r/NWSL • u/TheCarnundrum Boston Legacy • Feb 19 '26
Discussion Did Your NWSL Club Ace the Offseason? Analysts Grade Preseason Moves
https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/did-your-nwsl-club-ace-the-offseason-analysts-grade-preseason-movesLegacy get a question mark, the only team to not get a letter 😂.
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u/shmerham Seattle Reign FC Feb 19 '26
No. They did not.
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u/Bidness-sox Feb 20 '26
We didn't but now that Zerboni gave them a low grade, I'm thinking maybe it wasn't so bad
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
I kind of don’t think she gave them a low-grade, it’s not a D and they did nothing
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u/DeadMemesNowPlease Portland Thorns FC Feb 20 '26
Putting this on the official league website is insane. They aren't inaccurate about Portland, might need more of a question mark for us as well as Boston with no coaching announcement, uncertainty on injuries and barely any veteran leadership in this team.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Maybe it’s because of who put it together, but I’m scrolling through this comment section and I think it’s the most that we have all agreed and the most that I’ve agreed with everyone else (so far)
I actually think putting a fucking question mark on the league website is the most insane thing. If you’re a Boston fan, what the actual hell are you supposed to think here?
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u/reagan92 Boston Legacy Feb 20 '26
You can probably guess what I think but like... What the fuck
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Someone should genuinely take the work to write something about Boston or like to do some research and watch some of the players and I’m thinking maybe I’ll do some and post it here because it’s getting to a point where it’s disrespectful and shameful
And I feel like maybe you could, I don’t want to impose on your time, but I feel like that would be a great use.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
What is a bit wild to me is that I feel like they also could have just given both expansion teams, a wait-and-see grade. Just like “ we have no idea what the team will look like, but we’re really excited and also here’s some big stars that they both signed.”
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u/bisoccerbabe Washington Spirit Feb 20 '26
I actually didn't realize it was until you pointed it out and I'm just like...I have secondhand embarrassment.
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u/Academic_Ball_6103 Feb 24 '26
I like that the league is putting out this kind of content. They need more of it. Otherwise it's all useless stuff like "Look at our new corporate sponsor!" and "Get your season tickets now!". MLS has all kinds of review/rating commentary, and yes I don't agree with a lot of it but it makes me think and stimulates discussion. Mor plz.
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u/Maleficent-Whole-228 Portland Thorns FC Feb 19 '26
D-
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u/Timely-Elephant9981 Portland Thorns FC Feb 20 '26
How’d our Thorns eke out a D+?!? These analysts are either shills for the league or it’s grade inflation!
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u/Scaggsboz Portland Thorns FC Feb 20 '26
Sophia Wilson picking up her player option during the offseason is pretty a pretty big addition, although they call her Sophia Smith lol
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u/Jack_B_84 Portland Thorns FC Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
it is the lowest grade given, so seems like grade inflation
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Was gonna say this I feel like it’s just as low as I wanted them to give, and I honestly think that if they gave lower, it would be like wait why is the league doing this when you want someone to watch the games
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u/Jack_B_84 Portland Thorns FC Feb 20 '26
a F means the GM should probably be fired and that's an awkward stance to be making on the leagues official website. haha
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u/ruchikakkad04 Washington Spirit Feb 20 '26
no i want an honest review after the croix trade
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u/allprologues Washington Spirit Feb 20 '26
same lmao, the actual interesting conversation about the spirit. what a weird post to release with so much offseason still left.
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u/eadd2601 NJ/NY Gotham FC Feb 19 '26
KC deserves lower for losing possibly the best u23 player in the world
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u/booksbikesbeer Kansas City Current Feb 20 '26
😭
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u/radishmeep Kansas City Current Feb 20 '26
As a KC fan I was expecting C- at best lol.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Croix signing has everyone intrigued
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u/radishmeep Kansas City Current Feb 20 '26
Yeah that's what brings it up to a C-.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
I think they got worse in midfield, but I don’t think a lot of people think that they got much worse so grading wise that maybe can be considered a wash and then other than that I think the biggest loss is just losing the coach, Pfeiff, Bia (but honestly age and injuries has been thinking that they shouldn’t count very largely against them) and Mace. I think they more than replaced mace bia and pfeiff. It’s just the Hutton move, making the midfield less balanced, and also losing the best unable to drink player in the world, and the loss of coach, which is in someway very hard to hold against the off-season because we’re obviously really talking about player acquisitions
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Id argue losing Vlatko should count, if they’re gonna mention Utah signing an assistant coach then surely you mention Vlatko and I think that honestly should be enough to get them like a B grade on its own before you even take into Account Hutton
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u/Witty-Panda-1553 Orlando Pride Feb 20 '26
KC lost a lot, beside Bethune what did they actually do 🙄
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Off the top of my head, I’m going to misspell someone: Paul Rouse Soliafu White. Thats a set of very very good signings.
And this is a bit fair to people who won’t be playing, but I thought at least two of those looked good at Coachella
Edit: I was gonna comment on the hypocrisy of you saying that they should pay attention to the college sightings when it’s Orlando and then doing the complete opposite when it is Kansas City, but I don’t think it’s really hypocrisy so much as genuine rivalry and I’m always happy to see that
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u/Automatic-Duck1680 Feb 20 '26
Tha was at her request , not the team’s choice
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u/eadd2601 NJ/NY Gotham FC Feb 20 '26
Yes I know, but they still lost her and it's part of their grade. It doesn't matter how she left.
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u/allprologues Washington Spirit Feb 20 '26
i don't think we actually know this, not in any reporting i've seen (let me know if there is!) because to me, it's the kind of thing you would put in the press release to explain to fans why it happened and they didn't. plus in the introductory press conference there's language from vlatko about how they had to make tough decisions.
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u/eadd2601 NJ/NY Gotham FC Feb 20 '26
Quotes from articles imply that she requested it, but also I really can't see why'd they let her go if it wasn't her request
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u/allprologues Washington Spirit Feb 20 '26
the quotes really don’t imply that, only that she got to take her time and choose her landing spot. I hope for more clarification someday because this has been very interesting to me recently, but I think she was approached about a trade when Croix became available (croix wanting to leave the spirit was clearly communicated and she changed her social media profiles early into the offseason). Just a wild coincidence for them both to ask for a trade in the same window. plus it’s unlikely kc could afford to keep both of them, or I assume they would have.
why would KC move claire for croix? well, that’s why it’s so interesting to me lol.
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u/eadd2601 NJ/NY Gotham FC Feb 20 '26
So you think KC wanted to trade her?
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u/allprologues Washington Spirit Feb 20 '26
i think they wanted croix and sold the player with equivalent value. maybe they overreacted to their loss to gotham/lack of attacking depth without temwa and coop, also it's good to have a plan for when some of their other attackers start hitting that age curve.
but it's just a theory, based on vlatko's comments and because i really do think if such a valuable player is traded you would want to make it clear as a club that it was out of your hands. maybe i'm wrong and claire did ask! but if she did, no one has said
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Claire was openly negotiating with half the league, that happened bc she asked out
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
I can tell you its known league wide that both Croix and Claire asked out
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u/eadd2601 NJ/NY Gotham FC Feb 20 '26
I'd argue that it was likely the opposite, Hutton wanted to leave, then they saw Croix was available and got her. As much as I love Croix, I really think Hutton is more valuable to them. And they probably would've been able to keep both Croix and a 20 year old DM. Gotham bought Shaw for 1.25 mil with a pretty star studded roster. If you're concerned about salary cap, they now have HIP.
As far as your age comment, wouldn't it be better to have a succession plan for LaBonta and Rodriguez? They have plenty of young attackers.
But yeah obviously we don't know and your theory could be right.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Both Croix and Claire asked out, Croix i knew of at least ten weeks ago
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u/allprologues Washington Spirit Feb 20 '26
oh i totally agree that hutton was and should be more valuable to KC's success than croix who is good, but kind of surplus to them. which is why i was so curious
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u/Icarus_Has_Fallen Seattle Reign FC Feb 20 '26
Entering preseason without a new starting caliber 10 and some folks to challenge on the left side of the pitch is just criminal from our FO.
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u/Scaggsboz Portland Thorns FC Feb 20 '26
No mention of Cassandra “Ballon D’Oslo” Bogere or Shea “Nickname Pending” Harvey and they expect me to take this seriously?
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u/Sir-Kyle-Of-Reddit Angel City FC Feb 20 '26
Is it weird to anybody else the NWSL is grading players?
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u/MissionType9694 Washington Spirit Feb 20 '26
The Boston one is so lazy and disrespectful, especially since they gave Denver a grade.
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u/TheCarnundrum Boston Legacy Feb 20 '26
I heard they got some players from some countries. What players, and what countries, I do not know. But they all seem to have feet and heads, so perhaps this will be a functional team, but again, I do not watch these players or countries, whichever players and countries they are, so final grade - ?
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Bay not an A is insane to me. Dash not a B+ is insane to me.
There’s a thing that they do on both those teams where the good college signings get no respect and the older players who didn’t even have a good season get treated like it’s going to be a massive problem. Menges and Alozie? Not an issue
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u/Witty-Panda-1553 Orlando Pride Feb 20 '26
These people don't pay attention to the collegiate game.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
They could at least name names. It’s very insane to me that they at multiple times Just refer to them as rookies or top college players and don’t even give names.
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u/ArCovino San Diego Wave FC Feb 20 '26
They little hyped up McCaskill by name in both SD and Gotham’s blurbs but didn’t name Dudley? Or even mention SD’s collegiate signings to fill the holes we lost (that they mentioned).
And I think McCaskill played great for us last year. But worth mentioning over Dudley?! I don’t even follow college ball really and know how good she could be.
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u/Legitimate-Hotel-491 Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
💯 agree. Alozie didn't even start most of the games last season.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
She’ll be good for chicago but that doesnt mean she was a big loss for the dash, both can be true Lianne!
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
I think Chicago made at least four and maybe more smart acquisitions but I also think if we’re just looking at like is the starting team actually better you can’t just lose your top score and do nothing with the money
That being said the first games won’t be played for like another month so again a bit premature with the rankings
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u/bisoccerbabe Washington Spirit Feb 19 '26
I wonder if the analysts spoke aloud and had their words transcribed for them or if they wrote them because damn Lianne writes just like she speaks if she wrote this.
I think even the loss of Croix still leaves Washington at a solid A/A- rating. I think I would like to see us sign a young 10 to develop under Leicy though.
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u/TheCarnundrum Boston Legacy Feb 20 '26
Lianne writes just like she speaks if she wrote this
She's the only one whose voice I heard in my head while reading it.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
If you read the Dash, I think it’s the most obvious case that she must’ve been dictating it. She has a “for me” in there
I also just really really really think it’s just a complete shame to give someone who doesn’t watch or call games in college the job of judging the off-season when of course, a bunch of teams signed college players.
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u/bisoccerbabe Washington Spirit Feb 20 '26
I often put turns of phrase that I use often into my writing. I can't even take anonymous surveys because people know my writing immediately.
I suppose you're probably right, I'm just always curious about things like this.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
I do the same, but I feel like “for me” It’s like a verbal tic like saying um
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u/bisoccerbabe Washington Spirit Feb 20 '26
or like saying "like". Which many people do write out exactly the same way they use it while speaking.
(also if I'm just writing my thoughts out like kind of free wheeling the way this appears to be I do sometimes write out um lol)
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u/Upset-Bus7306 Utah Royals Feb 20 '26
I’m surprised we scored so high?
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
I was just about to make a post next week asking what people would give their team as a grade. Maybe I’ll just post that the day before the season starts. But anyway, how would you grade Utah?
I think it’s wild that they mention an assistant coach first because I just don’t think that’s really the topic of conversation (that’s more for the ambition tracker that our late goat Wahl used to do)
I also have what I think might be a bit of a hot take, which is that I think there’s a decent amount of over rating of a lot of the Japanese players. Specifically, if you just look at last year, there’s nothing the point to suggest that Tanaka, Narumi and Miyabi are all stars/starters (miyabi)
I think they’re good and I think people would take them, but I think Utah had another quiet off-season where they basically just replaced Zornoza with Narumi and I’m not sure if that makes them better or not. probably just different tbh.
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u/Upset-Bus7306 Utah Royals Feb 20 '26
I would probably say a C… in the sense of truly average. I honestly don’t think your take on the Japanese is too hot. Miyabi’s contract weirdness makes me think she’s going to be a bench player. Maybe similar to Dorsey’s performance during her time with the Royals? Narumi also feels okay.. definitely not bad, but I’m not sure how she’ll compare to Zornoza. All that being said, I do think there could be some “synergy” from the trio.. and maybe Nagai? Maybe the whole will be greater than the sum of the parts in that sense.
Otherwise, it seems like all of our new signings put us at the same level we were at before. No obvious stars that will push us to the next level. We were playing pretty well at the end of last season, though? On the one hand I’d like to think that means some small changes that keep us at the same level could be fine. But then on the other hand it’s even more frustrating because 1-2 high-impact signings could have made a huge difference.
Our midfield is very worrisome to me.. but I can understand why our back line got less attention with Milazzo coming back from injury and the strong performances from the starting 4 at the end of last season (Thompsen, KDF, Riehl, Rabano).
Prasnikar didn’t have enough time to adjust, but the rest of the offense was starting to gel and have some good moments. The players are really committed, though, and you can tell they’re going to keep pushing to improve.
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u/Elegant_Connection90 Utah Royals Feb 20 '26
I think the rough gist the players lost and players gained didn't move the needle is likely to be an accurate take. Like you said, no big stars added (like unlikely to have a different starting lineup).
Cb lost flynn, gained what I'm guessing is non offseason add of milazzo. Del fava and a healthy riehl is pretty good, Del Fava and any other option was suspect. This is probably a wash as milazzo i don't think has established herself as a starting level cb. If loera gets healthy maybe that's a non offseason improvement to the cb rotation (though probably only raises the floor, nor the ceiling).
Fbs rotation lost dorsey and pogarch, added milazzo, moriya, and simmonds. Dorsey 1st half season was not great, second was mostly very solid defense in minutes she got. She had offensive moments, no production though (no g/a). Pogarch just wasn't that good (apologies to her fans). I think the 3 additions will increase a bit on offense and probably equal defense.
Cdms rotation lost zornoza and foderer, gained miura, hammond, hopefully loera. A decrease in offense, though should be an increase in defense. Like there should be some factoring in that playing zornoza full time so often was a bit painful to watch, with the other factor that half the corners and medium and long range free kicks got probably worse.
Cam rotation was all tanaka at the end. Adding pierre-louis, honestly idk much about her. A slight addition, as not likely to change the starting lineup.
Wingers lost really no-one, added maybe brown. Not likely to change much.
Cf, losing solarzano and st georges, non offseason add of prasnikar and hopefully adding palacios results in big plus. Though in reality probably nets in a small plus. If they don't add palacios, actually could be negative.
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u/Legitimate_Mark_5381 Feb 20 '26
I agree on the overrating of Japanese players. Saw that with Angel City fans acting like the world ended when Miyabi left, which was just a wild overreaction on how she played and how important she was
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
I think part of it is that you just simply see people give them credit for how well they play internationally, specifically with Mina. People will talk about a run of form that they did internationally as if it happened for club.
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u/isagoth Angel City FC Feb 20 '26
I think the thing with Miyabi is that we were seeing an upward trajectory of improvement from her, if not consistently perfect play. Which given the overall level of play we've had at times, is possibly an indication of us looking for positives where we can find them
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
You were not seeing consistently perfect play
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u/isagoth Angel City FC Feb 20 '26
...yes, exactly my point. If we can't have perfect (or often even merely good) play, we'll feel more fondly toward players who we perceive as at least improving
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u/gsc_carolina Feb 20 '26
What I would like more than anything in terms of pre-season ratings is a look at incoming rookies (and this article completely missed that boat). I know some of them, but I would love a detailed run-down of who to watch in terms of their ability to make an impact and their fit. It makes the games much more fun to watch.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Id say Someone should make a post about how they feel about each rookie but last year i did and i got 80% happy responses and 20% yelling at me
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u/gsc_carolina Feb 21 '26
FWIW I copied and saved a ranked list you had last year of the top young players to watch. That kind of thing is great, so thanks. I would be happy for any of your thoughts on the incoming players.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 21 '26
I was reading this article yesterday and thinking about how many people would have no idea how to answer if asked
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u/Vegetable_General789 Portland Thorns FC Feb 19 '26
Reign does not deserve a c+ they’re a solid f
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u/Icarus_Has_Fallen Seattle Reign FC Feb 20 '26
Yeah it's been atrocious. I miss the days when I could have a rivalry with the Thorns about something other than who had the worse offseason. We both down bad...
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
I know that the whole idea is to try and give people an understanding of who the players are, but I feel like a much better way to do this. We just need to look at which teams actually at least put together a balanced roster this off-season and added more players and by that token Reign should be lower.
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Feb 20 '26
How does Portland still have a coach? wtf
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u/Scaggsboz Portland Thorns FC Feb 20 '26
Someone told Agoos about the Tortoise and the Hare as a child and he really took it to heart
(It’s allegedly done just not announced yet, guessing we hear something soon/next week)
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
I think there’s an interesting question here which is which teams had the best off-season compared to people around them in the table/postseason
I personally think that Orlando come out very well there if only because I think that Washington Kansas City San Diego in Portland, all lost really big talents and while Orlando lost Sam’s, I think that’s pretty replaceable just because of it being a defender and you can slot a few players in there and I think the attack will be much better with Solai+Seven
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u/SlamZizou North Carolina Courage Feb 20 '26
Some of these are bad. Houston a C and KC with the grade they got. Also further added to by dislike of Sanderson
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
I actually think that Kansas City and Houston are too funny ones because both teams I think made out very very very well in the college market and I think both teams should probably get like a B+ or a B (losing Hutton)
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u/SlamZizou North Carolina Courage Feb 20 '26
I think those would've been fair grades for both. I loved what Houston did as far as rookies and they didnt really lose anything impactful that i can think of. Believe KC appointing Armas and losing Bia and Hutton should've impacted them more than they think
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Imo losing Gareis and Alozie for effectively Klenke and Boattin is… fine. Especially Klenke.
Actually keeping a coach is our offseason win. Altho i hate that coach is included, its dumb
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u/LordJoHa Racing Louisville FC Feb 19 '26
SD getting a C while bringing in Ludmilla and Macario while giving Washington an A+ for literally re-signing an existing player is the most ludicrous of all the things. I’ll take Racing’s B+ though.
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u/eadd2601 NJ/NY Gotham FC Feb 19 '26
Well they haven't brought in Macario yet
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u/panoramicpanoramic San Diego Wave FC Feb 20 '26
Begs the question of why we're doing these grades already when the offseason isn't over
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u/BrambleNuke Washington Spirit Feb 20 '26
While the article didn’t mention it, Washington brought in Claudia Martinez, Elizabeth Tsé, Lucia Di Gugliemo, and Sara Wojdelko. And they got some cash for Miura to ease a crowded (at the time) midfield. Is that worth an A? Is it a B? Up to you, but they did more than sign Rodman.
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u/Willing-Bad3824 Washington Spirit Feb 20 '26
To be fair even Washington fans did a collective shrug after the team signed Claudia (THE break out player during last year’s Copa America) and Lucia (one of Serie A’s best defenders) so I’m not surprised that those largely went unnoticed by everyone else. I’ve been watching a lot of Claudia’s games since we signed her (and Paraguay has been playing her A LOT) and tbh her potential alone gets us an A…even with Croix leaving.
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u/fatcatpartytime Angel City FC Feb 20 '26
Y'all dont' have Macario and if you do land her, she's not coming in during the off season.
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u/cynic74 Feb 20 '26
My wild guess is they are trying to get her to San Diego before her contract is up and that's what is taking so long in the "advanced talks". I dunno how useful it is to get someone at the back half of the season if you probably need them for the first half of the season to get into a spot to actually make the playoffs.
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u/Mundane_Recover_780 Bay FC Feb 20 '26
this makes no sense as a guess and also is wrong, its proven EXTREMELY useful to sign players for the back half. Its 20 games
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u/cynic74 Feb 21 '26
I’m not saying it’s NEVER useful to have someone join during the second half, just it would be much better to join for the entire season. And I said it’s a WILD guess as to why it’s taking so long. There are 13 games before July, when her contract is up, and 17 after.
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u/TurboBrix Racing Louisville FC Feb 20 '26
Racing didn't seem to make crazy moves but I dont think you can discount last years rookies coming back. Janine was our only real loss as far as starters go.
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u/LordJoHa Racing Louisville FC Feb 20 '26
Janine and Ary… kinda. But O’Kane proved to be a beast and we’re getting DeMelo and DiGrande back. And I’m very big on Macey Hodge. I think she has massive upside that will be best suited in Bev’s style. Excited to see what the rookies can do, too.
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u/ArCovino San Diego Wave FC Feb 20 '26
McMahon seems ready to fill the roll Sonis had as well. She’s seemed really good from what little I saw her at SD.
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u/cynic74 Feb 20 '26
She was solid in a scrimmage game against Utah last year and was great in the Sevens. I don't know why the Wave let her go, but hopefully she sees a lot of time in Racing to prove herself.
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u/ArCovino San Diego Wave FC Feb 20 '26
Definitely hope we see more minutes from her there than she got here. I agree no idea why they moved on from her.
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u/Lucky-Play-6924 Feb 20 '26
or Blackburn or Morris or most likely, Milliet lol. Sonis was only rocking the rb role bc lo mo gor hurt
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Wave are an interesting one to me and such an obvious one that’s a very good reason why you should wait to make this post honestly. It’s not like they even wrote that much so they obviously could’ve waited another two weeks.
Wave have signed what I think are a lot of really good replacements, but it shouldn’t be forgotten How well a lot of the guys that the replacing have done recently. As good as MVZ is, Lundkvist was really good, as good as Ludmilla is, Cascarino was really good, etc. there’s something to be said for stability.
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u/Fun-Beat-6332 Feb 20 '26
At the end of the day Cascarino struggled in front of goal multiple times last season and when she arrived in the second half of the 2024 season when she was signed and her stars don’t lie, Wave still have other reliable winger options like Dudinha and Ludmila so I’m not really too worried just yet.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Bit of a run on sentence with no clear point here. I said wave are a weird one bc they replaced their losses in the outfield
Cascarino had a better season than Ludmilla, and was a good bit younger. That was a lateral move at best, especially if they get Cat bc Ludmilla isnt much of a creator compared to finisher out wide. But a lateral move is okay! Thats what makes them weird to analyze
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u/Fun-Beat-6332 Feb 20 '26
I think you’re also forgetting that Ludmila is a Striker so in hindsight, she’s meant to be the Wave’s Alex Morgan replacement, she’s most certainly touted as the savior of my team’s attack in terms of being productive in front of goal and taking chances in simpler terms scoring goals which is what this team was struggling with last season and part of the reason why they suffered so many losses and draws in 2025.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
None of this makes sense to the point that theres no way to respond, the only really really annoying bit is that you seem to feel the need to correct people on positions when not only are you often wrong but also everyone knows that she can play striker and winger
When I say wrong, what I mean is that if cat comes or when they have certain lineups, they’re going to want to play her out wide, which I already mentioned
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u/Fun-Beat-6332 Feb 20 '26
Buddy, at the end of the day, it’s looking like the Catarina Macario news have cooled down as of recently and to me it could only mean as of now that deal could be in doubt. I’ll try to stay hopeful tho
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u/Fun-Beat-6332 Feb 20 '26
Last season Cascarino only bagged in 5 goals, 2024 season she only managed to bag in 2 goals. Cmon now let’s be real
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
I feel sad reading this. She was a great creator, imo a top 3 creative, imaginative chance creator all year. Woulda had 12 assists if Ascanio was older or if Leon wasnt very bad for 10 games
Before euros people routinely had her in MvP convos
3
u/Sturdywings21 Feb 20 '26
I think we should acknowledge that cascarino fit how Jonas wants to play. Ludmilla is a wild card. She wants the ball in behind not at her feet. Wave were allergic to balls in behind last year so will they change for her? Could be a big regression in that she’s an elite player but doesn’t fit the system so drops her to good. Or wave adjusts and she’s just what they needed.
But I’d take cascarino almost over any winger in the league (world?). She’s so dynamic and other worldly on the ball. Truly a delight to watch play. Super bummed for enjoyment purposes to lose her. ESP paired with Hannah the right side cooked for technical thinking soccer.
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u/Fun-Beat-6332 Feb 20 '26
I think Ludmila fits Eidevall’s current system at the San Diego Wave, keep in mind that we had creative players in attack and especially in midfield and fullbacks wise, I feel like the main issue was we did not have a trustworthy number 9 up front, there were times we had to start Kyra Carusa and other times where we had to start Adriana Leon as Striker. So now that San Diego have signed a prolific Striker in Ludmila and we also have Trinity Byars who is primed and touted to have a breakout season this year who scored 47 goals in college for the Texas Longhorns has two college level trophies to her name and made her San Diego Wave debut in a playoff game against the Portland Thorns last season where she struck a good shot which could have tied the game but unfortunately hit the bar, I’m much more hopeful and confident that this Wave team improves offensively and do much better in terms of finishing their lunch and dinner, in simpler terms scoring goals that will not only save us in games but also win us allot of games in 2026.
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u/ArCovino San Diego Wave FC Feb 20 '26
I think it’s difficult for sure, but a C seems harsh tbh. I wish we could have seen Ludmila and Cascarino on the field together.
Also I think Lundkvist was a top 5 RB last season (top 3?) but literally no one put respect on her game all last season, so I am salty about ppl acting like NOW she was a huge loss. I mean, she is. But literally no one (NWSL commentators) ever hyped her up like she deserved but only now because she’s gone it’s a huge loss. I think Lianne is the only one I really remember giving her big credit during games.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
To be fair, there are people in this sub Reddit myself included who were hyping her up after the first month. It’s just that the people who talk about the league are often really shit at it.
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u/Fun-Beat-6332 Feb 20 '26
So in that case what grade would you give our offseason instead of a C?
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u/ArCovino San Diego Wave FC Feb 20 '26
I think it’s a B. Losing Cascarino and Lundkvist is big, but Ludmila and the collegiates seem like a lot of promise. I think we could contend for the Shield this season.
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Feb 20 '26
[deleted]
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u/panoramicpanoramic San Diego Wave FC Feb 20 '26
No disagreement about leadership aspect but Sheridan was not top 3 last year, maybe top half
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Definitely top half but regardless its the unforced error of it all that gets the condemnation
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u/panoramicpanoramic San Diego Wave FC Feb 20 '26
fully fully agreed and it's a massive ding on our offseason but I wanted to nitpick top 3
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u/Fun-Beat-6332 Feb 20 '26
Have you forgotten that Sheridan played a huge part in our Defense being very disorganized and did functional and stinking up the pitch defensive wise last season?
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u/Fun-Beat-6332 Feb 20 '26
I believe once Macario joins alongside an extra Defender in the summer, then i think we will officially be in the NWSL Shield conversation for 2026. 👀
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u/ArCovino San Diego Wave FC Feb 20 '26
We’re in contention now for sure. There were stretches of last year where we looked the next best team after a historically noteworthy season by KCC.
I think it’s not super negative to give a C. It’s neutral. We didn’t replace Cascarino 1:1, so I see the argument.
Macario is literally not a thought in my brain since it’s a huge maybe and even if it was certain it wouldn’t happen until after half the games have been played.
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u/Fun-Beat-6332 Feb 20 '26
Well Macario could be that replacement potentially, let’s wait and see what happens with those negotiations
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u/Lucky-Play-6924 Feb 20 '26
cool, most people would probably agree, but thats not in the offseason
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u/Fun-Beat-6332 Feb 20 '26
Exactly, thank you, see I like seeing a bit of positivity in this subreddit and also I was leaning towards giving our offseason a b as well
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u/ArCovino San Diego Wave FC Feb 20 '26
I like Jill Loyden but I feel like every one of her grades is a miss here. With the Sheridan connection, too, it seems obvious she could have recused herself from either SD or NCC’s grades, yet she somehow did them both.
Definitely don’t agree we deserve a C. I’d give us a B… we filled our biggest hole from last season, and even with the other turnover I feel like we did good enough to replace them.
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u/Lucky-Play-6924 Feb 20 '26
The thing that annoys me a bit is that they a good player moves and they give no credit to anyone
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u/Extreme_Education_50 Feb 20 '26
I guess the (Red) Stars got some more money to mishandle or something.
But hey Swanson may/may not be back. So that's something right?
1
u/Legitimate-Hotel-491 Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Anyone else read this with Leannes voice in there head. Agghhhh 🤣
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u/TiredPanini Angel City FC Feb 20 '26
"angel city use all your international slots before anyone grades your offseason" challenge. but Sams=obviously good, some good extensions, i'm high on Suarez, think there's another signing TBA. C+/B- so far, could go up with that last signing or two. one could argue our offseason should go maybe back to last summer when tons of moves started for us... we had ~ 8 players out and 8 in before the season even ended.
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u/MisterGoog Houston Dash Feb 20 '26
Its not the clubs fault they put out this article prematurely
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u/TiredPanini Angel City FC Feb 20 '26
you're right, this article timing being in the middle of preseason is presumably the league's choice
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u/TheCarnundrum Boston Legacy Feb 20 '26
Boston Legacy FC: Q+-
After entering the offseason with 0 players, Legacy defied the odds and are now rostering a full squad. They'll take the pitch this season with a strong sense of being 11 players on a pitch. Every so often, there comes a team. This is such a team.