If you tune into a USL Super League match this season, chances are you’ll see a defender sending the ball into the back of the net.
Every team has had at least one defender score within its first seven matches of the season. Whether it’s from outside the box or on a set piece or from the penalty spot, those on the backline have become the players to watch.
The numbers still favor the forwards and midfielders: only 17 of the 58 goals (excluding own goals) came from defenders and just 13 of the 37 goal scorers are listed as defenders. But in the moments that have mattered most, a lot of the time it’s been the defenders who have stepped up to the plate.
Take Carolina Ascent. Three of its eight goals have been scored by players on the backline. Vicky Bruce scored the league’s inaugural goal, which was the game-winner in the 1-0 victory. Renée Guion scored that incredible Olimpico that kick-started a 2-1 victory against Fort Lauderdale. Sydney Studer’s header against Spokane took all the wind out of the Zephyr’s sails in that 2-0 road win.
Then you have players like Lexington center back Sydney Shepherd, who is tied for second in the league with three goals this campaign. Her most recent? A stoppage-time winner against Spokane last Sunday night, which earned the club its first win of the season.
Madison Wolfbauer stepped up for DC Power to convert two penalty kicks in one match just weeks after joining the team in September.
Brooklyn’s Allison Pantuso scored an incredible header earlier this week to prevent the team from suffering its third loss in a row.
The execution of these goals has also been on point. Defenders have scored 10 of the 14 headers and four of the eight goals from outside the box this season. The Tampa Bay Sun’s Brooke Hendrix and Dallas Trinity’s Hannah Davison both headed home goals to split points in their first matchup. Spokane’s Haley Thomas redirected the perfect header on frame to lift the team to its first win of the season. Fort Lauderdale’s Reese Klein blasted a shot off a cleared corner kick to take home the win in the team’s home opener.
Of all the goal scorers, defenders and non-defenders are shooting at about the same accuracy: 56.96% and 54.85%, respectively, However, defenders are converting at a 44.11% rate compared to other goal scorers at 24.95%. Obviously, forwards and midfielders take more shots, but when the defenders have taken their chances, they have proved to be just as, if not more effective than everyone else.
While it’s unlikely any defenders will be making waves in the Golden Boot race, how many more center backs can we expect to get a goal to their names this season?