2021 NWSL Season

Role Tensions

Every start records two roles: where she was deployed (the formation slot, a classic 1–11 number) and how she actually played (a model inference from her on-ball events, ~77% accurate). When the two disagree on depth, that's a tension — and the recognizable patterns get names: a striker who plays like an attacking mid is a false 9. Counts are per match; we never average a player into a single “true role.” Regular season, outfield starters only.

Glossary

							Named Tensions
Rk	Player	Team	Starts	As Asgd	Tension ▾	Tension%	F9	IW	WP	A8	DLM	HB	AWB	DP	Conf
1	Denise O'Sullivan	Courage	23	2	21	0.913	0	0	0	0	18	0	0	0	0.72
2	Shea Groom	Dash	21	0	21	1.000	0	0	1	4	12	0	0	0	0.51
3	Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir	Pride	24	5	19	0.792	0	0	0	0	12	0	0	0	0.58
4	Savannah McCaskill	Racing Lou	22	3	19	0.864	0	0	2	3	8	0	0	0	0.56
5	Ashley Sanchez	Spirit	21	4	17	0.810	1	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	0.45
6	Debinha	Courage	18	3	15	0.833	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	0.45
7	Lo'eau LaBonta	KC Current	17	2	15	0.882	0	0	0	4	4	0	0	1	0.43
8	Kristie Mewis	Dash	16	1	15	0.938	0	0	0	4	2	0	0	0	0.46
9	Morgan Gautrat	Chicago Stars	21	7	14	0.667	0	0	0	1	10	0	0	0	0.59
10	Angela Salem	Thorns	21	7	14	0.667	0	0	0	2	11	0	0	0	0.70
11	Ashley Hatch	Spirit	18	5	13	0.722	2	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.60
12	Nahomi Kawasumi	Gotham FC	18	5	13	0.722	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.66
13	Marta	Pride	17	4	13	0.765	0	0	2	2	2	0	0	0	0.37
14	Dzsenifer Marozsán	Reign	16	3	13	0.813	6	0	0	2	5	0	0	0	0.44
15	Victoria Pickett	KC Current	16	3	13	0.813	0	0	0	3	8	0	0	0	0.58
16	Vanessa DiBernardo	Chicago Stars	15	2	13	0.867	0	0	0	5	4	0	0	0	0.43
17	Taylor Flint	Pride	13	0	13	1.000	0	3	0	0	2	0	0	1	0.49
18	Jess Fishlock	Reign	21	9	12	0.571	0	0	0	4	5	0	0	0	0.54
19	Rocky Rodríguez	Thorns	19	7	12	0.632	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0.53
20	Lauren Milliet	Racing Lou	19	7	12	0.632	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0.58
21	McCall Zerboni	Gotham FC	18	6	12	0.667	0	0	0	2	9	0	0	0	0.72
22	Allie Long	Gotham FC	23	12	11	0.478	0	0	0	0	8	0	0	0	0.87
23	Yuki Nagasato	Racing Lou	18	7	11	0.611	0	1	1	3	2	0	0	0	0.51
24	Tori Huster	Spirit	15	4	11	0.733	0	0	0	0	11	0	0	0	0.84
25	Carli Lloyd	Gotham FC	14	3	11	0.786	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.51
26	Sarah Woldmoe	Chicago Stars	19	9	10	0.526	0	0	0	0	9	0	0	0	0.78
27	Kristen Hamilton	KC Current	18	8	10	0.556	0	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.69
28	Christine Sinclair	Thorns	15	5	10	0.667	2	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0.50
29	Gabrielle Lorraine Seiler	Dash	15	5	10	0.667	0	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	0.60
30	Havana Solaun	Courage	14	4	10	0.714	0	0	2	1	2	0	0	2	0.64
Rk	Player	Team	Starts	As Asgd	Tension	Tension%	F9	IW	WP	A8	DLM	HB	AWB	DP	Conf
31	Marisa DiGrande	Pride	14	4	10	0.714	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0.40
32	Rose Lavelle	Reign	11	1	10	0.909	0	0	1	7	0	0	0	0	0.45
33	Cece Delzer	Racing Lou	22	13	9	0.409	1	0	0	2	1	0	0	1	0.55
34	Meggie Dougherty Howard	Pride	15	6	9	0.600	0	0	0	0	8	0	0	0	0.70
35	Crystal Dunn	Thorns	12	3	9	0.750	1	0	1	4	0	0	0	0	0.47
36	Mallory Swanson	Chicago Stars	22	14	8	0.364	1	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0.58
37	Freja Siri Margareta Olofsson	Racing Lou	20	12	8	0.400	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0.84
38	Andi Sullivan	Spirit	19	11	8	0.421	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0.78
39	Dorian Bailey	Spirit	16	8	8	0.500	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	1	0.71
40	Addie McCain	KC Current	9	1	8	0.889	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0.45
41	Katie Johnson	Chicago Stars	9	1	8	0.889	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.58
42	Jennifer Cudjoe	Gotham FC	9	1	8	0.889	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	2	0.81
43	Gaëtane Iza Laure Thiney	Gotham FC	8	1	7	0.875	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0.42
44	Kealia Watt	Chicago Stars	22	16	6	0.273	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.77
45	Ifeoma Onumonu	Gotham FC	21	15	6	0.286	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.70
46	Kristen Edmonds	KC Current	21	15	6	0.286	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0.85
47	Amy Rodriguez	Courage	20	14	6	0.300	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.65
48	Lynn Biyendolo	Courage	17	11	6	0.353									0.66
49	Midge Purce	Gotham FC	17	11	6	0.353	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.76
50	Lindsey Horan	Thorns	14	8	6	0.429	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0.46
51	Hailie Mace	KC Current	12	6	6	0.500	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.78
52	Danielle Colaprico	Chicago Stars	9	3	6	0.667	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0.72
53	Marissa Everett	Thorns	6	0	6	1.000	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0.48
54	Sofia Huerta	Reign	22	17	5	0.227	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.73
55	Rachel Hill	Chicago Stars	15	10	5	0.333									0.71
56	Morgan Weaver	Thorns	12	7	5	0.417	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.71
57	Desiree Scott	KC Current	11	6	5	0.455	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0.77
58	Tara Rudd	Spirit	11	6	5	0.455	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.48
59	Dani Weatherholt	Reign	11	6	5	0.455	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	0.80
60	Angharad James-Turner	Courage	10	5	5	0.500	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0.83
Rk	Player	Team	Starts	As Asgd	Tension	Tension%	F9	IW	WP	A8	DLM	HB	AWB	DP	Conf
61	Celeste Anais Boureille	Thorns	7	2	5	0.714	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.42
62	Nadia Nadim	Racing Lou	7	2	5	0.714	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.55
63	Lee So-Dam	Gotham FC	5	0	5	1.000	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	0.44
64	Sydney Leroux	Pride	23	19	4	0.174	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.76
65	Emily Fox	Racing Lou	22	18	4	0.182									0.83
66	Sophia Wilson	Thorns	16	12	4	0.250	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.79
67	Kate Elizabeth Bowen	KC Current	14	10	4	0.286									0.72
68	Jodie Taylor	Pride	13	9	4	0.308	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.61
69	Cari Roccaro	Courage	10	6	4	0.400	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0.65
70	Meredith Speck	Courage	8	4	4	0.500	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.57
71	Shirley Iveth Cruz Traña	Reign	5	1	4	0.800	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0.60
72	Courtney Petersen	Pride	21	18	3	0.143	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.96
73	Jess McDonald	Courage	19	16	3	0.158	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.78
74	Rachel Ann Daly	Dash	15	12	3	0.200	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.62
75	Simone Charley	Thorns	11	8	3	0.273	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.77
76	Gabrielle Marie Vincent	KC Current	11	8	3	0.273	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0.79
77	Kumi Yokoyama	Spirit	5	2	3	0.600	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.58
78	Paige Cronin	Gotham FC	5	2	3	0.600									0.61
79	Cheyna Matthews	Racing Lou	4	1	3	0.750	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.50
80	Sam Mewis	Courage	4	1	3	0.750	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.50
81	Taylor Otto	Racing Lou	3	0	3	1.000	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0.90
82	Trinity Rodman	Spirit	19	17	2	0.105	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.76
83	Darian Michelle Jenkins	KC Current	18	16	2	0.111									0.80
84	Sophie Schmidt	Dash	17	15	2	0.118	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.77
85	Phoebe McClernon	Pride	15	13	2	0.133									0.97
86	Ebony Salmon	Racing Lou	14	12	2	0.143									0.78
87	Imani Dorsey	Gotham FC	13	11	2	0.154									0.96
88	Alex Morgan	Pride	12	10	2	0.167	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.71
89	Brianna Elizabeth Visalli	Dash	9	7	2	0.222									0.63
90	Mariana Larroquette	KC Current	8	6	2	0.250									0.52
Rk	Player	Team	Starts	As Asgd	Tension	Tension%	F9	IW	WP	A8	DLM	HB	AWB	DP	Conf
91	Erika Tymrak	Pride	6	4	2	0.333	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.60
92	Katie Marie McClure	Racing Lou	6	4	2	0.333	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.57
93	Olivia Moultrie	Thorns	3	1	2	0.667	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.44
94	Michele Vasconcelos	KC Current	3	1	2	0.667	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.61
95	Alyssa Mautz	Chicago Stars	3	1	2	0.667	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.68
96	Chelsee Teresa Washington	Pride	2	0	2	1.000									0.40
97	Arin Wright	Chicago Stars	19	18	1	0.053	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.90
98	Erin Dorothy Simon	Racing Lou	18	17	1	0.056									0.94
99	Tierna Davidson	Chicago Stars	17	16	1	0.059									0.96
100	Nichelle Prince	Dash	16	15	1	0.063	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.77
101	Casey Krueger	Chicago Stars	16	15	1	0.063									0.90
102	Eugénie Anne Claudine Le Sommer	Reign	15	14	1	0.067									0.77
103	Kristen McNabb	Reign	15	14	1	0.067	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.96
104	Veronica Latsko	Dash	14	13	1	0.071									0.85
105	Emily Sonnett	Spirit	14	13	1	0.071	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.97
106	Kelley O'Hara	Spirit	12	11	1	0.083									0.93
107	Kayla Sharples	Chicago Stars	12	11	1	0.083									0.94
108	Madison Hammond	Reign	10	9	1	0.100									0.95
109	Julia Elisabeth Roddar	Spirit	8	7	1	0.125									0.71
110	Quinn	Reign	8	7	1	0.125									0.88
111	Megan Rapinoe	Reign	8	7	1	0.125									0.75
112	Makenzy Robbe	Chicago Stars	7	6	1	0.143									0.52
113	Saori Takarada	Spirit	6	5	1	0.167									0.68
114	Jéssica Silva	KC Current	5	4	1	0.200	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.69
115	Angelina	Reign	4	3	1	0.250	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.48
116	Leah Pruitt	Reign	3	2	1	0.333									0.78
117	Sinclaire Miramontez	Racing Lou	2	1	1	0.500	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.93
118	Tyler Lussi	Thorns	1	0	1	1.000	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.77
119	Taylor Aylmer	Spirit	1	0	1	1.000	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.91
120	Taylor Smith	Courage	1	0	1	1.000	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.57
Rk	Player	Team	Starts	As Asgd	Tension	Tension%	F9	IW	WP	A8	DLM	HB	AWB	DP	Conf
121	Nikki Stanton	Chicago Stars	1	0	1	1.000	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.53
122	Yazmeen Ryan	Thorns	1	0	1	1.000	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.36
123	Natalie Jacobs	Spirit	1	0	1	1.000	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.81
124	Rosemary Eleanor Florence White	Reign	1	0	1	1.000									0.66
125	Katie Lind	Dash	24	24	0	0.000									1.00
126	Sarah Gorden	Chicago Stars	24	24	0	0.000									0.94
127	Carson Pickett	Courage	24	24	0	0.000									0.92
128	Ali Krieger	Pride	23	23	0	0.000									0.98
129	Caprice Dydasco	Gotham FC	23	23	0	0.000									0.96
130	Sam Staab	Spirit	22	22	0	0.000									1.00
131	Merritt Mathias	Courage	22	22	0	0.000									0.97
132	Haley McCutcheon	Dash	21	21	0	0.000									0.98
133	Kaleigh Kurtz	Courage	21	21	0	0.000									0.98
134	Abby Erceg	Courage	20	20	0	0.000									1.00
135	Meghan Klingenberg	Thorns	20	20	0	0.000									0.96
136	Gina Loren Lewandowski	Gotham FC	20	20	0	0.000									0.98
137	Lauren Barnes	Reign	20	20	0	0.000									0.98
138	Emily Menges	Thorns	20	20	0	0.000									0.96
139	Alana Cook	Reign	19	19	0	0.000									1.00
140	Kaleigh Riehl	Racing Lou	19	19	0	0.000									0.99
141	Ali Riley	Pride	18	18	0	0.000									0.96
142	Estelle Johnson	Gotham FC	18	18	0	0.000									0.98
143	Rachel Corsie	KC Current	17	17	0	0.000									0.96
144	Megan Montefusco	Dash	17	17	0	0.000									1.00
145	Elizabeth Ball	KC Current	16	16	0	0.000									0.98
146	Allysha Chapman	Dash	16	16	0	0.000									0.97
147	Becky Sauerbrunn	Thorns	15	15	0	0.000									0.99
148	Mallory Weber	KC Current	14	14	0	0.000									0.94
149	Natalia Kuikka	Thorns	14	14	0	0.000									0.98
150	Kiki Pickett	KC Current	13	13	0	0.000									0.98
Rk	Player	Team	Starts	As Asgd	Tension	Tension%	F9	IW	WP	A8	DLM	HB	AWB	DP	Conf
151	Nealy Martin	Racing Lou	13	13	0	0.000									0.99
152	Bethany Balcer	Reign	13	13	0	0.000									0.73
153	Paige Nielsen	Spirit	13	13	0	0.000									0.99
154	Gemma Bonner	Racing Lou	13	13	0	0.000									1.00
155	Amy James-Turner	Pride	12	12	0	0.000									1.00
156	Kelli Hubly	Thorns	12	12	0	0.000									0.97
157	Christen Westphal	Thorns	10	10	0	0.000									0.99
158	Celia Jiménez	Reign	9	9	0	0.000									0.94
159	Sam Hiatt	Reign	9	9	0	0.000									1.00
160	Jasmyne Spencer	Dash	9	9	0	0.000									0.88
161	Mandy Freeman	Gotham FC	8	8	0	0.000									0.99
162	Abby Dahlkemper	Dash	8	8	0	0.000									1.00
163	Tegan McGrady	Spirit	8	8	0	0.000									0.96
164	Anna Heilferty	Spirit	8	8	0	0.000									0.96
165	Tziarra King	Reign	7	7	0	0.000									0.79
166	Erica Marie Skroski	Gotham FC	7	7	0	0.000									0.90
167	Tatumn Milazzo	Chicago Stars	7	7	0	0.000									0.96
168	Taylor Maree Leach	KC Current	7	7	0	0.000									0.98
169	Diane Evelyn Caldwell	Courage	7	7	0	0.000									1.00
170	Brooke Tatum Hendrix	Racing Lou	6	6	0	0.000									1.00
171	Julia Ashley	Racing Lou	6	6	0	0.000									0.96
172	Emily Curran	Dash	5	5	0	0.000									0.85
173	Ally Prisock	Dash	5	5	0	0.000									0.96
174	Elizabeth Eddy	Gotham FC	5	5	0	0.000									0.96
175	Kylie Nadaner	Pride	4	4	0	0.000									0.97
176	Toni Pressley	Pride	4	4	0	0.000									0.99
177	Jamia Fields	Dash	4	4	0	0.000									0.99
178	Makamae Gomera-Stevens	Dash	4	4	0	0.000									0.82
179	Sabrina Flores	Gotham FC	3	3	0	0.000									0.97
180	Crystal Elaine Marie Thomas	Pride	3	3	0	0.000									0.91
Rk	Player	Team	Starts	As Asgd	Tension	Tension%	F9	IW	WP	A8	DLM	HB	AWB	DP	Conf
181	Évelyne Viens	Gotham FC	3	3	0	0.000									0.80
182	Emina Ekic	Racing Lou	3	3	0	0.000									0.93
183	Jorian Nicole Baucom	Racing Lou	3	3	0	0.000									0.83
184	Kate Del Fava	KC Current	3	3	0	0.000									0.91
185	Delanie Sheehan	Gotham FC	2	2	0	0.000									0.43
186	Ryan Williams	Courage	2	2	0	0.000									0.76
187	Michelle Maemone	KC Current	2	2	0	0.000									0.99
188	Camryn Biegalski	Spirit	2	2	0	0.000									0.99
189	Madeline Marie Nolf	KC Current	2	2	0	0.000									1.00
190	Brittany Ratcliffe	Courage	2	2	0	0.000									0.88
191	Amber Brooks	Reign	2	2	0	0.000									1.00
192	María Sánchez	Dash	2	2	0	0.000									0.93
193	Maegan Lynn Kelly Rosa	Dash	2	2	0	0.000									0.79
194	Jordyn Listro	KC Current	1	1	0	0.000									0.26
195	Bianca St-Georges	Chicago Stars	1	1	0	0.000									0.62
196	Abigail Kofi Kim	Pride	1	1	0	0.000									0.70
197	Julie Ertz	Chicago Stars	1	1	0	0.000									0.66
198	Chinyelu Bessum Asher	Spirit	1	1	0	0.000									0.99
199	Stephanie Cox	Reign	1	1	0	0.000									1.00
200	Madison Pogarch	Thorns	1	1	0	0.000									0.99