With pro debut behind her, this KC NWSL rookie will be aiming higher Tuesday at Chicago
Walking past Huw Williams ahead of practice Thursday, Victoria Pickett gave a cheery wave to her coach and said “Hi, Huw!”
The greeting stopped both in their tracks.
Huw?
Pickett had never called the Kansas City NWSL coach by his first name — it had always been “Coach Williams.”
Williams doesn’t mind his players using his first name, but the greeting sounded so strange coming out of Pickett’s mouth that the rookie quickly reverted to Coach Williams.
The interaction hints at a bigger picture for Pickett, who is slowly easing herself into the National Women’s Soccer League and gaining confidence along the way. KC selected Pickett 15th overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft out of Wisconsin.
The rookie played a full 90 minutes in her debut against the Portland Thorns last Friday, providing the assist for KC’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss at Providence Park.
The Canadian midfielder admitted she was incredibly nervous heading into the Portland game. But just a week later, she’s feeling better prepared for her next outing, at the Chicago Red Stars Tuesday (7:30 p.m. Central, SeatGeek Stadium).
“Going into this game, I guess just being mentally more balanced ... because before the Portland game I was really nervous,” Pickett said. “Just being a little more mentally stable and keeping my emotions in check and everything.”
Her job certainly won’t be much easier in Chicago. The spine of Chicago’s team is arguably one of the best in the league, starting with Julie Ertz and Tierna Davidson in the back, new signing Sarah Woldmoe in the midfield and a star front line of Mallory Pugh and Kealia Watt.
Pickett will be tasked with controlling the opponents’ midfield while tracking back to help on defense and trying to break through Chicago’s defensive line.
Williams asked Pickett to push higher up the field in the second half of the Portland game, and she responded with an assist. That will be her mission for the full 90 minutes against Chicago.
She’s also been working on her rapport with captain Amy Rodriguez and the rest of KC’s forward line. Against Portland’s high press, KC struggled to create any sort of synergy between the midfield and attack.
“We’re really focusing on connecting to the midfielders, and then the strikers themselves connecting amongst them,” Pickett said. “But, also, how do we combine those two to have this nice harmony on the pitch.”
Chicago has yet to register a goal in its two Challenge Cup games, tying Houston 0-0 in the opener and losing 1-0 to Portland Thursday night. But fans shouldn’t be lured into a false sense of security: Chicago should be at full strength Tuesday as players return from international call-ups.
Pugh will be one of those additions, meaning Chicago could switch to a front three and put KC under more pressure.
“Maybe they haven’t scored that much so far, but that team’s going to score goals,” Williams said. “So I don’t know if that changes that much, because they can score in different ways than how Portland scores. That threat will still be there.”
Kansas City, too, welcomes back players from international duty. Holding midfielder Desiree Scott and forward Mariana Larroquette have already returned to KC, while new midfielder Jordyn Listro was set to return Saturday. All three will be available for selection against Chicago.
KC will be without left back Kristen Edmonds for two games after she was handed an extra game suspension following her straight red card against Portland. Williams hasn’t said who will replace her, but he has hinted at either Sydney Miramontez, Katie Bowen or a midfielder moving back to defense.
“Going forward, yeah, she’s an important part of our team,” Williams said of Edmonds. “But we feel that we’ve got other players that can fit in and do a very similar job to what she can do.”
This story was originally published April 16, 2021 at 2:31 PM with the headline "With pro debut behind her, this KC NWSL rookie will be aiming higher Tuesday at Chicago."