Fantasy NWSL is officially off and running again! It was a pretty unusual week across the league, so don’t get too worried if your fantasy team scored fewer points than you expected. In addition to all of the transfers and transactions that have taken place over the past few weeks, many players returning from the Olympics saw reduced minutes or were not even named to the matchday squad. Portland played without Sophia Smith and Sam Coffey, San Diego played without Jaedyn Shaw and Naomi Girma, and Chicago looked like an entirely different team. The point is, I wouldn’t recommend putting too much stock into the Round 16 matches, as we should see things settle and hopefully have more players available over the next week. That being said…
Which lineup changes stood out this week?
- Alexa Spaanstra ($125k) started immediately for Portland and notched 41 touches in 78 mins while playing in Sophia Smith’s normal left wing spot. Fellow new Thorn Reilyn Turner ($75k) came on for Christine Sinclair in the second half and got one shot on goal. With Morgan Weaver out for the year and Janine Beckie now in Louisville, it will be very interesting to see how each of these players fits into the Portland attack once Sophia Smith makes her expected return next week. Admittedly, you may not necessarily need more FWs on your fantasy team, but either of them may be ideal replacements for U-20 WWC players (below).
- Leicy Santos jumped into the NWSL with both feet, starting for Washington in her first regular season game and notching both a goal and an assist. There is a lot of talent at MF and FW for the Spirit already, but it appears that there is room for Santos lining up right in front of Trinity Rodman. Washington’s xG in this game was only 0.58, implying that they did get some lucky breaks en route to four goals, but every FNWSL manager should have at least one representative from the Spirit attack moving forward.
- The somewhat unexpected trade of Bethany Balcer really changed the look of the Seattle lineup. Instead of Balcer lining up at the top of a 4-2-3-1, the Reign played a 4-3-3 and played six different players in the front line during the game. I think this setup may be a little too unpredictable for fantasy purposes at the moment, but keep an eye on Seattle moving forward!
Which FNWSL players will be headed to the U20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia?
The U20 Women’s World Cup starts August 31, and quite a few NWSL players will be taking part! The final will be held on September 22, which means that, depending on how far each nation advances, we may not see these players return to club competition until Round 21 or 22. I’d recommend replacing these players on your roster with one or two of the listed options, but if you are going to hold on to any, make sure you have a backup plan in place. Good luck to all in the U20 WWC!
- FWs
- Ally Sentnor
- Savannah King
- Emeri Adames
- Milly Clegg
- Amanda Allen
- Possible Replacements: Alexa Spaanstra or Reilyn Turner (above). One or both of these new arrivals in Portland is likely going to lock down a starting spot playing next to Sophia Smith – always a good place to be.
- MFs:
- Claire Hutton
- Riley Jackson
- Aly Lemos
- Manaka Matsukubo
- Possible Replacements: Summer Yates ($75k), who was missing from the starting lineup for the first time in a couple of months but still scored a late goal for Orlando this weekend, or Hal Hershfeldt ($75k), who generally is a lock for 90 minutes within a powerful Spirit attack.
- DFs:
- Jordyn Bugg
- Gisele Thompson
- Possible Replacements: Madison Curry ($75k), who has been flying a little under the radar in FNWSL but has started all but one game for Angel City in her rookie season. She consistently racks up the defensive points and is in the mix for free kicks.
What are your plans for Round 17? Comment or tweet @MansersAnswers!