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By the time the final whistle blew at Red Bull Arena on Sunday, marking the end of the latest NWSL quarter-final, the most surprising semi-final was set. The top four teams in the regular season – Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit, NJ/NY Gotham FC and Kansas City Current – were now the last four teams standing, clearly demonstrating their dominance over the rest of the league this year .
Their postseason success mirrors their regular season performance, where they created a 16-point gap between themselves and the rest of the league. It’s a remarkable turnaround from last season, when only 13 points separated first and last place, and a major milestone for the teams in question. Only the Current made the playoffs in 2022, while only Gotham participated in the postseason in 2023, emerging as the surprise champions as the lowest-ranked team in the running.
The ability of the top four to transform in a short period of time is another example of the NWSL’s potentially unparalleled parity, which has been the league’s biggest competitive selling point for years. Dynasties are somewhat rare in this league, although some have come close: the Portland Thorns have qualified for the postseason in all but one season and are the NWSL’s most successful team with three championships. The now-defunct FC Kansas City, meanwhile, won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015, while the North Carolina Courage did the same in 2018 and 2019.
That pattern indicates that as difficult as it is to win titles in the NWSL in a given year, staying at the top season after season may be even more difficult. It begs the question: how long can this season’s top four stay there, and what will it take for the rest of the league to get the party started next season?
Here’s a look at why this season’s top four rose to the occasion, and why the NWSL is still well-positioned to pull off some twists in the near future.
History doesn’t matter
While this season’s top four features two former NWSL champions, they are not necessarily among the league’s most successful teams. That’s especially true for the Pride and Gotham, who have historically been among the league’s bottom dwellers, while the Current only started play in 2021 but have at times been overshadowed by other expansion teams in the past. None of this was a particular hindrance as they began building their current rosters, largely because they were willing to evolve with the NWSL as a whole.
The league is in the midst of a rapid period of professionalization, fueled by increased investment, that has changed the way teams can build rosters. Salaries are rising and international places are more readily available, while clubs have spent their money on everything from high-profile coaches, scouting departments, high-performing staff, training environments and even facilities. It makes many, if not all, NWSL teams a coveted destination in an evolving women’s soccer landscape.
“I think there is real interest for a lot of international athletes to move to the NWSL, and for good reason, right?,” Orlando Pride sporting director Haley Carter told CBS Sports. “The pay is fantastic. It’s better overall than any other league in the world. It’s the best in the world, so if you look from top to bottom, the average salary here is significantly higher than anywhere else. ” .”
As a result, each of the top four teams was able to sign some of the league’s most exciting players this offseason. MVP candidates Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga joined the Pride and Current respectively over the winter, while Gotham impressively secured four players from the U.S. women’s national team via free agency. The Spirit also dipped into the international market to sign Colombia’s Leicy Santos and also acquired Rookie of the Year frontrunner Croix Bethune in the draft.
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The tactical evolution of NWSL
The NWSL is not only a strong financial option for players; playing on the field is becoming more and more attractive. The league has long been classified as a physical competition, while its European counterparts are considered more technically advanced, but an influx of international players and coaches has changed the tactical profile of the NWSL. Gotham and the Spirit are two such examples: former reigning coach of the year Juan Carlos Amoros, while the latter welcomed two-time UEFA Women’s Champions League winner Jonatan Girladez this summer.
Both Amoros and Giraldez are from Spain, which has re-emerged as a football powerhouse in recent years with last year’s victory at the Women’s World Cup and the men’s team’s triumph at the European Championships last summer. Their CVs, as well as Spanish football’s recent successes, make their teams a more attractive destination for emerging talent and hone the skills of other coaches in the league, who have their own impressive tactical approaches. Additionally, the NWSL’s broad injection of investment makes the league as attractive a destination for top coaches as it is for players.
“I’m happy that coaches are successful here, wherever they are, or players, because I think we have a fantastic culture. We have a fantastic way of playing,” Amoros said on Sunday after Gotahm’s win over the Portland Thorns. “Hopefully there [are] more people are successful because in Spain, as you know, sometimes the conditions in women’s football or in lower categories in terms of coaching, [there] It’s a lot of sacrifice, people putting in a lot of effort for little money… It’s really hard.”
Smart renovations
Ultimately, the top four rose to the top of the standings as they successfully endured a rebuilding period. Their needs were different and so were their stumbling blocks, but the combination of player recruitment, coaching and front office selection allowed these clubs to create championships in a new era of roster building for the NWSL. The big question, however, is whether they can keep it up for a few more years.
In a league where few teams have a major financial advantage over the others, it’s entirely possible that one of the other ten teams will undergo a rebuild of their own in the coming offseason. Some will obviously be better positioned than others. The Thorns are already recruiting younger players after relying on experienced players in the recent past, while Bay FC can blame some of their expansion season problems on individual errors at the back and underperformance in terms of expected goals, both solvable problems. On the other hand, the San Diego Wave likely have a major rethink ahead of them after a season that didn’t improve following the sudden firing of Casey Stoney, and the same goes for the Seattle Reign after losing some key players over the winter.
Player recruitment will take a fascinating new turn this season, the first since the NWSL eliminated the college draft through a new collective bargaining agreement. College athletes are now essentially free agents, increasing competition among the league’s teams to land the top talent. The Wave already started signing Texas’ Trinity Byers, the team’s all-time leading scorer who could help the 2023 NWSL Shield winners after a goal-shy season.
How quickly they can pull off their own rebuilds is an obvious question, as is the question of when they will get into this year’s top four. Players, coaches and front office staff from each of the teams participating in the semifinals will argue that there is still work to be done, both heading into the championship game and leading into next season. They will have to identify their areas for improvement wisely. For example, Gotham relies on many players in their prime, while the Current are working to strengthen their defense.
Ultimately, the changing calculus behind roster construction in the NWSL reflects the league’s historical parity. The teams that first cracked the code immediately rose to the top, but the learning curve only lasts so long for ambitious teams in the NWSL. If the past year is anything to go by, another competitive offseason is likely in store.