Goalkeeping in the National Women’s Soccer League has historically been some of the best in the world. What qualities do exceptional goalkeepers possess, and how can we evaluate them? To gain insight into these questions, I spoke to former United States women’s national team, Women’s Professional Soccer League, and NWSL goalkeeper Jill Loyden.
Goalkeepers are evaluated by a combination of the data and the eyes, starting with the number of goals a keeper concedes over the course of a season. This season, Chicago Red Stars and U.S. starting goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher conceded 50 goals in 22 games, which means she was allowing 2.5 goals per game, on average. On the flip side, Houston’s Jane Campbell allowed just 0.82 goals per game, the best statistic in the league. Does that mean Naeher and Campbell were respectively the league’s worst and best goalkeepers in 2023? Not quite.
Those numbers don’t tell us anything about the quality of the shots a goalkeeper faces, and they also don’t consider that some players face far more shots than others over the course of a season than others. Additionally, goalkeepers are not just shot stoppers – they are also important for a team’s distribution and passing, and they’re crucial for stopping set pieces and crosses into the penalty area.
“[It’s not just] a diverse skill set makes the best goalkeepers in [the NWSL], but a diverse skill set that suits the needs of the team,” Loyden said.
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