nwsl week 20: xG race charts & pass networks

Week 20 included some absolute gems. We had another Pride/Current battle, professional performances from the Gotham and the Spirit, the Chicago Red Stars did something they rarely do (complimentary) while the Thorns also did something they rarely do (derogatory), Angel City chose a really bad time for a really bad L, and Bay’s new style delivered a point but also frustration.

Here’s what it all looked like according to StatsBomb’s xG race charts and passing networks.

nc courage 1-1 bay fc

The thing with Bay FC’s new zoomy approach is that they don’t have clinical finishers to always match their goal output and xG. Still, volume is their best chance at reaping the most reward and this is a good performance and point on the road. North Carolina still hasn’t lost at home and this is only their second draw in Cary, NC. It’s better to have zoomed and drawn than to have never zoomed at all.

courage

Bay’s vertical threats kept North Carolina pushed back farther than they typically want to be, especially at home. This impacted the connections they could make in Bay’s half, which limited them to sub-1.0 xG and their second fewest shots at home all season.

bay

The size of the bubbles still shows Bay lacks a facilitator, but the wide players cooked and there was danger from each vertical third. Bay were also able to establish their mid-block, which helped them manage North Carolina’s threat while staying close enough to goal their goal to provide their own.

orlando pride 0-0 kc current

I would like to order several more of these games and I am so serious. For a nil-nil with sub-1.0 xG totals for both teams, it was a banger. It’s the tension and drama infused into every step or action, and that both teams have players who can score a >.05 xG chance at any time. Give me six-hundred more, immediately.

pride

Kylie Strom was turnt up for this one. She had the highest pass OBV of anyone in both starting XIs, and was constantly getting stuck into tackles. Also, look at Orlando’s backline, that is extraordinarily bold against Temwa Chawinga and Debinha, but I’ve been calling Orlando the most balanced team in the league and this is why. Their coach backed them to execute an approach like this against an ultra dangerous attack and they just went out and did it.

current

With Michelle Cooper questionable so likely not fit and/or healed enough to start, Vlatko was forced into a decision. His decision seemed to be to push Liz Ball to right back and keep Ellie Wheeler out there wide as well, probably help defensively on that side. Out of possession it seemed to work fine, but in possession it super did not.

That’s not entirely Wheeler’s fault, she’s a defender. Kristen Hamilton might have been a better option either out wide or to swap with Nichelle Prince, who also played out of position as a central striker. Anyway, none of that happened so the Current put up their lowest xG output of the season.

At this point I know they hate to see the Pride comin.

portland thorns 0-1 chicago red stars

Now what in the shit happened here. Chicago’s penalty inflates the number by .78, but that’s still over 1.0 xG, a thing they’d only done once in three of their last four matches. Meanwhile you have to go back to June for the last time the Thorns registered sub-1.0 non-penalty xG (npxG) with Sophia Smith in the lineup.

thorns

Rob Gale wyd. This is some u7 shit. Everyone except the backline is in a huddle in the middle of the pitch. Where’s the width? Who’s running the channels? What forward distribution is supposed to happen with this? Why is this happening? Are you ok?

red stars

I spy multiple players with positive pass OBV (a rarity for the Red Stars) and multiple passing connections into the attacking half (also a rarity). Unfortunately Mallory Swanson left the game with what looked like a pretty serious shoulder injury. I’m hoping it’s not as serious as it looked, but they replayed her pained reaction multiple times in slow-mo which was both worrying and a shitty thing the broadcast shouldn’t have done.

rahsing louisville 2-1 angel city

Angel City chose a really bad time (and opponent) to get #soccer’d. Losing to two goals from .44 xG is never fun, but when you’re chasing a playoff position and three points would have put you one behind the final slot with six games left, it’s potentially catastrophic.

rahsing

I’ve been saying that I do not understand what Rahsing were doing with their summer moves but both Bethany Balcer (.06 xG) and Janine Beckie (.11 xG) managed to hit the back of the net despite limited opportunities. I’m guessing this is the sort of thing they were hoping for, but it doesn’t feel sustainable.

However, to be fair to them, if you can snatch three points at the right time and against the right opponents, who gives af about sustainability? Well, until next year.

acfc

Can’t believe y’all Angel City fans gotta live like this. The match was crying out for an advanced midfielder in the center of the pitch pulling strings to link play and help generate chances. A central attacking midfielder, if you will. Instead Becki Tweed relied on Meggie Dougherty-Howard who—um—doesn’t do that. Across three previous NWSL teams she’s either been played deeper or wider on the pitch.

With Kennedy Fuller on the bench, Tweed watched her team create just two chances of over .10 xG and Dougherty-Howard post the lost pass OBV of all starters. Again, not her fault, just a coach asking a player to do things they do not do.

utah royals 1-2 san diego wavé

Smash and mf’n grab.

royals

Unfortunately for Utah, the loss of Mina Tanaka is most felt in a match like this. They might have been able to claw their way back missing another of their summer signings for a game or two, but Tanaka being out injured and Ally Sentnor still with the USWNTeens in Colombia meant that they struggled to fight back after going 0-2 down in six minutes.

Lacasse hit a banger (.06 xG), but despite chasing the game from the sixth minute on, they only managed three shots of over 1.0 xG, and scored none.

wavé

I’ve been given Landon Donovan a lot of grief—tbh he’s catching a lot of strays from Jill Ellis although he is still the guy who recommended himself for the job because he missed coaching and that’s not how any of this should work—but this was a good result. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a giant mess, but when any team scores two early goals their objective for the balance of the match changes, and this can happen.

I don’t think Donovan did anything genius, but that the team played a little faster, got good early finishing, and were able to hang on against an opponent missing key players in attack.

washington spirit 3-0 houston dash

Chelsea v. Leicester City vibes. This was way too comfortable for the Spirit, and shouldn’t be a thing that happens in the NWSL. Houston’s gotta get their shit together, the league is changing and they’re in extreme danger of being left behind.

spirit

Houston offered so little threat that Jonatan Giráldez let now-center back Tara McKeown venture all the way up the pitch into forward spaces again, as a little treat. She did brilliantly too, and hit the cross that became a handball and a penalty in the first minutes. Apart from that, even without Ouleye Sarr and Croix Bethune the Spirit were comfortable.

Rodman did Rodman things, and Esme Morgan mad her first start and looked extremely competent in possession. If Morgan can hold up against the physicality of this league, she’ll provide the calm, skillful passing from the back that the Spirit miss without Sam Staab.

dash

Nah fam. Nah.

What Houston is doing to its players is downright wrong. After the match Diana Ordóñez said that their head coaching position needs to be figured out because it’s impacting the team. It’s clear, too. They’ve been stuck in a weird limbo for months, in a situation that is as absurd as it should be yester-era NWSL. It’s a horrendous look, and the front office and ownership are fully to blame.

seattle reign 0-2 nj/ny gotham fc

Extremely Gothamy performance here. They were on the road at the start of a three-match week and needed to control the game and put goals on the board without exerting a ton of energy. Even though Laura Harvey made it a bit easier than it could have been, it was still as professional of a suffocation as it gets.

reign

Harvey didn’t have Fishlock or Huitema but to be honest that should have allowed the team to hit Gotham with a different look, and maybe style. Nérilia Mondésir might not be ready for full NWSL 90s yet, but starting her against a team that was always going to prioritize controlling the match could have made Gotham’s life much more difficult. Instead Harvey opted for conservatism with a midfield of Quinn, Jaelin Howell and Angharad James-Turner.

Howell had the highest pass OBV on the team, and second highest was Claudia Dickey. The goalkeeper. Part of the problem was a lack of forward options due to the gameplan, which was annoying to see.

gotham

This is how it’s done. Mid-block, move the ball around, keep the opposition chasing, get timely goals (including a goalkeeping disaster), and head home with minimal energy spent, two goals, three points, and a hop up the table to the #3 spot.

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