Dribbling machine Christina Gibbons moved from defense to midfield, and it’s just what FC Kansas City needs

One of the most entertaining things a fan can see in a soccer game is a player beating multiple defenders with an individual dribbling move. If you’ve watched FC Kansas City this season, you probably haven’t seen very much of this, but that’s only because Christina Gibbons was doing her best to stay disciplined at left back.

But Gibbons was moved into the center of midfield for Saturday’s game against Sky Blue FC, which gave her the opportunity to do things like this:

It wasn’t a one-off experiment — head coach Vlatko Andonovski has been thinking about using Gibbons in that role for a while. And I could hear the excitement in his voice when I called and he said “you want to talk about Gibby!” He started gushing about her before I even asked him a question. Her versatility makes her a coach’s dream.

“We talked about her positioning a long time ago, and I kept [central midfield] in mind just in case, as an option,” Andonovski told SB Nation. “When I talked to her about playing in the center, she was excited.” Andonovski added that he planed on using Gibbons in the same role in KC’s next match, against Orlando Pride.

It could be a move that helps turn FCKC’s season around, because it is in serious need of someone who can carry the ball forward. The loss of Amy Rodriguez to a torn ACL in the first match of the season has seriously stunted KC’s attack and limited its ability to transition play from its talented ball-playing defenders to its forwards.

Rodriguez is arguably the best striker in NWSL at coming deep to find the ball, holding it up, then playing an effective pass to advance an attack. FCKC’s system is built around her skills, but it doesn’t have a like-for-like backup. Goal-poacher Sydney Leroux is now being asked to play as a do-everything target forward, and it hasn’t worked. Leroux has just three goals despite playing well, and FCKC’s 13 goals scored is tied for second-worst in the league.

KC’s usual central midfielders are very good defensively and solid at retaining possession, but they don’t offer much drive going forward. This is something Gibbons brings to the table. “The things I expected from her were solving problems, retaining possession and circulating the ball better,” said Andonovski, “but also, her ability to cover lots of ground allowed her to be aggressive going forward. She’s one of the best players in the league with her ability to cover lots of ground.”

Andonovski also has praise for Gibbons’ tactical savvy and technique. “She’s a very intelligent player,” he says, “she reads the game well. She has a very good tactical understanding, and technically she’s very sound.”

Playing in the center lets Gibbons do a lot more of what she’s great at than she’s given the opportunity to do at her usual position this season, left back.

“I feel like I had more freedom to go forward,” Gibbons told SB Nation. “I wanted to contribute more to our attack, and distribute some good passes. I approached it like I had nothing to lose.”

Gibbons’ pace and dribbling ability gave Kansas City something it had been lacking all season, and suddenly gave them a means to link its forwards to the rest of the team. And whenever Gibbons broke a defensive line with a surge forward, Sky Blue was forced to retreat. That allowed the rest of KC’s players to step up, which in turn let them establish and keep possession in Sky Blue’s half.

Between her pace, dribbling skills, and intelligence, Gibbons was believed by many to be the best non-national team allocated player available in the 2017 NWSL College Draft. Even though she spent enough time in attack to tally four goals and eight assists, Gibbons was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Rose Lavelle was always going to go No. 1 overall — as a USWNT-contracted player, she has no salary cap hit, making her extremely valuable even to a team that did not rate her as the best player on the board — but Gibbons was a popular pick to go No. 2. Here, have three mock drafts to prove it.

Instead, Gibbons slipped to No. 5, likely due to concerns about her not having a true position. She played on both wings at Duke, in attacking and defensive roles.

But despite her versatility, central midfield wasn’t the most obvious role for her.

“I didn’t really play there much in college,” Gibbons said, but Saturday’s game wasn’t completely foreign to her. “I have a little bit of experience. About a year ago I played in the middle with the U-23 team, in five games at center mid.”

And Gibbons was ready for the challenge, too. “When I talked to her [about playing central midfield] she was excited,” Andonovski said. “One of the things that she said is last time she played center midfield, she scored a goal.”

She got her goal, plus an excellent layoff assist to go with it.

There’s an elephant in the room that hasn’t been addressed yet, which is that FCKC lost to Sky Blue, 3-2. Shea Groom was sent off just before halftime when her team had a 2-0 lead. KC held on until the 77th minute, but defending with 10 players is hard work, and those players tired out. A 12-minute hat trick by Sam Kerr meant KC left New Jersey with nothing, and kept them seven points out of a playoff spot.

But Kansas City can start climbing its way up by beating Orlando this weekend. To do that, KC will need Gibbons to get its attack moving with her dynamic dribbling again.

While Andonovski would only commit to playing Gibbons in midfield for one more game — “I’ll have to evaluate everything and rethink,” he said — both player and coach think Gibbons can stick there. Now, they’re thinking about what she has to improve to make a long-term impact in that role.

“Being in the center of midfield, you need to be a lot more aware of what’s going on around you. Constantly checking my shoulders and being aware of spacing and positioning,” Gibbons said about getting better in her new role. “And pressure can come at you from any area, not just one side. That’s something to really key in on and pay attention to going forward.”

Andonovski agrees. “She will have to understand the pressure and intensity of the pressure that is coming in the middle, as well as being able to connect with the forwards and provide the last pass,” he said. “She did a good job on the first goal, she got the assist. Now she just has to do it consistently.”

There’s no such thing as an Amy Rodriguez replacement, but there’s more than one way to get your attack moving. In lieu of a link-up second striker or a sensational deep-lying playmaker, FCKC can get the ball to its attackers with a top-notch dribbler who can carry the ball through midfield and past multiple defenders by herself. Gibbons has shown she can be that player.