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We are now 10 weeks into the NWSL season, and I’ve been thinking a lot about bench players–some teams are afraid to use their benches, and others have an embarrassment of riches. I decided to look into who the best bench players in the league have been. Could a team made up entirely of bench players beat the Utah Royals or the Chicago Stars, or even the Houston Dash?

For the purposes of this piece, a bench player is defined as someone who started more games on the bench than on the pitch in 2025. I didn’t bother factoring in the times when players didn’t make the matchday squad, because that either means they’re injured (and the rest of their data can speak accurately to their status as a starter or a bench player) or that they’re not high up on the depth chart (and similarly the rest of their data will reflect that). Players who haven’t gotten any minutes in 2025 are not included in this analysis because they don’t have any data to analyze. Each position here is determined entirely by data, which has its limitations when used alone, so you’re not going to agree with every pick (I certainly didn’t!). This is just for fun, and to see if there are any players that are any players who deserve more recognition than they’re getting!

Goalkeeper

There have been only 5 bench keepers who have seen minutes so far this season: Bella Bixby, Jordyn Bloomer, McKinley Crone, Sandy MacIver, and Abby Smith (Halle Mackiewicz got a few minutes in after being subbed in at the 90th minute last weekend, but that is way too little data, so she stays out of the running for now. Sorry Halle). The most fundamental part of being a goalkeeper is not letting in goals, but there are other factors we can also look at, such as the PSxG/goals allowed differential and g+.

 

Goals allowed

McKinley Crone is the clear standout here with 0 goals allowed per 90, but she’s also the player with the fewest minutes on this list, having played just around one half of soccer with a very strong backline in front of her.

 

PSxG/goals allowed

Shotstopping ability is usually measured with a statistic called post-shot expected goals (PSxG), which assesses the quality of a shot being faced by looking at the shooter’s position, the defenders’ position, the goalkeepers’ position, and the shot itself to determine the likelihood of that shot going in. A PSxG value of 0 means the shot was off-target and a PSxG value of 1 means the shot goes in 100% of the time. Looking at PSxG minus the actual number of goals allowed allows us to assess how much a goalkeeper contributed to their team through pure shotstopping.

Sandy MacIver and Abby Smith are letting in fewer goals than they should be, so odds are stacked against them for making this lineup, but let’s look at some other numbers.

 

Goals added (g+)

Shotstopping is the most important part of the goalkeeper position specifically, but there are other ways a goalkeeper can contribute to their team. Goals added (g+) is a measure created by American Soccer Analysis that determines the value of each move by a player by considering how much it changes their team’s chances of scoring and conceding on that play. It is a pretty holistic measure that captures both defensive and offensive value created by a player. When looking at goalkeeping, g+ values are divided into six categories:

Let’s take a look at these keepers’ g+ numbers this season so far.

Jordyn Bloomer and Bella Bixby stand out here, but they might have played more games than the other keepers on this list. Let’s normalize these numbers by looking at g+ per 96 minutes.

This graph is slightly more flattering to Abby Smith than the last, but Smith and MacIver are still letting in more goals than expected. At this point we can narrow it down to Bella Bixby and Jordyn Bloomer. Let’s take a look at where their specific strengths lie.

Both have gotten the bulk of their g+ from shotstopping, with Bixby having a slight edge in passing and handling. I’m going to give this one to Bella Bixby for a couple of reasons:

  1. Better overall g+
  2. Better PSxG - xG
  3. Better g+ beyond just shotstopping
  4. Bloomer won’t count as a bench player for much longer

 

Center backs

There are 15 center backs that have started more games on the bench than on the pitch this season, 10 of which have gotten any minutes at all.

Center backs’ primary role is to defend, but they are often also tasked with starting build-up play. A center back should be good at defending and decrease their team’s chances of conceding, and an ideal center back also has high passing accuracy and maybe even the ability to carry the ball forward successfully.

 

Good at defending

Two players who stick out here are Emily Menges and Elizabeth Ball, who have both low pass completion rates, and a low number of tackles and interceptions attempted. This could be a result of how their particular teams play, however, so let’s keep looking at other stats.

 

Decreasing their team’s chances of scoring

Going back to g+, the statistic is split into six categories for field players:

If we look at net g+ per 96 minutes for these players, here’s what we see.

Among players with at least 15 minutes, Zara Chavoshi seems to have the best impact on her team by this measure, and Lauren Flynn and Elli Pikkujamsa seem to have none. Let’s look at interrupting, a specifically defensive g+ category.

Again, Daiane stands out here, but it’s important to consider that she has played all of 13 minutes this season. Among those with more minutes, Kelli Hubly, Zara Chavoshi, and Hannah Anderson stand out. Elli Pikkujamsa again has a net 0 impact, and Kysha Sylla seems to have a negative one.

 

Passing accuracy and progressive play

Emily Menges stands out here, having both the highest pass completion rate and the highest progressive passing distance–this suggests that she is making more difficult passes and still completing them. Other standouts are Zara Chavoshi, Lauren Flynn, Elizabeth Ball, and Hannah Anderson.

Finally, to get a more holistic understanding of the impact of these players’ passing, let’s look at their passing g+.

Chavoshi and Menges are the standouts here. I’m again choosing to disregard Daiane and Pikkujamsa because of their minutes.

Looking at all of these measures combined, Zara Chavoshi is a shoo-in for center back in this lineup. These statistics paint her to be a more forward-playing center back (she also leads in dribbling g+ and is second in passing g+ per 90 in this group, behind only Daiane), so I’m going to choose to pair her with a more defensive-minded one. I like Kelli Hubly for that role–she has the highest interrupting g+ with players with more than 15 minutes, and she has a 100% tackle success rate, with more tackles and interceptions attempted per 90 than any player on this list besides Daiane.

 

Fullbacks

There are 26 fullbacks who are bench players this season, and 20 of them have played at least 1 minute in 2025.

Stiff competition here. Fullback is an interesting role, in that there are a lot of responsibilities a player in this role can choose to take on, and what it looks like can heavily depend on that team’s play style. I want this team to play more exciting football than a low block, so I want fullbacks that can make significant offensive contributions while also not being a defensive liability.

 

Offensive contributions

Fullbacks contribute offensively in different ways, but they generally play out wide, so a lot of their offensive play looks like carrying the ball up the pitch and crossing it into the penalty area.

Miyabi Moriya stands out here, having attempted 16 crosses, 9 more than anyone else on this list, but she hasn’t carried the ball forward as much as some of the other players. Hailie Mace has the most progressive passing distance, but she has only made 2 crosses.

The important part of a soccer game is scoring goals, and in an ideal world a fullback contributes to that directly through assists and maybe even the occasional goal. This is a really tall ask for bench players specifically, who generally don’t get enough minutes to deliver on this, but let’s take a look at their xG and xA numbers just in case, just for bonus points.

Shae Holmes (who has a goal to her name this season) has the highest xG in this group with 0.3, while Madison Pogarch has the highest xA, with 0.5. The four people in the middle of the graph also stick out–Hailie Mace, Ella Hase, Michelle Alozie, and Miyabi Moriya all sit on 0.1 xG on the season, with 0.2, 0.3, 0.3, and 0.4 xA, respectively.

 

Defensive reliability

If we look at the same defensive measures that we did for center backs, Ella Hase and Hailie Mace have an impressive amount of tackles and interceptions attempted, with Hase edging Mace out on tackle win %. Among those with at least 45 minutes, Emily Mason has the highest number of tackles and interceptions attempted per 90, and she has won 71.4% of them.

Finally, I really like g+ as a statistic so I’m gonna take a quick peek at the net g+ numbers per 96 for this group.

Again, we see very skewed numbers for players who have played less than one half of football this season. Of those with more minutes, Flora Marta Lacho tops the list, followed by Ella Hase and Hailie Mace and Emily Mason tied for third.

From these graphs, I’m really liking what I’m seeing from Hailie Mace overall, and I think Ella Hase has also stood out. As a bonus, they primarily play right and left back, respectively, so this pairing would actually work.

 

Defensive midfielder

There are 16 defensive midfielders who are bench players this season, and 13 of them have played at least 1 minute in 2025.

Defending is obviously in the position’s name, but a great defensive midfielder is also able to make line-breaking passes through the middle of the pitch. In the midfield, it’s also really important not to lose control of the ball, and doing so would be especially catastrophic for a defensive midfielder, as there is only one line between them and the goalkeeper and goal they are defending.

 

Defending

If we look at the same defensive measures that we’ve looked at for defenders, Taryn Torres leads in tackles and interceptions attempted, and Mallie McKenzie has won every one of the 10 tackles and interceptions she tried.

 

Line-breaking passes

This graph looks at two metrics: progressive passes, which are passes that move the ball at least 10 yards forward compared to its furthest point in the past 6 passes, and key passes, which are passes that lead directly to a shot. Taryn Torres leads in progressive passes, with 18, and Marisa DiGrande leads in key passes, with 2 more than anyone else.

 

Ball retention

This graph looks at how many times a player failed when attempting to control the ball (miscontrols) and how many times a player lost the ball following a tackle (times dispossessed). Marisa DiGrande and Taryn Torres lead in both measures, but they are at a bit of a disadvantage because of how many minutes they’ve played compared to some of the others on this list. Mallie McKenzie stands out for having been dispossessed exactly 0 times, and Ainsley McCammon has the best numbers of those with at least 90 minutes.

Finally, taking a quick peek at g+.

Madison Hammond and Ainsley McCammon lead in g+ per 96 among those with at least 45 minutes. This stat does not like Taryn Torres.

As I mentioned earlier, data has its limitations–in my totally unbiased opinion, Taryn Torres has had a great season at defensive midfielder so far. But, I am constructing this lineup based solely on the stats, so I’m going to give this one to Marisa DiGrande. She has the 3rd highest g+ per 96 among those with at least 45 minutes, has solid defensive numbers, and eclipses the rest of this list in progressive play.

 

Central Midfielder

The league has 18 bench central midfielders who have seen minutes this season, and here we see the Orlando Pride’s actual embarrassment of riches. The odds favor an Orlando player taking this spot, but let’s take a look at the numbers.

Central midfielders play a very important role, connecting the defense to the offense. A central midfielder is often called a “box-to-box” midfielder, meaning they put in the work everywhere on the pitch. A CM needs to be able to pass well, and a great central mid also consistently wins the ball back for their team in the midfield.

 

Be everywhere

If we look at where the central midfielders on this list have taken their touches so far this season, most of them have most of their touches in the middle third, which makes a lot of sense. Notable exceptions include Sophie Hirst and Viviana Villacorta, who have both gotten most of their minutes while their team was defending a lead, so sitting further back makes sense in context. The most exciting players here are Meg Boade and Jamie Shepherd, who have spent more time in the attacking third than their peers here, and Hannah Bebar and Sarah Puntigam, who have the highest proportion of touches in the middle third, where they should be.

 

Pass well

We can quantify passing well by a few different metrics. Pass completion is certainly a big one, but we also want to make sure that those passes are going somewhere.

First, if we look at pass completion and what percent of attempted passes were progressive, we can rule out Chardonnay Curran, Meg Boade, and Leilanni Nesbeth. Sarah Puntigam stands out for how many of her passes are progressive, but her pass completion rate leaves a lot to be desired. Her teammate Sophie Schmidt has the highest pass completion rate, but has the fourth lowest proportion of progressive passes. Hannah Bebar, Ally Lemos, Grace Chanda, and Macey Fraser strike a nice balance here.

If we focus in on progressive passing and look at passes into the final third and key passes, Ally Lemos is the clear winner, but she does benefit from having more minutes. Summer Yates, Sophie Schmidt, Hannah Bebar, and Macey Fraser have impressive numbers for the minutes they have.

Finally, if we look at passing g+ to get a better idea of how these players’ passing affects their teams’ chances of scoring and conceding, Sarah Puntigam, Summer Yates, and Ally Lemos lead the pack (if we’re only looking at those with at least a full half worth of minutes this season).

 

Win the ball back

There are two main ways to win a ball in the midfield: by taking control of a loose ball or by initiating a tackle.

Ally Lemos has recovered a ball a lot more times than she has failed. Rocky Rodriguez has great numbers for someone with 200 fewer minutes.

Heather Stainbrook stands out here, and we also see good numbers from Sarah Puntigam and Ally Lemos.

Finally, a quick peek at net g+ makes my decision to cut Chardonnay Curran early seem silly (although 75% of her net g+ comes from receiving g+). Hannah Bebar continues to stand out, as does Summer Yates.

Because she has consistently ranked towards the top on all of these measures, I’m going to have to give this one to Ally Lemos.

 

Attacking Midfielder

This is quite a list–if we were going off the eye test, or off 2024 numbers, this position would 100% belong to Croix Bethune. Let’s see if her statistics in her limited minutes as she returns from injury have been strong enough to get her in this lineup.

An attacking midfielder is a playmaker, so a big part of their role is creating scoring opportunities. We can quantify scoring opportunities as expected goals, expected assists, goal-creating actions, and shot-creating actions

 

Expected assists and goals

Shinomi Koyama is just in a league of her own here. Even if we normalize by 90 minutes, she still stands out.

 

Shot-creating and goal-creating actions

Shinomi Koyami is again way ahead of the pack.

Finally, do we see a similar story if we take a look at net g+ per 96 minutes?

Sofia Cook leads in g+ per 96 minutes, but she has also played the second-fewest minutes on this list, behind teammate Stella Nyamekye. What you don’t see here is Cook is the only player with positive dribbling g+, and Croix Bethune leads in receiving and shooting g+, which is important when the objective of the game is to score goals.

Ultimately, I think it’s hard to ignore just how much Shinomi Koyama dominates in all statistics. It’s important to note that she has played many different positions as her team has worked on figuring out its lineup, including defensive midfielder, central midfielder, and attacking winger. However, she is listed as a midfielder on the Courage’s website, she primarily plays in an attacking role, and she has played as attacking midfielder this season.

 

Wingers

This is a pretty common position to rotate, so it makes sense that there are a lot of names on this list.

Great wingers are able to dribble the ball past defenders and create scoring chances for themselves or others. This can be quantified as attempted/successful take-ons, expected goals and assists, dribbling g+, receiving and shooting g+, and crosses and other passes into the penalty area.

 

Take-ons

The successful take-on leader here is Midge Purce, followed by Cece Kizer and Jéssica Silva. Evelina Duljan has attempted the most take-ons, and although she hasn’t succeeded most of the time, it is still much better than not attempting to take defenders on.

 

Expected goals and assists

The xG leader is Penelope Hocking and the xA leader is Courtney Brown, but let’s normalize by 90.

Here, we start to see anomalies. Of those with significant minutes, Jéssica Silva leads in xG per 90, and Casey Phair leads in xA. Interesting.

 

Dribbling, receiving, and shooting g+

Julie Doyle leads in shooting g+ per 96, but she is a bit of an outlier with her 11 total minutes played. Jéssica Silva leads in all three categories otherwise.

 

Crosses/passes into penalty area

Payton Linnehan leads in both measures, by a lot, and Rachel Hill and Meredith Speck are not too far behind. Passes into the penalty area is the more important measure here, and Julie Dufour has an impressive amount relative to the number of minutes she’s gotten.

This position has so many contenders to choose from. With all these stats in mind, I think it’s hard to ignore how dominant Jéssica Silva is on g+, take-ons, and xG. For her winger partner, I think Payton Linnehan has also stood out on many measures.

 

Striker

We have 15 players to choose from here.

A striker’s main role is to receive the ball in high-opportunity positions, shoot the ball, and score. We can quantify this using receiving and shooting g+, xG, PSxG (to measure shot quality) and actual goals scored.

 

Receiving and shooting g+

Diana Ordóñez and Pietra Tordin lead in receiving and shooting g+, respectively. Not far behind are Brianna Pinto and Mak Whitham.

 

xG and PSxG

The xG leaders are Nérilia Mondésir, Pietra Tordin, and Asisat Oshoala. The PSxG leaders are Brianna Pinto and Pietra Tordin, with Brianna Pinto, Diana Ordóñez, and Mak Whitham having impressive PSxG for the xG they’ve created.

We can give players with fewer minutes a fairer shot (and also evaluate efficiency) by looking at xG per shot and xG per 90. Nérilia Mondésir leads in xG per shot and Diana Ordóñez leads in xG per 90.

 

Goals scored

Only three players on this list have actually scored a goal–Pietra Tordin, Chiamaka Okwuchukwu, and Brianna Pinto.

All things considered, I think that this position belongs to Pietra Tordin.

So without further ado, here is a data-driven bench best XI for the 2025 NWSL season through 10 weeks.

P.S. Please don’t judge this graphic. Graphic design is not my passion, unfortunately :(.

     

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