Tag: North Carolina Courage

The North Carolina Courage have built a dynasty. How did they do it?

Posted on by Backline Soccer

In 2018 the North Carolina Courage were the most dominant team in the history of American women’s soccer. For obvious reasons, they were clear favorites to retain the title coming into 2019. But after a 2-1 loss to Reign FC at the end of May, they were stuck on a mere nine points from their opening seven games. And things weren’t exactly looking up, since they would be forced to spend the next six weeks without most of their best players, who would all be busy at the World Cup in France.

How quickly things change.

In fact, the Courage reeled 15 wins in their final 19 matches in the season, including a 4-1 win in the semifinals over the Reign and a 4-0 demolishment of the Chicago Red Stars in the final on Sunday. That victory secured a second straight NWSL title, and third in four years. In their four playoff games in the last two years, they’ve scored a combined 13 goals while conceding just one. 

It’s now time to call this team the first true dynasty in the history of American professional women’s soccer. That’s no slight against some of the other great teams from the past—the 2014-2015 Seattle Reign and FCKC teams, the WPS-era FC Gold Pride, and a number of WUSA teams able to draw from the very best players in the world. Those teams were all great, but none accomplished anything close to what the Courage have achieved.

So how did it happen?

The first part of the story isn’t about the Courage per se. It’s simply the fact that the NWSL has survived long enough to make a dynasty possible. WUSA and WPS each folded after three years. Three years into the NWSL, the Courage didn’t exist yet. But their prior incarnation (the Western New York Flash) had managed an appearance in the debut final before slinking to successive 7th place finishes in 2014 and 2015. Hardly the sign of an incipient dynasty.

But the tide was already ready to turn, thanks to some truly inspired draft picks, and an even more inspired coaching change. We’ve heard plenty about the ridiculous 2015 draft class, which netted the Flash:

  • Abby Dahlkemper—now one of the best center backs in the world
  • Sam Mewis—now one of the best midfielders in the world
  • Lynn Williams—now one of the best forwards in the world
  • Jaelene Hinkle—now one of the best fullbacks in the world

It was a truly outrageous haul. Those four players have been the centerpiece of this club’s incredible run. But it’s not enough to simply draft talented players. You have to develop them, shape them, and get them to play together. And that’s exactly what Paul Riley has done.

Riley is infamous for his obsession with narrative—particularly his insistence on calling his team ‘underdogs’ even as they bulldoze over all opposition, and his #NoFinishLine branding—but there is a powerful truth that underlines those clichés. Riley is a good coach in every respect, but his genius is in cultivating a team dynamic that earns total buy-in from everyone. That’s incredibly difficult to do, and even harder to maintain. And it’s probably the key thing that has allowed his team to sustain their excellence.

Everyone knows that you can build team cohesion by using an ‘us v. them’ dynamic. That’s the easy part. But those sort of teams are unsustainable, because you can’t sustain an antagonistic approach indefinitely. People get tired, the buy-in fades, and the team falls apart. Riley’s genius has been to modulate the intensity—never letting up, but also never pushing his team over the brink.

His team has remained dogged and hard-working, even as they took over the league. They’ve preserved their physical dominance, even as they have improved technically by leaps and bounds. Most importantly, they’ve remained happy warriors even in the face of relentless pressure.

Riley said repeatedly over the championship weekend that his team was in the best physical shape he’d ever seen them. At the pre-game press conference he said “this is the freshest I’ve seen our team in the last four years.”  On its face, this seems unbelievable. It’s been a long season, and plenty of his players are clearly ready for a break. But if you watch them play…it suddenly feels believable. Everyone else may struggle with the minutes, but North Carolina on Sunday looked eager and ready.

Facing a truly excellent Chicago team, the Courage didn’t blink once. They simply overran them, imposing their style and making life absolutely impossible for the Red Stars. Chicago features one of the most technical midfields the league has ever seen, with world class ball-handlers like Morgan Brian, Danielle Colaprico, and Vanessa DiBernardo. They were absolutely nowhere in the final. Every time Chicago touched the ball, multiple Courage players swarmed around them. Every pass that was anything less than perfect was intercepted. Every loose ball was chased down by North Carolina. Every 50-50 challenge went in their favor. 

How does Riley keep his players amped to this level? According to Jess McDonald on the Friday before the match, the key is that “he makes you comfortable with being uncomfortable.” He creates an environment in which players can feel consistently challenged without ever feeling overwhelmed. And it creates a serious buy-in. In his post-game press conference Riley referenced the idea of “keeping our foot on the accelerator.” But this is language you hear repeatedly from the players. 

And you can see the results across the board. North Carolina is a team filled with superstars, but they don’t think of themselves that way. And that’s at least partly because they have almost all become superstars primarily through their collective growth and development. They view themselves as world class players not as individuals but as members of a team. The quartet drafted in 2015 were all great at the time. But the league is full of first round picks who never built on their potential. The unique thing about North Carolina under Riley is how everyone consistently improves, and in doing so helps the rest of their team improve as well.

Consider the MVP of the final—Debinha. When she joined the team in 2017, her attacking potential was obvious for all to see. But she was anything but a complete player. She was casual with possession and offered nothing defensively. As Riley put it after the final: “The first couple months she didn’t fancy playing both sides of the ball, and that didn’t work for me…but she took ownership and accountability for herself. You can see today…she’s a complete player.” That journey from mercurial talent to one of the best in the world is a perfect encapsulation of this team.

Then there’s McCall Zerboni. For years, she seemed like the quintessential average player. Useful, certainly. You can always use a player willing to get stuck in where necessary, and with just enough skill on the ball to not hurt you in possession. But to Riley she was one of the best players in the league. And through their work together, she proved to the world that he was right.  

Jess McDonald was a great goal-scorer and a valuable player on plenty of teams before joining the Flash. But she had never really settled anywhere despite her ability. On joining the team, she started adding new pieces to her game. Her partnership with Lynn Williams has been consistent and consistently impressive over the past four years. Not just for the goals, but for the intelligent movement, the unlocking of space, the clever passing.

Crystal Dunn was one of the best players in the world long before joining the squad, earning the league’s MVP award in 2015. But he game has taken another step forward with the Courage. She’s been, by far, the most dangerous player in the league over the past two years, largely because the rest of the team gives her an incredible palette to work with. Her movement off the ball is now among the best in the world, and her positional awareness has gone off the charts.

Abby Erceg went from a middling player in Chicago to one of the best defenders in the world under Riley. Kristen Hamilton went from the last player selected in the draft to an MVP candidate. Heather O’Reilly spent much of the summer reporting on the World Cup from France, only to slide back into the job of starting right back for the final month.

And finally there’s Denise O’Sullivan was waived by the unhappy Houston Dash. Not traded, just waived for nothing. But Riley saw her potential and brought her into the team. She’s now turned into one of the best 6s in the league, seemingly out of sheer determination and will. And that’s been especially important because 2019 saw a significant step down from McCall Zerboni. For another team that would be a disaster. But the Courage didn’t even blink an eye. Zerboni’s minutes declined, allowing her to settle into a more restrained role, while O’Sullivan stepped seamlessly into the job. It’s all been a bit of a surprise, even to O’Sullivan herself. In her own words, on Friday: “A few years ago I wouldn’t have seen myself as a #6 at all. But now I really enjoy it. Helps that I’m playing next to Sam Mewis.”

And that’s one last key theme with this team. Every player is made better by being surrounded by other players also being pushed to exceed their limits. Because ultimately, there is never a single author when it comes to this sort of success. Riley surely deserves a lot of credit, as do the players, and the management. As Dan Lauletta noted in his recent column on this subject, this is about the culture of an entire organization.

The breadth and depth of this team was made crystal clear in the way they created chances in the final. Three of the four goals came from putting their opponent under pressure and just refusing to give up. The fourth came from a genius long ball and a beautiful finish. They can score messy goals and beautiful ones. They can create chances from nothing, and can build play through long stretches. And every single player on the team is dangerous. In the final, all 10 starters were credited with at least one chance created, but none created more than two. That’s full spectrum dominance.

The 2018 Courage season was the greatest collective performance in the history of professional women’s soccer in this country. But in some ways their 2019 season was even more impressive. To come back and defend their title, especially after struggling a bit, demonstrates their resilience and development. And shows that the Courage dynasty is probably here to stay for quite a while.

Good luck to everyone else!

Route Two Soccer: Two key tactical questions for the NWSL Final

Posted on by Backline Soccer

The North Carolina Courage are in the midst of a dynasty. Despite some early season struggles, they won the Shield again this year, finishing with a goal difference of +31, miles better than anyone else. Last year they obliterated all opposition and took home the title in resounding fashion. They also made the final in 2017, losing narrowly to Portland, and won back in 2016 (as the Western New York Flash). That makes this their fourth straight finals appearance. Their coach may continue to insist to the contrary, but they are the clear favorites to win on Sunday.

The Chicago Red Stars have made the playoffs five straight years, but only won their first playoff match last weekend. They are playing the best soccer they ever produced, with a rock solid backline, one of the best midfields in the world, and two absolutely world-class forwards working in tandem. They also dominated North Carolina in the regular season results, taking seven of nine available points from the champions.

However, there are several asterisks on that record. North Carolina dominated the first game, while in the second Chicago took advantage of a World Cup-ravaged NC lineup, and were lucky to face a goalkeeper, Katelyn Rowland, in impossibly bad form, scoring on their only three shots on goal. The mid-July showdown, however, really was an impressive performance and a genuine indicator of Chicago’s potential to not merely scrounge a result against Carolina but to actually outplay them.

Whether they will repeat that performance on Sunday is unknown, of course, but I see two key questions that help to define their chances.

Can Chicago use width to open up space for an attack?

North Carolina has not varied their basic tactical setup much in the past several years. They almost always set up in a 4222 ‘box’ system, with two strikers, two attacking midfielders, and two deeper-lying midfielders who share attacking and defensive duties. It’s certainly not a perfect system, but it’s been remarkably resilient. The biggest weakness of this approach is the lack of midfield width. All four players in the midfield line are free to roam a bit, but generally take up central roles. And if they do drift wide, they risk exposing holes in the vacated middle.

However, very few teams have found a way to exploit this area, for three reasons.

First, the combination of athleticism and intelligence of North Carolina’s midfield quarter is unmatched in the league. They move so quickly to collapse on weak points that it’s the rare opponent who finds the time to take advantage.

Second, the Courage’s incredible attacking array also goes a long way to securing their defensive unit. Most teams are too worried about buttressing their defense against the all-out Carolina assault to even think about how to spring a counter.

Third, North Carolina has the best attacking fullbacks in the league, severely reducing the need for wide attackers in the midfield. The key here is left back Jaelene Hinkle who regularly is among the league leaders in assists and chances created, and has been no different this year, finishing third in the league this year with six assists. But her teammate Merritt Mathias contributed quite a lot too, with five assists of her own from the right. It looked like the Courage might struggle a bit once Mathias went down with an ACL tear last month, but they’ve barely missed a beat thanks to makeshift right back Heather O’Reilly (which isn’t really that surprising, given her lengthy and stellar career in more advanced roles).

All that said, if North Carolina has a weakness to be attacked, it’s here. The key is to target the space behind the fullbacks with precision strikes, dragging central players out wide and opening up space in the middle for the forwards to create a bit. This has the added benefit of putting the Courage’s excellent center back pairing of Abby Dahlkemper and Abby Erceg under pressure. Both are superb defenders, but both are also at their weakest when asked to range outside their box. Dahlkemper in particular is susceptible to getting turned out wide.

That left side, with Dahlkemper and O’Reilly, is probably the best zone to attack. And Chicago is uniquely well set up to take advantage, with an in-form Yuki Nagasato able to link up with excellent passers like Vanessa DiBernardo and Morgan Brian in the midfield. And obviously there is no player in the league who is more capable of converting half-chances into goals than Sam Kerr.

The other reason to think favorably about Chicago’s potential to attack in this fashion is the speed with which they can move from deep possession to a shot. This is important because any dawdling gives North Carolina’s attackers time to recover and begin aggressively pressuring those in possession, usually breaking up the threat or even retaking possession through the counter-press.

There are no certainties against North Carolina. They are versatile, flexible, and incredibly fit. Beating them requires good ideas and good execution. But if they are going to be defeated, it makes sense to target their weaknesses, and Chicago is well designed to do so.

How will Chicago use Julie Ertz?

Chicago made a big shift in early September, dropping Julie Ertz from the midfield to the backline. This was a big move for two reasons. First, it allowed them to replace the struggling Katie Naughton with one of the world’s best defenders, patching up the one weak hole in what is otherwise the league’s most solid backline. Second, it gave them the freedom to establish a more progressive and possession-driven style of play.

Ertz is a great all-around player but her weakest skills are in possession and passing. But those are only relative weaknesses. Compared to the average central midfielder, she’s not a great passer. But compared to the average center back, she is. By moving her back, therefore, Chicago improved their passing quality in two critical positions. With Ertz and Davidson in the center of their defense, they have two high-skill players for the position, who can then combine with Danielle Colaprico and Morgan Brian—arguably the most technical central midfield pairing in the league.

This isn’t a pure win-win situation. By removing Ertz from the midfield, Chicago has exposed themselves more in the center of the park. Ertz is among the best ball-winners in the world, but at center back she is far more constrained and can’t leap into nearly as many tackles. Brian and Colaprico are both good defensive players, but their skills are more in shepherding play by controlling space and less in directly challenging the opposition.

The result of playing Ertz in the backline, therefore, is a more stable final line, but less potential for creating turnovers higher up the field. The choice is whether to encourage a more measured game in which possession is traded back and forth relatively slowly, or a more frenetic game characterized by wild twists and turns. Neither approach is intrinsically superior, but given Chicago’s personnel, they should probably prefer the former, especially against North Carolina.

The Courage’s greatest strength is in transition. They are unparalleled in their collective movement and resulting capacity to ruthlessly exploit space. North Carolina on the move is a terrifying sight to behold. But they are (relatively) weaker against a stable, organized defense, which often forces them into low-percentage shots from distance. They also depend relatively little on creative possession from their attacking midfielders. Both Dunn and Debinha are generally just dangerous, if not more so, without the ball.

Ertz’s disruptive abilities as a midfielder probably offer less value under these conditions. North Carolina doesn’t rely much on complicated passing maneuvers that are susceptible to being broken up. And they absolutely relish a fast-paced game with a lot of aggressive movement. Their whole approach is to capitalize on bulk. Opponents who up the tempo and try to force play absolutely risk playing into their hands.

This isn’t a pure open-and-shut case. A lot depends on which Katie Naughton is available on Sunday. At this time last year she looked like a fringe national team quality defender, with good instincts and good physicality. But for most of this year, she looked well off the pace, making lots of mistakes both small and large. If the Red Stars can get the good version of Naughton, there’s a case for loading up the central midfield with Ertz, Colaprico, Brian, and DiBernardo and doing everything possible to muck up the game. Fight to a standstill there, count on your strong defensive fullbacks to lock down their counterparts from Carolina, kick long balls at Kerr when you have the chance, and hope she can magic up a goal. It wouldn’t be a pretty game, but you only have to look back to the 2017 final to see Portland forcing a physical disruptive game on the Courage and scraping a victory in the process. Chicago certainly has the ability to do the same if they want to attempt it.

But on balance, Chicago look like a much better team with Ertz in the backline. And not only does this setup allow them to play better in general, it also gives them the chance to dictate play better, something that is absolutely critical if they hope to ride the waves of the North Carolina attack.

Route Two Soccer: Handicapping the NWSL Playoff Race

Posted on by Backline Soccer

The NWSL regular season concludes in a little over five weeks. That’s five more weeks for teams to sort themselves. Who will host home playoffs? Who will end up on the outside looking in?

A few weeks ago, it looked like things might end up finishing with more of a whimper than a bang, but thanks to some compelling results, we’re in for a bumpy ride, with every spot in the table still up for grabs. This column will assess the chances for each of the teams still in the race.

1. Portland Thorns (36 points) 

(at Utah, North Carolina, Houston, at Reign, Washington)

The Thorns are in the pole position, with a five point lead over North Carolina. The Courage do have two games in hand, and a head-to-head clash with the Thorns still on the calendar, so the lead certainly isn’t safe. But those points already in the bank are critical, and (with a 9 point lead over the fifth place Reign) they’re probably the only team in the league that’s effectively locked up a playoff spot.

The emergence of Midge Purce as a major goal-scoring threat has been the story of the season, but the fate of the Thorns ultimately still depends more on the old guard than anyone else. Can Christine Sinclair keep defying time, can Tobin Heath find her top level more consistently, can Emilys Sonnett and Menges continue to hold down the backline? Those are the key questions for the Thorns. Keep the engine running, and the goals will keep pouring in.

The only ‘problem’ for Portland is that they’re facing a pretty tough run-in. Four of their five remaining matches are against playoff contenders. Still, the way they’ve been playing, there’s no reason to expect them to falter. It’s hard to bet against North Carolina closing the gap, but I expect Portland to barely hold them off and take home the Shield.

2. North Carolina Courage (31 points)

(at Sky Blue, at Portland, Orlando, Houston, at Utah, at Washington, Sky Blue)

When everyone is at full strength, North Carolina is the best team in the league. We saw clear evidence of that last year, and even this year’s slightly-diminished version of the squad has still shown the ability to dominate the league. Still, they’ve dug themselves into a bit of a hole, and will have to work pretty quickly to get back out if they want to top the table once again. Their run-in isn’t especially tough in terms of opponents—with games against the four bottom teams on the list. But those first five games come at a breakneck pace—spaced out over just 15 days in mid-September.

If everyone can stay fresh, and if coach Paul Riley can work his secondary players into the lineup effectively, they should come out of that period with a playoff spot locked down. And they might even have retaken first place from the Thorns. But that’s a big if. This is a team that’s played a lot of soccer in the past year, and is facing a number of minor ailments.

The strike force should be fine. The only real problem is figuring out how to get enough minutes for all the options, with Lynn Williams, Jess McDonald, and Kristen Hamilton all deserving starters. The crunch of matches will simply allow for some necessary rotation.

The midfield, however, is a bigger question mark. Over the past two dominant years, Riley has shown a clear preference for a 4222 box midfield, which relies heavily on the high work rates of Sam Mewis and McCall Zerboni in the deeper positions. But Zerboni has recently seen more time as a substitute, and Denise O’Sullivan can’t cover quite the same ground as a replacement. Can Carolina continue to play the same way—in order to get as much time on the ball as possible for Crystal Dunn and Debinha—or will Riley be forced to tinker with his system?

It would be extremely surprising if North Carolina didn’t end up hosting a home playoff match. But given the issues they’ve faced trying to maintain the delicate balance of their system, you’d probably have to bet on them dropping some points between now and October. And that might put the Shield out of their reach.

3. Chicago Red Stars (29 points)

(Houston, at Orlando, at Sky Blue, Washington, Utah)

This team is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Look at their roster, and it’s hard to understand how they’re not topping the table. Watch them when everything is clicking, and it’s hard to understand how they ever lose a game to anyone. With Sam Kerr and Yuki Nagasato, they have arguably the best strikeforce in the league. With Julie Ertz, Morgan Brian, Dani Colaprico, and Vanessa DiBernardo, they have arguably the best midfield in the league. Their goalkeeper is the number one for the US team. Casey Short has been the best defender in the league this year.

So why are they mired in third place? How did they win five in a row, and then fall to the two worst teams in the league? I see three plausible explanations.

First, injuries. Most of this team is banged up. While that midfield quartet are incredibly impressive, they have also faced some niggling problems that keep them from playing every game. And when they do play, they’re generally not 100%. The Red Stars haven’t faced the kind of devastating injury procession suffered by the Reign, but persistent low-grade problems take their toll.

Second, tactics. With a high-octane creative midfield, and with strikers capable of linking play, this team should be regularly out-passing the opposition. But with some limited exceptions, that hasn’t really been the case. Far too often, the team slows down and reverts to the strategy of kicking long balls to Kerr and hoping for some magic. Kerr is good enough that this sometimes works, but it’s far less than Chicago ought to have on offer, given the talent they can put out there.

Third, the central defense. The Red Stars have three world class centerbacks, neither of whom have spent much time in the position. There’s a good reason for that. Ertz is also a world-class midfielder and arguably better used in that position. While Tierna Davidson has increasingly looked like a long-term fit at left back, and Casey Short is one of the world’s best right backs. But while there are good reasons for the choice, there’s no denying that Chicago have looked mighty fragile in the critical central positions. Sarah Gorden has had an excellent year there, and is a serviceable replacement. But she’s also not quite at the level of the world’s very best. And Katie Naughton has had a very tough year, after some excellent work in previous seasons. Put it all together, and you have a team that’s conceded 26 goals—third-most in the league.

Can Chicago fix these problems? I really have no idea. It wouldn’t surprise me if they reel off another run of wins to shoot up the table. And it also wouldn’t surprise me if they struggle enough to put playoff qualification in doubt. But they only have five games left, which doesn’t leave them a lot of margin for error.

4. Utah Royals (28 points)

(Portland, at Houston, at Reign, North Carolina, at Chicago, Houston)

It’s been a tale of two halves for Utah this year. Of the eight games with Christen Press, they’ve won five and drawn two, accounting for 17 of their 28 total points. In ten games without her, they’ve only managed 11 points. Basically, without Press they’re a contender for the bottom of the table. With her, they’re a contender for the Shield. That’s just how good she’s been this year.

Fortunately for Utah, Press appears to be healthy and ready to go for the final month. That’s going to be crucial for a team with only six goal-scorers on the whole season. They’ll need Press and Amy Rodriguez to continue working together well, and will also need some of the secondary attackers to provide a bit more.

The other key for Utah is their defensive core. The Royals have the best defense in the league, even in a year when Rachel Corsie hasn’t looked her best and Becky Sauerbrunn is starting to wear down a bit. That’s a testament to the organization instilled by coach Laura Harvey, and to the tireless efforts of Desiree Scott patrolling the midfield.

Utah have a tough schedule, with matches against the other four top playoff challengers, but in some sense that’s an advantage. At a minimum, it puts their chances in their own hands. Win a few of those games, and they’ll not only get the points they need, they’ll deny critical points to their competitors.

5. Reign FC (27 points)

(Orlando, at Washington, Utah, Sky Blue, Portland, at Orlando)

It’s astonishing that the Reign are still hanging around the playoff race given the absurd injury list they’ve suffered this year. Coach Vlatko Andonovski deserves a lot of credit for holding this team together with bubble gum and some bits of string, for aggressively working the transfer market to bring in replacements, and for getting the absolute most from a series of useful-but-limited players.

The big question mark here is Megan Rapinoe. If she can come back, and play like she did in 2018, that might well be enough to muscle the Reign into the playoffs. But if she can’t return, or if she struggles to work back to form, it’s hard to tell where the goals are going to come from.

The Reign have—out of necessity—adopted a bunch of tactical innovations this year. The most recent iteration came against North Carolina, with the Reign choosing a 4321 Christmas tree formation. It was an interesting idea, but more a matter of desperation than desirability. In this formation, Rosie White and Bethany Balcer operated as the two attacking mids. And while they did their best, it’s simply not a position where either is likely to find much success. It made for a toothless attack, and a defensive core that worked hard but were never going to be able to withstand the relentless pressure.

Will we see further innovations as the Reign move on to face some weaker opponents? Most likely. Will it be enough to secure some critical victories? It’s very hard to say. Far be it for me to bet against Vlatko, but it will most likely take some additional wizardry for them to sneak one of those final playoff spots.

Keep a close eye on that September 18 match against Utah. These could easily end up being the two teams vying for that final playoff spot, and the head-to-head record is dead-even right now. A win their could be the key to a Reign playoff appearance. Anything less, and they might end up on the outside looking in.

6. Washington Spirit (25 points)

(Reign, at Chicago, at Houston, North Carolina, at Orlando, at Portland)

Washington sit three points out of the playoff spots, trailing two teams. With six games left, that’s plenty of time to make up the gap. But it’s going to be mighty tough to implement in practice. The Spirit have a very tough run-in, with away matches against Portland and Chicago, in addition to games against the Reign and North Carolina. They’ll probably need to get at least six points from those four games if they’ll have any hope of making the playoffs, and that’s a big ask.

At the same time, this is a team that’s managed to stick around in the playoff race all season despite getting a mere combined eight appearances from Rose Lavelle and Mallory Pugh. If they can get their young playmakers back, and see them work with fellow young standout Andi Sullivan, there’s no reason to think the Spirit can’t hang offensively with anyone in the league.

The big question, then, is whether the defense can continue to hold together. It’s astonishing that they’ve held up as well as they have—given a backline filled with rookies in a league where even very talented young defenders have generally struggled to adapt. If Sam Staab and Paige Nielsen can continue to hold the line, and if Aubrey Bledsoe can continue her excellent form, the Spirit might just be able to give themselves a chance to sneak that final playoff spot.

I wouldn’t bet on it, and they really don’t have much margin for error. But it’s a great sign that they’re still within shouting distance at this point.

The rest

In seventh place, the Houston Dash aren’t technically out of the running. But they have an exceptionally tough set of remaining fixtures (with five of the six matches against teams currently in the playoff spots), and would probably need at least four wins from those matches. Given their current form, it’s far more likely that they’ll get further away from the playoff spots than that they’ll close the gap.

Meanwhile, after the horrible race to the bottom between Sky Blue and Washington last year, it’s nice to see the two trailing teams playing some decent soccer. Orlando and Sky Blue could each easily play spoiler to some of the playoff hopefuls, and (given that tough Houston run-in) could conceivably shoot for 7th place. Given how horribly they both started the season, that’s real progress.

Route Two Soccer: Chicago Teach a Course on How to Beat North Carolina

Posted on by RJ Allen

The Chicago Red Stars showed this weekend how North Carolina can be defeated. Other teams may try to emulate them…at their own risk.

The North Carolina Courage lost this weekend, for the first time in almost a year. And that’s not even the strange thing. The strange thing is: it didn’t even end up being all that close. The Chicago Red Stars certainly didn’t dominate the game, but neither did they look especially threatened. And their final margin of 3-1 could just as easily have been bigger—with Chicago having been denied a fairly clear penalty when Sam Kerr was pulled down in the box in the first half.

So what happened? Did Chicago reveal a secret flaw that may now be exploited by others? Is North Carolina taking a bigger hit than expected from the loss of their national team players? Or was this just a one-off game, and everything will return to normal soon?

The answer isn’t completely clear at this point, but likely is a combination of all three. Certainly, the Courage backline has looked far more rickety with the absence of Abby Dahlkemper, and those issues will only magnify now that Abby Erceg is off to join New Zealand. Last week’s replacement center back, Kayleigh Kurtz, struggled badly trying to contain Imani Dorsey of Sky Blue. This week’s fill-in, Cari Roccaro, faced similar issues with the multi-pronged Chicago attack.

With both Roccaro and Kurtz having issues with speed, and neither distinguishing themselves in one-on-one defending either, Carolina was always going to look more exposed. However, it would be unfair to level all (or even most) of the blame on those two players. The hallmark of the Courage’s resilient defense has always rested higher up the pitch, where aggressive pressing disrupts the opponent and kills attacks before they can even begin. And that’s where the team really struggled against Chicago. Time and again, the Red Stars midfield pierced the Carolina press, with smooth passing, clever dribbling, and intelligent runs. Particularly at fault here was Denise O’Sullivan, who was exposed repeatedly in the holding midfield role, and looked much more like the version of O’Sullivan we saw back with the Houston Dash in early 2017, and much less like the more dynamic player we’ve grown accustomed to with North Carolina. McCall Zerboni also had an uncharacteristically quiet game, finding it difficult to disrupt play, and also struggling a bit in possession.

Even further up the pitch, Kristen Hamilton one of her weaker games in recent memory, while Julia Spetsmark looked lively on occasion, but wasn’t able to exploit the wide channels nearly as much as the departed Jess McDonald.

Put it all together, and you’ve got a recipe for trouble. When multiple players have games on the lower side of their ability, and you’re playing a strong team, results will sometimes tip away from you. And Chicago was uniquely well-suited to seize the opportunity that was provided. They possess one of the strongest midfields in the league under any circumstance—and that advantage has only magnified with the removal of the World Cup-bound. Vanessa DiBernardo and Dani Colaprico are two of the best passers in the American player pool. Support those two with Nikki Stanton in behind to clean up any messes, and give them the chance to play off Yuki Nagasato and Sam Kerr dropping in from forward positions, as well as Michele Vasconcelos’s speculative runs down the wing, and you have a recipe for unlocking the oppressive North Carolina press.

The problem for everyone else in the league is: without players who can dictate play in such a cool and measured fashion, the potential to exploit a weakness in the Carolina armor may be more fanciful than realistic. For all that the Red Stars found an opportunity, it’s also important not to overstate the case. Chicago scored three goals from just three shots on goal. And two of those were fairly tame shots, too, which the keeper probably should have saved. Meanwhile, North Carolina amassed seven more shots than Chicago, two more shots on goal, more corners, more crosses, and more passes at a higher accuracy.

On another day, if this game was played out in the same way, you’d expect better performances from a few Courage players, a bit less luck for Chicago, and things could easily turn in the opposite direction. What’s more, a big part of the Chicago performance depended on Sam Kerr, who is sui generis, and has now left for her own World Cup preparations. You certainly can’t count on getting that kind of performance going forward.

So Chicago’s approach certainly could be replicated, but even for them it would hardly be a sure thing. And for everyone else, it would be even more of a risk. Because for all that there’s a potential weakness here, the past two years have shown just how devastating this Courage team can be when given the chance to attack an open opponent. If the lesson teams take from this game is that North Carolina is ripe for the picking, they run the risk of being carved to bits by a revitalized Courage press. It’s a gamble that some might take, but it’s a dangerous one.

As the saying goes, if you come at the devil you better not miss.

All Play and No Goals Makes Sky Blue an Exciting Team

Posted on by RJ Allen

Sky Blue FC may not have unlocked the key to scoring goals and winning games yet in 2019 but they have proven to be one of the more exciting teams after this weekends goalless draw to the North Carolina Courage.

Imani Dorsey provided the nail-biting moments for the team as she made incisive runs that broke the vaunted Courage defense. Good goalkeeping and luck kept her off the score sheet and Sky Blue of the win column after a well-played road game.

“I’m really proud of our effort,” said Dorsey after the game. “I think we are building each week and we are learning that we can weather the storms and also take it to teams.”

The team weather more than just an actual storm as North Carolina unleashed a barrage that nearly saw them take the lead. Had it not been for the lucky goal post, it could have been a very different game for Sky Blue.

“We bombarded Sky Blue for 25 minutes after the rain out,” said Courage couch Paul Riley. “I thought during that time we would get a goal, but the ball never really bounced our way at the end of the field.”

In the end it is a share of the points for both teams but feels like a major step forward for Sky Blue. The team traveled to the defending champions and were able to stitch together a performance that led to a result that may be far more impactful come the end of the campaign.

Now they will return home to play a Washington Spirit team that has not shown much since both sides met to start the season. It is a chance for Sky Blue to not just grab their first win, but maybe affirm that this year will not be a waste like 2018.

“I think we can diversify our attack a little bit more,” said Dorsey. “The chances we are getting on goal are quality and we are really creating opportunities for ourselves. I’m happy for us.”

Backline Chat: The NWSL is back!

Posted on by RJ Allen

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Welcome to the first Backline chat of the 2019 NWSL season. We have four matches under our belts, and a lot of material to cover. To kick things off, let’s stay big picture. Did anyone see anything this weekend that changed their expectations for the year? Or is the sample size still too small to draw any conclusions?

Allison Cary (@findingallison): Too small, for me. Everything I can comment about this weekend, I can also blow off as a bad game. Or a good one

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): It looked very Week 1 of the season to me. But I do think Portland and Houston were stand outs for me so far in this season. Both looked better in some ways already than their 2018 form.

Luis Hernandez (@radioactivclown): It’s still early. Most teams looked to still be in preseason mode. I felt Portland and Chicago looked the best while North Carolina was exactly what I expected.

Charles Olney: The closest I can say is that Orlando might be even worse than I was expecting. But that’s really only one the evidence of a single half. And as Allison says, anyone can have a bad half. Still, it was a REALLY bad half.

Luis Hernandez: The second half was better. I’ve watch Orlando a bit in the preseason and I know what Skinner wants to instill. It’s going to take time.

Allison Cary: I feel like the Houston game is one they would have lost in the past. Granted, they almost choked. But it meant something to me that they didn’t.

RJ Allen: Houston played like a team with a plan and the ability to (mostly) complete that plan. Which is an upgrade for them.

Allison Cary: Exactly @rjallen, completely agree.

Charles Olney: I feel like Houston did a lot to push off the unlucky loser dynamic last year, when they actually got results in lots of games that (to my eyes) they shouldn’t have. But I agree with Allison that there was something specific about those final minutes that felt different. There was definitely an intensity, combined with a joyfulness, in the Houston players post match. They knew they played well, and felt good about being able to repeat it.

Luis Hernandez: I feel better about Houston and less so for the Reign. That team can’t afford more injuries. As for the Dash, I still think they can do better but I was pleased.

RJ Allen: I do wonder if Washington looked better or if Sky Blue are just somehow worse. More matches are needed there, for sure.

Charles Olney: To dial in a little bit, let’s talk through each match briefly. Starting with North Carolina-Chicago. It was a rematch of last year’s semifinal (the #DrainageDerby), and North Carolina picked up where they left off. But Chicago managed to hang onto a draw. What were people’s thoughts there?

RJ Allen: North Carolina’s whole MO is to take a bunch of shots and have a few land. They looked a bit rusty which happens early in a season. Plus having McCall Zerboni not look 100% yet changes how that midfield plays. She is really what drove them forward.

Allison Cary: I thought it was North Carolina’s game to lose. After such a dominant season, not being able to get three points out of your home opener isn’t exactly where you wanted to start. But credit to Chicago for going toe-to-toe with them.

Luis Hernandez: I think North Carolina could have been more sharp in the attack, and if they had cleaned that up they could have beaten the Red Stars.

Charles Olney: This very much felt like a game that NC dominated – and I fully expected them to do their normal thing of reeling off two or three goals around the 60th minute. But they didn’t, and Chicago actually ended up with the final great chance. I do think that was more to Carolina being unable to put them away than any special performance from them.

But from Chicago’s perspective, getting a point away to North Carolina, in a game they didn’t actually play that well, is hardly a bad way to start the season.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I’m happy if I’m Chicago.

RJ Allen: That is the magic of Sam Kerr.

Luis Hernandez: However, I felt the Red Stars came in with a smart game plan and Chicago was able to get a result. Taking points from the Courage at Cary is going to be a win for any team.

Charles Olney: I do sort of disagree there. I don’t think Chicago really had a great game plan. The Courage ran right through them most of the game and they depended a lot on excellent performances from the keeper and center backs. Which…it succeeded, I guess, and maybe there wasn’t any better option available. But I don’t think it was a successful game plan. But we’ll have to see them with a full strength team to really draw any conclusions, I think.

Charles Olney: Okay, the other Saturday game was Washington-Sky Blue. In the matchup of the two bottom teams from last year, Washington managed to find a win. How much of that was due to improvements on their end, and how much was due to Sky Blue’s continued problems?

RJ Allen: 40% improvements and 60% Sky Blue being terrible.

Charles Olney: I’ll admit this is one that I’ve still only seen the first half of. But at least there, the quality on both sides was still pretty lacking. But Washington at least seemed to be reasonably coherent, and occasionally exciting. It was, as usual, hard to even tell what Sky Blue thought they were doing.

RJ Allen: Sky Blue just looked bad. And I’m not sure there is anything that can be done at this point that isn’t new ownership or moving the team to fix it. A lot of the changes are a bit like putting lipstick on a pig.

Charles Olney: You do have to wonder about a team coming straight out of preseason, when they’ve had a month to talk about their approach and style, with no particular idea of how to play. And a coach whose postgame comments make clear that she doesn’t have a vision, either. That’s bad, no matter how you dress it up.

Allison Cary: Neither team really looked “good.” I feel like they’re gonna be hard to judge until they go up against other opponents, but if I’m Sky Blue I’m pretty terrified.

Luis Hernandez: The Washington/SkyBlue game was really hard to watch, and I’m not taking Yahoo Sports stream.

Charles Olney: We’ve spent a lot of time on these chats feeling sad about Sky Blue, so let’s turn our attention to the positive side. Do people see this Washington with a real chance to break out from the bottom tier? Or not? Or, again, still too soon to know?

Luis Hernandez: I can’t say too much against the Spirit since they won. I’m reserving judgment on them until they play a game or two more.

Allison Cary: I think it’s too soon but… I’m not encouraged.

Luis Hernandez: It just isn’t an accurate indicator because of who they played.

Charles Olney: The Spirit have Utah next weekend, which could be a good match to tell us a lot about both teams. Or maybe will end up being another game that will just leave us scratching our heads for more data.

The one thing I’ll say for the Spirit is that, whatever the history behind Burke as a coach (which I continue to think has not been taken nearly seriously enough by the team), he seems to be pretty popular at the moment with the players.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I’m not really a fan but I guess I’ll give him a chance to change my mind.

Charles Olney: The real test will be when things go poorly for a while, so it’s absolutely something to keep our eyes on.

Charles Olney: Okay, turning to Sunday’s games, the first was Orlando-Portland. As we’ve already mentioned, the first half was very good for Portland and very not good for Orlando, but the second was much more even. Thoughts on what that tells us?

I’ll start with the controversial statement that Tobin Heath looked very very good, which is a good sign for the US this summer, but a bad sign for other NWSL teams.

Luis Hernandez: It’s going to be a rough year for the Pride. Portland was Portland. Very good. Talented. Deep.

RJ Allen: Orlando is not a good soccer team and hasn’t really been since they were founded. For a team that has some of the best players in the world it is not a good sign. I understand it takes time to build a team and with a new coach it takes more. But they do not have 1-20 a good or solid roster.

Allison Cary: Even if they aren’t as bad as they were in the first half, Orlando is not gonna be able to compete with the top teams in this league.

Charles Olney: In some ways, I wonder if that great run at the end of 2017 actually ended up hurting the Pride overall. I think it’s pretty clear on the evidence of the past few years that this roster isn’t actually a world-beating group, but for a couple months they just looked that way. But because they had that success, they maybe stuck with the plan longer than might have otherwise happened.

Luis Hernandez: Orlando had to field supplemental players in the first match. What else do people need to know?

Charles Olney: That said, it was pretty clear this offseason that things needed changing, and they didn’t change much, so maybe not.

Allison Cary: Yeah, they didn’t fix their problems from last year. Even with a new head coach, they needed to do more. It’s gonna be a long year.

Luis Hernandez: The main problem from last year was that they underachieved.

Charles Olney: I do think there’s space in this squad to set things up for the next few years, in anticipation of the team that will come after Morgan and Marta leave. But it may be a bit of a slog.

RJ Allen: The league wants Orlando to be a good team. They might even need Orlando to be a good team. So I hope they can get it together.

Luis Hernandez: I know sports isn’t about patience but that’s exactly what everyone will need to have for the Pride. The roster isn’t even complete.

RJ Allen: That makes it so much worse though.

Luis Hernandez: And look at the first ten matches for Orlando, it’s brutal. Hi. Let’s play Portland at home then travel to North Carolina then to the Reign in one week.

Charles Olney: For Portland, any other thoughts? They looked good, certainly. Better than I was expecting for them out of the gate. I do really worry about what they’ll be able to do during the World Cup, but if they can play this well outside of that window it may not matter.

RJ Allen: I do think they dip a bit during the World Cup but I think they will still end up in the playoff picture and end strong.

Allison Cary: They looked impressive, albeit with very little resistance.

Luis Hernandez: Yeah, I wanted to call out Kling for a dirty foul on Morgan that didn’t get called.

Allison Cary: Yeah, that was a bad missed call.

Charles Olney: I think we’re all pretty sick of rough play going uncalled. This was just one more example.

RJ Allen: A lot of players in the league play to whatever level of reffing there is. Kling is one of them. If they let her get away with murder, she and a lot of other players will go for it.

Luis Hernandez: The Thorns need to grab all the points while they have their starters. They will make the playoffs. I didn’t think they would until Sunday.

RJ Allen: Can we talk about the surprise front runner for best match of the week now?

Charles Olney: Absolutely. In the final game of the weekend, Houston drew with Reign FC. I was able to make it up to Houston for this one, and it was one of the most enjoyable games I’ve attended in a long time. We’ve already talked a bit about Houston, but any further thoughts there, or about the Reign?

Allison Cary: Injuries suck

RJ Allen: Two subs for two hurt players in quickly is going to hurt any team. I think Seattle handled it about as well as you could.

Allison Cary: Yeah, especially considering who they lost and who was already out.

Charles Olney: I’ve got a full post coming up on the site about this game, so I won’t repeat myself too much here. But the main point I do want to hit is that I saw qualities from both of these teams that helped answer some of the lingering questions I had about them.

RJ Allen: Houston had 8 shots on goal. 8! And they were good chances too.

Charles Olney: Houston actually possessed the ball really well, which is a huge change from last year. They also pressed well, which is different, and gives them a new angle. Those suggest a team who isn’t just hanging on. They think they’re good enough to outplay the opposition. That’s great.

For the Reign, the first half was really rough, but the second half showed that they should be very good again. Even accounting for injuries, and for the strange poor play from Theresa Nielsen. They’ve got a real player in Darian Jenkins. They’ve got a potential replacement for what they’ve traditionally gotten from Rapinoe (playmaking from the wings drifting inward) in Shea Groom. They have real depth in the defense, with McNabb and Celia both performing well. But oh boy do they need to get Fishlock back and/or need better performances from Andrews and Kellond-Knight.

RJ Allen: Charles took the words right off my keyboard.

Luis Hernandez: The game I felt was officiated well. I don’t give credit when that happens but I kind of feel like I need to since I’ve been bashing the refs in Orlando.

RJ Allen: Also maybe have Allie Long take the Seattle PKs?

Allison Cary: Yeah that PK from Taylor was… not good.

Charles Olney: Okay, we’ll wrap up with the conversation about matters ON the pitch there. But let’s also take a moment to discuss everyone’s favorite topic: streaming. How was the experience using Yahoo for the first time?

RJ Allen: My Roku played the Yahoo app without issue. The only problem was the steams on day 1 being switched and then switched back.

Luis Hernandez: I had difficulties casting to my TV but I could watch on my laptop. I didn’t try to use the mobile app

Allison Cary: I just watched on my laptop. It was fine.

RJ Allen: Chromecast doesn’t allow Yahoo steams to be cast, so I’ve been told.

Charles Olney: Everything also basically worked for me. I do have some nitpicks: the streams swapping, some difficulty actually finding the streams on the app, technical issues causing problems with the replays (both during the broadcast, and with attempts to watch the streams after the match was over), and the obligatory name-flubs and other commentary issues. But it’s far better than the go90 rollout. And we heard some nice new voices in the broadcasts, too.

Luis Hernandez: I wasn’t expecting Dan on the broadcast.

RJ Allen: Having someone with as much woso knowledge as him back, was nice.

Luis Hernandez: I’m going to try the other options as the matches come up. Or invest in a Roku.

RJ Allen: Roku’s are the best.

Charles Olney: On the whole, it sounds like our experiences were okay, though there could always be improvements. I certainly would like to see more and better options for streaming, casting, and watching. It continues to frustrate me that the experience on the league website is clearly superior to the official one through a huge tech company. But que sera.

RJ Allen: VPNs are good my friends.

Charles Olney: Alright, any thoughts on the matches coming up this week? We’ve got North Carolina and Orlando tonight, and four more games on the weekend. Any that particularly catch your eye?

Luis Hernandez: I’m looking forward to seeing Utah.

Allison Cary: Orlando is gonna get killed.

Luis Hernandez: Which match Allison?

RJ Allen: Both.

Charles Olney: Both.

Allison Cary: I meant NC, but both.

Charles Olney: I actually would be a little surprised if they lose both. But not that surprised.

Luis Hernandez: I think they’ll fare better in Tacoma.

Charles Olney: To me, Chicago-Portland looks like the game of the week, and could give us a real sense of where those teams stand at this point. But I also am excited about Utah and Washington, as a game with two teams that have some potential to make big improvements this year facing off.

RJ Allen: I’m just glad the NWSL is back and we can talk soccer weekly.

Allison Cary: Amen

Charles Olney: RT @rjallen

Luis Hernandez: Are we expecting a Chicago win at home or a Portland win on the road. RJ picked a draw.

RJ Allen: Spoilers!

Allison Cary: Portland win. Because why not.

Charles Olney: Draw seems like a fair call. I wouldn’t be surprised at any result, though.

Luis Hernandez: I expect Chicago to find a way to win.

I also expect Kerr to get fouled like it was going out of style.

Allison Cary: Fair prediction.

Charles Olney: Alright, with that we’ll call it a wrap for this week. Thanks to everyone for joining us. And as always, feel free to hit me any of us up on twitter with questions or comments.

Five Questions for the 2019 NWSL season

Posted on by RJ Allen

Can North Carolina continue their incredible run?

Last year, the North Carolina Courage’s completed the most impressive season in the history of American women’s soccer. This is a bold statement, considering the star-studded lineups possessed by some other teams from the past—most notably the 2014-2015 Seattle Reign, the WPS-era FC Gold Pride, and a number of WUSA teams able to draw from the very best players in the world. But the Courage stand above the crowd. Not just for their dominant record, good as it was. And not just for the strength of their roster, though it’s a great roster. But North Carolina is the greatest because of the full team dynamic, which lifted a group of stellar individual players up to become an unstoppable force.

The big question now is whether they can keep the magic alive. It seems impossible to imagine them maintaining the same levels of dominance – if only because the team will be splintered for several months during the World Cup. But based on their performance last year, I wouldn’t bet against the Courage finding a way to continue their obliteration campaign.

Who will step up as the next big star?

In 2015, Crystal Dunn was the final player left out from the World Cup roster. She responded by running roughshod over the league all season. There’s no guarantee we’ll get something similar this year, but there are plenty of candidates who might just seize the opportunity to take center stage and show everyone what they’re really capable of. Lynn Williams is one obvious possibility. It’s never been clear to me why she fell out of the national team rotation in the first place, but her skills are unavoidable. We might just see her improve on her Golden Boot winning campaign a few years ago.

Can Houston take the next step forward?

Many people seem to have Houston as their dark horse candidate to upset the playoff hierarchy, and there’s good reason for thinking so. After entering the 2018 season as a consensus pick for bottom of the league, they showed everyone just how much punditry and predictions should be trusted—performing strong all season and staying in the playoff hunt until the final weeks. This year, with a roster that will be less hit by the World Cup than most, they could level up again.

But there are also reasons for concern. All accounts so far suggest a positive environment around new head coach James Clarkson, but change always invites the possibility of breakdowns or disruptions. Something could go wrong there. There’s also the question of whether the Dash’s offseason moves to remedy some of last year’s weak spots will pay off. Is Sophie Schmidt the answer to a soft central midfield? Maybe. But she’s not the player she once was, so that comes with some risk. Can Ari Romero and Satara Murray shore up the defense?

There’s also the reality that Houston probably overperformed last year. Luck tends to even out in the long term, but one season isn’t necessarily long enough for it to show. So it’s possible they’re in for a bit of regression. On the other hand, as they say, good teams often find a way to make their own luck. So it’s going to be exciting to watch, and see whether their success truly was a bit lucky, or whether it was simply down to resilience, perspiration, and class.

How will the Reign enjoy their new home?

The Reign have moved to Tacoma, and it will be fascinating to watch how the transition goes. It’s an important test for a two reasons. First, Seattle has long been one of the strongest independent teams, but in spite of their success they faced structural problems. This move to Tacoma seems to have shored up those issues, and kept the organization on track. If they can succeed, that could be a good sign that independent ownership really can work. Second, Tacoma is an interesting city for a women’s soccer franchise. It has a reasonably dense population center, and can draw in a huge population base from the broader metropolitan area. But it’s also small enough that the Reign will instantly be one of the biggest draws in town. If they can build a good relationship with their new city, that could be a sign that league expansion might succeed best in cities that aren’t already saturated in sports franchises.

Can anyone displace the top 4?

At the moment, he four playoff teams from 2018 look like strong contenders to reach that status again this year. In an offseason that didn’t feature much movement, it’s hard to identify one of the five who were outside-looking-in that looks especially primed to knock any of the top teams out. One of the NWSL’s big selling points, compared to other top leagues in the world, is the degree of parity among its teams. But there actually hasn’t been that much movement at the top in recent years. Will this year be any different, or will we just get another season of the likely contenders coming out on top?

The NWSL Is About To Start, Three Things I’m Excited For

Posted on by RJ Allen

Like most who follow the National Women’s Soccer League, I’ve been eagerly counting down the days to the start of the 2019 season. The off-season lacked a bit of drama for most teams, and while there was the occasional huge news drop, like the termination of the deal between the NWSL and A&E which will no longer have game of the week broadcasts on the Lifetime network, the late “will she or won’t she” drama of Tierna Davidson declaring for the NWSL draft, or the Reign FC name change that came with the move to Tacoma. As teams finalize rosters for the upcoming campaign in the shadow of the World Cup this summer, and league activity ramps up to come at us fast and furious, here are what I’m looking forward to this year.

New Gaffers In Charge

One of the signs on how competitive the NWSL is a team changing a head coach when results are poor or when a team needs a new voice to get the players over the hump, and into the playoffs. Washington and Orlando sacked veteran coaches when the teams ended in the bottom third of the standings, while Houston parted ways with Vera Pauw and hold new manager James Clarkson.  I’m excited to see how the Marc Skinner can give Orlando a new identity in what is to be a challenging year. As players heading to the World Cup come and go, will Orlando be able to take a step forward in development? I’m curious how the Spirit will bounce back with what has to be a shift in culture from how Jim Gabarra ran the show. Coach Clarkson has the pieces to finish higher than the 2018 version of the team. However, the Houston Dash appear to have the talent in place to see the team make the playoffs for the first time in team history. Houston appears less impacted from the World Cup as the other teams with new coaches. Could this be the year the Dash make the postseason?

 World Cup Bounce

With the league not on television and attendance dropping for most teams last season, the “World Cup bounce” is something that needs to happen for the league to continue on a positive trajectory. NWSL matches will be streaming on Yahoo Sports domestically, but I want to see what sort of TV deal the league can get in place after the World Cup is over. My expectation is the league has to have at a minimum the playoffs and championship games broadcasted on television. I’m trying to give the league office the benefit of the doubt on having a plan to boost the presence of its players and the product on the field once all the players that missed time in France return. Additionally, I’m hoping to see a spike across the league at the gate. Each team in the league should be thinking of marketing during and after the World Cup, and I know it isn’t going to have the same impact across the teams. I just want the momentum to actually be a thing. Perhaps even have the league announce any plans of expansion around this time. This pipe dream is starting to get carried away.

Can Lightning Strike Twice For the Courage?

I think it’s fair to say that North Carolina was one of the most dominant teams to play in the world. On top of all the Courage achieved domestically, the team came away with the International Champions Cup over the likes of PSG and Lyon. Recently, the ICC was announced to take place in Cary with the Courage defending the cup at home. Obviously the champions of the league last year are also favored for this season, and even though my loyalty isn’t with North Carolina, I’m just looking forward to seeing if they can be as successful this year as they were in 2018. Every match played for the Courage will be must-watch as far as I’m concerned, either to watch the dynasty continue or to see them stumble, it will be entertaining to me.

Those are my top three things I’m excited for this NWSL season. Hopefully, we are all in for a treat as women’s soccer will be in the spotlight. There are several unanswered questions still to be seen, such as how will the season go for Sky Blue or will the Reign attendance change with a new location. That being said: Are you not entertained?