Position Benchmarks

Midfielder: D1 / D2 / D3

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

Per-90 benchmarks for midfielders in NCAA women's soccer. The midfield is the position college coaches scout most carefully — pass quality and possession-winning numbers carry more weight than goals.

Per-90 performance benchmarks

Six core midfielder metrics, division means (μ) and D1 standard deviation (σ).

Midfielder — per-90 statistical distributions, NCAA Women's Soccer
Metric	D1 mean	D1 σ	D2 mean	D3 mean
Pass Completioncompleted passes ÷ attempted	82.0%	6.5	76.5%	71.0%
Key Passespasses leading to a shot, per 90	2.40	0.90	1.80	1.40
Possession Wonrecoveries per 90	7.50	2.10	6.20	5.50
Distance Coveredmiles per 90	6.60	0.80	6.00	5.40
Assistsper 90 minutes played	0.25	0.12	0.18	0.12
Goalsper 90 minutes played	0.20	0.12	0.15	0.12

Tier alignment

Where a player slots in once you have her Z-score.

Tier 1

Top D1 / Power-5

Z ≥ 1.5 · top 7%

SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12-equivalent starting potential.

Tier 2

Solid D1 / top D2

0.5 ≤ Z < 1.5 · 69–93rd %ile

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

Tier 3

D3 / NAIA / lower D2

−0.5 ≤ Z < 0.5 · 31–69th %ile

Average collegiate. Developmental programs.

Competition multipliers

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

Midfielder-specific height ranges and division-wide speed gates.

Midfielder — height range by division (typical starter)
Division	Height range
D1	5'4" – 5'9"
D2	5'3" – 5'8"
D3	5'2" – 5'7"

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

Midfielder: deep dives

Spoke articles unpacking specific dimensions of the midfielder profile.

Pass completion by division

D1 82%, D2 76.5%, D3 71%. Pressure-adjusted reading.

Box-to-box vs deep-lying

How distance, key passes, and recoveries separate the roles.

Highlight reel: clip by clip

Receiving under pressure, line-breaking passes, recoveries.

The No. 10: dying role?

Under 20% of D1 programs run a true #10. What that means.

Sources

Collegiate Women's Soccer Performance Benchmarking Report. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Please link back to bravamade.com/research/benchmarks/midfielder.