Page 75 - Soccer360 Issue 105

NWSL SEASON PREVIEW
TITLE
Lorne Donaldson
MID Julia Bianchi (5 assists
SHOWDOWN
Head Coach:
Key Players:
last season), GK Alyssa Naeher (starting goalkeeper for the USWNT, two-time World Cup winner), MID Jill Aguilera (Puerto Rican international), FWD Mallory Swanson (32 goals for the USWNT, 2019 World Cup winner), DEF Maximiliane Rall (won the Bundesliga in 2022-203 with Bayern Munich), and DEF Natalia Kuikka (2022 Finnish Footballer of the Year)
HOUSTON DASH
2023 Record: 6-8-8, 26 points (Did Not Make The Playoffs)
Fran Alonso
GK Jane Campbell
(Goalkeeper of the Year, Best XI), DEF Allysha Chapman (99 appearances for CANWNT), MID Yuki Nagasoto (World Cup winner for Japan), MID Sophie Schmidt (223 appearances for CANWNT), and FWD Diana Ordonez (Mexican international)
KANSAS CITY CURRENT
2023 Record: 8-12-2, 26 points (Did Not Make The Playoffs, Challenge Cup
Semifinalist)
Vlatko Andonovski
FWD Debinha (9 goals last season), FWD Alex Pfeiffer (USWYNT
WORDS MATTHEAW RICE
Head Coach:
Key Players:
BOTTOM:
Mayra Ramirez is the chosen one to replace Kerr
BELOW:
Zecira Musovic for Chelsea
n exciting end to the season is in prospect and it looks nothing but unpredictable. We appear to have a three- horse race for the Women’s Super League crown and in Europe, reigning champions Barcelona will have fierce competition from Chelsea when the competition resumes in March. For
the Blues, this is all about
giving outgoing boss Emma Hayes the perfect send-off with a host
of silverware. But Manchester City have been hot on their heels domestically
all campaign, sending out a statement
of intent with their victory at Chelsea recently. Don’t write off Arsenal, who
are still in it in third, but it will still be a huge job for someone to prise the trophy away from Hayes and her team yet again. At the bottom of the table, Bristol City can reel in Brighton and West Ham but their form suggests it could be a return to the Championship for Lauren Smith’s strugglers.
Head Coach:
Key Players:
BAY FC
2023 Record: Did Not Play (Expansion Team in 2024)
Albertin Montoya
FWD Racheal Kundananji
(Signed record women’s transfer fee of 625,000 pounds, Zambian international), DEF Kiki Pickett (fourth overall pick in
the 2021 NWSL Draft), DEF Jenn Beattie (Scottish international), FWD Asisat Oshoala (Played for Nigeria at 2023 World Cup, two-time UEFA Champions League winner at FC Barcelona, six-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year), and DEF Savy King (Picked second overall at the 2024 NWSL Draft from the University of North Carolina)
CHICAGO RED STARS
2023 Record: 7-12-3, 24 points (Did Not Make The Playoffs)
THREE-WAY BLUES BATTLE
The battle for the No.1 spot at Chelsea
has been one of the stories of the season so far, with boss Hayes happy to rotate
the gloves between Germany keeper Ann-Katrin Berger, Sweden’s Zecira Musovic and England International Hannah Hampton, who joined from Villa in the summer. It’s an unusual situation but one which will keep all three on their toes as they chase silverware on four fronts until the end of the season.
GOAL KERR-AZY
Chelsea fans will be eager to see if Mayra Ramirez can successfully fill the boots of Sam Kerr and fire the Blues to yet another WSL title and maybe even European glory. Kerr sustained an ACL injury in January and the club moved
Head Coach:
Key Players:
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