NWSL Kick Off, A reason For Almost Every Fan To Feel Optimistic

The sport’s longest offseason is just about over as the National Women’s Soccer League kicks off tomorrow afternoon from North Carolina.

North Carolina Courage vs Kansas City Current

Last year’s NWSL runner up takes on the North Carolina Courage in a match that should inform our opinions around how well North Carolina can bounce back after losing key pieces this offseason.

I talked earlier this week about Debinha’s potential impact for the Kansas City Current but the Courage also lost Diana Ordoñez to the Houston Dash along with Carson Pickett in a trade with Racing Louisville that brought Emily Fox to North Carolina.

The Fullback situation is interesting, we know the impact of Debinha and Ordoñez leaving but Pickett was also a large reason for the front three’s success last season. Pickett was 5th in the league in goals added last season, and while Fox is generally seen as a more well rounded player, Pickett’s contributions to the attack may be have an outsized impact if the Courage start slow.

A full back pairing of Emily Fox and Kiki Pickett could be quite good, Pickett should be that starting option with Jaelene Daniels no longer with the team. Pickett has shown glimpses of being a quality full back and the 23 year old should have plenty of runway to improve on her 2022 season where she only saw 4 appearances after coming over from Kansas City following their inagural…