November 27, 2023 • 10 mins
Aly Wagner sits down with Angel City FC defender M.A. Vignola, one of the NWSL's 2023 Best XI Presented by Mastercard. They discuss why she played abroad before joining the NWSL, her recent call up to the USWNT, and how Angel City turned their season around.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
After missing the majority of twenty twenty two with a
hip injury, mme Vanola roared back this season, establishing herself
as an up and coming force in the NWSL. The
twenty five year old rank near the top of the
league in blocks, clearances, and aerial duels one while also
contributing offensively, notching three goals in one assists. She was
(00:22):
named to the NWSL Best Eleven of the Month in
June and earned her first US national team call up
this fall. I sat down with the twenty twenty three
NWSL Best eleven presented by a MasterCard honoree to discuss
her season and being offensive minded defender. Congratulations on being
named to twenty twenty three NWSL's Best eleven presented by
(00:45):
a MasterCard.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
What a year.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
You've had everything you expected and dreamed of, everything everything,
couldn't ask for anything more. Did you envision this potential
being in your future this quickly, in your NWSL career
this quickly?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I think that's like what the most surprising about it is.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
You know, It's like with any sport, you think of
it being kind of like a staircase journey.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
You don't think of it as kind.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Of shooting up, and I think how it can happen
all this year kind of makes sense of how it happened,
you know, like with the injury last year and coming
back and really trying to learn how the league works
and the team, just like everything was so new, and
so I felt like this year I was going It
was just no pressure, just going out and playing, and
it kind of took its course.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
When you look at last year and maybe the blessing
in disguise that your injury was for you When you
talk about the difficulties of being someone that transitions to
the NWSLF, what were those challenges that you would have
faced had you been on the pitch, and then now
it was so seamless, having already been here a year
but not really having to impact on the field just yet.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
I think the biggest thing for me was to not
compare myself to other players. I feel like growing up
that was like a big thing for me, and just
kind of looking at where everyone else is and was
in their journey compared to where I was. And I
think last year, like as you said, the blessing this
guy's hip injury, it definitely was because it kind of
let me take a step back from soccer and see
(02:10):
what other priorities in my life are, and then also
knowing like, Okay, I have this goal that I want
to come back to and I know I can compete
in this level, but how can I kind of go
about that?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
So it was almost like.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
I got behind the scenes action of like I'm on
the sidelines, but I'm still in it. I just wasn't
really feeling fully like a part of the team. So
it really gave me just time to learn and observe
and kind of see where I can step in, and
I think this year it really helps out.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah, what were those other priorities that you recognized or realized?
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Yeah, No, I think the biggest thing for me, like
with the off season and with the injury, was just
being present in all things, you know, being present with
my family, my boyfriend, my dog, my friends. Just kind
of finding like the small things make you happy too,
Like you're not just happy on the soccer field, it's
everything else that kind of comes together that brings it.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Everything also live, yeah, no doubt. I mean, dogs are
always present. So that's a great place to start, right
the way.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Very helpful.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Yeah, now a year in and you have this incredible season.
In college, you were known as a goal scorer. Now
you're playing in a more defensive role. You're outside back,
but you're still scoring by the way three goals and
assists I believe through over the course of the season.
But what is that transition been like for you to
this new role.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Yeah, it's been interesting. I think definitely at this level,
everything is faster pace.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
You know, you kind of got.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
To be aware and alert twenty four to seven.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
And I feel like in college and.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
Growing up, I was a more forward role, and then
it didn't really happen. I think until my sophomore or
junior year in college that I got put back to
left back because of an injury we had on the team,
and coach was like, anyone want.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
To try this out? I was like, why not?
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Wait, wait, wait, wait, you have to stop there?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
You said, why not?
Speaker 3 (03:57):
No one raises their hand to move further back the field.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
I know, but we needed it. Someone needed to do it,
and I had the confidence to put my hand up.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
And you know, I still kind of look at it
as playing a forward.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
I'm just not as close to the goal.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
I'm just very attacking minded and I'm a competitive player
on the field too, So just like.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
That defensive piece kind of came naturally.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
And then just being able to get myself working up
the field a little bit more well.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Becky Tweet has said that you have an incredibly high ceiling.
So when you look at this past season, the exposure
that you've had, what do you recognize needs to grow
in your game?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
I think a couple of things.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
I think like off the field, I think just like
confidence and knowledge in myself that like I am here,
I'm here now and it's for a reason. And I
feel like in the past, like a lot of times
I got scared of that. I was, you know, okay,
being a good player, but didn't really know how far
I could take myself. Even though my head I knew
I feel like I could go far, I just never
let it out. And so with the help of Becky
(04:56):
a lot, just like give me the confidence, the talk,
how she can talk to me, and just kind of
building me up as a player on the field really
helped as a whole.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
You traveled abroad, so if people don't know you wouldn't
played abroad before you came back to the NW as well,
why did you make that decision?
Speaker 4 (05:11):
I felt like in college, I didn't feel like I
was physically and mentally ready. You know, I knew I
wanted to play, but I didn't know if I could
compete this level. I kind of lost the love of
the game. And you can't keep playing the game if
you don't love it, You're not going to get anywhere.
And so I decided to go overseas and it was
(05:32):
random Iceland, but it was also I feel like a
blessing in disguise, the type of people, the soccer, the environment,
like it just made me fall in love with the
sport again and just being able to be free and
not overthink and away from everyone back home and I
could really just focus on myself and the things that
I felt like I needed in my life at the time.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
And I felt like that was it. And then so.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
Coming back, you know, it was tough coming back because
I hurt my hit the first game of the season
over there in Iceland, and I knew I heard it,
but there was just really not much help over there
to figure out what was actually going on, and we
didn't know how in depth of injury it was. So
I just played it on it for nine months, and
when I came home and they told me like, yeah,
(06:13):
you need surgery. I was kind of like, oh, okay,
I knew I was hurt. I didn't think I was
that hurt. So I think having that time, even being
injured over there, like it really did just help me
feel happy again playing the game.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yeah, it's so important. I remember when I went and
played in France for a well, way back when I
fell back in love with the game, and that made
it a ton of difference and how I performed on
the pitch. So happy for you that you found that
love again. And it's so incredible to see because we
can see it on the field when you are impacting
the game. When I look at Angel City as a whole,
(06:51):
you guys went through an incredible season. You were down
towards the bottom of the table. You make some changes,
and then there you come marching up and find yourself
in the first playoff spot for your side. What changed?
I know you made some managing changes, but what else changed?
Speaker 4 (07:08):
I think as a group, like as a whole, as players,
we kind of took a step back and we're like, Okay,
we know that we can do better. We know the
strength and the possibility that we have within this team
and it's like, Okay, how are we going to take
it now to the next level? And I think we
all kind of did some internal work and just kind
of like what personally can I bring that's going to
(07:30):
help this team.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
So I think that was the biggest thing.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
For everybody is just finding your individual role and kind
of seeing how we can mess it all together.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And Becky was a huge part of that.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
You know, the training just like amped up right away,
like out the gates. Everyone was competitive, everyone wanted to win,
everyone was fighting first spot. So it wasn't it wasn't
really a dull moment in practice, and I think that
was the biggest thing for us.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Well it worked out for you because you got your
first USES national team call up and you happen to
go and play in your first game in your hometown Cincinnati.
How incredible was that feeling?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
It was surreal?
Speaker 4 (08:05):
And I feel like I've been saying that this whole
year of just surreal feeling.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
I feel like I haven't really got to sit with
anything yet.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
But the more like I do think about it, like
it is very unreal and just how like I was
staying just the staircase. It's like it kind of felt
like it was led up to that moment, emotions, when
you got on the pitch, everything. I think I felt
every emotion before the field. I kind of didn't feel
my body at all. I felt numb. I was like, Okay,
I just gonna play.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
It's the game. The game hasn't changed. It's the same game.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
And I've as soon as I went on there and
like the first touch in the ball, I was like,
oh yeah, yep, this is.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
It, this is what I need.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
And I just remember after the final whistle, Lindsay Haran
came up to me and she was like, it's like
a drug.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
You're gonna keep wanting, You're gonna keep needing it.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
I'm like, yeah, I feel that the adrenaline was ten
times more than it was in club.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
But it was a crazy.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Experience and family was there to watch.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yes, my family was their friends.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
I was looking up to the stands and there are
people that I went to high school with, middle school
with that I didn't even know it was going to
be there.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
So I'm like, yeah, it was.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
It was crazy and now so much ahead of you, right,
you have the opportunity to grab a hold of this
and propel you even further incredible to watch. I will
tell you this, m You know, we rarely see stories,
it feels like we rarely see stories in women's football
where people bubble up to the surface that are unexpected.
(09:26):
Usually it's it's it's those cast of characters that have,
as you said, go every step of the way and
we expect them to rise to the top. But watching
your journey has been something special and I know there's
more to come for you. So congratulations, Thank.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
You so much, Emma.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
What would you say then, your twenty twenty three priceless
moment was?
Speaker 4 (09:47):
I would say that my twenty twenty three priceless moment
would be the five to one victory against Portland. I
feel like getting the first goal that kind of set
the stage for the game and the pace, and we
knew that I was gonna be a tough game, but
we also knew that it was our one shot to
make it to the playoffs and there was no way
that we were backing down as a team. And so
(10:08):
you could just kind of feel the energy in the
locker room on the field after the game, like everyone
had the same vibe and the same want to win,
and the five to one win over Portland can't get
much better than that.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
It did hurt that it was last year's reigning champion,
either did.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
It was part of it too.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
And I hadn't played Portland yet because I missed out
with them with injury, missed out with him with COVID,
So this was my first time that I had played Portland,
so I didn't know what to expect, but I was like,
all right, just go play.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
That's the bar now for everything moving forward. Five to one. Well,
congratulations again, look forward to seeing you next season.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Thank you so much
After missing the majority of twenty twenty two with a
hip injury, mme Vanola roared back this season, establishing herself
as an up and coming force in the NWSL. The
twenty five year old rank near the top of the
league in blocks, clearances, and aerial duels one while also
contributing offensively, notching three goals in one assists. She was
(00:22):
named to the NWSL Best Eleven of the Month in
June and earned her first US national team call up
this fall. I sat down with the twenty twenty three
NWSL Best eleven presented by a MasterCard honoree to discuss
her season and being offensive minded defender. Congratulations on being
named to twenty twenty three NWSL's Best eleven presented by
(00:45):
a MasterCard.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
What a year.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
You've had everything you expected and dreamed of, everything everything,
couldn't ask for anything more. Did you envision this potential
being in your future this quickly, in your NWSL career
this quickly?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I think that's like what the most surprising about it is.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
You know, It's like with any sport, you think of
it being kind of like a staircase journey.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
You don't think of it as kind.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Of shooting up, and I think how it can happen
all this year kind of makes sense of how it happened,
you know, like with the injury last year and coming
back and really trying to learn how the league works
and the team, just like everything was so new, and
so I felt like this year I was going It
was just no pressure, just going out and playing, and
it kind of took its course.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
When you look at last year and maybe the blessing
in disguise that your injury was for you When you
talk about the difficulties of being someone that transitions to
the NWSLF, what were those challenges that you would have
faced had you been on the pitch, and then now
it was so seamless, having already been here a year
but not really having to impact on the field just yet.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
I think the biggest thing for me was to not
compare myself to other players. I feel like growing up
that was like a big thing for me, and just
kind of looking at where everyone else is and was
in their journey compared to where I was. And I
think last year, like as you said, the blessing this
guy's hip injury, it definitely was because it kind of
let me take a step back from soccer and see
(02:10):
what other priorities in my life are, and then also
knowing like, Okay, I have this goal that I want
to come back to and I know I can compete
in this level, but how can I kind of go
about that?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
So it was almost like.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
I got behind the scenes action of like I'm on
the sidelines, but I'm still in it. I just wasn't
really feeling fully like a part of the team. So
it really gave me just time to learn and observe
and kind of see where I can step in, and
I think this year it really helps out.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah, what were those other priorities that you recognized or realized?
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Yeah, No, I think the biggest thing for me, like
with the off season and with the injury, was just
being present in all things, you know, being present with
my family, my boyfriend, my dog, my friends. Just kind
of finding like the small things make you happy too,
Like you're not just happy on the soccer field, it's
everything else that kind of comes together that brings it.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Everything also live, yeah, no doubt. I mean, dogs are
always present. So that's a great place to start, right
the way.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Very helpful.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Yeah, now a year in and you have this incredible season.
In college, you were known as a goal scorer. Now
you're playing in a more defensive role. You're outside back,
but you're still scoring by the way three goals and
assists I believe through over the course of the season.
But what is that transition been like for you to
this new role.
Speaker 4 (03:26):
Yeah, it's been interesting. I think definitely at this level,
everything is faster pace.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
You know, you kind of got.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
To be aware and alert twenty four to seven.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
And I feel like in college and.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
Growing up, I was a more forward role, and then
it didn't really happen. I think until my sophomore or
junior year in college that I got put back to
left back because of an injury we had on the team,
and coach was like, anyone want.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
To try this out? I was like, why not?
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Wait, wait, wait, wait, you have to stop there?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
You said, why not?
Speaker 3 (03:57):
No one raises their hand to move further back the field.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
I know, but we needed it. Someone needed to do it,
and I had the confidence to put my hand up.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
And you know, I still kind of look at it
as playing a forward.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
I'm just not as close to the goal.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
I'm just very attacking minded and I'm a competitive player
on the field too, So just like.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
That defensive piece kind of came naturally.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
And then just being able to get myself working up
the field a little bit more well.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Becky Tweet has said that you have an incredibly high ceiling.
So when you look at this past season, the exposure
that you've had, what do you recognize needs to grow
in your game?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
I think a couple of things.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
I think like off the field, I think just like
confidence and knowledge in myself that like I am here,
I'm here now and it's for a reason. And I
feel like in the past, like a lot of times
I got scared of that. I was, you know, okay,
being a good player, but didn't really know how far
I could take myself. Even though my head I knew
I feel like I could go far, I just never
let it out. And so with the help of Becky
(04:56):
a lot, just like give me the confidence, the talk,
how she can talk to me, and just kind of
building me up as a player on the field really
helped as a whole.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
You traveled abroad, so if people don't know you wouldn't
played abroad before you came back to the NW as well,
why did you make that decision?
Speaker 4 (05:11):
I felt like in college, I didn't feel like I
was physically and mentally ready. You know, I knew I
wanted to play, but I didn't know if I could
compete this level. I kind of lost the love of
the game. And you can't keep playing the game if
you don't love it, You're not going to get anywhere.
And so I decided to go overseas and it was
(05:32):
random Iceland, but it was also I feel like a
blessing in disguise, the type of people, the soccer, the environment,
like it just made me fall in love with the
sport again and just being able to be free and
not overthink and away from everyone back home and I
could really just focus on myself and the things that
I felt like I needed in my life at the time.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
And I felt like that was it. And then so.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
Coming back, you know, it was tough coming back because
I hurt my hit the first game of the season
over there in Iceland, and I knew I heard it,
but there was just really not much help over there
to figure out what was actually going on, and we
didn't know how in depth of injury it was. So
I just played it on it for nine months, and
when I came home and they told me like, yeah,
(06:13):
you need surgery. I was kind of like, oh, okay,
I knew I was hurt. I didn't think I was
that hurt. So I think having that time, even being
injured over there, like it really did just help me
feel happy again playing the game.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yeah, it's so important. I remember when I went and
played in France for a well, way back when I
fell back in love with the game, and that made
it a ton of difference and how I performed on
the pitch. So happy for you that you found that
love again. And it's so incredible to see because we
can see it on the field when you are impacting
the game. When I look at Angel City as a whole,
(06:51):
you guys went through an incredible season. You were down
towards the bottom of the table. You make some changes,
and then there you come marching up and find yourself
in the first playoff spot for your side. What changed?
I know you made some managing changes, but what else changed?
Speaker 4 (07:08):
I think as a group, like as a whole, as players,
we kind of took a step back and we're like, Okay,
we know that we can do better. We know the
strength and the possibility that we have within this team
and it's like, Okay, how are we going to take
it now to the next level? And I think we
all kind of did some internal work and just kind
of like what personally can I bring that's going to
(07:30):
help this team.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
So I think that was the biggest thing.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
For everybody is just finding your individual role and kind
of seeing how we can mess it all together.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
And Becky was a huge part of that.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
You know, the training just like amped up right away,
like out the gates. Everyone was competitive, everyone wanted to win,
everyone was fighting first spot. So it wasn't it wasn't
really a dull moment in practice, and I think that
was the biggest thing for us.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Well it worked out for you because you got your
first USES national team call up and you happen to
go and play in your first game in your hometown Cincinnati.
How incredible was that feeling?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
It was surreal?
Speaker 4 (08:05):
And I feel like I've been saying that this whole
year of just surreal feeling.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
I feel like I haven't really got to sit with
anything yet.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
But the more like I do think about it, like
it is very unreal and just how like I was
staying just the staircase. It's like it kind of felt
like it was led up to that moment, emotions, when
you got on the pitch, everything. I think I felt
every emotion before the field. I kind of didn't feel
my body at all. I felt numb. I was like, Okay,
I just gonna play.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
It's the game. The game hasn't changed. It's the same game.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
And I've as soon as I went on there and
like the first touch in the ball, I was like,
oh yeah, yep, this is.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
It, this is what I need.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
And I just remember after the final whistle, Lindsay Haran
came up to me and she was like, it's like
a drug.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
You're gonna keep wanting, You're gonna keep needing it.
Speaker 4 (08:49):
I'm like, yeah, I feel that the adrenaline was ten
times more than it was in club.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
But it was a crazy.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Experience and family was there to watch.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
Yes, my family was their friends.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
I was looking up to the stands and there are
people that I went to high school with, middle school
with that I didn't even know it was going to
be there.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
So I'm like, yeah, it was.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
It was crazy and now so much ahead of you, right,
you have the opportunity to grab a hold of this
and propel you even further incredible to watch. I will
tell you this, m You know, we rarely see stories,
it feels like we rarely see stories in women's football
where people bubble up to the surface that are unexpected.
(09:26):
Usually it's it's it's those cast of characters that have,
as you said, go every step of the way and
we expect them to rise to the top. But watching
your journey has been something special and I know there's
more to come for you. So congratulations, Thank.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
You so much, Emma.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
What would you say then, your twenty twenty three priceless
moment was?
Speaker 4 (09:47):
I would say that my twenty twenty three priceless moment
would be the five to one victory against Portland. I
feel like getting the first goal that kind of set
the stage for the game and the pace, and we
knew that I was gonna be a tough game, but
we also knew that it was our one shot to
make it to the playoffs and there was no way
that we were backing down as a team. And so
(10:08):
you could just kind of feel the energy in the
locker room on the field after the game, like everyone
had the same vibe and the same want to win,
and the five to one win over Portland can't get
much better than that.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
It did hurt that it was last year's reigning champion,
either did.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
It was part of it too.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
And I hadn't played Portland yet because I missed out
with them with injury, missed out with him with COVID,
So this was my first time that I had played Portland,
so I didn't know what to expect, but I was like,
all right, just go play.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
That's the bar now for everything moving forward. Five to one. Well,
congratulations again, look forward to seeing you next season.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Thank you so much
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com