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The NWSL Podium: Top Performances in Week 20

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.

With only a handful of games left for each team this season, the race for a spot in the NWSL playoffs is heating up. In Week 20, the Seattle Reign moved closer to cementing their spot as a playoff team with a 1-0 win over the Utah Royals in a hot and smoky afternoon match. The Chicago Red Stars earned a point against the North Carolina Courage, which they needed to keep their playoff hopes afloat. The Orlando Pride seem to be slipping from that playoff spot, losing 2-0 at home to the Portland Thorns this weekend. While the Seattle Reign are starting to pull away in second, this week did little to clarify who will be going on to the postseason and who’s season will soon come to an end. Here is a full breakdown of the scores from Week 20:

Utah Royals vs. Washington Spirit (1-0)

Chicago Red Stars vs. North Carolina Courage (1-1)

Utah Royals vs. Seattle Reign (0-1)

Sky Blue vs. Houston Dash (1-2)

Orlando Pride vs. Portland Thorns (0-2)

Top Three Goalkeepers

1. Adriana Franch— Franch had an outstanding night for Portland against the Orlando Pride in Week 20. She faced thirteen shots from the Pride offense and made six saves, earning her second shutout of the year. In the opening minutes of the game, the Orlando Pride earned a corner and Franch had to punch the ball twice to keep it out of the net. In the 63rd minute, Marta took a shot that forced Franch to make a diving save, which earned an NWSL Save of the Week nomination. When Marta launched another shot in the 88th minute, Franch was able to get her fingertips too it and knock the ball over the net to keep her clean sheet.

2. Abby Smith— Smith returned to the Starting XI for the Utah Royals this weekend after missing a few weeks due to injury, and the Seattle Reign decided to test her early. Rapinoe started things off with a powerful shot in the tenth minute. Smith positioned herself correctly, but with the strength on the ball, she juggled it a bit before making the final catch. Rapinoe took another shot from about 30 yards out in the 17th minute. But Smith fell to her right and blocked the ball. That stop earned her an NWSL Save of the Week nomination. Overall, Smith made five saves and faced ten shots from the Seattle Reign. 

3. Jane Campbell— The Houston Dash are keeping themselves alive in the playoff picture with 26 points, just four points off the No. 4 Orlando Pride, but there chances are distant. Still, they wanted to leave New Jersey with three points and that meant holding off a Sky Blue offense that had scored three goals in the two matches prior to this one. Campbell faced sixteen shots from Sky Blue FC and made five saves.  Houston dominated the attack at the beginning of the match, scoring an early goal. But the Sky Blue offense came charging forward in the 29th minute. Imani Dorsey had a good ball served to her, and she got behind the Houston defense, forcing Campbell to bat the shot away. Savannah McCaskill settled the rebound, but sent the ball flying over the net. That save earned her an NWSL Save of the Week nomination. 

Top Three Defenders

1. Abby Erceg— We’ve run out of superlatives for the North Carolina Courage, and the same is quickly becoming true of Abby Erceg. She has been on the NWSL Team of the Month every month this year for a reason. In the match against the Chicago Red Stars, she faced a stronger offense than the Courage had seen in previous weeks. In the first part of the match, Erceg did a good job at heading the ball any time it got near the 18-yard box. Chicago’s offense built more momentum at the end of the first half, but the North Carolina defense denied them too many serious chances. One example of her importance could be seen in the second half, when Chicago tried to mount an attack on North Carolina. Chicago was trying to get the ball into the box, but twice in the 74th minute, Erceg just sent the ball back to the midfield before Chicago could put an attack together. 

2. Katie Naughton— Naughton played in the central defense alongside Julie Ertz in the match against the North Carolina Courage and they both did a fantastic job at holding off the North Carolina offense. Naughton had a particularly impressive moment towards the end of the match, when North Carolina was looking for that second goal and three points on the road. The ball came into the box for Lynn Williams, and Alyssa Naeher tried to grab the ball but Williams got their first. Naughton covered Williams while Naeher got back on her line, and Naughton tracked Williams up and down the box, until she had no choice but to send a poor cross/shot in that Naeher grabbed easily. 

3. Taylor Comeau— Comeau put up another solid performance for the Houston Dash on Saturday night against Sky Blue. She played at right-back and helped her team get the ball forward to create scoring chances. Her best defensive moment of the night came in stoppage time, when Sky Blue was searching for the equalizer. Comeau cleared the initial chance, blocked a shot from Sky Blue, and tracked her player forcing Sky Blue to make an awkward cross into the ball for another attempt. 

Top Three Attackers

1. Rachel Daly— Daly had a brace this week against Sky Blue FC, helping her team secure three points on the road. The first goal came in the 7th minute, after Ohai did some nice work to get the ball down the field. Daly finished off her cross, heading the ball past Kailen Sheridan and into the back of the net for an early lead. Daly’s second goal came off a penalty in the 72nd minute, after Raquel Rodriguez was called for a hand ball. Daly sent Sheridan the other way and put the ball into the top corner. Daly had five shots and four shots on goal that night. 

2. Jess Fishlock— The Utah-Seattle match was important for both sides, and both teams were desperate to walk away with three points. Fishlock was the difference-maker for Seattle, scoring the only goal of the match in the 48th minute. Utah cleared the ball after a short corner, but Megan Oyster kept the ball in play, sending it into the box for Fishlock who was able to get her head to it and send it past Abby Smith. Fishlock had two shots in the match, both of which were on goal. 

3. Hayley Raso— Raso was on fire for the Portland Thorns in Saturday night’s match against the Orlando Pride. In another match-up critical to the playoff race, Raso solidified her team’s 2-0 win with a goal in the 53rd minute. After getting the ball from Ana Crnogorcevic, Raso charged past the Pride defenders and beat Harris in front of the net. Raso had a couple of other close chances, including one in the 16th minute that went off the post. Overall, she played a critical role in helping her team create chances. She had four shots in the match, one of which was on goal. 

Who Are the NWSL Team MVPs?

Posted on by RJ Allen

Every year there is a conversation on who the NWSL MVP should be. We here at Backline Soccer decided to offer 9 nominations, one from each NWSL team.

Chicago Red Stars: Sam Kerr
~Charles Onley

Sam Kerr, who else? It’s not that Chicago doesn’t have other potential options. Julie Ertz is a game-changer; Yūki Nagasato has become one of the league’s most incisive providers; Katie Naughton has grown by leaps and bounds into her defensive role; Dani Colaprico remains as solid as ever. But Sam Kerr is the best player on the planet right now. After missing the opening month of the season for World Cup qualifiers, it took her a few games to settle in with her new team. But since then it’s been vintage Kerr. She’s still scoring goals at almost the same clip as in her record-setting 2017, and is also finding a lot more room for link-up play, thanks to a much stronger supporting cast. At Sky Blue, it was Kerr or bust. Now that she doesn’t have to put the team on her shoulders every week, we’re seeing some livelier and more sophisticated play. Sometimes the easy answer is also the right one. Kerr is the best player in the world, and she should probably be the MVP, even if she did miss a quarter of the season.

Rachel Daly: Houston Dash
~Erica Ayala

Rachel Daly is the solid MVP choice for the Houston Dash. She has nine goals in 20 games this year, good enough for fourth in the league. Daly has been a bright spot for a struggling franchise since her rookie season in 2016. She tallied four goals and three assists in 16 games. The next season, she led the team with five goals and two assists. When healthy, Kealia Ohai is a solid choice for MVP of the Dash. She has four goals and three assists on the season. Sofia Huerta is another honorable mention for the Dash. She has tallied three goals and two assists since being traded to Houston in June.

McCall Zerboni: North Carolina Courage
~RJ Allen

The whole of the starting XI for the Courage should be in contention for MVP. From tip to tail this team has been outstanding on and off the ball. But the heart of the team and the reason it all flows so brilliantly is the work of one McCall Zerboni. Without Zerboni doing what she does to both control the midfield and protect the defense, players like Dunn, Williams and O’Sullivan wouldn’t be having the seasons they are. Someone has to clean up on each team and that role is done expertly than how Zerboni does it for the Courage. 

Orlando Pride: Dani Weatherholt
~Luis Hernandez 

In a season of inconsistent play from a star-studded squad, this year’s Orlando Pride “most valuable player” is Dani Weatherholt. The former Santa Clara midfielder drafted in the first pick of the fourth round at the 2016 NWSL college draft has grown and developed as a versatile mainstay since the team’s first year of existence. As a third year professional, she has translated her defensive grit into offensive tenacity. Coach Tom Sermanni praised Weatherholt’s performance this season after a 2-2 home draw with Sky Blue FC by saying, “I’ve said this before but I would love 10 Dani Weatherholts out on the field and that’s what she’s been for us this season. She’s a person that’s really dragged our team along in games quite often. Whether that’s been a decisive tackle, a decisive run, a decisive goal like it was tonight, or whatever. She’s just been magnificent this year. As I’ve said, I need 10 players doing that. If we had 10 players doing that then I think we would be a little bit further up the table.”

Christine Sinclair: Portland Thorns FC
~Allison Cary

There were lots of options for MVP for the Portland Thorns this season. Lindsey Horan is having a fantastic season, as well as Tobin Heath and Hayley Raso. But my choice for MVP is Christine Sinclair. Sinclair is a versatile midfielder, who has a noticeable impact on both defense and offense. She is ranked No. 5 in the league with seven goals and leads the league in assists with six. Sinclair has worn the Captain’s armband this season and has lead her team to a potential playoff run. Sinclair featured in the June NWSL Team of the Month.

Imani Dorsey: Sky Blue FC
~Charles Olney

Well, it has to be someone. Imani Dorsey gets credit for showing up late after finishing up her degree—and therefore missing some of the worst parts of the season. Since joining the squad, she’s been a breath of fresh air, and provided some of the crucial attacking width and pace that has often been missing for the New Jersey club. Three goals in nine games isn’t going to challenge for the golden boot, but it’s a perfectly serviceable tally, particularly on a team that has struggled so mightily to find the net at times. Her time on the team has coincided with some of their few bright moments on the season, with Dorsey seemingly functioning as the key that has finally unlocked some of the creative potential in the attacking ranks. When and if Sky Blue do find that elusive first win, you wouldn’t go wrong betting on Dorsey to be the goal-scorer.

Megan Rapinoe: Seattle Reign FC
~Erica Ayala

It’s hard to think of anyone but Megan Rapinoe for MVP of the Seattle Reign in 2018. In 15 games, she leads the team in both goals (7) and assists (5). Rapinoe is crafty on the ball, making her a threat to score or create chances for her teammates. She is both exciting for fans and aggravating to opponents, making her entertaining to watch (even aside from her National Team popularity). Lydia Williams has 35 saves and eight clean sheets for the Reign in 12 appearances. The Reign have the least goals allowed (15) and sit in second place behind the North Carolina Courage.

Rachel Corsie: Utah Royals FC
~RJ Allen

The Utah Royals have had an odd season. Players that otherwise would have been in the XI every week have been hurt or in some cases just played poorly. Their attack has been anemic far too often this year but the one player who has been pretty outstanding every week has been Rachel Corsie. The Reign centerback turned Royal’s centerback has shown all the more with Sauerbrunn having missed some games. Her calm on and off the ball and a few Save of the Week wins have really cemented her place as the team’s MVP. 

Aubrey Bledsoe: Washington Spirit
~Allison Cary

My MVP for the Washington Spirit is Aubrey Bledsoe. While it has been a tough year for the Spirit, Bledsoe has been a bright spot. This is her first year with the Spirit, following a trade with the Orlando Pride in the offseason. Bledsoe leads the league with 93 saves and has earned four shutouts this season. With a defense that has struggled, Bledsoe often faces many shots throughout the game and has been forced to make some creative saves. She has earned her share of Save of the Week nods throughout the season, and in Weeks 11 and 12, was named the NWSL Player of the Week.

The NWSL International Player Power Rankings

Posted on by RJ Allen

The NWSL has some truly outstanding international soccer talent rostered on the nine current teams in the league.

We are all incredibly lucky to be able to watch some of the best in the world, week in and week out in this league. You have five time FIFA Women’s Player of the Year, Marta, playing in Orlando. Women’s World Cup winner, Nahomi Kawasumi, putting in crosses for Seattle. The former New Zealand captain and Olympian Abby Erceg defending the goal in North Carolina.

One evening I was talking with a friend about Kim Little and the impact she had on the league. After the conversation ended, I started to think about the wealth of talent in the NWSL and the players who have come and gone in the league. We often talk about the NWSL as a training round for the future of the USWNT but other countries have sent us their best and brightest and reaped the benefits for themselves.

I came up with my own ranking. But I wanted to see if my thoughts held up so I then reached out to the masses of the internet to get their feeling on who should be ranked where.

I set forward the criteria as 1) The players impact on the league while playing, 2) Their impact on the league after they left, if they are no longer playing in the league, 3) Their personal awards (MVP, Best XI, ect) and if they have any 4) NWSL titles.

What follows is a list of the power rankings (based on votes) of the greatest international players the NWSL has seen in it’s six year history.

The French midfielder was an impactful player from the get-go, on a team that was full of impactful players. She played just over 30 games for the Thorns before heading back to Europe but having the 2015 Silver Ball winner in the league did bring a little elevation to the league.

While her time with the English women’s national team has been choppy as of late, the English forward has been one of the true bright spots in Houston. Playing in both the attack and the defense for Houston has kept them much more alive this season than they were expected to be the first week of the season.

While the focus has largely been on the American World Cup winners in the last few years, it should not be understated that Naho has shown just why she has a World Cup winner’s medal at home. Her two stints on the Seattle Reign have shown her ability to cross the ball on to a player’s head or foot with astonishing ability.

Stories like Nadim’s go far past just a feel good sports story. During her time in the NWSL, Nadim brought into focus a world many here in the US didn’t often think about in terms of the human element. She was also a PK champion during her time for Sky Blue FC and Portland.

Angerer was a solid goalkeeper during her years for the Thorns. But it is maybe her impact on the league as the Thorns goalkeeping coach that puts her as high on this list as she is. Her work with the goalkeeping unit in Portland has shown just how impactful a coach can be.

Abby Erceg may go down as one of the best, if not the best, non-federated defenders in NWSL history when all is said and done. On top of her work in the NWSL, highlighting the New Zealand federation’s lack of support for their women’s national team has, hopefully, helped make things better for her fellow Kiwi’s.

Marta brings a legitimacy to whatever team and league she is on. There is no way of getting around that fact. Her name on a roster might mean more in terms of marketing dollars than nearly any other name in women’s soccer. She might be a step or two slower than a decade ago, but she still makes magic happen when she touches the ball.

If you look at the list of top goal scorers in NWSL history, Little still finds herself near the top. Even being out of the NWSL, she still has left her mark on the league in the history she helped create. It was Little who Kerr had to pass for the scoring record (more on Kerr in a minute). It was Little who Rapinoe had to pass for the Seattle scoring record. She might be gone but her name still lives on in the league’s records.

Jess Fishlock makes every player around her better. She makes a mark, cleat or otherwise, on every game she plays in. And when she is in the match, other teams have to pay attention to her in ways that few other players command. She has scored game winners, assisted them and brought to Seattle two NWSL Shields.

What is there to say about Sam Kerr? She owns the single season scoring record, and the most goals in NWSL history. Kerr nearly brought Sky Blue FC to the 2017 playoffs behind some of the most brilliant moments the season had to offer, including a four goal game against two time NWSL Champions FC Kansas City. Sam Kerr will go down among the all time greats of the league and is on pace to do so for the sport at large. 

Backline Chat: High and Lows as the NWSL Returns

Posted on by RJ Allen

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Welcome to our midweek Backline chat. The international break is over. The NWSL is back. There’s plenty to cover, but let’s start with the playoff race. Did this weekend’s results change anyone mind about who will make the cut?

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): I knew the results of the Orlando game going in. But boy oh boy did they not look like a playoff team.

Allison Cary (@findingallison): I literally was just typing the same thing.

RJ Allen: It was almost shocking how not put together they were for a game they should have gotten 3 points on. They needed 3 points on it, really.

Charles Olney: The first half of that game was dreadful, on both sides. And while Orlando put together a nice 20 minutes or so in the second half, they also stumbled wildly for parts. It certainly wasn’t the sort of performance that screams ‘we’re a playoff team.’

RJ Allen: Utah didn’t look great, and they need some help to get there, but they did look more put together than they had been. The math is wildly not in their favor but in terms of the eye test they were better than Orlando.

Allison Cary: Luis had a good tweet about it, he said “Orlando Pride playing to the level of their opponent once again” on the first Sky Blue goal. That summarizes my feelings on the whole game.

Charles Olney: We feel very far removed from that ridiculous performance the Pride put up against Chicago a month or so ago. But they could easily turn it back around and blow someone out of the water again. It’s just so hard to tell with them.

RJ Allen: At this point the playoffs almost have to be North Carolina, Seattle, Portland, Chicago just on the numbers, right? I feel like something would really have to go wrong for it not to be that mix. Even if Portland and Chicago swapped.

Charles Olney: I wouldn’t bet against Orlando yet, but they’ve given themselves very little margin for error.

Allison Cary: Orlando is unpredictable. But I think NC, Seattle, Portland, and Chicago is a reasonable prediction/assumption.

Charles Olney: They do have two games against other contenders left, and a game against Sky Blue. If they can get nine points there, they’re probably in. If not, they may be out, unless they can steal some points from Carolina.

RJ Allen: It’s funny because any other year Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Orlando would be a great playoff. But with North Carolina blowing everyone out of the water it leaves everyone trying not to be 4th on top of making the playoffs.

Charles Olney: Chicago have a brutal run-in, but that also means they have more chances to pick up important points. You’d have to say that this weekend went about as well as you could hope for on their part. And they didn’t even play!

RJ Allen: I really can’t wait for more teams for a longer playoff. 6 teams in the playoff, with a first round advance for 1 and 2, I think is a real sweet spot in a 12 team league. And I hope the NWSL gets to 12 solid teams soon.

Charles Olney: I’ll disagree there. As I think we’ve covered here before, I don’t really like playoffs at all, so maybe that’s coloring things. But I especially don’t like playoff systems where 50% of the teams make it. I’d be happy keeping it to four teams for the foreseeable future.

RJ Allen: I would be happy with every team making the playoffs and the regular season used for seeding. So you and I might never agree there.

Charles Olney: That is fair.

Alright, so do we have any thoughts about Seattle? They’re not quite locks yet, but you’d have to like their odds at this point. Securing those three points this weekend was huge.

Allison Cary: Admittedly, I’ve missed a lot of Seattle’s games because of the time difference. But I like what I see.

RJ Allen: There once was a soccer team from Seattle. When they were good they were very, very good and when they were bad they were … still pretty good and will likely force Lifetime to host a playoff game in a place Lifetime does not want to host a playoff game in.

Charles Olney: I have to say, Memorial is a garbage venue, but it’s OUR garbage venue and Lifetime just needs to get over themselves and put it on TV. It’s not THAT bad.

RJ Allen: I think if this was the first year that the team played there, I might get Lifetime’s worry. But we all know where Seattle plays and what it looks like.

Allison Cary: Agreed.

RJ Allen: I am fascinated by the goalkeeping in Seattle. I get the stats pack and Betos and Williams are nearly identical this year. Vlatko gave Barnhart like 92% of all minutes when FCKC was still a thing. And now he’s a swapper.

Allison Cary: Yeah, is there a reason Betos didn’t start this weekend? I was a bit surprised to see Williams in goal after she played all of ToN. I would have thought he would go with the better rested option.

RJ Allen: I have not been able to tell when he is going to play one or the other. By man oh man what a gift to be able to have both as an option.

Charles Olney: I think Williams is clearly better, but that it’s also to have two solid options, and I do think your points are interesting: that the numbers are so similar and that Vlatko is rotating.

RJ Allen: They have the rights to Solo too. I mean now that could be a fun 23 person roster with those three.

*crickets*

What? What did I say?

Charles Olney: Okay, final question about the playoff-bound: North Carolina wrapped up the Shield this weekend, surprising absolutely no one. Any thoughts on them, or have we run out of superlatives?

My take is that they played at maybe 75% of their potential this weekend, and in doing so brushed aside arguably their biggest rival without too much trouble. That’s scary.

RJ Allen: They are the best team the NWSL has fielded in 6 years of play. I think they have, as much as it pains me to say, passed the 2014 Seattle Reign. They have a bunch of “no name” players who put in work that has sent 6 to the USWNT. And yeah, yeah Dunn was on the radar but not like she was before this year.

Charles Olney: All the other teams in the league have to be hoping that they run into the same playoff troubles as the Reign.

RJ Allen: Well Holiday has retired and ARod isn’t going this year most likely. Unless Seattle trades for her. For max lol’s.

Allison Cary: The only team that seems to be able to consistently draw points from NC is Utah. Maybe they could share that magic with NC’s playoff opponents?

RJ Allen: I do wonder what a North Carolina vs Seattle final in Portland would look like though.

Allison Cary: Not that I’m looking for them to lose. I’m just not seeing who is going to beat them.

RJ Allen: What will happen first: Sky Blue wins a game or North Carolina gets their second loss?

Charles Olney: Sky Blue! Somehow, they’ve actually been okay in their last few games. And I have a feeling that the climax to this weekend’s game will be enough to draw the team together a bit. I really hope that they’re able to at least pull themselves up to Breakers level of respectability. There’s too much talent on that team for them to be THIS far adrift.

RJ Allen: I don’t know. They are playing teams that need points to survive and that might sink them.

Charles Olney: My case for Sky Blue: the combination of Dorsey, McCaskill, and Groom (and Lloyd when she’s back from her suspension) is finally starting to click. They also have Rodriguez back, and while she isn’t quite the player they need, that’s a big upgrade from Thaisa. And Gibbons is back in the mix. That’s a team that COULD win a couple games in a row. At least in theory.

RJ Allen: Maybe neither happens and the season runs out before either do?

Allison Cary: I’m tempted to go with that answer. Although I think Sky Blue is getting better and might be able to sneak in a win.

Charles Olney: Yeah, ‘neither’ is quite possibly the best bet here.

Slightly turning the conversation, here’s a (not so fun) thing I noticed: if you combined the points from Washington and Sky Blue, they’d still be in last place. By nine points. That is rough.

Allison Cary: Yikes.

Charles Olney: Which leads to an obvious question: if you actually combined their rosters, would they in fact still be in last place? Or would that provide enough depth to paper over some of the problems?

RJ Allen: There is no way either coach can survive, is there? I think they would be higher with a single roster. At least some of the issues with not having XI quality starters would be gone.

Charles Olney: I’d be very surprised if Gabarra is back next year. I wouldn’t be shocked if Reddy is back…assuming that Sky Blue continues to exist. But I have major doubts about that premise, and if there are changes it’s very hard to see Reddy sticking.

Charles Olney: I agree. Both teams struggle defensively, but combine the options and you could get a serviceable backline out there. Then again, neither team should be nearly this bad even just looking at the actual rosters they have, so…

RJ Allen: I don’t know how the league doesn’t step in on Sky Blue after this year. Governor of New Jersey or not. Gibbons might be able to play in the midfield!

Charles Olney: From your lips to god’s ear.

Alright, one more little topic, on a slightly goofier note: imagine that you’re starting a brand new franchise next year. You’re given the option of poaching any single player in the league to build your team around. Who do you pick and why? (I think there’s an obvious answer, but I’m curious if y’all agree)

RJ Allen: Sam Kerr. 100% Sam Kerr.

Allison Cary: Yeah, Sam Kerr is where my brain immediately went.

Charles Olney: Yeah, that’s the one. So if we all agree there, who would be your NEXT choice?

RJ Allen: McCall Zerboni. You can’t build a house without a solid base and I can get good defenders farther down the line. There is not around midfielder who can who what she does as well.

Allison Cary: I have no idea after Sam Kerr, but I like RJ’s answer lol.

Charles Olney: I’m torn here. I’d want to take someone on the younger side, who still has room to grow and you can count on getting quite a few good years from. I think I might take Sam Mewis if she were fully healthy, but that’s a gamble at the moment. It’s hard to argue with Horan, though I’ve never quite been a true believer there.  I can’t really justify not taking Rapinoe, if given the option. Or Dunn. Ertz gives you flexibility. In conclusion: I don’t know, but also like RJ’s answer.

Allison Cary: Horan and Dunn both crossed my mind.

RJ Allen: So I’m working on a “Non American/Non Canadian NWSL Player Power Ranking” to look at the talent from outside of the US and Canada that the league has hosted.

I gave the selection criteria as:

  1. Impact on the league while playing
  2. Impact on the league after they left, if they are no longer playing in the league
  3. Personal awards (MVP, Best XI, ect)
  4. NWSL Titles

100ish votes in, any guesses on the top 5 the world of Twitter has put forward and who would be on your top 5’s?

Charles Olney: I can’t see much of an argument against Little, Fishlock, and Kerr being the top three, so I’m guessing (hoping) they are in the top 5.

RJ Allen: They are all top 5, yes. But one name is much lower than the other two.

Charles Olney: I’m tempted to include Erceg, though I’d be surprised if she is in the top five.  Based on the second criteria, I think you could make a case for Angerer, who has contributed a lot as both player and coach. It’s hard to argue against Marta. And Alanna Kennedy would be in the mix for me as well. And there are plenty that fall into the category just below this group.

RJ Allen: Right now it is:

  1. Sam Kerr 101/105
  2. Marta 91/105
  3. Jess Fishlock 90/105
  4. Kim Little 73/105
  5. Abby Erceg 71/105

No one else is higher than 58, which is Amandine Henry. Angerer is 44.

Allison Cary: Interesting. I actually would not have thought people would vote for Henry. Catley is up there for me.

Charles Olney: I’m disappointed that the top four aren’t all unanimous, but what can you do? It’s a pretty solid list.

RJ Allen: I do think it’s interesting that players who, I would argue have made a huge impact like Nadim aren’t super high. I don’t know if it’s who is voting, if they are trying to not vote for some in place of making others higher or what. But I thought it was neat. The NWSL has a ton of non-American or Canadian talent.

The NWSL Podium: Top Performances in Week 18

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. 

The NWSL returned to action this week following the international break, and it did not disappoint. Of the four matches in Week 18, all played on Sunday night, the Orlando Pride vs. Sky Blue may have been the most exciting. With goals from Marta, Dani Weatherholt, Imani Dorsey, and Shea Groom, the match also featured a Carli Lloyd red card, a missed PK from Marta, and Sky Blue’s first lead of the season.  The Houston Dash hosted the Utah Royals in a defensive battle that saw the Royals mount a comeback to win the game 2-1 after going down a goal at the end of the first half. And the North Carolina Courage officially clinched the NWSL Shield with a month of games left to play thanks to their 2-1 victory over the Portland Thorns. Here is a full breakdown of this week’s scores:

North Carolina Courage vs. Portland Thorns (2-1)

Orlando Pride vs. Sky Blue (2-2)

Houston Dash vs. Utah Royals (1-2)

Seattle Reign vs. Washington Spirit (2-0)

Top Three Goalkeepers

1. Lydia Williams— Despite falling over like a baby giraffe at one point (her words, not mine) to come out and get the ball, Williams put forward another solid goalkeeping performance this week that marked her sixth victory and seventh clean sheet of the season. She faced twelve shots and made two saves against the Washington Spirit. Both saves came in the second half. The first came in the 48th minute— a bad giveaway by the Reign on a free kick allowed Ashley Hatch time and space to take her shot. She tried to sneak it in under the crossbar, but Williams made a leaping stop and pushed the ball over the net. The second save, which earned her an NWSL Save of the Week nomination, came in the 80th minute. A failed clearance by the Seattle defense allowed Caprice Dydasco to come grab the ball and take a quick shot inside the 18-yard box. But Williams read the shot and was able to block the ball. It bounced off her right hand, then her left, and fell to the feet of defender Theresa Nielsen. 

2. Kailen Sheridan—  Sky Blue asked a lot of their goalkeeper on Sunday night, but Sheridan’s performance met those demands. She faced 21 shots from the Orlando Pride and made six saves. After Dani Weatherholt equalized for the Pride in the 73rd minute, Orlando thought they could win the three points and started pressing hard. Just five minutes after the Weatherholt goal, Alex Morgan took a shot from inside the 18-yard box. She aimed to slide it under the crossbar, but Sheridan jumped up and pushed the ball over the crossbar. That save earned her a Save of the Week nomination. But it was her final save that secured her team a point on the road. In the dying minutes of stoppage time, Carli Lloyd earned a red card in the box for a hand ball and the Pride were given a PK, which was taken by Marta. Sheridan blocked the attempt. The Pride tried to put something together with the remaining time, but they were unable to do so, and Sky Blue went home with a point. 

3. Ashlyn Harris— The Sky Blue offense were out possessed by the Pride on Sunday night, but the strikers for the New Jersey side took advantage of their opportunities. Harris faced nine shots from Sky Blue and, perhaps due to her shaky defense, had to make four saves. In the 28th minute, Savannah McCaskill slipped a ball through the Pride defense and to Imani Dorsey. Dorsey went one-on-one with Harris, who came off her line and made the save. In the 68th minute, Harris made another brilliant save off a shot from Carli Lloyd. Harris got her fingertips on the ball, sending it over the crossbar. That stop earned her a Save of the Week nomination. 

Top Three Defenders

1. Becky Sauerbrunn— Despite starting in two matches for the United States in the Tournament of Nations and playing 180 minutes, Sauerbrunn showed no signs of exhaustion against the Houston Dash. The Royals defense was challenged within the first minutes of the match, but Sauerbrunn and Corsie were an impenetrable wall. Sauerbrunn had eleven clearances, four interceptions, and three tackles on the night. At the end of the match, when some of her teammates seemed to be suffering from tired legs, Sauerbrunn seemed to move into the midfield, maintaining possession for Utah and trying to help the team create more scoring opportunities to secure their lead. The Utah Royals held onto that 2-1 lead, and earned three points on the road. 

2. Clare Polkinghorne— Polkinghorne started in all three matches for Australia in the Tournament of Nations, coming off only in the 29th minute of the final match against Japan. Yet just three days later, Polkinghorne was the strongest defender on the Houston Dash backline. She played in the central defense alongside Amber Brooks, making the match a real defensive battle. Polkinghorne had five tackles, eight clearances, two interceptions, and one block against the Utah Royals. Ultimately, a bad defensive mistake by Amber Brooks and a brilliant ball to Katie Stengel from Erika Tymrak lost them the match at home. 

3. Abby Erceg— Erceg, who has just been named to the July Team of the Month, is definitely a contender for Defender of the Year. In her performance against the Portland Thorns on Sunday, she quietly went about doing the things that she does to make the North Carolina Courage one of the best teams in the world. For example, in the 11th minute of the match, the Portland Thorns gained possession of the ball. But before they could set up any sort of attack, Erceg intercepted a pass from the Thorns and regained possession for her team. Similarly, in the 72nd minute, McCall Zerboni lost the ball and Christine Sinclair tried to set up an attack for the Thorns. She sent the ball down the field, hoping to find Raso, but Erceg beat her 15there. Erceg passes the ball off to Rowland, but her kick only goes as far as Sinclair. She again passes the ball to Raso, but Erceg is there, and is able to beat Raso on the header, giving possession back to the Courage. Being able to contain the Portland offense is no small task, but the Courage— captained by Erceg— were able to do just that. 

Top Three Attackers

1. Lynn Williams— Williams earned herself a brace in North Carolina’s 2-1 victory over the Portland Thorns and she now leads the race for the Golden Boot. While she is tied in number of goals with Lindsey Horan, Williams has four assists on the year while Horan only has two. Williams first goal of this match came off a quick counterattack in the 37th minute. Jessica McDonald had the ball out wide and sent it into the box, where Williams was able to tap it past Adriana Franch and into the bottom corner. The Courage tend to score their goals close together, and this match was no exception. Just eight minutes after that first goal, Williams found her second of the night. Merritt Mathais sent a ball into the box, and after it bounced around a bit, Williams was able to tap it into the corner. The brace was enough to lift the Courage to their 15th win of the season. 

2. Dani Weatherholt— Weatherholt played a critical role in both of the goals for the Pride this week. While it does not count as an assist, it was the deflected shot from Weatherholt that Marta tapped in for the Pride’s first goal in the 51st minute. In the 73rd minute, Alex Morgan headed the ball to  the feet of Camila, who passed the ball to Weatherholt but was taken down by Sky Blue defenders. Many anticipated the play to be blown dead, but Weatherholt kept going. She muscled past the Sky Blue defenders, and when Sheridan was unable to collect the ball, Weatherholt was able to finish off the play  and head the ball into the back of the net. Weatherholt showed determination on the field on Sunday night, and was rewarded with her second goal of the season. 

3. Imani Dorsey— Dorsey earned her third goal of the season on Sunday night against the Orlando Pride. The goal came in the 53rd minute, only a few minutes after Marta’s goal. Shea Groom, who was surrounded by Pride defenders, got a pass off to Dorsey, who remained unguarded in the box. Dorsey went one-on-one with Harris, as she had in the first half, but this time she won the battle. She recorded two shots on the night, both of them shots on goal. This is the second game in a row where Dorsey has scored for Sky Blue. She is now tied with Carli Lloyd and Savannah McCaskill for the most goals for Sky Blue this season. 

Backline Chat: Goodbye Go90, Hello Mexico, and the Tournament of Nations

Posted on by RJ Allen

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Hi everyone, and welcome to the Backline Soccer chat. Today we’re going to spend some time talking about international soccer, particularly the Tournament of Nations. But first, can we all pour one out for go90, which is officially shuffling off the stage today? Will anyone be lamenting its departure?

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): Do we know how the NWSL is handling who will be calling games? Because I can’t remember hearing about that.

Charles Olney: We can hope that they haven’t found anyone and we’ll just get crowd noise.

Becky Schoenecker(@Beckster20): That’s a pretty great take.

RJ Allen: Jon Lipsitz would do it really cheap, NWSL.

Allison Cary (@findingallison): I haven’t had to use the app in the last year, since I’ve been in the UK. But I can’t say I’ve seen anyone who is sad to see it go.

Charles Olney: I actually hope that they return to local broadcasters. I’ve been a pretty big critic of that approach in the past, but the more that I’ve soured on the current system, the more I’ve wondered if I was too harsh on the old approach. It would be nice to get some more perspective on the differences.

RJ Allen: I am a fan of local baseball broadcasters and that’s a lot of the feeling I got from the best of the local broadcasters from the NWSL in years past. So I’d be happy with that return.

Becky Schoenecker: Having announcers who are actually at the games is a huge positive if they’re able to swing it.

Allison Cary: It works well in other sports. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for the NWSL.

RJ Allen: Some crews were not good. But there were some that were really fun. #BringBackAnnSchatz

Luis Hernandez: I guess I’ll take the opposite side here. I remember the broadcast team the Pride used year one. It wasn’t great. They sometimes didn’t know the player names or mispronounced them worse than the go90 team

Charles Olney: All that said, my guess is that they’ll retain the services of the same broadcasters we’ve been getting, since the actual production company is a separate institution, which was only sending the feed to go90.

RJ Allen: Way to be a downer, Charles.

Charles Olney: But in typical NWSL fashion, they probably won’t tell us anything one way or the other until 2 minutes before the games return.

RJ Allen: Likely you’re right though. But maybe next year we can either get the games on ESPN+ or another way where it’s more consistent.

Luis Hernandez: I like some of the broadcasters now. I just wish I had more of a tie with them as they called the game.

RJ Allen: Also on site would help. So much.

Luis Hernandez: Instead it’s like “who are you and why do I care about you calling the game?” I mean knowing Dan or Jen being the person who called games means something to me because I care/respect their opinions during the match.

Charles Olney: Alright, while we’re on the subject of the NWSL, I’ve got two other things I want to get some quick thoughts about. First: Sky Blue and Chicago had to cancel their game this weekend. Thoughts on that? Is this another example of the Mickey Mouse operation that Sky Blue is running, or just an unfortunate thing that will happen when you’re running a league on a small budget?

RJ Allen: I think it is showing that a lot of teams do not think long term ahead. Teams flay out less than 24 hours before a match in some cases which isn’t ideal for the players bodies. And when something goes wrong there isn’t enough time to sort it out either.

Luis Hernandez: It’s hard to be critical of an operation when the cause is weather, but part of me still kind of thinks that it was due to a Sky Blue screw up that just happened to be connected to the weather.

RJ Allen: Yes, was it bad luck. Sure. But bad luck keeps happening to them too.

Allison Cary: Yeah, it seems like it could have been avoided with better planning.

Luis Hernandez:Orlando learned about travel in the league the first year and now they give themselves two days in Portland and Seattle. What is Sky Blue’s excuse?

RJ Allen: The flights are cheaper. They take whatever flight is cheapest.

Luis Hernandez:The most recent West Coast swing saw the team stay out on the road instead of flying back to Florida. I assumed other teams did the same thing. Or did Sky Blue not have a west coast swing?

RJ Allen: They may have but this was a one off in terms of travel.

Charles Olney: Second NWSL-adjacent question: North Carolina just won the ICC, after winning matches against PSG and Lyon. How big a deal is this? I’ll start by noting that I literally did not know what ICC actually stood for, and just had to look it up. It’s the International Champions Cup. Not the International Criminal Court.

RJ Allen: I think it’s a 6/10. Yes, Lyon hasn’t played as a unit since May but their starts have played for NT since and it’s not like they are inexperienced players.

I really think it matters no matter if it is their preseason or not.

Allison Cary: I think beating Lyon is a statement. People often say Lyon is the best club in the world (myself included). Beating the best club in the world when you have players on NT duty? That’s impressive.

Luis Hernandez: I think it’s a huge deal that won’t get treated as such because those other teams are in preseason while the Courage are in midseason shape

If the script had been flipped I know the narrative would have been “Of course N.C. losses to OL, what did you expect?”

RJ Allen: I would also like to point out it wasn’t like every Courage player was in mid season form as a starter. Neil Morris has a great chart in one of his pieces that showed that a lot of the players hadn’t played or played much this year.

Charles Olney: I’d probably put it at a 5/10. It’s a preseason game, and it’s hard to overstate how unimportant results are in preseason games. But it’s still a cool result. And perhaps more important, I think it demonstrates just how seriously the North Carolina team buys into their message. To play that intensely, and to achieve that result, with a half-strength team shows just how committed they really are.

As we’ve discussed before, I would LOVE to see a full strength NC and Lyon facing off. This wasn’t that, but it was still cool.

Luis Hernandez: If anything I credit Paul Riley and this makes him a lock to me as coach of the year

RJ Allen: I would also like to point out it would be hard for these teams to both be at full power and play each other with how their seasons go. Possible, maybe but it would be at a very random or difficult time. It’s partly why I have issues with a club world cup.

Charles Olney: In the long term, I think a club world cup would be interesting and potentially could be taken more seriously than it ever could on the men’s side. The problem for the men is that all the best teams in the world play in Europe, so it’s a redundant event. But on the women’s side, there are GREAT teams that would otherwise never play. But I agree the logistics are tough.

Luis Hernandez: I’d rather see an Open Cup in the US before a club World Cup. Club World Cup is just a few steps below to me on priorities

RJ Allen: Oh lord. Pro teams should not play amateur teams.

Charles Olney: That’s an interesting topic, which we should cover soon here. But for now, let’s turn to the main topic at the moment: international soccer. In particular, the Tournament of Nations. I saw some folks saying that the US and Australia match this weekend was a potential preview of next year’s World Cup final. Do people agree that these are maybe the top two teams in the world right now?

RJ Allen: I think it could very well be a knock out game. But unless FIFA starts seeding teams better the Aussies and the US could play in the opening round for all we know.

Allison Cary: I think Australia and the US are two of the best teams in the world right now. But I agree with RJ’s point about seeding.

RJ Allen: I do think the Aussies are much higher than their 8th place FIFA ranking though. They have a lot of great players who work well together. And they were missing their starting outside back in this match.

Charles Olney: Personally, I don’t think it would be fair to set the US and Australia on a separate tier from some of the other competitors. But I wouldn’t argue if you wanted to call them 1A and 1B, with teams like England, France, etc. falling just a hair below them.

Allison Cary: For the record, I’m not saying they’re *the* best. But like RJ said, I think the Aussies are higher than 8th. I put them in a pretty elite class.

Charles Olney: For Australia, I think it was impressive how well the played in a game where Sam Kerr was very quiet. It can be tempting to think of them as primarily a vehicle for Kerr, but they absolutely aren’t. It’s a solid team from top to bottom.

RJ Allen: I was at the games in CT. There was a much, much different feeling watching the game between the US and Australia than there was for Japan and Brazil. The pace, what the players were doing, the way they were connecting and defending each other. All of it was just on another level for US v AUS.

Charles Olney: That’s a great point, RJ. And it provides some evidence that the Tournament of Nations matters, even if it’s fundamentally an imaginary, constructed event. By pitting these teams against each other twice in 12 months, it created an opportunity for a real rivalry.

Luis Hernandez: The main takeaway I get from ToN is that the USWNT has lost its mystique and intimidation factor. Other teams don’t fear the US anymore

RJ Allen: I don’t think that’s a bad thing though.

Luis Hernandez: I don’t think it is either. It should drive to make the team and players better.

Charles Olney: Regarding intimidation, when did the US really have that, though? Certainly not in the Olympics. Last World Cup? Didn’t feel like it. Before that? I’d maybe say that these games have been more about Australia showing that they’re ready to take on anyone.

RJ Allen: Maybe 2012?

I do think there is a pretty healthy respect between the teams in terms of knowing they have to go all out. You saw players working all 90+ minutes in a way the US rarely has to. The US doesn’t have to play 90 against many teams and the Aussies have quickly become one they do. And that is great to see.

Charles Olney: Agreed.

Luis Hernandez: I agree with RJ on this one too.

Charles Olney: Any other thoughts people have about the ToN? How is the US playing? Standouts or stars?

RJ Allen: Zerboni changed the way the US played when she came on. From the way Sauerbrunn lined up behind her to the way the midfield pushed up. I could see the change the second she came on in how players played.

Luis Hernandez: I thought Davidson bounced back nicely from her SheBelieves performance

Allison Cary: I’m really disappointed that Jill Ellis is only starting Naeher. I’d particularly love to see Franch get some playing time.

Luis Hernandez: And I’m here for Dunn on the back line.

RJ Allen: I am not. She got beat, a lot. In a lot of spots the camera might not have picked up. Seeing it was rough.

Luis Hernandez: With the level of talent of the team, I want all our good players on the pitch as we can, if it makes sense. I don’t think Press has had much of a ToN

Charles Olney: My lukewarm big picture take is that the US setup is basically working as intended, and while I don’t think it’s the best possible usage of the available talent, it’s a fairly user-proof, which is a nice feature. So while I’m not thrilled with their approach, I also am finding it a lot harder to get truly worked up about tactics and things. The US hasn’t lost in a year, playing all of the world’s best teams, and that’s not a total coincidence.

In particular, I’m ready to mostly stop complaining about the lack of buildup through the middle. That’s just not how this team is going to play, and while I wish they would do something different, it’s probably time to stop tilting at that windmill.

Luis Hernandez: It’s hard to screw up a 4-3-3

RJ Allen: I do think people get way, way, way too worked up about the “US being in a downfall and OMG everything is horrible”. They are playing well enough to beat pretty much every team in the top 10 or at least draw.

This is not the 2015 team and I’d really like to see people accept that.

Allison Cary: I think there is a section of US fans that want them to always be dominant, and that doesn’t really work well with the evolving nature of the sport. We want other countries to invest more and other teams to be better. Teams like Australia challenging the US is a good thing for women’s soccer. But it might mean the US not winning every game they play (although as RJ pointed out, they’re still winning most games).

Charles Olney: Okay, any final thoughts on individuals players, positive or negative?

RJ Allen: I think the US has to move on from the “Becky Sauerbrunn will always save us” mentality because frankly she can’t anymore. She is still very much an 8.5/10 player. But she isn’t 9.5/10 anymore.

Charles Olney: I think that’s fair. She remains a fantastic player, and the US is much worse-off when she can’t play. But she isn’t unbeatable. It’s strange that after so long with the defense being the team’s main strength, it’s become a significant weakness in 2018.

RJ Allen: Not having O’Hara hurt them more than I expected. As Sauerbrunn said in the video they did together, O’Hara’s energy can change a match.

Charles Olney: Alright, final topic: the rest of CONCACAF. Last night Mexico and Costa Rica played, in a likely matchup of two teams that will be vying for an automatic WC bid in a few months. Did people get a chance to watch it? Thoughts on either team?

RJ Allen: I’m glad teams in the same range are playing each other. I think it is a much better test for them than either playing the US and getting beaten 5-0.

Charles Olney: I’ve been impressed with the progress of the Mexican team. As you say, they can’t really hang with the US, but I thought they played well in those April friendlies. And it looks like the trajectory is continuing to move in a positive direction. I wonder if the success of Liga MX Femenil might have a role to play in that?

Luis Hernandez: I didn’t watch it but I followed it on Twitter.

RJ Allen: I hope they open Liga MX Femenil up to anyone able to play for Mexico next season.

Charles Olney: I’m particularly excited because one half of the group stage for WC qualifying will be happening down in my neck of the woods. They haven’t officially announced locations apart from the US and Canada, but I’m hoping that Mexico ends up in that pod. I’d love to get a chance to see them live a few more times. (edited)

RJ Allen: It would make sense for them to put Mexico in that group.

Luis Hernandez: I thought it was great for Mexico. As I tweeted the other day, I think the Mexican federation had to do something since it wasn’t getting a ROI for NWSL

Luis Hernandez: I could see the change the second she came on in how players played. Creating Liga MX Femenil is a result of it and it’s improved he Mexican squad by leaps and bounds.

RJ Allen: I rather Mexico improve their league than send players into the NWSL and not. I think having Liga MX Femenil and the NWSL both in North America is better for soccer overall. And maybe one day open it up to players outside of Mexico.

Luis Hernandez: I don’t think Mexico has peaked yet either

RJ Allen: Mexico is 25 right now. I think by 2023 they could get near 15 or 14 if they keep investing.

Allison Cary: It’s definitely getting football fans in Mexico excited. At least female football fans.

Luis Hernandez: I think it’s just fans overall. This is what happens when both the men and women sides can use the same team crest

Luis Hernandez: Which I think would be a huge marketing win if teams in NWSL could do that

RJ Allen: I do not like that idea at all, whatsoever. They are not Orlando City Women. They are the Orlando Pride. They are not the Portland Timbers Women. They are the Portland Thorns. And so on. (edited)

Luis Hernandez: Doesn’t seem to hurt attendance in Mexico

Charles Olney: As with many things, I can see the arguments on both sides. I think in an environment where soccer teams already have huge, dedicated audiences, tapping in can be very helpful. The US doesn’t really have that, and charting out an independent identity seems to make a lot more sense. But I also completely get the concern about being designated as a secondary team making it hard to get out from the under that shadow.

Luis Hernandez: And you get clearly identifiable rivals. If you had Seattle Sounders women vs Portland Timbers women I think the crowd would be even bigger

RJ Allen: No. Fuck no. Hell no. All day, every day, no.

Allison Cary: I can’t get past the idea that Charles mentioned. The women will always be seen as secondary if they don’t have their own identity.

Luis Hernandez: You’re against LA Galaxy Orange County Women’s?

RJ Allen: I am out if the league starts doing that. I’ll go cover cornhole or something on ESPN.

Luis Hernandez: I’m just saying it’s a crest thing (representing the club) regardless of gender of the team

RJ Allen: Why on earth shouldn’t a different team have their own crest? Are fans not smart enough to understand they are under the same umbrella?

Luis Hernandez: In English football, I support the Blackburn Rovers. So I have a built-in interest in Rovers women’s side

RJ Allen: And if they were the Blackburn Bluejays how would that change the interest?

Luis Hernandez: Same club, different teams

RJ Allen: I don’t understand why they can’t have their own name and crest but under the same umbrella and that is the same.

Luis Hernandez: It would be easier for me to follow a women’s side at the top flight so I can track it better. I just have a natural interest for Blackburn.

RJ Allen: If your problem is people can’t remember the names of the women’s clubs then I can’t help you.

Luis Hernandez: That’s not it. It’s about the crest.

RJ Allen: They are not second-class citizens. They do not need to default to the men’s crest.

Luis Hernandez: But you’re missing my point, it isn’t a men’s crest to me at all. Just a club crest. I am not putting gender on a team symbol. Does that make sense?

Charles Olney: I think I’m on Team RJ here, but I think it’s to some extent a product of different naming conventions. In the US nicknames are part of the name, full stop. In Europe, they’re often informal or virtually nonexistent.

Allison Cary: In the UK, if I’m talking about Chelsea Women, they are absolutely seen as secondary. And up until recently they were still “Chelsea Ladies.” That might be able to change if clubs took the initiative, but so far they haven’t. And they have much bigger brand power than MLS. I don’t see how it would benefit a US women’s team to have a unified crest with a men’s side, all I can see is the NWSL becoming even more of an afterthought than it already is.

Luis Hernandez: I get what you are saying Allison and I don’t think you’re wrong at all. But I also see it work in Mexico and as far as I know France so maybe it can happen.

Allison Cary: I don’t think it really works well in France. I went to the Lyon-PSG match in Lyon in the city’s main stadium and attendance was pretty awful. And that was supposed to be one of their biggest games of the year.

RJ Allen: Just because something works in one market, doesn’t mean it works everywhere. See Portland.

Forecast for the Orlando Pride: Gray Skies Ahead

Posted on by RJ Allen

The Orlando Pride started its three-match homestand with a frustrating draw with the Seattle Reign. Both teams were missing key players this match due to national team duty: Alex Morgan and Ashlyn Harris for Orlando, and Megan Rapinoe and Allie Long for Seattle. The hosts may rue this performance which saw 17 fouls called against them versus four on the visitors while being out-shot, out-possessed, and out-passed. Now Coach Tom Sermanni will need to prepare his squad for Orlando’s next match on August 5 against Sky Blue FC.

After all the league results, the Pride sit in fourth surrounded by teams with a game in hand. Realistically, Orlando has a favorable schedule with three of the last five at home and squaring off twice with winless Sky Blue. Statistical prediction website, FiveThirtyEight puts the Pride’s chances of making the playoffs at 63% favored in both matches against Sky Blue, as well as the Chicago match. Orlando tallied 40 points in the 2017 season, and if the Pride want to match that the team will have to find a way to earn 11 more points. Additionally, if Orlando wants to host a playoff game, Sermanni’s side will need to hope teams like Utah, Houston, and Chicago play spoiler to keep the Reign within reach. This series of fortunate events doesn’t appear likely as I predict Seattle will finish the regular season with 41 by capturing 11 points from six matches.

Tied in points with the Pride at 29 are the Portland Thorns, who hold the tiebreaker due to goal differential. While Portland face several challenging matches, visiting North Carolina and Orlando, the Thorns also host Sky Blue and Chicago and can earn a result against the Washington Spirit and Seattle. Based on the schedule, the standings will continue the trend of teams being tightly packed. I expect the Thorns to come away with 11 points by the end of the season and end with 40 points.

One point behind Orlando sit the Chicago Red Stars with 28 points. The Red Stars have the hardest road to the playoffs. Chicago will host Sky Blue, but afterward face the Courage, Reign, Thorns, and Pride while closing the season against the Royals. Fans of Chicago will say the team playing teams currently ahead of them in the standings can be six-point swing matches because the Red Stars will be able to close the gap to make the playoffs. I don’t hold the same faith as Chicago supporters. I predict the Chicago Red Stars finish with 33 points after only adding five points the rest of the way.

The gridlock in the standings will remain that way. On the outside looking in will be the first year side, Utah Royals finishing with 34 points, and the Houston Dash, who were the bane of the Orlando Pride under first-year coach Vera Pauw, with 33 points. Both teams may be disappointed not to make the playoffs, but in actuality should be commended as each team had its share of injuries to key players they couldn’t completely overcome. Laura Harvey’s side will look back at the numerous times it drew an opponent, while Houston’s slow start this year was what ultimately doomed the squad’s playoff hopes. 

An area of concern for the Pride has to be the offense which has been missing in 2018; the flow of the offense has been choppy and inconsistent. If the team can match the 12 goals from last season in the last stretch, it would only manage 39 goals.  As Coach Sermanni stated after the home match versus Seattle, “What we haven’t done well enough this year is actually finish the chances and finish them when we’ve been on top of the game. So, I think that probably is as much to blame as anything.”

Ultimately, the Orlando Pride will not equal last season’s point total falling short with 37 points, but still good enough for a fourth place finish. However, it’s worth noting the Pride have missed opportunities at home where the only way to match last year’s win total of six at Orlando City Stadium is by winning out against Sky Blue, Portland, and Chicago. In 2017, the Pride scored 12 goals in its last five games finishing up with 45 goals and a +14 goal differential. Orlando is a flawed team trying to make playoffs again, and the home stretch is going to be nerve wrecking for the Pride. The best outcome I can see at the end of the season is a trip to North Carolina for the first round playoffs. Brace yourselves.  

Did US Soccer Call Up Jaelene Hinkle to Avoid Litigation?

Posted on by RJ Allen

Jaelene Hinkle was called back into a US Women’s National Team camp last week. Given that Hinkle refused to play last year because she couldn’t accept wearing a rainbow pride jersey, many have seen the decision to bring her back as a betrayal of the US team’s supposed commitment to inclusion and equality. That this all happened so soon after the most recent month of pride only drove the point home further.

The ongoing conversations about this process are very important, and I encourage everyone to read some of the excellent articles on the subject, which I endorse wholeheartedly. However, in this piece, I want to focus attention on a narrower question: what is the potential legal liability here? And if any exists, does that explain the bizarre chain of events in the past week, in which Hinkle was called up, only to be left out of the group that will actually continue to the Tournament of Nations?

Let’s start by looking at what we actually know:

Last June, Hinkle was called up—after a fairly long hiatus away from the team—for a set of friendlies in Scandinavia. But once the pride uniforms were announced, she withdrew. Then, earlier this summer, she gave an interview to the 700 Club confirming what was already assumed: she had done so because she believed that wearing the pride uniform would violate her religious principles.

The critical questions: was US Soccer obligated to make accommodations for her religious beliefs? And were they legally permitted to blacklist her from future camps, if that is in fact what happened?

Title VII creates an obligation to accommodate sincerely held religious belief

The controlling rule here is Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. That law famously prohibits discrimination on the basis of race in employment, but also covers a number of protected categories. Specifically, it prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion.

Broadly, that means that an employee can’t be fired for their religious beliefs, but it also creates a wide range of narrower obligations on employers to provide reasonable accommodations for their religious employees. As with many such laws, the devil is in the details, and what counts as ‘reasonable’ is open to dispute. But over the decades since the law was passed, we’ve received a great deal of clarification by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and by federal courts.

Specifically, they’ve said that employers are obliged to accommodate religious beliefs “unless the accommodation would cause an undue hardship for the employer.”

In the athletic context, a general argument for uniform kits would likely constitute an insufficient defense against a claim for reasonable accommodation. For example, a devout Muslim player who wished to wear a hijab would likely have a strong case, absent decisive evidence that doing so would interfere with her ability to perform. Based on the same logic, Hinkle could argue that the pride uniform violated her religious beliefs and expect an alternative accommodation.

And while there are obvious differences between a hijab and a rainbow kit, the EEOC and the courts have both made clear that they don’t see policing the legitimacy of specific beliefs to be within their purview. So long as the belief is sincere, it receives this protection. In Hinkle’s case, while her belief may be misguided or even bigoted, there is no denying that it is sincerely held and religious in nature. Moreover, the courts have also been unwilling to litigate whether a given belief is an accurate reflection of their religious dogma. So the fact that other Christians on the team had no problem wearing the rainbow does not limit Hinkle’s rights of conscientious objection.

That said, there is extensive evidence supporting the right of employers to enforce uniform requirements over religious objections. For example, in Cooper v. Eugene School District, the Oregon Supreme Court found that the state could reasonably prevent a teacher from wearing religious dress while working, because the law served the purpose of promoting religious neutrality. In Goldman v. Weinberger, the US Supreme Court upheld the right of the military to impose uniform policies by prohibiting a Jewish Air Force officer from wearing a yarmulke. These cases dealt with exceptional circumstances—with public institutions striving to produce public goods—but courts have also found in favor of private employers simply looking to successfully promote their industry (see Cloutier v. Costco, Bhatia v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., etc.).

All of these cases suggest that Hinkle would face an uphill battle asking for a religious accommodation, but this does not mean there is no chance. Nor does it mean that US Soccer ought to feel safe from potential litigation. While Hinkle might not win a hypothetical case, it wouldn’t be a slam dunk either way, and US Soccer might well find themselves on the hook for some kind of reasonable accommodation to the pride uniform.

US Soccer isn’t a normal employer, but that may not matter

Things get even messier when you consider the nature of the employment here, with US Soccer differing from normal employers in several potentially significant ways.

First, as a subsidiary member of FIFA—the international body governing global soccer rules—the US team is constrained by a system of rules that limit its options. And FIFA’s equipment regulations state that “The Colours used for numbering and naming purposes shall be the same for all outfield players of the same team” (IV.5.4). Given this, US Soccer cannot simply accommodate Hinkle by permitting her to wear a non-pride variant. While it is possible that they could be persuaded to waive this requirement, FIFA is hardly known for its responsiveness, and it seems likely they would simply instruct the US to abandon the pride uniforms entirely rather than create an exception.

Given these facts, it is difficult to determine what would count as a ‘reasonable accommodation.’ It’s hard to credit the idea that they should abandon the pride uniforms entirely, since these constitute an important revenue stream, not to mention a form of political speech. If a company’s message is subject to veto by a single religious objection, speech is not free. It’s conceivable that the US would at least need to demonstrate a good-faith effort to consult with the appropriate FIFA body for a religious exemption, though even here the reputational costs would not be insignificant.

Second, US Soccer is also an idiosyncratic entity in the manner of its employment. For the limited set of allocated players, the US national team is their employer. But for floaters like Hinkle, their employer remains their club team, while the national team effectively sub-contracts their services for specific engagements. For this reason, once Hinkle declined the invitation to camp last summer, one could argue that she ceased to be an employee of US Soccer. This would not end the legal question, however. Employers are bound by Title VII even for temporary or contracted workers, and if the triggering move for Hinkle’s initial departure was an illegal imposition on her religious beliefs, this would poison the entire process.

Even if Hinkle can’t force an exception, she may be able to win a claim of blacklisting

Given the facts described so far, Hinkle likely has no legal argument for eliminating pride kits, nor would she likely be able to force an exception to uniform policy when those pride kits are used. However, she may well have a cause of action if her conscientious refusal was treated as a reason to blacklist her entirely. Such action could credibly be interpreted as ‘retaliation’ for the expression of a religious belief.

Proving a blacklisting case would be difficult, but not impossible. A big part of the argument would rely on establishing that Hinkle’s omission is because of her religious objections, rather than simply being due to performance. Here, one might note that she was hardly a mainstay in the squad before all these events. Indeed, her callup last June which precipitated these events was her first in over a year. One could argue that the subsequent lack of call-ups was simply a return to normal–a question of form, not anything more complicated. This is, in fact, what Jill Ellis said last month:

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But with all due respect to coach Ellis, this claim is hard to swallow. Hinkle is probably the best left back in the US pool at the moment, a point made clear by two consecutive excellent seasons in the NWSL. One could argue about how well club play translates to the national team environment, and it’s certainly plausible that she wouldn’t simply waltz into the starting XI. But considering the lack of depth at fullback and Hinkle’s excellent performances there for the last 18 months, it’s hard to believe that her exclusion has been driven by performance on the field.

One could argue that Hinkle turning down a call-up provides evidence of unreliability, which could discourage a coach from relying on her in the future. But if the basis for her refusal is a religious objection, the principles outlined above likely prohibit the national team from treating that as evidence of unreliability. Just as US Soccer is required to treat pregnancy as a legitimate reason for absence, and is obliged to give new consideration to any player post-pregnancy, they likely are required to treat Hinkle’s unwillingness to play in a rainbow kit as a justified sabbatical and evaluate her qualities independent of that knowledge.

Team chemistry does matter, but it’s not clear how much

However, this doesn’t settle the matter. Because soccer is a team game, and Hinkle’s presence might well affect team dynamics. After all, the national team squad contains several queer players (not to mention a queer coach), and plenty of others who have expressed strong sentiments in favor of equality. Introducing Hinkle into that environment could potentially be disruptive.

And this sort of ‘chemistry’ problem creates further legal wrinkles.  Consider Wilson v. US West Communications, in which Christine Wilson “made a religious vow or promise to God that she would wear a particular anti-abortion button” featuring a picture of an aborted fetus. The court accepted her right to describe this vow as religious in nature, and acknowledged that her employer was not permitted to forbid the action entirely. However, because the pin was creating significant distress for her coworkers, the court found that her employer could demand that she cover it up while at work. In this instance, the case for a hospitable work environment for all employees was balanced against Wilson’s right of religious expression.

How would this apply in the case of the US Women’s National Team? It’s hard to know for sure. However, it seems highly unlikely that US Soccer could credibly argue that Hinkle’s presence would constitute a severe disruption without making any further investigation. On questions of chemistry, the coaching staff may be able to offer expert speculation, but mere speculation probably does not provide a sufficient shield.

Does fear of litigation explain why Hinkle was called back, and then left out again? Quite possibly

I went into this topic assuming that the legal case for Hinkle’s return to the fold was unlikely. It seemed to me that coaching decisions are generally inscrutable, and that even vague gestures toward the value of team chemistry would be sufficient to protect US Soccer. After digging into the issue, I no longer find that as persuasive.

I do not think Hinkle would win a lawsuit, necessarily, but given the facts, it seems quite plausible that she could at least initiate proceedings. Whether any such conversations took place, I can’t possibly say. But it would not be surprising, given the facts, if the administrative arm of US Soccer insisted on her return, at least into the mix if not into the full squad. This could have been worked out directly with Hinkle, but may well have simply been a preemptive act to buttress their legal shield should litigation ever be enjoined.

If one wonders why the US called Hinkle back into camp, only to leave her behind once the tournament began, fear of litigation certainly would go some way toward providing an explanation.

The NWSL Podium: Top Performances in Week 17

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.

With the U.S. Women’s National Team players at training camp for the upcoming Tournament of Nations, Week 17 of NWSL action tested the depth of many rosters. It was a week of strong defensive action, with only six goals scored across four matches and only one team scoring more than one goal. The Utah Royals earned more points against the North Carolina Courage this week, playing to a scoreless draw in Rio Tinto Stadium. The Orlando Pride had an opportunity to take over the second place slot with a win against Seattle, but Jodie Taylor destroyed their hopes with a 70th minute equalizer that gave the Reign a point on the road. The playoff race remains tight, with only eight points separating No. 8 (Utah Royals) from No. 2 (Seattle Reign).

Here is a full breakdown of this week’s matches:

Utah Royals vs. North Carolina Courage (0-0)

Orlando Pride vs. Seattle Reign (1-1)

Sky Blue vs. Portland Thorns (1-2)

Washington Spirit vs. Houston Dash (0-1)

Top Three Goalkeepers

1. Jane Campbell— Campbell earned her second shutout of the season in Sunday’s match against the Washington Spirit. Rachel Daly gave the Dash the early lead, but it was Campbell’s job to defend those points. She faced 23 shots from the Spirit offense and made nine saves. Her best save came towards the end of the match, when Ashley Hatch launched a shot from just outside the 18-yard box. Hatch was aiming for the top corner, but Campbell was able to punch the ball out of bounds. Campbell’s performance earned her the title of NWSL Player of the Week. 

2. Haley Kopmeyer— Kopmeyer earned her second start of the season due to Ashlyn Harris being with the U.S Women’s National Team ahead of the Tournament of Nations. Kopmeyer also faced her former team, the Seattle Reign, for the second time this season— although this team it was on the Pride’s pitch. Kopmeyer faced 18 shots and made six saves. In the 17th minute, the Reign took a free kick and Seattle headed the ball towards goal, but Kopmeyer forced the ball into the air before catching it. Jodie Taylor also had a good shot in the 37th minute that Kopmeyer deflected off the tips of her fingers. This earned her an NWSL Save of the Week nomination.

3. Britt Eckerstrom— Eckerstrom found herself between the posts again this weekend after Adriana Franch received a call-up to the U.S Women’s National Team. Eckerstrom came up big for the Thorns when they traveled to face Sky Blue. Despite a final score that favored the Thorns, Sky Blue had more than twice as many shots. Eckerstrom made four saves, including one in stoppage time that stopped Imani Dorsey from picking up a late equalizer. The shot came off a beautiful cross from Savannah McCaskill, who got ahead of the Portland defense. Dorsey was right in front of the net, but Eckerstrom had an impressive kick save that sent the ball back into the box. A follow-up shot was blocked by Ellie Carpenter. This save earned the two players an NWSL Save of the Week nomination.

Top Three Defenders

1. Rachel Corsie—Corsie had another stellar week in the Royals scoreless draw against the North Carolina Courage. She finished the match with four clearances, two interceptions, and one block. That block came in the 88th minute, when Heather O’Reilley played a long ball to Lynn Williams to start a North Carolina counterattack. Williams made her way into the box, but Corsie sprinted down the field and came in to clear Williams’ shot. She won the Week 17 Save of the Week honors, giving her the title for the second week in a row.

2. Becca Moros— Moros also had a great game for the Utah Royals. She had a game-high of 97 touches, won nine out of her ten duels, and made two interceptions. In the 31st minute, Lynn Williams tried to launch a North Carolina counterattack. But Moros followed the striker down the field and picked the perfect moment to strip her of the ball.

3. Toni Pressley— Pressley made the news this week for her attacking skill, but she had a solid defensive game for the Pride as well. Her goal came in the 21st minute. Chioma Ubogagu sent a ball into the box, and it bounced to the feet of Pressley. Pressley was able to keep the ball away from the defenders and use her strength launch a shot that Williams had no chance to stop. But Pressley also had an important block at the start of the second half, when Jodie Taylor was looking to equalize for the Reign. Kopmeyer came off her line to try to block Taylor, but Pressley backed her up. The ball bounced off Pressley’s back and then she cleared it out of bounds.

Top Three Attackers

1. Haley Raso— Raso opened up scoring early for the Portland Thorns in their match against Sky Blue. Christine Sinclair sent the ball forward and Raso was quicker than the Sky Blue backline. She only had to beat Dominique Richardson, which she did with a nice side-step. She put the ball past Caroline Stanley in the 4th minute to put the Thorns on the board. Raso also played a role in the second goal, just three minutes later. She pressured the defense, forcing Stanley to make a bad pass that was intercepted by Ana Crnogorcevic and sent into the back of the net. Raso finished the night with two shots and four clearances.

2. Jodie Taylor—Taylor was critical in earning her team a point on the road when they visited Orlando this weekend. She scored the Reign’s lone goal of the night in the 70th minute, finishing a cross from Nahomi Kawasumi and beating her former teammate, Haley Kopmeyer. Taylor created most of the chances for the Reign, getting six shots and four shots on goal. Her equalizer is her sixth goal of the year.

3. Imani Dorsey— Dorsey has two goals for Sky Blue in their last three matches, and is only one goal behind Carli Lloyd and Savannah McCaskill for the team leader. Dorsey’s goal against Portland came in the 27th minute, when Savannah McCaskill sent a ball through the defense and Dorsey was able to take the shot, beating Britt Eckerstrom. That same duo nearly scored the equalizer in the final moments of the match, but were denied by a brilliant stop from Eckerstrom. Dorsey finished the game with two shots and four crosses.

Interviews with Emma: Angela Salem

Posted on by RJ Allen

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

I first met Angie when she played for the Atlanta Beat in 2011. Prior to that she was with Sky Blue FC and a season in Finland. Since then: the WNY Flash, Australia league, Washington Spirit, Boston Breakers and now the Portland Thorns!

Birthdate:  

7/24/1988

Nickname from teammates:  

Ang

Hometown:

Akron, OH

Age started playing:  

Four

College/major:

Francis Marion University/Psychology

Career aspirations after soccer:  

Clinical Mental Health Counselor

Why did you pick your particular uniform #:

I have always been number 6 or 26 but both those numbers were unavailable for the first time ever for Portland so I chose 36 to keep the 6 in it

Pregame meal:

Avocado Toast with Eggs

Workout music :

Anything Hip Hop

Favorite cartoon character :

Scooby Doo

Fave movie:

Blow

Fave actress:

Sandra Bullock

Mentor (in soccer or life):

Marty Beall, my college coach

Fave charity/cause:

MZ Emmers

Life motto:  

Never Give Up

Superstitions:

Only on game days; I have to wear a head band.

Pets:

None but I eventually want a pitbull

If you were going on Amazing Race, which teammate would you want as a partner, and why?

Katherine Reynolds because she’s the ultimate competitor and closest friend.