2026 nwsl week 1: g+ pass networks & shot charts

We had eight games, all but one decided by a single goal, a team putting up 2.3 xG and losing, both expansion teams earning red cards, and our first weather delay of the new season—the NWSL is so very back.

This season I’ve made a tweak to my post-match data visualizations and replaced xG Race Charts with Shot Charts. If you spend enough time around here you know I focus a lot on how and where a team and/or player is generating shots, and the quality of those shots. The Shot Charts provide a lot more information in that regard, and I’m hype to have them.

So get in nerds, let’s review the first batch of Shot Charts and Goals Added (g+) Passing Networks of the season.

a quick explainer

If you want some deeper info on the nerdery that’s about to follow, I got you. Read and reference this explainer for a breakdown of all the elements on the shot charts and goals added (g+) passing networks I’ll be dropping all season. The good Cata Bush helped bring these to life, and there’s a lot of data captured across the two visualizations.

Week 1

The Spirit somehow manage to get themselves into these sorts of games not infrequently. That is a lot of shots in the box, and a whole lot of misses. The two biggest chances were a cross Sofia Cantore tried to backheel into the net (she’s scored like this twice, but it goes viral each time because it is not something that is expected to happen often), and Hal Hershfelt refusing to use her left foot at the far post.

Meanwhile, one of Portland’s nine shots (three on target) found its way past Sandy MacIver, allowing the Thorns to let the Spirit huff and puff until the ref blew for full time.

See that big ol’ gap where Croix Bethune used to me? I sure do.

Anyway, no central threat meant Kouassi, Santos and Monday spent a lot of time together, but were rarely able to work out the spacing or timing to get behind Portland’s line. Also, Tara Rudd (née McKeown) had an uncharacteristically poor passing day. Her passing numbers typically dip when she’s the left CB of a pair, but not by this much.

Is this a well-organized Portland defense?? Sarah Lowden may not want a head coaching job, but there are a couple teams in the league who should be calling and sending an edible arrangement or two.

Anywhoodles, Portland weren’t really trying to have much of the ball so the connections are sparse. Though once they had it, the midfield remained compact, with Tordin and Moultrie—their two best passing attacking players—staying high and central. No real surprise that their goal came from a Tordin run in behind and square pass to Moultrie in the box.

This match turned out to be an absolute scrap. Boston wanted to make a statement by turning the game into a bout of chaos, but Gotham gave them the ‘you merely adopted the dark’ speech. The result was a super stinky .66/.36. xG battle.

I’ve been higher on Boston than most people, and despite the paltry xG and Bianca St. Georges CB experiment (seriously Filipa, explain that one to me like I’m five), I think it was a fun debut. Given the coach and squad build my only prediction for Boston on the pitch was that teams would not enjoy playing against them. One game in and I think I can already claim the dub on that one.

Mid-block 4-3-3, how do you do.

I’m not gonna be happy if Midge Purce is a full-time fullback again, I feel like we’ve been through that phase and know how silly it is. If she’s an attacking wingback in a back three formation, ok fine, but as a straight up fullback she can be forced to play much deeper than you want Midge Purce to be playing. With Aissata Traoré—Boston’s best player on the day—attacking the flank on her side, she was effectively taken out of the game.

Utah was hoopin, until they weren’t.

Ana Tejada will be frustrated she didn’t capitalize on one of Utah’s two good/great shots, which would have given them a point. But overall they managed just four shots in the box, and a ton of whacks from way far out, which is how you get twelve shots to only equal .91 xG. (Maybe Ally Sentnor wasn’t the problem???)

Y’all remember the Goofy Gophers? They were a silly little cartoon duo that spent most of their time being overly polite to one another. That’s how the Current’s playmaker-heavy attack looked in the first half. Debinha, Bethune, Cooper and Sentnor all wanted to tee up the other for the final shot, but it was all either one touch or one pass too many.

Bethune in particular had this affliction, as she seemingly wanted to concoct the perfect bit of magic in her first match at CPKC Stadium. As a result her passing numbers were poor, but she made up for it with a goal.

Jimmy. Sir. What in tarnation is going on here?

Both teams put away a good/great chance, with Joelle Anderson finding a winning goal against a ten-player Denver side. Bay probably should’ve tacked on another goal or two, but given that they paid Chicago $35k to send Penelope Hocking to Kansas City, they were a bit short on finishers.

Sidenote: Alex Pfeiffer is awesome.

Bay’s team positioning is informed by going up a player after Janine Sonis’ red card put Denver down to ten. I’ll be interested to see what the team shape and location looks like 11v11, but this is what you have to do when you have a player advantage.

You may be thinking well yeah of course the bubbles are so small and the connections are limited and the average positioning is for most outfield players is wonky all because of the red card. But erm, this is representative of play until the red card.

Still, it was the team’s first 25’ish minutes of regular season action, so grace can be given if you are so inclined. If you aren’t, well, then this is full on stinky.

I feel a bit bad for Big Purp here. They got into the box a lot and put up the highest xG of the weekend, their problem was either missing the big open thing with the netting around it, or Kailen Sheridan.

Instead, they only got one shot by Sheridan, while Bloomer was beaten by a weak side run that gave her no time to react, then a wicked deflection for the match winner. Cold world, no Snuggie.

This game was a track meet. I’m not sure if this was the sort of game new coach Mak Lind will want them to play all the time, but it was fun to watch and will be even more fun once Manaka Matsukubo is back from the Asian Cup.

However, those are a lot of yellow, orange and red passing bubbles, which is not what you want to see from literally every outfield player. The lone bright spots were Ashley Sanchez, Shinomi Koyama and Payton Linnehan’s receiving g+, meaning all three consistently found good spaces to receive the ball.

Literally howling at that thick, bold line cutting across the pitch directly to Emma Sears.

In my season previews I wondered if Bev Yanez was going to run it back or start the season trying something a little different, and well this passing network pretty answers that. There was some interesting movement early, with Sears on the left and through the center, but it didn’t take long before she was back on the right and charging into the box.

These type of games always make me laugh, especially when they happen against Beautiful Game European Coaches (remember Marc Skinner and his ‘art’? Ah, what a time.)

San Diego had 521 completed passes, eighteen shots (9 on target), 1.83 xG, and exactly as many goals scored and you and I this weekend. San Diego even did that ‘yeet the ball high and out of play on kickoff so you can pin the opponent deep with your pressing and ball ball circulation’ thing. It allowed for a ton of possession and pressure, but nothing more, primarily because God Mode Jane Campbell showed up.

To make things even funnier, Houston connected on a long ball from their own half to Makenzy Robbe which became the only goal of the game. Football: 0, Soccer: 1.

Kennedy Wesley and Kenza Dali hooped, but it’s Gia Corley who hooped the hardest. She had .22 xG herself, and .76 expected assists (xA), and was a menace across the entire final third. If she keeps this up maybe she, too, can go to London City Lionesses for free.

When the opponent is as intent on keeping the ball with short passes, well sometimes this is what happens to you. While they got the win, it took a superhuman goalkeeping performance from Campbell that, unless you’re ‘25 Laura Harvey with ‘25 Claudia Dickey, you should not be relying on. Enjoy the dub, but there’s a lot to fix.

I don’t know if it will stick, and if I was forced to gamble my own dollars on an outcome I would put money on it not lasting, but both teams went on the attack—even after a lengthy weather delay.

My guess is that this match might’ve used up both coaches’ tolerance for a lack of control. But the flow of the game was fun and full of great chances, mostly from Orlando, who missed a total of 1.12 xGs worth of good/great chances. Oof.

Glorious expansiveness, numbers committed in attack, green g+ passing bubbles & g+ receiving rings all over the place, strong linkup and well-worked triangles—literally everything but the goals they needed.

One thing that absolutely didn’t help was Jacquie Ovalle trying to go Maximum Ovalle all the time. Of her five shots, only one was in the box, and even that was a spinning pirouette attempt when a first time redirection toward goal was a better, and much simpler choice.

This is a bit of a mess, but thanks to Orlando’s poor finishing and Claudia Dickey (again), they got away with it.

In possession Reign’s play was a lot more open than I expected from Laura Harvey, so I gotta humbly lay down my sword—if it stays. While the numbers will show that the result was more about being lucky than good, Seattle kept Orlando from completely smothering them by playing the ball into channels and keeping players high enough to make runs and combine.

More this. I beg.

Angel City generated two good/great shots, one from a misplaced pass from Alyssa Naeher that Ary Borges put behind her into goal, and an early miskick from Kennedy Fuller that was easily held. So how Angel City got four goals from 1.2 xG is a major concern for Chicago, and Naeher.

Well ok then Mr. Straus. I’ve been waiting to see his vision for Angel City show up on the pitch, and with the caveat that this was against Chicago, who are predicted to have yet another awful season, this was encouraging. They overwhelmed Chicago with intensity and numbers in their half. It was fun to watch, and felt like every time they had the ball something might happen, which is a feeling Angel City would only muster consistently when the ball was at Alyssa Thompson’s feet.

Jónsdóttir being more central was a fun little wrinkle, and Riley Tiernan being relied on for her pace and ball retention out wide helped them sustain attacks. Fullbacks Evelyn Shores and Gisele Thompson stayed wide and high to add even more pressure. Another team on another day might take advantage of the space behind them on the flanks, so we’ll have to see how this all adjusts when they’re up against Not Chicago.

Not hard to identify the spaces Chicago let Angel City maraud straight through. ◼︎

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