SoccerWise - Boston Splash Signings, Louisville Play ON + Washington Fear Factor

Episode Date: October 8, 2025

Soccerwise has a lot to cover with playoff races and expansion signings happening at the same time. First Jordan & David talk through Louisville's monumental performance in North Carolina that may have finally broken their playoff curse. Then of course the crew has to touch on the fireworks at Raudi in DC. Not to be forgotten Boston has signed an USWNT gold medal winner & a Balon D'or finalist as their roster comes into view. Finally they set the stage for the final two playoff spots coming up.3:50 Racing Louisville Playoff Win11:40 North Carolina’s Struggles16:45 Spirit Dramatic Winner25:42 Boston Legacy Makes Their Two Biggest Signing35:30 How Should Free Agent Signings Be Announced?38:40 Playoff Race Primer

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Soccer Wise, David Goss and Jordan Angelie with you for an action-packed NWSL show coming up for you. In just a couple of moments, Jordan, you had an active weekend. You were on the call all across the country and you finished your weekend on Monday night football. How did that feel? Yeah, I don't think we technically could call it Monday night football. So we called it football. You know, we don't want to get, we don't need any lawsuits happening here. It was, yeah, to Florida, to Kansas City, back home to Colorado.

A lot of saw a lot of the country, very different places. But it's always fun. I, the Kansas City current, since they started doing local broadcasts, have just, just been great to me and wanted me to be a part of it. So whenever I have the chance to go to Kansas City and be a part of him, I love it. So, yeah, it was nice to seat the people there. I like Kansas City. It has some cool spots.

You're talking to the Stan. You know I'm a huge KC fan. You know that. Yeah. So you're preaching to the choir. I went to Billy's grocery, which is one of my favorite places. Everything's gluten-free, which is so delicious. And then I happen to know an owner of a car.

coffee shop there called pitchside coffee ever heard of it very soccer relevant almost like someone who works in the soccer industry so six of the girls on the can city current have opened they started with a coffee cart and it was so successful that they ended up opening their own store their own retail retail their own location yeah brick and mortar location and they were closed but i got a personal known as Kristen Hamilton making me a delicious fall inspired latte and yeah it was a it was a fun visit to be able to catch up with some people that I really love and appreciate too I had the coffee at the championship they had the cart out in the plaza before the game did you get one when you were there yeah yeah it was very very good I am kind of I drink black coffee I don't

really have much behind it so I like it for the most and sometimes I don't like it. Right. But I'm not like an expertise person. Yeah, you're just like, you just keep it classic. Yeah. And then when people ask, I'm like, yeah, it's a good coffee shop. And they're like, what's the basis of that?

And I'm like, because it's not a bad coffee shop. It's a good coffee shop. Normally it's the vibes. I think the vibes are what take it over. I'm glad you had a great time. I love Kansas City, as I said. So I'm jealous that you are out there. And hopefully we will all be there for many playoff games to come.

Because they have the right to host all the way through until the final. which, of course, will be in the Bay Area and Kansas City is the current holders of the Shield. So they are the odds on favorites to get there, although that is not exactly how it always happens. We've got a lot to talk about in this show. We're probably going to spend more of our time on the other half of the table. We have a lot of playoff race, information, clarity may be coming or lack thereof, that we are going to sort of sift through. We have some clarity on what the Boston Legacy are going to look like next year, one gigantic signing and then the reports around another really big signing coming out this week.

So we'll talk all about that. And then as we set the stage on the playoff schedule, we will look forward to the weekend that is coming up and what you need to know and what you need to lock in on. And let's start with, I think, the team that I am most happy for coming out of the weekend. And that is racing Louisville. We've talked about the curse of ninth place over and over and over again. This was a six-pointer in North Carolina for this Louisville team. They got the 1-0 lead to start.

Monaco equalizes to make it 1-1. Four minutes later, Kayla Fisher, with the go-ahead goal at 2-1. And then what does Louisville do? The thing they have failed to do time and time again. They extend the lead to 3-1. It sees out the three points. It gets them up into eighth, sorry, seventh place right now in the postseason race. And it was a playoff game, and it felt like it.

Jordan, there was energy to this game. It was two teams that played their style, 68% possession for a North Carolina at home to 32% for Louisville. But you could feel the chess match. You could feel the give and take between the two teams. And I think for Louisville, the only thing I've asked the whole time is to be consistent, to not go away from this style that has worked for you because you're getting down to the end of the season and you're trying to sneak in the playoffs like believe that it will work

for you if you stick to it and I think that's what we saw for bevianez's squad in this one it's not just that it's actually figuring out a way to execute that in the moments where it's most difficult right in those last 10 minutes of the game when you're leading by one goal that that's difficult to then stretch and go in transition and try to find a goal or throw numbers forward because if you get that second goal giving up a late goal like Louisville has done numerous times isn't as devastating right so I think they've done a couple of good things in the game before they were able to hold the lead that really close lead not give up a goal that was a big turning point for them and then to be able to get this win here to extend that lead and say all right there's no

we're not taking any chances it's kind of a there's such an interesting team this Louisville team right because it feels like when they taste the blood in the water, they can really pounce. But it's not often that they find success in those moments. So it's like they have the momentum. They have a little bit of the ability to get forward. But if they're not finishing those, then it gets them a little too stretched,

a little too much space in between the lines. So I love that they were able to go on the road in a difficult situation. And now there's actually, you know, it's not just a six-pointer when it comes to taking points away from somebody else. Like this is, there's now six points between them and that last team trying to push into playoffs. So huge, huge win for them. It was a big, I think, performance from Emma Sears. Obviously, you see it with the two goals for her. But the goal in the first half, and she is now on 10 goals, one assist this season.

And last year, she finished on five goals, one assist. So she has doubled raw numbers, what she did last game. But the goal is what you want from her, which is finishing at pace. And it's not a tap-in. It's not an impossible angle. But it is one of those moments where you've weaponized her speed. So you've gotten her around the defender in a way that I don't think a lot of players are capable of doing. But she's under control.

And it's one of those moments where I was watching. with my family and I just said goal because that's what I do when I watch games like that you know you feel it when a set piece gets played in that's well played where you're like goal never really happens and then it's emma sears and I think last year I would have said that and it would have been pulled wide or at the goalkeeper and it was like it was precision finishing at high speed and we asked her to elevate her game coming out of last season and Emma Hayes keyed in on what we all keyed in on which is she has tools that are our elite, could she be consistent? And in a year now, Bethany Ballser was not the factor

they thought she would be. And now they've had injuries in central midfield. She has come in as the leading goal score of this team. She is, quote, unquote, the nine in that she's the finisher. She's the leading goal score. And to score this goal, I think, in the way she did on the road, and it's an unbelievable pass from Aaron Wright, like ridiculous past. It's a really big moment, I think, for why Louisville could get over the line this year, where they haven't in the past years. One of the biggest areas of growth, I think, for Emma Sears is last year. I thought she played too much on the back line, like right on the back line. And so she would be offside a number of times. And I just, I honestly don't have very much sympathy for people who are fast who are

offside. Like, it's your fault. You should not be that close to the line. Like, I need all of the steps I can get to create the advantage. But if you're fast, you can stay off the back line and still get in beyond. So good. Do you know what I mean, though? Yeah. I feel like this year she's actually keyed in on that and allowed herself to have a little space between the back line and her positioning. So then when the ball goes and is played into the space where they know it doesn't have to be a perfect pass because she can go chase it and beat people with speed, it's actually setting her up to be more successful because then she's on the run with the ball at her feet. She's clearly worked on these types of finishes where there's pressure on her back,

chasing her down, and still, it's far post finish right foot, far post finish right foot. It feels like that has continued to evolve. And her accuracy in those moments has been better. But I also think it's part of it's her starting position that has really helped her become a little bit more of an elite finisher this year. and when you come from that deeper position one you get more one v one chances and you're coming at players with pace if you do pick it up early you get a full head of steam yeah and and i think like i said i think she has really developed into a player and not just a runner over the course of the season and you see it in the raw stats but you see it in the success of the team which is huge and it's fitting for this group that the the game winning goal is a turnover you You know, force the turnover high up the field, but how quickly it transitions into attack. And it's a messy turnover from North Carolina, and we'll talk about them in a moment.

And the immediate recognition of let's play vertical, let's play aggressive, and then Fisher gets that first touch clean and doesn't waste time, puts the head down, gets it into a corner. And that's your go-ahead goal at 2-1 after they had conceded against Monaca four minutes before. And you're thinking, okay, here comes North Carolina. at their home, the crowd's behind them, they know that they need three points as well. It was just, that was one of those huge moments where they've stuck to this style. They've built this cohesive unit and that might be what gets them over the line this year that they hadn't been capable of in past years. Yeah, it could be.

And do you think they've now had a mixture of like they can be successful with Kayla Fisher up there. They can be successful with Sarah Weber up in the front line. But the biggest thing. for Louisville is they know who they are. They know their identity. They know how quickly they can go in transition. When they win the ball, they want to switch at the point of attack quickly. Like, there are certain things that you recognize when you watch Louisville play, their mindset off the ball. And they have just said, okay, we might not be the technically the most proficient team in this

league, but we're going to be hard to beat. And because of that, they know who they are. They can execute in these types of situations. On the flip side for this North Carolina team, it's a devastating loss at home, one in which a lot of players, they would have loved to be a part of it, sat in the stance and watched it, Denise O'Sullivan, unavailable, Brianna Pinto, unavailable, Feli Roush, unavailable, Ashley Sanchez, unavailable, Peyton Linahan. I have to throw this out there because this is frustrating to me. The injury listed for all of them is lower body, which is not.

an injury. That's what they do in hockey, I think, right? Isn't that like a famous hockey thing? It's a very famous hockey thing. Body injury. Like latitude or longitude. They don't say anything more specific. I understand you want to protect players, but like part of sports coverage is understanding what's going on with athletes. And this is like a bit of a cop out. And it hurts coverage of your team. And so if you're a team and it doesn't get noticed because no one in your market cares, that's a bad thing because that means people don't care about what's going on with the team and that's not the way a sports team should be functioning. And so I think it's dangerous to go down this road and normally it's something that you

literally need the league to regulate in a way so that it's done properly. The NFL is the worst with this in terms of regulating it or best, whatever phrase you want to use. And sometimes it sucks for players that it's out there. But other times it has generated interest and it's the big. stories of the week and all that type of stuff and it's an entertainment of business unfortunately and that's like a major part of it so that's frustrating yeah even more frustrating is that denise ol solven's not on the field for a game like this we i don't think we can overstate how important

she is to this team you can't you can't overstate that one of the things about knowing the injuries too you can start speculating and saying okay if she's back next week how would that you know there there's just conversations that happen you know if you know it's a hamstring issue okay that might be a couple of months like then there just becomes chat about it. So I think it's difficult. We don't know how long these players are going to be out. We don't even know what the injuries are. And for Denise O'Sullivan, it's been difficult, I think, for this team. They've been a lot more direct. Yes, you mentioned the possession numbers in this game in particular. We're higher. They're going to be higher against race in Louisville. But this has been a North Carolina team who, although they still want

and treasured the ball, they're a lot more direct. Direct is not the right word, is it? What's the word we want to say? They're a lot more adamant about using their possession to go forward as quickly as they can. I think that would be it. Yeah, they're more north-south. Yeah.

So they're still keeping possession and they still show you some of the intricacies of their passes, but it's not the rhythm of, okay, we're going to pass you to death. We're going to move the ball around. shift you for a couple of minutes and then we're going to go attack. And I think that the, this North Carolina team would be best if they could find the mixture between the two and that mixture I feel like really hinges on Denise O'Sullivan. If she's in there, then she decides, okay, we don't need to go now. Let's just keep this, move the ball around. And then

that would either tire a team out, but it also makes when they are direct a little bit less predictable so i think that they lack a little bit of unpredictable under unpredictability yeah and that hasn't that that hasn't helped them in in this time where they're trying you know they're searching for points they're right there on the edge of the playoffs yeah one of the things that's tough for this group is it it really outside of like maybe tyler lucy no one really stretches the field and so even with a little bit more north-south nature to them, they still don't have that factor like an emissiers where, okay, if you're going to step in on our possession,

we can kill you, so then you have to open up. Now there's space to play. And that's been an issue the whole time for them. And it was one of the things I think we hope maybe Jaden Shaw would solve or Bedford would solve, not naturally. And Linnahan has given that a little bit. Yes, a little bit. And that's been, it was a good ad when she was healthy.

and available and you can see why they went out and got her and viewed that as a need for them but it's still a lot of the passing is around the back four around the back five around the back six and so they are there the chances they generate from the possession they have are still far and few between and i think with the without elite talent as an option in this one they were a step behind and then louisville are able to take advantage and play with a bunch confidence and then see it out, which is a huge moment for them. So Louisville jumping up into the playoffs and sitting in a clean spot and then San Diego sitting between these two teams, then North Carolina and Houston still within touching distance. We're going to go through all of that

when we get into our weekend preview. But let's talk about another game where it felt like one team should win, let go of the rope, and then somehow we're able to get back over the top. And that's the Washington spirit at home to San Diego. I was on a flight watching this game. And so I'm yelling on a plane. And I'm on the second of last row. So everyone already knows. I'm like the absurd human being at the back of a plane.

I like could not believe that Washington left San Diego in this game as long as they did. Yeah. They were thoroughly dominant. And a lot of chances fell to the players you'd hope it'd fall to, especially Trinity Rodman. And then Delphine Cascarino comes off the bench, somehow rescue San Diego against the run of play and it's 1-1 and it's not you know death on the season

for Washington because they kind of are stuck between two or three at best but it's like how did this team leave someone in it and then that turns around into maybe the best moment of the season three minutes later when Rose Coasey scores her second goal I assume it was a cross it doesn't look like a shot it doesn't feel like a shot but it doesn't really matter and then it's one of those how the tables flip

quickly of okay Washington couldn't put this game away. Kaylon Sheridan is player of the match for keeping her team in it to she would like that one back and that's not the first time that's happened to Sheridan this season where she's been dominant for a stretch save after save late in a game and then makes the wrong call coming off the line in a questionable do you do not and that lets the team down. And San Diego is not in a place where they can make up for that. Like they are dying for goals. They can't really afford to give away late chances.

But the energy in the building felt like last year. It felt like rowdy. And it was like, oh, this team is fully back. Yeah. There is something special about this spirit team with the players that they have. Even Abby Odin with the assist, you know, coming into the midfield in a time where they don't have Rebecca Bernal. she gives them a little bit of that grit. She can play as an outside, like she has been playing

kind of in all these different positions. She was an outside back in this one. Yeah. There's so many really good pieces that Adrian Gonzalez has been able to figure out a way how they all fit together. And that was the biggest shock of this whole thing. Yes, Kail and Sheridan made a lot of really elite saves.

And it's nice for San Diego have her back. I think I was hopeful she would have played in the last game when San Diego is at home against Orlando. Would that results have been different and maybe bring some confidence to San Diego? I don't know. I'm not making those decisions. But this is why Kailen Sheridan is one of the best in the league is because these types of saves that she makes at point blank range. But the spirit just, it's chance after chance after chance. And they all look different, right?

Yeah, a lot come from good crossing situations, getting numbers and advance. positions, but then it's a late run from Corey Bethune, who nearly sneaks one in. It's the cross shot from Rose Kawasi. It's transition moments where they get gift Monday in a 1V1, dribbling at Sheridan. So many different looks to them makes them scary. I think there is a real fear factor or there should be a fear factor about what this spirit team can do because then you look at their back line and they're solid and it's actually a question that I have for you before we get into the San Diego stuff is should should get it Carl be in the defender of the year conversation too whoa because of versatility and performance I think she's been great yeah and

she pops up as an outside back she's and she's played as a wing back she'll gets forward she's really elite in deciding you know am I taking the internal channel am I I going wide? What's the space I can occupy? I don't think her assist numbers are like Izzy Rodriguez assist numbers this year, but then it's difficult for teams to find anything on her side of the field. Defensively, she's been solid. I just think, I think if we don't talk about Gabby Carl, maybe it's a stretch, right? It's always a little bit of a stretch for an outside back to be in the defender of the year conversation. But I just want to say, she's been, she's had an excellent year.

Really, really good. And she will need to be because we got the news coming out of this weekend that Casey Krueger is headed on maternity league. So congratulations to Casey. Her family going to grow a little bit, but another huge loss we are talking about, I would say an NWSL all-time great, for sure, a major factor for them last year in their playoff run, an experience piece. And the Lockton starting left back when available, which she hasn't been for the last few games.

It feels like this fullback pairing may be the pairing going forward for this team. And it will leave a lot of responsibility on Carl because she's the only natural fullback, actually, right, of this pairing. And so a lot of responsibility there. And you add in with this team now. What's interesting is they started Lacey Santos and Croy Bethune in Central Midfield in this game with Hal Hersch felt. and I think I would have assumed that's a little too light defensively and offense facing. Now, I don't know that you have many choices left. The only real option you have is bringing No Rumi into that starting central midfield,

alongside Herschfeldt, and then either pushing one of those other two players out wide or up top, whatever you want to call it, or rotating them out of the starting lineup. It made sense against San Diego, which was they're going to play possession so we can play possession. Like, this game's going to be on the ground. And they're going to play with two sixes, most likely, in the build. Yes. Yeah. And neither of them, Savannah Miss Caskell.

So maybe they can't break our lines as quickly, which I think is a huge factor in this San Diego struggle that we haven't talked about, maybe enough, is the loss of McCaskill, the two brains that her and Dolly have. And it really felt like Kenza Dolly was on an island in this game in a way that I haven't seen. so far, and I think you saw frustration from her, which we haven't really seen this season. There's a moment where she kind of dribbles into Croy Bathune, loses the ball, goes down as she sort of tries to foul Croy Bathune to kill a transition moment, and Croy Bthune got the foul called against her. Yeah. And the look on her face of like, are you kidding me that you're calling that against me?

That went into a larger theme, which was fans booing Trinity Rodman posting on Instagram afterwards. it's how is this all ball it was a physical game and i think i mean rodman knows this right which is she attracts physical because one she can be overwhelmingly physical if she wants to and two she's on the ball and she's special and everyone has to be focused on her but i can understand for her of like you are already trying to set tones going into games of like you need to police this because otherwise we end up with what happened last year in the playoffs which is her trying and everyone trying to police it on the field themselves, which leads to Emily Sonnet,

yelling at people and all of that. So, yeah, a lot to take from this Washington team, but I think you're right about being scared of them. I think you're right that they've hit form at the right time. But again, they should have put this game away. Right. It should have been 2-0. It should have been 3-0.

And to leave a team like San Diego in it with the way they're playing worries me going into a playoff game against the team maybe with a little bit more confidence because I remember how the goals dry up in the postseason from last year because just the nature of nerves in the game and all of that and they have to be able to take advantage of when they're ahead

in games. It's true. Those are all things that this spirit team have to, they have to figure that out and figure it out quickly. But if the chances were there, I think it would be different. They created like 3.5 XG. You know, they're...

You'll trust it. I'll try. I'll my trust in that and again not the teams that you're playing in the playoffs are probably going to be defensively maybe a little bit difficult more difficult to break down but will their goalkeeper be as good as kail and sheridan i don't know right yeah yeah it is it's a big question um but it was an awesome capper to the weekend sort of and then the monday night game that you were on which i forgot to consider the weekend when we were putting together the rundown because it sort of lived on its own, on the side. And we'll talk about those teams a little bit more coming up.

But let's talk about the Boston legacy because goalkeeper, massive position, the reports are that Casey Murphy, who will be a free agent and has lost the starting role in North Carolina is going to be signing with Boston. 20 caps internationally was a listener's backup in 2023 at the World Cup and then 24 at the Olympics and has been the starter for North Carolina over the last. last two plus years before losing the spot in early August has not appeared now in a match in three months of NWSL action, but overall has 61 NWSL appearances between Seattle and now North Carolina.

And this was one that when I saw it, you're like, of course. Like Casey Murphy is a starting goalkeeper in NWSL. And if you're an expansion team, look around the league and say if there are 15 starting level goalkeepers, who's the other one that we can go and get? And this worked out perfectly that she's a free agent. And I understand that her form has dropped this year. And so there's a little bit of worry. But in my mind, the last two years, I thought that she should have been considered

more seriously for the U.S. women's number one spot as a listener stepped into international retirement. I thought last year, she was arguably the best non-morehouse goalkeeper, non-burger goalkeeper, like American goalkeeper in the league. And so I think it's an unbelievable starting point for Boston to get experience, leadership, and a high quality player as a free agent coming in. She's an excellent goalkeeper. And there's a reason why she was the backup in two of the biggest tournaments in the world, right? The World Cup and the Olympics.

And she's proven that she can play in this league. I think the difficulty as a goalkeeper. And I don't think I'll ever understand this mindset of how hard that is to go from either direct. right never playing to playing every single second of every single game or from playing every single second to then not playing at all because this is not a position that just gets flip-flopped willy-nilly you know you're not just like oh we're just going to put this person in net like there it has to be a cohesion between your goalkeeper and your backline the communication has to be there and I think that Casey Murphy has been asked this year to do

to stretch herself but those moments of stretching have come in the middle of games, in the middle of when things are difficult. So I think this is a great move for the legacy. She is a top class goalkeeper. Can she use this time where she's not playing to get better with her feet, to feel more confident, to make the mistakes in training? So then when she is trying to solve a situation on the field and 20, 26 rolls around and she's playing for Boston, she's solving those situations and she's up to her level again.

because I think that that has probably been the most difficult part, probably for her, too. It's like she's making uncharacteristic mistakes because she is overthought so many things. And that job as a goalkeeper, you have to be locked in mentally. So I hope that even though she's not playing right now, I think that this is, what an opportunity to get better at some of these things that have hurt her this season. And Boston should be really happy if that is, you know, if all the rumors are true and this signing is, happening, they've got a very, very good goalkeeper that they can rely on. And the assumption being for everything we know, Barcelona, Benfica background, that possession style coming with it, should fit in and sort of give you that starting point.

As you said, leader from the back and definitely someone who can set a tone in a locker room. I think we saw maybe for Utah the struggles of, not really having that experience. I mean, they went super young in experience, so it wasn't even international experience. And for Boston, this feels slightly different. Casey Murphy, I think a huge moment for them, the signing, and then the big name, the official one.

Amanda Gutierrez signs Brazilian International was the golden boot winner at this year's Copa America, Feminal, and finished in the top 25 on Ball and Door voting. We'll play the rest of this season through in Brazil. And then we'll join the team in January for preseason on what is a full three-year contract. So committed to the future. And this feels like the big international swing signing that a lot of this is now going to be built around. It should be.

What a good Target 9. I can't remember. I was on some social platform. I was like, I hope Amanda plays in NWSL after this summer. Because what we got to see from her target 9, I would say similarities to Bia in ways, right? mobile, big frame, good finisher in front of the goal. Everything that you want to see from a nine who can really set the tone, good defensively will press and help you start that first line of pressure.

This is a great signing. And I, as a fan of this league, you should be excited that she is going to be playing in this league. She is a handful and going to make what we want as expansion happens is, the league to get more and more competitive. And for players like this who have made their name on an international stage, who have made their name in NWSL to get an opportunity to have a starting spot, right? And I just, I can't wait to see her in Swiss after some of the goals we saw from her this summer. This is the legacy got a good one in Amanda.

It has also, it feels like there is a good comp between the Brazilian League and NWSEL, which in Doudinia come in. Like young players have picked up really. quickly where maybe players from other leagues have struggled to find their feet. And so it feels like the physicality of the Brazilian League with the style fits very well as a transition to NWSL. And so going outside the league, you know, it's going to be an unknown. Look what's happened in Bay.

Like they went and it felt like got too clear Kundanji and Oscewala. They're going to be superstars. But it was a different style of league and it didn't fit perfectly. this feels like a really safe one. It's nice to have it done now so you can build around it. Like, who are the wingers you're going to go out? And I think Oliveri will be a part of that, right? They've already signed a player who can help contribute to Gutierrez's success

and make her life easier and fit her game style. And I think Boston fans should be really, really excited that their team is being proactive, starting to get the pieces together and putting the like cornerstone pieces in. and then fill in maybe the rest of it around them rather than the other way around, which I argue is what it feels like Denver is doing right now, which is, okay, let's go get solid NWSL pieces that are available, but what's the straw that's going to make the whole drink stir? And that's the part we're still waiting on on that side.

And then in Boston, it feels like they've been aggressive and they've had their sporting director in place for a year now. And they've had their coach in place for a while. So they've been able to do that work of this is what fits our game model. And I'll just say this is what we're just starting. with free agency, right? So they're, these are just, we just talk about Casey Murphy, right? Right. Is she signed or is she not? Right, right. Yeah, yeah. We, some of these free agent signings, we don't know where they're going until after the season. And so. And some have signed and

they just have not said yet. They have signed and just not have not said. So I, I think we're going to hear a lot more from all the teams as teams, you know, the end of the season is very near. We're three weeks away, and then we'll start to see where some of these free agents have landed. But I do think Boston, with the runway that they have, have done a really good job of getting players with international experience. It doesn't mean that they are internationals. I think of the player from Santa Clara, who is. Annie Carrich.

Yeah, that's playing. Experience here has played in a foreign league so you can go out and sign these players, before the season starts. But they've done a really good job of getting some big name players. And this has kind of been the cherry on top of their signings, getting Amanda into the league. And I know they put together an event for fans for ticket season ticket holders in the last week. So it's like you're starting to let the names out, I think generate some excitement and some interest.

It has not been a straight line. for this franchise in terms of from naming to stadium, like all of this stuff. There are too many balls in the kitchen. Is that the phrase? There's a lot of phrases that I will not be using on anything that is recorded and anything that anyone could use again. But this now is starting to feel like the easiest way to win fans, be good at soccer. Yeah.

And they've done a good job. It feels like they're building a spine, which is important when you're starting from scratch. So a lot of exciting news coming out of Boston. Do you have another player who's the next one where you're like, this player needs to be in NWSL? Oh gosh, on the spot? Well, I've got some big swings. I've got some big swings,

but I don't know when that's going to happen after watching Lexia Puteus in Champions League. I don't think she's coming to America anytime soon. But I would, to have Puteus in the NWSL, I think would be a dream. dream signing. I can't think of anybody off the top of my head. That's not like a big swing like that. Yeah. Let me ask you this sidebarred from this, but slightly related. I saw this go around on blue sky or Reddit, I'm not sure. Fans asking, now with the new free agency, if a player has signed somewhere else, do you want to know immediately? Do you want to not know until they're eliminated or do you want to not know until the season is over? If you were

in the setting as a player, what would you have wanted to do saying you're a free agent? You're in your final year. It's the summer. You're playing. Let's say the team's in a playoff race and you've officially signed a contract with another team. I would not want to talk about it until I was done with that team. Okay. Personally. Yeah. You wouldn't want it out there. I feel like it would be hard for me to even just like have those conversations while I was committed. I have just been taught since I was young, like if you commit to something, that's your commitment and you stick with it until, you know, it runs out. And so it would be hard for me to think about the future and the team that I was going to play for when I was currently playing for a team. That would be very hard for

me. Yeah. I think it's really, really tough because on the one hand, it's like similar to the injury conversation, you know, fans want to be thinking about what does next year look like? How the things fit in? What's the future going forward? Like one of the quote unquote comforts when your team gets eliminated is like, oh, but like we love what we have coming back. The core is good. The future is bright. And if that's not true, it kind of becomes a little bit hard when it finally does happen.

But then I saw some of the commentary of like, well, will I be thinking all the time? Like, are they really trying? Are they really committed? And it's hard. I know we talked about this for a while. What would you want to know as a fan? I'm really bad at keeping things inside. Yeah.

So I think for me, if I was a player as part of it, I think I'd want it out there because I don't know that I would be able to perform hiding it. And like, I think I'd feel dishonest with what I'm saying. And I don't think a player needs to do it. I think that's what I would need. As a fan, I have no idea. Yeah, I think maybe as a fan you would just want to know

after your team was out of, right? Right, because then if it's a player you really like, you could say goodbye to that player. Like you feel like, okay, this is their last game. I want to go watch them for their last game here or whatever it may be. That was, I feel like that feels the best as a fan. Yeah. Because I wouldn't want to know if somebody's playing for my team and they're not going to be there next year. Personally, I wouldn't want to know that.

Would you? I don't think so. But I think I could understand it and I think I would watch it and say, oh, but they're still playing the way they play. Yeah. Like I think I could get there mentally. not that hard, but we talked about it last week. I think some of this stuff will shift as the world gets used to the new CBA and the setup and all of that.

And I think maybe it finishes in like a more comfortable space. Speaking of being eliminated, we are kind of in that season right now as teams are trying to lock their spot into the playoffs or potentially see their way not into the playoffs and finish outside of things. So we're going to do a little reset. of the teams that are chasing for a final spot in the postseason, and then we're going to use

that as a way to talk about our weekend. So to reset things, Casey Currant surprise, have won the shield, and they are by far the best team in the league on 59 points. Washington are a mile. They just set a league record 19 wins in a season. Yes. They're

probably about to set every single record. By a couple. They could get 22 I mean they could win all the rest of their games so they're the rest of their games and we're about to read a bunch of schedules so I don't know why I'm adding more but I feel they need to they play gotham this weekend which is an interesting game curious to see how they to handle it then they play houston and then they play the san Diego wave to close things out who we will talk about in just a moment so kc a mile ahead of washington Washington Washington then sitting in second place comfortably in second place eight points at

ahead of Gotham, Gotham, one point ahead of Portland, and Portland tied with Seattle. That is five and up. Orlando then, currently in sixth place on 33 points, Louisville in seventh place on 32, San Diego in eighth place on 31, and then North Carolina are three points behind the playoff line behind San Diego and Houston is one point behind North Carolina on 27 points, four points out. Do you think we should add Orlando to this too? I mean, I don't know now after hearing all that. We only did four teams, but.

Yeah, Orlando, it feels like, so everyone has three games left. Orlando is five points up. Yeah. So they would really have to go like winless or resultless to close things out for them to, for this to not go well. I probably have the toughest schedule, too, Portland at Washington versus Seattle. I. And they have home Concord Calf game in that as well. So they just need a one, they need probably a win and a draw.

Yeah. And that. The good and bad of this is they don't play anyone behind them. Yeah. Which is like if you draw someone behind you, that's all the work you need. They don't. so there's the potential which is okay well we can't give up six pointers but the flip side is you don't really control what's happening

and you have to go out and get results and it's not like Seattle or Portland are in a safe enough spot that they're not going to play it out and Washington's the one where maybe they rotate but I'd be shocked and also I don't even know what rotation looks like for that team that might be Kentori and the Rumi coming into the same lineup with the way things are set up so those are the teams that we have in this playoff race conversation obviously in the end we did it seven through ten so only two of them would make the postseason and north carolina took a huge hit this weekend so on the weekend

orlando plays portland on friday night kc plays gotham on saturday uh note temwa shawinga and kela sharples both out this past weekend shawinga it feels like is more overall management of just the amount of minutes that she has played over the last two years and the hits that she takes and making sure that she is fully ready for the playoff. But it's definitely something we're going to monitor, Jordan, of like, if there's any question about her availability going to the postseason, it changes this team's reality. We've, I mean, case in point is Barbara Banda and Orlando, right? If you don't have the ability to stretch a backline, create space for your midfielder's,

the way that Schuenga plays off Bia or Debiania, who has ever next. to her. I think it's less of a hit to this GAN City current team than Banda is to Orlando right now but still, yeah, very different. This is a very different current team without Schuenga. So I think it's

the right things to do just to get her rested up and make sure she feels good for when the playoffs start. And we talked about Sharples and the Defender of the Year conversation. We talked about her bigger picture as a leader on that backline. So just little worrying there for a team that's in a really good spot.

Also on Saturday, North Carolina faces off against Washington and Utah host San Diego. Utah has been the second hottest team in the league since coming back from the international break behind Kansas City. And then on Sunday to close things out, Angel City hosts Houston. That one's 5 p.m. Eastern Time. It's the only Sunday game. So we have the four teams in this conversation, Louisville, finished with Chicago, at Gotham and Bay. San Diego, who are now the final playoff team, finish at Utah versus Chicago, and at Kansas City on the final day of the season for a team that will have nothing to play for outside of maybe some form of history, but San Diego, it has been bleak. Like five now without a win, goals have been tough to come by.

So they have, I think you could argue, the hardest schedule because of how hot Utah's been, because of how good Casey is. And like Casey at home can't turn it off because of the energy in that building. And even Chicago, I don't know that that's the team you want to play with the way they've performed and sort of the feciness of what they have left. What do you make of these two teams and their ability to sort of stay nudged in front and get into a postseason? San Diego and Louisville. Yeah. Yeah, it's just difficult for San Diego, right? Four months into the season, I don't think we'd ever think we were sitting here saying that San Diego can't score goals, that they are really, when you talk chance creation, I think they're pretty consistently under one XG per game, which, okay, well, if that's the case, you can't give up any goals then.

You can't give anything up, and they're just not quite as good with all the changes that they've had defensively. It's a difficult schedule to be at Utah and then at Kansas City to end. To me, that feels one of the two hardest of these four remaining schedules. I think Louisville's is pretty, like if I was Louisville, I'm thinking, we can get points out of this. You're playing both Chicago and Bay at home. Both the teams are eliminated. They're going to fight and scrap, but also because of that, they do get a little stretched and have been leaky giving up to the most, those two teams, I think, are top three when it comes to goals against this year.

So you'll be able to find something in there. And then I think the biggest thing for Louisville is can you get a result against Gotham? Not because that result matters the most, right? You're going to need the wins against the other teams to secure a playoff spot. But mentally, if you get a result against Gotham and your Louisville, you're thinking, we're just not making the playoffs. like we're going to make something happen in the playoffs and so it just feels like that tease them up really well to be sitting in a in a playoff spot in for the first time ever

Gotham reminder there in Conccaf competition as well they don't play again through this stretch of the season and they're in first and their groups are looking pretty safe for a chance to retain that title but yeah that is definitely like the test one in all of that but it feels like Louisville has the easiest schedule left yeah north carolina then the chasing team they play washington they go to bay and they play gotham so it's two of the top three teams and then a cross-country trip pretty much as far as you can travel which is just never easy on a team and

you're doing all of that while scoreboard watching san diego and trying to make up ground that feels that feels like the hardest of the group there and they They need to do pretty well. I mean, I guess you would say at this point, down three points in the standings, they need seven out of this to have a shot. So it's two wins and a draw. So at bay probably becomes a must win. And then depending on injuries coming out of this week, if the Washington game at the start is the draw, your backs against the wall. and you are in win-now territory

must win for the final two games including that final game against Gotham. Maybe because of where Gotham sits, maybe they rotate the final weekend because they're going into the playoffs, they want to protect people. Maybe slightly, but they've also like a lot of their players

just are getting back. And when they rotate, they look pretty good. Yeah. Well, not just that. Like they rotate and they look good, but also those players are not, they're not,

they're almost on the buildup, right? They're starting to peak and you want to continue that instead of rotating them. Whereas a player that's played the whole entire season, you're thinking, okay, they've played the whole entire season. We got to make sure we give them some rest here and they feel rejuvenated, where I feel like these players coming back from injury look pretty fresh and pretty zippy. Yeah. So, and then Houston, the last one, at Angel City this weekend versus Kansas City at Portland.

But it's pretty hard too. A lot would need to go. wrong for yeah a lot we need to for them to go wrong well what's fascinating is it's why we were so excited about the louisville north carolina game this weekend is none of these teams play each other anymore so everyone is okay the team's at the top the team's at the bottom like they're the ones who will dictate who will get in and who won't the home and away nature of this is is really really tough to have two verse one two home games versus the other side like that's big um and none of this is easy because everyone plays a couple teams

on one side and a couple of teams on the other side of the schedule, I feel like because of that, my assumption is it all stays the way it is. Yeah. I would be surprised if North Carolina or Houston jump in. I won't be shocked if Orlando falls down into eight, but I would be surprised if anyone who's not a current playoff team makes it into the postseason.

Yeah. I think I agree with that. I don't know, San Diego's just making me feel nervous. Yeah, yeah. San Diego's making me feel real nervous. It's all going to hinge on the Chicago game. But they have Delphine back, which is huge. She gets that goal, which is probably even bigger,

because she hadn't been contributing even when she was playing towards before she got injured. I mean, if that team's clicking, they're good, but they're just not clicking right now. Everything seems to be slightly off. And McCaskill not. being in the middle of the midfield in these games where you have to, where you have to win, you know, the leadership there essentially is all on Dali's shoulders. And I think

it's a lot to, a lot to put on her. Yeah. It is a fascinating close to the season. I think it's a couple teams in territory outside of Louisville maybe that we didn't fully expect. I think I was really high on North Carolina coming into the year. To me, they were fifth last year. And I felt they were clearly ready to jump into the top tier. That hasn't been the case. And then San Diego, I was completely out on and then completely in love with over the course of this season. It will be interesting because last year, Chicago backed into the playoffs at the last

second. They got crushed in Orlando. And I don't think any of it had me come away saying, all right, it was a positive season. They're going in the right direction. that's how San Diego feels this year but it feels like this is more of a rebuild and so maybe there's more you're pulling from it if they can rescue this with a positive win

and a positive playoff performance then it'll go a long way to sort of emboldening what Jonas Ideval is building and the way this club is set up there's so much good that happened but it hinged on so many young players that like there has to be patience that it will be better next year but you worry with the way things go if you go eight winless nine winless if it gets bad in kansas city if you sneak into a playoff spot or somehow at this point you miss out it just changes the perception of the season completely uh and that's what we will be monitoring and that's what we'll

be watching out for you will be on calls this weekend uh i'm going on vacation slightly i'll be watching soccer the entire time i will be in clearwater florida so if anyone has any advice of where to go in Dundedin, Florida, or the Marco Islands or the Everglades or anything like that, let me know. We'll be back tomorrow with a live show late in the day around 4.35 p.m. Eastern time through the U.S.U. 20 match against Italy. Nice. I think it's around a 16.

Maybe it's the quarterfinals. So we'll talk to you through that. They look good. React to it as it happens. They've looked very good. Your guy, Adam Boudre, has been very good. go go Colorado and and we'll see if they're able to get a win and move into a quarter finals and besides that we will have all of your content as we always do and all of your coverage

here we'll be back next week with a bunch of great shows we've got some special stuff stuff lined up with internationals around the corner we still don't know m ayes's roster but feels like it's going to be a big one as she has said we're moving past the testing and into the core territory and I think there's a lot of players who have performed at a high level we've got end of season awards that we still need to hang out hand out and we've got playoffs to cover it which is the best part of the year and eventually the championship at the end so thank you to all of you for listening thank you to all of you for being here thank you Jordan for being with me as well and we'll talk to you all again very very soon

You know, I'm going to be able to be.