Catarina Macario’s torn ACL could scarcely have come at a worse time for her or for the U.S. women’s national team. Macario’s outstanding form with Lyon and the USWNT—where she had become central to Vlatko Andonovski’s approach in recent months—will now be put on hold, just as serious competition returns for the first time since last summer’s Olympics.
For the USWNT, there is no “Almost Macario” player to plug in up front and get similar results. Andonovski will have to adapt his tactics fairly significantly, as while there is still tremendous talent available for this summer’s CONCACAF W Championship (which will serve as both World Cup and Olympic qualifying), there are no forwards that are as comfortable with the false No. 9 role Andonovski often tasked Macario with playing.
The three biggest questions that come to mind for Andonovski now are as follows:
Who’s the No. 9 now?
Andonovski’s rosters this year have been very consistent:
- Right forward: Sophia Smith, Margaret Purce
- Center forward: Catarina Macario, Ashley Hatch
- Left forward: Mallory Pugh, Trinity Rodman
The only other forward to get a call-up in 2022 is Lynn Williams, who is out for the year due to a hamstring tendon tear.
This would point to Hatch getting the next shot. What has she done lately? Score four goals in 248 minutes of USWNT playing time, win the NWSL Golden Boot, lead the 2022 Challenge Cup in goals, and score three regular season goals in eight appearances. There’s a perception that Hatch is merely a poacher, but anyone that’s watched the Washington Spirit closely over the past year can see that she’s evolved as a player, getting better at creating her own chances, checking off the front line to combine, and improving her efficacy as a pressing forward.
However, the player that’s going to garner the most fan and media attention is Alex Morgan. The NWSL Player of the Month for May has missed a few camps between injuries and building her fitness back up after giving birth in 2020, but even amid having to negotiate that during the San Diego Wave’s Challenge Cup, she’s been on fire. Morgan has 12 goals in 13 games for San Diego, and while five of those have come from the penalty spot, she’s clearly been massively influential whether it’s been slashing in from the left for Casey Stoney, or leading the line in the more familiar center forward position.
Andonovski has another intriguing option, though:
How does Christen Press factor in?
Like Morgan, Press is back after some time away from the game, and she’s been carrying Angel City FC’s attack in a lot of ways. While USWNT fans are largely familiar with Press as a wide forward, in LA she’s been used on both flanks and even as a lone forward this season, and she’s spent plenty of time centrally in the past.
It may seem like eons ago but before the pandemic, Press was arguably the most effective attacker for Vlatko Andonovski, and the iconic “Christen Press, what have you done!” goal came in February 2021. Now that she’s playing regular club soccer, the reasons for her not getting called in are gone, and it stands to reason that her return is dovetailing with Macario’s unfortunate injury.
Press is not going to step in and play center forward just like Macario did, but of the candidates, she’s possibly the closest in terms of the comfort to drop off the front line and create for others. It’s an adaptation for sure, but Andonovski has chosen an adaptation over plugging in a more natural option before (see: Lindsey Horan playing the No. 6 heading into the Olympics).
However, there’s the rub: Horan was better further forward, and the best moments of Press’ USWNT career have involved her drifting into the half-space from the left wing and bury those right-footed curlers that are her trademark. You want Press in her best spot, and there’s reason to question whether playing her centrally is doing that.
What else needs to change?
Losing Macario means losing creativity on the front line. She’s a scorer, obviously, but she’s also been able to create plenty of chances, especially for Sophia Smith on the right and Rose Lavelle coming up from midfield.
Replacing Macario’s goals may actually be the easier task here, as the center forward candidates are all in very good form in front of goal. It’s the creativity and the fluency that the USWNT has with Macario as its fulcrum that will be trickier to sort out.
Andonovski has given plenty of time to a trio of Macario flanked by Smith and Pugh, which is a very complimentary group. Macario drops off the front line, Pugh tends to move into the half-spaces, and Smith uses her vision to get open with runs that stretch the field vertically. There’s always an option, a window opens for Rose Lavelle or Ashley Sanchez to join the attack, and the opposition finds themselves flooded with numbers once the fullbacks get forward and add width.
With a more traditional No. 9, that balance will be thrown off, and the lost chance creation will have to be made up elsewhere. It is very much possible that Smith and Pugh, who have both been top notch in NWSL this season, can simply adjust their games a bit and get similar or better results, and it stands to reason that Andonovski will stick with them at least in the near term to see if they can carry on with a more traditional center forward between them.
Still, Andonovski’s a planner, and he’ll have plans for a next step if things aren’t going as well. Trinity Rodman had seven assists last season, and given that she plays alongside Hatch with the Washington Spirit, that dynamic could tip the balance for both players. Margaret Purce has had to, at times, carry the creative load for Gotham FC, especially in 2021.
We could also see Andonovski decide that getting his No. 10 closer to a target forward is important, which could lead to a move from a 4-3-3 formation to a 4-2-3-1. The personnel might not change in that set-up, but it may allow for an attack built to generate chances for the center forward to a higher degree to flourish.
There are plenty of candidates that might be seeing this as their opening. The preliminary roster for the upcoming W Championship includes USWNT legends Megan Rapinoe and Tobin Heath, while Jessica McDonald (someone with plenty of experience racking up assists as a forward) has been critical for Racing Louisville this year.
All in all, it’s probably no accident that Andonovski has 18 forwards—more than any other position group—on that 59-player list.
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