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We’ve finally arrived at the last installment of this series ahead of the start of the 2025 NWSL season next week. In this piece, I am looking at five forwards whose teams missed out on the playoffs last year and making a statistical case for why I expect them to ball out this year.

1. Emma Sears, Racing Louisville FC

When I think of Emma Sears, my mind immediately goes to this 2024 goal against Kansas City.

Not only was that a mind-blowing goal that more than deserved its title of NWSL goal of the week, it also perfectly encapsulates who Emma Sears is as a player and what makes her so exciting to watch.

There are three main things to know about Emma Sears:

1. She can destroy your defenders on the wing

Look at what she did against the team that went on to tie for fewest goals conceded, a month into her rookie season! Emma Sears is able to combine technique on the ball with remarkable pace to render opponents’ defensive efforts moot. She is also able to use this space she’s created for herself to send passes into the box and combine with other teammates for goals.

Emma Sears has added immense value to her team through her dribbling, ranking ninth in the league on goals added from dribbling.

2. She can create her own shots

We already saw this in the GIF of her goal against Kansas City, but Emma Sears is in the same league as Barbra Banda, Temwa Chawinga, and Sophia Wilson when it comes to shot-creating actions and goal-creating actions that come as a result of her taking defenders on.

3. She is not the best at completing her passes

As you can see above, Emma Sears’ Achilles’ heel is her pass completion. In 2024, she had one of the lowest pass completion rates in the league, and perhaps more concerning is how few passes into the attacking third of the pitch she made, considering she plays as a forward. This hasn’t really held her back too much so far because of just how gifted she is at carrying the ball herself, but I imagine this is something that she will continue to work on as she enters only her sophomore year as a professional. She is still incredibly adept at creating chances for both herself and others, and already has a very high floor to work off of when improving her passing.

2. Cloé Lacasse, Utah Royals FC

Utah Royals last season had a before (when they lost 10 of their first 12 matches of the season) and an after (when they scored 16 points in their last 10 games of the season after the Olympic break). A lot of their success in the after can be attributed to the defensive players the club brought in like Claudia Zornoza and Ana Tejada, but Cloé Lacasse’s contributions cannot be ignored.

Okay. It’s important to note that we likely won’t see Lacasse play for the majority of the season because of the season-ending injury she picked up in late 2024. But I expect that what little we do see her play will be very exciting to watch.

Here’s what you need to know about Cloé Lacasse:

1. She scores goals

There is only one player in the league (Uchenna Kanu) whose team didn’t finish in the top 4 last year who scored more goals per 90 than Cloé Lacasse last season, if we are only looking at players who played 500 or more minutes last year. Cloé Lacasse came into the squad and did exactly what they needed her to do: score goals.

2. She really could make assists

Cloé Lacasse had an exceptional half-season in terms of generating goal opportunities for her team. She was in the top 25 players in these metrics, and in the top 15 if you don’t consider players who played less than 500 minutes.

3. But she doesn’t actually get assists

Unfortunately, all of Lacasse’s expected assists have resulted in exactly 0 assisted goals in 2024. However, the numbers suggest that it is bound to start happening soon. When it does, Utah’s attack will be a lot scarier.

3. Delphine Cascarino, San Diego Wave

2024 San Diego Wave was a team with a lot of starpower: defenders Naomi Girma and Abby Dahlkemper, midfielder Jaedyn Shaw, and forward Alex Morgan were all longtime (ish) national team players that brought something special to the team. Today, the only starpower that seems to remain comes in the form of Delphine Cascarino, the French winger that the club picked up from Olympique Lyonnais last summer, and that is a lot to put on the shoulders of one player. Fortunately, Cascarino already has half a season of carrying her team under her belt.

Here’s why you should watch Delphine Cascarino:

1. She can carry the ball forward

Delphine Cascarino had more progressive carries per 90 than 2024 NWSL MVP, Temwa Chawinga.

2. She creates chances

Cascarino has also found herself in the top tier of players in terms of shot and goal creation, and is by far the best player on those metrics of those who come from non-top 4 teams.

3. She doesn’t let getting dispossessed stop her

Delphine Cascarino has been such a force for the Wave ever since she joined the team in July 2024 and has not really shown any big weaknesses yet, except for the fact that she was dispossessed and had her passes blocked more than the average NWSL player in 2024. However, this is not really reflected in her other statistics–she is just that good of a player. San Diego Wave, a team where rookies and teenagers are expected to shoulder a huge burden this year, is a big wild card, but if they manage to put together the right pieces to work with Cascarino, they will be a much scarier team than anyone expects. We already saw what Delphine Cascarino is capable of playing on a not-so-great team–she’ll be extra interesting to watch if we get to see what she can do with a competent one.

4. Mina Tanaka, Utah Royals

The USWNT fell short of completing a SheBelieves Cup six-peat this year; the tournament was instead won by Japan, where SheBelieves 2025 golden boot winner Mina Tanaka scored 4 of the team’s 10 goals. Tanaka was technically also part of the Utah Royals’ aforementioned “after”, but has thus far failed to show up for her new club.

Here’s what to look out for when watching Mina Tanaka:

1. She is great at passing to her teammates

Key passes are defined as passes that lead directly to a shot, and Mina Tanaka performs well above average in both pass completion and key passes per 90, as a striker! In fact, she ranks in the 94th and 87th percentile among forwards for each of those measures, respectively. Not only is she great at passing to her teammates, but she also specifically makes particularly meaningful passes to them.

2. She takes a lot of shots

Mina Tanaka understands the importance of just shooting, attempting the ninth most shots per 90 among players with at least 500 minutes in 2024. She also ranks third among players who are not from top-4 teaams, and first among players whose teams did not make the playoffs. A team can’t score goals without players who are willing to shoot, and Mina Tanaka has been doing exactly that for the Utah Royals.

3. Those shots haven’t been falling yet

Mina Tanaka has only scored one goal and has zero assists for the Utah Royals so far, generally underperforming on goals and assists for a center forward. However, if her recent national team performance is anything to go by, Utah Royals have yet another dangerous piece in their attack this season.

5. Nérilia Mondésir, Seattle Reign FC

Seattle Reign had a rough season in front of the goal last year, so signing forward Nérilia Mondésir in July was a smart move for the team. A less smart move for the team was playing her for less than 300 minutes, but her getting over 50 minutes in each of the Reign’s last two matches of the 2024 season is hopefully a sign that we will be seeing much more of her this year.

There’s admittedly little NWSL data out there on Nérilia Mondésir, but her statistics in the past year compared to the top 9 women’s leagues in the world tell a story that is very impressive for a player on a mid-table team in the Division 1 Féminine, a league known for its disparity. Here’s what’s noteworthy about her:

1. She is a quality shooter who can take defenders on

The graph above shows Mondésir’s top strengths when compared to other attackers in the top 9 women’s leagues in the world. She makes quality shots, ranking in the 99th percentile for non-penalty xG per shot taken. She also ranks high (97th percentile) for both successful take-ons and goal creating actions that come as a result of take-ons.

2. She wins the ball for her team

Nérilia Mondésir also ranks high in successful tackles, showing that even as a forward she is not afraid to bring the ball back into possession through defensive actions. She ranks in the 95th percentile for tackle win % and in the 86th percentile for ball recoveries.

3. She does not shoot enough

The graph above shows Mondésir’s performance at metrics commonly looked at when judging forwards, and the glaring hole in her game is that she does not take many shots. We already know that her shots are very high quality, so when she starts taking more shots she will be an even more interesting player to watch. However, Mondésir might struggle to get minutes this season–unless new acquisition Lynn Biyendolo is playing as striker for the team, Mondésir will have to compete with the USWNT and NWSL veteran for a starting spot at the left wing position.

 

That’s it for this series! I am looking forward to the season kicking off with the Challenge Cup tonight, and am looking forward to watching these particular players throughout the season.

     

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