Tag: NWSL

Interviews with Emma: Savannah Jordan

Posted on by RJ Allen

Savannah Jordan was picked in the 2017 draft by the Portland Thorns, but started her career playing in Scotland. She returned to Portland at the end of last season. She is now a member of the Houston Dash.

Birthdate: January 24, 1995

Nickname from teammates: Sav

Hometown: Fayetteville, Georgia

Age when you started playing: 13

College/major: University of Florida / Sociology, with a minor in education

Career aspirations after soccer: College soccer coach

Why did you pick your particular uniform number? I wore #3 all through my club years then switched to #7 in college, and since I have been playing professionally I have worn #13. I have always liked odd numbers and each one kind of fell in my lap so it was a “meant-to-be” kind of thing.

Pregame meal: Typically I try to have grilled or baked chicken, vegetables, and rice or pasta.

Workout music: I like working out to fast-paced music. Mostly hip-hop and rap. If I am going for a long run, I will listen to some slower r&b to stay relaxed.

Favorite cartoon character: I will say I am not the biggest cartoon fan, but if I had to choose I would say Tweety Bird.

Fave movie: Miracle

Fave actress: Keira Knightly or Emma Watson.

Hidden talent: I don’t know that I have so much of a hidden talent, but as a hobby I like to write (journal writing, poems, free writing, etc).

Mentor (in soccer or life): Becky Burleigh, my college soccer coach.

Fave charity/cause: In college I worked a lot as a volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club. I was able to spend time with the young kids there who are not as privileged as others, and help them become motivated to reach certain goals in their academics or life in general.

Life motto: “Progress, not perfection.”

Superstitions: I have several before a game… I eat the same pregame meal, listen to the same playlist while getting dressed, I always put my left cleat on before my right, I wear the same headband every game, I put a small piece of tape on my right pinky finger, and I always listen to “Girl on Fire” as my last song before going out onto the field.

Pets: I had a cat named Blu in college, but actually had to give her away when I left to play professionally 😦 I was moving around too much to keep her with me.

If you were going on Amazing Race, which teammate would you want as a partner, and why? I would probably bring Rachel Daly, for two reasons: 1) She is super athletic and fit, and 2) She has a “no losing” mentality, so I think we could come with a victory! 🙂

If you had your own reality show, what would it be called? This is a tough one… I would probably call it “unconditionally me.” I have always loved the term unconditionally. It means that there are no conditions or limits. In all that I do I want to embody that term. Whether it is unconditionally loving, unconditionally competing or unconditionally supporting, I want to stay consistent to that. No matter what changes around me or experiences I go through, I want to always remain “unconditionally me.” So hopefully my reality show would give an inside glimpse at that.

Great Moments In the NWSL: The Flash Face The Thorns in the 2016 Playoffs

Posted on by RJ Allen

It was destined to be a great match in Portland. With over 20,000 fans stuffed into Providence Park, the Portland Thorns were hoping for a smooth road to the championship match. They had won the Supporters Shield with 12 wins and 41 points, just edging out the Washington Spirit. No NWSL team had yet won the Shield and the championship in the same season; the Thorns were looking to be the first. 

Meanwhile, the Western New York Flash came into the match as the underdog. They finished the season fourth on the table with 32 points, barely holding off the Seattle Reign to qualify for the playoffs. While they had looked good at various times throughout the season, and had remained within the playoff bracket for most of the year, it was going to be a tough task to take down the Shield winners.

As soon as the match kicked off, fan predictions started to fall into place. The Thorns had an excellent chance within the first minute of the match. Sabrina D’Angelo—the goalkeeper for the Flash—came out to clear the ball and botched it. Thankfully for the Flash, Mewis ran in and provided the clearance. It was a close call for Western New York. The message was clear: these teams weren’t fooling around.

The game broke open in the 16th minute. After a long throw-in from Jess McDonald, the ball bounced around in the 18-yard box before finding the foot of Sam Mewis. She slammed the ball into the back of the net and much to everyone’s surprise, the Flash took an early 1-0 lead.

But the scoring was far from over. The Flash found their second goal of the match when Jess McDonald crossed the ball into the 18-yard box. She connected with Makenzy Doniak, who headed the ball into the back of the net for Western New York’s second goal. 

The Flash didn’t have long to celebrate. One minute later, the Thorns sent a long ball down field. Christine Sinclair turned with the ball, beating her defender, and with one step shot the ball into the corner of the net. To make matters worse for the Flash, head coach Paul Riley made physical contact with the fourth official after the Thorns’ goal and was ejected from the game. With their ringmaster sent off and their clean sheet forfeited, the Flash finished the half with a 2-1 lead and a determination to hold on. 

The Flash had a couple of good shots early in the second half, but Thorns keeper Michelle Betos kept them off the scoreboard. She made a couple of incredible saves, showing why she was considered one of the best in the league. Still, it wasn’t enough to just keep the Flash out; Portland still needed at least one goal to force extra time—two if they wanted to win in regulation. 

In the 78th minute, the Thorns got what they needed. Tobin Heath sent a long ball into the box on a free kick for the Thorns. D’Angelo came out to get the ball, but she didn’t get control. The ball bounced around in the box before falling at the feet of Emily Sonnett, who gave Portland their equalizer. 

At the 90th minute, the match was still tied 2-2. That meant 30 more minutes of play. And regulation was nothing compared to what was waiting in extra time.

In the 98th minute, the Flash found their third goal of the match. Similar to their first goal, the ball came off of a long throw-in from Jess McDonald. Mewis then flicked the ball over to Lynn Williams. The 2016 Golden Boot winner kept the ball on the ground, but got enough power to slide it past a few defenders and past the fingertips of Michelle Betos. The Flash now had a 3-2 lead. 

But that wasn’t the last time we saw the Mewis-Williams combination. Six minutes later, the Flash came charging down the field with Sam Mewis in the middle. She passed the ball to Williams in the box, who was quicker than her defender. She sent the ball into the back of the net for her second goal of the match and the Flash’s fourth. Providence Park was silent. 

Once again, the Thorns bounced back quickly. Just a few minutes later, Portland defender Meghan Klingenberg sent the ball into the 18-yard box. It bounced off the head of Dagny Brynjarsdottir and landed in front of Horan, who slotted the ball back for Portland’s third goal of the match. Horan immediately picked up the ball and ran back to the line. The Thorns still had a lot of work to do.

In one of the final plays of the game, the Thorns nearly found their equalizer. Sonnett sent a desperate long ball towards the Flash goal.  D’Angelo tried to punch it out, but she missed. Horan got her head on the ball, and nearly put it away, but Abby Dalhkemper cleared it off the line. A few seconds later, the final whistle blew. 

Seven goals. Six yellow cards. A head coach ejected from the match. The Western New York Flash defeated the regular season champs 4-3 and went on to win the 2016 NWSL Championship. In the offseason, they would be sold to an ownership group in North Carolina and transformed into the North Carolina Courage.

In 2017, the tables would turn, when the Courage made it back to the championship only to lose to—you guessed it—the Portland Thorns. 

Not That Bad: 5 Things the Dash Have Going For Them

Posted on by RJ Allen

We can all agree that the Houston Dash didn’t quite have things go their way this off-season. They lost some great international players to trade, ended up being shunned by Christen Press, and had their owner make some rather unfathomable choices for the club. It went so horribly that the women’s soccer media and NWSL fanbase seemed to give up on analyzing the decisions and defaulted to just pitying them. Yeah, it was that bad. And it still isn’t great by any means. But going into this international break, Houston can repeat this point of pride to themselves: “We are currently an undefeated team.” Sure, it’s only two draws, but that’s not nothing.

Everyone is still looking at them like winning a match will be a miracle. Analysts are plopping them at the bottom of their power rankings. Old southern women are practically ‘blessing their hearts.’ But this isn’t necessarily rock bottom for the club. And they shouldn’t be written off so easily. To paraphrase Monty Python, they’re not dead yet! So although things are bad, there are still some bright spots for the team looking forward into the season. Here are five of them:

1. Jane Campbell Is A Boss

One of the biggest takeaways from the first two games of the season is that Jane Campbell is a phenomenal goalkeeper. She has played on a new level for the start of this season, and brought a lot of stability for the Houston side. As a last line of defense, Houston can at least feel comfortable in the fact that they have Campbell. She comes up big when they need it. She is confident. And she is finding her rhythm in Houston, a fact that I am sure allows Vera Pauw to breathe a little easier. While a good keeper alone isn’t enough to make you the best team in the league, it sure is a start. If she can continue this trend, other US keepers are going to need to watch their backs.

2. Daly & Mewis Bring Creativity

When Rachel Daly was moved to fullback, I was seriously wondering what Houston was doing, especially since Kealia Ohai was still out on injury. But there has been  a certain level of magic created by the pairing of Daly and Kristie Mewis as Houston’s outside backs. They command the offense and set the pace for the team. They bring creativity up and down the pitch. And they are all over the field, aggressively going after the ball because they both have the speed to make it back on defense in time. The commentators of the Houston-Utah match called them two of the best in the league, provoking some snarky comments. But there’s something to it. Neither of them is a singularly phenomenal outside-back. But together—working as one unit, establishing a proper give and take for the team—they are a force to be reckoned with.

3. Pauw Has A Plan

It was clear from the first few games that Vera Pauw doesn’t particularly care what others may think of her team. She is coaching with purpose, and convincing her players to play with purpose. She understands that her team has weaknesses. She isn’t ignorant of that fact. But she is also able to see that this team has strengths. Every player brings a different skillset, and her job is to find how all those pieces fit. It’s still a work in progress, but one that she is working diligently at. She’s also been quite honest about where things stand, owning in her last post-match interview that her team wasn’t fully able to play to their strengths against Utah—that they still had some homework to do. But it looks as though Vera is willing to put in the work as long as the players are. No phoning it in from the Dutch leader.

4. The Return of Ohai

Houston hasn’t won a match yet this season. But they also haven’t had their greatest attacking threat on the pitch yet. Kealia Ohai, who is coming off of an injury, will be a welcomed sight. Although she only got to play 10 matches last season before tearing her ACL, in the 2016 season she recorded 11 goals and four assists in 20 matches. Even if her return to the pitch doesn’t immediately bring those kind of results, it will still be great news for the Dash, because even when Ohai isn’t on the ball, she is still going to pull the attention of defenders. That is something that Houston has been missing. With Ohai’s return, we’ll get a chance to see some new dynamics of the Houston team. They haven’t shown all of their cards just yet.

5. The Underestimation Factor

Everyone knows Houston is supposed to be bad this year. But in a funny way, that’s an advantage. When your opponents expect very little out of you, they tend to get complacent. And then they lose. Just ask the University of Virginia men’s basketball team—whose first game as the overall favorite in the NCAA March Madness Tournament against 16th seed University of Maryland, Baltimore County didn’t quite go to plan. When there isn’t a lot expected of you, opponents tend to sit back and allow things to happen. They allow the underdogs to set the pace—and then the underdogs have no choice but to seize opportunity when it comes. It is David and Goliath. It is the tortoise and the hare. It is USA vs Russia in the 1980 Olympics. Could it be Houston vs North Carolina or Portland? Maybe. The stage is surely set and primed to have it played out.

So in light of all this, I refuse to feel bad for Houston. And I will not do the team the disservice of pitying them. Instead I will root for them—to get better, to fight the good fight, to play to their strengths. Because this team isn’t a lost cause, and we should stop treating it like one. They have a lot of talent and a great coach in Vera Pauw to steer this team toward a season that could mean something for them. They have some positive aspects that they bring to the table. We need to stop only talking about the negative.

Interviews with Emma: Lindsay Agnew

Posted on by RJ Allen

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

Lindsay Agnew is a forward for the Houston Dash, after spending a season with the Washington Spirit. She is also a member of the Canadian National team.

Birthdate:

March 31, 1995

Nickname from teammates:

Linds

Hometown:

Confusing question for me. I was born in Kingston, Ontario (Canada) and then moved a few times. I went to high-school in Dublin, Ohio, and now my parents (kind of) live in Florida.

Age started playing:

3 years old

College/major:

Ohio State University. I majored in Sustainability in Business. GO BUCKS!

Career aspirations after soccer:

I would like to work for a business, preferably doing something that is focused on their environmental impact or social responsibility. Eventually, I would like to be a professor for a university. Also, I would like to be a mom and raise a family.

Why did you pick your uniform number:

I picked 8 because my dad used to wear 8 when he played college hockey.  Also, 8 is great :). I wore 8 when I was younger and then switched to 20 (my other favorite number) when I moved teams for my high school and college years. Then, 20 was taken when I joined the Spirit, so I went back to my roots and wore 8 again for my rookie year. I am not sure what I am wearing for Houston yet, but I wear 22 for Canada.

Pregame meal:

Pasta with feta cheese and fruit.

Workout music:

I like all music, but when I work out, I am pretty basic and like the top 40 stuff. I really like upbeat songs with good lyrics that keep me going when I get tired in my workout.

Favorite cartoon character:

Woody from Toy Story.

Fave movie:

Remember the Titans.

Fave actress:

Jennifer Lawrence.

Hidden talent:

Playing the cello and talking with my mouth closed.

Mentor (in soccer or life):

My dad, mom, and brother.  Whenever I make a major decision, I always get their opinions. They are my biggest supporters and advocates and always help me through tough times. My dad is a professional hockey coach, and has switched teams a few times as well, so we always joke that we are always Team Agnew first. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.

Fave charity/cause:

That is a tough one, because there are a lot of great charities, but I would say either Soles for Souls, Run the Race, or Athletes for Hope.

Life motto:

“If it is to be, it is up to me.” (The 10 most powerful two-letter words in the English language)

Superstitions:

I used to have a ton of superstitions, and I mean a ton… to the point where it was exhausting. However, now, I would say it has narrowed down to the songs I listen to before the game and the timing of my meals.

Pets:

I don’t have any pets right now. I had a bunny for almost 12 years who ran around our house like a dog. He was litter-trained and would beg for Cheerios in the morning. His name was Shadow, but he passed away my senior year of high school and I haven’t had another pet since, although my sophomore year of college, a stray cat showed up to our door one day and we used to feed it. We called him Penny—yes, him, we didn’t know he was a boy when we named him.

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

I was just traded, but from my new team, Nichelle Prince. We have been best friends since I was 16 and have played soccer on five teams together. She is calm, composed, competitive, and fast and we never fight, so I think we would make a good team. We also travelled Europe this past December and it was practically the Amazing Race, so we also have a practice round under our belt.

If you had your own reality show, what would you call it?

“Figuring it out #FIO” or “LA Life”.

NWSL QuickCap 2: Weekly Boogaloo

Posted on by RJ Allen

Welcome to your week two NWSL QuickCap.

Week Two saw another week without Australians and so many misses from inside the six that every forward in the league was probably at an extra practice while you were at your Seder and/or Easter dinner.

Houston Dash 0-0 Utah Royals

Neither Amy Rodriguez or Kealia Ohai have shown they can take over a game and create offense from nothing, but after this one it’s a risk I’m willing to take. A 0-0 game can be exciting as well as defensive, or it can be a mess where neither team has a coherent offense. Or even a visible game plan. Not that I had anything better to watch on my Friday night. Utah’s best offensive play was a late run down the left by Sauerbrunn and Utah’s most offensive play was a Desiree Scott challenge that could have been a credible straight red. Houston’s English national teamer Rachel Daly looked to be working in a vacuum trying to generate some offense and Kristie Mewis earned Twitter raves for a competent performance starting as an outside back, but Jane Campbell looked like the USWNT heir-in-waiting she’s already been declared.

Sky Blue FC 0-1 North Carolina Courage

The new Sky Blue spent most of the game hanging even with a pressing North Carolina Courage, even showing some offensive spark after being dominated early. North Carolina still looks to be missing Samantha Mewis for the central leadership, but Abby Dahlkemper and Abby Erceg remain a solid duo. Behind them, Sabrina D’Angelo was either struggling with an injury or stalling for time in the first half. Carli Lloyd had some fancy footwork, but wasn’t a catalyst for the young offense or the star that took over the game on her lonesome. Lynn Williams has speed to spare and a first touch rarely seen outside a U6 early season practice, but the underappreciated Jess McDonald saved their Easter ham with a last minute goal past the NWSL’s other superb Canadian GK, Kailen Sheridan, who came out too far and left her goal exposed.

Washington Spirit 2-0 Orlando Pride

Orlando was without Marta and Morgan, but on a team with this roster, such losses…really, really hurt. Sydney Leroux was all over, but as with Morgan, is the sort of pure scorer who relies on others moving the ball. Unfortunately for her, no Easter eggs were being put into the right baskets here. Washington’s offense of the future started early and kept Orlando on the back foot. Sullivan playing on the right side wasn’t as involved as she might have been as central player all the internet pundits want to see, but Pugh and Hatch both scored in the last ten minutes, and that was enough to seal the deal. GK Ashlyn Harris might want Pugh’s nutmeg goal back, but there’s nothing anyone could have done about Hatch’s shot from outside.

Chicago Red Stars 2-3 Portland Thorns FC

Chicago’s black uniforms look like something a referee would wear and I spent the first few minutes very confused. Unlike the rest of the league this weekend, these teams raced right past the “no more than two goals” limit, tallying more goals than the other six teams combined. It started with Horan opening the scoring for Portland. Then, Chicago’s Alyssa Mautz knuckleballed over Adrianna Franch only to be met by Portland’s Christine Sinclair who drove past a sliding Alyssa Naeher and kept control of a bouncing ball to put Portland up 2-1 at the half. Sinclair added a penalty kick and Mautz added a second. And there’s no way I can stay under my word limit if people keep scoring like this in these games.

Head in the Game: Concussions in the NWSL

Posted on by RJ Allen

The NWSL doesn’t do everything right. Being a newer league, it has limited funding in comparison to other sports and its business structure still needs a lot of fine tuning. They are learning, and growing, and making fantastic strides forward, but it would be unreasonable to expect the NWSL to be best-in-class in the sporting world.

Last Saturday, the NWSL and the Orlando Pride faced a decision when Alex Morgan collided with Abby Smith in the 45th minute. Given what happened, they did the best that any league or club could do. 

The knock to Morgan’s head was hard. Anyone in the stadium or watching at home could see it. She stayed down and the training staff immediately went to assess the potential head injury. After a few minutes she was taken to the locker room and then it was decided that she would not play the remaining of the game after being evaluated under a complete concussion protocol.

That was the most important call of the game. By far. And it’s an important precedent for not only this league but for sports in general.

Concussions are serious injuries that haven’t always been taken seriously. It is only lately that the long-term effects of head injuries—and the impact that contact sports plays on the brain—have come to light. For some sports, such as football and boxing, head injuries are finally becoming a major consideration when it comes to whether an athlete is allowed to compete, or how long he or she must sit out.

But they don’t always get it right. Money, league politics, and pending legal matters have all been factors in the debate of proper concussion protocol throughout all of sports. It’s inevitable, because professional sport is such a profitable business. Things are getting better, and awareness is being raised, but things are still far from perfect.

One example: in the discussion around head injuries, very little attention has thus far been paid to female athletes.  The focus generally seems to gear towards football, but according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, female soccer players suffer the highest rate of concussions in high school sports. Moreover, in gender-matched sports, girls experienced significantly higher concussion rates than boys. A consensus study by the NCAA from 2015 revealed that concussions are the second-most common injury in women’s soccer.

The numbers are staggering, and the long-term effects of these traumatic brain injuries (TBI) will only cause greater issues for players down the road. Years after a concussion, there can still be abnormal brain wave activity, which can lead to the deterioration of motor pathways and attention problems. In extreme cases, it can lead to Parkinson’s-like symptoms, or as a UCLA study found, manifest the tau proteins that are linked with Alzheimer’s. Repeated concussions could also force surgery on the occipital nerves in the neck to help alleviate some of the symptoms. Sadly, for Manya Makoski, a former NWSL midfielder, this was a reality. 

So the threat is real and the league needs to come up with a game plan for how to handle it. It currently follows the US Soccer Concussion Guidelines, which centers a lot on education and initiatives to bring awareness and promote safety. One of those initiatives is Recognize to Recover. This standard looks to train the athletes, coaches, and training staff on how to look for signs of possible head injuries, and steps on how to recover. That is a great start. And the example cited above—with Morgan being removed from the game due to risk of concussion—shows they’re taking the issues seriously. But just because something works, doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be improved upon. In fact, US Soccer and the NWSL have the opportunity to set the standard for concussion safety. They are on the right track, but there’s no such thing as being too far ahead of the curve on this point.

The current US Soccer Concussion Protocol starts at the the beginning of a player’s time at a US Soccer Development Academy. They receive a baseline test through the use of Standardized Concussion Assessment Tool 3 (SCAT3) and an ImPACT neurological test. This baseline is retested every two years unless a concussion is detected. Then, when a concussion is suspected, they go through a four-step testing over the course of numerous days depending on how their symptoms progress. If a player is still symptomatic, they will not progress to the next step until they have achieved the baseline level of symptoms for that time frame. This is a great start. But one issue is that the four-step testing involves heading the ball—something that could potentially cause more trauma if certain symptoms are missed, or unrecognizable. 

So what more can the league and US Soccer do to help ensure the players’ safety and long-term health?

First, they could modify their policy on identifying concussions. Part of the current concussion protocol is that players must report if they suspect that they have a possible concussion. If the collision does not happen in the game, or does not appear problematic in practice or training, then often times the training staff does not have the opportunity to diagnose the issue. But putting that responsibility on players can lead to a lot of undiagnosed concussions. Most professional athletes will do everything in their power to stay in the game, and are unlikely to fully grasp the long-term health risks. Giving them the power to control that decision point is a bad idea. Discretion should be in the hands of a neutral party, not the players themselves. 

That relates to a second change: hiring unaffiliated doctors. This is a reality for a lot of leagues, and for US Soccer. But for the NWSL, this is a much greater feat. It wouldn’t be feasible today, but down the road once the league has more stability and wealth, it should be a priority. Currently, training staffs and doctors are set on a club-by-club basis. Being employed by the club, they have a certain stake in the result of the game, a problem that wouldn’t exist for unaffiliated doctors who are there to collect data, establish safety protocols, and provide unbiased healthcare and strategy regardless of the team. Other leagues like the NFL use this model, with positive results on treatment and research.

Finally, not necessarily another change, but a different utilization of assets, could come in handy for US Soccer and the NWSL in the long term. Yesterday it was announced that US Soccer is partnering with STATSports as the official on-field monitoring device. These devices will be able to stream in real-time, providing vital information for benchmarking, injury prevention, and improved performance. The best part is that these monitors will be distributed through the development academies, the NWSL, and the national teams, while all the information is compiled centrally and can be cross-referenced. And although this tool was not purchased to help track and monitor concussions, the NWSL and US Soccer could use it to help with the research that surrounds them: how an athlete performs before and after a TBI, how that potential concussion could have effected motor function in the long term, or even find trends to help identify different long-term symptoms of a head injury.

The NWSL should strive to be a leader on this issue. Although concussions can affect any athlete, the research is unequivocal that female soccer players are particularly high-risk. This isn’t something people talk about much. But they should. And that fact puts the NWSL in a great position to set the standard across the board. They can be the league that takes care of their players. They can be the league that others look to for guidance. They can be the league that takes this issue seriously.

It shouldn’t take a potential concussion by the biggest name in the sport to get us talking, and to create action. But hopefully this becomes a catalyst for real concussion reform in the league, and the game itself. They did things right this weekend—Morgan was assessed correctly and was pulled from the match—but that shouldn’t lead to complacency. The good start means that the league can start off from a point of positivity. They’re already on the right path, and should strive to stay ahead of the ball on this issue, not be forced to address it after a major crisis. 

Make changes now to prevent sadness down the road. Be the standard for others to follow. This issue is big. The consequences are huge. And the players’ lives are invaluable. It’s not enough to just sit around and hope for the best as the athlete checks back into the match. In fact, that’s the least that can be done.

NWSL QuickLook: Week Two

Posted on by RJ Allen

This week, we combine the confusion of overfull rosters following the Boston Breakers shutdown with the return of the Australians from international duty. Predictions are meaningless in the face of such wholesale and paradigmatic abstraction. Plus they are hard to do.

Houston v. Utah – March 30 @ 8 pm ET

Houston: 0-0-1

Utah: 0-0-1

Last week, neither team had their known offensive weapons producing much and the usually reliable Becky Sauerbrunn gave up a (dubious) PK. Utah has a solid defense and, even with Nicole Barnhart out with an injury, Abby Smith’s move from Boston gives them an excellent replacement. Houston surprised everyone by looking composed and competitive against Chicago last week, but also had their scoring coming from an unknown and not the usual or expected. Houston should have the least change in personnel given their short injury report and lack of Aussie internationals, but also the most uncertainty about pulling together a repeat.

North Carolina Courage v. Sky Blue FC – March 31 @ 3 pm ET

North Carolina Courage: 1-0-0

Sky Blue FC: 0-0-0

SBFC makes their season debut, featuring such stars as NJ’s own Carli Lloyd, rookie and recent USWNT call-up Savannah McCaskill, and Shea Groom, acquired via the O’Hara trade this summer. They aren’t being thrown to the lions, because that would be Utah, but the Courage also have a cat crest—what’s with that in this league? Sky Blue has a potent young roster that could really compete this year, but runs the risk of relying too heavily on Lloyd to be a game changer. NC remains loaded with forwards, but saw no tallies from their marquee players (MacDonald, Williams) last week. They do have a solid defense that can hold off most challenges.

Washington v. Orlando – March 31 @ 3:30 pm ET

Washington: 0-1-0

Orlando: 0-0-1

Orlando will no longer live or die on Alex Morgan’s performance, which will be good for them if she’s out with concussion issues. Sydney Leroux hasn’t shown her infamous speed in her return from maternity leave, but Cassius in that #2 “Mommy” jersey was a stunning debut. As for the game, with Marta serving there’s a good chance for a break on any play from any player. Orlando’s defense is solid and their GK Harris good for some great saves, and their offense should be remarkable given the personnel. Washington features more promised future stars than any other roster, but doesn’t have the usual sunsetting veteran star to help build out of the midfield or build the future careers.

Chicago v. Portland – March 31 @ 8:15 pm ET

Chicago: 0-0-1

Portland: 0-1-0
A year ago we’d have billed this as a peek at a potential championship match. This year? Both still have loaded rosters, but so does everyone due to contraction. Portland has a solid core with Canada’s Christine Sinclair as a foundation. Chicago has major injury issues and will still be missing reigning MVP Sam Kerr to national team duty with Australia. Portland gave up some well-known players, but their Boston pickups alone (especially Midge Purce and Ifeoma Onumonu) are a roster improvement on an already-massive talent. Chicago may be missing QB Julie Ertz more than departed scoring leader Christen Press given how they looked a bit lost against Houston last week.

Seattle v. Any Takers

They shouldn’t do byes. The off team should play any challenger who steps up for their spot in the NWSL. By week 9 we’ll have Arsenal Women vs. Jamestown Area Travel U17 fighting for a playoff spot and I welcome the chaos because it’s easier than making real previews and predictions with these heavy rosters and lack of data.