Looks like there's a U20 Championship tourney for World Cup qualification coming up. 3 players now playing in the NWSL played on that team who went to the U20 WC in Costa Rica last year. But, looks like none of those players have been released by their coaches for the tournament. Alyssa Thompson, Jaedyn Shaw, and Olivia Moultrie are the three. Alyssa Thompson's younger sister has been named for the roster. It sure won't be a walk in the park...in quick succession they play Panama, Jamaica, and Canada.
For the Thorns, the games happening during that window (May 24th-June 3rd) are San Diego (May 26th- away) and OL Reign (June 3rd- away)...also potentially Chicago (May 21st- home.)
I'm hoping this means Moultrie is expected to contribute more in the very near future. It would be a bummer for her to not be able to go play for the National Team in an important tournament if she was just riding the bench or getting garbage minutes.
Also, I do always appreciate Stoney being pretty frank and open about her decision-making. Here she talks about making the decision to not release Shaw:
I also appreciate Stoney being very honest in her pressers, but I've got to say I'm getting really sick of her complaining about the schedule. NWSL scheduling is far from ideal and is that way for a multitude of reasons. Berman has even said that trying to improve the schedule is big priority for the league. And generally issues around load and scheduling exist in every league. But it's not like San Diego has a worse situation than any other NWSL team and Stoney complaining about it is starting to sound like making excuses for poor coaching and player management.
Oh yeah, I totally don't like that either. The transparency just felt refreshing. She's been kind of exhausting to listen to in some interviews and post-match stuff about the schedule. She's also been an advocate to going to a Fall-Spring schedule...because of course that works for San Diego, but like, no other teams lol. She chose to coach a team in the corner of a huge country that will require constant travel (PNW teams welcome her to this reality!) But, come on, you live in San Diego where it's always 70 degrees out...there's worse places you could be. And also, when you build your whole team concept around a player that's 6'1", turns out it's really hard to replicate that when she's injured! Maybe try a less niche gameplan...
There are few things that irk me more than Brits telling Americans to switch to Fall-Spring scheduling. You enjoy the wonders of the gulf stream, but I think playing games in Chicago in January is going to actively harm the league more than playing a game with your internationals missing. (Houston and Orlando in August are a problem though.)
I did like her comments about not releasing Shaw though. The question of clubs releasing U20 players has been a thing on the men's side for a while, so it's interesting to see it appear on the women's side now too.
"But it's not like San Diego has a worse situation than any other NWSL team and Stoney complaining about it is starting to sound like making excuses for poor coaching and player management."
she did the same thing at Manchester United, very tedious. Just get on with it.
We're not getting results, I might come off just a wee bit grating when we're losing rather than winning, I saw what happened to Matt Potter, and I traded Manchester weather for San Diego weather. So.... oh hell no!
Maybe I missed this in the news, but did the Thorns refuse to release Moultrie for this tournament? I have a hard time believing she wouldn’t have been selected otherwise. Either way, I agree she deserves more time on the field for the Thorns soon if for no other reason than to help her get ready to carry a bigger load when our internationals are gone.
Moultrie has 4 goals, 6 assists in 28 regular season appearances, but just 1174 minutes.
FBRef.com lists Moultrie's comps over the past 365 days as including Horan, Hina, Caruso, Grosso, LaBonta, van de Donk, Maanum, and Dali. That's pretty good company.
Yeah, I noted that in my first comment about it. None of the listed three players were released by their coaches. It also notes that in the US soccer article. Hoping that means we see more of her and less of Sinc.
That is a clever ranking. I agree whole heartedly. Portland is a top tier team under-performing at the moment. I am beginning to be a Spirit believer. I had them at sixth at the beginning of the season but now I think they are better than the team I had at third, San Diego.
Also, Ryan and Chris throw their opinions into the ring re: our defense/midfield woes on this week's episode of Soccer Made In Portland....and you won't be surprised about their solutions. (Hint: swap Sinc for Rocky; correct the fullback balance to avoid CB's being so exposed.)
Here's a great podcast episode of some more nerdy stats discussion of the NWSL season thus far. Not a ton of mention of the Thorns, except mostly high praise for them, but still some mention of Soph being Soph...and some other great stats nuggets in general as well:
Portland seems about right. They need to tighten up the defense and make a change in the mid-field and we should rise again.
As for Thompson, Vlatko should find a way to get her on the team. She is playing at a high level right now and from my perspective deserves a shot. I'm imagining pairing her with Sophia and watching the attack approach light speed!
The USWNT have so many in-form frontline players, hoping the midfield can do their jobs and get them the ball.
Yeah, I am not sold on the Spirit yet. They are definitely better defensively than originally projected, but that team still struggles to score goals consistently. Grinding out results and playing down to competition the way they Washington and Gotham are is a bad formula.
I have Portland above both of those teams and don't see it changing unless Portland's defense gives up consistently high xG from here on out. I think it will revert back to the average soon enough and like you said, they'll find ways to tighten up the defense.
It’s tough (for me) to balance Power rankings (typically based on recent performance) and how we feel about the teams overall.
Washington and Portland are good examples. Portland has been playing down to their competition for the last month: They’ve drawn against Houston, NCC, and ACFC- All teams they should beat. Their three wins have come against Orlando, Louisville, and a decimated KC team. Washington hasn’t been great -- no NWSL team really has been, even Seattle-- but they’ve outperformed their expectation.
So: long term, I think Portland is better, but Washington has been more impressive as of late. SD will probably recover, but they’ve been flat out bad lately. Orlando is still probably the worst team in the league on talent, but they’ve put together a few good games and should be rewarded imo
True about the mid-field, but the change can be made. The frustrating thing is that it doesn't need to be a major change, but a fairly minor tweak to the lineup. Lets say that Norris believes Sinc needs to be out there, he can still sub her off at 60 to give Moultre/Rocky meaningful minutes. Or he can take a step and start Sinc on the bench every third game. With five quality players, you need to find a way to give each some real minutes. There isn't a player over 35 who doesn't see their minutes get cut in professional athletics. To be honest, he simply has to tell her that it is more important that she is fresh for the WWC and the end of the NWSL Season than to start and play 80+ minutes in the first half of the year.
I’m guessing the Canadian thinking goes something like….we won gold with this team, this is the last time we will be this close to a World Cup, this is Sonic’s last hurrah, we can give women’s professional soccer in Canada a huge boost if we can pull it off. I have little doubt LBlanc, Norris, Sinc and everyone soccer north of the border buys into it this thinking or a close version to it. I think it dictates how decisions are being made re the Thorns.
Mighty Morphin Power Rankings!
I think we just give every team its own tier.
I am pinning this as MMPR was my favorite show when I was a kid!
Also good: Mighty Morphine Power Rangers
(nod to Futurama -- "Children's Chewable Morphine")
I just realized that Houston is not reflected in your tiers. Are they banished for the week? =)
Keep em coming!
I will make the edit, thanks for catching that!
Liv, gets the social media thing.
https://twitter.com/olivia_moultrie/status/1655069000764887042?cxt=HHwWhMDQ1Zef_vctAAAA
This was retweeted by Men in Blazers, who know and celebrate talent when they see it.
Looks like there's a U20 Championship tourney for World Cup qualification coming up. 3 players now playing in the NWSL played on that team who went to the U20 WC in Costa Rica last year. But, looks like none of those players have been released by their coaches for the tournament. Alyssa Thompson, Jaedyn Shaw, and Olivia Moultrie are the three. Alyssa Thompson's younger sister has been named for the roster. It sure won't be a walk in the park...in quick succession they play Panama, Jamaica, and Canada.
More about the tournament:
https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2023/05/usa-will-face-canada-jamaica-and-panama-in-group-play-at-2023-concacaf-womens-u-20-championship
For the Thorns, the games happening during that window (May 24th-June 3rd) are San Diego (May 26th- away) and OL Reign (June 3rd- away)...also potentially Chicago (May 21st- home.)
I'm hoping this means Moultrie is expected to contribute more in the very near future. It would be a bummer for her to not be able to go play for the National Team in an important tournament if she was just riding the bench or getting garbage minutes.
Also, I do always appreciate Stoney being pretty frank and open about her decision-making. Here she talks about making the decision to not release Shaw:
https://twitter.com/tayvincent6/status/1656395531374174208
I also appreciate Stoney being very honest in her pressers, but I've got to say I'm getting really sick of her complaining about the schedule. NWSL scheduling is far from ideal and is that way for a multitude of reasons. Berman has even said that trying to improve the schedule is big priority for the league. And generally issues around load and scheduling exist in every league. But it's not like San Diego has a worse situation than any other NWSL team and Stoney complaining about it is starting to sound like making excuses for poor coaching and player management.
Oh yeah, I totally don't like that either. The transparency just felt refreshing. She's been kind of exhausting to listen to in some interviews and post-match stuff about the schedule. She's also been an advocate to going to a Fall-Spring schedule...because of course that works for San Diego, but like, no other teams lol. She chose to coach a team in the corner of a huge country that will require constant travel (PNW teams welcome her to this reality!) But, come on, you live in San Diego where it's always 70 degrees out...there's worse places you could be. And also, when you build your whole team concept around a player that's 6'1", turns out it's really hard to replicate that when she's injured! Maybe try a less niche gameplan...
There are few things that irk me more than Brits telling Americans to switch to Fall-Spring scheduling. You enjoy the wonders of the gulf stream, but I think playing games in Chicago in January is going to actively harm the league more than playing a game with your internationals missing. (Houston and Orlando in August are a problem though.)
I did like her comments about not releasing Shaw though. The question of clubs releasing U20 players has been a thing on the men's side for a while, so it's interesting to see it appear on the women's side now too.
"But it's not like San Diego has a worse situation than any other NWSL team and Stoney complaining about it is starting to sound like making excuses for poor coaching and player management."
she did the same thing at Manchester United, very tedious. Just get on with it.
Read between the lines:
We're not getting results, I might come off just a wee bit grating when we're losing rather than winning, I saw what happened to Matt Potter, and I traded Manchester weather for San Diego weather. So.... oh hell no!
Maybe I missed this in the news, but did the Thorns refuse to release Moultrie for this tournament? I have a hard time believing she wouldn’t have been selected otherwise. Either way, I agree she deserves more time on the field for the Thorns soon if for no other reason than to help her get ready to carry a bigger load when our internationals are gone.
Moultrie has 4 goals, 6 assists in 28 regular season appearances, but just 1174 minutes.
FBRef.com lists Moultrie's comps over the past 365 days as including Horan, Hina, Caruso, Grosso, LaBonta, van de Donk, Maanum, and Dali. That's pretty good company.
Yeah, I noted that in my first comment about it. None of the listed three players were released by their coaches. It also notes that in the US soccer article. Hoping that means we see more of her and less of Sinc.
Tiers:
Tier 1- Consistently good: Seattle, Washington
Tier 2- Underperforming its talent: PDX
Tier 3- On the rise, but unproven: Gotham, ACFC,
Tier 4- Fraud watch: San Diego, KC
Tier 5- Mediocre, but occasionally dangerous: NCC, Houston, Louisville, Orlando(!)
Tier 6- Tragicomic: Chicago
That is a clever ranking. I agree whole heartedly. Portland is a top tier team under-performing at the moment. I am beginning to be a Spirit believer. I had them at sixth at the beginning of the season but now I think they are better than the team I had at third, San Diego.
Also, Ryan and Chris throw their opinions into the ring re: our defense/midfield woes on this week's episode of Soccer Made In Portland....and you won't be surprised about their solutions. (Hint: swap Sinc for Rocky; correct the fullback balance to avoid CB's being so exposed.)
https://www.oregonlive.com/podcasts/2023/05/soccer-made-in-portland-podcast-timbers-flailing-thorns-seeking-better-defense.html
Here's a great podcast episode of some more nerdy stats discussion of the NWSL season thus far. Not a ton of mention of the Thorns, except mostly high praise for them, but still some mention of Soph being Soph...and some other great stats nuggets in general as well:
https://www.americansocceranalysis.com/podcasts/2023/5/10/the-asa-nwsl-show-small-sample-size-suppositions
Portland seems about right. They need to tighten up the defense and make a change in the mid-field and we should rise again.
As for Thompson, Vlatko should find a way to get her on the team. She is playing at a high level right now and from my perspective deserves a shot. I'm imagining pairing her with Sophia and watching the attack approach light speed!
The USWNT have so many in-form frontline players, hoping the midfield can do their jobs and get them the ball.
Yeah, I am not sold on the Spirit yet. They are definitely better defensively than originally projected, but that team still struggles to score goals consistently. Grinding out results and playing down to competition the way they Washington and Gotham are is a bad formula.
I have Portland above both of those teams and don't see it changing unless Portland's defense gives up consistently high xG from here on out. I think it will revert back to the average soon enough and like you said, they'll find ways to tighten up the defense.
It’s tough (for me) to balance Power rankings (typically based on recent performance) and how we feel about the teams overall.
Washington and Portland are good examples. Portland has been playing down to their competition for the last month: They’ve drawn against Houston, NCC, and ACFC- All teams they should beat. Their three wins have come against Orlando, Louisville, and a decimated KC team. Washington hasn’t been great -- no NWSL team really has been, even Seattle-- but they’ve outperformed their expectation.
So: long term, I think Portland is better, but Washington has been more impressive as of late. SD will probably recover, but they’ve been flat out bad lately. Orlando is still probably the worst team in the league on talent, but they’ve put together a few good games and should be rewarded imo
The needed change in the midfield is easier said than done.
As the attack nears light speed, time dilates, so will Thompson still be a teenager after the game? And does the goal get bigger or smaller?
True about the mid-field, but the change can be made. The frustrating thing is that it doesn't need to be a major change, but a fairly minor tweak to the lineup. Lets say that Norris believes Sinc needs to be out there, he can still sub her off at 60 to give Moultre/Rocky meaningful minutes. Or he can take a step and start Sinc on the bench every third game. With five quality players, you need to find a way to give each some real minutes. There isn't a player over 35 who doesn't see their minutes get cut in professional athletics. To be honest, he simply has to tell her that it is more important that she is fresh for the WWC and the end of the NWSL Season than to start and play 80+ minutes in the first half of the year.
I’m guessing the Canadian thinking goes something like….we won gold with this team, this is the last time we will be this close to a World Cup, this is Sonic’s last hurrah, we can give women’s professional soccer in Canada a huge boost if we can pull it off. I have little doubt LBlanc, Norris, Sinc and everyone soccer north of the border buys into it this thinking or a close version to it. I think it dictates how decisions are being made re the Thorns.
Sonic? If only. We wouldn't be having this conversation if she had that kind of speed. Unless you mean "Sonic Drive -In."