December 2, 2025 • 24 mins
Angel City FC breakout star and NWSL Rookie of the Year finalist Riley Tiernan joined Sarah during NWSL Championship Weekend to talk about going from non-roster invitee to starting every match, the vets who helped her feel like she belonged, her fast friendship with teammate Macey Hodge, and what it will take to make ACFC a winning squad. Plus, extending an extension, the handshake that wasn’t (or was it?), and the Sky Sports “pink fail” heard ’round the world.
- You can watch A’ja Wilson’s Hot Ones episode here
- You can find the New Genius Sports report here
- You can find the NCAA Women's Volleyball bracket here
- Fill out your ESPN Volleyball Championship Challenge bracket here
- You can learn more about Jerritt Elliott’s ponytail tie invention here
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're already
two times through Ariana's Santa Tell Me, three spins in
of Kelly's Underneath the Tree, four sing alongs down of
Mariah's All I Want for Christmas, and we already lost
count of our listens to Darlene.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Love's Baby Please Come Home the Best.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
It's Tuesday, December second, and on Today Show, we'll be
talking to NWSL Rookie of the Year finalist and breakout
star for Angel City FC, Riley Tiernan.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
We sat down with her during.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
NWSL Championship weekend to talk about going from non roster
invitee to starting every match, the mentors who helped her
feel like she belonged, the teammate that became a fast
best friend, and her love for MTV's Jersey Shore, plus
extending an extension, put your Viv's picks in black and white,
and the handshake that wasn't or was it. It's all
(00:46):
coming out right after this welcome back slices, here's what
you need to know today. Let's start with the WNBA
and the late night extension agreed upon by the league
and the Players Association on Sunday night with their first
extension about to expire, the two sides agreed to another
(01:10):
extension of the current CBA, this one set to run
out on January ninth. This agreement once again includes the
option for either party to terminate the extension with forty
eight hours notice, said the WNBPA in a statement, quote,
we expect substantive movement from the league within this window
end quote. Per reports, the primary sticking point remains the
(01:30):
revenue sharing portion of the CBA. The WNBA proposal reportedly
offers revenue sharing after certain minimums are hit, while the
Players Association continues to fight for revenue sharing without stipulation,
while we continue to wait for the two sides to
find common ground. You could kill some time watching four
time WNBA MVP Asia Wilson on Hot Ones. She tries
(01:51):
to Jedi mind trick her way through some truly spicy wings, talking, I.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Know this job, yeah yeah, yeah, but I.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Understand it as kind of a full court press of
an interview show.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
You know, there's a lot coming at.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
You over here.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, we're good, We're good. Yeah, exactly, we are good. Right,
it's a mindset thing, it's a mental thing.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
You're exactly right.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
We're so good. We're so good right this next we'll
link to that episode in the show notes.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
And while we're on the topic of the WNBA and
revenue sharing, turns out w fans are sharing more of
their revenue than anyone. A recent report from New Genius Sports,
looking at twenty eight million sports fans across ninety four
top retailers, shows that WNBA fans spend more than any
other fan base on average during the peak holiday shopping
(02:45):
window from Black Friday through early December, an average of
five hundred and fifty eight dollars per person, compared to
five hundred and sixteen for the second biggest spenders NFL fans,
all the way down to NBA fans, who average four
hundred and thirty nine dollars during the window. Takeaways, Well,
w fans are wealthy, generous, unless they're buying all that
(03:05):
shit for themselves, I guess, And most importantly, brands and
retailers should be targeting ads to them, spending to reach them,
and treating them like the valuable, motivated shoppers they are.
We'll link to the study in the show notes if
you want to check it out. To college hoops A
big week for Texas sends them up the latest AP
rankings all the way to number two behind number one Yukon.
(03:27):
The Longhorns defeat of then number three UCLA seventy six
sixty five on Wednesday, followed by their win over then
number two South Carolina sixty six sixty four on Thursday,
marked the first time in the last twenty five years
that a team has beaten two top three teams in
such a short timeframe. With Texas at two, the Gamecocks
drop a spot to number three, UCLA drops to four,
(03:47):
and LSU remains in fifth. Also, NC State is now
out of the top twenty five, and Ohio State makes
its pole debut for the year, sitting at number twenty
three after beating West Virginia last week. More college hoops
A potentially growing but hopefully dwindling story coming out of
Sunday Night's UCLA Tennessee game. After the Bruins bested the Voles,
(04:07):
former UCLA star Jeniah Barker, who transferred to Tennessee in
the offseason, appeared to briefly shake the hand of former
coach Corey Close before pulling it away, leaving Close shrugging
at the odd interaction. Barker, who scored twenty five in
her return to Polly Pavilion, posted on her Instagram story
quote we shook hands. I wish nothing but the best
for coach Corey, and over on Twitter quote respect we
(04:30):
shook hands. I wish nothing but the best for coach
Corey and my UCLA.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Faan end quote.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Hopefully the beef, if there was one at all, is squashed,
though I am required by the rules and regulations of
being an English major to point out that Barker spelled
Corey wrong in both posts, accidental or intentional. Maybe the
beef continues. Some more hoops news. Tmusa took gold in
the PHOEBA three x three AmeriCup in Mexico this past weekend,
(04:57):
led by three x three Olympic champion Ali's, who averaged
five points a game and posted fourteen assists over the
five games en route to earning tournament MVP honors. NOAs Hillman,
Shakira Austin, and Veronica Burton made up the rest of
the US squad, who last won in twenty twenty three
to College Vibs. The NCAA Tournament selection show aired on
ESPN Sunday night with the full sixty four team bracket revealed.
(05:20):
Thirty one conference champions earned automatic bids to the tourney,
and the D one Women's Volleyball Committee chose thirty three
other teams as at large selections. Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas, and
Pittsburgh earned the top seeds. They've combined for ten national
titles in tournament history, and two teams, Saint Thomas and Toledo,
will make their first ever tournament appearances. First and second
(05:42):
rounds will be on ESPN Plus this Thursday to Saturday.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Regionals will be on.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
ABC, ESPN and ESPN two December eleventh through fourteenth, SEMIS
on ESPN December eighteenth, and the national Championship will be Sunday,
December twenty first, at T Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri,
airing on ABC.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
ESPN's coverage will also.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Again include the fifth set Volleyball Whip Around show during
the first and second rounds, and for the first time,
there will be a thirty minute preview show on ABC
ahead of the national title game.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
We love to see it.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
We'll link to the full bracket and to the Good
Game with Sarah Spain group in the ESPN Volleyball Championship Challenge,
where you could fill out your bracket and compete against
fellow slices and yours truly. Finally, some NWSL news friend
at the show, Brionna Pinto has signed a two year
deal with the Chicago Neutral Colored Stars, running through the
twenty twenty seventh season. Pinto was drafted third overall by
(06:34):
Gotham FC in twenty twenty one, but was traded to
North Carolina after that season and spent the last four
seasons with the Courage, making eighty nine appearances forty five starts,
scoring eleven goals and recording four assists.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Pinto is also active off.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
The field, including being a member of the Black Women's
Player Collective, and she was a member of the bargaining
committee for the NWSL's last CBA. But of course, since
we can't have nice things. Along with Breanno's arrival comes
a big name departure. Ali Schlegel, who led the team
in points last season and was known for rocking that
pink headband, has told the team show play elsewhere next year.
(07:08):
The Stars posted a video for telling the fans directly,
in part, Hey.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Everyone, it's Ali Schlegel, and I wanted to be the
one to tell you this that I am exploring new opportunities,
but I wanted to take this time to thank the club,
the city, the fans for everything that Chicago has been
for me. This was my first club. I was drafted
here and that was such a special moment. And during
(07:34):
that first year I learned so much from the veterans
and the players and the staff, and it made me
grow up quick, I think, and I just have so
much gratitude for that year in general, and then moving
on through these last two years, I just I can't
express enough what this place meant.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
To me, meant to me oof already speaking in the
past ten while filming in the Stars facility with the
Stars staff.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
It's a cold, cold world, y'all.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Especially if you're a fan of the Chicago neutral colored Stars.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Slices.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
While you're filling out your volleyball bracket trying to best
the rest of the Good Game crew, check out a
fun espnW story about how Texas volleyball head coach Jarrett
Elliott invented a new type of ponytail tie, the TIY
tie Yourself, that is now apparently all the rage in
college vibs. Elliott, a completely bald man, was inspired to
(08:32):
invent the tiy after seeing his players constantly stop mid
drill to adjust their hair. Necessity truly is the mother
of invention. We'll link to the story in the show notes.
We got to take a quick break when we come back.
Angel City standout Riley Tiernan joining us now live from
(08:53):
NWSL Radio Row. She's the superstar rookie from Angel CITYFC.
You've been hearing so much about nominee for NWSL Rookie
the year she tied for seventh in the Golden Boot Race.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
She played her college.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Soccer for the Rutgers Scarlet Nights, where she was named
Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All Big Ten
four times. A Jersey native, she's a big Jersey Shore fan.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
It's Riley Tiernan. Hi, Riley, I are you old enough
to have watched Jersey Shore the first time around?
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Well, my sister watched it because she's older, but I
probably wasn't old enough.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
But I was watching it when I was like ten.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Soow, okay, did you find it aspirational?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
I don't know. I think I don't know.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
I just love the vibe and I think it's so entertaining,
and you just like drama.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I just love the people too. They're good people. Okay, good,
that's a good answer. I didn't want you to be
like I wanted to be snooky. No, no, no, definitely not
bigger dreams Riley. You mentioned your sister eight years older
than you. Yes, wow, Yeah, and she.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Was playing soccer when you were young, and you just
inserted yourself into her games, whether invited or not. Yeah,
how long did you take to catch up to her
without hurting her feelings?
Speaker 2 (09:57):
You can give us an honest answer. I don't know, hones.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
We never really like played against each other. But I
would say like when I was like maybe my last
year of club, maybe my senior year of high school
was where I started to like be like more developed.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
I would say, are you guys still close? Yes, very close.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
You have a really incredible story.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Two weeks before the NWSL season started, you were still
a non roster invite to training camp.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Take us back to early this year.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
What were your expectations when you got to Angel City camp.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Yeah, coming in, I just wanted to make the team.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
That was like the first goal, because it seemed like
it was definitely like challenging and like a hard environment
to like get into if you're not in it, So
I just took it day by day because I felt
like thinking like long term kind of like made me
like a little bit more anxious and like nervous for
the future. So I just tried to show up every
day and just let what happened was gonna happen. So, yeah,
(10:54):
Julie Rman not a front of the show yet. We
haven't had Julie Rman on. Somehow we will Angel City
President founder. I've spent a lot of time with Julie
across multiple continents. She just said in a very recent
ESPN profile of you beautiful photos by the way, that
was like a real big time story. She said about you,
She's gone from underdog to star. She wasn't recruited.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
She had to fight to be seen, fight to have
a place on the roster, fight to have a place
in the starting eleven. She's won every single one of
those fights. Did they feel like fights to you in
the moment?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
I would say they came like as things progressed, Like
my first fight was getting on the team. So once
I did that, I realized that, like there was way
more than I could achieve. So I created a whole
new set of goals for myself and then just went
from there. Yeah, did you have mentors on the team
early on? Were there folks that you felt like you
could go to for guidance? Yeah, definitely Sidney LaRue, she
(11:46):
was like one of my favorite players growing up, and
then to like actually meet her in person was incredible.
And then Chris im Press she was also another player
I watched, and towards the end especially she really helped
me out when I was learning not only a new
position but a new coaching style, So that was definitely helpful.
But yeah, super cool to be like in an environment
with people you grow up wanting to be Like.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Did you feel like you could do that from day one?
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Because sometimes I think when you have to earn a spot,
you don't have a contract yet, you're not maybe feeling
like you're the same as everyone else on the roster. Yeah,
you might not feel like, oh, these vets want to
spend time on me, like I might not even be here.
Could you go to them early on or did it
take a little while to feel confident and be like, oh,
I'm the same as everybody else here.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
I belong Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I think I kind of was like a little quiet
at first, but I think Sid's like super outgoing, so
she came right up to me and like she basically
just like took me under her wing whether I had
a choice or not, which I loved. But yeah, with
Chris was a little different because I didn't really want
to like go up to her because like she's probably
like deals with that all the time. But yeah, no,
(12:51):
like our friendship progressed like throughout the season, and she
became way more like vocal to me, so that was
really nice.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
I wouldn't say for all of her career has given
off big mom energy, yeah, but now she does because
she is a mom, Like she kind of alternates between
like insane person and mom entergy.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Yes, and that's a lovely balance for me. Yeah, that's
one of my favorite balances. What were your expectations finish
in college.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Did you think that teams would be initially more interested
in signing you.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Yeah, I did.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
I wasn't like I didn't know how it would be
without the draft, so I was a little bit unprepared.
I was signing with Angel City out of college, but
then the coach was fired, Becky Tweed, so it kind
of put me in a weird spot. Because I didn't
have an agent because I didn't think I would need
one really, But then once that happened, I got an agent,
and then they started reaching out.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
So when she was fired, did that sort of make
null your agreement to go to that team?
Speaker 2 (13:46):
You had to re engage with teams?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Yeah? I did, so then I got two trial ass invitations.
So then I was like, Okay, that's the team I
was planning on going to. So love to go there,
and the place was the place where I wanted to be.
So where was your other invitation?
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Got them? Got them?
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Yeah, the sliding doors of the NWSL. We could have
had a got them FC Riley tiered and very interesting.
Those are two good teams to get invited to, by
the way, some solid systems. You were Big ten Freshmen
of the Year NWSL Rookie of the Year nominee. So
safe to say you know how to get off to
a hot start. Why do you think you're so confident
and comfortable right away in whatever new endeavor or new
(14:24):
level you're at.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
I think like being unknown in an aspect is kind
of a form of just like no pressure, and I
think that's why I was so successful in the very
beginning of the season, Like the first half, I think
no one knew who I was.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
So I could just go out there and play the
way I wanted to play.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
And I think Same Lady really helped with that too,
just letting me be me, and I was so confident.
And then after the break, I think, like I knew
that I made a name for myself, so there was
a little bit of pressure, but I felt like I
was still able to play.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Like myself at times. It's just, uh, it was a
little different because they see your comment and stuff.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Well different coach for sure, but also the other team
is like, hey, that's right tiern In. We got to
know where she is on the field at all times.
Like I said, you started the season off on a heater.
Five goals by early May, so you were leading all
forty two rookies and goals ranked second in the Golden
Boot race. When you have that kind of success, does
it change the way you feel like you show up
to games or practices? Do you then, even if you
(15:20):
feel like there isn't really pressure because people aren't aren't there.
Once you get to that point, are you then like
putting pressure on yourself to keep up that pace?
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I think like I always once I got those goals,
I always wanted more like it was something that I
knew that I could do. So it's like you're constantly
thinking about that, But I don't know. I think it
gave me like a form of arrogance in a way,
like like not like cockiness with arrogance, just to know
that like I am capable and like people can see
like that I'm here and I'm like here to play.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
So I think that was pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Did you have any cool moments with the celeb owners
of ACFC. I'm always thinking about what a wild thing
it is to go from just college soccer to suddenly
having celebrities. Yeah, like and giving you high fives in orange.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
I mean Natalie Portman reposted my first goal, so that
was really cool, like on her Instagram. I think a
couple of my older goals too, which was really cool. Yeah,
and then Page Buckers was at one of our games,
which was really cool.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Have you gotten particularly close with any of the owners,
Like I know some of them are at every game,
some of them are hanging out of practice at times,
or do you still feel like there's a little bit
of like a space between yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Feel like I'm not there yet, but I hope to
have vented.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Okay, okay, I'm Jen Gardner is the one I keep
putting out in the universe. That's the one I want
to be friends.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Yeah, for she seems like the coolest.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
You ended up starting every match for Angel City. What
did you learn about yourself by the end of the season.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Well, I think I've always known that I'm like a
fighter and I'm someone that like demands excellence for myself.
So yeah, I think I took every week as like
a fight to be starting. And I think once you start,
you like you don't want to know what it's like
to not start. So that was something that I like
really feared. So I think I just turned that fear
into like motivation and just continue to show up in training,
(16:58):
endgames so that I could keep that spot and get
to walk out with the team in the beginning and
stand for the national anthem. I think it was really
important to me.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
One thing that's great about being a young player is
most of the focus can sort of be on yourself.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Of Course, you want your team to succeed.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Of course the team goals are your goals, but also
it's fair to just find your place in the league,
to work on your own skills and try to be
as good as you can be. One drawback to being
as good as you were this rookie season is that
next season, it isn't just about Riley. It's about Angel
City being a better team, being a playoff team, getting
the wins that they've been seeking for years.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
I have so many friends at that org.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
It has changed the game quite literally for women's sports,
not just soccer, but now they want to win and
they want to get to the next level. What's it
going to take for Angel City to put the wins
next to all the wins that they have in terms
of you know, finances and you know, celebrity and marketing
and all that.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Yeah. I think we have a lot of talent on
our team, and I think it's just finding that cohesion
together and making sure everyone's on the same page, knows
the plan and knows.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
How to execute the plan.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
So I think now that we have a new coach,
Alex he implementing new things in the middle of a
season is kind of difficult. So I think like him
doing that during preseason and having our team be able
to focus on that and learn in preseason and then
bring it to the field during the season, I think
will be really helpful for us. But yeah, I think
just starting fresh is going to be really great. And
(18:26):
everyone knows what it's like to not make the playoffs now,
so I think it's just like using that as like
motivation to never want to feel like that again.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Who do you think the team is going to look
to next year with Kristin Press and Ali Riley both gone.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of leaders on our team,
but I would say Sarah Gordon's the main main voice
of our team and Angelina Anderson for sure. I think
there's gonna be a lot of people that need to
step up now.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Including you. Yeah. Tell me about your friendship with Macy Hodge.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Yeah, Macy's like I was just talking to my agent
about this yesterday. She is like, probably one of the
best friends I've had in my life. And I met
her in my twenties, which is so crazy, like you
would never think that, but yeah, just.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Wait, You're gonna make a lot of great friends later
in life.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Just an amazing person and we have so many things
in common, but we also are like opposite in some aspects,
like I'm sometimes really anxious, and she's like the voice
of reason to just be like it's fine, Riley, like
you're okay. But yeah, no, I just literally love her
with everything in me.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
I can tell.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
I really hope that if any of my friends get
asked about me, their faces look like yours just did.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
When I just asked you about her. You're just like glowed.
She's my favorite.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
So you after this busy weekend, by the way, you
were our vote for Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
But congrats to all involved.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
You actually had a documentary following you with the League,
like the League was following all the different nominees.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
How is that for you? Being miked up?
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Were you worried that you would like forget and talk
shit about somebody or like say something stupid.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
I feel like in those environments I'm pretty good at
like not doing it, but it's usually like behind closed
doors that I'll talk shit. But no, it was cool,
Like it was a cool experience. And yeah, I mean
I wanted as like the least amount of attention drawn
to me, but obviously with that I couldn't have that.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
So yeah, definitely like different, but it was cool and
I'm excited to see what it like comes out as.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Yeah, okay, So after this weekend though, you are right
back at it, You're going to you twenty threes in Vienna.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
What are you expecting there? Yeah, I'm super excited.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
I think that's such a cool opportunity to play two
more international games against really good teams. But yeah, no,
any chance I get to be at USA camp, it's
really special to wear the crest and to just get
the opportunity to prove myself like again and again and
again is really cool. And yeah, I'm excited for the trip.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Any players on that roster that you either haven't met
or played with yet that you're really looking forward to
getting to play with.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
I think a lot of them are a lot of
them are the same people. But I always like playing
with Maddie Dellen, who she was the other nominee. I
know Ali Setnor is in this camp, so that I'll
be pretty cool to meet her. I played with her
when we were like way younger, so at like a
ID two camp, I want to say. Yeah, maybe I'm
getting that wrong, I don't know, but yeah, no, definitely
(21:10):
excited to be with some new faces.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
All right, last question for you when you're done with
you twenty three is you actually will get a little
bit of a break before it's soccer all over again.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
How are you gonna spend your free time?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah, I'm definitely gonna spend time with my family. I
haven't seen them in a long time, and my nephew's
growing like a weed, so I need to see him
as much as I can. But yeah, no, just spend
time with my family. That's what I prioritize. So in Jersey.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Back in Jersey. Not on the shore though, no, not
on the shore. It'll be cold there. So well, was
so great to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Congrats on an incredible season and good luck in Vienna.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Thanks so much, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Thanks again to Riley for hanging out with us in
San Jose. We got to take another break when.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
We come back. Pinkin and shrinking across the pond. Welcome back, Slices.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
We love that you're listening, but we want you to
get in the game every day too, So here's our
good game play of the day. Go fill out your
Volleyball Challenge bracket see if you can top your fellow slices.
We always love to hear from you, so hit us
up on email. Good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or
leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two o
four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Rate and review.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Do it right now, scroll down, give us five stars,
tell us you love us. It's really easy watch not
knowing your audience. Rating zero out of zero pink hearts review.
Sky Sports, a group of British sports channels, rolled out
a woman focused brand last month called Halo, but the
TikTok account lasted just three days before accusations of it
(22:45):
being patronizing, sexist, and cringe first caused them to turn
off comments then delete the account entirely. In an Instagram
post about the failed quote unquote lil sis to their
other offerings, Sky wrote, quote our intention for Halo was
to create a space alongside our existing channel for new
young female fans.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
We've listened. We didn't get it right.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
As a result, we're stopping all activity on this account.
We're learning and remain as committed as ever to creating
spaces where fans feel.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Included and inspired. End quote.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Well, if you like sports, hearts lots of pink quote
unquote hot girl walks and nearly half of the content
featuring men's sports, despite the brand declaring it was intended
to champion female athletes. Then we're sorry you'll no longer
have Halo as a place to feel.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Included and inspired.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
But we're more sorry companies like Sky Sports waste their
time and money on failed endeavors instead of getting it
right and offering fans of women's sport a good, smart,
informed product that makes them feel understood. Cause I can
guarantee some dude or many we'll use this failure in
a future meeting to blame the product and not their execution.
Now it's your turn, y'all, rate and review. Thanks for listening,
(23:54):
See you tomorrow. Good Game, Riley, Good Game number two,
Texas Women's soups fe you bad Beatles solo Christmas songs
from Paul's Wonderful Christmas Time to Ringos somehow even worse
Come on Christmas, Those darn Liverpudlians keep trying to spoil
my Christmas playlists. Leave the holiday tunes to Lennon, Happy Christmas.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
War Is Over is the only one worth hearing.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
Our producers are alex Azzie, Grace Lynch, Taylor Williamson, and
Lucy Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rudder,
(24:44):
Britney Martinez and Gianna Palmer. Production assistants from Avery Loftus
and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're already
two times through Ariana's Santa Tell Me, three spins in
of Kelly's Underneath the Tree, four sing alongs down of
Mariah's All I Want for Christmas, and we already lost
count of our listens to Darlene.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Love's Baby Please Come Home the Best.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
It's Tuesday, December second, and on Today Show, we'll be
talking to NWSL Rookie of the Year finalist and breakout
star for Angel City FC, Riley Tiernan.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
We sat down with her during.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
NWSL Championship weekend to talk about going from non roster
invitee to starting every match, the mentors who helped her
feel like she belonged, the teammate that became a fast
best friend, and her love for MTV's Jersey Shore, plus
extending an extension, put your Viv's picks in black and white,
and the handshake that wasn't or was it. It's all
(00:46):
coming out right after this welcome back slices, here's what
you need to know today. Let's start with the WNBA
and the late night extension agreed upon by the league
and the Players Association on Sunday night with their first
extension about to expire, the two sides agreed to another
(01:10):
extension of the current CBA, this one set to run
out on January ninth. This agreement once again includes the
option for either party to terminate the extension with forty
eight hours notice, said the WNBPA in a statement, quote,
we expect substantive movement from the league within this window
end quote. Per reports, the primary sticking point remains the
(01:30):
revenue sharing portion of the CBA. The WNBA proposal reportedly
offers revenue sharing after certain minimums are hit, while the
Players Association continues to fight for revenue sharing without stipulation,
while we continue to wait for the two sides to
find common ground. You could kill some time watching four
time WNBA MVP Asia Wilson on Hot Ones. She tries
(01:51):
to Jedi mind trick her way through some truly spicy wings, talking, I.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Know this job, yeah yeah, yeah, but I.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Understand it as kind of a full court press of
an interview show.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
You know, there's a lot coming at.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
You over here.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, we're good, We're good. Yeah, exactly, we are good. Right,
it's a mindset thing, it's a mental thing.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
You're exactly right.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
We're so good. We're so good right this next we'll
link to that episode in the show notes.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
And while we're on the topic of the WNBA and
revenue sharing, turns out w fans are sharing more of
their revenue than anyone. A recent report from New Genius Sports,
looking at twenty eight million sports fans across ninety four
top retailers, shows that WNBA fans spend more than any
other fan base on average during the peak holiday shopping
(02:45):
window from Black Friday through early December, an average of
five hundred and fifty eight dollars per person, compared to
five hundred and sixteen for the second biggest spenders NFL fans,
all the way down to NBA fans, who average four
hundred and thirty nine dollars during the window. Takeaways, Well,
w fans are wealthy, generous, unless they're buying all that
(03:05):
shit for themselves, I guess, And most importantly, brands and
retailers should be targeting ads to them, spending to reach them,
and treating them like the valuable, motivated shoppers they are.
We'll link to the study in the show notes if
you want to check it out. To college hoops A
big week for Texas sends them up the latest AP
rankings all the way to number two behind number one Yukon.
(03:27):
The Longhorns defeat of then number three UCLA seventy six
sixty five on Wednesday, followed by their win over then
number two South Carolina sixty six sixty four on Thursday,
marked the first time in the last twenty five years
that a team has beaten two top three teams in
such a short timeframe. With Texas at two, the Gamecocks
drop a spot to number three, UCLA drops to four,
(03:47):
and LSU remains in fifth. Also, NC State is now
out of the top twenty five, and Ohio State makes
its pole debut for the year, sitting at number twenty
three after beating West Virginia last week. More college hoops
A potentially growing but hopefully dwindling story coming out of
Sunday Night's UCLA Tennessee game. After the Bruins bested the Voles,
(04:07):
former UCLA star Jeniah Barker, who transferred to Tennessee in
the offseason, appeared to briefly shake the hand of former
coach Corey Close before pulling it away, leaving Close shrugging
at the odd interaction. Barker, who scored twenty five in
her return to Polly Pavilion, posted on her Instagram story
quote we shook hands. I wish nothing but the best
for coach Corey, and over on Twitter quote respect we
(04:30):
shook hands. I wish nothing but the best for coach
Corey and my UCLA.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Faan end quote.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Hopefully the beef, if there was one at all, is squashed,
though I am required by the rules and regulations of
being an English major to point out that Barker spelled
Corey wrong in both posts, accidental or intentional. Maybe the
beef continues. Some more hoops news. Tmusa took gold in
the PHOEBA three x three AmeriCup in Mexico this past weekend,
(04:57):
led by three x three Olympic champion Ali's, who averaged
five points a game and posted fourteen assists over the
five games en route to earning tournament MVP honors. NOAs Hillman,
Shakira Austin, and Veronica Burton made up the rest of
the US squad, who last won in twenty twenty three
to College Vibs. The NCAA Tournament selection show aired on
ESPN Sunday night with the full sixty four team bracket revealed.
(05:20):
Thirty one conference champions earned automatic bids to the tourney,
and the D one Women's Volleyball Committee chose thirty three
other teams as at large selections. Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas, and
Pittsburgh earned the top seeds. They've combined for ten national
titles in tournament history, and two teams, Saint Thomas and Toledo,
will make their first ever tournament appearances. First and second
(05:42):
rounds will be on ESPN Plus this Thursday to Saturday.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Regionals will be on.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
ABC, ESPN and ESPN two December eleventh through fourteenth, SEMIS
on ESPN December eighteenth, and the national Championship will be Sunday,
December twenty first, at T Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri,
airing on ABC.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
ESPN's coverage will also.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Again include the fifth set Volleyball Whip Around show during
the first and second rounds, and for the first time,
there will be a thirty minute preview show on ABC
ahead of the national title game.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
We love to see it.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
We'll link to the full bracket and to the Good
Game with Sarah Spain group in the ESPN Volleyball Championship Challenge,
where you could fill out your bracket and compete against
fellow slices and yours truly. Finally, some NWSL news friend
at the show, Brionna Pinto has signed a two year
deal with the Chicago Neutral Colored Stars, running through the
twenty twenty seventh season. Pinto was drafted third overall by
(06:34):
Gotham FC in twenty twenty one, but was traded to
North Carolina after that season and spent the last four
seasons with the Courage, making eighty nine appearances forty five starts,
scoring eleven goals and recording four assists.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Pinto is also active off.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
The field, including being a member of the Black Women's
Player Collective, and she was a member of the bargaining
committee for the NWSL's last CBA. But of course, since
we can't have nice things. Along with Breanno's arrival comes
a big name departure. Ali Schlegel, who led the team
in points last season and was known for rocking that
pink headband, has told the team show play elsewhere next year.
(07:08):
The Stars posted a video for telling the fans directly,
in part, Hey.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Everyone, it's Ali Schlegel, and I wanted to be the
one to tell you this that I am exploring new opportunities,
but I wanted to take this time to thank the club,
the city, the fans for everything that Chicago has been
for me. This was my first club. I was drafted
here and that was such a special moment. And during
(07:34):
that first year I learned so much from the veterans
and the players and the staff, and it made me
grow up quick, I think, and I just have so
much gratitude for that year in general, and then moving
on through these last two years, I just I can't
express enough what this place meant.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
To me, meant to me oof already speaking in the
past ten while filming in the Stars facility with the
Stars staff.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
It's a cold, cold world, y'all.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Especially if you're a fan of the Chicago neutral colored Stars.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Slices.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
While you're filling out your volleyball bracket trying to best
the rest of the Good Game crew, check out a
fun espnW story about how Texas volleyball head coach Jarrett
Elliott invented a new type of ponytail tie, the TIY
tie Yourself, that is now apparently all the rage in
college vibs. Elliott, a completely bald man, was inspired to
(08:32):
invent the tiy after seeing his players constantly stop mid
drill to adjust their hair. Necessity truly is the mother
of invention. We'll link to the story in the show notes.
We got to take a quick break when we come back.
Angel City standout Riley Tiernan joining us now live from
(08:53):
NWSL Radio Row. She's the superstar rookie from Angel CITYFC.
You've been hearing so much about nominee for NWSL Rookie
the year she tied for seventh in the Golden Boot Race.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
She played her college.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Soccer for the Rutgers Scarlet Nights, where she was named
Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All Big Ten
four times. A Jersey native, she's a big Jersey Shore fan.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
It's Riley Tiernan. Hi, Riley, I are you old enough
to have watched Jersey Shore the first time around?
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Well, my sister watched it because she's older, but I
probably wasn't old enough.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
But I was watching it when I was like ten.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Soow, okay, did you find it aspirational?
Speaker 2 (09:30):
I don't know. I think I don't know.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
I just love the vibe and I think it's so entertaining,
and you just like drama.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
I just love the people too. They're good people. Okay, good,
that's a good answer. I didn't want you to be
like I wanted to be snooky. No, no, no, definitely not
bigger dreams Riley. You mentioned your sister eight years older
than you. Yes, wow, Yeah, and she.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Was playing soccer when you were young, and you just
inserted yourself into her games, whether invited or not. Yeah,
how long did you take to catch up to her
without hurting her feelings?
Speaker 2 (09:57):
You can give us an honest answer. I don't know, hones.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
We never really like played against each other. But I
would say like when I was like maybe my last
year of club, maybe my senior year of high school
was where I started to like be like more developed.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
I would say, are you guys still close? Yes, very close.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
You have a really incredible story.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Two weeks before the NWSL season started, you were still
a non roster invite to training camp.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
Take us back to early this year.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
What were your expectations when you got to Angel City camp.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Yeah, coming in, I just wanted to make the team.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
That was like the first goal, because it seemed like
it was definitely like challenging and like a hard environment
to like get into if you're not in it, So
I just took it day by day because I felt
like thinking like long term kind of like made me
like a little bit more anxious and like nervous for
the future. So I just tried to show up every
day and just let what happened was gonna happen. So, yeah,
(10:54):
Julie Rman not a front of the show yet. We
haven't had Julie Rman on. Somehow we will Angel City
President founder. I've spent a lot of time with Julie
across multiple continents. She just said in a very recent
ESPN profile of you beautiful photos by the way, that
was like a real big time story. She said about you,
She's gone from underdog to star. She wasn't recruited.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
She had to fight to be seen, fight to have
a place on the roster, fight to have a place
in the starting eleven. She's won every single one of
those fights. Did they feel like fights to you in
the moment?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
I would say they came like as things progressed, Like
my first fight was getting on the team. So once
I did that, I realized that, like there was way
more than I could achieve. So I created a whole
new set of goals for myself and then just went
from there. Yeah, did you have mentors on the team
early on? Were there folks that you felt like you
could go to for guidance? Yeah, definitely Sidney LaRue, she
(11:46):
was like one of my favorite players growing up, and
then to like actually meet her in person was incredible.
And then Chris im Press she was also another player
I watched, and towards the end especially she really helped
me out when I was learning not only a new
position but a new coaching style, So that was definitely helpful.
But yeah, super cool to be like in an environment
with people you grow up wanting to be Like.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
Did you feel like you could do that from day one?
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Because sometimes I think when you have to earn a spot,
you don't have a contract yet, you're not maybe feeling
like you're the same as everyone else on the roster. Yeah,
you might not feel like, oh, these vets want to
spend time on me, like I might not even be here.
Could you go to them early on or did it
take a little while to feel confident and be like, oh,
I'm the same as everybody else here.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
I belong Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I think I kind of was like a little quiet
at first, but I think Sid's like super outgoing, so
she came right up to me and like she basically
just like took me under her wing whether I had
a choice or not, which I loved. But yeah, with
Chris was a little different because I didn't really want
to like go up to her because like she's probably
like deals with that all the time. But yeah, no,
(12:51):
like our friendship progressed like throughout the season, and she
became way more like vocal to me, so that was
really nice.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
I wouldn't say for all of her career has given
off big mom energy, yeah, but now she does because
she is a mom, Like she kind of alternates between
like insane person and mom entergy.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Yes, and that's a lovely balance for me. Yeah, that's
one of my favorite balances. What were your expectations finish
in college.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Did you think that teams would be initially more interested
in signing you.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Yeah, I did.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
I wasn't like I didn't know how it would be
without the draft, so I was a little bit unprepared.
I was signing with Angel City out of college, but
then the coach was fired, Becky Tweed, so it kind
of put me in a weird spot. Because I didn't
have an agent because I didn't think I would need
one really, But then once that happened, I got an agent,
and then they started reaching out.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
So when she was fired, did that sort of make
null your agreement to go to that team?
Speaker 2 (13:46):
You had to re engage with teams?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Yeah? I did, so then I got two trial ass invitations.
So then I was like, Okay, that's the team I
was planning on going to. So love to go there,
and the place was the place where I wanted to be.
So where was your other invitation?
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Got them? Got them?
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Yeah, the sliding doors of the NWSL. We could have
had a got them FC Riley tiered and very interesting.
Those are two good teams to get invited to, by
the way, some solid systems. You were Big ten Freshmen
of the Year NWSL Rookie of the Year nominee. So
safe to say you know how to get off to
a hot start. Why do you think you're so confident
and comfortable right away in whatever new endeavor or new
(14:24):
level you're at.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
I think like being unknown in an aspect is kind
of a form of just like no pressure, and I
think that's why I was so successful in the very
beginning of the season, Like the first half, I think
no one knew who I was.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
So I could just go out there and play the
way I wanted to play.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
And I think Same Lady really helped with that too,
just letting me be me, and I was so confident.
And then after the break, I think, like I knew
that I made a name for myself, so there was
a little bit of pressure, but I felt like I
was still able to play.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Like myself at times. It's just, uh, it was a
little different because they see your comment and stuff.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Well different coach for sure, but also the other team
is like, hey, that's right tiern In. We got to
know where she is on the field at all times.
Like I said, you started the season off on a heater.
Five goals by early May, so you were leading all
forty two rookies and goals ranked second in the Golden
Boot race. When you have that kind of success, does
it change the way you feel like you show up
to games or practices? Do you then, even if you
(15:20):
feel like there isn't really pressure because people aren't aren't there.
Once you get to that point, are you then like
putting pressure on yourself to keep up that pace?
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I think like I always once I got those goals,
I always wanted more like it was something that I
knew that I could do. So it's like you're constantly
thinking about that, But I don't know. I think it
gave me like a form of arrogance in a way,
like like not like cockiness with arrogance, just to know
that like I am capable and like people can see
like that I'm here and I'm like here to play.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
So I think that was pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Did you have any cool moments with the celeb owners
of ACFC. I'm always thinking about what a wild thing
it is to go from just college soccer to suddenly
having celebrities. Yeah, like and giving you high fives in orange.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
I mean Natalie Portman reposted my first goal, so that
was really cool, like on her Instagram. I think a
couple of my older goals too, which was really cool. Yeah,
and then Page Buckers was at one of our games,
which was really cool.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Have you gotten particularly close with any of the owners,
Like I know some of them are at every game,
some of them are hanging out of practice at times,
or do you still feel like there's a little bit
of like a space between yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Feel like I'm not there yet, but I hope to
have vented.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Okay, okay, I'm Jen Gardner is the one I keep
putting out in the universe. That's the one I want
to be friends.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Yeah, for she seems like the coolest.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
You ended up starting every match for Angel City. What
did you learn about yourself by the end of the season.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Well, I think I've always known that I'm like a
fighter and I'm someone that like demands excellence for myself.
So yeah, I think I took every week as like
a fight to be starting. And I think once you start,
you like you don't want to know what it's like
to not start. So that was something that I like
really feared. So I think I just turned that fear
into like motivation and just continue to show up in training,
(16:58):
endgames so that I could keep that spot and get
to walk out with the team in the beginning and
stand for the national anthem. I think it was really
important to me.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
One thing that's great about being a young player is
most of the focus can sort of be on yourself.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Of Course, you want your team to succeed.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Of course the team goals are your goals, but also
it's fair to just find your place in the league,
to work on your own skills and try to be
as good as you can be. One drawback to being
as good as you were this rookie season is that
next season, it isn't just about Riley. It's about Angel
City being a better team, being a playoff team, getting
the wins that they've been seeking for years.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
I have so many friends at that org.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
It has changed the game quite literally for women's sports,
not just soccer, but now they want to win and
they want to get to the next level. What's it
going to take for Angel City to put the wins
next to all the wins that they have in terms
of you know, finances and you know, celebrity and marketing
and all that.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Yeah. I think we have a lot of talent on
our team, and I think it's just finding that cohesion
together and making sure everyone's on the same page, knows
the plan and knows.
Speaker 2 (18:04):
How to execute the plan.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
So I think now that we have a new coach,
Alex he implementing new things in the middle of a
season is kind of difficult. So I think like him
doing that during preseason and having our team be able
to focus on that and learn in preseason and then
bring it to the field during the season, I think
will be really helpful for us. But yeah, I think
just starting fresh is going to be really great. And
(18:26):
everyone knows what it's like to not make the playoffs now,
so I think it's just like using that as like
motivation to never want to feel like that again.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
Who do you think the team is going to look
to next year with Kristin Press and Ali Riley both gone.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of leaders on our team,
but I would say Sarah Gordon's the main main voice
of our team and Angelina Anderson for sure. I think
there's gonna be a lot of people that need to
step up now.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Including you. Yeah. Tell me about your friendship with Macy Hodge.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
Yeah, Macy's like I was just talking to my agent
about this yesterday. She is like, probably one of the
best friends I've had in my life. And I met
her in my twenties, which is so crazy, like you
would never think that, but yeah, just.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Wait, You're gonna make a lot of great friends later
in life.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Just an amazing person and we have so many things
in common, but we also are like opposite in some aspects,
like I'm sometimes really anxious, and she's like the voice
of reason to just be like it's fine, Riley, like
you're okay. But yeah, no, I just literally love her
with everything in me.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
I can tell.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
I really hope that if any of my friends get
asked about me, their faces look like yours just did.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
When I just asked you about her. You're just like glowed.
She's my favorite.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
So you after this busy weekend, by the way, you
were our vote for Rookie of the Year.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
But congrats to all involved.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
You actually had a documentary following you with the League,
like the League was following all the different nominees.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
How is that for you? Being miked up?
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Were you worried that you would like forget and talk
shit about somebody or like say something stupid.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
I feel like in those environments I'm pretty good at
like not doing it, but it's usually like behind closed
doors that I'll talk shit. But no, it was cool,
Like it was a cool experience. And yeah, I mean
I wanted as like the least amount of attention drawn
to me, but obviously with that I couldn't have that.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
So yeah, definitely like different, but it was cool and
I'm excited to see what it like comes out as.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Yeah, okay, So after this weekend though, you are right
back at it, You're going to you twenty threes in Vienna.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
What are you expecting there? Yeah, I'm super excited.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
I think that's such a cool opportunity to play two
more international games against really good teams. But yeah, no,
any chance I get to be at USA camp, it's
really special to wear the crest and to just get
the opportunity to prove myself like again and again and
again is really cool. And yeah, I'm excited for the trip.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Any players on that roster that you either haven't met
or played with yet that you're really looking forward to
getting to play with.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
I think a lot of them are a lot of
them are the same people. But I always like playing
with Maddie Dellen, who she was the other nominee. I
know Ali Setnor is in this camp, so that I'll
be pretty cool to meet her. I played with her
when we were like way younger, so at like a
ID two camp, I want to say. Yeah, maybe I'm
getting that wrong, I don't know, but yeah, no, definitely
(21:10):
excited to be with some new faces.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
All right, last question for you when you're done with
you twenty three is you actually will get a little
bit of a break before it's soccer all over again.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
How are you gonna spend your free time?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah, I'm definitely gonna spend time with my family. I
haven't seen them in a long time, and my nephew's
growing like a weed, so I need to see him
as much as I can. But yeah, no, just spend
time with my family. That's what I prioritize. So in Jersey.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Back in Jersey. Not on the shore though, no, not
on the shore. It'll be cold there. So well, was
so great to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Congrats on an incredible season and good luck in Vienna.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Thanks so much, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Thanks again to Riley for hanging out with us in
San Jose. We got to take another break when.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
We come back. Pinkin and shrinking across the pond. Welcome back, Slices.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
We love that you're listening, but we want you to
get in the game every day too, So here's our
good game play of the day. Go fill out your
Volleyball Challenge bracket see if you can top your fellow slices.
We always love to hear from you, so hit us
up on email. Good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or
leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two o
four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Rate and review.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Do it right now, scroll down, give us five stars,
tell us you love us. It's really easy watch not
knowing your audience. Rating zero out of zero pink hearts review.
Sky Sports, a group of British sports channels, rolled out
a woman focused brand last month called Halo, but the
TikTok account lasted just three days before accusations of it
(22:45):
being patronizing, sexist, and cringe first caused them to turn
off comments then delete the account entirely. In an Instagram
post about the failed quote unquote lil sis to their
other offerings, Sky wrote, quote our intention for Halo was
to create a space alongside our existing channel for new
young female fans.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
We've listened. We didn't get it right.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
As a result, we're stopping all activity on this account.
We're learning and remain as committed as ever to creating
spaces where fans feel.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
Included and inspired. End quote.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Well, if you like sports, hearts lots of pink quote
unquote hot girl walks and nearly half of the content
featuring men's sports, despite the brand declaring it was intended
to champion female athletes. Then we're sorry you'll no longer
have Halo as a place to feel.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Included and inspired.
Speaker 1 (23:32):
But we're more sorry companies like Sky Sports waste their
time and money on failed endeavors instead of getting it
right and offering fans of women's sport a good, smart,
informed product that makes them feel understood. Cause I can
guarantee some dude or many we'll use this failure in
a future meeting to blame the product and not their execution.
Now it's your turn, y'all, rate and review. Thanks for listening,
(23:54):
See you tomorrow. Good Game, Riley, Good Game number two,
Texas Women's soups fe you bad Beatles solo Christmas songs
from Paul's Wonderful Christmas Time to Ringos somehow even worse
Come on Christmas, Those darn Liverpudlians keep trying to spoil
my Christmas playlists. Leave the holiday tunes to Lennon, Happy Christmas.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
War Is Over is the only one worth hearing.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
Our producers are alex Azzie, Grace Lynch, Taylor Williamson, and
Lucy Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz,
Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rudder,
(24:44):
Britney Martinez and Gianna Palmer. Production assistants from Avery Loftus
and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
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