2026 nwsl season previews: a smorgasbord of vibe checks [angel city-kc current]

Happy NWSL is Finally Back to All Who Celebrate!

It’s preview time and I am of course choosing to do them a bit differently. I’m essentially going to do a detailed vibe check for each team in which I’ll spotlight a thing to know (key story of their offseason), three notes (three important bits of info), a player who’s gotta hoop for the team to have success, plus a young baller to watch.

But this is still a vibe check, and I needed a way to measure positive and negative vibes. So I’ve some up with a new rating scale. With F1 back, I’m rating teams on either the Existential Leclerc Scale or Smug Toto Scale.

Last season Leclerc was forced out of a race after he was crashed into, and rather than go back to his garage he sat on a hill and got existential, it was very funny. This season, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff showed that 1) he always knows where the cameras are, 2) when he’s on one, and 3) that his team made a championship winning car, so he flashed an ultra smug face during the first race weekend.

So, if I have more questions than answers about a team they’ll be rated on the Existential Leclerc Scale, which will be a further rating of 1-5 Leclercs, with five Leclercs being the most confounding. If, however, a team cooked a little bit, they’ll be judged on the Smug Toto Scale, from 1-5 as well. Teams and fans on this scale should be excited about their season.

It’s a very silly system that I just came up with, but it feels right. Lights out and away we go.

2025: 11^th | 7W - 6D - 13L

Head Coach: Alexander Straus 🇳🇴
previous job: Bayern Munich (‘22-’25)

Straus had a weird start to his NWSL tenure. He was repeatedly unceremoniously welcomed to the NWSL by several teams, he never got a handle on solving the defense, and Chelsea’s negotiations with Alyssa Thompson meant that he lost her after just four games.

Let’s stick with the defense though, which was bad bad. Like, super bad. Like on a list you don’t want to be on type bad.

The way to read this list is that the top is the worst, so congrats to Angel City, they did not concede the highest expected goals against (xGA) per 96, but it was enough to be bottom-5 bad. Every single one of those teams have something in common: they all also finished in the bottom five of the table last year. Oof.

I’ve been begging for Sveindís to come to the NWSL, and while it probably took a season or two longer that it should have, she’s still just 24 and has plenty of development left to do. Problem is, I didn’t really expect her to be in a ‘You Are Alyssa Thompson Now, K Thx!’ scenario. Given the rest of the roster, that’s pretty much what they need her to be (or in the ballpark, but like only a 10,000 seat ballpark).

Sveindís joined her coach in absorbing several ‘Welcome to the NWSL’ moments last season. She wanted a bit more time than she was ever going to get in this league, got bullied off the ball from time to time, and struggled to identify the right windows (and shots) to shoot despite getting into the box quite often.

Thompson had to figure these things out as well, and Sveindís has the advantage of a much larger frame. At 5’10 she might need to copy Emma Sears’ workout program, but raising her xDawg is what made coming to the NWSL a necessity. It’s the missing piece in her game, and if she adds it, Angel City will have the star they desperately need to replace the ones that left.

Suarez was fun to watch at Florida State and given that she just finished her sophomore year I thought we’d have at least one more season of her in college, especially since he only made two starts her freshman year But she surprised the hell out of me by deciding to go pro, and I respect it. She scored five goals and delivered nine assists in 22 games played (21 starts), and is 2/2 in winning national championships.

I’m not sold on Straus as a coach or Angel City as a roster just yet. There are a lot of players I like that I haven’t mentioned, I’m just not sure how he plans on piecing them together, and, crucially, in a way that fixes the defense. The club has yet to use any of the money they received for Alyssa Thompson, and tbh along with no longer having to pay the salaries of Thompson and Christen Press, who retired this offseason, I expected more.

2025: 13^th | 4W - 8D - 14L

Head Coach: Emma Coates 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
previous job: England W U23 (‘23-’25)

Bay FC have an identity crisis. Well, maybe not as in ‘they don’t know who they want to be’, I think they do, they just have no idea how to get there. They dropped several bags to acquire players ahead of their inaugural season, and it turns out it takes more than that to compete in the NWSL (message!)(raise the cap, it’ll be fine).

Ownership seem to be sold on anyone who can promise beautiful soccer, which is I guess how they ended up so suspiciously protective of Albertin Montoya. Now they’ve turned to Emma Coates, who spent a lot of time collaborating with Lionesses coach Sarina Wiegman, and whose U23 Lionesses were talented, but struggled against the style of play that Coates will see often in the NWSL.

I’m encouraged by her quote at the end of this piece, “If you want exciting football then it’s about getting that individual to be the best they can be rather than molding them into something specific.” That’s difficult to do given that you still need players to do all the responsibilities that need to be done during a match, but it could be a good approach for a team with a lot of odd pieces to fit together.

The second most surprising move of the offseason to me was Claire Hutton leaving Kansas City, the first was her choosing to go to Bay FC. A year from a World Cup, she’s showing a lot of faith in an organization that hasn’t exactly earned it. It could be a lot simpler than all that though. Bay have a desperate need for a reliable defensive midfield specialist, and even at just 20-years-old, that’s Claire Hutton’s music.

Before her move, Hutton was talking about using this season to develop the attacking aspects of her game. Bay might prefer that she pump the brakes on that until they figure out everything else around her, but she’s talented enough to raise the team’s floor on her own. If Bay are smart, they’ll use the foundation she brings to finally start moving toward their ceiling.

The former Barcelona B player is just 20-years-old, and was looking like a star before tearing her ACL and meniscus in 2023. I was hype about Gamero coming into the league and was hoping we’d get our first glimpses of her late last season, but recovery took a bit more time.

If Gamero is back back, and picks up where she left off, don’t be surprised if she’s in the starting XI by the end of the year.

Adding Claire Hutton to your midfield should be enough to plant you firmly on the Smug Toto Scale. The problem is, well, quite literally everything else. Bay traded away a key attacking piece in Penelope Hocking (resulting in some weird math), and have an outrageously thin defense. Three potential starters are on maternity leave and two are injured, one short-term, one season ending.

So instead of Hutton bumping them to the Smug Toto Scale, unfortunately the mess around her means she’s the only reason they aren’t receiving more Existential Leclercs. Shoutout to Hutton for asking her landlord to raise her rent but sheesh.

2025: n/a

Head Coach: Filipa Patão 🇵🇹
previous job: Benfica W (‘20-’25)

With recent expansion we’ve seen multiple approaches to building a brand new team, but I don’t think we’ve seen anyone do what Boston has done. They combined a coach with an endless supply of xDawg, Filipa Patão, with several players who match that energy.

Her Benfica grabbed a lot of attention for the way they played Barcelona. There were some lopsided losses, which is to be expected, but they snuck a 4-4 result from them at their peak. No matter the game state, Patão had her players unafraid to get into battles out of possession, and take risks in possession, against one of the scariest teams in woso.

I have no idea if it will lead to on pitch success or a playoff appearance, but I do know Boston won’t be fun to play against no matter the scoreline.

Boston has made some signings of well-known players who will certainly need to perform, but starting out they’re gonna need maximum intensity from everybody. They won’t have any familiarity playing together in real NWSL games, and the league (and length of travel) will be a new experience for much of the roster.

Caño is 22-years-old, made her Barcelona debut in 2022, but has only managed ten total official appearances. That’s not unsurprising given what it takes to stick around the XI as a young player (Vicky López, Claudia Pina), but that doesn’t mean Caño a) can’t hoop, and b) can’t still develop into a star.

This rating is solely based on my enjoyment of the roster juxtaposed with everything Boston will need to do and get right for their first season to be a success. I think fans should be excited by the roster and that the front office seems to have gone on a run of quality decisions after the BOS Nation & too many balls fiasco (tattoo gloryhole excluded).

*not a typo, here’s the origin

2025: 14^th | 3W - 11D - 12L

Head Coach: Martin Sjögren 🇸🇪
previous job: Hammarby W (‘24-’25)

I’m a firm believer that General Managers, Sporting Directors and Owners should have to do regular press conferences instead of leaving it up to players and the head coach to answer all the questions. Sometimes it’s above them, and with Chicago this is very much the case. Of course, one of the reasons they don’t is because they very often say silly things, like Chicago GM Richard Feuz telling The Equalizer that according to “numbers from Opta, from SoccerDonna, the team value is better this [2025] season.”

Naturally, and rightly, this has stuck and the jokes pop off every time the team move a player in or out, because basing literally anything on numbers from SoccerDonna is extraordinarily silly. Beyond that, the part that frustrated me the most was that he chose the word ‘value’, which signals to me that the front office is not interested in developing a team for on-pitch success, but rather #value #for #shareholders.

Given that the team was purchased by Laura Ricketts, who’s part of the same billionaire family that owns the Chicago Cubs (Laura is on the club’s board), this approach is even more unforgivable than the team’s shoddy logo redesign. Case in point: this offseason they accepted a bag for star attacker Ludmila, which, ok fine, but haven’t reinvested the funds to replace her production. Given that she was 34% of their goal output last year, that’s a problem they’ve simply chosen not to fix. Ok.

Overall it feels like the Stars have miscast Grosso as an attacking player when she should be deeper in midfield, progressing the ball to attackers, and playing more of a box-to-box role.

Different competitions and all that, but this radar features stats in her final season at Juventus that compare her to midfielders outside Serie A Women as well. If Sjögren gets Grosso playing further back and refines her role, we could see her become a standout player again.

Evans was a stalwart and consistent defender for Stanford for four years, racking up 85 appearances (all starts). She was a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist and ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2025 (still not used to Stanford being part of the ACC now, wtf). With Kuikka out Sam Staab will need help, and Evans is a young player (21!!) with loads of maturity and experience at a top-level college program who could fill that role right away. As The Great Sylvs often says, keep you a Stanford defender.

This rating is based largely on my disdain for billionaires who buy sports team as pure revenue ventures. Teams are luxuries and require investment. A lot of people and careers are at stake and to me you owe more to them than you do any #shareholder. I’m not against running a team in a smart way and finding advantages in data, but SoccerDonna is representative of neither.

2025: n/a

Head Coach: Nick Cushing 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
previous job: Man City Women (’24 - interim)

As impressed as I am with Denver’s roster, I’m unenthused by their head coaching hire. Cushing is certainly a recognizable name given how much time he’s spent in the sphere of City Football Group (Manchester City Women and New York City FC), but never really impressed much at either stop.

To be fair, he won trophies in his first tour with Manchester City Women (2013-2020), but the WSL then was nowhere near what the WSL is now. Last year his interim stint back with the club after Gareth Taylor’s much deserved yeeting was meh, losing only to Chelsea but drawing with Everton and Manchester United, needing a 90^th minute goal to beat Brighton, and squeaking by Leicester City 1-0.

At my most chaotic I would like to see Boston Legacy head coach Filipa Patão with this roster instead. Until I find the correct infinity stone, or study quantum physics enough to make that happen, I’ll shutup about it I guess.

Expansion teams usually splash cash to sign at least one player that’d make a statement (read: sell tickets), and Summit decided to bring The Great Horan Heaps back to the NWSL. The league has changed a lot since she left, and so has she. In her Portland Thorns days she was a marauding box-to-box playmaker who once put up a thirteen goal season.

But age and injury have slowed her down a bit, and she’s had to adapt her game. Playing for a star studded team like Lyonnes made this easier, but with Summit she’ll likely be a central figure once again. I’m not entirely sure that at 31—with a knee that prompted teammates to nickname her ‘Potato’ due to the way it swell—she’s physically capable of having a similar impact in this NWSL. If Cushing is smart, this won’t be what he asks of her.

All that being said, wow, what a time:

In my review of the USWNT’s performance in the SheBelieves Tournament I wrote a bit about how the current player pool is outrageously deep everywhere except central striker. That’s going to change very soon, and players like Olivia Thomas are why.

While some of these players might be shifted to wider roles, and Thomas could be one of them, there’s an undeniable instinct in and around the box that Summit fans will love. She also has a piledriver of a shot, as illustrated perfectly by the goal above, which you should watch several times. (Addendum: Sheesh.)

There are several questions for both expansion teams, but I also feel that they each did enough specific work building their squads to make their fans excited, and be decently competitive in the league. If the veterans still got it and the kids hoop, Denver will be a problem, but those are two things with squirrelly trajectories.

2025: 10^th | 8W - 6D - 12L

Head Coach: Fabrice Gautrat 🇺🇸
previous job: North Carolina Courage, asst. (‘23-’24)

I find it hard to figure out what exactly head coach Fabrice Gautrat is up to. First, the defense struggled mightily. The rolling non-penalty expected goals difference (xG vs. xG allowed, NPxGD) paints a real stinky picture, with extremely wide margins in the wrong direction.

Full season pass networks can be a bit useless, but in this case I think it’s worth looking at. Gautrat most in-depth coaching experience prior to this appointment came from spending a couple seasons as an assistant to Sean Nahas. You don’t have to squint to see the same deep mid-block positioning, close passing connections, and very little width or verticality.

The graphic below charts passes per possession and shots taken per 96. Last season the Dash had an above average number of passes per game and the second fewest shots. They weren’t as pass happy as San Diego, but averaged near the same number of passes per possession as the Washington Spirit. The difference is in passing patterns and the effectiveness of those passes, which explains the wide variance in shots between the two.

I’ll get into this more below, but I have sympathy for those at the Dash who are trying to put out a competitive soccer team. But knowing the situation the club is in, Gautrat might need to shift from what he wants to do to what he needs to do. In essence, Bev Yanez this shit.

Right now the passy passy game isn’t going to cut it, he’d need more technicians and quality throughout the squad to do that in this league and expect to win (and then there’s also the question of if he is qualified to instill that sort of system successfully). Instead, the team has Avery Patterson and a lot of young runners. Use them.

Houston has a bit of a struggle roster but has managed to lure some top college talents, likely with promises of match time. It’s something more established rosters can’t offer, so it’s smart. But it does mean that the veterans on the team have even larger burdens, and in attack that means Yazmeen Ryan has to be the Yazmeen Ryan that hooped her way into USWNT camps.

It ain’t that simple though, here’s what a good system can do for a good player versus what a meh system does to a good player.

Progressive passes to shots, progressive carries, final third touches, and non-penalty xG are all down. There are still positive signs, expected assists are about the same and turnovers are trending in the right direction, though the latter could be a feature of Gautrat’s risk averse approach. There’s wiggle room to let Yaz cook a little, particularly alongside…

I dunno what pitch Houston pulled out to get a former Tarheel and Blue Devil to start their professional careers on the same team, but respect.

Last year Kat Rader was Duke’s highest goal contributor, doing it with an extraordinarily balanced 12 goals and 12 assists in 22 games played (21 starts). I love the goal below because it shows quick decision making and quality technique. It’s kind of an absurd first time finish, especially from that angle and distance.

Kate Faasse only missed out on being the Tarheels top goal contributor by three goals, falling just behind Olivia Thomas (now with Denver Summit). The highlights below give Houston fans insight on what to expect. Faasse is a very willing run with good timing and the instincts to creep just out of the sight of defenders without drifting too wide. The runs do the work, and whether she’s passing or finishing she has a soft and accurate first time touch.

I’m sorry to the players on the team that I enjoy and Houston fans but the team is in a weird spot. Until the team is sold and real work can begin, this is a confusing roster with an inexperienced head coach, and if it stays this way all season I expect Houston to be near the bottom of the table again.

2025: 1^st | 21W - 2D - 3L

Head Coach: Chris Armas 🇺🇸
previous job: Colorado Rapids (‘23-’25)

Kansas City absolutely dominated the league last season. They were ahead of the second place finishers by twenty-one points and had an absurd +36 goal difference (second highest was +10). Problem is the Current crashed out in the playoffs two rounds before the championship game that almost everyone expected them to not just be in, but win. That led to a major shakeup with former USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski stepping down as head coach to flee to the front office as the club’s Sporting Director.

I get it, it was a devastating loss and between that and his USWNT tenure, there’s been a lot of ire sent his way (I have certainly played my part, as I will never forget Catarina Macario playing just seven minutes at the Tokyo Olympics). So naturally, with a team full of superstar talent who can dominate a league that’s never been dominated to the degree it was dominated in 2025, the next coaching hire was surely going to be a well-respected, deeply experienced juggernaut of a coach to match such a squad.

Instead club owner Chris Long called Jesse Marsch for some reason and Marsch told him to hire Chris Armas so he did. Seriously.

On one hand, this is seems like a foolproof roster. On the other, what in tarnation do you mean that was your hiring process? What in the back pattin’, good ol’ boy network is that shit? Please be serious. Armas has never coached a women’s team, and had a losing record in his last job, which ended after Colorado Rapids yeeted him in October of last year. This is who gets to now coach Temwa Chawinga, Debinha, Lo LaBonta and Croix Bethune. Sure. Ok. Uh huh. Whatever.

If you were to ask me to name one player that the Current must keep I would not be a nerd and go galaxy brain with it because it is very obviously Temwa Chawinga, so good job well done. But if you were to ask me the same with the caveat ‘ok, non-Temwa division’, I would say Claire Hutton.

It’s still wild to me to talk about a 20-year-old CM/DM who’s already one of the best in the NWSL, but it’s true and has been. There are only a handful of direct replacements in all of women’s soccer and none of them are headed to the Current.

Making up for the loss of Hutton will likely fall on the shoulders of players like Lo LaBonta, Rocky Rodriguez and/or Bayley Feist. Vanessa DiBernardo is still on the team, but just had a baby and is out on maternity leave. Last season LaBonta, Debinha and DiBernardo played at MVP-caliber levels, and a lot of that was facilitated by the work Hutton was doing beside or below them in midfield.

The Current have too good of a roster to completely fall apart due to the loss of one non-Temwa player. But there will be an impact. Especially because they haven’t brought in a direct replacement, leaving it up to *checks notes* Chris ….Armas???…. to figure it out.

Paul is a fluid 5’10 forward who played four years at Alabama, never scoring fewer than eight goals in a season and exploding in her final season with twelve goals and seven assists in 21 starts.

Peep the #feetwork. And while you’re at it you might wanna also watch this absolute banger she scored against Stanford.

This team will still be tough to beat and/or keep up with. But if God took time out of their eternity to grant me the oddly specific power to turn the Current’s difficulty level up several notches I’d have them lose and not replace Claire Hutton, then make a very curious head coaching hire, like, say, Chris Armas. Now to take a big sip of coffee and read up on Kansas City’s offseaso-… ■