NWSL 2020 Mini-Previews: North Carolina, Sky Blue, and Chicago
/By Arielle Dror (@arielle_dror) and Lydia Vandenbergh (@lvanden)
The eighth season of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was supposed to kick off on April 18th. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the beginning of the season has been postponed until shrugs, well…eventually… someday… we hope. We’re hard at work creating full season previews, but while we wait for games to start up, we wanted to give fellow woso fans a little something to read. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing some of what we’re thinking about in hopes of starting conversations about the upcoming season now. Think of these as the previews of our previews.
Our first set of teams are all in very different places coming into this season. One hopes to continue dominance. Another’s offseason changes potentially signal a new chapter for the club. The third must find a way to cope with the glaring departure of arguably their most important player.
North Carolina Courage
There is no question that the North Carolina Courage are the most dominant team in the NWSL. Since Paul Riley became coach back in 2016 when the team was the Western New York Flash, the team has made it to the post season every season. Since relocating to Cary, North Carolina in 2017, the team has won the shield all three times and won the Championship twice (they also won it in 2016). Why do the Courage continue to dominate? We can point to many reasons, but consistency is undoubtedly on their side. Over the past several seasons, the Courage have had a consistent roster with little turnover from year-to-year. In fact, over 50% of their minutes played in 2016 still remained on the 2020 preseason roster. This year, the Courage have the highest percentage of returning minutes in the league. It’s one thing to have a consistent roster that cannot produce results, but the core of this team has remained intact while winning when it matters most. What lies ahead for the North Carolina Courage in 2020? Probably more dominance.
Sky Blue FC
In 2018, Sky Blue FC won a single game: their last game of the season. In 2019, Sky Blue won five games and finished eighth out of nine teams. Over the course of the season, they went scoreless for the first nine games before head coach Denise Reddy was fired. Their goalkeeping coach filled in until interim coach Freya Coombe was hired to see out the last five games of the season. In the offseason, Sky Blue announced Coombe would officially lead the team in 2020. Of note, she will be the only female head coach in the NWSL. How did Coombe’s squad fare in her first few games? She led the team to a 1-3-1 record, which isn’t superb. However, four of her five games were against teams that ultimately made the playoffs—twice against North Carolina Courage, once against Chicago Red Stars, Reign FC (OL Reign as of 2020), and Orlando Pride—a very difficult schedule and a very small sample. In addition to a new coach, Sky Blue FC and its fans have a lot to look forward to in 2020. For one, they’ll be playing all their home games at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, a huge step up from their previous home field at Rutgers University. On the field, Sky Blue also acquired a series of players through trades and the draft, many of whom have the potential to boost an offense that struggled to score last season. Sky Blue’s positive momentum comes with an expectation of more success than 2019, which feels very likely (and is exciting after the past few seasons!).
Goal Involvement
% of Team's Goals Scored or Assisted
| Name | Team | Season | Goal Involvement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHI | 2019 | 57.1% | ||
| CHI | 2018 | 52.6% | ||
| NJ | 2017 | 51.2% | ||
| BOS | 2017 | 50.0% | ||
| HOU | 2016 | 48.3% | ||
| SEA | 2018 | 46.4% | ||
| CHI | 2017 | 45.2% | ||
| NJ | 2019 | 45.0% | ||
| KC | 2016 | 44.4% | ||
| WNY | 2016 | 43.5% |
Chicago Red Stars
The Chicago Red Stars go into the 2020 season with a bitter reminder that they were one win short of a NWSL Championship in 2019. Knowing head coach Rory Dames, the focus will remain the same: to win despite the roster changes. In the offseason, the biggest change to note is the departure of NWSL MVP Sam Kerr. The Australian international led the league in scoring and accounted for 43.9% of Chicago’s 42 goals last season. The Red Stars have their work cut out for them to try to find player(s) that can effectively replace Kerr. While the Red Stars do have talented attackers, the next highest goal scorer was Yuki Nagasato with eight goals. The Red Stars also did not score a single goal in three matches without Kerr while she was participating in last summer’s World Cup.
In an interview with The Chicago Tribune, owner Arnim Whisler was quoted, “In some ways we miss Sam. But in some ways, we’re going to play better without Sam.” We want to believe that statement, but the data suggest that Sam Kerr is a pretty special player. The Red Stars might not be able to nab the next Kerr, so their next best bet would be to focus—as a team—on creating more quality chances.
The Courage, Sky Blue, and Red Stars all have a lot to look forward to if and when the 2020 season eventually gets played. Check back soon as we take a look out West and preview the Portland Thorns, OL Reign, and Utah Royals.