photo courtesy of @washingtonspirit
Please allow me to address recent confusion over the contents and qualifications of Neat Sh!t. The early part of my focus on women’s soccer was about finding the games and sharing the highlights, because they were often missed by sports recap shows and popular sports accounts. Thankfully, things have changed.
Chances are you’ve already seen the banger goals that happened this weekend. So Neat Sh!t is here to recap the stuff that happens in between the goals plastered across various timelines. It can be a anything—a nasty dribble, a slick turn, a tackle, a block, a save, a sprint, or something else—the only qualification is that it cannot be part of a goal.
With that being said, here are some things I found to be rather neat in week 7.
jaedyn shaw, spacehunter
Broadcasts usually can’t help but bring up Jaedyn Shaw’s background in futsal (indoor, small-sided games with miniature goals that’s all about quick feet and ball control), but this sorta stuff is why. Shaw has a seemingly limitless array of ways to manipulate the ball to buy herself space to shoot, pass, or get truly violent and string together additional moves.
In the box, these skills are terrifying for a defender. The last thing a defense wants an attacker to have in the box is the ball, and the second to last thing they don’t want to allow is time. Shaw is a menace because she has the skillset to find both. This move not only looks very cool, it’s effective.
In one sweet, spinning move to receive the ball she gave herself possession, separation from the nearest defender, and time to survey options in the box. In a blink Shaw turns a jog toward the corner flag into her squaring up her defender with the ball at her feet, and time to pick figure out her next move.
mandy boomin
Mandy McGlynn gets a lot of criticism for her confidence in playing out of the back, particularly under pressure. Sometimes it’s warranted, as it’s not unusual to see a mistake lead to a loss of possession or immediate chance at goal for the opposition. But Utah (and to an extent Emma Hayes) is prepared to cope with that because McGlynn can also do this.
A goalkeeper who can do this usually forces the other team to include them in their pressing triggers, which can leave gaps to exploit further up the pitch. Not pressing McGlynn, though, means that she has time to spot and execute a pass like this. While she nearly had an assist with an incredible pinpoint punt behind the backline over fifty yards away, I love the pass above even more.
The ball was hit flat so it didn’t hang in the air long enough to give defenders time to react. It skips off the grass after breaking the attacking and midfield lines, and rolls perfectly into the stride of her teammate in space. It’s absurd. Most teams need to make at least two or three passes to get the ball in this scenario, but when McGlynn is truly cooking she just needs one.
martínez + metayer get funky
A disgraced philosopher once posited, ‘…she’s feeling confident hunny' about another young Spirit star, and in following tradition, it now applies to 18-year-old Claudia Martínez as well. This move happened after a sweet first time strike froze Claudia Dickey and gave the Spirit the only goal of the game.
Clearly feeling the sauce coursing through her veins after the goal, Martínez decided to try and juggle the ball through Seattle’s midfield. I love that the ball looped to Paige Metayer, who decided to loop it back to Martínez for no other reason than the sauce is contagious. From there, Martínez then settles with a quick touch then chest control, and attempted a clever slide pass across the box for Leicy Santos.
Unfortunately for the Spirit and neutrals who delight in watching delightful shit happen on the soccer pitch, Seattle were pissed off and had six players track back to not allow the three Spirit players to generate a shot at goal. Thing that should be a bit scary for NWSL defenses is not just that Martínez has the skill to do this already, but that she has the awareness to track multiple players on the pitch, and only a 40-yard sprint to get between Santos and the ball stopped this from becoming a potential assist of the week.
sams says no
Angel City has been struggling, but that’s not the point here. Emily Sams making a great read and getting herself out of a bad position and into a perfect position, is.
Dudinha finds ways to be a consistent problem because she has a knack for putting defenders in bad situations. Whether she’s dicing them up in and around the box, or making a cutting run, she’s been a problem for defenses ever since she got into the league.
In this move she tears through Angel City’s defense with a diagonal run to receive the ball, which put Emily Sams behind her in the box. Sams played the situation perfectly, though. Instead of chasing the ball and the player, Sams recovered to a spot that put her back in front of Dudinha. A quick burst of acceleration meant that she was there in time to assess Dudinha’s next move and lunge to block a shot nanoseconds after it left the Brazilian’s boot.
Every week defenders come up against attackers who can put them in horrible positions, but finding ways to fight back and recover are important. Everyone gets beat in this league, good defenders find ways to not stay beat.
love & acceptance is not radical
Unequivocally.
As the world—in particular this country—turns nastier, this message a delightful reminder that the things they want to position as radical, simply aren’t. It costs nothing to be a good, thoughtful and accepting human, but costs your soul to be an evil one. Yet selfishness, greed and hatred are dominating politics, which in turn seeps into society and the way we treat each other. This sign is a beautiful reminder that the women’s soccer community is special, important and necessary. Which means it also must be boldly and consistently protected.
The sport growing means some athletes, media and fans (also, “fans”) can open the door for those dangerous strands of ghoulishness to weasel in. However, proclamations like this act as a repellant. I love the supporters groups around the league that stand for what’s right, curate welcoming spaces, and cheer their asses off week after week. Thank you. ■