Tag: Utah Royals

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: 2018 NWSL Season Predictions

Posted on by RJ Allen

Predictions are a mug’s game, but I’m a mug, so here we are. For these predictions, I’ve assigned an order, and my rough estimation of the chance of each team making the playoffs. What should quickly become clear is that I think this league has four tiers, with clear separation between the tiers but very little separation within them. Ultimately, I see five very good teams in the league and several other solid contenders. Given the cold hard math of the situation, that means that at least one team who projects to be very good is going to miss the playoffs. That’s an unfortunate reality for the team (or teams) who miss out, but it suggests we should be in for an exciting season.

As I go through each team, I’ll first explain why I picked them in that spot and then lay out the best case for why I might be wrong.

Tier One: No Weaknesses

1. North Carolina Courage (80% chance of making the playoffs)

Why they’ll finish first: The defining strength of this team is their depth. Unlike the other title challengers, they aren’t truly dependent on any particular player. While they certainly wouldn’t like to see Sam Mewis, Lynn Williams, or Abby Erceg knocked out by a serious injury, there’s no doubt that they could compensate for the loss of even several key components. I’m not sure any other team in the league can say that, which is why NC is in a tier of their own. The two big questions are how they’ll integrate Crystal Dunn and what they’ll do about the fullback positions. One possible answer to both questions would be a version of a back three—which would keep the defense solid while allowing their wide runners to function more as wingbacks than true fullbacks. But whatever solution they come up with, they should be fine.

Why I might be wrong: Several years ago, the Seattle Reign were a dominant force… right up until they weren’t. Teams often fade more quickly than you’d expect, and North Carolina could be the next victim. It might be unreasonable to expect another career year from Zerboni, or a fully healthy season from Mewis. And if the midfield falters, some of the weaknesses in the back line could get exposed. Their style of play also takes a lot of energy, and might leave them pretty run down by the end of the season. I’d still bet on NC making the playoffs, but it’s not at all impossible to see them struggling across the line, rather than racing ahead to seize the Shield.

Tier Two: Great Teams with Minor Danger Areas

2. Portland Thorns (60%)

Why they’ll finish second: Portland lost a few key players, but has done a lot to make up for it. Andressinha is already good, and surrounded by quality teammates might be on the verge turning into a superstar. Midge Purce could be a huge addition, adding pace and a wide attacking edge. Carpenter, the 17-year-old Australian, is an exciting young talent. And so on. Ultimately, the strength of this team is similar to North Carolina: they can probably survive a few bumps in the road without seriously derailing their season.

Why I might be wrong: There’s enough talent on this team to blow the doors off the opposition. So it wouldn’t shock me to see them take the pole position all season. On the other hand, there are a lot more uncertainties here than they’d probably like. Their setup leans quite heavily on getting strong seasons from players up and down the spine. A long absence from Lindsey Horan could leave them pretty weak in the center of the pitch. Any serious problems with either of the starting center backs could expose the backline. And while there’s a lot of potential in the attack, they don’t really have a surefire goal-scorer. If the offense sputters a bit, and the defense is less solid, Portland suddenly starts to look a bit more ordinary. It would be surprising to see them miss the playoffs, but it wouldn’t be shocking.

3. Seattle Reign (60%)

Why they’ll finish third: Washington is clearly the most improved team this year, but in any normal offseason, the Seattle makeover would be the one that had everyone raving. They acquired two top-level veteran defenders (Megan Oyster and Yael Averbuch), one of the world’s best fullbacks (Steph Catley), a world-class striker (Jodie Taylor), a useful USWNT fringe player (Allie Long), some fantastic depth options (Morgan Andrews, Elizabeth Addo, Christen Westphal), and held onto players like Jess Fishlock, Megan Rapinoe, and Nahomi Kawasumi. Put it together and you have a roster that rivals anyone in the league. Oh, and while they lost Laura Harvey, they replaced her with Vlatko Andonovski, probably the only other comparable coaching talent in the league. It’s still an open question how they manage to put it all together, and it’s not unreasonable to expect some problems as they get started. But this is a very good team.

Why I might be wrong: My prediction puts a lot of faith in Andonovski’s ability to get everything working together. There was a lot of turnover in the roster, and it might not all fit together easily. Further, for all their depth in most positions, the midfield could be a little shaky. If Fishlock were to miss significant time, I’m not sure they have a viable replacement. If the team gels, they could win the league. If not, they find themselves trapped in a bunch of drab 1-1 draws, and end up seeing the playoffs slip just past their grip.

4. Chicago Red Stars (55%)

Why they’ll finish fourth: Losing Christen Press is a huge problem, unless you can manage to replace her with Sam Kerr. That’s particularly true since Kerr seems to fit Rory Dames’s style better than Press ever did. Given that, and given the continuity everywhere else in the roster, it feels like Chicago are in good position to do at least as well as they did last year. However, there are a couple mitigating factors. First, despite all the talent on the roster, Chicago just weren’t actually all that good last year. They made the playoffs, but with a goal difference of just +3. Do that again this year and they could very easily miss out. Second, many of their competitors have improved a lot, making this a bit of a Red Queen race—where you have to run faster just to stay even. Third, Chicago’s luck with injuries for most of last season seems to have truly worn off. They dragged a lot at the end of 2017 and come into 2018 with a host of new ailments. Put it all together and you’ve got a great team which should be fine, but which would be devastated by the loss of Kerr or Julie Ertz.

Why I might be wrong: Sam Kerr is probably the best striker on the planet right now. Put her into a team with a rock-solid defensive unit, and that’s a recipe for a bunch of 1-0 victories. And if Dames can get his offense moving again, they could be truly explosive. On the other side, while it’s pretty hard to see Chicago really struggling this year, there are a lot of good teams in the league. Merely being good might not be enough to make the playoffs this year.

5. Orlando Pride (50%)

Why they’ll finish fifth: Orlando are probably the highest-variance team in the league. It’s very easy to see them blowing teams away and finishing first. It’s also not too difficult to imagine an injury to Marta or Morgan causing the wheels to come off. Remember how much this team struggled at the start of 2017? That could easily happen again. They had a fine offseason, but probably didn’t do as much to improve as some of the other teams around them. In particular, they still have a shockingly weak midfield. They got away with it last year because Marta is Marta. But time marches on relentlessly, and even Marta will eventually start to fade. If that happens this year, it’s hard to see Orlando having enough bite in the midfield to make the playoffs.

Why I might be wrong: I’ve got them fifth, but only 10% worse odds to make the playoffs than the team in second, so it’s important not to overstate their weakness. It wouldn’t be remotely surprising to see Orlando win the league. If Marta and Morgan don’t lose a step, if Krieger continues to be a great defender, if the supplemental players continue to improve, this is a team that no one will want to play.

Tier Three: Lots of Holes, Lots of Potential

6. Washington Spirit (35%)

Why they’ll finish sixth: The Spirit are by far the most-improved team this offseason, having added most of the young USWNT core and a long-time starter for the Canadian team as well. Moreover, they should also improve simply by virtue of escaping from the injury hellhole that defined their 2017. That said, while this team projects to become terrifyingly good sometime very soon, they’re probably not quite there yet. Their attackers are as good as anyone in the league, but it’s still unclear how they’ll actually play together. With a roster this young, it wouldn’t be unexpected to see some growing pains.

But the real danger area is the defense. It’s possible that Rebecca Quinn will be a top-class center back, that Estelle Johnson will play out of her skin, that Meggie Dougherty-Howard will thrive at right back, that Caprice Dydasco will reach her full potential, and that Whitney Church will be primarily a depth option at center back. It’s also possible that Quinn struggles with the physicality of the league, Johnson struggles with her footwork, Dougherty-Howard can’t supply the pace and precision from outside, Dydasco never quite fulfills her promise, and Church is a regular starter. There’s a ton of variance in this team, but unless they can plug some of these gaps, they’ve probably got too many flaws to make the playoffs.

Why I might be wrong: The defense could be even worse than expected. Rose Lavelle might miss tons of time. Their rookie core might take a while to find their feet. There’s basically no chance they’ll be as bad as last year, but it might be asking too much for them to make major improvements now. On the other side, maybe the youth revolution starts firing on all cylinders. Maybe Lavelle is as dazzling as we all hope, Andi Sullivan is a rock in the midfield, and the ridiculous wealth of attackers are enough to overwhelm any defensive frailty. If this team plays to its full potential, they could win the Shield. I’m not saying that is likely to happen; I’m just saying it’s possible.

7. Utah Royals (30%)

Why they’ll finish seventh: Because there are six teams that look better than them. Honestly, that’s really it. There’s nothing wrong with this team, and any squad coached by Laura Harvey is hard to bet against. They just don’t look to have quite as much talent as the six teams I’ve got above them. A lot of that depends on whether they get peak, healthy performances from Becky Sauerbrunn and Amy Rodriguez. Those two performing at their 2015 levels would do a lot to push this team into the playoffs. Even then, there are still some places where this roster looks a little more functional more than it looks dominant.

Why I might be wrong: If Kelley O’Hara is a game-changer and ignites the Utah attack. If Harvey makes a vintage Harvey international signing in June to solidify the team. If Sauerbrunn is a rock in defense. If Rodriguez is a maestro in the attack. If players like Laddish, Kelly, Scott, and Matheson are given a chance to shine. If new acquisitions like Elise Thorsnes and Katrina Gorry acclimate quickly. None of those things would be particularly surprising, and if a few happen, this team starts to look a lot better.

8. Sky Blue FC (25%)

Why they’ll finish eighth: Because it will take most of the season to find the balance they’re looking for. This is a very young roster, and has undergone quite a lot of turnover. Like many teams in the league, they’re ridiculously overstuffed with attackers, but far too light on solid defenders. I do think that the personnel is flexible and talented enough to overcome the apparent liabilities; I just think it will take a while to get things sorted out. In the meantime, this looks like a maddeningly inconsistent team, who will play the first-place team off the pitch one week, only to fall on their face against a last-place team the next.

Why I might be wrong: I make it a point not to bet against Carli Lloyd. For all her flaws, she appears to be an exceptional lead-by-example player. If she is motivated and finds a vein of form, she could help turn the team’s transformation into overdrive. And while the team’s structure doesn’t make a ton of sense on paper, Sky Blue is chock full of massively underrated players. If they are able to find a formation that capitalizes on Lloyd, which lets the young legs do the running around her, and which compensates for the weakness they’ll inevitably suffer in the central midfield, this could be a genuinely great team.

Tier Four: Sigh…

9. Houston Dash (5%)

Why they’ll finish ninth: I already wrote several pieces on Houston, so I won’t belabor the point much here. They’ll finish last because their roster is (much) weaker than everyone else in the league, because their front office isn’t going to do anything to fix those problems, and because it’s exceptionally hard to stay motivated when you’re surrounded by institutional decay.

Why I might be wrong: The problems with the Dash are mostly upstairs. By all accounts, the players and coaches are giving it 100%, and there is a lot to be said for a strong team mentality. If everyone is pulling in the same direction, and if the organizational plans are well-defined, teams that look fairly weak on paper can turn in some impressive results. It would be genuinely shocking if Houston was good enough to make the playoffs, but a solid sixth place performance shouldn’t be seen as impossible.

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

Posted on by RJ Allen

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

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

1. Roster Shakeups = Better Rivalries

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

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

2. The New Team Making Big Moves

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

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

3. Young Washington

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

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

[media-credit name=”Leanne Keator” align=”alignnone” width=”1000″][/media-credit]

4. The Prodigal Daughter Returns

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

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

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

5. We Get To Start Earlier

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

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

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

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

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

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

Utah Royals Announce Record-Breaking Jersey Sponsorship

Posted on by RJ Allen

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

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

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

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

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

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

Route Two Soccer – A Good Trade for Sky Blue

Posted on by RJ Allen

In the first big NWSL blockbuster deal of the offseason, Sky Blue traded away one of their key players. It will be hard to imagine the New Jersey side without Kelley O’Hara, who has been a bulwark of the team’s structure, formation, and identity since the founding of the league. However, while it’s obviously never a good thing to lose a world-class player, this was a good deal for Sky Blue, which should help them compete not just in 2017, but for years to come.

The key difficulty with replacing a player like O’Hara is her versatility and adaptability. From her hybrid wingback position last year, she covered almost the entire right flank, offering pace and precision in the attack, wide possession in the midfield, and defensive coverage at the back. There is probably no single player in the league who can fill all those responsibilities. However, this deal does a very good job of covering that gap with two players, and in doing so provides critical depth.

Shea Groom is very good and should be even better at Sky Blue

Shea Groom is already among the league’s best players, a fact which has gone slightly unrecognized due to FCKC’s broader struggles, and her role as a supporting forward rather than a pure goal-scorer. But look at the work she did playing behind Sydney Leroux, and then imagine that same inventiveness, aggression, and movement being leveraged by the world’s best player. Groom was already a very good player, but the chance to play off Sam Kerr for an entire year could be what it takes to launch her up to the next level. Her game is based on inventive movement into space, insightful passing, and sheer relentless aggression. Those qualities will fit perfectly into the Sky Blue attack. With Kerr as the focal point, Groom will be free to pull strings from behind and then burst into unlocked spaces.

This is something that Sky Blue desperately missed in 2017, with O’Hara offering some support, and players like Maya Hayes often making critical contributions as well. But O’Hara’s defensive responsibilities kept her too deep to sustain useful wide possession on a regular basis, and the other forward options were too inconsistent. Groom should fill that space, and free up everyone else to focus more on their own positional responsibilities as well.

That is an important, underlooked feature of this deal. Obviously, Sky Blue’s problem in 2017 wasn’t in the attack (they were among the league leaders in goal scored), but rather the defense. However, those things are connected. Their attack was strong, but often extremely chaotic. They scored by throwing numbers forward, trying to get the ball to Kerr, and hoping for the best. Bringing in a player like Groom – who offers inventiveness, skill in possession, and the potential to form a unified strike force with Kerr – could enable a far more coherent team structure. If so, it will significantly bolster the defense, rendering them less susceptible to being ripped apart in transition.

Christina Gibbons will make a big difference

Bringing in Christina Gibbons should also help on that front. She offers the sort of smooth possession and creative passing from deep positions that Sky Blue was desperately missing last year. Her skill on the ball, and her off-the-charts passing IQ, could be critical to a smoother game.

The big question with Gibbons is her best position. She started last season at left back, before moving to the central midfield halfway through the season. The transition was generally successfully, if not a perfect fit. The problem is that she simply isn’t as fast or as physical as you’d like from a modern attacking fullback, while also not (yet) showing the positional acumen you’d like in a central midfielder. Those are not huge liabilities, and even without being a perfect fit in either role she remains an extremely good player. But if she is able to settle into one role, and learn to compensate more effectively for her modest limitations, she could be a truly excellent player.

If the team is willing to think a little outside the box, there are a lot of options here. For example, while Sky Blue is already possessed of some solid midfield depth, a 3-5-2 setup might be able to leverage their strengths and manage some of their weaknesses. Adding a third body to the backline could stabilize the defense, and give Gibbons a bit more freedom to play a more expansive role upfield, without needing to use her exclusively in the already-clogged central midfield positions. This is just one idea. Surely, there are plenty of other options.

The other piece of the deal – the swap in draft picks – is not likely to have major immediate consequences, but does give Sky Blue some additional options. Their biggest needs are: 1) a pure defensive midfielder, 2) depth in defense, and 3) wingers. Unfortunately, the pickings in those areas are somewhat slim. But with two consecutive picks, they may now be able to spend one on filling those gaps, while using the other on a better player, even if she doesn’t necessarily fit a particular need.

Losing O’Hara is tough, but this deal is a good one

In the end, Sky Blue have done a superb job managing the loss of a club talisman. O’Hara provided on all three lines, and no single player could have replaced her. But the combination of Groom and Gibbons gives them a reasonably close approximation of O’Hara’s contributions, while also adding significantly to the club’s depth. Last year, they often felt like the Sam and Kelley show, with everyone else just trying to the boat from sinking. Under those conditions, trading out one world-class player for two good-to-great players makes a lot of sense. Particularly when those two players are young, and have enormous breakout potential.

Any trade which gives up a player as good as Kelley O’Hara will be tough to swallow. And by itself, this is probably only a lateral move for 2017. It doesn’t fix the core problem of the defense, and it actually magnifies the problem of relative inexperience in the team. Still, by adding several players of great quality, it does a lot to improve the team’s chances in the long term. And if one or both of Groom and Gibbons take that next step forward, we might just look back on this as a key moment in Sky Blue’s transition from a solid mid-table team to a title contender.

That doesn’t make it a bad trade for Utah, especially given Laura Harvey’s noted skill at using the international market to bolster her team. And there is still plenty of time for other big moves (with the rumored return of Caitlin Foord very much in the mix) to complicate the picture. But this is certainly a strong start to the Reddy era at Sky Blue.

O’Hara and Lytle Traded To Utah Royals FC

Posted on by RJ Allen

In the first big blockbuster move of the offseason, the National Women’s Soccer League has announced a trade between Sky Blue FC and Utah Royals FC.

Utah has acquired U.S. Women’s National Team defender Kelley O’Hara, midfielder Taylor Lytle, and the No. 25 draft pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft from Sky Blue in exchange for forward Shea Groom, midfielder/defender Christina Gibbons, and the No. 4 draft pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.

“Very exciting moves as we continue strengthening our roster in advance of preseason by obtaining highly talented players like [O’Hara] and [Lytle],” Royals general manager Craig Waibel said. “We look to properly balance the roster in the coming months in order to align with the attacking-oriented combination and possession-based style Laura wants to play.”

“On behalf of everyone here at Sky Blue FC, we also want to thank [O’Hara] and [Lytle] for all they have done over the past five seasons. They made major contributions to our club, both on and off the field, and they played significant roles in helping to develop professional women’s soccer here in New Jersey,” Sky Blue FC president and GM Tony Novo said in the Sky Blue FC news release.