NWSL Defensive Play

An early exploration using the data collection effort from the WoSo Stats team.

I love defense. It is my favorite part of watching women’s football, especially if I am at a game (as you can see from the image above). Thus, you can probably predict my reactions to watching the USWNT at the Olympics. Regardless, I want to explore defense thoroughly and this cannot happen without a complete set of data (please join). For now, here is what I got…

The Delicate Balance Between Ball Defending and Player Defending

There are some players incredibly good at ball defending [interceptions, clearances, and blocks]. There are some players who excel in player defending — tackles and dispossession — or 1 v 1 defending. Then, there are the select few who are phenomenal at both. Let’s explore the delicate balance between the two…

What you have below is a graphic that compares ball and player defending per 90. Player defending is on the x-asis and ball defending is on the y-axis. The median or 50% line is in bold for both and the shaded region gives you an idea of 25 and 75%. Thus, if you lie in the upper right white area, you are not only a balanced player but phenomenal in both aspects. If you are closer to the upper left corner, you excel in ball defending and if you are closer to the lower right corner, you excel in player defending. Take a minute to understand the graphic below completely.