We roll on with our series to show love to the top 5 players in On Ball Value (OBV) per 90 from the 2023 NWSL season. Last week we looked at goalkeepers, and figured out why, despite some errors, Orlando Pride just couldn’t quit Anna Moorhouse. In this edition we’re going to identify the top 5 at center backs.

If you’re just joining us, hi, hello, welcome, super glad you’re here. OBV is measured separately among a variety of actions players make throughout a game, and the best way to think about this metric is ‘how does a player’s interactions with the ball help their team score a goal, or increase their chance of conceding’ – yes, negative OBV exists. Oof.

Onto the center backs!

For goalkeepers we kept the minutes limit relatively high and we’re doing the same here. While some big name CBs missed some time, when they were in they typically played full 90s, so the minutes limit is set at 1500, which is ~16.5 90s. Ok, let’s get into it…

Nielsen’s Passing and Dribble & Carry are both respectable, .07 per 90 each, but she got on the list by excelling in her Defensive Action OBV, .09. Again, the mathematically astute among you may realize that these numbers don’t add up to her total, and that’s because, well, um, hm, basically, uh, maybe she should stop shooting or at least start being more judicious.

Nielsen posted a -.04 Shot OBV, likely because of her sixteen shots, one became a goal, but only two others had to be saved, and just three had an expected goal value at or higher than average (.10xG).

However, no need to focus on that, Nielsen really flexed her muscled defensively. Yeah that’s right, I did that, and I’m not apologizing for it either.

She led all CBs in a number of possession adjusted stats (PAdj; a method of leveling stats based on different playing styles) like tackles and interceptions, and was top 5 in pressures and clearances as well.

Nielsen struggled in aerial duels and 1v1 defending, but was instinctual and aware enough to still make a solid defensive impact.

Berkely should have gotten more love last season so I for one was delighted to see her name here. Spoiler alert but she was the only CB on this list to not post a negative Shot OBV, which probably happened because she only took four shots all season lol.

However, she was solid in every other category. Pass OBV was .05 per 90, Dribble & Carry .06, and Defensive Action .07. Berkely’s impact is also why I am nerding out and enjoying this exercise, because unlike Nielsen, Berkely was outside the top 5 in PAdj interceptions, tackles, pressures, and clearances.

Instead, she was just an absolute mf’n 1v1 monster. Among all CBs, Berkely had the second highest Tack/Dribbled Past% – the percentage of time a player makes the tackle going into a duel versus getting dribbled past – which was an absurd 90% (Krieger 94%). Not only were Krieger and Berkely the only two in the 90s, third place was a whole four points down, at 86%.

Sarah Gorden is one of the most unique defensive players in the whole entire world and unfortunately doesn’t get talked about enough. Gorden has the customary CB negative Shot OBV (-.01 per 90), but posted .04 Pass, .08 Dribble & Carry, and .09 Defensive Action.

She stood out in her 1v1 defending with an 85% in Tack/Dribble Past and had 1.49 PAdj Interceptions per 90. Gorden also posted both stats, which involve potential collisions with attacking players, while rarely fouling, which is kind of outrageous.

The one thing most people know about Gorden is that she is fast. This speed helps her team both in possession and when they lose it. For the latter, she topped all CBs in Counterpressure Regains per 90 (.39), which measures the times a player’s team won the ball back within 5 seconds of the player counterpressuring an opponent.

However, her speed and ability on the ball helped her be a threat in possession by dribbling and carrying the ball forward.

Out of 847 total carries all season, she only lost possession on twenty occasions. As you can see from the graph above, her speed allowed her to be rather adventurous.

Again, another -.01 Shot OBV from a CB, it is a rite of passage for all except Berkely who avoided it by almost never shooting. Cook’s values are intriguing, and were we start to see center backs rewarded for a more modern style of play.

Cook’s total OBV comes from .03 Defensive Action, .05 Dribble & Carry, but .14 Pass OBV per 90. Given what we’ve seen, the defensive action number is sort of low but still positive. In fact, don’t sleep. Remember that third place 86% Tack/Dribble Past% I mentioned earlier, that was Cook.

Her Dribble & Carry was also solid, in fact the pure numbers are excellent. She managed 945 carries in 2023, and with only fifteen losses of possession. However, her carrier were less adventurous and thus ended in areas that weren’t as dangerous as Gorden’s carries. Which makes sense, Cook is solid, but doesn’t have the top end speed of Gorden (no one does tbh).

Where Cook really cooked (again, I shan’t apologize!) is in her passing from the back, which added a ton of value to her team’s chances of scoring.

And uh, well, here’s why

That is a lot of passes. Also, through this you can also see that Cook was important in moving the ball closer to goal with her passing. Of course, it’s not perfect, there are a lot of lost passes, particularly the further up the pitch they travel. But the frequency and areas in which she was able to complete passes made her a valuable weapon for her team in possession.

Sam. Mf’n. Staab. Government name.

No prizes for guessing how Staab’s total OBV per 90 got this high, yes, you are correct, it’s her passing: Shot, -.03; Defensive Action, -0.0; Dribble & Carry, .06; Pass, .38(!!!!!).

The directness of the Spirit’s play last season probably inflates this number a bit, but that doesn’t mean it’s not also representative of a left-footed center back with passing range for days. In fact, in 2021, when the Spirit had a nearly polar opposite style of playe, she led all center backs then too (.37).

Alana Cook’s passing bumped her up the OBV list, but in this side-by-side comparison of passing sonars shows how (all the time) and where (damn near everywhere) Staab was more involved on the ball.

What I’m about to say probably tells you all you need to know about the Spirit’s directness and style of play last season, but Sam Staab’s 28 key passes – passes that create shots for teammates – were more than both Trinity Rodman and Ashley Sanchez. Sure, as you can see some are corners (6), but removing them still keeps her above Rodman and one behind Sanchez.

Staab’s twenty-eight key passes combined for a total xG of 2.78, but unfortunately the Spirit failed to score on any of the chances she created. It’s quite annoying, because they were fairly good chances which averaged .10xG per shot. Within that, five shots had at least double that value (.20), and the highest value chance created was a .36 right in the center of the goal that was missed.

Sam Staab is an extremely unique talent at center back and in the right system can be an ultimate weapon. The defending clearly leaves a bit to be desired, but if that can be improved in any way – reading play and making more clearances or interceptions, or better using her physicality and positioning to win more tackles and 1v1 duels – she should be an automatic callup to the national team.

But that right system point brings me to an area in which I, a person who also covers the Washington Spirit, am deeply sad. Sam Staabs don’t grow on trees and aren’t available in each year’s draft. No matter how well the 2024 Washington Spirit adapt to their new possession style under soon to be ex-Barcelona coach Jonatan Giráldez, there will always be sadness in not getting to see Staab flourish in a system tailor made to her unique skillset.

(Brb gonna go cry now I’ll be back next week with a look at the top 5 fullbacks in total OBV per 90. Also, a little secret, we’re not playing games here, because modern football places so much importance on fullbacks, we’re gonna look at top 5 right backs, and top 5 left backs. Not gonna lie, I’m kinda hype about it already.)

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