Portland Thorns defeat Western New York Flash in NWSL final: 6 Thoughts from the inaugural NWSL season

Will the USWNT stars support the league enough for it to survive?

Last week, it was reported that Megan Rapinoe will be returning to Lyon for the 2013-14 season and will miss the first half of the 2014 Seattle Reign FC season once again.

Numerous other players like Tobin Heath, Ali Krieger, Ashlyn Harris, Whitney Engen, Yael Averbuch, Christen Press, Lindsey Horan and Meghan Klingenberg have played or are currently playing overseas, but Rapinoe’s absence for the first half of the 2013 season hurt both Seattle and the league.

She is one of the most recognizable and marketable players and, like it or not, the average fan comes out to see the stars and their favorite players. With Rapinoe not playing, the league loses money. For Seattle, missing Rapinoe led them to one of the worst records in the league, finishing with a meagre 18 points, half of what was needed to make the playoffs.

You can’t really blame Rapinoe, who simply wants to play at the highest level possible, but if the top USWNT players don’t support the league, it has no chance of surviving.

Why does Karina LeBlanc not start for the Canadian national team?

Karina LeBlanc (#33)

As a USWNT fan, I’ll admit that the only time I watch the Canadian team is when they are playing the U.S. So maybe LeBlanc has been given a chance and hasn’t taken it, but based on club form, LeBlanc seems to be clearly better than Erin McLeod, the usual starter for Canada.

Besides the subjective evidence that LeBlanc simply looks like a better goalie, the objective evidence backs that up. McLeod finished the season with 28 goals against her in 16 games for a 1.75 goals against average. LeBlanc finished with 23 goals against her in 21 games for a 1.09 goals against average.

One might argue that LeBlanc had a better team in front of her, but a closer look at the statistics points to the fact that LeBlanc is what made her team better. LeBlanc finished with 92 saves, or 4.38 saves per game, compared to 64 saves, or 4.00 saves per game for McLeod.

Erika Tymrak is one to keep an eye on

2013 NWSL Rookie of the Year Erika Tymrak is a player the casual fan has yet to be introduced to, but is set to be a future star. Tymrak finished the season with six goals and four assists and has a lethal combination of dribbling skills, goalscoring ability and is a skilled passer.

This short highlight clip will give you an idea of Tymrak’s skills:

Tymrak recently received her first USWNT call-up and will be part of the U.S. team facing Mexico on Tuesday.