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Eakin Howard-Imagn Images
That stat along means Chawinga has exceeded expectations in her first NWSL season. What makes her adaptation to the league even more interesting is that Chawinga’s expected statistics do not reflect her actual output on the pitch. In other words, she shouldn’t be performing at this level if we solely rely on the data. There is more to Chawinga’s achievement than meets the eye.
After spending much of her recent career in China, the Malawian international moved to Kansas City to provide depth and a clinical striking option for head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s side. While her contributions were expected to be strong, her actual output has given the Current a massive upswing in the table from last year’s second-bottom finish. The Current sit in fourth after starting the season on a 15-game unbeaten run. Kansas City 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 form from the Current.
Chawinga’s progression throughout the season has been clear. We’ve analyzed how Chawinga has scored her goals and how she’s become one of the most dangerous forwards in the NWSL.
Andonovski has been a fan of Chawinga since his days at Seattle Reign FC, before he took the United States national team job in 2019. Chawinga was one of the first players Andonovski wanted to sign when he returned to the league after a stint with the United States. Fitting Chawinga into a team that has Debinha, Bia Zaneratto, and Nichelle Prince could have proven difficult, but Andonovski has found a home for Chawinga on the wings.
One might assume that Chawinga’s impressive output stems from playing as a traditional striker, but her movement and positional awareness from wider areas allow her to latch onto through balls just as effectively. Whether operating as a winger or an inside forward, Chawinga’s playing style remains consistent. She positions herself near the opposition’s backline, often playing on the shoulder of defenders, ready to exploit any space behind them. This versatility makes her a constant threat, regardless of whether she’s stationed out wide or closer to goal.
Now, by solely looking at the data and Chawinga’s statistics, and then measuring them against other wingers and attacking midfielders, it shows some pretty mediocre results when focusing on possession and defensive traits. Other than non-penalty goals and non-penalty expected goals, the rest are not quite up to the quality a coach would want from a high-value winger.
Yet, watching Chawinga play and seeing her movement defies a lot of what we see here. Most wingers are primed in possession statistics where their link-up play and take-ons are the core principles of their game, looking to both set up and score goals.
However, Chawinga is instead a winger playing in the form of a poacher. The majority of her goals have come from sitting high up the pitch and pouncing on very quick passes behind the defensive line. It’s important to mention that Chawinga is, at the time of writing, tied for most assists for the Current with six. It’s a clear indication that she is more than just her goal-scoring tally.
Her low touch and minimal defensive contribution nature look odd in the transitional style that KC Current employ at times, but you could still describe Chawinga as an impact player given her propensity to score goals out of limited chances.
Above is Chawinga’s 18th goal, which tied Kerr’s record on Oct. 5. The passage of play that leads to this goal against Racing Louisville defines Chawinga’s playstyle and is reminiscent of her goals throughout the season.
Here, Chawinga is harmlessly placed on the left wing and being man-marked before the ball bounces to Debinha. It’s from here that Chawinga’s explosiveness comes into effect. The defender has a (slight) advantage over Chawinga’s positioning to cover any potential pass from the Brazilian midfielder. However, a quick, well-weighted pass from Debinha allows Chawinga to use her pace to round defender Arin Wright (known for her pace), who has left enough space in front of her to finish at the goalkeeper’s near post off her right foot.
Ninety of Chawinga’s last 75 shots have come within the 18-yard box this season, with only 11 coming from outside. Combine that with her 4.54 shots per 90 minutes, which places her in the 96th percentile against other attacking midfielders/wingers and she’s one of the most prominent presences in opposition boxes. That further underpins Andonovski’s desire to push Chawinga closer to the box and enable her to be in the best possible positions to score.
Chawinga’s most dangerous asset lies in her ability to exploit transitional play. She’s not only fast but also an exceptional long-distance dribbler, with a remarkable capacity to drive past defenders and finish in 1-v-1 situations.
The key to her effectiveness in these moments is her positioning: Chawinga consistently places herself in areas that open up passing lanes, allowing deeper midfielders to push the ball forward into attacking spaces. As seen in the shot map above, her goals consistently come from high xG chances, reflecting her keen understanding of where to position herself and her ability to time runs in behind or across defenders. This makes her an incredibly difficult player to mark in transition.
A decent number of chances that KC Current produced were deeper passes along the floor courtesy of excellent passing range from deep-lying midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta or attacking midfielder Debinha. Those two players have formed a special connection with Chawinga and provided several passes in sequences for her to score.
Take the above example, where a deep pass from LaBonta is played into Chawinga’s path while she attracts two defenders across to her side of the pitch. Chawinga plays the ball to Zaneratto, who then plays another pass out to Debinha. The resulting play pushes the Current out wide, and although Zaneratto doesn’t gamble with a run toward the box, Chawinga instinctively runs across and taps in the Debinha cross to score.
Even the below goal against the Utah Royals is an atypical passage of play for Chawinga, who gets on the end of yet another LaBonta pass. There are two Royals defenders there in a potential 2-v-1 situation, but they become a non-factor as Chawinga’s pace is so quick that she eliminates them both in a foot race and slots it past the goalkeeper.
Chawinga is likely to be the league MVP after initially flying under the radar. Her signing didn’t generate the same buzz as high-profile transfers like Orlando’s Barbra Banda, or Bay FC’s world-record fee for Racheal Kundananji, but Kansas City’s signing of Chawinga has quickly proven to be a masterstroke. In hindsight, Chawinga’s move will likely be seen as one of the top three transfers of the season.
Kerr’s all-time goal-scoring record (regular season; Lynn Williams holds the record for all competitions) once seemed untouchable, largely due to the historically lower individual goal tallies in the NWSL each season. However, with the league becoming increasingly competitive and attracting more high-caliber talent, Chawinga’s ability to challenge that record could become a compelling narrative that can develop in the seasons to come. She’s off to an incredible start.
