5 favs: nwsl offseason moves...so far

The NWSL Draft going boom splat bye removed the singular offseason event in/around which most player movement occurred. Whether during the leadup to the draft or event itself, most elmo_fire.gif moves centered around the draft, and then things would go a bit dark unless international signings were announced. The institution of free agency over the past couple years helped keep the chaos going, but now that the draft is no more, free agent movement has teamed up with players seeking trades, college-to-pro announcements and international signings to keep the NWSL news flowing on a weekly basis.

That, in my extremely humble but also absolutely correct opinion, is good.

It also means a lot has happened, and keeps happening. A singular event like the draft provided instant analysis of most moves, and the concentration of players moving teams around one event made it all easier to track without resorting to obsessively updating spreadsheets or refreshing Spotrac’s NWSL page (shoutout to Taylor Vincent for the good work there).

Personally, I’ve loved the absolute chaos of major news dropping every week, sometimes even every ~36 hours. Offseason team shuffling and player movements are tried and true ways to keep a league relevant year-round, and in that sense the player freedoms the NWSLPA fought for across multiple CBAs has been a massive benefit for the NWSL – and without them having to spend a dime for the attention.

While I can’t be at all certain that the madness is quieting down, now is as good a time as any to stop gawking at my skyline and start analyzing some of these moves. Teams look like they’re starting to build toward something, and I’ve been hype about a lot of the moves that have happened. Rankings aren’t my thing, I’m just going to rave about my five favorite signings so far. (I know I just said I don’t do rankings and that this isn’t a ranking but #1 is actually #1, the rest are unranked lol.)

Jaedyn Shaw
North Carolina Courage

North Carolina were weird last year. Not only the home vs. away form, which was very big dog/small dog meme, but their style of play created conundrums. They led the NWSL in possession percentage (57%) and were third in successful box crosses (2.52) per 90. But all that added up to the Courage having the third fewest shots per 90 (10.89) – only above Houston and Chicago – and an xG per 90 (1.15) that was .10 below league average. To put a finer point on it all, that’s the same xG achieved by the Becki Tweed’s Angel City in 2024.

That is all precisely 56.72 yikes per 90 in my opinion. Adding Jaedyn Shaw is an instant solution.

North Carolina’s pass networks often revealed a tight mid-block with advanced positioning for fullbacks but no one in the final third, and crucially no central attacker taking space anywhere near the box (most were in or near the center circle). Shaw shan’t be having any of the sort. She will ping throughballs that override initial programming and attackers’ legs will autonomously carry them toward the ball in anticipation of a scoring opportunity. This is exactly what North Carolina needed all season, someone to consistently force them behind the defense.

Unless the Courage’s communications team has gone rogue, Shaw was labeled a midfielder in their signing announcement. According to additional online behavior, it seems North Carolina didn’t make this move with the idea that Shaw would be a replacement for Ashley Sanchez. North Carolina getting both players into their starting XI is going to be fascinating in 1) where they play, and 2) how they play together.

Sanchez was an exceptionally wicked left winger in college and began her career with the Washington Spirit in that position. There’s a chance she’s shifted wide again, but that’s the least fun option. The most fun thing would be for Sean Nahas to simply choose to replace Spirit-bound Narumi Miura (more on her later) with Jaedyn Shaw, and letting her and Sanchez cook together.

Denise O’Sullivan’s hamstrings will have to get ready, but Shaw’s off-ball movement and incisive forward passing complements Sanchez’s diabolical 1v1 skills. Having the duo share the same midfield would likely solve the Courage’s penchant for getting stuck in the mud in possession. Out of possession? Well, that’s none of my business.

Macey Hodge
Angel City

From the front office to the coach to the pitch, Angel City had a lot of problems last season. Now they have new owners, #DisneyMoney, a new GM (er, Sporting Director), and eventually a new coach (though most of us expected a name that rhymed with Schmasey Schtoney). In addition, they’ve also addressed a major need in midfield with the signing of rookie defensive midfielder Macey Hodge.

Any soccer sicko knows that to gain any sense of control in a match you need a solid midfield, and control and a solid midfield were two things Angel City did not have in 2024. They had good players, but the profiles were too similar and/or misused. While a new coach remains a mystery, Hodge provides a skillset that’s been desperately needed.

She has a unique background story as well. In the midst of multiple family struggles she quit soccer to focus on her mental health, enrolled in a junior college, rediscovered her love of the game, got recruited to Mississippi State, balled tf out, and became one of the top collegiate defensive midfielders in the country. On the pitch she possesses elite intensity and focus, even after games.

Katie Zelem is an above average forward passer from deep areas but, in the NWSL, has needed a deep-lying partner to help cover ground and allow her to take more risks. There’s lots of speed, athleticism and pure wickedness in wide areas for Angel City, they just need service and defensive coverage that allows them to fly forward. A Hodge-Fuller-Zelem midfield is an upgrade in stability and capability over what Angel City relied on last season.

Also, unrelated but also somehow related: defensive mids with full sleeve tats are so in right now.

Narumi Miura
Washington Spirit

The Spirit losing Andi Sullivan last October sucked. Losing her to an ACL tear super sucked. Losing her to the team you would eventually face and lose to in the NWSL Championship extremely sucked. Andi and then-rookie Hal Hershfelt were developing a sturdy partnership and interchanging well as 6/8 hybrids. After Sullivan’s injury, Hershfelt had to play as a lone defensive midfielder. She was excellent but the totality of the midfield suffered, especially without Croix Bethune as well.

The best case scenario for the Spirit this offseason was to bring in a defensive midfielder with NWSL experience. Preferably one capable of the same hybrid skillset, but whose primarily good at covering ground plus getting into and winning duels. The only semi-available player who best fit this profile was Narumi Miura, and sweet merciful and precious baby Beyoncé that’s exactly who they got.

Since entering the NWSL in 2023 Miura has been one of the best defensive midfielders in the league. In her debut season she also flashed more dangerous passing and open play xG Assisted numbers, in part due to having 2023 NWSL MVP Kerolin as a forward passing option.

Assuming better health than last season for the Spirit’s outrageous attacking unit, Miura should have the pieces around her to resurrect that part of her game. Miura is also used to playing alongside Denise O’Sullivan so would have no problem lining up next to Hershfelt, but the two are also versatile enough to handle lone defensive responsibilities if the other chooses to go on an adventure or play a risky forward pass.

This was a signing that went from dream, to must-have, to reality for the Spirit. Who knows what Michele Kang and Mark Krikorian will get up to in the future, but this is already their most important move of the offseason.

Yazmeen Ryan
Houston Dash

Yazmeen Ryan’s breakout season was extremely fun to watch, but Gotham was so stacked that her performances often flew under the radar. Thankfully Emma Hayes was noticing, and now Ryan has moved to Houston where she’ll be a focal point.

What I love about this signing is that Houston have a lot of holes to plug and things to get right. While Gotham, Pride and Spirit had worst-to-first(ish) turnarounds, this era of the NWSL makes that a lot tougher to pull off, and several other floundering teams are trying to catch up too. Given everything Houston has to do and get right to turn things around, expecting a 100% hit rate is unrealistic.

This is where Ryan’s versatility is a massive benefit. According to StatsBomb, these are all the positions Yazmeen Ryan played throughout the course of last season.

She can plug holes in attack and midfield which gives Houston a bit more leeway to get their shit together. Of course this assumes the powers that be in Houston actually want to do that, but I think/hope the club’s ownership is finally ready to stop letting their players down.

Back to Ryan. One of the most exciting things about the move is Ryan’s fit alongside two of Houston’s most exciting young players, Bárbara Olivieri and Avery Patterson. Olivier’s performances in the final quarter of the season were statistically among the top 5-7 in the entire NWSL while rookie Avery Patterson sometimes single-handedly tried to propel the team away from unseriousness. Now both will have lots of help in the form of an ultra-talented and versatile USWNT-caliber player, plus the leadership that comes from being a key part of Gotham’s 2023 NWSL Championship and followup run to the semifinals.

Taylor Huff
Bay FC

If you’ve ever seen Taylor Huff strut around the pitch then you know exactly why she’s on this list, especially as an addition to Bay FC. The latest Cali club got their shit together a bit too late in the season but finally started to cook, made the playoffs, and gave the Spirit a hell of a time in their quarterfinal playoff matchup at Audi. Still, for all the money splashed on high profile attackers, Bay’s offensive output often boiled down to The Racheal Kundananji Show. While that is one of my favorite shows, a consistent costar is desperately needed. Huff has the energy, skill and relentlessness to be just that.

Taylor Huff’s low-sock/high xDawg energy is exactly what Bay need in the center of the pitch, where they were often their squishiest. This highlight reel may have been compiled and posted by Huff’s sports management agency, but it’s not far off from the truth of who she is as a player.

She’s direct and intense, has good vision and awareness for intricate linkup play in and around the box, and displays solid technique passing or shooting with both feet. It’s not hard to imagine Huff beating a couple defenders on the dribble and pinging a perfectly curled ball to Kundanaji in space.

Unfortunately Bay have a lot of money tied up in players they hoped would be major contributors to their attack. Though they pieced together a very talented squad, the dawg factor was somewhat neglected, and the team suffered until they fully leaned in to players like Kundananji, Kiki Pickett and Alyssa Malonson. Huff is not only cut from a similar cloth, she has the skills to be the complementary attacking player Bay need in the center of the pitch.

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