Rookie got to come home to kick off pro career.
Lily Nabet was Angel City FC’s second 2022 NWSL Draft pick, the 3rd-round selection from Duke University for the expansion team, and she was one of a few players who were Los Angeles natives coming home to play for the new side.
The 2022 rookie class was bigger than most years, and Nabet worked on a master’s degree while taking advantage of an additional year of NCAA eligibility due to the COVID pandemic. In the end, that seemed to work out for her, as she won the coveted contract out of the draft, something not always done by draft picks in this league. But with a couple more teams in the league and those teams willing to sign rookies, the door was open for the midfielder.
Having said that, while Nabet got some playing time and a couple starts along the way, Angel City head coach Freya Coombe had an extremely settled midfield cohort starting and for players on the outside looking in, like Nabet, playing time was at a premium.
Here are Nabet’s competitive stats with Angel City in 2022:
I think Nabet seemed to move up the depth chart as the season wore on. After some spot duty, she got two starts in July, and ended up statistically being one of the best passers and pressers on the team. Now granted, her sample size was substantially smaller than the midfielders who got the most playing time, but it certainly didn’t look like she was out of her element when she did feature.
All in all, I think it was a solid debut season for Nabet, but I think she’s still looking to really break through to be a regular player. I think there’s a decent chance she could be a player who really pushes on moving forward, and if given the time can really make a jump up in her second season. But that’s dependent on the team around her and the playing time she sees. I think Angel City could have used more squad rotation, and Nabet seemed to deserve more than she got, and it’s unclear so far if she’s definitely coming back next season. I think it’s likely she will, and Coombe may have more trust in her now that she’s had a year of experience. If not, I think she can find opportunities elsewhere pretty easily. We’ll see what happens, but this seems like it may just be the beginning for Lily Nabet as a pro player.
What do you think? Leave a comment below.