Temwa Chawinga is a record-breaker in essentially the most unconventional means.

The Kansas Metropolis Present ahead turned the highest objective scorer in a single Nationwide Ladies’s Soccer League season on Saturday when she tallied her nineteenth objective, surpassing Sam Kerr’s mark in 2019.

That stat alongside means Chawinga has exceeded expectations in her first NWSL season. What makes her adaptation to the league much more attention-grabbing is that Chawinga’s anticipated statistics don’t replicate her precise output on the pitch. In different phrases, she shouldn’t be acting at this stage if we solely depend on the info. There’s extra to Chawinga’s achievement than meets the attention.

After spending a lot of her latest profession in China, the Malawian worldwide moved to Kansas Metropolis to offer depth and a scientific putting possibility for head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s aspect. Whereas her contributions had been anticipated to be robust, her precise output has given the Present a large upswing within the desk from final 12 months’s second-bottom end. The Present sit in fourth after beginning the season on a 15-game unbeaten run. Kansas Metropolis has entertained this season with scorelines of 6-3, 5-4, and 5-2, and Chawinga has been pivotal to this free-flowing goal-scoring kind from the Present.

Chawinga’s development all through the season has been clear. We’ve analyzed how Chawinga has scored her objectives and the way she’s change into some of the harmful forwards within the NWSL.

Andonovski has been a fan of Chawinga since his days at Seattle Reign FC, earlier than he took the US nationwide staff job in 2019. Chawinga was one of many first gamers Andonovski needed to signal when he returned to the league after a stint with the US. Becoming Chawinga right into a staff that has Debinha, Bia Zaneratto, and Nichelle Prince may have confirmed tough, however Andonovski has discovered a house for Chawinga on the wings.

One would possibly assume that Chawinga’s spectacular output stems from taking part in as a standard striker, however her motion and positional consciousness from wider areas permit her to latch onto by balls simply as successfully. Whether or not working as a winger or an inside ahead, Chawinga’s taking part in model stays constant. She positions herself close to the opposition’s backline, typically taking part in on the shoulder of defenders, prepared to use any area behind them. This versatility makes her a continuing menace, no matter whether or not she’s stationed out extensive or nearer to objective.

Now, by solely trying on the information and Chawinga’s statistics, after which measuring them towards different wingers and attacking midfielders, it exhibits some fairly mediocre outcomes when specializing in possession and defensive traits. Apart from non-penalty objectives and non-penalty anticipated objectives, the remainder will not be fairly as much as the standard a coach would need from a high-value winger.

But, watching Chawinga play and seeing her motion defies plenty of what we see right here. Most wingers are primed in possession statistics the place their link-up play and take-ons are the core ideas of their recreation, trying to each arrange and rating objectives.

Nonetheless, Chawinga is as a substitute a winger taking part in within the type of a poacher. Nearly all of her objectives have come from sitting excessive up the pitch and pouncing on very fast passes behind the defensive position. It’s vital to say that Chawinga is, on the time of writing, tied for many assists for the Present with six. It’s a transparent indication that she is extra than simply her goal-scoring tally.

Her low contact and minimal defensive contribution nature look odd within the transitional model that KC Present make use of at occasions, however you can nonetheless describe Chawinga as an affect participant given her propensity to attain objectives out of restricted probabilities.

Above is Chawinga’s 18th objective, which tied Kerr’s file on Oct. 5. The passage of play that results in this objective towards Racing Louisville defines Chawinga’s playstyle and is harking back to her objectives all through the season.

Right here, Chawinga is harmlessly positioned on the left wing and being man-marked earlier than the ball bounces to Debinha. It’s from right here that Chawinga’s explosiveness comes into impact. The defender has a (slight) benefit over Chawinga’s positioning to cowl any potential cross from the Brazilian midfielder. Nonetheless, a fast, well-weighted cross from Debinha permits Chawinga to make use of her tempo to spherical defender Arin Wright (recognized for her tempo), who has left sufficient area in entrance of her to complete on the goalkeeper’s close to submit off her proper foot.

Ninety of Chawinga’s final 75 pictures have come throughout the 18-yard field this season, with solely 11 coming from exterior. Mix that together with her 4.54 pictures per 90 minutes, which locations her within the 96th percentile towards different attacking midfielders/wingers and he or she’s some of the outstanding presences in opposition containers. That additional underpins Andonovski’s need to push Chawinga nearer to the field and allow her to be in the absolute best positions to attain.

Chawinga’s most harmful asset lies in her capability to use transitional play. She’s not solely quick but in addition an distinctive long-distance dribbler, with a outstanding capability to drive previous defenders and end in 1-v-1 conditions.

The important thing to her effectiveness in these moments is her positioning: Chawinga constantly locations herself in areas that open up passing lanes, permitting deeper midfielders to push the ball ahead into attacking areas. As seen within the shot map above, her objectives constantly come from excessive xG probabilities, reflecting her eager understanding of the place to place herself and her capability to time runs in behind or throughout defenders. This makes her an extremely tough participant to mark in transition.

A good variety of probabilities that KC Present produced had been deeper passes alongside the ground courtesy of wonderful passing vary from deep-lying midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta or attacking midfielder Debinha. These two gamers have shaped a particular reference to Chawinga and supplied a number of passes in sequences for her to attain.

Take the above instance, the place a deep cross from LaBonta is performed into Chawinga’s path whereas she attracts two defenders throughout to her aspect of the pitch. Chawinga performs the ball to Zaneratto, who then performs one other cross out to Debinha. The ensuing play pushes the Present out extensive, and though Zaneratto doesn’t gamble with a run towards the field, Chawinga instinctively runs throughout and faucets within the Debinha cross to attain.

Even the beneath objective towards the Utah Royals is an atypical passage of play for Chawinga, who will get on the tip of one more LaBonta cross. There are two Royals defenders there in a possible 2-v-1 state of affairs, however they change into a non-factor as Chawinga’s tempo is so fast that she eliminates them each in a foot race and slots it previous the goalkeeper.

Chawinga is more likely to be the league MVP after initially flying below the radar. Her signing didn’t generate the identical buzz as high-profile transfers like Orlando’s Barbra Banda, or Bay FC’s world-record price for Racheal Kundananji, however Kansas Metropolis’s signing of Chawinga has rapidly confirmed to be a masterstroke. In hindsight, Chawinga’s transfer will possible be seen as one of many prime three transfers of the season. 

Kerr’s all-time goal-scoring file (common season; Lynn Williams holds the file for all competitions) as soon as appeared untouchable, largely as a result of traditionally decrease particular person objective tallies within the NWSL every season. Nonetheless, with the league changing into more and more aggressive and attracting extra high-caliber expertise, Chawinga’s capability to problem that file may change into a compelling narrative that may develop within the seasons to return. She’s off to an unimaginable begin.