Connect with us

Soccer

Houston Dash, Chicago Red Stars, Orlando Pride — American Soccer Analysis

Published

on



By Arianna Cascone

The Houston Dash made the playoffs for the first time last season. They finished 2022 in fourth place but tied for 36 points with two other teams (San Diego Wave and Kansas City). The Dash ended up losing to Kansas City in the 90+10th minute in the first round of the playoffs, and they’ll undoubtedly be on a mission to avenge that loss in 2023.

So, what should we look forward to this season?

A new head coach 

Last season saw three head coaches for the Dash. Former head coach James Clarkson was suspended in April 2022, and first assistant Sarah Lowdon stepped in as the acting head coach while the Dash searched for a new person to fill the role. Once Clarkson was dismissed, the Dash started turning around their 2022 ship. Lowdon went on the record preaching the importance of defensive organization off-the-ball movement. The first four games of Lowdon’s short tenure saw those principles translate on the field after Houston improved in goals conceded per game for the Dash: on average, they were conceding 1.7 fewer goals per game (0.5 goals conceded/game vs. 2.2 goals conceded per game). Of course, it goes without saying here that the sample size was quite small, but it’s important to acknowledge Lowdon’s successes.

Juan Carlos Amorós was hired as the interim head coach in June 2022. Amorós saw immediate success in the NWSL as a first-timer. In fact, he became the first head coach in history to win their first three games. He also led the Dash to their first playoff berth in their nine-year history, and hosted that match-up to boot. Despite those successes, Amorós left the Dash almost immediately in the offseason. He’s now the head coach at NJ/NY Gotham FC, and longtime OL Reign assistant Sam Laity has taken the reins at the Dash.

This will be Laity’s first head-coaching gig, so it remains to be seen if he’s up for that challenge. Houston’s actually returning players that accounted for a huge portion of their 2022 minutes (80%), and those players were obviously successful last season. That will help Laity this season, but he also brought in a huge squad–made of up 34 players–for preseason. That might indicate that he’s hand-picking his roster additions, and rounding out his roster with players that best fit his coaching style.

Some exciting attackers

Speaking of additions, Diana Ordóñez’ trade was one of the biggest stories to come out of the 2023 NWSL Draft this year. Ordóñez requested the trade in the offseason, and North Carolina clearly made it happen. The Courage sent Ordóñez and the No. 30 overall pick to Houston in return for the No. 8 overall pick, which North Carolina used to draft defender Sydney Collins. It was an interesting move for the Courage, considering Ordóñez made 17 starts in 19 appearances in North Carolina, but head coach Sean Nahas said the team wanted to honor her requests to be closer to home. Ordóñez also finished fourth in the NWSL Golden Boot race with 11 goals, only behind Debinha on the Courage roster. Those 11 goals even broke the league record for goals scored in a rookie season.

North Carolina’s loss is Houston’s huge gain. 

There’s no doubt that Ordóñez will be headlining the Houston attack this year, paired with Ebony Salmon. Ordóñez scored 11 goals on 7.27 xG, and Salmon scored 9 goals on 5.38 xG. That translated to 0.83 goals on 0.46 xG per 96’ for Salmon, which was the highest goals minus expected goals value in the league (read: overperformance). Unfortunately for Houston, Ordóñez was ranked third in that overperformance measure, having scored 0.71 goals on 0.24 xG per 96’ mark. We should expect some regression to the mean for these players, which might translate to fewer goals scored. 

María Sánchez will also be a player to watch in Houston’s attacking third. Sánchez was second on the entire Dash roster in passing goals added in 2022, though the player ahead of her (Julia Ashley, CB) only played 172 minutes. Sánchez also recorded two goals and four assists last season, which was her first full season in the NWSL. 

Sánchez, who is known for her signature footwork on the flanks, led the team in crosses into the penalty area in 2022. We should expect her to do that again this season, especially now that one of her targets will be 5’11” Ordóñez, who also happens to be her Mexican women’s national teammate. Both Sánchez and Ordóñez will be available for the Dash through the 2023 World Cup window, considering Mexico failed to qualify last summer. Heartbreaking for both players, but very good for Houston. 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Nichelle Prince in this discussion of the Dash attack. Unfortunately, Prince tore her Achilles in the offseason during a Canadian women’s national team friendly and will be unavailable this season. Prince was second in scoring and assists for the Dash last year, with five goals and three assists. She posted the second-highest xG+xA value (0.40) of all Houston players who recorded at least 1000 minutes in 2022. Her injury is a huge loss to this Houston team, but hopefully for them, Ordóñez will make up for at least some of it. 

A high defensive line

Houston conceded 27 goals last season, which came out to 1.14 goals against per game. That’s actually their best mark since 2016 (i.e., as far back as our database goes). Digging into the numbers a little more, Houston ranked second-to-last on total clearances last season, but first in interceptions. They also led the league in offsides provoked. An ‘offsides provoked’ event is awarded to the last defender when an attacker is called offside.





Source link

Continue Reading

Soccer

Rest? When? 2023 World Cup player survey underscores ongoing world calendar issue – Equalizer Soccer

Published

on

By





Photo: Sipa USA-USA TODAY Sports

A survey of 2023 Women’s World Cup players, conducted by world players’ union FIFPRO, underscored the growing conflict between international duties and professional leagues in women’s soccer. The problem was particularly pervasive due to the timing of this year’s World Cup, which started and ended approximately one month later than previous editions due to it being staged in Australia and New Zealand during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter.

Fifty-three percent of players surveyed felt they did not have enough rest time before their first World Cup match, FIFPRO said, while 60% felt their post-tournament rest was insufficient, with most players reporting that they had less than two weeks off before rejoining their clubs.

It is a predictable aftermath for a problem that brewed ahead of the World Cup. The National Women’s Soccer League and U.S. Soccer clashed last winter over whether players would be released outside of mandatory FIFA dates and quietly came to an agreement ahead of the World Cup. Months later, the problem played out publicly in Europe, with the European Clubs Association initially taking a stand against releasing players to their national teams — most of which planned for and eventually executed weeks-long training camps ahead of the World Cup — outside of required dates. Individual decisions were ultimately left with clubs as part of a compromise.

Sarah Gregorius, FIFPRO’s director of policy and strategic relations for women’s football, called the conversations “polarizing” in a roundtable with reporters earlier this week.

Access the best women’s soccer coverage all year long

Start your FREE, 7-day trial of The Equalizer Extra for industry-leading reporting and insight on the USWNT, NWSL and beyond.





Source link

Continue Reading

Soccer

Concacaf announces locations and dates for the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup – Equalizer Soccer

Published

on

By


*Kick-off times and order of matches will be announced at a later date. 
 
Saturday, February 17, 2024 — Dignity Health Sports Park Track and Field Stadium, Carson, CA
M1: Highest-ranked team vs lowest-ranked team
M2: Second-ranked team vs Fifth-ranked team
M3: Third-ranked team vs Fourth-ranked team
 
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 — Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, CA
M4: A2 vs A3
M5: United States (A1) vs A4

Wednesday, February 21, 2024 — Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, CA
M6: B2 vs B3
M7: Brazil (B1) vs B4

Thursday, February 22, 2024 – Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, TX
M8: C2 vs C3
M9: Canada (C1) vs C4

Friday, February 23, 2024 — Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, CA
M10: A4 vs A2
M11: A3 vs United States (A1)

Saturday, February 24, 2024 — Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, CA
M12: B4 vs B2
M13: B3 vs Brazil (B1)

Sunday, February 25, 2024 — Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, TX
M14: C4 vs C2
M15: C3 vs Canada (C1)

Monday, February 26, 2024 — Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, CA
M16: A3 vs A4
M17: United States (A1) vs A2

Tuesday, February 27, 2024 — Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, CA
M18: B3 vs B4
M19: Brazil (B1) vs B2

Wednesday, February 28, 2024 — Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, TX
M20: C3 vs C4
M21: Canada (C1) vs C2
 
Saturday, March 2, 2024 — BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, CA (Quarterfinals)
M22: 1st vs 8th
M23: 2nd vs 7th 

Sunday, March 3, 2024 — BMO Stadium, Los Angeles, CA (Quarterfinals)
M24: 3rd vs 6th 
M25: 4th vs 5th 

Wednesday, March 6, 2024 — Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, CA (Semifinals)
M26: WM22 vs WM25
M27: WM23 vs WM24

Sunday, March 10, 2024 — Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, CA (Final)
M28: WM26 vs WM27



Source link

Continue Reading

Soccer

How Korbin Albert earned a national team call – Equalizer Soccer

Published

on

By





(RIchard Callis/SPP)

After a disappointing World Cup, now is a time of change for the United States women’s national team. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore is exploring different options for the team, and has handed debuts to Mia Fishel, Jaedyn Shaw and M.A. Vignola. Ahead of the upcoming friendlies with China in early December, Korbin Albert became the latest newcomer called up to the squad.

Albert made her name as a goal-scoring midfielder with the University of Notre Dame. In her final year, she found the net 16 times and was nominated for the Mac Hermann Trophy alongside Jenna Nighswonger and eventual winner Michelle Cooper. She was in the U.S. squad for the U-20 World Cup last year, starting two of their three games. Then, in January 2023, she made the move to professional soccer, joining French giants Paris Saint-Germain on a two-and-a-half year deal.

With PSG, the 20-year-old primarily plays in a more withdrawn role, sometimes acting as their deepest midfielder. She has started in both of their Champions League group games so far, against Bayern Munich and Ajax, as well as three of their seven league fixtures. PSG are a fluid attacking side whose setup fluctuates regularly, and Albert is still developing an understanding with her teammates. As a consequence, her role can look very different from one game to another.

Access the best women’s soccer coverage all year long

Start your FREE, 7-day trial of The Equalizer Extra for industry-leading reporting and insight on the USWNT, NWSL and beyond.





Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending