When people talk about the NWSL being the world’s most competitive league, this is what they’re talking about.
Parity is back in a big way. The top five teams are separated by one single point — shout out to still league-leading NJ/NY Gotham FC for having that one-point edge over four teams on 16 points — while the Chicago Red Stars got a massively needed win to hopefully put themselves back on course.
Qualities like focus and intensity kept coming up in press conferences, with some teams not quite having it until the late stages, and others seeing it slip away as their game went on. As we drift closer to the midway point of this 2023 season, with the newness of the season wearing off, summer’s heat increasing, and team leaders and stars in many cases heading off to the World Cup, the mentality monsters are going to be the ones getting the results.
Here’s your Take-Off for week nine.