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NWSL- 2016 Portland Thorns FC – Player Statistical Review

By Steve Fowler

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Because this article is also about MVP’s. I copied the Portland Thorns 2016 year end awards directly  from the club’s website. Let’s see how the players and coaches and staff voted on their own teammates.

"PORTLAND, Ore. – Following the conclusion of the 2016 National Women’s Soccer League regular season, three Portland Thorns FC players were named recipients of club awards for the 2016 campaign."

"Highlighting this season’s list of award winners in the club’s fourth season are Thorns FC defender Emily Menges, forward Nadia Nadim and defender Emily Sonnett."

Most Valuable Player

"Most Valuable Player; Defensive Player of the Year; Supporters’ Player of the Year – Emily Menges Voted by the executive staff and Thorns FC players and coaches, defender Emily Menges was selected as the team’s Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year for the 2016 season. Menges was the most familiar face on the field for Thorns FC this season, as she was the only player to start all 20 games this season and play every minute of every match. During the regular season, Menges did not pick up a single yellow card and only committed three fouls. The Garden City, N.Y., native was part of a backline that allowed a league-low 19 goals and a 0.95 goals-against average during the regular season as Thorns FC became just the third team in league history to allow fewer than one goal per game. Additionally, Menges was named Supporters’ Player of the Year."

Golden Boot

"Golden Boot – Nadia Nadim Forward Nadia Nadim was the recipient of the team’s Golden Boot award. In her first season with the club, Nadim tallied a career-high nine goals and finished fourth in the league in goals scored. One of two players to start and play in all 20 regular-season matches for Thorns FC, Nadim’s nine goals in 2016 ranks third in team history for the most goals scored in a single campaign behind Jessica McDonald’s 11 goals in 2014 and Allie Long’s 10 tallies in 2015. The Denmark international was part of an offensive unit that ranked second in the league in goals scored (35). Nadim was also perfect from the penalty spot, converting all four of her attempts this season."

Rookie of the Year

"Rookie of the Year – Emily Sonnett Voted by Thorns FC coaches, defender Emily Sonnett was selected as the team’s Rookie of the Year. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NWSL College Draft, Sonnett started and played 90 minutes in all of her 15 appearances for Portland during the regular season. She became the third rookie in team history to start in a Thorns FC home opener, logging 90 minutes in her NWSL and Thorns FC debut – a 2-1 win over the Orlando Pride at Providence Park on April 17. The Marietta, Ga., native scored her first professional goal in the semifinals of the 2016 NWSL Playoffs in a 4-3 loss to the Western New York Flash at Providence Park on Oct. 2. Additionally, Sonnett was selected as an alternate to the U.S. Women’s National Team for the 2016 Rio Olympics."

"2016 Portland Thorns FC Club Awards Most Valuable Player; Defensive Player of the Year; Supporters’ Player of the Year – Emily Menges Golden Boot – Nadia Nadim Rookie of the Year – Emily Sonnett"

Conclusions

  • “SNAFU” did reasonably well in predicting all of the awards:

  1. Sonnett was the best rookie on this team according to a prior article.
  2. Golden Boot is simply the player with the most goals, so of course, that is Nadim.
  3. Menges was my pick above for Defender of the Year.  “SNAFU’s” top 3 MVP ‘s were definitely among Menges, Long, and Heath. And of course, a real team MVP should be the one who played the entire season.

  • Congratulations to Emily Menges for her awards, real and “imagined here”, and to the other players on the Thorns who also won awards!

  • Thanks for reading this! That’s all for now! There is nothing exciting below unless you want to read how I did the boring math in the “Appendix”and there are a couple videos.  I do have some revisions or updates to SNAFU, but will be boring to everyone except the “stat geek”. But, please do check out the  “WoSo Stats” website, and the NWSL’s main website.

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