Week 12 had two of the strangest, most unlikely xG battles from four high powered attacks that we might not see again all season. In fact, let us hope and pray that this does not happen. I’m here for a sicko game, but two of them during the same weekend is unnecessary.

Anyway, Gotham might be back, Bay FC discovered the warmth of closeness, the Current continue to be absolutely terrifying, and more! Here’s what the week looked like according to StatsBomb’s xG race charts and passing networks.

rahsing louisville 2-0 houston dash

Houston got Louisville to play their game in the first half, then Savannah DeMelo decided enough was enough and hit em with the 1g/1a. Uchenna Kanu came on as a sub and had three solid to high quality chances (.24, .13, .49), at least one of which she might have scored if she had the form and confidence that’d come from playing more than 621 minutes this season.

rahsing

Louisville were pushed quite deep, which meant their buildup was prolonged or they needed to deploy the ‘kick ball run fast’ tactic, and Emma Sears’ bright red circle might suggest which route they chose.

houston

Honestly, I am surprised Fran Alonso didn’t get the boot early in the season but to his credit he has finally figured some things out. Playing players in their best positions certainly helped (look at Courtney Petersen, flourishing), and the passing connections are developing too.

A shame things got to bad their star player mashed the eject button, cause they’re a star or two away from potentially being fun.

san diego wavé 1-1 orlando pride

This was the most shocking game of the weekend. Not because Orlando’s eight game wining streak was snapped, and not because Barbra Banda didn’t score (she did drop an assist because of course lol), but because both teams were held under 1.0 xG.

A match in which Barbra Banda, Ally Watt, Jaedyn Shaw, María Sánchez and Alex Morgan all started ended with a combined 1.63 xG. Shoutout to both defenses but also how dare they.

wavé

I’m afraid the Wavé might be starting to cook a little bit. The attacking patterns are still wanting, but these are some triangle ass triangles that are only missing that consistent final third connection. The Jaedyn Shaw/Savannah McCaskill double 10 thing is a decent idea but the pass network kind of showed its limitations.

Shaw (21 passes) had a weird game and wasn’t as sharp as we’re used to seeing her, which was likely the result of an intense international break. McCaskill (35 passes) had the highest pass OBV on the team but it didn’t amount to much.

pride

This is not what we’ve come to expect from the Pride. I dunno what this is but credit to San Diego for making this happen. Of course, Banda still had an impact, but was subbed off at halftime and so did the team’s ability to attack. The Pride had three chances in the entirety of the second half, and they were a .02 xG shot from Ally Watt, a .14 from Marta on a fast break, and a hopeful .01 shot from Marta in the 95th minute. Oof.

nj/ny gotham fc 2-1 angel city fc

The Dark Knight Rises.

gotham

Because some (wo)men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some (wo)men just want to watch the world burn.

angel city

I wrote about what I think is wrong with Angel City’s attack and long article short it continues to be weird that Becki Tweed doesn’t think the center forward the team traded for could be a solution to ensuring her central attacking threats aren’t all hanging out near the center circle.

utah royals 0-1 washington spirit

Utah had two weeks to prepare for a team with a ton of key players away during an international break and they still got doubled up on xG. To their credit they won the xG battle in the first half, but to their detriment their attack flatlined for a half hour in the second half. Yikes.

royals

Attempting to overload the opposition’s defense is good, but doing so from inside your own half doesn’t really have the same impact.

spirit

The Spirit lineup was weird. Ashley Hatch was the central attacking midfielder, and while her passing from that position wasn’t great, the more familiar position helped get her into better positions to attack. If the Spirit were playing anyone but Utah, missing .30, .46 and two .13 chances to make it at least 2-0 might’ve cost them some points.

chicago red stars 1-2 bay fc

The Red Stars played a Wrigley Field and ended the match with a total xG that would double as a batting average that’d get you sent to the minor leagues immediately. Meanwhile, Bay FC hit a respectable 2.51.

red stars

Probably not terrific that your two center backs are the only players with positive pass OBV numbers. After a fun start I’m a bit concerned for the Red Stars. An over-focus on defense isn’t in line with the trend of the league, the Red Stars have one star attacker and several exciting players, it might be time to let the midfielders and fullbacks step forward to support them.

(Also Penelope Hocking ignored several runs from Mal Swanson and if she wants to continue starting and also living in Chicago she might not want to continue doing that!!)

bay

This is hilarious. Bay FC didn’t sub until the 62nd minute so this is legit. It’s also a dramatic shift but probably one that was necessary. Earlier in the season Albertin Montoya seemed to enjoy a rigid and expansive structure that left gaps in transition and also didn’t get players close enough together in the opposition’s half. According to this, those days might be over.

portland thorns 1-0 nc courage

Without Sop Smith’s penalty the true xG is .68 to .43. I know I said the match between San Diego and Orlando was the most surprising thing but jk it might actually be this. I have no idea what has happened to North Carolina, but their highest xG chance was .09, and in the second half they more than thirty minutes between chances. Ew.

portland

Losing Sam Coffey in the first half was definitely not something any Thorns and/or USWNT fan wants to see. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious, for several reasons. For the Thorns, the shock derailed their typical buildup, as her read of play and passing often gives them the platform to relentlessly attack the final third.

Aside from the penalty, the highest xG chance the Thorns managed came from Smith in the 94th minute, and was only .16.

courage

I dunno man. The passing connections look good, they have attacking players forward and with decent service to each, and Ashley Sanchez led the starting unit in pass OBV. There’s no classic central striking threat, but that’s not a new thing.

One thing to note is that the Courage could just really need to shoot more. At the moment they’re bottom five in shots per 90 (11.33), and in this game all these passing connections led to just eight shots.

kc current 5-2 seattle reign

Vlatko’s no good very poor USWNT stint continues to be more and more confusing with each Current performance. They are relentless, and racked up 3.79 xG (3.01 non-penalty xG) on just twelve shots (11 not counting the pen), with the last shot being struck in the 76th minute. Lol. Lmao. Wtf.

current

The thing I like about the Current’s attacking unit is that a lot of their forwards also like to setup their teammates. Temwa Chawinga and Michelle Cooper both have bright red pass OBV, and Cooper’s assist for Chawinga’s goal created a .90 xG opportunity lol.

This is what’s been making the Current so dangerous. Of their eleven non-penalty shots, five (5!!!) had an xG of over .20, and four were over .40.

reign

For a second it looked like the Reign might have put some things together during the break and seemed poised to tussle with the league leaders. But no.

While there were some bright’ish spots — Veronica Latsko hit an absolute dime, Jordyn Huitema scored a brace, and Reign were finally able to get Sofia Huerta in dangerous crossing positions — the porousness of the midfield and defense makes it hard to focus on those positives.

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