nwsl championship: several things from pride v. spirit

The Orlando Pride did the damn thing. They were able to become just the second club in league history to pair the NWSL Shield with an NWSL Championship trophy. And my god did they have to earn it the hard way.

Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez unveiled a brand new XI that, one the surface, worked expertly. The Pride found themselves in the most unfamiliar position they’d been in all season, and had to rely on the top-tier quality of Barbra Banda and their defensive unit—which had been the stingiest unit all season.

It’s always satisfying when a champion has to truly earn it, and Washington made them do so. They answered, and delivered a championship for Marta. Finals always provide the highest of highs for the winners and lowest lows for the team on the other end, but it was impossible to avoid a bowl full of Honey Nut Feelios for Marta.

Here are a few notes from the data, which includes a fair few surprises.

goodness gracious

Wow. Straight up, wow. No team this season has ever done this to the Pride. The hungover version of the Pride that the Thorns defeated allowed sixteen shots, ten fewer than the Spirit’s 26. The still somewhat wobbly version that Gotham triumphed over 3-1 actually won the xG battle, but let in three goals from 1.53 xG.

The Spirit put up 1.61 xG, held the Pride to a microscopic .40, and pelted their goal (well, defenders; more on that later) with twenty-damn-six shots. The mathematically astute among you may have already identified the problem, however. The shot total and xG averaged to just .06 xG per shot, well below the league average per chance total of .10.

That doesn’t mean the Spirit didn’t have their quality chances though. Tara McKeown, the hero against Bay FC, had a .27 chance from a corner that missed. Rose Kouassi was again a menace, and managed a .20 chance from a cross that goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse reflexively saved. Shortly after, in the 49th minute, Ashley Hatch hit the post on a .13 chance with a header from a free kick.

After that though, none of Washington’s final sixteen shots reached league average xG. This was in large part due to the absurd defensive and nearly omniscient work of Emily Sams, plus smart and organized defending from Strom, Dyke, Abello and McCutcheon. They all worked together all night to block shots and ensure clean looks were nearly impossible to come by.

the spirit hooped

The inclusion of Makenna Morris in the midfield over Heather Stainbrook was an early signal that Giráldez felt the best chance to beat Orlando was pouncing on them early and never letting up. From possession (56%), completed passes (338/230), and shot totals (26/9) standpoint, mission mf’n accomplished.

Orlando’s defensive effort was massive, and aided by an early gift of a goal by Barbra Banda, who was essentially a one-woman counter. The goal allowed the Pride to focus solely on defending, in organization and with numbers.

It’s a frustrating one for the Spirit though, who hadn’t been shutout from scoring in a game since October 6th, also against Orlando, but with very different circumstances (injuries and suspensions led to the Spirit naming a very shorthanded XI and even shorter bench).

It’s simultaneously encouraging and frustrating that this was the only game in which the absence of Croix Bethune stood out the most. Bethune won Rookie of the Year and Midfielder of the Year through her seemingly uncanny ability to see and execute things before defender’s can react. That was needed, and sorely missed, against the Orlando Pride.

what in the

This pass network shows two things: 1) the importance of scoring early, and 2) how uncomfortable the Spirit were able to make the eventual champions.

Surely there’s no way this would have been the pass network had Banda not scored in the 37th minute. Though even before Banda scored the eventual winner Ally Watt was having to drop alongside right back Cori Dyke to help with Rose Kouassi, erasing a wide channel option the Pride have used a lot this playoff run and led to three assists in two games.

Abello’s first half yellow card on Rodman forced McCutcheon over and kept Adriana’s average position wide and on the halfway line. Angelina also shaded over to help cover. Looking at this pass network and how Orlando was stretched, it’s hard not to think a Croix Bethune roaming open space in central areas might have been too much to defend.

However, the Pride deserve all the credit for making this work. Much was made (admittedly, by me) of the Spirit’s togetherness, but the Pride also displayed a remarkable devotion to one another, and of course Marta. Postgame, center backs Kylie Strom and Emily Sams were full of praise for one another and everyone else, but it was truly their efforts and organization that kept the Spirit from finding that one chance they needed. Sams in particular was incredible, and put on a defensive display against the Spirit that had previously only been seen by Naomi Girma and Alyssa Malonson.

barbra mf’n banda, again

Honestly not sure there is more to say. Too much was made of Banda’s post-Olympic dip, and she made up for it by going bonkers in the playoffs with four goals and two assists. Banda is often an impossible striker to cope with because she can do any job required. If you need her to function as a wide forward, she can. If you need a target striker, you got it. How about a false 9 to help with linkup play deeper in midfield? Yup, she can do that too.

The Spirit did a fantastic job of making the Pride one-dimensional in attack, the problem was that the one dimension was Barbra Banda. She got a sliver of an opportunity, turned it into a bigger opportunity (.12 xG shot) and turned it into a championship-winning goal. Without the Olympics, the MVP conversation is much tighter. Expect Banda to nab a couple of those trophies, too, in the future.

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