Tag: Kailen Sheridan

Route Two Soccer: My 2019 NWSL Awards Ballot

Posted on by Backline Soccer

It’s time for some end of the year votes. Here’s my take on who should win the big awards.

MVP

  1. Sam Kerr

  2. Casey Short

  3. Christen Press

  4. Crystal Dunn

  5. Andi Sullivan

I am a longtime advocate of the ‘goals are overrated’ thesis, and have often been frustrated that the MVP award is really just a proxy for the Golden Boot award. But I don’t see how you could reasonably argue for anyone other than Sam Kerr as the 2019 NWSL MVP. She’s playing on an absolutely ridiculous level, and there’s no one else in the world who can match it right now. She participated directly in 23 goals (18 goals + 5 assists). That’s more than two entire teams scored (Sky Blue finished with 20 goals and Houston with 21). And she left for a month to go to the World Cup!

The gap between #1 and #2 is large, but the others are fairly close. In second place I have Casey Short, who deserves a huge amount of credit for the Red Stars’ best season yet (more on her below). After that I’ve got Christen Press and Crystal Dunn, both of whom missed about half the season but were so otherworldly-good during their limited time that they sneak onto the list. Dunn is the piece that transforms North Carolina from a very good team into an unbeatable one, while Press is the difference between Utah as a struggling bottom-feeder and a playoff contender. In fifth place I have Andi Sullivan, who took a massive step forward after a disappointing first season. Of all the players left off the World Cup roster, she’s probably the most likely to muscle her way into the Olympic 18 for 2020.

 

Rookie of the Year

  1. Bethany Balcer

  2. Sam Staab

  3. Gabby Seiler

This is one of the deepest rookie classes we’ve seen in a long time. Just consider that players like Tierna Davidson and Jordan DiBiasi don’t even make the top three. 

You could make a strong case for Staab as the winner here. Defending is hard, especially when you cycle out your entire defensive line and swap in a bunch of first and second year players. And Staab stepped into the role seamlessly, helping Washington produce one of the league’s stingiest defenses. But ultimately I sided with Balcer, who not only poured in goals but who also proved critical to building play and to an aggressive defensive press. 

Still, as good as both Staab and Balcer were, they only top this list because of Seiler’s season-ending injury. It’s no coincidence that Portland stumbled badly once Seiler was unavailable. She was central to orchestrating their possession. There are few players in the world with her positional awareness and passing acumen. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see a full season from her.

Goalkeeper of the Year

  1. Kailen Sheridan

  2. Aubrey Bledsoe

  3. Casey Murphy

Plenty of strong competitors here, including a few that were very good in limited minutes after spending a bunch of time away for the World Cup. I have Sheridan above the crowd for her consistency and range of abilities. She’s excellent at stopping shots, good at collecting crosses and controlling her box, and reasonably good with her feet. She struggled a bit in 2018, and understandably so given the horror show of the defense in front of her. But with a stabilized unit this year, she played with confidence and calmness, and was a big part of the reason Sky Blue conceded 18 fewer goals this season than they did last year. In fact, if you go by the advanced stats, she’s responsible for the majority of that improvement.

Defender of the Year

  1. Casey Short

  2. Megan Oyster

  3. Jaelene Hinkle

We sometimes throw superlatives around a little too easily, but Casey Short had a genuinely unbelievable year. She was voted on the Team of the Month for every single month of the season, and deservedly so. She’s always been a great defender, but took it to another level this year. She can play on either side, giving her team the flexibility to shut down whichever wing might pose a greater threat on the day. Her footwork is rock solid, her positioning good. And she even contributes a decent amount going forward. Just the complete package.

Oyster has been a stealth candidate for one of the league’s best center backs for a few years now, and this year was no different. You could make a similar case for her partner Lou Barnes, but for my money Oyster is the more important player at this point, thanks to her range and her anticipation. 

The list is rounded out with Hinkle, who is not without controversy, and who is rarely talked about as one of the key figures on this absurdly dominant North Carolina team. But she is the best attacking fullback in the league by a long way, and contributes quite a bit defensively as well.  

Coach of the Year

  1. Vlatko Andonovski

  2. Paul Riley

  3. Rory Dames

The easiest vote on the ballot – even easier than picking Kerr. What Andonovski managed this year, taking an injury-ravaged Reign team to the playoffs, is arguably the greatest coaching accomplishment the league has yet seen. As with all of Vlatko’s teams, they were defensively solid, calm in possession, and consistently hard to break down. To play that way under the best of conditions is impressive; to manage it through unprecedented roster turnover is genuinely astonishing. 

We’ve grown used to the dominance of North Carolina but it’s still worth noting how Riley has been able to keep his team firing on all cylinders. It’s always hard to come back after a record-breaking season, and they could easily have fallen to pieces once they started to struggle a bit early in the season. But he kept them moving and once everyone returned from the World Cup, they sliced through the rest of the league like a hot knife through butter. 

Rounding out the list is Rory Dames, whose Red Stars just put together their most complete season yet. I’ve written a lot about Chicago in the past few years, wondering why this collection of exceptional players couldn’t ever quite play up to their abilities. In 2019, they did it. This is now the smoothest-passing and most aesthetically-pleasing team in the league to watch, and the results have followed as well.

Team of the Season

Christen Press – Sam Kerr – Carli Lloyd

Crystal Dunn – Andi Sullivan – Kristie Mewis

Jaelene Hinkle – Megan Oyster – Becky Sauerbrunn – Casey Short

Kailen Sheridan

Most of these should be obvious from the comments above. But it’s worth noting Kristie Mewis, who is playing some of the best soccer of her life, and Carli Lloyd who continutes to shut up all her critics (myself included). Becky Sauerbrunn isn’t really Becky Sauerbrunn anymore, but she’s still great, and still somehow consistently underrated.

Second XI

Yuki Nagasato – Lynn Williams – Kristen Hamilton

Debinha – Sarah Killion – Denise O’Sullivan

Meghan Klingenberg – Abby Erceg – Julie Ertz – Tori Huster

Aubrey Bledsoe

Lots of great players here, including several that I’ve called overrated in the past. But not even I can deny how critical both Debinha and O’Sullivan have been to sustaining the North Carolina machine. I would never have guessed that Tori Huster would be in my second XI as a right back of all things, but she made a strong transition into the job. 

The three toughest calls were leaving out Christine Sinclair, Gabby Seiler, and Morgan Brian, each of whom was exceptional in limited minutes. But spots are limited and ultimately I decided to err in favor of players like Killion, O’Sullivan, and Williams who contributed a lot more bulk. 

 

Sheridan Playing Too Well for Sky Blue

Posted on by RJ Allen

You may not have noticed, because Sky Blue FC is in their unfortunately usual form, but Kailen Sheridan is playing incredibly well. The superhuman goalkeeper for Sky Blue did everything humanly possible last week against the Houston Dash to keep her team in the game, only to have her own defense produce the play that led to their second consecutive loss in 2019.

Sheridan, a Canadian international, joined Sky Blue in 2017 and has made 20-plus appearances in each season she has played. Despite the team not being incredibly competitive over that stretch, she has proven herself to be an asset and finally made her way into the international first team in 2018 following an injury to Erin McLeod.

For an example of the difficulty Sheridan faced this past weekend, the Dash had 19 total shots with 11 of them on goal. She parried all but one, which was a result of a defensive error in the final 10 minutes. Sheridan was able to stop the one-on-one attempt but her own defense deflected a Sofia Huerta shot into the net. Despite showing an ability to stop just about everything else before this, was unprepared to have to stop her own team’s chances as well.

The frustration showed on Sheridan’s face. Sky Blue has mustered little offensively and the team’s best player, Carli Lloyd, missed a penalty earlier in the game that would have at least seen Sky Blue share the points.

Sheridan has played too well to be left in obscurity like this. Continuing to play on a team that has been ravaged both on and off the field may hurt her future chances as a starting keeper for the Canadian National team.

For now she will need to continue as a force for futility and hope that Sky Blue match her intensity in the games to come to dig themselves out of a situation that started some time ago

Route Two Soccer – What Went Wrong with Sky Blue?

Posted on by RJ Allen

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It’s been a strange season for Sky Blue FC. They got off to a strong start, and spent most of the first half looking like serious playoff challengers. That came as a surprise to those who had judged them too young, too inexperienced, and too raw to make a serious push this year. And some of us continued to hold to that position well into the season. In mid-June, for example, I wrote a buy/sell/hold column and recommending selling on Sky Blue.

Immediately after that column, Sam Kerr went full superhero and the team reeled off a run of very impressive results. And while there were still obvious flaws in the squad, it wasn’t hard to see them doing enough to compensate for those problems. There was even a clear analogue between the Sky Blue of 2017 and the Western New York Flash of 2016—who also looked to be a few pieces away from the full puzzle but were able to hang onto the 4th playoff spot anyways.

But starting in the middle of July, the wheels started to come off, and the team is now in full crisis mode, having conceded 14 goals in their past three games (by comparison, North Carolina have conceded 14 goals over the whole season). Now, with the news dropping on Wednesday afternoon that head coach Christy Holly is stepping down from the job, it might be a useful time to reflect on how things got so bad.

However, before we get into the thick of it, it’s worth noting that Sky Blue are not out of the playoff race. It’s possible that was part of the motivation for Holly to make this move right now. Whether the fault rested with him (arguable, but by no means obvious), sometimes a change at the top can be useful to reset the system. And as long as they have Kerr terrorizing opposing defenses, there’s a shot. So it will certainly be interesting to watch the end of the season. They’re unlikely to fix everything that’s ailing them, but even some modest improvements might be enough. There are three key areas of concern.

Goalkeeping: Sheridan has been great, but needs a break

Kailen Sheridan has put together an extremely impressive rookie campaign. Confident, athletic, and decisive – she was one of the best keepers in the league through most of the season. But things have taken a turn for the worse, starting with the epic 5-4 match against Seattle. Sheridan took a number of hits that game and collapsed on the field at the final whistle. And the injuries have only continued to pile up. While she hasn’t missed any minutes, her range of motion is clearly suffering, and she has looked far more tentative over the past few games.

The best long-term approach would be to sit the young keeper for a few weeks to let her build back to 100%. It’s understandable that both Sheridan and the team are resistant – and it’s certainly possible that even at 70% Sheridan is the best option. But it’s far from an ideal situation.

Defense: Age, inexperience, and injuries

The defensive line is clearly the heart of the problem, and it was clearly a foreseeable problem as well. Their first choice back five at the start of the season featured four players 22-or-under and one player over 40. But it was hard to anticipate things collapsing quite this completely.

Relatively early in the season, Kelley O’Hara was brought back into the backline, which did make a huge difference. So her recent absence to injury has been a big loss. Without her movement and attacking quality in that fluid right wingback/fullback hybrid role, they’ve been far easier to pin back and much less stable.

Meanwhile, the other veteran on the backline has held off the march of time far longer than anyone could ever have expected. But time eventually defeats us all. And sadly, 2017 seems to be the year that age finally began to catch up with Christie Pearce. She started the season strong, playing as well in the first few months as we’ve seen from her in a long time. But since then, things have started to slip. The pace is still good, but it’s not quite as explosive. Her tackling is less precise. And while you’d be hard pressed to find a player with higher soccer intelligence, Pearce has finally started to look like a player whose body no longer is able to do what her brain needs it to do.

The youth movement has also hit some speed bumps. Sky Blue were lauded for their excellent draft—particularly for getting the duo of Mandy Freeman and Kayla Mills—and early in the season there were some positive returns. Freeman missed six weeks with injury, and even when healthy has suffered from all the expected problems that come with youth. The talent is clearly there, and she will be a rock in their defense for a long time, but she has not been the reliable presence that they’ve needed. Mills has almost limitless potential, but so far has been unable to translate that talent into consistent match performances. They’ve gotten some solid performances from Erica Skroski, but even she has been less dependable than she was last year—perhaps due to constantly being slotted into new positions with new obligations as much as anything else.

It should come as no surprise that young players would stumble, or that they would fade as the season progressed. The professional game is tougher and longer than their other experiences. It would have been surprising if they hadn’t faded a bit. That’s simply one of the dangers of building on youth. And all things considered, blooding young players, and hoping that they might be able to get you through the season probably wasn’t a terrible gamble. If they manage it, you hit the peak of your success cycle earlier than expected. If not … well, this wasn’t supposed to be a playoff team anyways. But with more experience, they might be ready to truly compete by 2018.

And that’s still a possibility. But it’s hard to look at the past few weeks and see a team building toward the future. With makeshift defenders filling in and struggling mightily to cope with expectations, Sky Blue has looked much more like a team on a downward slope than the reverse.

20/20 is perfect, of course, but it’s hard to look at the team right now and not think that they missed a chance to pick up a veteran defender at some point who could help plug some of these gaps. As it is, they’ve got the group that they’ve got. And it’s an open question whether they’ll be able to sort things out enough to at least close down the spigot of goals.

Midfield: Not enough ball-winning, not enough creativity

Team defensive breakdowns are rarely just the fault of the defense. And that’s certainly the case with Sky Blue this year. While the midfield unit is reasonably solid on paper, at times they’ve looked to be a bit less than the sum of their parts.

Look at the roster and you’ll see creative players, players with pace, players who can dribble, players who can shoot. But they’ve had a very difficult time finding an appropriate balance. And a lot of that has to do with the pairing in the middle: Sarah Killion and Raquel Rodriguez. When they’re both clicking, that can be a very successful combination. They’re similar players—all-around talents who can do a defensive job, hold possession, and make attacking runs. But when things aren’t working, it can break down pretty badly. They both tend to play narrow, and neither has the sort of defensive solidity that you’d want from a lock-down holding midfielder. As a result, Sky Blue haven’t really been able to close down the opposition in the midfield with a good ball-winner, nor have they been able to consistently hold possession once they do get the ball.

Combine those two with a rotating cast of often-good-but-inconsistent players like Nikki Stanton, Daphne Corboz, Taylor Lytle, and Madison Tiernan and the result is precisely what you’d expect: a team that can beat anyone on their day but that struggles to maintain much coherence from week to week.

There is a lot of talent here, and during the first part of the season, the mixing-and-matching worked out well enough. But one of the major themes of the past month has been the consistent breakdown of the midfield. Players have rotated in and out and there hasn’t been much coherence in the process.  Despite the presence of some players with a lot of creative potential (Corboz in particular), they simply haven’t been able to build the structure necessary to let that creativity flourish.

Who is to blame? And where do they go from here?

Under conditions like these, you certainly want to put some of the blame on the coach—whose job it is to develop a system into which players can fit without needing to reinvent the wheel each game. And whose responsibility it was to build a roster that could last over the long haul.

But it’s also important to remember the baseline that this team was working from: “young, developing, probably not ready yet.” So it’s important not to overstate the problems here.

Sky Blue overachieved at the start of the season, and that may have created some rising expectations. But all things considered, they’re right about where they ‘should’ be at the moment. Considering the serious injuries they’ve sustained, I would still rate their performance over the whole season as a modest coaching success.

It’s possible that Holly felt like he had taken the team as far as they could go under him, and he wanted to give them a chance to make the final playoff push with someone else. Perhaps the recent problems generated tension that made his position unsustainable. Perhaps there are other reasons that have little or nothing to do with the performance on the pitch.

But whatever the motivations for the change this week, taking a broad perspective and thinking about his full tenure on the job, there is plenty for Holly to be proud of. Whether or not Sky Blue is able to arrest their decline and make the playoffs this year, they are on far more stable ground than they were when he took on the job.

Kailen Sheridan: Not Your Average Rookie

Posted on by RJ Allen

Fact: Kailen Sheridan doesn’t play like a rookie goalkeeper.

Watching her play, talking to her, if I didn’t already know this was her first season in the league, I never would have guessed it. The Canadian International is just 21 years old and has 14 games under her but yet she is playing with a confidence that belies her years and stands up on the pitch. Her 53 saves are enough to put her in second in this season’s goalkeeper standings in terms of saves, just three behind Seattle’s Haley Kopmeyer.  

As the 23rd pick in the 2017 draft, every team in the league had a shot to take her, but it was Sky Blue that handed her a scarf. Though her success this year might have as much to do with her talent as landing with the right team and having the players around her she does, she came in with considerable experience under her belt. Still, being chosen by Sky Blue offers her the chance to grow, to work with the greatest defender in this nation’s history Christie Pearce, the sophomore defender (and remarkably composed) Erica Skroski, jack-of-all-trades USWNT veteran Kelley O’Hara, and a pair of backline rookies, Mandy Freeman and Kayla Mills. 

Sheridan is putting herself not only in the conversation for Rookie of the Year but her play each week is flat-out making a case to consider her for Goalkeeper of the Year as well. 

There are few things in the world of soccer that are better than a goalkeeper who can make a little magic happen between the pipes, but one of them is getting to interview someone who’s been making as much magic as Sheridan.

Backline Soccer (BS): So, Canadian goalkeepers. Best goalkeeping crew in the world, I’ve been saying this for about eight weeks straight on our podcast (The Scouting Report), so I figured if I’m here, I have to bring it up. Is it something in the water up there? You guys just born with tattoos and goalkeeping superpowers in the great white north now? 

Kailen Sheridan: Yeah, obviously. [Laughs] No, I mean we definitely have some good programs. We’re all from different areas. I think we’re kind of a good group because there’s an ability to push each other, but we’re also really good friends. Like they’re somebody that I hang out with. Steph was just down in Jersey the other day and I went and saw her. We hung out at the beach. It’s a level of confidence but it’s also like a level of friendship that you can know that you’re gunning for each other’s spot but at the same time, I’m gonna go and hang out with you later. 

BS: That seems to be something that not every country has had historically. 

Sheridan: No. 

BS: Goalkeepers especially tend to–

Sheridan: It’s a competitive position. There’s only one of us that can ever play. You don’t get subbed very often, and you kind of own that spot once you get it. So, it’s more of, let’s hold onto it or you’ve gotta work to earn it. 

BS: How would you feel your rookie season’s going? You know, you’re halfway through it, feel good?

Sheridan: Yeah, it’s been great. I really enjoy being at Sky Blue. I’m really happy and lucky to have been chosen to come here and earn the spot that I have. And I think that it’s been a good start and I think we have a lot more to go. And there’s definitely a lot of ground that we have to make up. We’ve made a lot of mistakes, but at the same time, they’re mistakes that we all know that we can fix. So I think that the beginning’s been great but I’m looking more forward to the end of the season. 

BS: There was a rumor, that I’m sure you will confirm, that you yelled at Christie Pearce to do what a centerback should do during a game, and people were very amused about that. Is that something that, as a rookie, you’re becoming more confident, you’re directing more?

Sheridan: Definitely. Christie is such an amazing person though, that she kind of calls it upon us to call her out on those things. She’s definitely going to be there for us and call us all out because that’s her job. She has the experience and the mindset to be able to do that, but if we can call her out and make her the better player, then she’s the first person to be like “thanks for calling me out, I appreciate that,” you know? She’s a very humble person, and that’s somebody that’s just the best kind of person to work with. I’m lucky she’s allowing me to help her as she’s helping me. 

BS: Your national team coach has said some things about you guys being number 1 one day. Is that something that you really do think about, that one day you want to sort of knock– I mean you’d have to get through France, and Germany, and the US, which is doable with how the US has been lately–is that something that you think about? Or is it just sort of play the game and the points will be what the points are?

Sheridan: No, definitely that’s something we’re all working towards. I think as a national team, that each of us has that in our mind at all times, that number 1 is where we’re going. Number 1 is where we want to be, and anything below that is not good enough. So as we’re all in our home environments here, it’s always something that’s in the back of our mind. That’s what we’re training for ultimately. You know, NWSL is really important but at the same time, once this is over, we go right into camp and we start gunning for that number 1 spot again. 

BS: Is that something that’s nice? You’re not in your home country, but if they do have a camp you’re not traveling to France or Germany or wherever? 

Sheridan: Yeah, it’s definitely helpful. It definitely helps with the travel period because sometimes we do have to go to Europe so that’s hard. But it does allow us an availability to do national staff as well, being able to contact them so easily, and go home when we want to go home, and being able to get into camp when it’s time to go. 

BS: One final question. You have Christine Sinclair as your country captain and Christie Pearce as your club. Did you win the lotto? 

Sheridan: I definitely did there. I got two amazing role models. Very different personalities, very different people, and very different strengths. I think that I’m lucky because I get the difference in the two of them and I have both of them as outlets. I learn a lot from each of them. I mean Christie day-to-day, and Sinc every time I go into camp. And you know she’s still there every time I play Portland, she’s got something to say to me. So that’s always fun. But I did hit the lottery in a way. 

Draft Class Magic: Late Round Picks that Paid Off

Posted on by RJ Allen

The NWSL draft has brought some truly outstanding players into the league from the world of college soccer: Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle, both Mewis sisters, the list of first round picks could go on and on.

But past the second round the chances of success can fade. I’ve gone back as far as the very first draft in 2013 to pick out my top 10 picks from the 3rd or 4th rounds, to see who went late and paid off for their clubs.

Each of the ten I picked are starters (at least are when both ACLs are healthy), and have made major impacts for their clubs since coming on board.

2015 – 19th Overall Pick – Caprice Dydasco – Washington Spirit

Dydasco was the very first pick on the third round of the 2015 NWSL draft. While she only played 6 games, with 1 start, in 2015 it was 2016 where she really started to shine. With 12 appearances, all starts, the speedy defender proved her worth to the Spirit, helping take them to the NWSL championship game. While she ended up with a torn ACL before half time, she has made a quick recovery and already returned to the pitch in 2017, which will surely be a delight for Spirit fans far and wide.

2015 – 21st Overall Pick – Sabrina D’Angelo – Western New York Flash

Only two goalkeepers were taken in the 2015 draft. FC Kansas City selected Katelyn Rowland with the 17th pick, which was followed by the Flash taking D’Angelo four spots later. While the two would end up as teammates during the Flash’s 2016 championship run, it is D’Angelo who has come out on top in terms of playing time and accolades. The Canadian international has been quite good since coming in to the NWSL. And no one can forget her 3 PK saves during the title game in 2016. 

2016 – 23rd Overall Pick – Erica Skroski – Sky Blue FC

In 2016 Sky Blue took four players, each still on the current roster. Their third pick was used to snag Rutgers defender Erica Skroski, who made an immediate impact on the Sky Blue starting XI. Her speed, calmness under pressure, and willingness to put in the work have made her a mainstay in a young Sky Blue backline, where she has brought maturity far beyond what most second year players can find.  Some minor injury worries have limited her time somewhat this year, but once she is back to 100%, her tough defending will once again be a rock in that back four.

2017 – 23rd Overall Pick – Kailen Sheridan- Sky Blue FC

Goalkeepers always go late. It’s a fact of the draft. But if early returns are any indication, a few coaches might have wanted to take a bigger risk in 2017. Sheridan won the starting job right out of the gate for Sky Blue and hasn’t looked back since. Her performances seem to only get better week to week. While some young goalkeepers have struggled coming into the league in the past it seems that Sheridan is thriving under the pressure.

2013 – 24th Overall Pick – Amber Brooks – Portland Thorns FC

Amber Brooks is one of those players who sometimes struggles to find playing time, despite performing extremely well whenever she actually gets the chance to take regular minutes. She is smart on the ball, able to play a hard position, holding mid, well and has a rocket of a shot when she takes it. It is against all reason that Brooks has not been in the USWNT picture since a brief stint in 2013.

2013 – 25th Overall Pick – Jen Hoy – Chicago Red Stars

Jen Hoy is often the odd woman out for Chicago when people discuss their many attacking options. And there are certainly plenty of other names to focus on there. But while she might not have the panache of Press or the outright speed of Huerta, Hoy has some beautiful footwork, great vision and had put in work over her time on the Red Stars. 2015 may serve as her high water mark with 1110 minutes played over 18 matches, with 4 goals scored but I think given the chance she has more in the tank.

2014 – 25th Overall Pick – Emily Menges – Portland Thorns FC

Over the last 3 years, Menges has been one of the best defenders in the NWSL. She’s the kind of player who rarely gets the recognition she deserves–solid no-nonsense defenders are often underappreciated.  Always solid, she has developed one of the most sophisticated readings of the game, and her defending has only grown over the years.

2016 – 27th Overall Pick – Abby Smith – Boston Breakers

Another goalkeeper, another late round gem. Of the 5 goalkeepers who were selected in the 2016 NWSL draft Smith is the only one starting games. Lindsey Luke, Caroline Casey, Madalyn Schiffel, Britt Eckerstrom have all found themselves on NWSL rosters as backups, while Smith (when not fighting off nasty injuries) is the clear #1 in Boston. Her play has even gotten attention from the USWNT, as she was called into the US roster for the recent friendlies in Norway and Sweden Smith was on hand. Though she watched both games from the bench it was still a deserved call up. 

2015 – 30th Overall Pick – Whitney Church – Washington Spirit

29 players had their names called before Whitney Church in 2015, nine of them defenders. And while you might not argue with Gilliland or Dahlkemper going before her it is clear that Washington got a bargain when they took Church 30th overall. Speed has never been Church’s primary feature but her brains on the pitch and her skill in the air have kept her in the Spirit’s lineup every game so far in 2017.

2013 – 31st Overall Pick – Haley Kopmeyer – Seattle Reign FC

Maybe the greatest late round draft pick of all time. Haley Kopmeyer joined a Seattle team already populated by the likes of Michelle Betos and Hope Solo and outlasted both of them. She joined in 2013 as a clear 3rd choice, but has taken the time spent as a backup to craft and hone her trade, growing by leaps and bounds into a top 3 goalkeeper this year. Her growth is in no small part to the Reign’s commitment to develop her and to Hope Solo’s mentorship of her during her time on the team. From second-to-last to one of the best isn’t too shabby.

A Conversation on Goalkeeping: The Top 5 NWSL Keepers of the First Third

Posted on by RJ Allen

Goalkeeping is hard. Really hard. And 8 weeks into the season Jordan and I picked out the five NWSL goalkeepers we think have done the best job of doing a hard thing well.

We’re not saying they have been perfect. No goalkeeper ever is over this many games. But these five, we feel, have really stood out.

Number 5 – Nicole Barnhart – FC Kansas City

RJ Allen:

I know some of you might be tuning your pitch forks because Barnie is so low. But hear us out.

Jordan Small:

So here we have Barnie. Can we think of a more consistent goalkeeper over the last five years? This weekend she made her 300th career save. That should speak for itself.

She also has the benefit of having a really great defense in front of her which definitely helps.

RJ Allen:

Averbush and Sauerbrunn might be the best centerback pairing in the NWSL right now. And Barnie really has benefited from having them in front of her. Not her fault but it does knock her a bit down the list. She just hasn’t had as much to do.

Jordan Small:

I think when you look at the other goalkeepers in the league that won’t make our list, it makes a lot of sense where she ended up. She’s just the first one up on a great list of five.

RJ Allen:

She really is great at organizing her backline. Which, when you have who she has on her line might sound easier. But still experienced players sometimes need a firm hand too.

Jordan Small:

That has always been one of her best qualities. Great leader back there.

RJ Allen:

One of the very few downsides is she has lost about 1/4 of the step in the last year or two. And sometimes that does show when she’s coming out for a ball or trying to get a shot. She’ll get a glove on it but not make a grab like she could before. But Father Time pulls no punches.

Jordan Small:

And I think that is what makes her great performances even better. She is just that skilled. I hope to see her for another few years because she is so much fun to watch.

RJ Allen:

She really is fun to watch. And like you said, hitting that 300 saves mark is pretty amazing.

Jordan Small:

She’s obviously doing something right.

#4 – Abby Smith – Boston Breakers

RJ Allen:

The is one of the moves on our list. We tackled the top 10 in our very first look at the goalkeepers. Smith was 6th on our first list. Why the move up, Jordan?

Jordan Small:

Because she is just getting better and better each week. She is making tough saves look easy which is the sign of a great goalkeeper. She has really proven that she has recovered from her injury. And now she has a much deserved call up to the US squad for her efforts.

RJ Allen:

I was really happy to see her called up to the senior team. We don’t know if she will be playing at all against Norway or Sweden but just being on the trip I think is a great reward for her level of play.

Jordan Small:

I think she has been the best goalkeeper in the US system so far this season so I hope she gets at least a few minutes.

RJ Allen:

I really do agree with you on that. We’ll talk about another American later on but they haven’t gotten a sniff at from either the U teams or the full NT. With Smith I think she does have a chance to challenge for a spot.

Jordan Small:

Unlike Barnie, she really isn’t working with a great backline so I think she should be given a lot of credit. I mean who would have thought that Boston would have been able to shutout a team like Seattle? Smith deserves a lot of recognition for her efforts so far this year.

RJ Allen:

She is already better than her first game at knowing when to hold back and knowing when to challenge. That’s a lot of improvement in a pretty short window.

Jordan Small:

Her ability to read the game is amazing. And her distribution is one of the best in the league which is a really underrated skill.

RJ Allen:

If she’s like this now I can’t wait to see what some NT training and more games does to her game.

Jordan Small:

She can only get better from here.

#3 – Kailen Sheridan – Sky Blue FC

RJ Allen:

This is the biggest jump on our list. From #8 to #3. We have been talking about this update for a few weeks and every time we do we seem to move Sheridan higher and higher.

Jordan Small:

We even moved her higher today. I’ve been incredibly surprised with her play. Back when we originally did this, we had her as the third-ranked Canadian goalkeeper. Over the past few weeks, I really see her competing for that second spot and maybe even the first because I think she has played better than D’Angelo as of late.

RJ Allen:

I’ve been to the last three Sky Blue home games and it seems like at each game she is just leaps and bounds better than the game before. She hasn’t been perfect but I have to keep reminding myself she is a rookie. She is playing like someone who has no fear.

Jordan Small:

I think the midweek game vs. North Carolina and then the Orlando game just after that were her two best games. She was playing out of her mind in both of those games. I think she has put in a serious case for Rookie of the Year. She has been that good so far.

RJ Allen:

Honestly I am really thinking she should be in the three nominations for Goalkeeper of the Year. Not that Rookie of the Year isn’t important, it is, but I think she has moved past the rookie designation and just been flat out one of the best in her position.

Jordan Small:

I totally agree with that. I really think our top three all have great cases for Goalkeeper of the Year. It’s been an incredible year for goalkeepers.

RJ Allen:

One other thing I think it’s worth taking note of for Sheridan. Her first choice backline? Two rookies, a sophomore and the GOAT of defending. Mandy Freeman and Kayla Mills are both rookies, Erica Skroski is a second-year player, though Christie Pearce’s resume couldn’t fit on a foot of parchment at 10 point font.

Jordan Small:

I’ve mentioned this on The Scouting Report many times, Christie Pearce has helped so much. I would take just about anyone on my backline if that meant having Pearce back there. A goalkeeper’s dream, especially a rookie goalkeeper.

RJ Allen:

You can tell Sheridan is learning from her which is great to see. And Sheridan has been more vocal and taking more more of the duties that Pearce had taken on herself that should be on the goalkeeper at the start of the season. It’s really one of the best mentorships in the league.

#2 – Stephanie Labbe – Washington Spirit

RJ Allen:

Here is where I turn everything over to Jordan and just let her tell you why Steph Labbé is a rock star.

Jordan Small:

Where do I even begin? First, I want to take a saying from our good friend Sandra and just say that Steph Labbé, we do not deserve you.

She picked up her first shutout of the year this past weekend after making eight saves. Each and every week it seems as if she has a save that could be a Save of the Week candidate. She does not have the greatest backline but somehow she still it keeping them in games. Aside from the week against Seattle, she has been a straight up beast.

RJ Allen:

It’s like she has decided that she is going to keep Washington from being blown out each and every game through sheer force of will.

Jordan Small:

And when we talk to her after the game, it seems that way too. It was nice to see her hard work pay off and to finally have a happy Labbé after a game. Can’t wait to see her play with Canada this week.

RJ Allen:

I say it on The Scouting Report all the time. Canada right now has the best cabal of goalkeepers in the world. It’s really amazing how deep they are and Labbé is leading the way for them.

Jordan Small:

Absolutely. If I’m John Herdman, I’ve got to be loving life right now.

RJ Allen:

I do wonder if there does come a point she just can’t keep up with Washington’s bad backline. That’s a lot of saves, a lot of amazing saves too, she has to make every week. Does there come a point she hurts herself trying to save them or just gets really lit up?

Jordan Small:

She is in such great shape, I hope that helps her. I never want to think about players getting hurt.

RJ Allen:

No, that’s never a fun place to go to. But as long as she keeps playing like she does Washington has a shot to get a few wins under their belt after the FIFA break.

Jordan Small:

I sure hope so. I think the shutout was good for everyone’s confidence.

#1 – Haley Kopmeyer – Seattle Reign

RJ Allen:

Who else but Kopmeyer?

Jordan Small:

Where do you even start with Kopmeyer? She has been amazing all year. I mean looking at the game vs. Chicago this weekend, it seemed as if all the tweets from Seattle were about saves from Kop. The girl is having herself a year. She is definitely embracing this starter gig.

RJ Allen:

She has 38 saves this year according to the NWSL stats. She had 34 all of 2016 with her 11 games. So already she is putting in more work with a backline that, frankly, should be better than how they are playing.

Jordan Small:

You and I both would love to see her with the NT but for some reason it just isn’t happening. It’s frustrating.

RJ Allen:

It is. She has more than proved at this point that she has room for growth. She has the size, frankly something the US hasn’t always had on their side, she reads the game beautifully, she is vocal, she is athletic but doesn’t overcompensate with it. I don’t understand the lack of attention.

Jordan Small:

And she learned from the best.

I just hope she keeps proving Jill Ellis wrong and continues to get better.

RJ Allen:

I really think we haven’t seen her best soccer yet. Which with how she is playing is something big to say.

Jordan Small:

There are a few areas that I think she can improve on and if she does, it’ll be scary for other teams in the league.

Final Thoughts

RJ Allen:

We’ve talked about our top five, Jordan, any final thoughts as we look back at the first 8 weeks of the 2017 NWSL season?

Jordan Small: 

A cool stat that I found today is that 11 different goalkeepers have shutouts this season. I love great goalkeeping and I love seeing goalkeepers get clean sheets. It has been really exciting so far.

RJ Allen:

I really think the goalkeeping in the league has taken a giant step forward this season. Each game now I’m expecting goalkeepers to have big games. And often times I’m not disappointed.

Jordan Small: 

Even the goalkeepers that struggled at the beginning of the season have improved. That is great for the league.

RJ Allen:

It really is.

So, what do you say? Revisit the wonders of goalkeeping say around week 16?

Jordan Small: 

If it was anything like the first 8 weeks, it should be fun!

Thank you everyone for reading. You can catch Jordan and I talking about the great goalkeeping in the league and more every Monday at 8 pm ET on YouTube. The feed is also up on iTunes, Podbean and Spreaker.