Seriously, what makes Trinity Rodman so darn good? This might sound a foolish question; even the most casual of NWSL observers would tell you it’s her pace, power, trickery and explosive finishing.
Let me assure you. There’s so much more to it than that.
Trinity Rodman is one of the most exciting young talents in world football right now. So far this year, she’s scored 4 times and assisted once for the Washington Spirit, whilst firmly ensconcing herself within the USWNT set-up. At a time where the Spirit are struggling, she continues to shine. A big money move to Europe almost feels inevitable at this point.
Her underlying numbers are fantastic. In 2021 she created 34 chances across 22 appearances, which is a little over 1.5 chances per game. She has carried on at a similar rate this season, with 17 chances created through 9 games. These numbers aren’t what I want to focus on, though.
It’s her movement. Her intelligence off the ball. That’s what sets her apart.
Look at the goal she scores in the clip below, a well hit shot against the Orlando Pride at Exploria Stadium. As the Spirit move forward, Rodman checks her run, noticing that both Ashley Sanchez and Ashley Hatch have taken up positions on the periphery of the area. The Orlando back line drops deep, whilst the midfield fails to do so (figure 1). Rodman sees this, and has the presence of mind to wait in the half space, right edge of the area. She knows, if the ball comes out to her, she has all the time and space to pick her spot.
We see another excellent example of Rodman’s movement combined with her soccer IQ in the following clip. This was Rodman’s debut goal for the USWNT. Focus on her movement from the bottom left corner of the screen. Rodman drifts to the left and takes a position on the shoulder of the Uzbekistan right-back (figure 2). As the defender glances towards the ball, Rodman dashes into the defender’s blindspot and attacks the space between the right back and centre backs. She anticipates the ball from Sanchez and applies a cool finish.
There’s another great example of her excellent movement in the goal against Racing Louisville below. Louisville are caught in transition, just inside the Spirit half. The ball finds its way to the feet of Sanchez, who plays a defence splitting pass into the right half space. Most players here, would either come deep or run inside the left-back. Rodman, however, knows the better angle to shoot is by letting the ball run across the area a little. She has the presence of mind to therefore make her run on the outside, use her pace and get to goal that way.
The last thing I wish to highlight is her finishing capabilities. So far this season, she’s had a shooting accuracy rate of 63%, hitting 17 shots on frame. That’s a very good number; she’s marginally outperforming Alex Morgan (60%, 18 shots on target) and Diana Ordonez (58%, 11 shots on target). She’s also only fractionally behind Sophia Smith (67%, 28 shots on target).
Her goal against the North Carolina Courage recently, perfectly showcases her accurate finishing.
As does this goal vs Jamaica, where she attacks the space well and applies a cool finish.
🚨 TRINITY RODMAN GOAL 🚨 pic.twitter.com/yO3riTuuNZ
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) July 8, 2022
Her movement and ability to read the game is just ridiculous. Yes, her pace, her power and so on are vitally important facets to her game. But without her intelligence on the field, she wouldn’t be half the player she is now.
Written by Dan Berridge
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