Angel City FC 2022 Player Postmortem: DiDi Haračić

Goalkeeper proves her starter bonafides.

DiDi Haračić is proof that the NWSL is awash in goalkeeping talent.

The U.S.-raised Bosnian international had carved out a life as a backup goalkeeper prior to 2022. Starting out in the DMV area on the pro side, she had two stints with the Washington Spirit organization and a stint with the Western New York Flash, before heading to the club now known as Gotham FC in 2019 and backing up Kailen Sheridan. With Sheridan out semi-regularly with international commitments or injury, that gave Haračić some real run at Gotham, but she still never had a real run at becoming the full-time starter.

That all changed in 2022. Angel City FC acquired Haračić in a trade ahead of their inaugural season, and suddenly, she was the projected starter coming in. She got a run for a little while, and then Angel City signed a veteran newcomer, Almuth Schult, but with the German not arriving until late summer, Haračić had a chance to prove once and for all she’s a starter in the NWSL, and she did just that.

Here’s Haračić’s stats with Angel City in 2022:

She certainly didn’t play badly in the Challenge Cup, but I think the tournament was as helpful for her as anyone, as it gave her a chance to find a game rhythm, something she admitted when speaking to reporters during the season, that finding regular games was helping her raise her level. By the time the regular season rolled around, she looked legit and never put in a poor shift.

To provide one indication of Haračić’s quality, American Soccer Analysis’ Goals-added statistic for the 2022 regular season had her seventh overall, with +1.22. That puts her in the company of AD Franch, Sheridan, Katie Lund, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Bella Bixby — in other words, the best starters in the league, by and large. She absolutely belonged at this level.

And in digging in on her game in terms of FBref.com’s scouting player graph, Haračić certainly holds her own compared to players across the top eight leagues. The only real weakness is claiming crosses, something that is not a new issue, but I did not see many times when she really cost ACFC in that regard. In other words, she played smart.

FBref.com

And ultimately, she really did prove to Angel City she deserves to start. In a vacuum, I think signing Schult as an insurance policy makes some sense, but ultimately, Haračić was consistently good in goal, and there was no need to look elsewhere for a starter.

Haračić remains under contract for 2023, and should expect to be the starter, barring injury and form. I think this was a real breakthrough season for Haračić and proof positive that there’s a lot of great goalkeepers bouncing around the NWSL, and not all of them can find playing time, that’s how stacked the ranks are generally. In that regard, her season was a triumph for her personally, but also the GK corps as a whole, I think.

Next up, can Haračić raise her game again and help lead Angel City to the playoffs in 2023? That has to be the next aim on target, and I wouldn’t bet against her to do it.

What do you think? Leave a comment below.