Well, my head is still spinning! The NWSL continues to return to the levels of chaotic unpredictability we’ve seen and loved in non-expansion years, taking things up a notch in Round 7. In fact, I’d characterize three results among the most unexpected of the season: the Cascadia rivals both logged 1-0 victories over the two preseason favorites to reach the NWSL title game (Orlando and Kansas City), and Gotham was held to a 0-0 draw by Chicago. On top of that, I’m still not completely sure what exactly happened in Washington, D.C. – though I do know that almost half of all the goals scored in the NWSL last weekend occurred in that match.

So to make sure we can process all this, let’s go match-by-match this week (in order of when they occurred) and figure out what we learned from each one that can help out our FNWSL teams:

What did we learn from the Portland-Orlando match?

• I thought the Pride had regained their early-season form after the massive comeback last week against Angel City, but Orlando was held scoreless for the second time in three matches. If you have Marta or Barbra Banda on your squad, I’m keeping them, but if you don’t, it’s not quite as urgent to bring them in now as it was earlier in the season.
• We weren’t sure exactly what the Portland front line would look like when the season started, but it appears that Reilyn Turner and Deyna Castellanos are every-week starters. Again, not sure you need to prioritize bringing either of them on to your squad, but if you have them already, both are feasible fantasy starters.

What did we learn from the Houston-Louisville match?

• The Racing attack is off to the races. After scoring only three times in the first five matches of the season, Louisville has found the back of the net five times in the previous two. Emma Sears has scored in each of those last two matches and has four goals on the season, and costs only $250k at FW. Also, if you want to go really differential, consider Marisa DiGrande ($150k), who should see plenty of minutes over the next few weeks due to the suspension of Ary Borges for the next three rounds (expected return June 6).

What did we learn from the Seattle-Kansas City match?

• The Reign defense is legit. Seattle has only conceded twice over their last four matches, which include games against both Kansas City and Orlando, and therefore Reign DFs should definitely be in consideration each week. We talked about the upside of Jordyn Bugg last week, but all of the starting DFs are $250k or less and can offer significant value to FNWSL managers.
• Meanwhile, KC posted their by far their lowest xG of the season (0.7 according to FBRef), and that was partially due to the absence of Temwa Chawinga from the starting lineup. She did come on as a sub, so I’m hoping she’s good to go this week, but keep an eye on that.

What did we learn from the Washington-Angel City match?

• Honestly, I don’t really know… other than that it was one of the wackiest NWSL games we’ve seen in awhile. Washington is definitely hurting from their extensive injury list that the club has been very tight-lipped about, and rotated in goalkeeper Sandy MacIver for her NWSL debut, pushing captain Aubrey Kingsbury to the bench. From a fantasy perspective, the one thing I do know is that Riley Tiernan has officially entered the FNWSL chat: five goals in five matches for a $75k FW!

What did we learn from the Gotham-Chicago match?

• Gotham had significantly more chances in this game, but wasn’t able to finish. Esther finally cooled off, and despite some late subs up front by both squads, no goals were scored. The clean sheet did mean, however, that Lilly Reale continued her stretch of double-digit fantasy point totals.
• That’s now three consecutive scoreless matches for the Stars, so Jameese Joseph is going to stay on my Wish List for now, but she is still 8th overall in npxG+xAG.
• Since Midge Purce performed in Chicago on Broadway, it may be time to change the name of this rivalry from the Pizza Rivalry to the Purce Rivalry.

What did we learn from the Utah-North Carolina match?

• Carolina DFs have been some of the most valuable defenders in FNWSL over the last few seasons, and their cost has increased accordingly. If you do have some extra money for defenders, however, take another look at Ryan Williams. She’s moved up a bit to a more midfield role in the last two matches as Courage coach Sean Nahas has finally opted to shift formation to more of a 3-4-2-1. This offers answers to a lot of questions for the Courage, but specifically for Williams, we’re seeing her more advanced field position get her significantly more involved in the Courage attack, giving her a very high weekly ceiling.
• Ally Sentnor moved up from midfield to more of a traditional striker role as the Royals moved from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2. I don’t love this move for Sentnor, as her npxG dropped to 0.2 and the overall Utah xG was just 0.6. Keep an eye on the Utah formation over the next couple of weeks.

What did we learn from the San Diego-Bay match?

• Another two Waves (Wavers?) logged their first goal of the season: Kennedy Wesley early on and Trinity Armstrong won the game for San Diego well into stoppage time. That brings the total number of San Diego goal scorers to 11 on the season – and 13 total goals. While that level of balance is definitely exciting for Wave fans and fun to watch in real life, it’s not quite as fun for FNWSL. Delphine Cascarino is definitely a bona fide fantasy starter this season, but the unpredictability of the Wave attack makes it difficult to count on any other San Diego MFs/FWs on a weekly basis.

What will you take away from Round 7? Comment or Bluesky @MansersAnswers!