Position Benchmarks

Forward — D1 / D2 / D3

Name: NCAA Women's Soccer Forward Benchmarks (D1 / D2 / D3)
Creator: Brava
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Per-90 statistical benchmarks for forwards in NCAA women's soccer. Mean and standard deviation by division, with the Z-score formula college coaches actually use to compare players across competition levels.

Per-90 Performance Benchmarks

Division means (μ) and standard deviations (σ) for the six core forward metrics.

Forward — per-90 statistical distributions, NCAA Women's Soccer
Metric	D1 mean	D1 σ	D2 mean	D3 mean
Goalsper 90 minutes played	0.65	0.25	0.50	0.40
Shots on Targetper 90 minutes played	2.80	1.10	2.20	1.80
Shot Conversiongoals ÷ shots on target	22.5%	4.8	18.0%	14.5%
Expected Goals (xG)per 90 minutes played	0.55	0.20	0.42	0.35
Successful Dribbles (1v1)completed take-ons per 90	4.50	1.50	3.20	2.50
Assistsper 90 minutes played	0.30	0.15	0.22	0.18

Tier Alignment

Once you have a Z-score, here's where that player realistically slots in.

Tier 1

Elite D1 / Power-5

Z ≥ 1.5 · top 7%

Immediate impact at the highest collegiate level. SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12-equivalent starting potential.

Tier 2

Solid D1 / Elite D2

0.5 ≤ Z < 1.5 · 69–93rd %ile

Above-average starting potential at mid-major D1 or top-of-conference D2 programs.

Tier 3

D3 / NAIA / Lower D2

−0.5 ≤ Z < 0.5 · 31–69th %ile

Average collegiate. Developmental programs that compete on tactics and chemistry rather than physical advantage.

Competition Multipliers

Stats in ECNL National don't mean the same thing as stats in a competitive state high-school season. Multiply raw per-90 rates by M before computing the Z-score.

Competition multiplier (M) by league
League / Competition	Multiplier (M)
ECNL National / US Youth National Team	1.00
Girls Academy (GA)	0.95
ECRL / Development Player League (DPL)	0.80
NPL / Elite State Leagues	0.70
High School Varsity (competitive state)	0.65
High School JV / Recreational Club	0.40

Physical Gates

Forward-specific height ranges and division-wide speed gates. Hitting these doesn't get a player recruited; missing them by a lot usually narrows the conversation.

Forward — height range by division (typical starter)
Division	Height range
D1	5'5" – 5'9"
D2	5'4" – 5'8"
D3	5'3" – 5'8"

Speed gates (all positions; lower is better)
Test	D1	D2	D3
10-meter split	1.75s	1.85s	1.95s
30-meter sprint	4.0s	4.2s	4.4s
40-yard dash	5.0s	5.2s	5.4s

Forward — deep dives

Spoke articles unpacking specific dimensions of the forward profile.

Stat

Goals Per 90 by Division

D1 0.65, D2 0.50, D3 0.40 — and why the distributions overlap.

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Stat

Conversion Rate (xG → Goals)

D1 22.5%. The xG-vs-actual gap recruiters actually read.

Read →

Film

Highlight Reel — Clip by Clip

3–5 minutes, 18–24 labeled clips, opens with a goal.

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Physical

Height & Recruitment

D1 5'5"–5'9". When height matters and what overrides it.

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Want her stats benchmarked?

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