NWSL season previews: Getting ready for the re-birth of professional women’s soccer in the U.S.

The Boston Breakers are one of the favorites to win the inaugural NWSL title after assembling an excellent squad, though their defense looked a bit shaky in their only preseason game against NWSL competition. They equalized twice against Sky Blue in the game, but lost on winner by Sophie Schmidt. The Breakers used a 4-4-2 formation in that game, and they should continue utilizing it going forward.

While most teams have experienced some preseason setbacks, the Breakers got hit with worse news than most early in the year. College draft pick Casey Short has suffered an ACL injury that is likely to end her season. Another member of the defense, Heather Mitts, recently announced her retirement from the sport.

This Washington squad will play with a fighting ... Spirit. Get it? Okay, sorry, we’re done.

Each position has a set of star players that will assist in advancing the team to the NWSL playoffs. The sets might rely heavily upon their star forwards as this is where their strength lies. Stephanie Ochs, Jasmyne Spencer, Caroline Miller and Tiffany McCarty are superb in their roles as forwards and will bring hope to the scoreboard for the squad. During their preseason they used a 4-3-3 formation and they might continue with this setup during the early stages of the league.

The Seattle Reign pulled in plenty of stars through the NWSL allocation, but their two biggest names aren’t expected to arrive until the summer. They’ll have a tough task staying within reach of playoff positions while waiting for Megan Rapinoe and Hope Solo to make their return to professional soccer in the United States.

Seattle used a 4-3-3 formation throughout their preseason in Japan. In their first match against defending L. League champion INAC Kobe Leonessa, the Reign fell 2-0. However, they improved over their next two matches, recording a 3-1 victory against Fukuoka and a 4-0 win against Nojima Stella Kanagawa.

Cheney, Loyd, and Mewis, oh my! FCKC has laid out their roster in a balanced manner. Each position is filled with solid and reliable players. There are no serious loose ends in the team. Even if the team only selected 15 players from the list below for their regular season roster, they’re still strong contenders in the league. The general manager and coaching staff for FC Kansas City should pat themselves on the back for acquiring the talent they did.

The Goalkeepers

Following the announcement of national team player allocations in January, it was believed that the Portland Thorns would be the guaranteed league champions due to the allocation of star forwards Alex Morgan and Christine Sinclair. However, this guarantee might expire now that Sky Blue has formed an extremely well-balanced squad with Kelley O’Hara at the helm of the front-line.

Sky Blue will likely use a 4-3-3 formation during their opening week matches for the inaugural NWSL season. This formation has proved effective for the squad as they applied it to their first pre-season match against St.John’s University where the squad won in a 5-0 victory with Kendall Johnson and Katy Frierson netted two goals each. The formation is well-suited to highlight the skills of their players, and will let them control the midfield against teams who play 4-4-2.