ten years ago. She returns to the NWSL under her former international head coach Tom Sermanni at the Orlando Pride.

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Van Egmond is an imposing deep-lying midfielder who is capable defensively and creatively. She sits as the deepest midfielder in the national team, cleaning up loose balls and directing play, but she has the stamina and speed to get forward occasionally, where she has a good scoring record. On her day she can completely dictate the flow of the game. Her presence in Orlando’s midfield will probably allow Matildas teammate Alanna Kennedy to drop into the back line again, which will go a long way toward stabilizing Orlando’s defense.

Despite 68 appearances for her national team, Van Egmond has never been a regular starter at any club she has played at outside Australia. Orlando will offer her an opportunity to run the engine room of a team with some of the best attacking players in the world. If she frees up Alex Morgan and Marta to score at will, she might not get the credit, but she will deserve it.

Steph Catley

Can one of the best left backs in the world be underrated? She’s been on the cover of FIFA in Australia and is a cult hero for close NWSL watchers, but in a game that at times doesn’t fully respect fullbacks, her work doesn’t often get top billing. Playing in a slow and occasionally patchwork Orlando defense last year, Catley didn’t get a huge amount of praise, yet still made NWSL Second XI honors. Catley is every bit a modern fullback: brilliant going forward, capable defensively, and athletic enough to get up and down the field to do both. Her crosses are consistently some of the best in the league—better than a lot of attackers are capable of—and she can deliver them from all ranges. Not a few times she’s put 60 yard cross-field passes onto strikers against any team that dared to play a high line against her.

Catley joining Seattle adds a significant dimension to their attack. With her bombing down the left, Seattle has two of the best left-sided crossers in the game, and Megan Rapinoe will be free to do what she does best: wander around and make things happen. Catley keeps threatening to leave the NWSL for Europe, so Seattle should appreciate her while they can.

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Kyah Simon

Yes, the way she was taken in the Boston Breakers dispersal draft was kind of silly and seemed to indicate that Houston’s staff did not know how drafts worked. Still, when Vera Pauw said that Kyah Simon was the second-best player available, she wasn’t wrong. Simon is part of the Matildas’ stable of wide playmakers along with Caitlin Foord (joining Portland in 2018 but projected to be injured for much of the season) and veteran Lisa De Vanna. When they combine at the international level, it’s a devastating front line, with Simon particularly noted for her ability to score bombs from distance.

It’s unfortunate for Simon that after struggling with injury at a poor Boston Breakers side she will again be expected to carry another incomplete team, but she has the ability to knit a so-far incoherent offense together. If Christen Press sticks around, they have the potential to combine beautifully as two creative and quick forwards.

Ellie Carpenter

Carpenter is the only Aussie joining the league this year who has never played in it before, and for good reason: she will be turning 18 in late April, and players cannot be transferred between countries before their 18th birthday per FIFA rules. With 13 caps and one goal for her country already, Carpenter has been marked for greatness for a while, and it’s hard to imagine a better place than Portland for her to develop.

In a league bereft of right backs, Carpenter will be no less experienced in her position than many: indeed, as someone with experience marking Megan Rapinoe and Marta at international level, Carpenter is arguably one of the most seasoned right backs in the league already. Her defending isn’t perfectly polished, as could be expected from a 17-year old, but she has a knack for making smart interceptions and will be helped out by an experienced and vocal Portland backline.

Where her impact will really be felt is in overlapping runs and on the counter-attack. A former track star, Carpenter has the speed to rip teams apart if they give her space, and even if they don’t, she’s strong with the ball at her feet. She can regularly dribble through players at W-League level, where she plays as an attacking midfielder. Combining with her Matildas teammate Hayley Raso on Portland’s right side could land her on one or two highlight reels this season.

The Schedule Has Landed: NWSL Releases Schedule for 2018

Posted on by RJ Allen

The NWSL has dropped the hottest release of 2018, the schedule.

The NWSL has given us the full schedule as well as the details on the NWSL Game of the Week teams. Both Jenn Hildreth and Aly Wagner will be back to call all 20 of the NWSL Game of the Week games. They will still be on Lifetime and the pregame still starts at 3:30 p.m. ET, 3:50 p.m. ET kickoff time, but having Hildreth and Wagner takes some sting out of the less than ideal start time. Dalen Cuff will be back to host the 20 minute pregame show.

The NWSL is once again trying out using the go90 app for US based fans. Fans from outside the US, or fans inside of it with a VPN, can watch via the NWSL app and NWSLsoccer.com.

The NWSL Game of the Week

Taking a look at the games that Lifetime and the NWSL have picked our for the NWSL Game of the Week, we note a few things.

The new Utah Royals will be hosting five games, a league high. The Portland Thorns, Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit will each host three times, while the Chicago Red Stars and the North Carolina Courage each host twice. The Houston Dash and Sky Blue FC each host once. The Seattle Reign will not host at all.

While only hosting two of the NWSL Game of the Week games at home, the Chicago Red Stars will feature in six of the games as the away side. The Orlando Pride are the away side five times, three times for the Seattle Reign, twice each for the North Carolina Courage and the Portland Thorns FC, and only once for the Utah Royals FC and the Houston Dash. Sky Blue will not be the away team on any of the NWSL Game of the Week games.

NWSL Game of the Week Schedule

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 The Full Schedule

Moving on to take a look at the full 108 game NWSL schedule there are a few things to note here too. 

Out of the 108 total games, 74 are played after 7 p.m. ET. Many of the Utah, Seattle, Portland home games are played in the 9 p.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET time frame to keep the effects of the heat down.

31 of the games will be held during the week, Wednesday the most popular with 20, 10 games will be on Fridays while a single game is held on a Tuesday.

Every team will be playing a home and an away match against each team. They will also have a second home game against four teams plus go on the road for four matches to make up the 24 game schedule.

Chicago will be playing their second home matches against: The Houston Dash, the Orlando Pride, the Portland Thorns and Sky Blue FC.

Houston will be playing their second home matches against: the North Carolina Courage, the Portland Thorns, The Utah Royals FC and The Washington Spirit.

North Carolina will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Portland Thorns, The Utah Royals FC and The Washington Spirit.

Orlando will be playing their second home matches against: the Houston Dash, the North Carolina Courage, the Seattle Reign and Sky Blue FC.

Portland will be playing their second home matches against: the Orlando Pride, the Seattle Reign, Sky Blue FC and the Utah Royals.

Seattle will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Houston Dash, the North Carolina Courage and the Washington Spirit.

Sky Blue will be playing their second home matches against: the Houston Dash, the North Carolina Courage, the Seattle Reign and the Utah Royals.

Utah will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Orlando Pride, the Seattle Reign FC and the Washington Spirit.

Washington will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Orlando Pride, the Portland Thorns and Sky Blue FC.

The match ups for the last weekend? No Washington Spirit the final weekend because of the odd number of teams. 

Friday, September 7, 2018 @ 10:30 PM – Portland Thorns FC vs Seattle Reign FC @ Providence Park

Saturday, September 8, 2018 @ 12:00 PM Sky Blue FC vs Orlando Pride @ Yurcak Field

Saturday, September 8, 2018 @ 3:30 PM – Utah Royals FC vs Chicago Red Stars @ Rio Tinto Stadium

Saturday, September 8, 2018 @ 7:00 PM – North Carolina Courage vs Houston Dash @ Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

The Full NWSL Schedule

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The NWSL Schedule Announcement Spoiled by the NWSL

Posted on by RJ Allen

The NWSL has dropped the hottest release of 2018, the schedule.

As first found by Steven Goff, the NWSL site updated and now lists dates and times for all the games. 

Below you will find the full schedule as presented on NWSLSoccer.com. 

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Interviews with Emma: Taylor Lytle

Posted on by RJ Allen

Emma Bayer is an 11-year-old who will be doing a recurring interview series for Backline Soccer. You can find more out about how Emma got into soccer here.

Taylor Lytle was a member of Sky Blue FC from 2013 to 2017. After a trade, she is now a member of the new Utah Royals.

Birthdate: March 31,1989

Nickname from teammates: Tay, Tay Tay, T, Little One

Hometown: Las Cruces, New Mexico

Age started playing: 6 years old, my first team was called the Rowdy Magic, it was a mixed team with boys and girls. Everyone’s dad helped out because no one really knew how to coach 6-year-olds or soccer!

College/major: Texas Tech University, and my major was Animal Science (pre-vet).

Career aspirations after soccer: I would love to do something with animals, maybe work at a vet clinic or a zoo.

Why did you pick your particular uniform number?: I was number 12 in college, but when I started playing for Sky Blue, 12 wasn’t available. So I decided to be 6 because it was half of 12, haha.

Pregame meal: My normal pregame meal is chicken, rice, and some sort of veggies. I usually eat some fruit as well.

Workout music: When I am doing longer runs, I listen to hip hop/pop music because the beat helps me. When I am lifting I listen to country music. It calms me down and just lets me focus on what I am doing.

Favorite cartoon character: Growing up I really liked Tweety. He was so tiny and cute and mischievous.

Fave movie: I am from the Southwest, so I grew up watching westerns, and my favorite one is Tombstone. I also enjoy any Disney movie, and Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite.

Face actress: Sandra Bullock. She can do funny and serious and all her movies are great!

Hidden talent: I’m double-jointed in my arms.

Mentor: My college coach, Tom Stone.

Fave charity/cause: I love animals, so I am really into helping out Humane Societies or SPCAs. My roommates and I fostered a dog this year until she got adopted, and there are so many wonderful doggies out there in shelters that people really should adopt and not shop.

Life motto: Let Go, Let God.

Superstitions: I don’t really have any. I know that a lot of athletes do, but I don’t.

Pets: I have a pit bull. He is 11 and his name is Savian. He is 100 pounds of muscle and love! Sweetest dog I know!

Amazing Race teammate: My best friend Kelsey. She has traveled a lot and is very competitive, smart, and can always make the best out of any situation. She is also hilarious, so the adventure with her would be entertaining.

Get Hyped: 5 Things to be Excited for This NWSL Season

Posted on by RJ Allen

Alright, my friends, let’s just say it how it is. This off-season has been rough for the NWSL. I think the majority of us will agree to that. We lost a team, we had some really weird coaching shakeups (looking at you, Laura Harvey), and we still have no schedule even though it’s only a little over a month until the first match. To say things went less than ideally in the off-season is an understatement. And for some fans, this may have been a rather discouraging time. Maybe a trade didn’t go your way, maybe you lost your home club, or maybe you have been trying to plan a west coast road trip that centers around going to a Thorns game and somehow you still don’t know what weeks they are playing at home.

Whatever the reason, I get it. I empathize with you. But I also want to get excited with you. Because even despite all this crap that has been happening since October, there is still a lot to look forward to in this new season. There is a lot to get hyped about. Here are just five of those reasons:

1. Roster Shakeups = Better Rivalries

Maybe you cried when Sam Kerr went to Chicago, or when Harvey decided to end her long-time run in Seattle. Maybe you shouted out expletives when you received a text that Houston had traded yet another international player away. Or maybe you very publicly willed the Ashley Hatch trade into existence by saying on The Scouting Report podcast that she wasn’t going anywhere for at least a year.

Whatever the trade is that shocked your world, you have to admit that it is going to make a few games very interesting. Because big times trades help create even more intense rivalries. They create grudge matches. They get the fans more into the game. And all of those things create an exciting atmosphere for a fan, player, or coach. Come on Seattle, you know you want to pulverize Utah at your first meeting. Chicago, I know you are looking to come back at North Carolina for your semi-finals loss with your newly-formed attacking arsenal that includes a touch more Australian magic. Those games are going to be great—regardless of whether the trade went your way.

2. The New Team Making Big Moves

No matter which club you support, you probably have a pretty strong opinion about the Utah Royals. Everyone feels a certain kind of way about them, whether it is good or bad.

They came into the league in a big way, with a big announcement—one that was a little premature, considering they didn’t even have a team name. But they had a big name coach. And then they made some big-time trades. And then all of a sudden, Utah Royals FC were a force to be reckoned with, playing in a world-class stadium, and asking no one for permission or forgiveness for their abrupt entry into the women’s soccer world. It’s moves like that which cause everyone to sit up and take notice. It causes all of us to want to tune in, whether it is to see them excel, or to root for their demise. No matter what, they are something to look forward to, and that is something that no one can deny.

3. Young Washington

There are a lot of people who, only a few months ago, made the accusation that the Washington Spirit had no game plan. People said that they didn’t know what they were doing. Well, look at ’em now! Washington played the long game with some young players: drafting hometown hero Andi Sullivan, and then fighting for their shot to get Rose Lavelle in the Breakers dispersal draft. That’s on top of Mallory Pugh, Ashley Hatch, and Taylor Smith.

So yeah…I’m thinking Washington definitely has a game plan now. And maybe that game plan won’t be perfected this season, but there is something about this team that definitely has the same sort of flair that the Baby Bombers gave to Yankees fans last season. It’s hope, and excitement, and a damn good touch on the ball. Mark your calendars for their matches (when the schedule is released)—they are not a team you are going to want to miss.

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4. The Prodigal Daughter Returns

On January 19th a three-team blockbuster trade deal sent Carli Lloyd back to her home state of New Jersey. Lots of people had lots of different feelings about it. And I have to say that I was quite skeptical about how this trade benefited Sky Blue. But Becca Kimble, one of my Scouting Report co-hosts, pointed out to me that Carli Lloyd of Sky Blue is in no way the Carli Lloyd of Houston. And she is absolutely correct.

Last season, Lloyd spent the majority of her time either injured or playing for Manchester City (not that I can blame her—that team is insanely talented). But that made it difficult for a fan, or herself, to get too pumped about her time in the NWSL. When the trade happened, though, she was the Carli Lloyd that everyone always wants her to be: happy, excited, and pumped to play the game. She is back in Jersey working in the community and giving keynote speeches to youth athletes. She was one of the only top-tier players to take to social media to welcome her new teammates from the former Breakers roster.

And to top it all off, she is insanely proud that she gets to play for her home crowd again. She is practically shouting it from the rooftops, and that is something that every Sky Blue fans should get excited about it. Everyone else should get excited because when Carli Lloyd is happy, working hard, and playing well… well, she’s Carli Lloyd. I don’t have to explain that to you.

5. We Get To Start Earlier

I think the only reason I have not written a strongly worded letter to the NWSL about the schedule not being released is the fact that we get to start watching the beautiful game three weeks earlier than last season. And that is definitely something that we should get excited about. Because despite all of the bush league-style things that have happened this off-season—the unfortunate last-minute folding of Boston, the poorly-timed movement of FC Kansas City to Utah, or the atrociously-explained situation where Harvey and Vlatko just switched rosters—the bad juju that has been written all over this off-season will come to a close a little sooner than expected.

And I don’t know about you guys, but for me, there is nothing as agonizing as the long wait in between the final whistle of a championship and the first whistle to start the season. I’ve had the W-League to tide me over, but it just isn’t the same. Especially when we still have so many questions looming around us—questions like, “When are Portland’s home games this season, so I can plan this road trip? What was that job Laura Harvey took with USSF? And who in the hell is the NWSL Commissioner?”

Some answers we may never know. What we do know: the wait is almost over. So buy some new swag and get your go90 and Lifetime accounts ready to go—games are only a little more than a month away!

In closing, I’ll say this: Sometimes it is extremely difficult to be a women’s soccer fan. Crazy things happen that would be unimaginable in other leagues. There is an instability that can permanently keep us on edge. And the hunger to achieve an equal playing field can seem extremely daunting.

But despite these facts, there is still a lot to be excited about. There is Alex Morgan on the pitch, and Vera Pauw on the sidelines, and a perfectly crossed Carson Pickett ball into the box—those things that put a smile on our faces and command us to keep watching. To keep cheering. And to keep fighting to make this league better.

These are still early times for this league. There are still some things that will happen in the future to irritate us or make us angry. But with all of that, comes all of those things that excite us too. And the 2018 season will be no different. It will get us to stand from our seats. And it will undoubtedly make us cheer. So get hyped, my friends! 2018 is the NWSL is going to be a good one.

Q&A: Orlando Boss Tom Sermanni Talks W-League, Salary Caps, and Beating Portland

Posted on by RJ Allen

The Orlando Pride off-season has been anything but conventional. The team made the most out of a third-round pick, while trading away popular mainstays like Steph Catley and Jasmyne Spencer to add additional pieces. The team also bypassed the Boston Breakers dispersal draft to bring Sydney Leroux to town—all while they once again dealt away their 2019 draft picks. We spoke with Coach Tom Sermanni shortly after the Leroux trade was announced to catch up on all the goings-on with Orlando.

Backline: Tom, you started your offseason by heading overseas to the UK. Can you talk a little bit about what your intent was when you went over there?

Tom Sermanni: It was a couple of things. We don’t always get a chance to see live other leagues in the world and see what’s happening, what the standards are like—what the quality of the soccer is like, and what the style of the soccer is like. So part of it was an observation on the game in England, and the second thing was to look at players. Look and see if some player caught the eye or may be below the radar. A little bit of scouting involved in it, and a little bit of information-gathering.

BS: How would you compare the style of play in the FA WSL to the NWSL?

TS: I think our league is far more robust, physical, quick, and competitive. The English league, I was quite impressed with the style of soccer some of the teams try to play. The tempo was different and slower than the tempo that we play at. The only kind of exception I saw to that was when I saw Chelsea against Rosengård in the Champions League, and that was a real proper NWSL-type game. The teams, the organization is good. The players are much more aware of their job, much more disciplined, and generally the standard, I think across the board in the women’s game, continues to increase. I think the edge we’ve got here is there’s such a competitiveness in our league that you don’t get in other leagues at this stage.

BS: So in the trip to the UK, were you seriously considering a specific player there, or was it more a matter of gathering a list of names to consider in the future?

TS: Yeah, it’s probably more of that. I thought it would be a long shot to go there and get somebody and have them back for this season. Simply because contractually, those players are tied up to at least the end of the season, which is in June, and you’re not going to get them out of their contracts early in most occasions. Secondly, the kind of player we are looking at and want to bring here are obviously the better players, so they are in even more demand. It was more gathering information, and also having a look at players that become available and [we] could be interested in.

BS: You ended up traveling down to Australia for quite a bit of time to the W-league. Can you talk a little bit about the time you spent down there?

TS: Part of it was to see my wife, because my wife is living and working down in Australia. And again, it was also partly to look around the league and see what’s out there, what players are coming through, because in reality, I’ve been away from Australia now for six years. So you lose touch with the base of knowledge I naturally had there when I was the coach. It was good just to go back there to see some of the players that may be coming through the system, but weren’t around when I was there. I think it was great to catch up with our players. You know if you’re a player and you’re playing away, halfway around the world, it’s always handy to see a friendly face. So it was good to catch up with our [Orlando] players, as well. And again, part of it was to see how the league is going, what the standards are like.

BS: You obviously had a hand in the formation of the W-league. How would you describe the play now versus when it first started?

TS: I think there’s been significant progress made in a lot of areas. I think the playing level has gotten better. I think part of that is because of the relationship between the NWSL and the W-League. There’s probably 20 to 25 NWSL players down there, and what’s happening, over the last three or four years is that the teams down there, like all teams, learn from their mistakes. Teams down there have got their scouting of the NWSL players to a very good level now, so they’ve got some consistency and continuity bringing those players down there, and those have helped raise the standards in the league.

Coming from what I see now, one of the big advantages was to give the domestic players a chance to play in a national competition, and we’re seeing more and more young players getting opportunities to play at a senior level, and that’s continuing to develop the league. Basically, when we started, apart from national team players that were under contract, players weren’t getting paid to play in the league. There’s now a salary cap. There’s now a minimum wage. The minimum wage at the moment is 10,000 AUD [Ed. note: roughly $7,930], and that’s going up next year—which is great when you consider the number of younger players in there, and the fact that you only play 14 games. They’ve got a players’ agreement in there now [Ed. note: Tom is referring to the CBA struck between the players’ union and the league ahead of the 2017-2018 season] which is a huge step forward.

A third thing which is interesting is the number of double-headers with the men’s teams. The women’s game is on first, and literally as soon as the final whistle goes in the women’s game, the men’s teams are on to do the warm-up, get ready, and start their game. When we started the league, if we wanted a double-header, the A-league teams wanted the game to finish two hours before the A-league game started, so there was no point in a double-header. Now, it’s two games back-to-back. That’s a huge step forward, and also means that W-league teams are playing in very good stadiums almost every week.

There’s still a ways, resources are tight, there’s not a lot of money in the league, but when you step back to look to where we started it, and those days ten years ago, they’ve stepped on quite significantly.

BS: Would you say that the W-League style is similar to the NWSL, or is it its own style?

TS: No, it’s a bit more of its own style. It’s not quite as direct. It’s not as fast. Teams will tend to play a little bit more build-up kind of play. So the style is a little bit different.

BS: Let’s change gears and touch a little bit on the draft. You drafted Nadia Gomes. She’s has a lot of pace, is able to play a couple of different spots on the pitch. Are you keen to put her in the back, or are you wanting to see how she is in camp before you make any kind of decision?

TS: We don’t have any preconceptions about where we see her play, to be honest. We just like the qualities that we saw. We thought Nadia would go a lot earlier than when she did, so we didn’t have much hope of getting her. That was a pleasant surprise that she was still there. I think she’s got, from what we’ve seen in her video, the type of qualities that will fit in well with our team and also fit in well with the NWSL. And that is that flexibility, we feel she’ll end up playing several positions. We feel she’s got the pace and ability to cope in this league. That’s very important in the next competition, and she’s got the added advantage of being left-sided. She’s got a lot of promise and a lot of things we liked about her.

BS: Let’s talk a little bit about Boston. The club didn’t spend a lot of time on Breaker players for the dispersal draft. At what point did you make the decision to trade away your spots in that draft?

TS: I think it was about five minutes before the deadline (laughter). No, no. It just came about with some other pieces. With having to pick eighth and 11th, we weren’t quite sure what players we were going to get, and where players were going to get picked. We had been negotiating to bring Syd Leroux here, and that was one of the pieces we wanted to finalize. So trading those spots from Boston gave us that ability to make that trade, and we felt that was more important for us and the team we’re putting together. We’re really happy with the core of the team that we’ve got, and we just wanted to add a couple of players. So it made sense to get a deal done that we wanted to get done as opposed to go through the luxury of the Boston players we may have wanted.

BS: Let’s talk a little bit more on Sydney Leroux. How do you think she improves the squad overall?

TS: She’s a quality player first and foremost. What I think she brings to the team is that extra physical presence that I think we lacked a wee bit. We find is that it is a very physical league, and I think a lot of time last year, we felt we were playing in games, and we were the better side, and played the better soccer—but some of those times, we were muscled out a bit, and so I think what Syd brings is a physical presence that compliments what we’ve got vying for those positions. I think she’s coming into the prime of her career. I think she’s got an extra incentive now with having a little one. She’s now no longer an allocated national team player, so she’s got an added incentive of trying to get back to the national team.

Her and Alex have played a long time together and have a great relationship and partnership both on the field and off the field, and then you put Marta into that mix, and you’ve got a really highly potent strike force. I think just her personality around the team, around the squad, and in the town and in the community is another big attribute.

BS: You mention allocated players. Going back to the January camp for the national team, were you surprised that Ali Krieger didn’t get called, or do you have a comment on that?

TS: I mean, I’m disappointed for Ali because she had an outstanding season for us last year. Arguably our most consistent player, played every minute of every game, so I’m disappointed for Ali.

I don’t like to make comments on selections because I know what it’s like as a coach. You have to pick players, and sometimes you pick players, and sometimes you don’t. It’s not appropriate for me to comment on players other coaches select, whether that’s on the national team or whether it’s players Rory starts in Chicago or Laura at [Utah] or wherever.

So from our perspective, we’re obviously disappointed for Ali, but she’s a great professional, a great player for our team, and you never know, things can change in soccer. I’m confident that she’ll have another stellar season, and perhaps another opportunity in the national team.

BS: Now, is there any concern in the club from an allocation status perspective—that with fewer allocated players, you might be running up against the salary cap?

TS: Yes (laughter). I mean, it’s a really difficult job, you know, getting below the salary cap when suddenly this happens. The minimum wage goes up—as it should—and then we had a successful year last year, so you have to try and reward players, particularly ones that are on lower contracts, and then suddenly you get hit with this. I don’t know about other clubs, so I can only speak for our club, but it’s very hard to manage under the salary cap.

I think another thing the salary cap potentially does is put the league at a disadvantage, because it’s hard to compete out there in this market for the quality players. The women’s game is different than the men’s game, because we are competing with the best leagues in the world and trying to get the best players in the world here. Trying to do that with the salary cap is a challenge.

BS: Is there anything that you can share about the players not under contract—Alanna Kennedy and Chioma Ubogagu?

TS: We’re very close to concluding contracts with them, and we’re confident both of them will be with the team at the start of the season [Ed. note: the club confirmed that Carson Pickett, who Orlando acquired from Seattle in January, is under contract].

BS: Let’s talk a little bit about Rachel Hill. How do you think she’s developed over in the W-League? With the addition of Syd, tactically, where would you say Rachel will be playing? Perhaps in the midfield, taking up the role Camila did for the team last year?

TS: I think she’s a different player to Camila. I think Rachel will be someone who can play in a wider role. I think she can play anywhere across that front line, and she can probably play in a slightly more defensive position in a wide area. I don’t see her as a center-of-the-park type of player in midfield. Camila is a little bit different because apart from center back and goalkeeper, Camila can play anywhere. She’s a different type of player from Rachel. I think we just want to see her continue to develop. Like any squad, the aim of the squad is to continually get stronger and stronger, which means there’s more competition in the squad, better quality in the squad, and obviously with the signings, we’ve done that.

BS: So with the players you have and the pieces you’ve added, do you anticipate a tactical change in formation or do you feel you can keep the shape that you had?

TS: We have completely open thoughts on that. As a coach, I don’t say, “we play 4-3-3,” and set the players in that system, or “we play 4-4-2.” What we want to do is take the strengths that we’ve got and have flexibility about whether we play a 4-4-2, or three center backs, or whatever. So we really have an open mind, and probably find is that something organically will happen that will decide how we play, and it could be during the season.

BS: Going into the season, obviously, you made the playoffs last year, and the plan is always going to be to at least equal the result that you did for the season. As part of the goals for the season, will you perhaps include finally beating Portland?

TS: (Laughter) That’s a great point! That’s something we want to do. We kind of want to get that monkey off our backs. I think all of our games with Portland have been tight games. When I look back at that very first inaugural game [in 2016], where we lost 2-1 to Portland, it was a game I felt we probably should have won, to be honest, but what we haven’t been able to do to Portland is actually get in front—we’ve always been chasing the game, and hopefully that will change because I think they’re the only team we haven’t had a positive result against [Ed. note: Orlando took a point from Portland at home last year]. So the answer is yes, we do want to beat them.

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We wish Coach Sermanni the best of luck as his team comes together. Orlando added Brazilian defender Poliana to the team this week, and as Sermanni continues looking to improve his side, keep an eye out for further offseason moves from the team.

Utah Royals Announce Record-Breaking Jersey Sponsorship

Posted on by RJ Allen

As part of their jersey unveiling for the 2018 NWSL season, the Utah Royals announced a sponsorship deal with utility company Conservice. The deal is reportedly around two million dollars for a three-year deal, which would make it the biggest jersey sponsorship deal for a women’s soccer club in US history.

As recently as 2012, Real Salt Lake were in last place for MLS sponsorship deals, making just one million per year on a multi-year jersey deal with XanGo. For their new women’s team to approach that number a mere six years is a great sign, reflecting growing interest in the NWSL as well as the increasingly ambitious business that Dell Loy Hansen is running.

Many women’s teams who are affiliated with men’s clubs utilize their parent club’s existing sponsors when searching for jersey sponsors. The City Football Groups were already partners with Hays before putting their name on Manchester City Women’s kits. Providence Health already had a relationship with the Portland Timbers and chose to expand it into a jersey deal for the Portland Thorns. Deals like those offer stability, but not an open market, which may drive the price down.

Conservice, by contrast, is brand new to the club. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Dell Loy Hansen has an existing relationship with Conservice via his real estate holdings, but Conservice has no previous dealings with Real Salt Lake. The high price tag suggests that there was a healthy market driven by the desire to make headlines as well to secure opportunities for involvement with RSL.

With this news coming as it does so soon after the folding of the Boston Breakers, it’s hard to avoid making comparisons. The investment is positive news for a league that will be keen to assure observers of its long-term growth potential, but it’s difficult to imagine this deal being struck with an independent NWSL club. Microsoft’s deal with the Seattle Reign two years ago was accompanied by a broader adoption by the club of Microsoft’s analytics system, and seems a proof-of-concept deal close to home as much as an investment. Headline-making numbers like this deal will improve the overall ability of teams to get sponsors, but independent clubs will still be operating at a disadvantage.

Hopefully this investment will encourage other clubs to beat the deal and make the numbers public: there’s currently no other information on the what the numbers for the jersey sponsorship deals from other NWSL clubs are.