Kansas City Current have a very dependable goalkeeper, with the statistics to prove it
Goalkeeper AD Franch made four saves last week, including a couple of late ones, to help the Kansas City Current beat the Houston Dash 2-1 and secure the first league road win of their brief franchise history in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Franch is now tied with Phallon Tullis-Joyce of the OL Reign for most saves this season — 37 — despite playing one fewer match.
It’s pretty clear where the Current (3-4-3) would be without Franch.
“AD has been fantastic in this stretch of games,” said KC coach Matt Potter, whose team plays at the Washington Spirit on Sunday at 4 p.m. Central on Ch. 38 and Paramount+.
“She’s been the leader that we all know she can be, and when she’s been called upon, she’s made the saves she’s supposed to make.”
One save in particular last week, in the 88th minute, came after Franch had staved off a shot a split-second before. Still on the ground from the first save, she had the presence of mind and athletic ability to stay in the moment and deflect a subsequent close-range strike.
“That’s not normal,” Potter said with a chuckle. “But she’s been fantastic.”
The numbers back up his assertion. In addition to being tied for the league lead in saves, Franch ranks fourth in G-xG, a more advanced soccer stat used to measure the quality or magnitude of a keeper’s saves.
Basically, if a goalkeeper is allowing fewer goals than she’s expected to allow, she’s doing well. Franch’s overall numbers are -2.01, which is closer to leading the league than ranking fifth.
The 31-year-old veteran from Salina, Kan., who arrived in a trade with Portland last year, credits the work she puts in during the week at the Current’s training facility.
“Our expectation is to continue to grow every single day,” she said. “And I think that we’re doing that, individually and collectively.”
When Potter was hired this past offseason and began assembling his staff of assistant coaches, one of his hires was goalkeeping coach Lloyd Yaxley. Franch and Yaxley soon identified a few aspects of her game in which she wanted to improve and grow.
“She had certain targets that she wanted to get back to being her best at in certain areas of her game,” Yaxley said. “It’s just repeating those scenarios and figuring out what gets her success, why it gets her success, in those certain pictures. ...
“We’re asking her to do things in possession that I don’t think she’s really been asked to do previously in Portland,” Yaxley continued. “So we’re asking her to play a bit more, and find ways to split attackers and things like that, and be a bit more of a playmaker in there.”
Franch has hit some career milestones this season. She played in her 100th match and topped 10,000 minutes in the NWSL. And she eclipsed 350 career saves in last week’s win at Houston.
“I do not take it for granted, having the amount of minutes that I get to play this sport,” she said. “That’s something that’s pretty special.”
Franch has enjoyed reaching such marks for career longevity, and there’s no doubt more to come.
“It gives you a moment to look back on your career so far, and enjoy it, celebrate it,” Franch said. “There is a few more ahead of us, right?”
This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Kansas City Current have a very dependable goalkeeper, with the statistics to prove it."