Defense vs position
NWSL defense vs position
PickFinder Team•Updated:
For NWSL defense vs position, Chicago Red Stars allows the most shots to forwards: 2.91 per 90, against a league average of 2.33. The forwards who faced Chicago Red Stars took 26% more shots than they do in their other matches.
Midfielders get the most shots against Chicago Red Stars (2.19 per 90) and defenders against Houston Dash (0.77). San Diego Wave is the hardest team for forwards to shoot against, at 1.70 per 90.
Based on every outfield player in 240 NWSL matches in the 2026 season, Mar 14, 2026 to Nov 1, 2026.
- Chicago Red Stars: most shots per 90 to forwards
- 2.91
- Chicago Red Stars: most shots per 90 to midfielders
- 2.19
- Houston Dash: most shots per 90 to defenders
- 0.77
- San Diego Wave: fewest shots per 90 to forwards
- 1.70
NWSL shots allowed by position
Green means opposing players did more of it, which helps an over. "vs own" compares those same players with their own rate in their other matches, so it strips out a schedule of strong or weak attackers.
 Chicago Red Stars | 30 | 2.91 | +26% | 2.19 | +48% | 0.62 | +19% |
 Racing Louisville | 30 | 2.86 | +23% | 1.85 | +31% | 0.66 | +23% |
 Houston Dash | 30 | 2.85 | +20% | 1.61 | +11% | 0.77 | +39% |
 Boston Legacy | 30 | 2.60 | +12% | 1.15 | -23% | 0.51 | -6% |
 Orlando Pride | 30 | 2.58 | +15% | 1.61 | +11% | 0.64 | +27% |
 North Carolina Courage | 30 | 2.45 | +5% | 1.25 | -13% | 0.56 | +7% |
 Bay | 30 | 2.44 | +2% | 1.49 | +6% | 0.64 | +13% |
| Denver Summit | 30 | 2.38 | -2% | 1.28 | -11% | 0.44 | -20% |
 Portland Thorns | 30 | 2.29 | +7% | 1.55 | +4% | 0.62 | +20% |
 Seattle Reign | 30 | 2.20 | -5% | 1.60 | +11% | 0.58 | +7% |
 Kansas City Current | 30 | 2.13 | -9% | 1.37 | -1% | 0.37 | -32% |
 Utah Royals | 30 | 1.99 | -17% | 1.22 | -15% | 0.50 | -6% |
| Washington Spirit | 30 | 1.93 | -17% | 1.26 | -11% | 0.53 | -3% |
 NJ/NY Gotham | 30 | 1.93 | -16% | 1.12 | -20% | 0.45 | -20% |
 Angel City | 30 | 1.86 | -21% | 1.35 | -7% | 0.44 | -20% |
 San Diego Wave | 30 | 1.70 | -28% | 1.03 | -29% | 0.52 | -11% |
What NWSL defenses allow to forwards
League average per forward per 90: 2.33 shots, 0.88 on target, 1.50 tackles, 1.25 fouls, 1.19 fouls drawn, 22.9 pass attempts.
| Chicago Red Stars | 2.91 | +26% | 1.07 | +23% | 1.38 | -12% | 1.14 | 1.18 | 25.6 |
| Racing Louisville | 2.86 | +23% | 1.04 | +15% | 1.73 | +10% | 1.12 | 1.20 | 29.6 |
| Houston Dash | 2.85 | +20% | 1.20 | +32% | 1.22 | -16% | 1.33 | 1.26 | 24.8 |
| Boston Legacy | 2.60 | +12% | 1.10 | +27% | 1.62 | +8% | 1.23 | 1.51 | 20.3 |
| Orlando Pride | 2.58 | +15% | 0.93 | +12% | 1.26 | -20% | 1.10 | 1.01 | 24.0 |
| North Carolina Courage | 2.45 | +5% | 0.84 | -7% | 1.74 | +15% | 1.29 | 1.35 | 23.4 |
| Bay | 2.44 | +2% | 0.98 | +4% | 1.41 | -3% | 1.28 | 1.01 | 22.2 |
| Denver Summit | 2.38 | -2% | 1.07 | +20% | 1.21 | -21% | 1.05 | 1.02 | 21.4 |
| Portland Thorns | 2.29 | +7% | 0.99 | +21% | 1.61 | +5% | 1.07 | 1.09 | 24.3 |
| Seattle Reign | 2.20 | -5% | 0.73 | -15% | 1.25 | -20% | 1.16 | 1.09 | 21.6 |
| Kansas City Current | 2.13 | -9% | 0.77 | -15% | 1.37 | -12% | 1.38 | 0.88 | 22.5 |
| Utah Royals | 1.99 | -17% | 0.82 | -10% | 1.21 | -19% | 1.48 | 1.48 | 21.2 |
| Washington Spirit | 1.93 | -17% | 0.66 | -27% | 1.90 | +23% | 1.33 | 1.12 | 20.9 |
| NJ/NY Gotham | 1.93 | -16% | 0.73 | -16% | 1.58 | +7% | 1.44 | 1.17 | 19.9 |
| Angel City | 1.86 | -21% | 0.58 | -37% | 1.32 | -11% | 0.96 | 1.21 | 21.4 |
| San Diego Wave | 1.70 | -28% | 0.50 | -45% | 2.15 | +40% | 1.62 | 1.41 | 22.0 |
What NWSL defenses allow to midfielders
League average per midfielder per 90: 1.43 shots, 0.51 on target, 2.04 tackles, 1.09 fouls, 1.09 fouls drawn, 35.3 pass attempts.
| Chicago Red Stars | 2.19 | +48% | 0.69 | +34% | 2.11 | +4% | 1.03 | 1.11 | 40.4 |
| Racing Louisville | 1.85 | +31% | 0.68 | +35% | 1.97 | -3% | 0.96 | 1.05 | 40.5 |
| Houston Dash | 1.61 | +11% | 0.55 | +15% | 1.74 | -16% | 1.05 | 1.02 | 37.1 |
| Orlando Pride | 1.61 | +11% | 0.60 | +19% | 2.00 | -4% | 1.08 | 1.24 | 39.3 |
| Seattle Reign | 1.60 | +11% | 0.53 | +3% | 1.78 | -11% | 1.19 | 1.20 | 36.4 |
| Portland Thorns | 1.55 | +4% | 0.52 | 0% | 1.98 | -2% | 1.17 | 1.07 | 38.0 |
| Bay | 1.49 | +6% | 0.63 | +26% | 1.92 | -3% | 1.09 | 0.96 | 37.6 |
| Kansas City Current | 1.37 | -1% | 0.45 | -9% | 2.04 | +2% | 1.11 | 0.89 | 37.5 |
| Angel City | 1.35 | -7% | 0.47 | -9% | 1.88 | -7% | 1.02 | 1.20 | 31.0 |
| Denver Summit | 1.28 | -11% | 0.45 | -12% | 1.98 | -4% | 0.85 | 1.04 | 32.9 |
| Washington Spirit | 1.26 | -11% | 0.40 | -19% | 2.46 | +24% | 1.17 | 0.96 | 33.6 |
| North Carolina Courage | 1.25 | -13% | 0.44 | -13% | 2.00 | 0% | 0.93 | 1.12 | 35.1 |
| Utah Royals | 1.22 | -15% | 0.43 | -16% | 1.89 | -9% | 1.27 | 1.40 | 29.0 |
| Boston Legacy | 1.15 | -23% | 0.48 | -7% | 2.33 | +18% | 1.13 | 1.17 | 30.6 |
| NJ/NY Gotham | 1.12 | -20% | 0.45 | -10% | 2.07 | +3% | 1.39 | 1.07 | 31.4 |
| San Diego Wave | 1.03 | -29% | 0.37 | -28% | 2.46 | +28% | 0.97 | 1.05 | 34.2 |
What NWSL defenses allow to defenders
League average per defender per 90: 0.55 shots, 0.16 on target, 1.76 tackles, 0.82 fouls, 0.69 fouls drawn, 45.5 pass attempts.
| Houston Dash | 0.77 | +39% | 0.19 | +19% | 1.55 | -11% | 0.86 | 0.64 | 48.4 |
| Racing Louisville | 0.66 | +23% | 0.18 | +21% | 1.96 | +10% | 0.85 | 0.80 | 49.6 |
| Orlando Pride | 0.64 | +27% | 0.15 | +6% | 1.71 | -1% | 0.94 | 0.70 | 50.8 |
| Bay | 0.64 | +13% | 0.22 | +38% | 1.60 | -7% | 0.80 | 0.84 | 42.9 |
| Chicago Red Stars | 0.62 | +19% | 0.18 | +19% | 1.67 | -6% | 0.68 | 0.74 | 49.5 |
| Portland Thorns | 0.62 | +20% | 0.16 | +13% | 1.94 | +8% | 0.96 | 0.67 | 52.0 |
| Seattle Reign | 0.58 | +7% | 0.15 | -4% | 1.58 | -9% | 0.81 | 0.66 | 47.2 |
| North Carolina Courage | 0.56 | +7% | 0.17 | +24% | 1.74 | -1% | 0.64 | 0.62 | 51.1 |
| Washington Spirit | 0.53 | -3% | 0.10 | -35% | 1.90 | +9% | 0.73 | 0.68 | 39.3 |
| San Diego Wave | 0.52 | -11% | 0.13 | -15% | 1.87 | +7% | 1.09 | 0.59 | 44.0 |
| Boston Legacy | 0.51 | -6% | 0.12 | -21% | 1.66 | -5% | 0.81 | 0.84 | 43.9 |
| Utah Royals | 0.50 | -6% | 0.13 | -15% | 1.52 | -15% | 0.71 | 0.72 | 36.3 |
| NJ/NY Gotham | 0.45 | -20% | 0.14 | -11% | 1.88 | +9% | 0.97 | 0.69 | 36.6 |
| Denver Summit | 0.44 | -20% | 0.14 | -13% | 1.60 | -10% | 0.70 | 0.65 | 43.2 |
| Angel City | 0.44 | -20% | 0.16 | +4% | 1.91 | +9% | 0.86 | 0.73 | 42.8 |
| Kansas City Current | 0.37 | -32% | 0.17 | +7% | 2.08 | +18% | 0.64 | 0.52 | 50.7 |
Using defense vs position on a prop
Start with the position
For a forward's shots prop against Chicago Red Stars, the forwards table shows 2.91 shots per 90 allowed. The NWSL average is 2.33.
Check the vs own column
Chicago Red Stars shows +26%: those forwards shot that much more against Chicago Red Stars than in their other matches. A high raw number with a small vs own number is usually a schedule full of strong forwards.
Scale it to the player
A forward at the league average of 2.33 per 90 who plays 75 minutes works out to about 2.4 shots at that rate. For a tackles prop, read that column the same way: midfielders make 2.46 per 90 against Washington Spirit, against an average of 2.04.
Check today's line
This table looks back. Today's NWSL line and the player's hit rate against it are in PickFinder, next to these defense numbers.
How this is counted
Counts every forward, midfielder and defender row in 240 NWSL matches in the 2026 season, Mar 14, 2026 to Nov 1, 2026, grouped by the team they played against. Per 90 is the group's total divided by its minutes, times 90, so it's a rate per player and a substitute's 20 minutes counts as 20 minutes. "vs own" compares the total with what those same players do at their own per 90 rate in their other NWSL matches, using the league's position average for anyone with under 180 other minutes. Positions come from OpticOdds; goalkeepers are left out. Teams need 3 or more matches. Cup games are excluded. Only matches with full Opta coverage in OpticOdds are counted, so a match with missing stats never reads as zeros.
Defense vs position FAQ
Which NWSL team allows the most shots to forwards?
Chicago Red Stars, at 2.91 shots per 90 and 1.07 on target. The league average is 2.33 shots and 0.88 on target.
Which NWSL team is hardest to shoot against?
For forwards, San Diego Wave, at 1.70 shots per 90 and 0.50 on target.
Which team do NWSL midfielders make the most tackles against?
Washington Spirit, at 2.46 tackles per 90 against a league average of 2.04.
Which team fouls forwards the most?
Boston Legacy: forwards draw 1.51 fouls per 90 against them, against a league average of 1.19.
What does "vs own" mean?
It compares what players did against a team with what the same players do in their other matches. Chicago Red Stars's +26% means forwards took that much more than usual against Chicago Red Stars, whoever those forwards were.
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