You can say it now as if it has always been: Tara McKeown is a center back. Of course she is, and a damn good one at that. She’s been playing the position for years, never you mind how many. Tara McKeown is a center back. Not just any center back either, her prowess at the position, which includes specialized 1v1 defending, has also made her a frequent starter for the U.S. Women’s National Team. She is indeed a center back, but she’s also becoming something else.

It may shock you to learn that in another life, in a galaxy far far away, McKeown was a forward. She was good in the air and linked well with teammates in the final third. In college at USC, apart from one standout goalscoring season, she always had at least the same number of assists as goals. Eventually finishing her college career with 33 goals scored and 28 assists delivered in 76 games across four years. The output and performances were good enough to be drafted eighth overall by the Washington Spirit in the 2021 NWSL Draft.

Then, two years into her professional career and ahead of the 2023 NWSL season, it was announced that meetings had occurred in which a conversion to center back was suggested, and that McKeown had accepted the challenge. Some of the attributes that made her a dangerous and versatile forward translated straightaway: strength, short-range acceleration, and anticipation. But she still had a several courses to take and pass to master the position. These courses would also be held in the NWSL, a harsh, graduate-level institution that features brilliant attacking minds like Sophia Wilson (née Smith), Temwa Chawinga, Barbra Banda, Mallory Swanson, Debinha, Lynn Biyendolo (née Williams), and a bevy of others.

Week after week she was tested. Some games went better than others. For instance she put up highlight-worthy tackles and interceptions against Debinha and Banda, but also became an unwilling co-star in a first half hat-trick performance by Wilson (then-Smith). McKeown continued to learn the nuances of the position, including proactive defending, which requires bravery, strength and instincts to deny space by getting close to attackers before they receive the ball. It was an important lesson for survival in the NWSL, which she mastered well enough to pass her second exam against Wilson with top marks (Wilson had two shots, both were blocked).

USWNT head coach Emma Hayes began to notice McKeown’s development at the position as well. Despite having a pool of career defenders to call on, Hayes brought McKeown into her first senior national team camp in January of this year, and has continued to rely on McKeown in the backline. Since that first camp in January, McKeown has started six the USWNT’s ten matches. Outside observers have questioned Hayes’ consistent preference toward McKeown over other well-performing and more experienced defenders.

A reason for Hayes’ lean towards McKeown is potentially due to her second evolution as a player. If you’re a regular watcher of Washington Spirit games, you’ve been witnessing this metamorphosis in real time. McKeown is not just a center back anymore.

As a position group, center back, like goalkeeper, has undergone a dramatic shift in the required skillset. It’s no longer enough to be switched on and competent out of possession, they must now be competent enough on the ball to evade and manipulate opposition presses, and consistent contributors in the buildup phase. Sarah Gorden, Jordyn Bugg and ex-Spirit player Sam Staab are three of the best center backs in the NWSL when it comes to bold progressive actions. Staab relies on the laser-guided precision passing of her left foot more than ball carrying, while Sarah Gorden’s speed allows her to frequently bolt into open space with the ball at her feet. Bugg, so far, has shown solid ability to pass and carry the ball forward.

But no one is doing it quite like McKeown. She leads them all in progressive carries, and is only behind Staab in progressive passes.

The dramatic change of perspective—from linking with teammates within ~30 yards of the opposition’s goal to being positioned further back as the last line of defense—took some getting used to. But now that her passing eye has adjusted, McKeown regularly zips passes through midfields to the feet of attackers in or near the final third. Once she checked that skill off, she decided to get even more adventurous.

In the Spirit’s final match before the summer break, McKeown saw the team struggling to pass their way through San Diego’s press. This was leading to a cycle of losing the ball, pressing to recover it, then being counterpressed into turning it over again. In addition to a tremendous defensive effort—Aubrey Kingsbury earned a clean sheet, McKeown had 13 clearances, 5 ball recoveries, 2/2 ground duels won and 2/3 aerial duels won, and the defense combined for 57(!) clearances—McKeown also took it upon herself to break the press by just taking the ball through midfield herself. [data from FotMob]

That was when Bluesky user @maggiemack came up with the nickname Tara the Explorer. The phenomenon became an easter egg within Spirit games, with timelines erupting in delight whenever Tara decided to go on an excursion. Recently, Maggie posted a highlight reel that just might be the best highlight reel ever created.

Though, while entertaining, there was the question of what head coach Adrián González thought of all this. Most coaches would see their hearts tumble out of their mouths if one of their center backs marched through midfield and into the final third without instruction. So it was assumed that González either gave McKeown this freedom and responsibility through work on the training ground, and if not, that he would soon be gently reminding her that she is, indeed, a center back. Turns out it was neither.

When asked about McKeown’s rampages through midfield in the postgame press conference, González revealed that it was not an instruction from him, and that she saw opportunities to help break the press and progress the ball and decided to take them. He also noted that he did not want to discourage her from doing it, that it is a unique and useful skill, and part of who she is a player, regardless of position. Instead, as expected of Spirit players at all times on the pitch, the team is coached to be aware of spaces and how to cover for one another. McKeown taking off triggers rotations to fill gaps the same way they’d cover for a roaming defensive midfielder or attacking fullback. It also helps that McKeown has sharp instincts for when to go forward, is decisive, and has the strength and speed to rarely be knocked off the ball without drawing a foul.

McKeown’s transition from forward to center back has been one of the most fascinating subplots in the NWSL over the last two years. When reporters were told about the transition ahead of the 2023 season even the most optimistic couldn’t have foreseen her becoming a USWNT starter after just a couple seasons learning a polar opposite position. Now that McKeown has the confidence and support to make the position her own, she’s evolving from a career without much precedent, into a player without much of one either.

Lead image courtesy of Washington Spirit.