Rose Lavelle's magical week, and WAFCON absences.

The NWSL’s return from the World Cup break has been just as everyone expected: Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit have powered back as the two hottest teams in the league… well… the two hottest teams behind Angel City, of course. 

Last week, Gotham and DC battled in Snake Plissken’s New York, where Rose Lavelle’s brilliance was the only thing separating the two sides during a wildfire smoke-filled Queen’s Classic. 

The match was perhaps a case for reanalysing our current protocols around playing through potentially hazardous AQIs for multiple reasons. It’s simply dangerous for the players who needed to take in oxygen during the hydration breaks to catch their breath, which in turn breeds a bad soccer match. It’s another example of the NWSL failing to see the forest through the trees.

Yes, the match was able to hit the national broadcast window, but anyone tuning in was treated to a concerning scene. The orange-tinted sky played backdrop for the largest crowd for women’s sports in New York history, but the game itself wasn’t anything worth analysing outside of Rose Lavelle’s moment of brilliance. 

Lavelle was just getting started in Queens before she turned in an equally important performance on Randall’s Island, creating 0.83 xA while turning in another game winning golazo to finish Gotham’s comeback vs Seattle. 

Lavelle’s injury woes over the past few years sometimes wipe away the memory of just how great she can be at the height of her game, the type of player who won’t always win best player in the world accolades but the type of player who will inspire the next generation of ballers, the Tobin Heath phenotype if you will indulge me. Her brilliance has also been limited by Gotham’s ability to feed her the ball centrally, but as the attack has kicked up, Gotham has been able to work the ball in centrally more often or, at the very least, has allowed Lavelle to be more aggressive in her positioning. 

As Gotham’s roster morphs into a buzzsaw of veteran heavy hitters and Jordynn Dudley, the diamond in their midfield will shine even brighter, and that’s something worth appreciating in the moment. Don’t let the passage of time steal your joy. 

Tonight, Gotham visits Portland, where assistant coach Shaun Harris will serve as interim manager while Juan Carlos Ámoros takes Paternity leave. 

JCA’s leave is a great look for the league. The NWSL continues to show that family doesn’t have to wait for your career in the league, and I think it’s worth celebrating even as there is a long way to go in terms of general employee safety. 

AFCON Absences.

WAFCON kicks off this week, and more than a few NWSL clubs will be in a world of hurt while their superstars are halfway around the world. The Spirit lead the league with 5 absences – Gift Monday, Deborah Abiodun, Rose Kouassi, Monique Ngock, and Mélissa Bethi.

However, it’s easy to argue that the Spirit won’t suffer nearly as much as, say, the Orlando Pride, KC Current, or the Boston Legacy. 

Can the Pride manage without Barbra Banda?

Banda leads the NWSL in goals and expected goals and is 2nd in the NWSL in goals added. 

The Pride has been heavily reliant on their Zambian star’s 12 goals just to float just below the playoff line this season. No other Orlando player has scored over 2 goals, while Marta, Jaquille Ovalle, and Seven Castain have attempted to fill in up top when Banda has needed rest and rotation. It would be different if the Pride were as defensively stout as they have been over the past two seasons, but even as some restructuring of the roster has taken place, the Pride have allowed 21 goals this season, just 6 shy of their total from last season, and one more than their total for all of 2024. 

This may be a long month for Seb Hines… unless Anna Moorhouse comes back up to earth – she’s been the worst shotstopper in the league this season.

However, it could be a long month for Chris Armas as well. 

The Current are better positioned offensively with Croix Bethune taking off since Armas figured out that the CAM’s best position was CAM. Bethune currently leads the league in goals added and is tied for the league lead in assists with Portland’s Pietra Tordin and Olivia Moultrie. So, they should be fine, right? 

KC’s underlying numbers have been better than their actual results, but that was not the case at the start of the season when Chawinga and Michelle Cooper were recovering from injury. Unfortunately, those structural issues and lack of depth that led to the worst run of form since Vlatko Andonovski arrived in KC are still there, with Chawinga and Cooper, once again, out of the lineup. Perhaps Vanessa DiBernardo’s return will increase the odds of success once she is fully caught up to speed in the double pivot next to Labonta. However, it still exposes how KC’s lack of reinforcements this window, as their goalkeeping also returns to league average. The Current need an impact 6 or an impact striker, and without those reinforcements, it’s just Croix Bethune, Debinha, and the specter of last season. 

Both Bay FC and the Boston Legacy will miss Rachael Kundananji and Aïssata Traoré, respectively, but while both players have been influential in the starting XI, both sides have been able to succeed in other ways recently, with Bay growing through Kennedy Fuller’s arrival and the return of Alex Pfeiffer from injury. 

WAFCON runs through August 16th with the final group stage matches on August 6th.