NWSL Notebook

PlayersPayton Linnehan

Payton Linnehan

Payton Linnehan

Position:
Forward
Nationality:
USA
Born:
2001-03-25 (age 25)
Height:
165 cm

Career (2024–, regular seasons; 2020 excluded): 44 GP · 1,806 min · 3 goals · 4 assists

Composite 2026: -0.276 — ranked 284 of 385 Composite page →

Standard Stats

Glossary
Playing TimePerformancePer 90
RkSeasonTeamGPGSMinGlsAstPKShSoTKPPass%CrdYCrdRGls/90G+A/90
12024Thorns19674121021151066.7200.240.36
22025Thorns22109181202391174.9000.100.29
32026Courage321470101073.3000.000.61
3 Yrs4418180634045242171.4200.150.35

Advanced Stats

Glossary
ExpectedVAEPThreat
RkSeasonTeamMinGlsxGG−xGxG/90VAEPOffDefVAEP/90xTxT/90DAxT
12024Thorns74121.580.420.191.862.09-0.240.231.550.190.298
22025Thorns91811.53-0.530.15-0.72-0.60-0.11-0.071.820.180.122
32026Courage14700.51-0.510.31-0.20-0.220.02-0.120.990.610.020
3 Yrs180633.62-0.620.180.941.27-0.330.054.360.220.440

Composite Rating

Our overall player rating, unique to this site: five components — xG, ball carries, passes into the box, defensive value, and goalkeeping — combined into one score and averaged across every selection-model run of the season. Rank is her place among all rated players that year.

Glossary
Components
RkSeasonxGCarriesBox PassesDefenseGKCompositeRankPool
120241.274-0.236-1.1890.2770.50186338
220250.360-0.050-0.616-0.3450.054182258
320260.4250.059-0.430-0.7520.000-0.276284385

Structural Roles

Start counts by role, per season — twice. Explicit is where the team sheet wrote her; Inferredis what a model reading only her on-ball events made of each start. The Read column states each season's verdict from the two most common roles.

Explicit (Team Sheet)Inferred (Event Data)
RkSeasonStartsGKFBCBDMCMAMWSTGKFBCBDMCMAMWSTRead
1202471661played her role
22025101010played her role
32026222played her role
3 Yrs19118181played her role

Similar Players

Nearest neighbors by playing-style embedding (most recent embedded season). Similarity is cosine distance in style space, not quality.

RkPlayerTeamSeasonPosSimilarity
1Rachel HillBay FC2024Forward0.854
2Ana-Maria CrnogorcevicReign2024Forward0.818
3Mya JonesWave2024Forward0.805
4Aline GomesCourage2025Forward0.800
5Karlie LemaBay FC2025Forward0.798
6Tyler LussiCourage2024Forward0.779
7Emma SearsRacing2025Forward0.779
8Michelle CooperCurrent2025Forward0.774
9Frankie TagliaferriCourage2022Midfielder0.772
10Brittany RatcliffeSpirit2025Forward0.768