2025 nwsl week 5: xG race charts & g+ pass networks

The Tuesday game threw things off a bit but we’re back with all the data from week 5 int he NWSL. The marquee result was the Spirit over Orlando, and the pass networks show how Washington achieved something that’s one been done to the Pride three times in the last three seasons.

Beyond that, we also have Kansas City juggernauting, Utah and Bay wasting everyone’s time, the Thorns discovering that midfield structure is good, Rahsing deciding to fill Taylor Flint’s role with hope, Sam Laity’s weird solution to not having Alyssa Thompson, and more.

Here’s everything from week 5, including Tuesday’s match, in xG race charts and g+ pass networks.

portland thorns 4-1 gotham fc (tuesday)

Um, well, ok.

After each team scored early the game reset and they spent the rest of the first half not doing much to threaten each other’s goal. In the second half the Thorns decided to try some stuff and Gotham was like ‘wait no we talked about this.’

The one new and very key thing the Thorns did was deploy a successful double pivot. This helped them have more controlled possessions, allowed them to find midfield connections across the width of the pitch, and, crucially, gave their forward players room to cook. It led to Caiya Hanks’ breakout game.

That bright green ring is her receiving g+ on the day, meaning she (along with Alidou) did a great job of moving into spaces to receive the ball. Hanks regularly got behind Nealy Martin (who was playing right back due to other injuries), scored her first pro goal, and picked up her first pro assist.

Portland’s double pivot also limited Gotham’s ability to connect passes in the attacking half. Schupansky and Portilho both have negative receiving g+, and while Esther was able to find space, the service was infrequent and her deep red bubble means her passing g+ was the worst on the team. Not being able to connect in the final third, or get behind the defense, is how a team that scored 7 goals in the previous two games managed just .75 xG.

utah royals 1-0 chicago tsars

Chicago didn’t deserve this.

Ally Sentnor’s extra late penalty was .76 of Utah’s total of .99 xG. That is horrendous and potentially worthy of a trial at The Hague. Anyway, without the penalty Chicago had the better chances, but keep in mind these charts are always to scale. The Tsars’ two biggest chances were just .10 and .11 xG, which is at, and ever so slightly above, average (both shots were blocked).

This is just weird. Chicago are the one team in the NWSL that regularly invites teams into their defensive half and attempts to spring counters from there. Utah, for whatever reason, decided not to commit numbers forward to take advantage, and instead kept all but three players near or below the halfway line.

Falling all the way into Chicago’s trap is not ideal, but giving them little to defend while racking up just .23 xG ain’t it either.

Without much to defend, Chicago posted their most adventurous pass network yet. Still, only two players were regularly beyond the center circle (Ludmila and Joseph, obvs), but the rest were pushed higher than normal.

Extremely hilariously though, they had no idea what to do with all that space. Shoutout to this groundbreaking 1-7-2 formation. Pep could never.

seattle reign 1-0 portland thorns

This was some old school Cascadia Rivalry vibes. This was a cage match with a little soccer sprinkled in. Sometimes the spectacle isn’t the game, it’s the hate, and nothing illustrated that more than Laura Harvey spiking a bouquet of roses into the turf after the final whistle.

Lynn started and, in typical Lynn fashion, was consistently available to receive outlet passes. I like how close her positioning is to Mondésir and I hope Harvey keeps cultivating that on-pitch relationship. Lynn is at her best when she has an attacking partner on the same page. She’s dangerous enough as a singular threat, but when someone is with her she gets to use the full and vicious extent of her skillset.

Compare this to what the Thorns did just a couple days later against Gotham. The double pivot gave them a midfield structure that is nonexistent here, and allowed their attacking players space to operate. This pass network is what we’ve been seeing from the Thorns in pretty much every game of the Rob Gale era. If he can consistently do the things that made them successful against Gotham, my only remaining complaint might be that he needs to find a tailor.

angel city 0-4 gotham fc

This is the Angel City that I know.

Tbh I hate this, because as much as I’ve let my feelings on Sam Laity as a coach be known, I really like Angel City’s squad. But this game showed how much of their early season success (read: all) was more down to Alyssa Thompson operating at an espresso’esque level. Without her, .56 xG is all they could manage. Oof.

Part of the problem was Laity not understanding how sisters work and expecting Gisele Thompson to Alyssa Thompson things, despite being a more natural defender. She found space, but the red bubble represents poor passing g+, which is understandable given that her positioning is unfamiliar and doesn’t allow her the patterns she’s used to.

It seems like this would have been the perfect opportunity to start Christen Press, but she only got in the game in the 76th minute. Weird, and frankly unacceptable behavior. To make matters a tad bit worse, .56 xG is not good, but exactly half of that total was due the result of two shots by Press and a shot creating action for Katie Zelem—all after the 89th minute. It’s almost like…

Gotham’s style usually leads to them having weird pass networks, but when you see width, that’s often a good thing. Also, when you see a clear defensive structure, that’s a good sign as well. It typically means they were able to execute their midfield press and spray the ball wide to create transition opportunities. Portilho and Silva’s green rings represent positive receiving g+.

When everything is going right for Gotham, this is what it looks like.

rahsing louisville 1-4 san diego wavé

[/clutches pearls]

It appears that instead of trying to fill the hole left by Taylor Flint missing this match, Loovull decided ‘eh it’ll be fine, what the worst that could happen?’—then swiftly found out.

I truly hate to say it, and I know there’s a nine-hundred million percent chance this backfired, but NWSL Jonas Eidevall has been kind of fun. I’m not sure where all this high pressing and quick transition stuff came from, but this is certainly the league for it.

Also, San Diego managed to have their best second half of a game all season. If they can consistently put together 90-minute performances they could sneak quite a few points throughout the season.

orlando pride 0-1 washington spirit

Gift Monday’s goal was .65 of the Spirit’s 1.15 xG total, and the lone goal of the game. It feels like that’s just going to be the margin whenever these two teams play.

The Spirit keeping a clean sheet might be the bigger miracle than Gift’s gift of a goal. Orlando managed twenty damn shots but “only” 1.61 xG, which led to a below average xG per shot of .08. You have to go back to June 15, 2024 for the last time the Pride managed zero goals from at least 1.6 xG. (And before that you have to go back to May 27, 2023.)

Keeping Marta away from Banda was big for the Spirit. There’s a very faint passing line between the two, which means that while Marta receiving g+ is positive, the Spirit weren’t letting her link directly with Banda. Same with Watt. In fact, Banda’s slightly below average receiving and passing g+ is shocking to see, but evidence of how the Spirit managed to cut her supply, and ensure they could defend her with numbers in isolated 1v1 moments.

It ain’t pretty, but it was effective.

nc courage 0-1 bay fc

Super extra strength double stinky.

Narrow. Minimal width. No threats to run in behind. Copy/paste.

Bless you, Kiki Pickett, for giving everyone a wonder goal to make this worthwhile.

kc current 2-0 houston dash

The Kansas City Current remain in Terminator Mode. I am extremely concerned. It feels like they can do this to anyone. Be forewarned.

Advanced forward positioning and big player bubbles, Kansas City are very mean.

This has happened to the Dash a couple times now. Last time it was Gotham who neutralized them, then the following week Houston played Angel City, couldn’t rediscover their form, and lost 3-1. Struggling against Gotham and KC is expected at this stage of their rebuild, but the Dash need to make sure they don’t carry bad habits from tough opponents into winnable game against lesser competition.

This weekend they play the Royals, so we’ll get an answer on whether or not they’ve figured out how to bounce back after struggling against a top team.

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