Soccer: Women's
Taylor Schram: a comparison
I wrote a story about women’s soccer midfielder Taylor Schram moving out of the midfield to the forward position and when I was writing, I couldn’t help but think of Everton forward Tim Cahill.
Cahill plays both striker and attacking midfielder for the Toffees, similar to the roles Schram played in high school and for her club team. Additionally, both are regarded as small forwards, with Cahill measuring 5-foot-10 and Schram listed at 5-foot-5 on Penn State’s roster.
Granted, there’s a big difference between college soccer and the English Premier League, but there are enough similarities that a comparison isn’t totally outlandish. Both players are very good in the air despite their size, pass well, have deceptivley good speed and have a nose for the goal. It’s also hard for defenders to push either forward off the ball, which gives them a chance against bigger forwards.
Below is a highlight video of Cahill with Everton and the Austrailian national team. While it’s more focused on Cahill’s scoring touch, there’s enough glimpses of his heading ability and scrappy fighter’s mentality in front of net to get the point across.