On a Friday night north of San Diego, with youth practices on surrounding fields, a crowd gathered around a fenced-off section of field with a single goal, a Teqball table, 10 NWSL players, a couple of refs, and Aly Wagner, microphone in hand.
The former US international turned broadcaster emceed the first-ever NWSL Skills Challenge, interacting with fans and players as she led everyone through an East versus West showdown in three events: a shootout, Teqball competition, and crossbar challenge. The intimate setting brought attendees right into the action, laughing and cheering with players as Wagner joked with the crowd, occasionally forgetting the rules of the games as the evening progressed.
Team East’s roster included Messiah Bright representing the Orlando Pride, Penelope Hocking representing the Chicago Red Stars, Aubrey Kingsbury representing the Washington Spirit, Lo’eau LaBonta representing the Kansas City Current, and Denise O’Sullivan representing the North Carolina Courage.
Team West’s roster included Michelle Alozie representing the Houston Dash, Crystal Dunn formerly of the Portland Thorns playing unattached, DiDi Haračić representing Angel City FC, Katie Lund representing Racing Louisville FC, and Jaedyn Shaw representing San Diego Wave FC.
The competition began with Wagner announcing an “old-school MLS-style shootout,” a concept American soccer fans may be familiar with. Shootouts in American soccer used to look very different than they do today, with a method first employed by the North American Soccer League in the 70s and later used by MLS, though the MLS is regularly credited for its introduction. Players would begin 35 yards out from goal and had five seconds to shoot.
Players in the Shootout Challenge were given six seconds and three attempts to score, with goalkeepers allowed to come off their line and challenge the oncoming player. We can’t confirm the exact distance from goal, but they did begin decently far beyond the top of the 18 yard box, dribbling up to challenge Lund and Kingsbury.
Team East won the shootout 3-1, and you’d be hard pressed to find a player who looked like they were having a better time than Kingsbury closing down space. If the NWSL ever opts to employ this style of shootout, teams are going to want Kingsbury in net.
Two rounds of Teqball saw Dunn and Shaw take on LaBonta and O’Sullivan, and Alozie and Lund take on Bright and Hocking. LaBonta and O’Sullivan took a highly contested first round to earn a point for the East before Alozie and Lund evened things out with a point for the West, finishing the second event with East 4-2 West. Alozie enthusiastically celebrated the win with the crowd, claiming it to be her first-ever Teqball win.
In the final competition, the Crossbar Challenge, players would earn a point for their team each time they hit the crossbar. The first team to earn seven crossbar points would end the game, or so it was originally announced.
It took a few tries for players to get warmed up, goals abounding as Wagner lightly roasted the group for their inaccuracy. The East would be the first to seven, leading by a few points when the rules began to change with pressure from the West contesting the score. Despite getting a few more crossbar shots in to close the gap, the ref stepped in to verify the scores and the Crossbar Challenge ultimately went to the East, with a clutch final point from Kingsbury, who proudly proclaimed “Keepers live for crossbars!”
Following group photos and the presentation of a $25,000 check to the East for their win, players greeted fans, taking photos and signing trading cards as the sun set. While some might say the phrase “We’re making it up as we go!” was utilized a bit too frequently, the evening was full of laughs and a fun addition to the NWSL’s Championship weekend slate of events. With any luck, this event will be back for fans and players to enjoy again in 2024.