You’ve probably already heard, but there was some very unfortunate soccer news over the weekend: Mallory Swanson suffered a torn patellar tendon in the USA v. Ireland friendly match on Saturday. We aren’t going to speculate, but early reports suggest she will almost certainly miss the World Cup and possibly the entire NWSL season. 🙁

We wish Mal and her family the best and hope for a speedy recovery, and know that her health is much more important than any soccer considerations. Obviously, Fantasy NWSL is a very low priority in this situation, but if you had Swanson on your fantasy team, you’ll want to figure out a plan for replacing her for the time being. Since you’re limited to one free transfer per week, you can’t necessarily completely revamp your team. Whenever an important player gets injured, there are a few steps to figuring out how to best address their absence from your team:

Step 1: Is there a replacement-in-kind player available?

The first thing we want to determine is whether or not there is a player or players available that can be transferred onto your team in a one-for-one swap. This would be a player that has similar cost, player profile, and fantasy point production – and preferably one that plays the same position. This way, you can avoid paying for an extra transfer. 

Swanson, as it happens, is a member of what we’ve called the “Big Three” of FNWSL so far this season. This means that there are actually two very comparable players to consider: her Big Three cohorts Alex Morgan and Sophia Smith. Either player should be able to serve as an effective replacement for Swanson on your roster. 

If you’re looking for a more differential option, there are a few other premium-priced forwards to consider: Maria Sánchez, Trinity Rodman, and Kerolin. 

A third option is to transfer out Swanson for a relatively low-priced forward with upside and use the extra money to bring in a high-price MF or DF. 

This brings us to Step 2…

Step 2: Which available player best fits your team?

For most FNWSL managers, Sophia Smith or Alex Morgan will be the best options to transfer in this week. They are both excellent goalscorers and play the primary role in their teams’ attack. In fact, both have scored half of their teams’ goals so far this season (4/8 for Smith and 3/6 for Morgan). Smith has also logged one assist. 

Though Smith has more goals, the biggest potential drawback for her is the competition for goalscoring in Portland. However, a deeper dive into the stats from the first two games shows that that may not be the case. Smith has 8.6 shots/90 and 4.9 shots on goal/90. Her closest competition in both areas on the Thorns is Morgan Weaver, who 3.7 and 2.2 respectively. Morgan has logged 2.5 shots/90 and 1.5 on target/90. She has a narrow lead on Jaedyn Shaw in shots but is trailing Shaw in shots on goal. 

Of the three aforementioned differential options, Trinity Rodman has logged the most fantasy points so far with one goal and one assist for the Spirit. Kerolin and Maria Sánchez both have also scored one goal. It’s a small sample size, but it appears that Rodman will likely split goalscoring opportunities in Washington with Ashley Hatch and/or Ashley Sánchez (like last season). It appears to be a similar situation in Houston, where goals will be divided between Maria Sánchez, Diana Ordonez, and Ebony Salmon. There doesn’t appear to be as much competition for scoring in North Carolina, so Kerolin probably has the highest upside of the three.  

For the lower-price players, consider Alyssa Thompson, Margaret Purce, or Yuki Nagasato (more on her below), and use the extra cash on next week’s transfer for an upgrade at midfield like Savannah DeMelo or Rose Lavelle. 

All things considered, Sophia Smith is my recommended replacement for Swanson this week!

Step 3: Which other players may get more playing time and/or opportunities for fantasy points?

Last week, we covered the extent to which Swanson has been dominating the Red Stars offense this season. Her absence will create a vacuum in Chicago which will need to be filled by someone. While it’s probably impossible to fully replace Mal, there will definitely be opportunities for other Red Stars to play lots of minutes and hopefully rack up the fantasy points. 

We’ve covered how Yuki Nagasato and Cari Roccaro have been the consistent secondary options in Chicago’s first two games, so they could definitely see an uptick in goal scoring opportunities. However, it is possible that we could see a wholesale revamp of the Chicago offense, so there are some other players to consider. 

Among Chicago’s other MF/FW options, rookie Penelope Hocking has logged the most minutes so far, and also played a full 90 in the Red Stars’ friendly against Mexico. Ella Stevens has started both games and has the most fantasy points with 10. Perhaps the biggest potential increase in fantasy point opportunities could be from one of the outside midfielders, Jenna Bike or Sarah Griffith, but each has started one NWSL game and we may not be able to determine which one will get the extra minutes. For now, Penelope Hocking is probably the best investment at only $75k. She’s generally played a similar role to Swanson as an attacking midfielder, and could prove to be the Red Stars version of 2022 Savannah DeMelo (her former USC teammate) this season with plenty of opportunities to score goals.

Get well soon Mal! We are rooting for you!