
The halfway point of the inaugural National Women’s Soccer League season has already come and gone. Last weekend, The Equalizer team caught up with league executive director Cheryl Bailey (above) to discuss her assessment of on and off the field happenings.
It’s also an appropriate time to give our mid-season Best XI, which sparked considerable debate amongst us and will surely do the same amongst fans and readers.
Below is our list (keep in mind, it’s not perfect — nor are we):
Goalkeeper: Karina LeBlanc (Portland Thorns FC)
Defenders: Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Leigh Ann Robinson (FC Kansas City)
Midfielders: Diana Matheson (Washington Spirit), Desiree Scott (FC Kansas City), Samantha Kerr (Western New York Flash), Lauren Cheney (FC Kansas City)
Forwards: Abby Wambach (Western New York Flash), Lisa De Vanna (Sky Blue FC)
First off the bench (a.k.a. people we argued about a lot): Lori Chalupny (Chicago Red Stars), Katherine Reynolds (Western New York Flash), Lianne Sanderson (Boston Breakers), Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns FC)
Coach: Jim Gabarra (Sky Blue FC)
Now, if this were MLS, we’d bring in a club team (surely Lyon, if we could) and have them play the NWSL All-Stars. For now, we’ll just debate about it.
