2026 nwsl week 6.5 & 7: g+ pass networks & shot charts

This past week of games taught us quite a bit. Reports of Rahsing’s demise were indeed premature, Angel City and Houston are deep into fraud watch, Boston are learning to scrap with the best of them [insert barking], and the Spirit can lean on their depth to win a game.

All that and more, so let’s nerd…

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 6.5 (wednesday)

Sweet Merciful Christ.

Utah were unfazed by Houston’s press, set up high, and moved the ball pretty much wherever they wanted. Mina Tanaka in particular was absolutely hoopin. It’s not just the two assists, it’s consistently getting into good spaces to receive the ball and making quick decisions to move the ball between the lines—that’s how you get bright green passing and receiving g+ circles.

Houston wanted to do their mid-block net thing but got pushed back by Utah consistently finding quick connections and breaking their lines. No plan B meant things got ugly really quickly, and stayed that way.

Week 7

This match was wild. There were eight quality shots split four apiece, and only one was turned into a goal—but the team that scored it lost 3-1 lol. Chaos, Set Pieces and Emma Sears eventually comes for us all, this time it was Portland’s turn.

Katie O’Kane hooped, and even though she missed the highest quality chance of the match, she still scored a brace. Her direct free kick goal will be on the shortlist for goal of the year, and then of course Emma Sears comes off the bench and does an Emma Sears.

The game started with Olivia Moultrie bypassing Louisville’s press from deep to get Sophia Wilson matched up 1v1 with Arin Wright, leading to a goal. After, Rahsing’s press started disrupting Portland, and that’s how they ended up with a pass network that looks like this. The middle of the pitch wasn’t just lava, there were monsters in there.

I was looking forward to this matchup because I thought there was a good chance that it’d be a classic vroomfest. It, erm, was not. No one got a shot inside the six-yard box, only two quality chances where created (both by Orlando, both missed), and the teams combined for three shots on target. Oops.

Orlando positioned themselves quite deep, which kept them away from goal and focused on disrupting North Carolina. They got the win, but ew.

Orlando deciding to drop deep made it difficult for North Carolina to get through their lines, so instead they just kinda kicked the ball around in the middle of the pitch.

I present you: The Inaugural Most NWSL-Ass Game of the Week. The variance in xG and shots is hilariously lopsided, and yet, 1-1.

This is bullying.

If you or a loved one has had your feelings hurt by Gotham’s press you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Ask not for whom the Tweedaissance tolls, it tolls for thee.

Y’all remember that time when it seemed like Alexander Straus had finally figured out the NWSL, and had unlocked Sveindís Jónsdóttir to the tune of a mounting MVP campaign? I swear it happened, but their last win was March 27. It’s May.

While we still don’t know which teams are actually good just yet, the schedule has been slightly unkind. Angel City has faced Orlando, Portland, Utah and San Diego in succession. It’s a tough run, but also Angel City was supposed to be among the better teams in the league for once.

Becki Tweed faced the team she coached as an assistant, interim, then permanent coach, and got her lick back. There was a lot more grit in the performance than the football Jonas Eidevall would have wanted them to play had he been on the sideline.

Four quality chances, three turned into goals, and four goals from one team’s 1.71 xG total—the finishing gods delighted in this feast.

Y’all remember when everyone thought Houston was good too? Well, their last win was April 3rd and the lone goal they scored in this game was their first since that game as well. Oof.

I truly try not to be a hater, but may have been too willing to pull back on my skepticism regarding Angel City and Houston. The Dash are in a tough spot ownership-wise, and are leaning into college talents, which I love. But as the league grows, the ceiling of that approach gets lower by the season.

Ayo Oke, Tash Flint and Eva Gaetino putting up positive passing g+ is the good shit.

Also, Oke, it’s only a matter of time (cc: Emma Hayes).

Chris Armas should be legally required to deposit 75% of his salary directly to Temwa Chawinga.

Everyone in attack had positive receiving g+, while Cooper and Sentnor also put up extremely good passing g+ numbers. We’ll have to see how real it is against a team that’s Not Chicago, because this looks like a training exercise.

It can’t be this, Chicago. It simply cannot be.

Not much to say about this one. They basically scrapped themselves into a stalemate of incompetence. According to Fotmob, Bay completed just 246 passes at a 73% pass completion rate, and Utah only managed 204 completed passes at 66%.

Utah managed to nearly steal the game at the end, with two quality chance just before and during stoppage time, but Milazzo and Cronin missed. Womp.

The positioning doesn’t look like a stalemate here, but the passing connections (particularly up the pitch) were lacking.

Look what happens when you all perceive Utah. It’s best to just ignore them and let them be, as soon as expectations arrive they mess around and do this. Honestly, relatable.

Seattle welcomed the Spirit by returning to the ThunderDome. Head coach Laura Harvey had been willing to take more risks this season, but not in this game. This one was an aggressive press to disrupt the Spirit’s possession, and it worked.

The one teeny tiny problem was that the Spirit added depth in the offseason, so substitutes Andi Sullivan, Paige Metayer and Claudia Martínez combined to snatch a late winner.

Dahlien got forward a handful of times but was isolated, and also harassed by Gabby Carle. Mondésir put up the highest passing and receiving g+, but was on the other side of the pitch from Dahlien, and only had Mia Fishel to work with, who was pulled deep to help with the press and ball progression.

Still, if the Reign get there, this approach will not be fun for any team to face in the playoffs. Harvs also has the opportunity to find moments to get players closer in attack.

A well organized and intense press will do this to ya. The Spirit were kept in their own half, being pushed back deep by Seattle. Going long didn’t work well either, as the Reign hunted in packs to not allow the Spirit to have clean possession or connect passes.

All that red, orange and yellow is stinky, but somehow finding a way to win a game like this is one of those things really good teams do. Uh oh. ◼︎

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