NWSL Flavors of the Week 2026

I have said before that I really like big hair. Michelle Akers was for a long time my favorite female soccer player and her big hair was no small part of that favoritism. However i recognize that any hair that can capture wind slows players down by some amount. It does not have to be big and fluffy even loose ponytails that blow out behind a player slow that player down by a measurable amount. The energy needed to stream the hair out behind a play is taken from the effort the player is expending to run. The amount of slowdown is, usually, not great but it is also not trivial.
I still like big hair but I also think players with long or fluffy hair might be better off with that hair in a bun or cut off to maximize their speed.
Of course there is an advantage to the long fluffy hair. It can draw a red card if other players get their fingers tangled in the hair during a challenge then the result would be a hair pull and an automatic red card.

 

FOTMOB got Moultrie at #1, what does Sofascore got her?—-since she apparently couldn’t make the top 22 on their list

 

Double checking, Moultri comes in at #13 for combined foreign & domestic players. Over at FOTMOB got her at #1, Banda at #2(#1 on Sofascore). Both lead the league in combined goals/assists.
While maybe Sofascore doesn’t focus on stats alone, I still wonder the discrepancy? Could take it that maybe Moultrie playing at the more crowded central mid area, got more turnovers than Banda?
Six of the top 12 rated on Sofadcore are goalkeepers whereas only 2 on FOTMOB, that’s why I prefer the later’s instead the former’s, especially for field players over GK’s

 

At least fotmob is soccer only, I see that sofascore does a lot of other sports. Putting so many keepers on the list is crowding-out the real stat-mongers that are developing this season in NWSL.

I agree that Moultrie having the best start of any American and the best start of her career--she's on tract for double-digits goals and assists, already at 4 and 4. Who the hell is Trinity Rodman?

Brilliant by Thorns to get ahead of her future contract expiration:

https://www.spotrac.com/news/_/id/3356/top-10-extensions-of-the-offseason
Moultrie among significant NWSL players who extended their contracts, says she signed 4-year extension through 2030 including re-baselining 2026. Just another reason NWSL does not have to freak-out over losing it's stars to Europe.

 

Annie Karich, 22, MF Boston Legacy, is a player we should be keeping tabs on. Looked to have a statement game last night in a big win over Orlando, albeit on a stoppage time PK. She's flying under the radar, but is seemingly very consistent, an every game and minute player for her team who has had a nice young career blending college, US Youth, German, Mexico, World's 7, and now NWSL. Think she might have been the first or one of the first signings by Boston.

Did not watch the game last night but her stats were impressive; via Fotmob best rated player: lots of touches, passes completed, excellent long balls, tackles, etc. Not a shooter/scorer, but has the looks of a leader and overall talent/skills. She's tall but not fast. Maybe in the class of a Jaelyn Howell or possibly Sam Coffey. As I say keep an eye on her Emma Hayes, as I know you will, and by the way, Boston is now in 13th place, on a cool Tuesday night in Foxborough, in front of 8,182 fans!

 

Mal played the second half in Chicago's 1-0 win over Bay FC, and she scored the game winner, and it was a banger! Caveat was that Bay were down 2 players due to red cards, yes you read that correctly TWO red cards.

Negative is that Swanson rolled her ankle in stoppage time and could not continue. Fingers crossed it is not too bad.

 

Wow, you don't see that everyday! Were both RCs quite clear and legit?

Although, on secnd thought, the question is maybe off-topic here and should be moved to NWSL's section.

 

Not only were the reds legit they were each different forms of "denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity."
The first a player was 1v1 vs the last defender and managed to break free and the defender looked like they tripped the attacker on purpose. There was very little argument from anybody on Bay.
The second was even more clear. A ball was chipped high toward goal but well outside the box. The GK came out to about two or three yards outside the box but the ball took a bigger than expected bounce and was heading to goal with no one even close to being able to stop it. The 'keeper reached up and stopped it with her hands making a clear hand ball outside the box. Again there was almost no protest by Bay.

Even a nearly blind ref would have made both calls and the ref for this match was actually pretty good, one of the best I have seen in a pretty difficult to call game.
In this case I do not think there will be any additional punishment as the reds were clear and neither was violent or in any way overblown. So each player will miss the next match but no more.

BTW: The first red was only disputed by the announcers as they seemed more clueless about the laws than anyone on either team or on the ref crew. On the second the announcers did not even dispute the call.
This was a particularly well officiated match. VAR took almost no time to confirm the calls. I think those two might have been about the fastest VAR review of red cards I have ever seen.

 

Except you cannot FF into the future so, if watching live, you are stuck with them. I use mute whenever one appears and unmute when the trash ends. I decided some time ago that I would intentionally avoid the products that use this intrusive and annoying advertising and i have even canceled my Capital One card and informed the company why. I will, of course, make no difference but it makes me feel better. The one thing I have noticed a LOT lately is these intrusive and invasive ads continuing after the action resumes for as much as 30 seconds. Which means I miss a number of restarts as the match gets shrunk into a tiny unwatchable box on the screen. I understand the need for making money but there has to be a better, less intrusive way to do that.
I also detest the in match interviews where the visuals switch to a full screen image of the fools in the box even while action goes on on the field. Those so called interviews have yet to provide any meaningful info and are simply boring.
I think that a better option to the intrusive ads would be a little trailer at the bottom of the screen without audio and for the interviews just provide the audio as I find looking at the fools talking is just fulfilling the definition of obscenity as having no redeeming social value. But, in the end, all interviews and ads and other drivel belong before or after the match or at halftime. Placing them anywhere else is showing disrespect to the fans and the match. I intentionally avoid products and services that intrude on soccer like these stupid as do.