2025 nwsl week 2: xG race charts & g+ pass networks

NWSL players went off in week 2, so only one game matched the 1-1 scoreline that featured four times in week 1. We’re also starting to see a bit more personality from teams, how they want to play, and who is already vital to their ability to do so. It’s only the second week of a long season, but there are some interesting early trends.

Remember, we’ve upped our game with pass networks this year. In addition to focusing on American Soccer Analysis’ passing goals added (g+) for the size and color each player bubble, each bubble has a ring whose color corresponds to their receiving g+. It’s a fun and imo effective way to identify a player’s impact when receiving and maintaining possession.

Alright nerds, let’s nerd. Here are week 2’s xG race chart and g+ pass networks.

portland thorns 1-1 angel city fc

Sam Laity’s 2023 Houston Dash, which existed for just 18 regular season games, only managed more than 1.0 xG in nine matches. That’s half. That’s not good, but it appears this streak is continuing at Angel City.

Meanwhile, Portland’s twenty-one shots look like a peppering, but at just .07 xG/shot there’s certainly a mix of quality. However, they did manage to take six shots at or above last year’s league average of .10 xG/shot. Three were by Reilyn Turner, and two from Pietra Tordin, who subbed on in the 80th minute. I have an idea.

A lot of passing around the back but I like that three of the four attacking players have positive receiving g+, suggesting that Castellanos, Turner and Linnehan were finding good areas to receive and maintain possession. Moultrie is the one forward player who didn’t do that, but her pass g+ ended up highest among all starters.

Portland’s primary issue is a lack of width, which allows defenders to pack in, and likely led to a third of their shots being taken from well outside the box. There’s also a whole lot of space between Hiatt and Obaze in possession, which isn’t terrible and helps with buildup, but could be exposed in transition.

Laity again had that weird off balance thing where several defender and midfielders are drawn to one side of the pitch while attackers huddle on the opposite side. Idgi, and frankly, it’s not for me to get. That’s between Sam Laity and God.

nc courage 1-2 seattle reign

Sean Nahas might see this match in his nightmares for months to come. First, Reign score a very Nahas-coded goal with quick passing and movement to deliver a low cross from the right that’s met by a runner into the box. It’s the sort of goal the Courage spend the majority of most matches trying to score.

Then, after a couple missed chances of their own, North Carolina go down 2-0 to Jordyn Bugg’s absolute thunderbolt (#BUGGBOMB) from 32 yards. Hilarious. Dastardly. Villainous. A potential sign from God to change your ways.

Sigh. Jaedyn Shaw started as a false 9 and Ashley Sanchez was stuck again on the right wing. As a result, only one got into central areas, and there was very little connection between them.

Though unlike last week, they had the most touches in the final third among starters, but combined for just three shots (all Shaw) and four shot creating actions. Matsukubo had four shot creating actions by herself, and although North Carolina were chasing an equalizer by then, Shinomi Koyama, who subbed on in the 79th minute, managed four as well.

Yes! YES! Ok so those center backs are quite deep and farther from the midfield than you may want, but this is a Laura Harvey team with all but 2.5 outfield players hanging out in the opposition’s half in possession. I’ve been waiting for this for so long I might shed a tear.

Ji found a great spot to hang out and ping passes, her green pass and receiving g+ shows how effective she can be in such a role. If this continues the Reign might really start cooking once Lynn Biyendolo and Nérilia Mondésir are fit enough to start.

washington spirit 0-2 kc current

Well, damn. About half of Kansas City’s xG comes from a penalty plus Chawinga’s stoppage time goal while the Spirit were trying to equalize, but this is just what the Current can do to almost anyone.

Beyond the result, the way the Current managed this game will give them a lot of confidence in the future. The Spirit’s availability report is a damn novel (and an awful one at that, 0 stars), but Kansas City hung out in a 442 out of possession, made buildup difficult, used Chawinga, Cooper and Debinha to create high quality chances without conceding such chances to the Spirit. They managed the game perfectly, and got a big early three points off a top table rival.

The Spirit deployed the ‘oh shit, Chawinga’ defense and went with a back three formation. However, it also helped them in their buildup, which was a curious and unfortunate journey against Houston. Bernal hit some absolutely sweet passes from middle center back spot, and McKeown had a solid defensive game against Chawinga.

The issue for the Spirit was in relying on their attack to create on the ball. Unfortunately this is where player availability played a massive role. Working the ball to attacking players was made difficult by Kansas City’s setup. When the Spirit were able to progress the ball into dangerous areas, they needed to rely on attacking players to create from there. No disrespect, but as of this moment Chloe Ricketts, Ashley Hatch and Makenna Morris aren’t as dangerous as Rose Kouassi, Ouleye Sarr and Trinity Rodman.

Also, Leicy Santos did a lot of solid defensive work but was forced to play much deeper in midfield than she wants, which meant her creativity was often missed in attacking areas as well.

Yup. Compact 442 with Debinha and Chawinga always available to receive passes up top. Vicious stuff.

Also, we might need to talk about Vintage and/or Renaissance Debinha. Her passing and receiving g+ were goth absurdly high, and just like last week she managed to make a complete nuisance of herself in the attacking third. Of the Current’s 16 shots, ten were taken or generated by Debinha, and added up to 2.41 of her team’s xG total.

bay fc 2-0 rahsing louisville

First things first, I hope Savannah DeMelo is alright. She went down with lightheadedness and was taken to the hospital, so all the good vibes to her.

As for the game, well, Louisville got soccer’d, and hard. They conceded two goals from eight shots, which is likely very annoying. Even more so when all shots only combined for an average of .06 xG per shot. Brutal. Funny too, but brutal.

Bay decided not to go with the back three formation they unveiled in week one, and instead went back to a more traditional. setup. I’m not so sure it worked.

Game state matters though, and the early goal likely changed the dynamic, and going into halftime up 2-0 surely did as well. Apart from Dydasco and Lema, no one in the attacking half had positive pass or receiving g+. This could be a matter of protecting a lead, or a sign of potential future struggle. We’ll probably find out when they play the Washington Spirit this Friday.

Heavens (derogatory).

Do remember that the size of player bubbles represents passing frequency as well. All them bubbles real tiny y’all. Also, Louisville had 45% possession and once again had the lowest passing accuracy across the league, with just 68%.

san diego wavé 3-2 utah royals

This is a whole lotta goals for not a particularly high combined xG total, my kinda shit tbh. Claudia Zornoza’s free kick was the most audacious of the bunch by far, but some of the other goals were beautifully worked, Mina Tanaka’s in particular.

Utah seemed to finally wake up from week 1 slumber that extended across the first half of this game, and looked a lot more like I expected. A poor distribution error from Mandy McGlynn zapped their momentum, which denied us both teams scrapping for a winner.

I didn’t know what to expect from Gia Corley in this league, but just two games in she looks like she’s right at home. Sánchez and Cascarino’s receiving g+ is tremendous, and when you have two wide 1v1 menaces who know how to find space to receive the ball, many things open up from there.

The passing network doesn’t show any of this, but one thing I’m intrigued to see is San Diego’s plan B. Their press is ultra effective, but this is the second game in a row in which it’s worn off in the second half and their opponent was able to work their way back to an even scoreline.

Don’t love it, again.

The one thing I do love, though, is Aisha Solórzano’s receiving g+. A consistent and available central attacking presence was top of my list for the Royals in the offseason. If Solórzano can be that, they can do a lot of dangerous things with Sentnor and Tanaka, as evidenced by their second goal.

As for this pass network, well, next week will tell us whether they can replicate their second half performance.

chicago tsars 1-2 houston dash

The question after Houston’s 2-1 loss to Washington Spirit was if they were were just a bit hyped up or if they were legit. It’s Chicago, who has a front-office-refusing-to-back-their-coach problem currently playing out, but this is the type of performance a solid team puts in against a side that’s down bad.

Their one blunder from the back let Jameese Joseph bag an easy goal that ended up being nearly half of Chicago’s total. Meanwhile, Houston created three shots worth over .45 xG. Folks,,,, the Dash might be fun again.

It was good to see Ludmila back and Jameese Joseph pick up where she left off, but refer to my previous statement about Chicago’s front office. I won’t blame the coach or players for poor results given the position they’ve been put in.

Chicago invites pressure so the high line is obligatory, but the spacing looks good. Olivieri’s receiving g+ is phenomenal, which is also quite impressive given that her average positioning was in close proximity to several Chicago players.

Gareis and Bright also stood out in being able to find space to receive passes. Rookie Maggie Graham didn’t start but came on and scored her second goal in as many games. She’s a very clever player who times her runs into the box brilliantly. Having that off the bench is dangerous, but Gautrat might also need to see if it hits the same from the starting XI.

gotham fc 0-2 orlando pride

The early own goal kinda ruined this as a contest. Orlando are the type of team that will capitalize on errors and make coping with them a million times more difficult. Which happened. Then, Marta’s penalty ended up being a full 180° twisting of the knife.

Hey, this is kinda fun. Orlando’s game management can restrict teams, but Gotham scrapped and threw just about everything at them.

Last week Gotham’s width was nonexistent, and the question was whether that was a response to Seattle or something they hadn’t figured out. In this game it was a lot better, and with Reale and Stevens on the left, and Portilho on the right. It would have been intriguing to see how this match would have played out without the early own goal.

Pancaked! But honestly, this is what makes Orlando so hard to beat.

The own goal was fortunate, but it’s caused by the unique type of panic and pressure Orlando can put on any team at any moment. Angelina’s penalty is another example of this. The Pride, maybe more than any team in NWSL history, are able to successfully play to the game state. Several NWSL coaches have gone gray or lost all their hair trying to figure out how to consistently control games in the NWSL. Seb Hines has found it, and with a hairline that has remained unbothered.

The secret sauce seems to be in part that, even in these moments where players are asked to be more reserved and maintain peak concentration, the entire team still buys in. They collectively commit to limiting the opposition, and ensure games remain in their control.

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