For anyone who doesn’t follow me on Bluesky (which is probably most people – by my calculation it’s roughly 99.99999925% of the world’s population), you may have missed a big event last week that I have to brag about… both Alyssa Naeher and Sam Staab poured me a drink last week!
Naeher and Staab were guest bartenders at the new Babe’s women’s sports bar in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, and I got to meet them both. They both did a great job – I think Naeher may be a little bit better at pulling a pint, while Staab is clearly an expert in making cocktails. Staab told me she was having a great time making espresso martinis, but said the hardest part was pulling the two halves of the cocktail shaker apart after they got cold. Thank you to both of them! It was a great time.
(Also, special shoutout to Ally Schlegel, who showed up straight from the Cubs playoff game in a Pete Crow-Armstrong jersey)
Anyway – it’s a short week in FNWSL, so let’s get right to it. We have a Friday deadline for Round 24: Racing and Chicago kick off the week in Louisville at 7:30e/6:30c/5:30m/4:30p, followed by Pride vs. Thorns in Orlando kicking off 30 minutes later, then Seattle hosts Bay in the nightcap. So we should have four starting XIs before the deadline, and an availability report for Seattle and Bay.
Since it’s a short week, let’s just do a quick bullet point list of thoughts from Round 23:
- I have some concerns about the minutes for the Gotham duo, who have been two of the most popular FNWSL players since early in the season: Sarah Schupansky and Lilly Reale. Schupansky hasn’t started any of the last three league matches, and Reale hasn’t started the last two. However, both did start Gotham’s midweek cup game against the Spirit and played a full 90 minutes. If you’re looking for guaranteed minutes as the season winds down, you may need to look elsewhere. Like I mentioned last week, Jordyn Bugg is a potential replacement for Reale (both at $75k). If you need to replace Schupansky, consider Riley Jackson, who has been logging almost every minute during the second half of the season for North Carolina, and notched her second assist last week vs. Louisville.
- Malia Berkely, though she’s not taking set pieces like she had previously in North Carolina, looks locked in for the Dash and scored a goal this week. Unfortunately, Houston has most difficult remaining schedule for DFs. I’m not sure I’ll be bringing in Berkely this year, but look for her to bounce back up to the top tier of FNWSL DFs next season.
- I need to stop overlooking Emma Sears. She scored twice last week, has at least one goal contribution in each of her last three games, and she’s now tied with Ludmila for third in the Golden Boot race. Louisville is fighting for a playoff spot, and two of their last three games are against Chicago and Bay, meaning Sears should have ample opportunity to add to her goal count. With so much inconsistency among the premium FNWSL FWs over the last few weeks, Sears (and her nearly-guaranteed 80+ minutes per match) is an ideal choice for the run-in.
- Speaking of Louisville, Taylor Flint was issued a yellow card last week, and by my unofficial count, she will be suspended this week for yellow card accumulation. Make sure you keep an eye on the official NWSL disciplinary report, though.
- The Kansas City lineup continues to get more unpredictable, which is very unfortunate for us FNWSL managers, considering how high scoring most of the Current’s starters have been all season. It’s entirely possible that Temwa Chawinga, Kayla Sharples, and Hailie Mace see very limited minutes for the rest of the regular season. In fact, other than Lorena, I’m not sure if we can really predict anyone on KC to get significant minutes each week. Of course some players will, which means players like Lo’eau LaBonta, Ally Sentnor, and Michelle Cooper are ideal differential options, but are high-risk/high-reward options as well.
Share your questions for Round 24 (or favorite cocktail recipe) on Bluesky @MansersAnswers! (Or comment below!)