KC Current and Orlando set for battle | Washington Spirit look to bounce back | ACFC is weird | NWSL WK16 PREVIEW EP 162 - Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football

Episode Transcript
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(00:03):
OK, welcome to Into the Channel podcast Premier about 1
football. I'm your host Dino de Suspidas
and today I am joined by my Co host Mr. Grant Angle.
What is up man? I'm feeling all right, buddy.
That was certainly a week of football that happened for a lot
of different reasons. Something's happy, some sad for

(00:25):
some. But yeah, I think about it.
That's kind of pretty much how it always goes.
I mean, I guess sometimes I justkind of leave with a shrug.
But you know what? I'm I'm ready to to talk a
little bit about what happened, but why live in the past?
Let's talk about what's in frontof us.
I like it. Yeah, we had some.
Some decent football last weekend.
We're we're still not back to good football yet.

(00:48):
I think NWSL wise, I think, I think, I think somewhere the
rust gods are are clinking glasses and cheers at each other
and high exchanging high fives. Just enjoying, enjoying the shit
out of what's happening as the NWSL really tries to get back
into its groove. You know, not not a ton of
goals, but on the flip side, youknow, the defense not that great

(01:08):
either. So it's a little bit of a
conundrum. We'll we'll talk about it.
But I think the NWSL season definitely keen to start heating
back up here as we head down thethe stretch.
I think we're, you know, the theplay offs sort of getting into
getting into view a little bit. You can kind of start to think,
all right, you know, 10-11 more fixtures until we get there, But

(01:30):
I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves.
Good week of football coming up in a couple days here this
weekend. Where do you want to get
started? Start with a beverage.
I think it's, I think we've earned it.
Oh yeah. Cheers.
Cheers to you, cheers to the football.

(01:51):
Cheers to earn in it. Damn right.
Let's if we're going to talk about week 16, let's just do
chronological order. I think, I think a couple times
we've done an order of interest.I think we'll, we'll, we'll go
back to chronological. So, first match of attack at
Washington Spirit versus Racing Louisville.

(02:12):
Let's go. I mean, this is not quite the
match of the weekend, but this is a really good one.
I mean, we talked about Louisville, you know, in that
crazy rough stretch that they had.
So the two against Casey Currentthey over 2 against the the the
leaders in the clubhouse here. But the Orlando pride two
matches Louisville able to clout4 points from those two.

(02:36):
We talked about kind of what they might need and I don't know
recently Louisville keeps looking like a really good team.
I mean, you know, I, I mentioned4 points from that Orlando
pride, a couple of matchups could have been 6.
To be honest, I think they were well in control of that second
match up too. And they're just a tough team.
They defend really well. They play hard.

(02:59):
Taylor Flint kind of like slowlymoving up my personal favorite
player power rankings to watch real Ed Reed vibes in the center
of the park. Just can reach everything, can
get to everything, can disrupt everything.
And I think, you know, their, their success kind of starts
from there. And, you know, there's just a
lot of a lot of like unpredictability to their

(03:21):
approach. I think this week we saw Sarah
Webber, you know, get a little busy, put some pressure, you
know, on the on the pride. And I think I kind of like week
in, week out it, it just comes from a different a different
direction. And they they continue to be
really interesting. Yeah, I mean Jordan Bloomer,
obviously, probably the story ofthe match, I would say against
Orlando Pride. I really like the Marissa de

(03:42):
Grande goal, which also gives methe opportunity to talk about
Melissa de Grande, or pardon me,Marissa de Grande, because
Northwestern grad. Yeah, your number one spot for
Big 10 football here on Into theChannel.
But a bonus one in case you're interested.
Marissa's father, Tom Viggiano, apparently a hell of a hockey

(04:04):
player. He is the all time leader in
goals, points and hat tricks forbeautiful Kent State University
in Northeast Ohio, coincidentally my alma mater.
If anybody cares, and I know youdon't.
But back to the football. I yeah, I think racing I it's
interesting that you said that they're kind of they were in
control of that game. I think that's fine.

(04:26):
They also could have lost it like 4 to 1 like if the
penalties go in and if that beento Howler.
Just a terrible that one of the worst things I've ever seen
Barbara Benda do at 90 + 9 in that match.
I thought racing, even with someof the control they had, I think
they could have absolutely lost that match.

(04:48):
Yeah, they could have lost that match.
I mean, I think, you know, the penalty gigs definitely
mattered. The I mean, the XG is funny to
2.96 to 0.77. Yeah.
I think I'm probably more leaning into like the game state
stuff where it just felt like right around the 70th minute,
I'm just like, Oh my God, like Orlando really.

(05:09):
I I don't know if they're going to get there.
You know, it just felt like, youknow, the the goal had happened
so early. They got they had gotten so
frustrated, but they did end up obviously equalizing.
I really liked I think it's what's interesting about Orlando
is I think they're turning a corner a little bit with regard
to that attack, you know, working in like Simone, Charlie

(05:30):
Simone Jackson, You know, we obviously saw Julie Doyle, you
know, starting this one. Obviously missed the battle of
the kick Allie, you know, and I think they're just kind of
moving players around. Angelina returns as well.
So I feel like we're this is thebeginning of a new look Orlando
offense down the stretch, you know, so we'll see, you know,

(05:50):
kind of like if that bears fruit.
But sticking to this matchup, obviously the Washington spirit.
What's your take? I know you, you kind of like
were keen on them last week. You know, this, this, this past
weekend against Gotham, a littlebit, a little, a little bit, a
little bit a little more tepid. What was your take on on how
Washington looked? And then what are you, what are
you going to be expecting this weekend?

(06:12):
Did not enjoy that match versus Gotham FCI.
Did I did mention the betting line.
You know, I thought it was it was relatively relatively even
through the 1st like 30. And then Jace gets that red card
and I was already thinking, well, I I wagered a few a few

(06:35):
ducats on this match. How will I spend my riches?
What kind of jewels or, you know, fancy oils or or, you
know, furs will I buy with my new riches?
You're the ones. Nothing, nothing, just couldn't
get past that that Gotham defense and it just felt like

(06:56):
they were they were getting Washington was kind of getting
pushed out wide. I think, and I, and I wanted to
say this even after the Portlandwin, because I I still obviously
I'm not selling any of my Washington spirits stock.
They're still great. I think they're even in the
Portland match that they won. It feels like Narumi is still

(07:17):
kind of working her way into Washington spirits attack and
still kind of find her way. And I don't know, I don't know
if this makes any sense. So please, you know, correct me
if I'm, if you think I might be off on this.
Narumi plays like a it feels like a structured, very
intelligent style of football and in this kind of like free

(07:41):
flowing, very Spanish like attack that Washington has.
They're just moments in the match.
And even it was it was even happening versus Portland where
she's just like, well, this is the right place for me to be,
but it wasn't fitting in the flow of the offense.
So I think I don't think she's obviously not hopeless.

(08:01):
She's obviously an incredibly smart player who could drive the
ball down the field and give yougood some good defensive
moments, but it just feels like she's not quite online yet, if
that makes sense. Yeah, I think I agree with that.
And I think, you know, watching Washington, we obviously saw the
debut of Sophia Cantore, who is probably the opposite of that,

(08:22):
like a player that will thrive with a little bit more free flow
ability, you know, and I think we see like players like Quasi
can, you know, I think to a lesser extent gift Monday, you
know, get to kind of roam aroundand and be effective different
parts of the pitch. It's, it's definitely an
interesting question, you know, and I think it it's not just
Mira and her positioning, you know, like, I wonder if, if you

(08:45):
know a, a specific spot in the field where she can kind of
like, you know, log some miles, you know, one part of the pitch
would would definitely help. But Washington's also playing,
you know, through their back line, through ESB Morgan, you
know, and like through Gabby Carl and just kind of like just
choosing to go that route to to some success.

(09:06):
But I, I think, you know, this Gotham match I think was was
real emblematic of like what what else can they go to when
things are not working? You know, I think to Gotham's
credit, they go down to 10. The Jace red card very harsh.
You know, you, you can't help but wonder.
I don't know if that's Ali Sentinor, not Jace, you know,
neck tattoo Jace, you know, grumpy face, Jace, Boogie

(09:29):
cousin's face, Jace, like, you know, like if it's if it's a red
just to say. But either way, credit to
Gotham. You know, they locked in, you
know, they, they play, you know,they, they do that thing where
when you go to 10, they they just play extra hard.
And now it's almost like you're playing against 11 1/2
defenders. I found myself kind of rooting
for Jess Carter in a moment whenshe had to go 1V1 versus quasi.

(09:50):
The very scary stuff. Jess Carter held up in in what
was effectively a foot race. And then I found myself doing
something interesting. Little little subdued fist pump
when when Jess Carter, you know,kind of stood up to it, which I
think that might be my first Gotham FC related fist bump
maybe in history. You know, you come on over to

(10:10):
the Lionesses side, you know England supporters.
We need all the help we can get,obviously.
Downtrodden. Time.
Yeah, exactly. So, yeah, no, I welcome it.
And I'll say we talked last weektoo about the spirits press
really disrupting everything Portland was doing.
We'll say like I I know we've had our questions about Gotham,

(10:31):
but you want to try to press Lily reel, Emily Sonnet, Jess
Carter, Rose Lavelle, Jaylen Howell.
It's harder to press them like they like.
I think they I do think they have a good defense.
What they've allowed fourteen goals this season, among the
fewest in the league. And even with on Katrin Berger

(10:52):
just losing her mind in a coupledifferent spots versus the
spirit and kind of trying to give a goal away.
But to, you know, to that end, Roseman Kawasi did not let on
Country Burger give that goal away.
She smacks it off the post. What I thought was going to end
up be being a tap in. So again, not selling my
Washington Spirit stock, but disappointing results obviously

(11:16):
against ten. I think that could spell trouble
for Louisville if you ask me. Yeah, I mean, I, I guess, I
guess we'll see. I mean, Washington, you got to
be able to score goals and they just are not able to score that
many goals recently. And so that's a key thing.
And I, and I think Louisville, Idon't know they can, they can
get, they can make it real gritty in there.
So I, I would, I would expect atleast a highly contested match.

(11:41):
I think that's, that's going to be an absolute no brainer for
sure. But let's scoot ahead.
This one will be contested, maybe not hotly contested,
somewhat sort of contested. 2 teams, yeah, trudging around the
you know, the the the bottom of the table here.
Utah Royals hosting Angel City FC, still alive, Angel City FC
and and not a terrible performance.

(12:02):
Angel City FC. Where do you want to start with
this one? I think Angel, Angel City
continues to have some questionable defensive moments.
I think what it was like early second-half against San Diego,
where Madison Hammond just gave the ball away to Kimmy Oscano,
who almost scored. But at the same time, you know,

(12:26):
Angelina Anderson stands tall back there on the back line.
I think, you know, she's a good keeper.
She's obviously getting a look from the US women's national
team for a reason. I liked some of what Riley
Tiernan was doing in that last match where she had she had a
nice play where she played Alyssa Thompson in on goal that
I thought was a certain goal. And just to be to channel our

(12:48):
our friend Leanne Sanderson. I think Thompson could have done
better with it, probably should have done better with it.
And a player who we hold to the standard that we do of Alyssa
Thompson, she probably should have scored that opportunity.
But I just, it's going to be Angel City.
I think I'm I just came to the conclusion when they get that
late equalizer, I was like, yeah, they're just going to be

(13:10):
weird all season. I I think I agree with that.
I mean, you know, you watch TNA and you watch Alyssa Thompson,
you watch Alana Kennedy, you know, a player that to me, I
mean, you know, you, you got, you got a lot of Alana Kennedy
minutes. I thought Alana Kennedy was
cooked and apparently, I don't know, maybe it was just a bad
stretch, bad four, maybe it was overcoming an injury, but

(13:32):
looking better and better, impacting the game now
offensively in addition to defensively and defensively
holding up, you know, against like, really, you know, tough,
tough competition and tough attacks.
I just wonder though, too, like,you know, I know Alex Strauss is
getting a little bit of a, you know, a longer leash and you
know, the pressure's not necessarily on, but you would

(13:54):
like to see a little bit more. You know, like, you know, it's
like you want to see the one step back to see like 2 steps
forward or maybe one step forward step and a half forward,
not just two steps back. And then we just stay back
there. And I think like, you know, like
I'm really looking to see what is coming, when is coming, You
know, Stevenus Jane, obviously you get the assistant in this

(14:15):
one, but hasn't really been unlocked either.
You know, they, they've got talented players.
They're they're not absolutely without talent, they're not the
most talented roster. But I don't know, I don't feel
like things are really coalescing there necessarily.
And if you have playoff aspirations, a match up against

(14:36):
Utah, even though you're headingthere as the road team, you got
to be looking at this being likethis has got to be 3.
Yeah, for sure. And I think, you know, we need
to afford a little bit to a little bit of time to Alex
Strauss, who's, you know, going to come in and, you know, kind
of has to help the team play, like figure out the pieces that

(14:58):
he wants to move around, you know?
I think. The the best managers, you,
their teams kind of play in their image, but they're still
maximizing the skill sets of their of their players.
So, yeah, I just think, you know, that whatever happens with
them, whether it's a big dip or they start to kind of figure it

(15:20):
out and move in the same direction, I think it's going to
be interesting no matter what happens.
I don't know if that's, that's apretty general take, if you
will, but I I'm going to watch their matches because it's like
there's enough, like you said, there's enough talent there to
be like, OK, I want to see what happens here.
But it's also like, you know, itcould go sideways.

(15:41):
Yeah. Yeah, which it kind of makes for
more, you know, more fun television, But I don't want to
spend a ton of time, you know, the maybe the least of the
marquee, the least marquee of the marquee matchups of this
week, Utah, Angel City. I want to scoot ahead.
Let's jump ahead to Saturday andoh, let's fucking go.
I'm just looking at what what, what actually kicks things off

(16:02):
on Saturday. The Kansas City Current, the
Orlando Pride, 1:00 PM Pacific, Saturday, August 16th.
What do we need to know about this one?
Oh, this date's been circled fora long time, my good man.
Just a gigantic spot for our Orlando Pride.
I think at this point, yes, Orlando Pride are the reigning

(16:25):
double winners. But at this point of this
season, Kansas City Current is the measuring stick for which
all contenders are lining themselves up against to figure
out, OK, where do we stand in the play offs?
Kansas City Current is clearly the best team in the league.
How are we going to stack up? How much confidence are we going

(16:46):
to have going into the playoffs?And obviously, you know, they
Orlando Pride already lost at home to Kansas City Current 00
to 1:00 on May 16th. And so they're going to be
showing up to Kansas City looking for some get back.
Easier said than done. I want to make the case for

(17:07):
Orlando here and and I think, you know, some something that
you've talked about this season,you know, Kansas City, you know,
hasn't always like won the possession battle or the touches
battle necessarily. Like, you know, they they've sat
back a little bit and, you know,invited offenses to play a
little bit more forward, gives them an opportunity to kind of
like go over the top or go around and run, gives them a

(17:28):
little bit more space as well. I'm interested to see if that
strategy gets employed against ateam like Orlando.
The other thing that I continue to think about is Kansas City
has looked really good this season has like notched the
results. You know, like can't argue with
it. But I mean, I am of the opinion

(17:53):
that I don't know that they've looked necessarily dominant.
You know, to where you where youwatch this team and you're like,
there's no beating this team, you know, and I think I can tell
you like right off the bat, the 1st place I'm looking is their
depth. You know, you lose, you know,
Dee Bernardo, you know, obviously there there's there's,
you know, various injuries that this team is dealing with, but

(18:15):
you just start to see who who this team like, you know, like
brings off the bench. It's not the same level caliber
of talent. Now Kansas City benefits because
they have very versatile playersthat could do different things
offensively and kind of mix it up.
You had Ally sent N to the mix, but I don't know, like I don't
know that Kansas City has kind of blown my socks off or or had

(18:37):
like a performance, you know, where you know, they beat
they're beating a Washington or they're beating a you know, like
a like a team handily that that really.
I mean, maybe this Orlando matchup is that match up where we
just like we're like, OK, we thought we thought these teams
were close and Kansas City just hung 4 on Orlando like this
could be the weekend, but I don't know.

(18:58):
Correct me if I'm wrong. I, I, I'm just, I'm still
waiting for that, that slam the door kind of performance from
this current side. What a take.
I absolutely love it. They had the they had the two
nil victory in Washington on March 22nd, but I think that was
a very injured Washington side. Yeah, No, no Rodman, no

(19:27):
Hirschfeld, no Bethune or pardonme, Rodman came on in the 57th
in that match. So yeah.
I mean, dude, are they lacking asignature win?
I haven't heard this from anybody else.
So good job out of you. I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm sitting
here thinking about these wins and I do see like they

(19:47):
definitely, they beat the brakesoff the teams that they're
supposed to, right. Like, you know, they they've
been able to pull away. There was that that 4/2 win over
Racing that was not nearly as close as like the the score
indicated. You know they're plus 22 goal
differential. You know, they're it's 12 ahead

(20:08):
of of of the Orlando Pride, who's second best in that in
that category. But I I like it.
I like where your head's at. You know, if you're Orlando
Pride too, you know, you yeah, you've lost one nil at home to
them. But you know, you can you know,
Barbara Bendis should should make that up in the next match,
right? Or like you think about it or so

(20:29):
I, I love it as an idea from you.
I don't know how super. I don't know if I'm super
confident going into Kansas Citylike with that, with that kind
of atmosphere. But you know, why not?
They're the double winners. They they shouldn't be scared of
anybody. Yeah, you know, I mean, I guess
maybe it's that might just Eagles fandom shining through
where I'm just not afraid of anything going on in Kansas

(20:49):
City. I'll talk about that one later.
But I think the other thing tactically on the pitch, I think
Emily Sam's and Kylie Nadan are give Temu Chuinga problems.
And I think the the reason they're able to do that is
because they're so locked in, you know, you know, wavelength

(21:09):
wise, connectivity wise, they they just are able to just, it's
almost like when when they want to squeeze somebody, they both
break at the exact same time. You know, they just are on the
exact same wavelength and they've given Chewinga trouble
before. I don't think that, you know,
Orlando's going to give away a goal like they have done a few

(21:30):
times this season. I think they'll be locked in
from jump. And if Kansas City scores,
they're going. They're going to have to earn it
for sure. And then they're going to have
to defend a little bit, you know, maybe more than we've
seen. I think defensively they've been
really good. Kayla Sharples has been awesome
this season. You know, it's going to be a
tall task, especially with a player like, you know, Prisca
Cholufia, who I thought in a starting spot opposite Banda

(21:55):
looked really good looked, you know, get a hold another set of
headaches on the other side of the on the other side of the
pitch to deal with and and a different player profile than
Banda. So I think if that continues,
could be a really, really fun, you know, maybe maybe playoff
preview here this weekend. Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, it's, yeah, it's it's lining up.
I mean, it could, it could be the final, you know, I mean, it

(22:19):
might get to start betting against Orlando Pride and when
the playoffs come around, probably not.
I I don't think so, but I don't know.
I still got, I still got all that Washington Spirit stock I'm
holding. So we'll have to see.
But either way, 1:00 PM in in the greatest time zone, 1:00 PM
Pacific Time, obviously on Saturday, very much looking
forward to it. Hell yeah.

(22:40):
Let's go. All right.
Next match up on the board, the North Carolina Courage.
Nobody's North Carolina courage.Just kidding.
Versus the Portland Thorns, where do we get started with
this one? Obviously, you know, North
Carolina and then North Carolina, as we saw last week,
Portland, you were in the building for the for that, that
painful one. A lot of different places to

(23:01):
kind of kick things off here. Where, where?
Where should we get started? I think there are a multitude of
factors why I want to start withPortland Thorns FC, and one of
which would be there coming off a gigantic victory over there
hated rivals Seattle Rain FC. As you mentioned, I was there,
Portland punished Seattle for every silly mistake that they

(23:24):
made in that match. And they were just, they were
vultures. They were, they were just on top
of everything, the set piece goals.
You know, Seattle pulls 1 back to make it 3 two.
And you're like, OK, what, what kind of life are we going to
have here? And they just run the ball up
the middle, essentially. Speaking of your Philadelphia
Eagles, Saquon Barkley to the house from the kickoff.

(23:48):
Just a bizarre goal for for Seattle rain to give up, but
Portland was up for it. You know, Sugita and and coffee
are just a horror show for theiropponents.
They just make your life miserable out there.
And then you have Olivia Moultrie, who is playing with a
motor and intensity right now that just if the ball's within

(24:13):
25 yards of her, she's she's tackling you, man.
Like she is just a maniac out there.
Yeah, she's just running throughyou and and then her, her it,
it, it's so punishing that she had that one Juke for the, the
Reyna Reyes goal, you know, so not only does she when she's

(24:33):
coming at you, she's hurting you, but then she she'll faint
you like go the other way and you just are just you're just
bracing, you know, for, for, forthe impact that's coming your
way. I'm glad you mentioned Sugita.
Sugita was unbelievable in this one.
I, I, I couldn't could not believe how effective she was.
She did have that one point blanker, Claudia Dickey on those

(24:56):
obvious side, I thought had a real great moments early in the
first half, got a great stop on a Sugita point blanker that I
just couldn't believe that she caught it.
I've seen we're going to the heavy NFL, but I've seen a lot
of wide receivers and tight endsmiss, you know, drop that one
from from that close for sure, you know, and and not even at
that velocity. So that was incredible from

(25:17):
Claudia Dickey. But vultures is such a perfect
descriptor because in the first half, I kept thinking about the
play when Raylan Turner beats Jordan Bug twice on the same
play and then the second the second time ends up being the
penalty and then bug essentiallymelts down for the rest of the
first half. Is just thinking, you know,

(25:40):
overthinking, you know, like youjust sort of second guessing,
you know, you know, like not stop start and just kind of like
just off off kilter in in a big way.
And I thought Portland really, you know, to your point, they
find that weak point and they just pick at it, pick at it,
pick at it, whether it's just anerrant pass or, you know, a

(26:01):
player that's a little, you know, confidence, a little bit
rattled, even if it's for a 10 minute stretch, they'll they'll
kind of pounce on that. Yeah, and I think he was.
They were one of those teams that they're coming off that
disappointing loss against Washington Spirit where it was 2
to one. But we talked about the way, you
know, Spirit disrupted them withtheir press and controlled the
ball and all those things. And you could tell Portland was

(26:23):
just like, we can't, we're not dropping 6 points, you know,
we're not losing 2 matches in a row.
They were leaving there with something to quote the great
Denzel Washington. And yeah, I mean, they were
just, they were just way up for it.
Now, Yeah, they're traveling across the country, but they're
playing in North Carolina. Courage, who appears to just be

(26:45):
in complete disarray at this point.
Like I don't, you know, like I know you and I try to do this
with a, you know, with like a, areasonable view, but I'm not,
I'm not exactly sure what's going on over there.
They have good players, but justnothing feels like it fits right
now and nothing feels like it's right right now.

(27:08):
Yeah, I mean the I think the this team is definitely hunting
for an identity for sure. And I think, you know, seeing
post Shawnee house, I thought Jaden Shaw had A at a very
positive game and some of the most positive moments that we've
seen Jane Shaw have. So what does that tell me?

(27:29):
That tells me that like Shawn inghouse out the door and now
nobody's really sure what's going on.
Like I think it's a lot of like sort of like, or we'll see what
we have. And and you can see how that
scenario kind of created the right circumstance for Jane Shaw
to have a little bit of a good performance here, but they just
can't really get anything going.They can't generate any offense.

(27:53):
You know, Monaca's dangerous, but they they can't really get
her the ball. You know, it it just I don't I'm
not I'm not sure. It seems to be a little bit
impatient offensively to like where it's like, OK, well, well,
we we've started a little slow. So it's kind of like catch up
here. And they're just not able to
string much of anything together.
And what used to be their calling card, you know, tough,

(28:15):
you know, tough defense, good possession, smart, you know,
kind of passing just kind of control field position to
control the tempo that seems to have gone out the window, you
know, just the same. Yeah, totally.
I mean, they held the ball versus Houston.
They they, it felt to me like they probably had the better
chances against Houston. It's just, you know, they

(28:38):
they're they're just not able toput put it together in the final
third and in the midfield. It looks a little, it looks a
little weird at times. So I think I think you nailed
it, man. I think it's a great way to put
it, searching for an identity. So, you know, they gotta, they
gotta sit down and, and think about all the all the factors
that they need to consider and, and how to get back on the right

(29:00):
track. And I'm not sure the Portland
Thorns are the are the team to do that against.
Definitely, definitely not the team to do that against.
I expect, you know, a messy, youknow, a messy game.
You know, that North Carolina feel like kind of picture it
just all chewed up and you know,Jack Nicholson departed yelling
in the mosh. You know, I just I think this is

(29:21):
a game going to be in the mosh for sure, and I think Portland's
going to thrive. You know, I think North
Carolina, you know, this is justprobably just not the season.
You know, I think we, we like, we like the, you know, the
franchise, like the, the, the, the roster, we like the talent,
but you know, we've seen it timetime and time again.
You have to be able to by this point of the season, you have to

(29:43):
have something that's coalescingin some kind of way.
And North Carolina doesn't have anything to my view that they're
like, oh, we could build on thisor we could build on these two
things. And it's like we don't have all
8 or 9, but we've got we've got the foundations of something.
I don't think they have the foundations of anything
necessarily. Granted, it's only been a couple
minutes since NEA AUS has moved on, but that's putting the

(30:06):
season in real peril. Yeah, I think you're totally
right. So I mean, I think at this point
they might just need to rely on,you know, whether it's Monaca,
whether it's Jayden Shaw, they might, just might need to get a
couple moments of brilliance. And with their roster, they
should be better than the let's rely on a couple moments of

(30:28):
brilliance type of team. Yeah.
And I think, you know, O'sullivan's been good.
Rye Jackson's been good yeah, you know, they like I said,
they've they've got good players.
It's just they're they're the chemistry is just non existent.
So this is A to your point, thisis a really, really tough task
going against Portland, but let's shift gears.

(30:51):
BFC, my BFC. This is very this is a little
conflicted here. I got no rocking my BFC, you
know, a little bandana back herejust to represent shout out to
the the people at BFC who are very friendly BFC hosting all of
a sudden the reeling, the wobbling, you know the talk
about looking for an identity. How did this happen?

(31:12):
San Diego wave trying to figure some stuff out.
They're going to head to PayPal park in San Jose to take on VFC.
I'm curious. I've got I've got thoughts on
this one. But what are you, what are you
going to be looking for from these two teams?
You know, three straight draws for your San Diego Wave FC2
obviously coming out of the break.

(31:33):
Felt like they just got NWSL after dark on that last one with
the kind of weird Alana Kennedy equalizer way late after after
Roby's goal in the 86th, I believe it was.
You know, Wave continues to lookthreatening in the attack, but
I, I wonder how much they're just going to move the ball

(31:55):
forward and not score. Sometimes I, I just think it, it
feels like that's been happeninga lot the, the last two weeks.
But also with Adriana Lyon and Delphine Cascarino, there might
be two 3-4 week stretches where all they do is move the ball
forward and score. So, you know, I think that they,

(32:17):
they could just be on a, on a little bit of a downturn.
But I, I think the one thing I was thinking about, the main
thing I was thinking about rather in that wave versus Angel
City match was a lot of these teams are close enough to being

(32:38):
even like, I think we, I think we would probably agree that San
Diego has a talent advantage over Angel City.
Sure. And but like, how pronounced is
it really when you go player forplayer?
And obviously we love Cascarino,Corley, Dali, all all those
players, but it just feels like in this league, in the last 10

(33:02):
minutes of the match plus stoppage time, what do you got
left? What do you have left in the
tank? To your point, to your point
earlier about depth, who do you have coming off the bench and
what kind of metal do you have? And I know that's a that's a
little bit of a do you know, squishy concept in, in sports,
But so many of these matches arejust going to come down to the

(33:23):
last 10 minutes plus stoppage time in the second-half.
And you got to be able to figureout a way to get something done.
And I am 5050 on San Diego in those in those spots.
I, I just, I think I, I might need to see it more.
And obviously their Shield winners two seasons ago, but the
this last that last season really had me start to raise

(33:45):
some questions. And you know, you and I have had
our thoughts about Yonas Idivol,who we did not mention in that
in that San Diego Wave, Angel City match, Yonas Idivol versus
Alexander Strauss and the last time those two managers met
Bayern Munich with the 52V in the Champions League, so.

(34:06):
Pretty harder game, yeah. Exactly.
But you know, I guess Yonas, didyou tell me he still gets the
Champions League medal? I guess I'm not sure.
Oh, good question. Hey, he shouldn't.
There we go. And that, my friend, is why I
have my questions about San Diego Wave.

(34:29):
Oh no. I'm not going to do a guy like
that or a guy like that. Yeah, he could be your guy if
you want. No, no, I'm not going to do a
guy like that. You know, he's probably a nice
guy. Never spoken to him first hand.
That's any who you know, San Diego, we talked about this with
the XOG guys, Adrian and Leon and and it really it really

(34:49):
haunted me because we talked about it with them.
I was like Adrian and Leon's great and like what what I told
them was like, I think she's always in the right position,
which is why she's always getting the ball and getting
looks at goal and getting shots and having space.
But the finishing is so hit or miss.
And in this one she had a couplelooks.
They're just like, oh man, couldhave had if we had one of those,

(35:10):
you know it, which I think, you know, it just kind of puts her
not at that top top level or maybe not even at that second
level. Maybe refer to that in that
third ish tier. But to me, she's going to be the
player to, you know, really decide where this team falls
because I think the league to some extent has caught up with

(35:31):
Kenzo Dali and McCaskill and Cascarino, I think is still a
step ahead of most of the league.
You know, she's she's just terrorizing, but she needs to
play. And Gia Corley, I think has been
really good. But they they need a place to go
with the ball and they need somebody who can finish.
You see in this one, you know, they get the goal from Roby, but
that's got to be Lyon. But that's got to be Lyon

(35:53):
getting a goal or two, you know,pretty consistently and in big
spots. If his team's going to compete
down the stretch with some of these huge teams, you know,
obviously we know their strengths, but that is just
going to be the one place where it's like we got to see it.
Yeah, I think that's totally fair.
So if there's an opportunity forus to see it, no offense to your

(36:16):
current squad there that you're living in that general area.
Is Bay FC the the team that we might see it against?
I think it might be pretty likely said that defense scares
me, but not in the way that defenses hope to scare
opponents. I mean, you know this this past

(36:37):
weekend, you know, they they tried it out of back 3 Kelly
Hubley in the middle, Didasco onone side, Milan Assad on the
other and Silkwitz back there, who I got a chance to talk to
last week. I was going to put it up, but I
didn't get a chance to do it. But just a great conversation
heading into this, this this weekend's matchup.
I I think their defence get to sold a little short.

(37:00):
I'll say I you know, I think they they do kind of play
spirited. I think their midfielders like
to get after it because all of them are unproven.
You know, you can look all the way across the line hill Huff B
bar, you know, like whoever you're looking at Conte, you
know, I think at the start last week as well.

(37:21):
All of them need to do stuff, you know, to like, really like
prove that, you know, this team is for real and they've got
their spot. Their spot is free on this team.
And this is a great, this is going to be a great test because
that's, you know, midfield is anabsolute nightmare.
So I think on one hand, you know, you're catching San Diego

(37:41):
on a little bit of a cold streak.
But, but to your point, you know, Bay FC, they, they, they,
they do, they will have breakdowns defensively, They,
they will give you alleyways. You know you're not going to
beat them all day long, but you know they, they, they will give
up opportunities for sure. I think, yeah, I think so.
I'd like and, and Mellonson, I Ithought she was, she was good

(38:03):
against Chicago. You know, I think she's been on,
on balance good this season. I, I don't know.
And maybe this is the, the Big 10 football in me a little bit.
I think I'd like to see him playwith a little more of an edge.
You know, you tell me if maybe that's AI don't mean it to be a
criticism, but you can tell me if it's a fair comment or not.

(38:27):
But I mean, I, I just want to see, OK, we don't have the best
midfield, so we're just going toattack you like in the sense of
not even like on offense, like we're, our defence is going to
attack you to try to do everything to muck up the game,
win the ball. And then in that mess, try to

(38:49):
create some opportunities out ofit.
And, and so I, I feel like if, if you feel like you might be a
little deficient in the midfield, that might be a, a
strategy you try to employ to create counter attacks and
things like that. But again, it's another, it's
another 7:00 PM on a Saturday match.
So NWSL after dark, it's in play.

(39:10):
I'll be, I'll be tuned in for this one.
I'll be very interested to see how it goes.
I. I get the feeling too, that
here, you know, Bay AFC or home club, I think, I think the, the
patience level is starting to dwindle a little bit.
I, I'd have to go back and checkthe tape.

(39:30):
But I want to say that Coach Montoya at one point answering
another reporter's question, said, well, as long as we're
here, we're going to do XYZ, youknow, which kind of raised my
antennas and I was like, what does that mean?
Like, you know, like, is that already kind of like on the
radar a little bit? So I feel like we are, you know,

(39:53):
I, I don't, I don't think that this, this is a second year
expansion team. So I mean, you, you do what you
want from a, from a, you know, leading of the organization
standpoint, But I could see an organization getting a little
bit impatient at this point for sure in the experiment.
And you know they haven't looked.
You know, clueless, but you got to see something, you know, and

(40:16):
I think this is a good spot. You know, I think they had a
couple opportunities last coupleweeks to to get something draws
in both matches. I think this is 1 where a little
bit tougher, tougher customer, but you know another draw here,
a loss here could could kind of crank up the volume on on some
of that pressure. Yeah, I think that's totally
fair. And you, you know, you see
managers go in football, you see, you know, presidents of

(40:43):
football operations, you know, get the sack, all that stuff.
I mean, the the expected own goals guys mentioned it when
they were on the show that they weren't particularly impressed
with some of the leadership. Let's just remember that, you
know, Sabi King now plays for Angel City.
She was the second overall draftpick.
She was drafted in front of Kre,Bethune, Hell, Hirschfeld and

(41:08):
Raylan Turner, and that doesn't feel great right in this moment.
I mean, you know, they it's it'stough because you look at some
of the players, you know, with Taylor Huff, another player that
we talked about with XOG guys, who was the best player?
I mean, you could talk Kundanagiis always sort of in that mix,

(41:29):
but was maybe the most positive player, you know, in terms of
like, you know, just creating, you know, moving the ball along
and, you know, putting pressure on the defense.
This is a young player, you know, first, first year in the
league. So it's like you're you're
looking at somebody's Hannah Biebar as well.
I think I always forget if she'sHarvard or Duke or Duke or
Harvard or some, some combination.

(41:50):
Silkovitz, another player, you know, kind of like earning the
first real deep NWSL minutes of her career.
So it's like, I'm not sure how you look at this team and be
like, well, why aren't we better?
Why aren't we like 5th or 6th or4th or whatever, knowing that,
you know, this is how it was constructed.
And then the other thing was talked about on the on the
broadcast. Kundanagi needs another player

(42:13):
up top to run with her. Like, it fucking sucks.
Like she's, she's up there and it's like she's doing wild shit
and like just running around in and out and looping around and
she kicks it one way and run around you the other way.
And like, you can't believe someof the stuff she's doing.
And again, you know, added another handful of almost goals
to her tally. It's now probably in triple
digits, but she just needs another player up there that she

(42:37):
could, you know, just to kind oflike alleviate some of the
pressure, give her somebody elseto dish to.
You know, Hawking was involved early in this one, but that kind
of faded down the stretch. I I think they were thinking
Oshawa would be that player, butI don't know they it would be
it. It would seem a little unfair,
but I would understand. It's like, hey, second year we
we want to see something. Especially considering this team

(42:58):
was a playoff team last season. That totally makes sense.
And just for the live Fact Check, good job out of you.
Hannah Biebar played two seasons, as far as I can tell,
two seasons. She played multiple seasons for
the Harvard Crimson and then in her graduate season for the Duke
Blue Devils after a transfer. So look at you got them both

(43:21):
right. You know, I mean, you know, I
haven't lost, right? Yeah, We we haven't.
The newborn hasn't arrived just yet, so I'm still getting decent
sleep. You know, We'll see.
That'll start to deteriorate soon enough.
Let's go ahead, though. We're we're we're running way
into overtime. Gotham FC, Houston Dash.

(43:43):
This one a Sunday affair. The only Sunday affair.
Sunday, 1:00 PM Pacific. What do we need to know about
this one, Gotham? I don't know.
Spirited. Spirited showing.
Houston exploded for two goals in in in a week where there was
only two teams that that had multiple goals.
You know, Houston just, I mean, blew the doors off with with

(44:05):
that second goal. What?
What do we need to know? Yeah, now, now I'm thinking Fact
Check. Seattle rain had two.
So now there's three teams. OK.
I think it's three. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Close enough. I mean, you know, Houston gets
the win. Shout out to Houston, by the
way. But yeah, Gotham, Houston, where
did we get started? You know, I mentioned on Contra

(44:26):
Burger when we were talking about the Washington Spirit
earlier. I mean, burger who we who we say
often is at worst, at absolute worst, the second best
goalkeeper in NWSL. Like, I hell yeah.
I mean, like, yeah, I, I, I mean, I guess in terms of

(44:50):
accomplishments, she, she's probably the best.
I just think like, pound for pound, like Lorena, her size,
her diving ability, I just love her as a keeper.
And then Caitlin shared and she shared, I mean.
Oh my God, the Caitlin shared goal.
Oh, my God, yeah. I mean, it should have been a
goal. It should have been a goal
against Caitlin Sheridan. But she that dive that she made

(45:10):
reminiscent of of Burger. We talked about like rarely
getting fooled, and that one waswhen I was like, oh, fuck, she,
she got her. And then I was like, oh, you
know what a save. I was just like, you know, like
just from the angle I was like, oh, that that's in.
But yeah, unbelievable. I mean, the goalkeeping in 2025,
this is the year the goalkeeper's got to be.

(45:31):
Yeah, it's, it's absolutely fantastic.
And so that and that's what makes it so tricky.
I I was thinking about, you know, these, these goalkeepers
in the league when, when Dickie made that save that you talk
about on Sugita where she just like makes herself big and then
somehow just traps it in her stomach, like from point blank
range. She had a couple other saves.
Like, you know, we'll talk aboutSeattle rain.

(45:52):
They could have lost that match 7:00 to 2:00 if it wasn't for,
for Claudia Dickey. But going back to Berger, who
uncharacteristically was just making multiple dangerous moves
against Washington, almost gave away.
It felt like two goals. I, I still man, I, I think I'm
very interested to see Yasmine Ryan line up against this Gotham

(46:14):
defense. Like I mentioned what they have
they've they've, yeah, like you,you never know.
And I mean, maybe she's just happier in, in Houston.
And even if they're not contending, you know, maybe
she's a big fan of the of the food.
I've got, I've got something on that not contending real quick
'cause you talked about like these teams being close
together. There's a fun little band

(46:36):
between 8:00. I'm sorry, 7 to 12 in the
standings. So let me do a little, little
episode of tiers football real quick.
KC tier of their own, whatever. I threw a little curveball
earlier with a fire second tier,second tier.
I was doing a thing. I appreciate that.
Orlando Washington Tier 2. I think we, we agree with that.

(46:56):
Tier 3 San Diego Portland, Seattle.
I I feel like those teams are sort of in a clump, you know and
then we get to six teams separated by 6 points Racing
Louisville Gotham North CarolinaBay FC Angel City Houston dash.
Not dead yet, though. Not dead yet.

(47:19):
Houston dash. You know, they go late into this
match. Stop, stop me if you've heard
this before. Stoppage time ball goes in,
Sophie Schmidt, the killer just slams it home.
I'm not I'm not a historian. That might have just been the
second time it's happened, but it happened two weeks in a row
and and Houston big, big, big win.

(47:40):
And now a chance to, I don't know, Gotham.
Are they catching Gotham at a good time?
Maybe. I mean, you know, Gasmy Ryan did
so much on that. She did so much work to get that
winner to Sophie Schmidt or to get the ball to Sophie Schmidt
to deliver the winner. Let's just say.

(48:01):
I, I mean, there was some of that too, where I'm just like,
OK, do I need to be? How encouraged should I be for
the Houston Dash getting a late victory over the North Carolina
Courage? Or should I be a little
discouraged that Houston Dash needed a very late winner over a
team that's in complete disarray?

(48:21):
I don't think. It's not fair.
That's not fair. So I think I'm here to tell you,
I still, and we talked about it a couple weeks ago, like Houston
Dash are better than they were. This is not the Houston Dash
from last year. They they clearly have some
things going in the right direction.

(48:41):
So I think we have a game on ourhands.
It's just we haven't seen an Anastere Gonzalez game lately
that not in a Spanish uniform. And that's, that's looming my
good man that's out there. The I, I, I'm, I'm glad you
brought up a stair. I, I'm kicking myself for not
having the stab. But anybody that if you're, if

(49:03):
you've got the free time, go look up the, the number of shots
that some of the top players in the league get Banda Chewinga,
you know, Ester, you know, Kununaji.
And then compare that to the touches in the opposition box.
Esther gets a shot like two or three 2 or 2 1/2 times as often

(49:26):
with the like you get you get her the ball and the ball's
going toward the goal. You know, it's just the
frequency of it is freaking off the chart and it's like it blows
away every other like, you know,top, you know, attacking goal
scorer type player in the league.
She's incredible. But they have to have players to

(49:47):
get her the ball. Like, I I mean, it's a real,
real issue. You know, you lose Jace, that
sucks. But that's not really Jace's
game necessarily. She is creative and she she can
dish. But this is another team that's
got to, you know, like it's one of those things where it's like,
all right, Estera's Sharpie did you know?
And then it's like, what do we do to kind of maximize Estera's

(50:09):
impact because she is absolutelyballing, you know, it doesn't
matter. International Spain EUR doesn't
matter, you know, NWSL doesn't matter.
No, no distribution, no service doesn't matter.
Like she is just a gold machine,you know, so it's like you would
almost look at that whole setup,that whole roster and be like,
can we just wipe the board clean, restart and be like, how

(50:33):
do we just get how do we double triple S stairs touches in the
box from the final third and andsee see what that does for us.
If we can kind of change our identity on the fly here.
Yeah, that, my good man, is a job for Juan Carlos Amaros.
That's two figure. He needs to figure that out
expeditiously. And I think, you know, Gotham

(50:54):
FC, Houston Dash, you know #8 verse #12 on the table.
But to to your point, I mean, there's a potential point swing
here in either direction that could put Houston Dash in in in
real trouble with Angel City right above them going against
Utah Royals, who I think we saidmaybe 2 words about maybe we'd
be only use the word Utah Royalsand then the preview of the

(51:18):
match that they're going to be playing in.
So. Shout out to Kate Delfava LED
led the weekend in touches for Ithink, I think for all players.
I'll double check that, but there you go, there's a few more
words. There you go.
I like it, but yeah, that'll do.Brecken Brecken Huzengo.
Also really fun to say. There we go.
We just started naming some, naming some players.

(51:40):
Well, yeah, I think I, I'm goingto, I'm going to be locked in
Sunday one PMI think it's going to be interesting between Gotham
and Houston and yeah, I, I just think, you know, if, if, if the
Gotham I'm, I'm going to say it again.
I'm just going to mention it onefor the third time.
If the Gotham defense is what I think it is with Berger behind

(52:02):
them, then they can start to climb a little bit.
Like I, I don't think that they're not going to get to top
4, but we've seen in this leagueif, if you can just be a
lockdown defense, then you can, you can frustrate teams and win
on the counter. And when you have a stair up
there, you know, you, you give yourself a chance, but they need

(52:24):
more than a stair. You know, they need a healthy
Rose Lavelle Mitch Purse was outthere for a little bit, I think.
Did she did she get a couple minutes?
She. Did yeah, yeah.
She came out with like, like late.
Super late against Washington. Yeah, yeah, So, yeah.
And like, they they got to figure out the attack, but with
that defense, I think they're they're going to be a threat.

(52:47):
The only reason I know Mitch person came on is in my notes.
I wrote real Royal Rumble vibes because it's like Trinity
Rodman's coming on. Oh, Mitch purse is just like all
these famous players, like one at a time.
Like it wasn't two. It was just like one at a time.
Just drips and drabs like the last half an hour of these, you
know, I don't know very, you know, recognizable faces.
But I'm with you, man. I think I think it's going to be

(53:09):
an interesting match up. I think Houston can really push
this Gotham side and I think, you know, to to your Gotham
defense take, it's going to comedown to team defending.
You know, are those midfielders going to want to do that work?
You know, are those attacking players the wingers want to get
come all the way back and like really mix it up and can that
team continue like as a team to commit to defense?

(53:32):
I think they they had that in their DNA.
We saw it. They go down to 10 and they
fucking they locked everything down and that was that was
pretty impressive, pretty spirited, but it'll be a matter
of like, can they continue to dothat?
Can they scare you from an offensive standpoint?
Because I'm not sure outside of a stare, they have a ton that
you're just like, we got to makesure we shut that shut that down
or shut these four or five things down.

(53:53):
It's pretty much just all right,let's AA stare and we'll we'll
kind of roll the dice that way. But that's going to be an
absolute fun one. Which leaves just the final
match up. Little little Monday Night
Football for your boys. Let's go.
What will you is? Are you attending this one?
I will absolutely be in the building.

(54:14):
I will be. I'll have to rush there after
work. I got a long day that day, but
I'll, I'll figure it out. I'll get there.
I'll be in the building. Seattle Rain FC versus Chicago
Stars FC, as Dino mentioned, 7:00 PM and as once I, as I
already said, in the great time zone of the Pacific Time zone.

(54:35):
So 10:00 PM Eastern late night Monday Night Football for our
pals back East Seattle Rain FC. Just frankly coming off one of
the worst, I would say probably their worst performance this
season. Just really sloppy mistakes.
I, I want to get right to it because I'm, I'm, I've had no

(54:56):
doubt that you were going to pick up on it.
Also, it was a puzzling Jordan Bug performance and I asked
Laura Harvey about it specifically in the in the post
game presser. And I think my question was I, I
think I framed it as it was an uncharacteristic performance

(55:17):
from Jordan bug today. What what did you see from her
out there? What what do you think happened?
And I really, I like this answerfrom Laura Harvey.
And I don't think she was tryingto be a jerk about it, but she
looked me right in the eye and said, I don't know, like, and
she kind of expanded on that andwas like, and I won't, these

(55:38):
aren't direct quotes. The, I don't know, was
absolutely a direct quote. But the but then she started to
talk about more broadly. She was like, look, sometimes in
like really hot temperatures because it was, it was like 90°
out there in Portland. And they play on that.
They play on that thin turf. And in the postgame presser,
Fishlock was talking about Jess Fishlock was talking about just

(56:00):
like how hot it was on their boots and they're running around
and it like hurts to hit the ball hard and like the tackles
hurt more. And, and Laura Harvey just
mentioned, you know, sometimes with, with players in, in the
heat like that, it's not your, it's not the physical fatigue
that gets to you. It's your mental fatigue that
can get to you like real early. I think anybody who's played

(56:21):
sports is aware of this. They could happen in in extreme
cold too. It's kind of both ends of the
spectrum. But you know, Harvey had just
said, like she, she she couldn'tpinpoint it.
Why bug seemed so off in that match.
And and, you know, rightfully so.
It was just like, it is, it's interesting to say to like kind
of throwing my question back to me.

(56:42):
She was like, it was an uncharacteristic performance to
your point, but she's a teenager, so that it's good.
It's pretty amazing that that's an uncharacteristic performance
from her. I don't expect to see it many
more times, but I think it's kind of underscored the entirety
of the match for for Seattle against Portland that just not a
lot of players played well. Yeah.

(57:05):
And I mean, we know we talked about the Jordan bug situation.
I think, you know, when a playergets you in a way that is
uncomfortable, you know, like itjust takes some time mentally to
kind of like check back in on that.
And yeah, you add the weather tothat, maybe a little dehydration
and like, you know, those thingscompound and it could these are

(57:25):
just at the margins, but you hadfour or five of those at the
same time. And and it does get tricky.
But yeah, I think to your point,maybe it maybe it is
characteristic of a of a teenager player just so it
doesn't matter who it is. It's just a function of like,
you know, lack of, you know, some experience there.
But I was a little puzzled with Laura Harvey's line up, you
know, to be honest. You know, you, you think about

(57:47):
all these attacking players thathave been brought in and then
you kind of roll out, you know, sort of a packed midfield and
then Jordan Heitama up top. And, you know, you, you had
Dalene out on the left, you know, who was, who was getting
active. And, you know, it didn't feel
like, feels like that. You know, Dalene's been moving
around a little bit this year aswell, But I, I felt like this

(58:11):
was a weird, a weird attacking unit to put forth.
And then once the game kind of goes off the rails a little bit,
you could see that they it just makes it tough to find a way
back into it. No doubt, and I think, you know,
I pointed out and so I'll go back to the to the post game

(58:31):
presser because I actually got to ask some people about these
things. So that's kind of the
information that I'm that I'm working with here is I I asked
specifically to Jess Fishlock and Madison Curry who are
available in the press conference.
I pointed out I said Maddie Darlene, Sally menti, Sam Meza
and Jordan bug. It didn't feel like any of them

(58:52):
played very well today. And like, you know, looking at
and I understand Madison Curry as a young player herself in her
second season in the league. But I asked Jed, I started with
Jess and I just said, how much of this do we just chalk up to
this is a Darby and the they were it was, I think it was it's
the highest attended NWSL match this season.

(59:15):
It was like 21,000 plus I believe it was.
It gets loud in there, dude. Like, it's not it's not a big
arena And, you know, 21,000 was pretty packed.
And so it and the press box was outside.
So maybe that like added it added to it a little bit.
Like, you know, it's covered, but it's like, you know, you
could hear it and it was like rumbling in there.

(59:36):
And so the fans were going bananas.
It was super hot. The thorns were on fire.
They were in attack mode. And I just don't think it's a
coincidence that almost none of the young players played very
well except, you know, save Madison Curie and, and, you
know, Jess Fishlock gave me a, a, a very thoughtful answer,

(59:57):
which she doesn't really give any other kind of answer.
I'm not just saying that becauseI I like her as a player, but
like she really like wants to talk about football.
It's something I appreciate about her.
And she just, she basically toldme that like young players kind
of have to learn like what thesegames are and how to play in
them. And she mentioned that she
talked to Sally Menti and Sam asa specifically and encouraged

(01:00:20):
them like. And, and she had used the phrase
don't let this game hit you too deeply and then talked and then
basically said, like, this is this is the kind of game that
you have to go through as a pro and learn from and understand
that like in this match, the environment is different and you
need and, and you'll need to prepare and remember that in a

(01:00:42):
specific way. And so, you know, I just think
Portland knew they needed to putput the young players of Seattle
Reign under duress and they did exactly that.
And I think, you know, both Fishlock and Harvey said they
don't expect that moving forward.
It's just a kind of a bump in the road, in the learning curve.

(01:01:04):
That's such a an easy to overlook factor, right?
Because it's not just big rivalry game, but all the
coverage. I'm not even remember like, you
know, you know, like they were really like playing up the
rivalry week, you know, sort of stuff.
And it's like, you know, thinking about Orlando versus
Louisville. It's like the battle of the

(01:01:25):
purple lavender hued teams. I guess that's a rivalry.
But you know, the Portland Seattle one they went really
hard on just kind of like what this rivalry meant.
You have to imagine some of thattrickled through to the team.
So it's not just, you know, you got to show up there and and
deal with it, but it's the wholelead up of being like, oh, this

(01:01:47):
is a big deal. This is a big deal.
Yeah, we're going to be watchingthis now.
You know, media folks are askingabout it and like, you know,
the, you know, it's like it, it becomes somewhat of a distress.
It's somebody that you have to deal with and then the game goes
off the rails. Then the game goes off the rails
and now all that stuff starts toresurface mentally.
And now it's you just it's more hurdles that you have to clear,

(01:02:08):
you know, from a cognitive standpoint.
So you can see how that happenedfor sure, But this one's going
to be it's going to be fun. I want to talk about Chicago a
little bit because I thought they were feisty.
You know, specifically, I thought Sam Staub super
impressive. I mean, I think playing lights
out defensively, big plays from Staub.
Listen, Nair had some moments for sure.

(01:02:29):
Ali Schlegel wanted to give Schlegel a shout out as well.
We're great, awesome. You know, I think it it's almost
like, you know, you know, she's almost calibrating from a career
standpoint where she's sort of like settling into maybe like a
post Mal Swanson Chicago attack,you know, kind of like carving
out like that one a like roll, which is cool to see.

(01:02:52):
She got Luis Jamila as well. Jamies Joseph still not active,
but I thought Schlegel, I I think Schlegel's going to be
really good. I think she's going to continue
to get better. She kind of reminds me a little
bit of Alessia Russo, you know, with like what she's able to do.
She's able to spin both ways. She she could, she'll go in any
wherever there's a lane or spaceshe'll go, you know, and I think

(01:03:15):
her work rate's awesome, as mentioned, not not as lethal A
finisher, but who knows. I think in this league that's
something that you can kind of develop over some time.
And I think that's that's a player that CIA was going to
have to account for for sure in this one.
No doubt. I mean, she'll fight you in the
air for the ball. Like, I mean, I think she's
she's obviously a real competitive header winner as

(01:03:38):
well. Yeah.
I mean, I don't know how much ofit was The Mirage of of Bay FC's
defense, but Shay Groom's goal was pretty good.
I mean, she found a way to like kind of walk down their defense
and and and RIP the shot. I mean, it takes like poised to
be able to do that no matter what defense you're going up
against. I've liked the, you know, the
stars General STEEZ these these two matches coming out of the

(01:04:01):
break. We'll see like what that's going
to look like, you know? The the club announced the
incoming manager Martin Shogren,current manager at Hammerby, who
we obviously have some familiarity with from the
Champions League. He's coming in next season as he
coaches Hammerby through this Damos Fensken season.

(01:04:22):
In the meantime, I think the press release said that Anders
Jakobsen is set to join the teamin the next like few weeks.
I can't remember what the exact verbiage was.
As the interim manager and current interim manager, LMSR
will stay on as an assistant to Jakobsen.
So I'll be interested to see howall that plays out.
But I think, you know, for, for whatever it's worth, you know,

(01:04:45):
LMSR the the third manager this season for Chicago Stars.
It feels like they're playing better under her.
So again, we talked about her experience.
She's played in in leagues all over the world from Buddhist
League, you know, the busy noon feminine as it was in France,

(01:05:05):
etcetera. Top Serian, Donald Fensken, Dan
WSL all those I It just feels like Chicago's a little feistier
than than we expected, especially after the start of
the season. I agree with that, yeah, and fun
to see should make for a good seven seventh of seven week 16
match up. So we'll be locked into that one

(01:05:26):
Monday night. That'll be fun to I'm I'm glad
we're getting this football spaced out a little bit.
That'll help our boy for sure. And then quick episode calendar.
We're probably going to stay on this weekly cadence for at least
the next few weeks NWSL wise. So we'll be popping into your
feeds later in the week with theweekend preview.
A little sprinkling, little sprinkling, sprinkling of some

(01:05:46):
recaps from the previous week, some player news.
You already know what time it is, so definitely keep it
locked. And then, yeah, we're just,
yeah, two weeks away now from from that August 27th date you
talked about, you know, dates circled on the calendar and
Sharpie. That one is a big one.
I think that's when we're going to kind of get to swing all back

(01:06:07):
into some Champions League, you know, you know, the vaccinations
as well. So, I mean, I'm excited for that
date as well. But yeah, definitely, definitely
keep it locked. You know, the football never
stops. Your boys.
We don't stop either. What time it is?
Through, you know, busy work schedules, through through
newborn children, just everything that could be

(01:06:28):
possibly thrown at us. You know what?
We're not, you know, hot weather, cold weather, We're not
going to let any of it stop us. No matter what the elements are.
We'll make sure we sit down, have a beverage and do a podcast
like re a couple of real tough guys.
Yeah, yeah, like high 50s, low 60s, smattering of fog.

(01:06:49):
Doesn't matter to this guy. I still go outside.
I don't care. No shout out to you, man.
That, that that Portland heat didn't it didn't look like any
kind of joke. So we'd for sure appreciate you
being on the scene. You know, just kind of hold them
accountable. Just just make it let him know
that the IT CS in the building, which is always, always, always

(01:07:10):
appreciated. All right, man, we went super
duper long, but that's all right.
I think we cover a lot of ground, a lot of meat, a lot of
meat on them bones. Anything else you want to hit
before we got here? I think that was it.
I, I, I do want to shout out Alberto from Portland Thorns
media team, media communicationsteam helping your boy out get

(01:07:31):
the credential. Give me the directions to get
there. Fine folks at Portland Thorns
FCI know in Seattle, you know, rain supporters may might not
agree with that statement, but I've been to Portland a few
times for work. It's, it's generally good vibes
down there and it's fine. There has to be a silver
medalist for the best city in the Pacific Northwest, and I

(01:07:52):
think Portland's a fine choice. Well, the good news is obviously
this is this was in season, but Portland's sitting in five,
Seattle's sitting in six. We could get a first round four
or five matchups, you know, likefor heading into the play offs.
So, you know, save Alberto's number lock, make sure you lock

(01:08:12):
that in. You might need to hit your guy
back. I mean, that's that's assuming
Portland holds down the four, which could definitely go
Seattle's way. But I don't know, I'm kind of
angling for a Portland, Seattle rematch in the playoffs.
I'd like to see Washington Gotham go at it again in the
playoffs. I thought that was a fun match
up and definitely, definitely left me wanting more.

(01:08:33):
I'm just like so many good players.
I want to see these two teams play again, but but play good.
So I think that could be something that that that could
be headed our way as well, but Idon't know.
So a ton of time between now andthe playoffs.
With that said, thank you for listening this penal episode
into the channel. If you enjoyed the show or love

(01:08:54):
of football as much as your boys, you make sure kid with us
each and every single week. Like subscribe, follow YouTube,
Spotify, Apple podcast where youlike to watch or listen.
Leave us a review over your favorite podcast app.
All of our socials except one showing this episode.
And a big thank you to my coast as well.
Mr. Grant Angle sitting in the pea chair, finger on the button.

(01:09:16):
He's going to let you know when the episode starts and the
episode ends. But we need this because you're
obviously, you know, your boys got some life changes, life
changes coming right around the Pike here.
But either way, EP Co host, Co creator, Co writer, Co producer.
I appreciate you, bro. Co everything You already know

(01:09:36):
what time it is show impossible without you.
I'm going to need more. I'm going to need more.
Mr. Grant Engelman. It's down the stretch here as
your boys, as your boy goes intothe the deep, the deep, deep
dark dungeon of of newborn fatherhood for the second time.
But I already know there's nobody I can count on more than
my guy. I appreciate you bro.
Well, likewise, buddy. I mean, I'll try to live up to

(01:09:58):
all that. And obviously I, I feel like I,
I know our pals and the community well enough to speak
for everybody. Congratulations early.
Congratulations becoming a dad, the dad of the year for the
second time in a row. So you already know.
And thank you to everybody for checking out the show.
I'll try to do a good job editing the show.

(01:10:18):
I'm not going to be nearly as good as Dino at it for the first
several weeks, so just bear withus if you can, please.
Thank you for dropping knowledgeof the comments.
If you got editing tips, hit me up too.
I can use all the help I can getand we will see you all next
time.

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KC Current and Orlando set for battle | Washington Spirit look to bounce back | ACFC is weird | NWSL WK16 PREVIEW EP 162

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}KC Current and Orlando set for battle | Washington Spirit look to bounce back | ACFC is weird | NWSL WK16 PREVIEW EP 162