SoccerWise - Boston Legacy's First Win, NWSL Power Ranking Ups and Downs

Episode Date: May 5, 2026

David Gass and Jordan Angeli met IRL then talked about the Boston Legacy getting their first NWSL win in the Expansion Derby and a high-scoring affair down in Florida between the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit. The pair took a look at the power rankings and discussed who's at the top and who's bringing up the rear before looking ahead to this week's slate of games.0:45 Gass and Jordan met IRL and follow us on our new Instagram @soccerwise.woso 7:30 Boston Legacy with their first win of the season16:40 Denver Summit with two great goals, but still some wobbles22:59 Washington and Orlando wildness 31:25 Top 4 in the power rankings, who’s #1? 37:45 The other end of the power rankings, Chicago and Louisville struggles43:05 Utah, Houston, midweek and more games this weekend 47:35 SoCal Derby, Washington vs. Washington (Seattle Reign), Sofia Cantore50:32 Olivia Moultrie youngest to 100 games played

everybody, welcome back to Soccerwise, David Goss and Jordan, Angelie, with you for a big episode. Coming off, a number of games. Jordan has been in the booth grinding hard over the last eight days, watching games, and we are ready to talk about all of them. We've got some movement in our power rankings. We've got some debates on the two extremes to go through. We've got one midweek game to chat about and a big weekend coming up. So, Jordan, you ready to rock and roll?

Ready to rock and roll. Let's just keep it rolling. Keep it rolling. Games, games, games this year at NWSL, it feels like. Yeah, the big midweeks are really like throwing a curveball in. And then the one-off game this week, I feel like we'll actually be fun. It's like everyone's going to be watching. And it actually is a feisty game now.

Utah, Houston, like, who would have thought? That's like a must watch. Also, Goss, we buried the, we buried the headline. We got to see each other in real life. in real life we got to go support sues at ballerly which honestly was something to experience don't you think you were a vibe at baller league i'm not going to lie you were you were active you were engaged you were vocal i was vocal and you had no idea no idea i i missed like so much of the actual.

So if they, if a team got three corner kicks, they got a one V1 with the goalie, like old school, MLS, dribble. You didn't know that until right now? Oh,

see, I didn't catch on to that way later. I thought that's what you meant, but I had no idea about the rules. No, you were just yelling the whole time. Again, I had no idea anything that was going on.

I knew less than you, but I wasn't saying anything. You were yelling. I don't know. I just felt like I got in there and the vibe was like, be aggressive. You know, with the heartbeat, they would go to the monitor.

The rest would go to the monitor. And it was during the VAR. Boom, boom, boom. And I still felt that heartbeat days after I left. Just haunting you in the back of your head. It was located in a place called Tropical Park in what was a horse racing venue or like a horse stable. And yeah, we went and had a ton of fun.

so we're ready for the women's version of Baller League. Here's me doing the pump-pump. With the red. I mean, that is... For everyone listening, Jordan's holding her phone up to a camera to show a photo because this is the high-tech. Yeah, it is. It's really high-tech.

It is really high-tech. Yeah, it was great. We were both in Florida. We hung out. I then went to see Sousa's husband Ian's team in Naples, Florida two days later in USL League One, which was a blast. I will say I've been to Fort Lauderdale. United, which is located here, which amazing because of traffic is not that much closer to me.

And Naples was more fun. It kind of had more of a like, this is a quirky Florida thing. Like there was a lot of palm trees around the field. I love a palm tree, honestly. One of my favorite trees. Apparently they're terrible, but yeah, I get it. It puts you in a zone. Palm trees are terrible?

Well, apparently, this is me learning. I've been reading a lot on Reddit. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. Apparently. I think we're going down a weird hole here. Yeah, they provide no shade and they take a lot of water.

So they're like not. And I actually think they're pretty flammable, which is why LA stopped planting them. Because they've been a bit of an issue during the fires is like they jump because of them. So basically they are like when they're natural, they are what they are. When they're not, they're like a bit of an extreme glamour situation. And we like a robust. So for anyone who listens to everything soccer wise does, I did about nine minutes on a podcast yesterday about bear attacks in Japan. So we are now tying that together with this about trees.

So I'm actually going to shift us off. Just palm trees specifically. Yeah, I'm just going to shift us off this conversation. We've got a lot of games to talk about. But before we get there, we have something that I am so excited about. We've been working on this for a while now. We have officially rolled out our soccer-wise, WOSO, Instagram handle. So it is a place for all of our women's soccer coverage to live.

The podcast will remain in the same feet. the YouTube page will remain connected. So Soccerwise is soccer wise, which is it is the premier and sharpest coverage of soccer in North America, whether it's MLS or NWSL. But one of the things that I have taken on board in many of the conversations I've had, especially when I've been to big NWSL events like the NWSL final the last three years, is fans saying it feels like I have to sift through a lot of MLS crap and stuff I don't care about. So this is an opportunity for us to have a space that is hyper-focused and for us to curate this channel with all of the things we care about when it comes to NWSL and U.S. Women's National Team.

So there'll be clips from this show, but there's going to be a ton more content there. We have a lot of interviews that we've done that we've sort of geared towards social that will be rolled out there, mainly starting with Ken Zadali, who is my favorite person on the planet. Wow. And the clips that we brought from that. I say that in front of everyone now. I don't even care. I get why you would say that, though. She is so cool.

We've got some other special interviews there. Kennedy Wesley. We will be chatting with some of the interviews we had in the preseason that will continue to do. We have data that we're going to start rolling out in special data posts that we're going to be doing that I think are one of a kind in the NWSL space, as well as reacting to news and a ton of other coverage. So if you don't already, please go on to Instagram and subscribe to NWSL WOSO. but this is something that I'm really excited about. I feel like this was a specific ask, and I'm glad we could provide it.

And Jordan, it's just an extension of what we are trying to build on this show. Yeah. Soccer-wise, Woso is going to be, it's going to be awesome, because we're doing this because we feel like there is a want and a desire in the marketplace. And so we want to provide you guys with good conversations about the game that help the people that know the game really well, understand it better, and the people that are eager to learn more will feel like they can keep learning. So this is, it's going to be fun. I think it's going to be different as we have aimed to do all along,

different than any other way that the game is covered with some real in-depth coverage, tactics and all. So, yeah, go subscribe. And a huge shout out to Morgan Tenza and Antonelli Della Cruz, who have helped guide this along for us and are going to help manage this out the gate. Cuba as well by don't know how to pronounce. his last name, so I'll just say that part. And it is another outlet for us so we can do even more,

which I think is what we're really excited about, is just keep adding, whether it's engagement during match nights, which we are already doing on blue sky, which will remain the same, or enhancing reactions to news, or putting out stories that we find really interesting and talking the soccer that we love to talk, as Jordan said. We know people want it.

We want to talk about it. So that's where we're going to try and keep building. So speaking of, let's look about the biggest story in NWSL. Boston Legacy won a game. Let's go, Boston. Legacy. Wow. So, like, I felt proud for them.

Yeah. Didn't you? They did it. It felt like, so Amanda had a header cleared off the line like 10 minutes into this game at 0. And it was, and this is someone who has rooted for many teams that have had. hexes and curses and energies. And it was like, it almost has nothing to do with them right now. Like, it's just one of the, like, you beat the keeper on a header off a cross.

I don't know that I've ever seen a centerback drop in from a cross and clear a ball off a line. Like, it wasn't a corner kick. It was a run of play cross. It was just bizarre. And you're like, oh, no. And everything Denver did was against the run of play. Yasmin Ryan's goal, Tash Flynn's goal, which we'll talk about both those because they were stunners. But again, isolation moments against the run of play, deep shots.

And this is coming off Boston leading to zero last weekend and not being able to get the victory. And then, yeah, you pride, I felt the relief. Like I felt relief watching that goal go in. Because Bianca St. George 101, you're like, uh-oh. Because if it doesn't go in, you're like, what's going to happen? And yeah, there was a lot of emotion around. Yeah, it was, it's felt like this Boston team has. had moments where you're like, okay, they have promise going forward

and they just need a little bit of, I don't know, things to go their way or a little bit of luck or to score two goals. So then they get off the mark and they do that midweek or was that last weekend? They get the two goals against North Carolina. I think that was last weekend. And then to come into this game and find that tie-breaking goal and to go at.

No, it was midweek. Oh, it was midweek. The two-two? Yeah, they lost to Chicago. weekend before 2-0. Okay. See, so many games. It's hard to remember which one was, which one it was played.

We are the sharpest coverage of soccer in North America. Just cut that part right there. It felt like they were gaining some momentum and belief in themselves. And I think that is one of the biggest parts when you are a brand new team with nobody's ever played together before is you have to believe that the things that you're trying to do are going to be successful. And I had talked to Annie Carrick a bit ago. And she said, the reason I came to Boston specifically is because I believed in what they were trying to do and how they want to play.

And sometimes that can falter when you're not getting wins or you're not scoring goals. And so I feel like this has been a really big week for Boston with the amount of goals that they scored, number one, but two, to get the win. And to do it in the fashion that they did, they score their goals at the end of both halves, which shows that they have that extra bit of grit. I think it says something else about Denver that we'll probably talk about too is. you've got to be able to finish off the halves. Like if you're going to be successful in this league, that is prime time where you have to make sure focus is of the utmost importance.

And Boston just had a little extra grit in those moments. And that is something that can really boost the confidence for a group. And to do it at home is huge for a team that is going to sort of have their trials of they're going to be playing in Providence. They obviously are going to have to play a chunk of away games because of the stadium. so to do it at home, I think, is really big. And to do it in this expansion derby, which, like, you know, it doesn't really matter. But in theory, you're up, you're kind of being compared to each other throughout the year.

And it's a nice time to get that first victory. We talked about the expansion derby at the beginning of the year. I can't believe we're already in May. And this game has already happened. That felt like it went so quickly. Boston is playing Gotham this weekend, who they opened against. So they're playing a team for the second time in their first ever. season and it feels like the season just kicked off. I totally agree with you. So Nichelle Prince,

the goal, as you said, right at the stroke of halftime, Triore comes off the bench, would love to see more time with her and Amanda together. And I get some of it, which is I think Amanda wants to be the highest player and wants to be around goal. The issue right now is you can't supply her. That high up on the field. So if that's the case, why? Why? not get her more touches on the ball, even if even if it's not where she wants to be, this is the best pure soccer player on the team. Yeah, well, I had them against San Diego a few weeks ago and they played Amanda as in the 10 and I just felt like she looked lost in moments. It's too big of an ask of the change in position, especially the defensive responsibilities of a 10

sometimes and what Amanda typically would do as that one high center forward pressing and just dictating which side of the field the ball was pressed on. and I felt like she got lost in the game. And I think you're right is those two kind of want the same space. But if you can't get the ball to Amanda, Trierre is a lot more active in the way that she moves. So you can find her in more pockets of space because she's going to use her speed to separate from a defender

either in front or in behind, which is where she's been the most successful. And a special finish on this. Oh my gosh. It was so good. Takes the chest. Yeah, rips the shot. This is not like tap in, right?

this is all the work was done by triori on this one, which is why, again, you want her on the field because she's capable of moments like that, as well as the pressure she puts on another team and the way she affects them. So she scores in the 90th, and then Bianca St. George's with the winner in the 94th. And a huge moment for this Boston legacy team.

You saw Felipe Patow on the sideline, sort of the energy. She was giving for the whole team. a huge moment and Boston Legacy get their first victory in the club's history. So they will hope to maintain this momentum. Gotham, not an easy team to do it against, but at least they get

the full week off and can sort of look through what they went through and what this team is built on. You know, I like a lot of this central midfield. I've always been a fan of Hasbo since she came in to NWSL. I think Conno has shown her quality in possession.

And that's where I wonder, can you push her a little higher to fill some of those holes. And if you do play a triory, Amanda, say, no, you guys are, it's not like a 10 and a second, you know, it's not like a second forward and first, like, both of you stay high, we're going to whip crosses in with wingbacks. The midfield,

that's the key then. The midfield has to do enough work behind them, right? That they can fill that gap in and out of possession to allow them to stay high. But it does feel like, if that's the case, you can be consistently dangerous. And maybe that's where Boston's not worried, because

that hasn't been the side of the field that's hurt them as much conceding six goals across the week in the three games. But it just feels like that gives you a strength to work off of and say, yeah, we're going to be one of the highest scoring teams in this league. And we'll give up chances and we're going to try and outscoring. Well, the thing that you're saying, I totally agree. This midfield is key for them. And with Kanye and Hasbo, they're not really sixes or not really eights. Like, Cano is such a ball winner. And neither one is a, 10 and Hasbo is a tempo player right and then you have Carrick who does a really good job of playing that six and I think that this is where the issues stem attacking wise and defensively for Boston if they

had a 10 who could just actually stay a little bit higher and provide either a bounce pass for a nine or an outlet pass and they could play with two sixes they would create much more stability and they wouldn't get broken down as much but since the midfield is gosh sometimes I don't know what them infields doing. Like I don't know what they're doing. They are all over the place. And it feels like they are chasing themselves out of the spots they should be in. Like they're running too much. So then it's easy to pass through them because they have run themselves out of a good defensive position to, yeah. So I think that the more stability that they can provide there and actually sit a little bit more with maybe two double pivots and yes, one could add a little bit.

bit in the attack, but it does feel like they chase a little too much centrally. And one of the issues I think for the team is they have, I mean, 62% possession in this game, huge number. But the mistakes they make, the turnovers that they force themselves into sometimes, has them scrambling. So it's like, if you want to be this high possession team, you can take risks, especially in the attacking third and then counterpress. Like, that's fine.

But there are mistakes playing out of the back that cause, self-inflicted wounds as well as create the chaos of now everyone's in recovery and now everyone's out of position and or people had rotated in possession assuming they were going to be in possession longer and now they're out of position for rest defense and I think there's some of those issues that haven't been fully cleaned up but to put up three goals against an opponent is huge let's talk about Denver on the flip side here I talked about two two stunners from Ryan and Tash Flint but otherwise 38% possession 0.66 expected goals in this one and the first ever lost to Boston legacy is like the flip side of

this. Yeah. It feels like Denver, and really before this last week, they were so solid defensively that you wouldn't think they would have given up five goals in a week or now six goals, right? Because they gave up the three versus San Diego and then three here versus Boston. What's difficult for Denver is when they do, like they're just under so much pressure defensively. that when they do win the ball, it feels as if, like, they don't know where the outlet is or they don't know how to stretch a team to find some space to create it. And so I think you should share what you told me earlier in some of the issues that you feel like you're seeing with Denver when it comes to the spacing.

Yeah, I think one of the things that concerns me is I do think, and I talked about this when I went to the game, the three attacking players in front of she hands. and Lynch, all of them want to be central. Yasmin and Ryan, you even see it on the goal. She comes inside on the goal. Tash Flint obviously is playing as the 10. And then Yuna McCormick is also a central midfielder and like doesn't really provide with.

So I think they're in each other's way. I think it makes it easier for teams to defend them. And then what you talked about with the outlet is there's not really a stretch the field option. If it is, it's Costler who can hold it up and she's an incredible soccer player. like anytime she's in possession, get her around the game. It kind of reminds me a little of a stare where you're like, oh, you're a true goal score.

But then when you come off the front line, you're also one of the best players on the field doing all the other things, obviously in a different style with her size and the way she controls the game. But there's no speed. There's no speed. There's no balance. That's one of the things. And maybe I oversimplify sometimes where I'm like, hey, if I have a left back that's

attacking, I want a right back that stays home. And I have a left winger that comes in. inside I want a right winger who stretches like that's maybe too much from me but that's what I'm looking for and and right now there's too many similar pieces coming inside and too many similar pieces operating in the same space and so you make it easier to defend and you also don't have these outlets like you talked about and there's multiple options I mean they brought Thomas and and Ali Brasier off the bench I thought Thomas looked great as a factor I think she has consistently at times as a center forward at times as quote

unquote a winger, so I don't know, maybe comfortable position. We've seen what Allie Rizzers done in this league in the past. I think she's a starter in this league. And then the other option is Janine Sonis doesn't have to be a fullback. She could be a starting winger for this team. And you have a U.S. national team player, one call-up on the bench as a potential fullback option. And you could shift things a little bit that way.

It does feel like it's too easy to defend. So when teams do want to have possession and, repress and regain the ball high on the field because everybody likes to occupy central spaces, it's easy for the midfield to mark almost two players at once and step into those passing lanes or regain the ball in situations when Denver is trying to play out. So the width will be something that if I'm looking at this team, how do you properly execute that? And even like I also think about if you're going to play with so many players essentially, I think about what Houston did this year.

And Houston's saying, okay, well, actually, we want to have two players in the pocket. And then they're playing with two-nines. And you could play with two-nines on this team. You could play Thomas and Custler next to each other. I think that would be really interesting, actually. And you have outside backs who have the ability to get forward and get higher. But then it's about if you are going to be that aggressive, which Houston does well, is you have to be willing to repress, to make teams uncomfortable so they can't

out in transition because you're going to leave spaces in behind. But I think that that is another way that you could use that space out wide is from your outside backs if you are, if everybody else is going to be a little bit central. But the last thing I would add there, though, is for Houston, the wide players, beat players 1 v1. Yeah. Like, and, and this is not a like Yasmin Ryan can't. She doesn't want to.

Like, she wants to connect the next pass and get into triangles and connect the game, which I love. that's how I like to play soccer. That's how I like to watch soccer. Like I fully get that. But in terms of being effective, either you build a system that is so cohesive, you don't need to beat players 1V1, or you have to like have someone do that.

And I think one of the things that pops out to me, especially in this game, right, with Boston with these wide centerbacks, but Bianca St. George is attacking as if she's a fullback. The space is wide. And by the time McCormick or Ryan gets to that ball that's sprayed into the space, it takes them so long to get there because they're coming from inside

that it's not really a transition moment anymore. And like you're not in the threatening. Now the one time it was, Ryan's 1v1, she gets the space, she takes the shot. Like an elite attacker. Yes. Yeah, I think some of the positioning there is questionable. Now, for Denver, I want to have the balance, which is for the celebration of like what Boston did, you're a Denver team that isn't looking for your first win this far into the season, right?

Like there has been positive. They've only played two home games. So there's the positive side of a lot of this. They went to Gotham and got the win. They've put up a decent amount of draws as well. But 13th right now in the league and Boston sitting in 16th with four points, which I think might get them out of the bottom spot of the power rankings as we get there. That is what we like to call a teaser.

Now I will start us on the other end of the table before we get there, though, which is the top half of our power rankings, which we do. every week and there's just three two monumental performances across the week nine points for Washington and Portland across the three games Portland goes to Chicago and gets a two zero win but you were in Orlando to watch this Washington team put up four goals against an Orlando pride that maybe not fully healthy all the time and that backline maybe but like one of the best defenses in the league over the last three years four goals at home is just like wild to think It's crazy. To witness it, too, it just felt like a whirlwind because the goals, too, they were scored in such quick secession, like in different halves. But like once they scored, it felt like Washington was on the front foot and just was pinning Orlando in. It's confusing, I think, because Orlando is, like, will be talked about as continuing to be a really solid team in this league. And yet still, they gave up four goals to Washington.

Yeah. Really fun. Just on a side note, to be there in person sitting on the sideline. I got to fill in for my good friend Lisa Carlin, who was working Champions League at CBS for the women's champions league doing some stuff there for scoreline. And congrats to Lindsay Heaps and Willie Johannes. Yes. Congrats to them. Going to the final.

Yeah. Which is going to be such a good game. But to be, we don't often get to be at the games. And even if you're at the games, you're up above. and you're not, the action is not right there in front of you. Man, these women are incredible. These women are like to see them play and compete and challenge each other and celebrate each other.

It was just for me, such a good reminder of why I do this. And if you haven't been to NBSL game, you probably have if you're listening to this, but maybe you haven't been to one in real life. Like you've got to get there because it's going to give you such a different appreciation for the pace of the game, the intensity. and everything that happens off the ball that you might not see on the television that goes into all these goals being scored because it's yeah so that is just a side note but it was really fun to be there so you said how like intense this game was so it was sophia cantori scored in the

second minute yeah uh of this game so you like didn't have any time to settle in or relax or get comfortable and then scored again the sixth minute then banda scored back-to-back goals in a five minute span from the 34th to the 39th and then Washington was able to see it out in the second half Claudio Martinez who has come on really comfortably really early gets the go-ahead goal and then trinity rodman gets the final goal so trinity rodman now has 30 goals and 20 assists in her career she's the 31 goals so she's the youngest player to that 30-20 line in nWSL history and has you know found her feet from an off i mean from a stats point of view like like she had played pretty dangerous to start the season,

but just wasn't getting the goals and assists, and now it's starting to pour them on. And this Washington team sort of shows you, there's just a lot of threats in. Yeah, there's a lot of threats. And I would say they didn't really, minus how they started the game, Orlando really had control in that the majority of the first half

with how the tempo was played. And they got on the front foot. And I think the biggest issue for Orlando in, it's easy to look at the scoreline and be like, they're leaking goals. And I don't believe that's true. Like if you look at the whole entirety of the season, I don't think this Orlando team should.

Will they want to sharpen things up? Absolutely. But all in all, I think they're one of the best teams when it comes to defensive transitions. They manage those really well. But they just got the ball. They pressed Washington in. And one of the biggest things is this Orlando team

takes a lot of shots. They're in the attacking third. But their shots to goals percentage is really low. And that is to me is how do you how do you find that final pass? How do you find the that little bit of extra in the attacking third that is going to differentiate you? And I feel we were saying this just a couple weeks ago about Washington, right? They were in the right spots. The goals just weren't going in.

So even though there's, it's been, I think, difficult for Orlando to have that loss at home, they will feel like they got themselves into good situations and could have kept themselves in this game. Yeah, and all the underlying numbers say it's a top three, four defense in this league. And I think the personnel feels that way. Like you're still talking about a former goalkeeper of the year. In Morehouse, you're still talking about Hafeela, who is a starter for the Brazil national team, Oane, who they've added, you know, I think Angelina and Lemos and McCutcheon is one of the hardest midfields to play against. Now, one of the issues they've kind of had over the last few years, basically, since winning the championship is

with the issues in the attack sometimes, they overcommit numbers to try and create chances now. Which is how that Rodman goal happens. Yeah. The first half, that was not what happened. It was what happened later on. They also missed a penalty kick in this game, which they then scored on the ensuing corner kick.

They also hit the inside of the post on the play that led to Kentore's second goal in the sixth minute, which really had like nothing's going right today. You're down two zero and seven minutes and you've hit the inside of the post. Yeah. And I felt like this game, we've been in NWSA long enough to experience games after a weather delay and they can be real duds.

Yeah. Like real duds. And I don't know why this one was the opposite of that. Like it just was full force right from the start. You scored two minutes in and then there's chances back to back on both ends that end in a Washington goal but could have very well ended in an or go and I think that if that would have happened, this game would have looked a lot different because Washington would have had to be a little bit more opened up earlier in the game and

you just never know if Orlando would have punished in those moments. One of the ones I wanted to ask you about was Claudia Martinez, first time to see her in person, a record transfer, one of the four or five most expensive in history and an 18-year-olds coming from Paraguay. We kind of said coming into the season like Washington's been in really good at this. They make future moves because they're confident in their player development. And in the past, they've gotten some production early, Rose Coasi immediately, you know, Lacey Santos immediately. We didn't really know where she would stand. And as the season's gone along, she's gone from late Super Sub to get experienced to factor sub to now getting a start. What did you see

from her up close? I, one, I think it really helps that she speaks Spanish and Audra and Azales speak Spanish. They were right. She was on the side with him in the life of life of a wife. I know in the first half and I do think it helps and also on the field Cantore was really helping her out. Like a lot of hand motions and movements to get Martinez in the right spots because she's really a center forward. Like she's not a winger but in this system with the way that the spirit play, she she could pop up as a winger. There are times where she could look like a second nine and tuck inside if that is. what the game is calling. I thought she looked really good and there is so much room for growth. Defensively, she can give a little bit more, be more predictive, like allow her movements

for the people behind her to understand like this is where I'm forcing the ball to go and make it more predictable for them. But when she's on the ball, she is smooth. She's strong. Like she's only 18 and I felt like there's a strength to her and an understanding of how to hold off defenders. And then her movement off the ball is is really elite. Like she, Adrian Gonzalez told me earlier in the week that she just smells goals. And so she does a good job of understanding where the defender wants to go and making them have to double check where she's at. And when they do that check, she sneaks around the corner or she pulls and drifts herself away. I think there's just so much upside to her. And I totally understand why they wanted to get her. And,

it was it's going to be like she already has two goals in a one and now in a start one coming off the bench she's going to score a lot of goals in this league and I understand why they paid that much money for her okay so we coming into this we had Portland last week as the number one team in our pair rankings and I kind of assumed if you win you stay in and then we got a lot of lobbying from the Washington groups saying shouldn't Washington be top. So Portland, they close out the week, 3-0. That includes the 2-0 win over San Diego and what at the time was the top of the table, clash, that then finishes capped with a 2-0 win at Chicago.

It was not an easy game for Portland. I think it showed a little bit of their depth that they were able to manage a game like this at the end of a week, the rotations at centerback. for them, give them options that maybe a lot of NWSL teams wouldn't lean on with three games in a week. And then there is some pieces across the attack where they are four or five deep. And however they move things, right, if Turner's playing up top, if Tordin's playing up top, options to then bring Alidu in on the wing or whoever it is, like there's enough here for Portland that you can see a full season challenge capable by them.

Are we giving our arguments to who should be in the first spot here? I was giving the arguments that everyone should know about, and then we could decide where we are. Okay. Well, I will just note, too, is this Portland team is sitting top of the table. I think they're four points clear of Washington right now. Yeah, four points clear. Same amount of goals.

Both teams have scored 14 goals. Both teams have given up six goals. Like, when you think of it that way, Washington has done that. And they've scored more goals and not won as many games. So I think they're starting to figure out how to, like things are starting to click for them. For Portland, it clicked really easily, like quickly in the beginning of this year. And they have rolled that wave. It would be hard for me to take Portland out of the top spot just because they haven't,

they haven't been rattled at all. Yeah. And so I would, even though I've been super impressed. And I think in the long run, Washington will be in the top spot because it's just hard not to. Both of these teams have a lot of depth, it seems, in his attacking positions. But I'm not going to knock Portland off when they didn't do anything to deserve that. I agree with you. I think if you're Portland, if you don't lose, it's hard to lose that spot.

If you put up nine points in the week and you are in the first place, it's hard for me to take it away. Now, some underlying numbers are more questionable. like they've conceded a bunch of XG that hasn't been finished where Washington it's all what you see which is they've been dominant they actually struggled to finish early and that's where that four point gap probably sits but at the same time Portland hasn't done anything wrong so to me they don't lose that spot so I think we dropped we keep Washington second we have Portland first San Diego drops down and in my mind Gotham replaces them back-to-back losses for San Diego the one zero to bay to close out the weekend.

And then Gotham, another win this time, a one zero win over Louisville. So they also put up nine points on the week and have looked very much themselves, even though they're missing, especially at fullbacks and big pieces. There was not a point where they looked threatened by Louisville on the weekend. Yeah. It does feel like, and how often have we said Gotham wins won to nothing, right? They are the queens of winning the six shutouts to start the year. Yeah, they're the queens of winning those types of games.

They get one goal and they're like, all right, beat us. Like, you just try to beat us. And they have proven that as one of the hardest tasks in NWSL. So I agree with you. It has been a difficult week for San Diego, even with that comeback win in Denver. They lose at Portland. They lose to bay, which that one stings the most. being it was a game at home as well.

And so I think they got a drop and in Gotham goes into that third spot. And they had the penalty kick saved on the weekend. Jordan Silcoitz, crazy save. Like you see PK saves you're like, oh, they guess the right way. Silcoitz guesses the right way

and gets to the corner. Yeah, she extended really well. Which is, which was incredible. And then with San Diego, it's the same story. which is they're going to create chances. They're going to get in the box. Like there's no game in which it's their passive.

There's no game in which they're not dangerous. It's just about finishing those opportunities. But I trust them because they're not going to waver. Like they're going to keep doing what they do. And it comes down to some finishing quality, which is always going to go up and down. And as we said last week, we'd love to see Katerino Makaria on the end of some of these.

However, that ends up happening or whenever that is. But yeah, for me, San Diego drops down. Gotham takes the third spot. But because San Diego are so consistent in what they do, and it's not like, oh, they've lost their way or lost their confidence or their belief. We're not creating chances. Like, they're still creating chances. Yeah, exactly.

So I think they still sit in fourth even with the run Utah has been on. So then Utah tapping at the edge of this top fours. You know what I feel like is going to really determine San Diego, too, in the attack is they have players who are just so unpredictable, right? Duginia and Luzhimeel. when they get the ball, like you do not know what is going to happen. And imagine being their teammates, like when they're on the ball and you're just thinking like, what am I supposed to do?

Like, I don't know. And that works when you feel like there's a freedom in the way that you're attacking. But because things aren't going well right now and they've lost two in a row, sometimes you end up pressing the game a little bit more and like trying to squeeze more out of it as one of those players, then the connections really start to lose themselves. So I am hopeful that they get back into that what we saw earlier in the year, where it just did feel like everybody was, and opportunistic is not the right word,

but counting on the ball coming to them in those moments inside the box because they were finishing left and right and finding some really good plays. But yeah, if they start to force it too much, I think that that's where the issue is going to lie. Let's talk about the other end of this then. As we said, Boston with the first victory,

they earned the right to move off the foot of this power ranking, so they will move up and they will move up ahead of at least Chicago for now. Both of them are on four points in last place. Chicago, though, the big stuff that stands out tied for last in the league and expected goals. Chicago has six points. I'll just correct that. Chicago has six. Louisville has four.

Okay. And Louisville is the other team that I was going to put into this conversation, which are two teams that are massively struggling with their attacks. what do you make of where these teams stand right now and sort of what it is or maybe what buttons they can press to maybe try and get some changes? Chicago had some moments, I would say, against Portland.

It's just the biggest thing that I noticed with them is when they have the momentum, they really struggle to find the right final pass. And so they keep, like they repressed and won the ball back and we're putting Portland under pressure. And I think I said in the game, if they don't score now, it's going to be hard to gain this momentum again in this game. And this is such a game where goals change games. And that momentum you feel like you have to latch on to. And so I think for Chicago, they have

to trust that they can play through teams a little bit more. I thought Farmer, although she wasn't as active and effective in this last game, I think playing her at the 6 is going to give them a different look. But the Chicago team needs their big players to step up. They need Grosso to step up. They need Hidema to step up. And it's not necessarily in the goal scoring. It's in the ball retention for me, Goss, is Grosso can't lose the ball as much as she does. And Hidema has to be a target every time they try to attack. And that's, am I willing to hold this ball up or get fouled? Those are really your two options. If you're the nine in that position. And when she did that, they looked like they could be a team that could create.

But when she didn't, it was really hard for Chicago. So I would say that would be the first thing that I would say for Chicago. On the other side for Louisville watching this Gotham game. I mean, Louisville's had games where they've opened up and scored goals. So it's tough to sort of come out of three goals against Orlando, a team we just complimented for their defense, to back-to-back weeks or back-to-back games against Washington and Gotham. One thing I would say is might be the thinnest roster in NW.

USL. And so a three-game week could probably isn't harder for anyone in the league than it is for Louisville. And that is in a scenario in which they are getting some players back healthy. But that those are players that have not been there all year. So like Taylor Flint's been playing center back the whole year. And so getting through all that plus Savannah de Millo, which we still don't have sort of an answer on who is supposed to be the centerpiece of the attack. And so there isn't really like a one player this falls to. And I think the issue with, playing a Gotham team and trying to chase down 1-0 Washington as well is you want to press high and attack the game.

But like you always have in the back of your head that like Midge Purse is playing fullback. And if you get caught out of position, you're going to get burned the other way. And I don't think Louisville ever got their line as high as they wanted to. And you saw it in Taylor Flint hits that big switch as well as anyone. And when she did, the players she got it to were more isolated than normal. and it was either you're going to go 1 v1 or you're waiting for that overlap and that support where when this team's good

it's like that overlaps right there and that cross is coming in quickly before the other team has readjusted. And Louisville played Orlando at home, Washington on the road and then Gotham on the road. Like that is the hardest, probably one of the hardest weeks we'll see from teams throughout the whole year.

Guess who they play this weekend? Kansas City? Portland. Great. In Portland? No. I just think, to the depth, but also the demands of this team.

Like what they demand defensively, like, it is a lot of work. And to have to do that against those three teams, if you don't have the depth, it's going to take a toll and it's going to be difficult to look like yourselves. I still think for Louisville to get out of where they're going to go. And they've talked about this and Bev Yanez has spoken about this. Like, you know how they're going to beat you in quick transitions, trying to get Emma Sears on the ball or Kayla, Fisher or Sarah Weber, right, in those positions where they can stretch the field.

When they do have the ball and they have possession, can they find answers to be successful against a team who is not going to give them that space? They've got to figure that out. And they've had a couple goals where they've done that this year. So I know that it is a work in progress, but that's what the game demands now, right? You can't have one solution. You have to have multiple solutions. and if you're going to be a team that competes and gets yourself into the playoffs year after year after year, that's the task.

All right, big weekend of action. Before we get out of here, we will redo the power rankings. They will be coming out on soccer wise, also on Instagram, every single week. We will do all of the rest of them so you can see the fully updated list. But I think this midweek game is going to decide a little bit because I think Utah and Houston, alongside like an Angel City or sitting right outside that top four spots. for Utah, an incredible run. They get the one zero win over Angel City for Houston, zero,

on the weekend against Seattle. And as I said off the top of the show, like, this is a fun midweek game. These are two teams that have gotten after it and have clear identities and have sort of beliefs in what they're doing and are jostling in the middle there to say, okay, who's for real and who's not? And this is going to be a fun one.

Gosh, the one year that I don't have my hopes up for Utah. Kate told us. Kate Alfama told us in preseason, she was like, we know that we can't like, you know, always say, no, we're going to start better this year. And then it doesn't happen. And quite honestly, it took a couple weeks for Utah. So, like, don't be on Utah for the first month of any season because it's just never going to work out for you. But they have turned it around over the last few games. So the 1-0 over Angel City, Red Card affected to an extent, 3-0 over Seattle, the 1-0 at Chicago as well.

And I think we kind of had them lower down in our rankings last week because they had come out of a two one win at Boston and a win over Chicago, which didn't look great in comparison, but stack points. Get win. Like this is what teams do that make playoffs is whoever's in front of you get those points. And then you start to find your feet and gain confidence. And that's kind of where they stand. And the other side is we knew there were big pieces coming in because of the Asian Cup. Yeah. And Nerumi and Tanaka are a massive part of this. I really hope this game on Wednesday is as open as we think it can be with because both these

teams actually just, they really love attacking with numbers. And I would say the thing that defines Utah right now is when they win the ball and they go forward, they are committing players like sprinting forward to add different lines of attack. And that is difficult to handle if you're a defense, especially a Houston defense who if they don't regain high on the field, they have gaps that you can exploit in transition moments. On the other side of things, I think those two tens for Utah, for, excuse me, Houston are going to be really important in this game. Can they occupy the middle of the center of the field, find those little pockets,

and then slip balls to the two front runners who have been excellent for Houston. And I think not scoring a goal is going to, in their last game, is going to get this Houston team fired up to want to make that different. Yeah. This feels like a Houston team that you're not going to keep down for back-to-back games. And as you said, I think that sort of pushes them forward. It should be an open game. There should be room in the midfield for this Utah team to work,

but then also room out wide and 1V1 for this Houston team to work. So it feels like a game where both could sort of lean on their strengths, and we could fingers cross hope for a two-two or something fun like that in the middle of the week. Our power rankings come out every Thursday. So we will keep an eye on it. don't worry and potentially could affect things. And then we go into a weekend of games. So two early Friday games, I'm going to talk from an Eastern Time point of view,

because every time I say this, you then go check and you're like, oh, yeah, 430. And I'm like, 430. They're like, oh, right. Yeah, you're on a different time zone than me. I'm on the weird time zone. Yeah, Louisville hosting Portland. That one is 6.30 p.m. Eastern Times.

That's the opening game of the weekend. We've seen these early kickoffs in Louisville. And as we said, huge matchup for them coming off. It's just a brutal week of games. And then Orlando versus North Carolina, the second game there. Ashley Sanchez, player of the month for the month with her goal scoring form. And this has been a North Carolina team that's been very impressive. So that is the Friday night games.

Then on Saturday, three games. Gotham against Boston, as I said, for the second time already. Denver goes to Houston. And then San Diego goes to Angel City. So, okay, you lost the California game against Bay. You're upset about it. You get an immediate chance to bounce back. and then Sunday we close out with Chicago at Kansas City, Utah at Bay,

and then Washington against the Seattle rain, aka Washington against Washington. So any big one that stands out to you or what I had to do it, or one that you're most excited about? Oh, I never thought about Washington against Washington. I think that San Diego Angel City game was going to be really interesting because both of these teams, everybody had their eyes on them at the beginning of the year. And for Angel City, it has been a few games now. where they have not looked, well, they haven't been given the space in behind.

And if they don't get that space to stretch and open the field a little bit more, and Janstotter's not providing that, then how are Angel City going to win games? They're going to also look different because they're not going to have Maiaura Nuse in the midfield with that red card. And then San Diego, I think we already talked so much about them, is can they get back to those goal scoring ways where it feels like a free-flowing attack? And I'm saying that it's just like a week removed from them scoring all those goals

in Denver. But it is. Like goals are fickle and you have to have that confidence in your teammates. So I think that one is going to be, that's going to be the juiciest one of the weekend, I hope. Yeah. Yeah. I agree.

I think that's the one that you look at and put the circle around going into the weekend. It will be fascinating to see if Washington can maintain the attack. So nine goals across three games last week against Seattle. Because for all the faults in Seattle and the way they've played, they are pretty stingy defensively. So they are not going to give you easy chances. And I think this is a good test for Washington where you go, that away game against Bay,

where they started to find their feet in Bay, one of the best defensive teams in the league. They come home. They've really, like, had some impressive games. Go to Orlando. This is sort of like a tough test against that night. Seattle will be fine to sort of like sit in and make things difficult. And I think we're seeing Cantore be willing to run the,

last line and not always drop in and like be a goal score and that's going to be huge she is got to be top my top three favorite players in the league right now bangers only sophia can't it's not even that gosh like at off the ball what she does and where she picks the ball up and like the midweek against louisville the the goal that was scored she like comes off the line and drags the center back all the way in and then combines to get the ball in behind in that space like yeah she only scores Like, she really does score a lot of bangers, but, like, everything she does off the ball, too, to create space for her teammates. Like, she's, her and Kenza Dali just feel like they're playing on another level sometimes. Yeah.

Andy Sullivan, getting some minutes as well, coming back into the team. So, really excited to see her back on the field. Not like, I mean, she brings an element they don't have. There's not someone at least in the starting lineup. consistently who's like a true six the way she can be but also then you look at all the flexibility of all these players is do you start pushing lacy santo out why do you start to push her high as a second forward like there's just a lot of different levers that adrian gonzalez can pull who i believe one coach of the year or sorry coach of the month for all that i want to throw

one thing out there that i forgot which is louisville verse portland and friday going to be great Olivia Moultrie, the youngest player to 100 games in NWSL history. These feel like records we're going to keep breaking as we go along. Maybe not that one. She's going to be the first player to 300 games. For sure. And she is the groundbreaker on a lot of this, right? It was her court case and what her family did to push the option to play pro,

but also the league has changed. And it is a true professional option for people, and they're going to come earlier. And rather than only going to Europe, young players are going to go there and rather than go to college, younger players are going to go in. And I think players are also having longer careers because there is true like health care. There is true obviously maternity care. And there are salaries that you can make and set yourself up financially in a really good spot.

So it's a cool moment for her, similar to the Trinity Rodman one. I think it's a cool moment for like the growth of the game to sort of put in context for where things stand. And a lot of these records will fall. but she will be the one, I think, who keeps setting that. Yeah, yeah, it was really cool. In her pregame interview, she said her family was joking that she's an old lady. And I was like, wow. You have no idea.

You're 20 years old. Did you see Trini Rodman get the March of Jersey? No. Yeah, she took a photo after the game, similar to we talked a few weeks ago. It was Angel City. Yeah, Kennedy Fuller. Yes, yes, that Trini Rodman got a March to Jersey and took a photo. photo like she's a fan of holding it up after the game with Marta, which is great.

So yeah, we've got some incredible players in this league. We're excited to continue to cover it. If you don't already, go follow Soccer Woso on Instagram. Blue Sky, just soccer-wise. We're going to keep everything connected there and talking about all of it. We've got a lot of good stuff to keep digging into as the weeks go along. We've got a World Cup around the corner. I think the word coming out of the latest FIFA Congress is there'll be a special vote

on the next two women's World Cup. sites. They are unopposed. So it feels like an odd thing to have to push off. But the understanding is 2031 is the U.S. Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Mexico, I want to say is the fourth. I know there's four. And then 2035 is going to be England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. So 48 teams at the next two World Cups. We need more time to cover it all and talk about it all. So yeah, so we got more space as well. So thank you to all. of you for listening thank you to you jordan for being here and we'll talk to you all again very very soon