SoccerWise - Brianna Pinto Joins The Cast On Weather Delays, Record Transfers In Orlando & North Carolina Soccer Culture

Episode Date: August 20, 2025

A big announcement at kickback media with our latest massive transfer means Brianna Pinto has joined the committee. Brianna partners David to help breakdown the biggest stories of the week. They start with the weather delay fiasco in KC and what the experience is like for a player. Then they celebrate the impending world record transfer of Lizbeth Ovalle to Orlando. The soccer on the field should not be forgotten though after weekend filled with last minute equalizers from a cast of characters. And finally they dig into the soccer history of North Carolina with the expert Brianna herself.3:20 KC-ORL Weather Fiasco12:30 ORL World Record Signing26:40 Chicago’s Incredible Comeback35:00 Spirit Show Late Spirit 48:15 50 States Of Soccer North Carolina w/Brianna Pinto’s 5-a-side

What is up everybody and welcome back to soccer wise. We are very excited about the show that we have to come here on this gorgeous Wednesday, not where I am, but where many people are, it is. We've got a lot of NWSL to cover some crazy games, some wild news on and off some field, some record transfers and everything else. But the biggest news of the day is Jordan Angelie's on vacation and filling in for us is the newest member of our kickback committee family, our newest teammate, Brianna Prentel, Brianna, thanks for joining me. Thank you so much for having me.

It's been so fun to listen and just joining this community that covers the game so well. Thank you. Well, I was very excited when, you know, we first connect. and we have talked many times, and I've been a big fan of yours from afar as a player, and now I'm excited to have you on the show. But there's not your only media sojourn, of course, still playing, getting in the starting line of this weekend, so very much still playing, but you're doing play-by-play on college soccer, or excuse me, color analysts on college soccer.

I'm thinking of myself for a second there on the ACC and American Conference, now joining us. So we're going to get to hear from you a lot of talking about the game. Yeah, I just love analyzing the game. It's fun because it helps me learn. I feel like I become a better player when I watch different levels and take bits and pieces of other people's game and add it to my own.

So we are going to dig into a lot of different topics here today. As I mentioned, we will talk about the wild and wacky games of the weekend, especially the Monday night after dark game. The listener scoring the equalizer in stoppage time and a three-goal comeback. It could not have been a crazier game that we saw. We will talk about the weather in Kansas City. I'm already sweating just thinking about it, and we are very far away from it. But we also have our 50 states of soccer that we do every single week where we dig in

and learn about the game in all of the different parts of this country and how it's all sort of come together to create the American soccer culture that we all enjoy. And we are all such big fans of. And this week, we, luckily enough, are going to be doing North Carolina. So your native state and where you are currently playing, so you're going to sort of give us the rundown of everything that is North Carolina soccer from what it seems like a very vast and diverse soccer setup. It's amazing. I mean, it's been such a blessing just to grow up here, see the growth of the game at the youth collegiate and professional levels. And just to be a part of

that growth has been special. The Pinto family very involved at all of those levels also, right? Yeah, both my brothers played professionally as well. My older brother played with Richmond Kickers and Loudoun United, and he played at Elon and Duke for college. And then my younger brother, Malik, he played at Princeton, NC Fusion, both Academy Products of, and then now he's with Colorado Rapids. It is, okay, so you, I think the credentials are clear. You are a North Carolina expert, so we're going to dig into all of that once we get there. But let's get into our first big topic, and I think we all, in the media side of things,

and I'm sure people around the league as well fell into the same trap last week, which was getting extremely excited about the Orlando Kansas City game. It was rematch of last year's semifinals. It was last year's shield winner versus this year's shield leader. One verse two, Marta rocking the baby last year

at CPKC Stadium. Like this game had it all and very little of it, unfortunately, was able to live up. Now, I will say, my sister got married on Saturday, so I did not watch this live, but I have gone through all of the notes. I've watched it back, and what ended up happening was that we had a heat-related weather delay

that lasted for over three hours due to extreme heat. So the game was scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. local time in Kansas City. That was scheduled, of course, preseason to put it into a national TV window on CBS. From our understanding now at this point, Kansas City current flashed a warning at that moment all the way back in the winter saying we don't schedule. games in this time window during the months of the summer because we think it will be too hot. That moved all the way until up until 48 hours before the game when the National Weather Service issued an extreme heat advisory. The teams continued to prepare for the game to kick

off at the schedule time at 3 p.m. local time in Kansas City. And then we got into the process of making sure that is safe for players to play. So the league process has a wet. bulb globe temperature that is measured 60 minutes prior to kickoff from the center of the field. If it reads above 92.3 degrees Fahrenheit, these are all things none of us knew before, except you and people in the union, but we are allowed learning from afar. The Home Club's operation staff is required to alert the league, the policy states, and the match will go into delay. So the delay began minutes before the scheduled kickoff and continued through with readings

every 15 minutes for roughly an hour and a half, around 445 local time. That was when everyone around was informed that the game would start around 620 local time. And fans were able to leave and be granted reentry, understanding that some fans actually were taken to the hospital themselves because of heat-related issues, many of the fans did not come back into the game. It was a much different atmosphere for the players. They were brought out to warm up two separate times and then brought back into the locker room. and eventually kicking off over three hours after the scheduled kickoff time in which we will then

talk about the game in a moment. But Brianna, from us far watching this go down, hearing about it, what did you make of the experience these players went through and sort of what this whole process is? I think first of all, like, we're in a really interesting time where, again, where we want more viewership, we want to be playing at prime times, where people can watch and attend the games. But, you know, one of the challenges you run into is our seasons are becoming more extreme. Summer is incredibly hot and it's tough to manage as a player because, you know, the way you prepare for a 3 p.m. game is maybe a little bit different than the way you prepare for a 7 p.m. kickoff. You have to think about pregame meals. So these players are probably in the locker room, you know, trying to keep fueling their bodies efficiently so that they can be prepared to go on the field no matter when that is.

And I think there's a lot of unknown and you have to kind of like roll with the punches and keep the morale boosted. So I think it really comes down to the locker room culture and making sure that everyone's motivated. Now, whenever that opportunity comes, you have to go on the field and ready to deliver the matchup that the people want to see because Orlando and Kansas City are two incredibly talented teams. They have global superstars quite literally all over the field.

And, you know, to be able to perform. a high level, you know, with a wet bulb globe temperature of, you know, above 92.3, that's a hard thing to do. But I think these women are incredibly resilient. They're the best in the world at what they do. And I think as a fan of the game and a fellow competitor, it's so cool to see just the way they handle it with grace. But that being said, it's like, how do we, you know, continue to push the league to prioritize safety, not only for players, but also for fans, because we to make sure that the fans have a good experience and are obviously taken care of. Water is available because you don't want to see heat-related incidents in the stands as well

because, again, we want sellout crowds. But overall, I think, you know, a scoreless result is a little bit unfortunate because, again, we have people like Marta and Barbara Banda and then Tamwa Chowinga and Bina on the other side. and, you know, you want to see them be at their greatest. Yeah, it was, I think that's the part that's hard to measure. As you mentioned, like, the fight for eyeballs and the opportunity to be on national TV coming off the back of a Liberty, Minnesota-Links, WNBA rematch. And, you know, in a time period right now where there's not as much major sports going on

in the U.S. And so you're looking at a Saturday afternoon. You say we could get a lot of people on what was anticipated preseason, I think, rightfully to be one of the best games of the season. But then what ends up happening is it you lost, not just like, okay, not everyone can watch this. Almost no one ends up watching it. The game gets pushed off TV and then it gets pushed onto a streaming platform.

The fans are not in the stadiums or the atmosphere that you are trying to present, which I think is a major selling point of the NWSL experience and CPKC Stadium and what Kansas City has built and all of that. That goes away pretty much for the first time. Like we've never seen a game that I think where you could see the seats at the stadium and you could see the color of what they are and all of that because of the situation you end up in. And I think it's one of those things where you need to have that connection with the local club of saying like this is the way we operate. Casey has not scheduled a game between noon and 7 p.m. local time after May. So they understand their environment and one of the advantages of the long ownership group building CB Casey Stadium is they're.

are the only team in the league that doesn't get dictated to how they use their building. And so to lose that, what you have finally built in that situation and to lose it in this scenario and in such a public way in which I think the league comes out looking worse off, overall I think was really, really sad because as you said, this was the game. Like, there is so much talent. This is as good a display as the league can have. And Seb Hines said in the post game interview, he just said as a coach, like it just would have been nice to know as soon as possible.

And that's what you mentioned of, like, for the player, you all have a full day process, but a 90-minute process of, like, how do I prep for these moments? And this is one even, I think Kelly O'Hara said this during the broadcast, like, you can't look at a Doppler. Like, the players in the locker room, there is no way to figure out what's going on. I will tell you, though, there are our moments where we're looking at the Doppler, like, guys, I don't know if we're getting on the field anytime soon. But, I mean, to your point, though, like, I think Kansas City's,

leading the league in terms of setting the standard, obviously owning their stadium and creating a really tough environment to go get a win in. And I think that's where every club wants to strive for because, you know, for Orlando, they obviously have an incredibly talented team, but when you play in that stadium, their fans are so loud and they're into it, they inject energy into the game. So to then have that kind of suffer because of the weather, it is a major loss for the club because that home field advantage is really important, especially in a league where any team can win on any given day. Yeah, it is the first time that Kansas City hasn't scored in a home game at CP Casey Stadium last year losing to Orlando was the first time

they had ever lost. So like the expectation that this is a tough matchup is there, but I think the style of the game and the way it happened without the crowd, without the ability to play at their highest level, the ability to prepare. All of that, I think, was really, really unfortunate coming away from what should have been the highest point of the season. And then the other big piece of news coming out of it was that Barbara Banda taken off the field in the 13th minute with an injury. We don't know exact details. It looked like an ankle when you watch it, but we had not heard anything, was taken back to the locker room, came back, sat on the bench for the rest of the game, was shown a few times as the game went along. But that is one of the best players

on the planet, if not maybe the best pure soccer player on the planet right now. And it's a huge loss in the game, but it's a huge loss for Orlando as they have tried to find their feet and who they are right now in this follow-up season after all the success of the double. And they let some players go in the off-season as they try to retool and rebuild themselves. Barbara Banda now going down with an injury, but there may be some reinforcements just around the corner. The reports are that Lisbeth Ovali is going to be headed from Tigris in Mexico to the Orlando Pride for a world record transfer. So the record was set a few weeks ago, Olivia Smith, Canadian International, moving from Liverpool to Arsenal, and the reports put the potential

signing that Orlando is going to make between the $1.5 and $2 million range for the 25-year-old Mexican international winner who made her pro debut eight years ago for Tigris and has been one of the best players in the region. So let's start with the news separate of who Ovali is. When you hear this, and we go back to Naomi Germa a few months ago and now we're starting to push those numbers, what does it make you feel as someone who's in this world when you hear the spending that's going on, the way the game is being pushed so quickly it feels like from an international level? It makes me feel pure excitement and hope for the future because, you know, as somebody with brothers, I watched men's soccer and you'd see transfers like this all the time.

So for the women's game to finally be on the map and getting the respect it deserves and seeing the valuations of these clubs and then also player transfers, I think it's really cool. I think these are incredibly talented people who have worked at their craft for a lifetime. And to see them go from one league. to another and bring their fan base, their individual fan bases, and then also just their individual flair, I think, is an incredibly valuable asset just for the women's game as a whole. I know Valle is a very talented player. I think Tigris is an excellent club. We actually got the opportunity to play against them this summer. And I just love what they're doing. They're

investing in their women's team on all fronts. And similarly with Orlando, they want to be one of the best teams in the league. And obviously, as you said, they made a lot of transfers in offseason and they're trying to replenish their attacking front just so that they can replicate the year that they had and make a deep push. But Obaya is certainly going to add a lot of creativity on the Orlando's attacking side. And she's going to offer the ability to shoot from distance and go at people 1-1 on the dribble. And I think, The cool thing about, like, her game is she obviously has the experience at the international level. So I'm excited for her to join the league, and I just am really glad that clubs are finally putting money up to acquire the best players in the world.

You talk about what Tigris has built. So Avaya debuted as a 17-year-old back in 2017 has won nine of 18 available titles in Mexico since then, scored 136 goals in all competition. on the club side of things. And then, of course, has been a Mexican international, 20 goals and 58 appearances for the Mexican national team, including a Best 11 appearance at last year's Concaf W. Gold Cup. And starting in a Mexico team with some familiar faces, which brings a question for me, which is Deano Ordonez and Maria Sanchez. That is sort of the front three for this Mexican national team.

Maria Sanchez was a record move in NWSL, came to play for Houston, originally on a record contract and then a record trade to San Diego. And I'm not sure both those parties would say it totally worked out, including for Maria Sanchez. There were some really big moments, but probably a lot of time in between. And Diana Ordonez as well has gone to League MX Feminal leaving NWSL. And part of that was the struggles to find goals with this Houston team. There is a difference.

You mentioned playing that Tigris team, but there is a difference between the leagues and especially NWSL where it is at. do you worry about sort of the transfer of a player's style from one league to another? I don't think worries the word that comes to mind. I do think there's a jump in speed of play in physicality. You know, we pride ourselves on the end of Bousel being the best league in the world and incredibly competitive. However, like, I have a lot of respect for Liga Emekis, like what they're doing right down

there, especially with the bigger clubs. They're producing talent. And we even saw that with the Mexican internationals. and they actually beat the U.S. in early 2024. O'Valle was one of the players that actually had the goal to help them acquire that 2-0 victory. But just to think about the adjustment, I think anybody that comes to league,

it takes a few games for them to get adjusted. But I think O'Vay has a set of characteristics about her game that obviously Orlando finds valuable. And I don't think people are willing to, put up money if they don't think they're going to find the return on their investment. And again, she's someone who's proven that she can score at the club and international level. And if she can just keep up with the speed of play and physicality, I think she will be a great addition to the pride. It is an incredible move for this team, which still is loaded with

talent, still has one of the best spines in NWSL. When you talk about from Warhouse all the way up through the centerbacks who, you know, could both be in the national team pool, but Sam's currently is for sure the versatility at Central Midfield and, of course, Marta and Banda. But it does stand out that both of the starting wingers for the 2024 NWSL championship game have both left the team in a way. Adriana was sold to a Saudi Arabian club in the offseason for what was at the time, a world record transfer at $500,000, which just shows how fast we're.

removing. And like you said, I think the direction we should be going in matching up to what some of the transfer fees we see in the men's game are. And then we talked about this last week, but Ali Watt officially signing or being traded to Denver and then being loaned back for the rest of the season. So Ali Watt's still on the field for this Orlando team. But it does feel like one of the differences between last year's team and this year's team is a lack of individual danger in the wide positions. And it feels like it's brought more defensive focus on Marta. It's closed down the channels that Barbara Banda had been able to run into throughout most of last season when she finally joined the team. And it's taken away some individual flair in which maybe outside the

system, you have some chance creation from those wide spots. And if that's your problem, it's pretty nice to go and say, let's spend the world record transfer fee for the best player in League Mex Permanel and bring her in to exactly fill that role. Yeah, I mean, playing against Orlando, one of the things they did it really well last season was that they had several players that could unbalance the backline. So Ali Lott would provide the stretch and she continually pushed their backline backwards, whereas Barbara Banda can show that she can check to the ball, she could run in behind. So it left other teams guessing a lot of times because there's just a lot to account for,

when you have Adriana, Ali Waugh, and Barbara Banda on the front line, and then Marta underneath, you know, playing those final passes. But, again, every team has to evolve. No players going to stay in an environment forever. So it requires, like, the ownership and the GMs to be incredibly thoughtful about, you know, what types of people and what skill sets they have so that they can play a cohesive brand of football. And, you know, Orlando has an identity that I think they really solidified. last year and it's ultimately about you know building for the future so that they can get back

to where they were yeah and it feels like a move like this is that future move of like now you're looking at a player who will be a cornerstone going forward maybe marta is timeless and it never ends we're all hopeful of that um the historically at some point time catches up to all of us but then you also look at these are the you know the the modern nature of the game which is as you has success players like and Adriana are going to get offers and other players are going to come in and we've seen Shavushi be successful. Maybe that another player says, well, I'm going to go somewhere else where I'm guaranteed a starter spot, whatever it is. And it feels like now with Abanda and Ovali and some of the pieces you have in central midfield, you have cornerstones of what Seb Hines can

work with for two, three, four years and extend this window and a chance for this team to be competitive. Currently sitting third, which I don't think Orlando would have complained about two years ago when they were a team that had never won a playoff game. They set a new standard last year, but it's cool to see them set this standard. We had Haley Carter on the show last year laid on in the season, the executive of the year, I think many would say, last year.

And she has a clear vision of what she believes the women's game should be, what she believes NWSL should be. And I think it's exciting to see the ownership group be in line with that and allow her to make a move like this and sort of support this team in this way to show, you know, Kansas City has set their marks. San Diego has reestablished themselves, it feels like teams are continuing to push and Orlando making the decision that not just keep up, but to like extend and accelerate things, I think should be really exciting to that fan base. Well, I think it's important because we're seeing

a lot of intelligent people come into the league, not only from an ownership perspective, but also from like a team management perspective, even the coaching staffs that are coming in. And now that they have their resources to go after a global talent, to build their roster into, you know, world leading teams, I think it's a really exciting time for women's football because you can create these all-star teams. And obviously we're operating under a salary cap, so there's limitations, but it's required a lot of GMs to be creative about, you know, how they can find players, how they can set up their roster and create. a product on the field that people want to watch.

So, again, as a fan, like, I've loved it. I've loved seeing the growth of this league, even when I was, you know, too young to be on the field, but it, like, would watch at the, at Wake Met Soccer Park. And to see where the league has come since it started is really, really special. And I'm super optimistic about the direction that it's headed. Yeah, it's one of the things we talk about when people are like, is expansion the right move? Like, what can teams do? How competitive can it be?

And it's like, well, actually the only endless resource in the world that feels like are soccer players. Like, there are so many players in every corner of the world. But I think for NWSL to have opened up to the international market over the last few years, and you saw it this summer. Well, that's what I love. Yeah. And I really love how some of these teams are finding talent, like, in African nation.

So Barbara Banda, like, would she have gotten that opportunity 10 years ago? Who knows? But I think one of the cool things about greater accessibility to the game is there's talent everywhere, but you have to give people the opportunity to, one, be seen, one be developed, and then two, just given the platform to excel. So just to see, you know, Barbara Banda and Tamo Tawanga come into Loose League and take it by storm, I think is very exciting one, but two, it shows young girls all across the world that they can aspire to be a global superstar like they're seeing with men on TV. So yeah, I just love

how diverse the league is becoming and we're celebrating so many different cultures. And I think it makes for an enriching environment, not only for the players, but also for the fan base, because they can see themselves in some of these players and align with like their personal experience. And also the storytelling off the field really goes a long way. because you see these people as more than just an athlete. And they are. They have these individual stories about how they got to where they are today. The adversity that they had to fight through, you know,

an inspiring story is Marta's, like how she had to travel. I think it was like hundreds of miles just to play with an academy so that she could one day go on to become the best player in the world. But can we reduce some of those limitations so that we can have more Marta's in the future? Yeah. Yeah. It is absolutely exciting. One of the coolest things I think all season is every away game for Orlando, at some point

they'll cut to the like small section of Zambia fans. And whether it's in Seattle or Utah or in Kansas City and I don't even know that I would have known there was a community in all these places, but it's such a point of pride for them and such an ability for them to come out. And as you said, as you look past the athletes and you learn about the people and their stories, then you can learn about some of the struggles they had to fight through. And then you can build and hopefully build bridges. they don't exist for the next generation.

And Orlando is doing some wild things. Orlando fans have to be ecstatic, even though it was a tough weekend. They are in Concaf Champions W Cup action. It is the group stage of the 25-26 competition. So a reminder, Gotham won the previous tournament, actually at Tigris against Ovalde's team. And that was a tournament that started in the fall of 2024. and it takes basically almost a full year for the competition to wrap up. And we have now started the next one.

So Washington and Orlando and Gotham, the three representatives as the top three teams in NWSL last year. Washington has already won 7-1 in El Salvador against Alianza. And I believe Orlando is playing in Mexico once again to start group stage play. But let's dig into the weekend of soccer that we saw. And let's start on the non-weekend. The Monday night football game, I think it's one of those cool moments where it's like when weird games on a weird schedule, everyone's watching, and you can sort of feel that.

Everyone's at home watching the game. And I don't know your experience, but, you know, the game goes to zero at halftime. And it's like, it's been a tough season for Chicago. They've got two injured players that are forced to come off in the first half. They're playing under an interim manager. Then they concede in the opening minute of the second half. and it's starting to feel like we kind of all know the story of what we're watching as they trail 3-0 in Seattle.

Deline was really, really good in this game as well. And then all of a sudden, something clicks and changes. And Chicago scores two goals in the 73rd and 78 minute. Ludmila starts the goal scoring for them. And they end up getting a 98th minute equalizer by who else? But goal scoring legend,

a listener. Brianna, this was one of the wildest soccer games I think I've ever lived through. I think that's what makes it so much fun to watch because you can never count a team out. Obviously, Chicago's had their share of struggles this season, but actually, Ali Schlegel did an interview this past week talking about they're just having belief at the bare minimum. And belief can take you a long way. If you, if you as a player don't count yourself out, anything can happen.

And if you can rally as a team to just keep playing, to keep competing, get to the 50-50 balls, you know, make things difficult for the opposition, you can claw your way back into the game. And I think that fight that they had showed a lot about the character and, like, where they're trying to go, despite having just such a rough start to the season. I think Ludmila has been excellent this season. She's shown a lot with her ability to create separation on the dribble, obviously finish from distance. She has a great strike. Ali Schlegel has been able to hold up the ball and connect their midfield. And they're just a collection of players underneath them that are willing to do the dirty work. And we saw that in this 3-3 tie.

I think it was super neat just to see Alyssa Neier get that equalizer because they quite literally put everyone into the box. And they're saying, why not go for it? I don't even think she really took the time to celebrate because she was. concerned about, like, just getting back into the goal. But, I mean, how special is it just to have your first ever goal in your 200th career NWSL game? She'll remember that for a lifetime. It has been a weird year for NER, some injuries.

Of course, this is now the fourth manager that she has played under with the anticipation of already knowing the fifth coming and the next year will be the sixth. And, of course, we're stepping away from the national team. She will be honored, I believe, coming up in the fall with the U.S. Women's National Team program and then scores her first goal in this bizarre game. And as you said, had to do the full field sprint. I appreciate Ali Schlegel doing everything possible to not handball the ball, but like stay involved with the play just in case she's able to put it over the line. And the Nair just takes everything out of it. And it's like, well, if I'm going to score, I'm going to slam it in it.

I do want to talk about Seattle, though. And, you know, they've had a pretty good year in results, and they're, you know, in the middle of the table and have done well overall. But, you know, to give up a three-goal lead is pretty disappointing, especially being at home. As you mentioned, Dahlene has been excellent for them. She's been a player who's come in and offered a lot on the attacking front. And they've added a few players with me official and a couple others that will just build up their attack. but you have to be disciplined when you have a lead and, you know, just to give it up in the way that they did, especially after Chicago suffered a few major injuries is a bit of concern, but knowing Laura Harvey and her staff,

I'm sure that they will definitely go back to the drawing board, understand what they could have done different tactically, because I do think that their team has the ability to switch into different formations so that they can be a little bit more defensive oriented because the game became really, really stretched. And Chicago with Ludmila is able to capitalize on transition. And I think that's where Seattle ran into a few issues. And it's one of the things I've mentioned on this show is Seattle, it feels like struggles with balance,

which is you look back at the Angel City game they won two weeks ago, and everything is a tight defensive shape, very few numbers in the attack, not taking a ton of risks and they're able to eke out of victory and then it feels like coming out of the portland game you're at home you're against the chicago team that's struggling it felt like the decision was like all right let's open it up a little bit and let's go and let's play and and that's where you see dalene sort of play i mean Seattle the first half played through pressure they were playing with fire the entire time it worked out for them i guess you could say but it was

dangerous and risky then they get all the goals and you still see that lack of balance of ability to close down the game and be able to have your lines still be clean even if you're not packed in and sitting 11 players behind the ball. And so the two goals come from somewhat quick switches but not incredibly quick. And the second one is four minutes after the first one

of like, okay, they're coming down our right side. Like that's where they have identified this space and Seattle not able to adjust. And you could sort of see Laura Harvey come on the field shaking hands after the game. like they were shell-shocked by what happened and it went from this was the perfect way to get over the Portland game to uh-oh like is this something that's now going to last going forward they've obviously brought in fishel which is a huge addition not able to start yet and so I think we're

still waiting to see even with Lindy and Dolo like who is the best 11 and how do they sort of build things going forward and it feels like maybe this year is going to be too late to really established this next group of Seattle players that Laura Harvey has called the deepest team she has ever had. And this is someone who has won championship. So to say that and then have a team struggle in moments like this, I think it's kind of surprising for a lot of us from the outside. Ellie Maser, ecstatic after the game, jumping on players, starting the huddle. In theory is stepping down for a new interim manager coming up as an assistant. It just makes this whole Chicago story even wilder. They will play against the North Carolina courage coming up this weekend. You will be

a part of that one. What do you make of them from afar as you sort of get ready for dealing with this? I mean, this was a perfect game to watch because we can see, you know, how they're trying to attack. Obviously, like Seattle and North Carolina play different styles, but, you know, we'll find some of the areas to attack based on the way Seattle was able to score. And they're going to come into this game with a greater sense of belief. They're at home and we're going to have to make sure that we're incredibly disciplined, that we create chances and then ultimately put them away. I'm really looking forward to the match because as North Carolina, we need to pick up some points and I believe that we can do it. So again, like this league is so competitive and you have to

show up. So as a fan, it was cool to see a three to three tie in the fashion that it happened. but as a competitor, we're like, we need to lock in. Yes. You need to mark a listener on set pieces if it comes up in the next game and probably play to the final whistle would be another part of that one. It worked out for you all on the other side of things. Portland got out to a 1-0 lead against you through Olivia Moultrie's goal, who's been one of the phenoms of the season so far

and has really established a resume as a go-to player for this Portland team. but you get the equalizer late in the 80th minute as the North Carolina group, as you said, trying to start to stack points and put things together. It was part of what was like a lot of late ties on the weekend. Let's go to Friday night, which was absurd. It was Washington Spirit against Louisville. We all have come to know Rowdy Field very well. There's a really cool piece in The Guardian that I recommend everyone going to read that Pablo Mauer

just put out, including one of our own, I believe, Douglas Reyes-Saron, is quoted in it in which it talks about how the Washington Spirit, maybe are the first team to surpass the MLS team in their city in relevance and atmosphere. It's the same stadium, and the atmosphere is for a D.C. United game, and a Washington Spirit game could not be more polar opposite happening in the exact same place, and this game lived up to it. Sophia Cantore, a unbelievable opening goal in the 40th minute shot from distance off the underside of the crossbar, her first goal in NWSL. She's the first Italian international player to play in NWSL as well to get things started. That one was assisted by

GIF Monday, the two of them playing up top sort of in a three, five, two setup. And then you get an equalizer from Louisville. It ended up going down as a Bernal own goal off Flint's long strike. Savannah DeMillo gives Louisville the lead through a controversial penalty kick call against Lacey Santos late on approaching the 80th minute, and then Rose Kuasi, a 100th minute equalizer on an absurd run and shot. These are two teams that have trended up and down in wild sort of swings for Louisville more so than Washington Spirit, but this was like a treat of a game overall for all of us from afar, I think, to start out the weekend on Friday night. Well, we're just seeing so many late goals, and I think it shows that, you know, teams, again, to your point, have to play to the final whistle and make sure that they lock things down defensively. But it also shows teams willing to just grind out a result. And for spirit playing at home in front of the rowdy fans, they certainly gave them something to be proud of. There was actually a series of photos on Instagram of Kowasi making that, you know,

equalizer, the long shot from distance, and her running to the bench and celebrating an emphatic fashion. And it was just super cool because Spirit are a talented side. They created a lot of chances for themselves, especially on that right side. Kawasi and Gift Monday and Trinity and Croix have a lot of flare in that attack. And just to see that they could claw their way back into this game after an unfortunate to own goal and questionable decision on a PK, it shows, you know, how difficult they are to beat. For Louisville, I think they've come into their own. I think they've got a lot of

established veterans in this league who are finding ways to score. I feel like they're spreading the wealth a little bit. But that was such an entertaining game. And I definitely think that the end of Usel fans have a lot of different fan bases to cheer for. Because, again, And like there are so many teams that are doing exciting things and playing to the final whistle and finding ways to get a result. And I have to say the whole game total, but especially when Cantore scores, I had this thought of like Washington does it again. Because last year when they brought in a rose cuasi, when they brought in some of the players they brought in, you know, Esme Morgan in the summer, it was like, oh, these are future plays or depth plays. Like, you know, the starting lineups kind of already set. And then, of course, they end up having injuries.

And Croy Bethune goes down and Rose Colossi steps in the starting lineup. They make it to a final. This year, you've had, of course, Ashley Hatch now on the season and injury list with her pregnancy and having the injuries that you've had with Trinity Rodman and in midfield with Hal Herschfeld. And now you look at Sophia Cantore comes off an unbelievable Euro run, makes it to a semifinal, setting records for Italy, arguably the best player on the team, has already been signed, comes in, scores a streamer, gift Monday has been. been, you know, an unbelievable find for them to add to this talent group. And then Rosecoasi,

coming back from injuries, comes off the bench and is like, no, I'm still here. Don't worry. Like, there is still talent. And I think you said it, like, the late goals, so many teams are bringing players off the bench that we would have considered starters or are starters for their national team. I mean, look at Nichelle Prince and Ali Sentinel are coming off the bench for Kansas City as they tried to find a winner on Saturday. And I think this game just showed like Bethany Balser came off the bench for Louisville as she makes her return back into the league and back into playing. But again, more talent that you can bring off a bench and make a difference. I will throw this out there. Washington had been 8-0-0 when scoring first this season.

So for Louisville, a team that, you know, they kind of emerged in the first half of the season, had a really tough close to the first half of the season with the results in Kansas City, have come back and have had to play the hardest schedule you could, Kansas City, Orlando, and Washington, this does feel like a good cultural moment for Bevinez's group to be able to say we went to Rowdy, we were able to come back and at least get a result. Bevinez is an excellent coach. I actually had the privilege of working under her while I was at Gotham. She was an assistant coach at the time, and I think she does a wonderful job, just instilling

culture within a group and belief, especially among young players. And, you know, seeing her in the head coach role shows that Louisville is creating an identity of, like, how they're trying to play. It's been very gritty. They've relied a lot on Savannah DeMello and Taylor Flint. They've been excellent in the midfield. And I think this group is a team that should not be underestimated because, again, they're doing a lot on the road. And then they're also defending their home field well. and I think they are a team that everybody should have on their watch list.

Last piece here, congratulations, Sabri Kingsbury. Pass Tori Huster as the all-time leader for Washington Spirit players in NWSL League appearances. So first of all, shout out to Tori Huster for not being a goalkeeper and being on one. Because normally it's all goalkeepers, right? Aren't those lists like I feel like they're always like, yes, the goalie starts every game and therefore every team is? So shout out there. I know someone you know very well. And now Aubrey Kingsbury for passing.

And Aubrey Kingsbury has been through, we talked about it on the show last year with her. A lot of different generations of Washington Spirit very, very quickly. And so to be able to sort of maintain with the club through all of that. And now being able to enjoy this success is really, really cool to watch. A couple of other big ones from the weekend. Houston knocked off Gotham in New Jersey. Esther opened up the scoring to push the golden boot lead right now on 11 goals. And congratulations to Esther and her partner,

who announced that they're having a baby coming out of the game. But then Houston comes all the way back, and Emily Sondon, its own goal, and then a Michelle Aloisier winner in the 93rd minute. So another late goal, another late performance, but maybe I guess one we would have said was the upset of the weekend a few months ago, but hasn't been the case with the way things have gone for Gotham. over the last few months.

Yeah, Gotham has struggled a bit, and they have a talented roster. Obviously, when they won a few seasons ago, they got hot at the right moment and made a late-season push. You know, they're certainly a team that plays well at home and has so many talented players all over the field. But credit to Houston, you know, just for sticking in it, they've picked up a lot of good points and, you know, being able to have Aloisier come into this. game and score the goal that she did is going to get them a lot of confidence heading forward.

The table is honestly not that big with the exception of Kansas City. They clearly run off with all the points, but it is spread nicely between two and like 10. So there is time for some of these teams that are not currently in playoff contention. to make a late season push and Houston's kind of finding their identity. I think Gotham obviously still has a lot of time to fix the issues that they're having. I think it is a little bit shocking with Esther being the golden brute leader, but still being in the place that they are because, again, they're generating chances, but it's ultimately about making sure that they're defending the goal

and not giving up cheap losses in this way. So I'm interested to see how both of those teams finish out the year. Gotham is hanging on by a fingernail right now in eighth place, the final playoff spot as we head into the weekend coming up. They are on 20 points with a plus four goal differential. That puts them above. The North Carolina Courage, who are on 20 points with a minus three goal differential. Houston sits just behind on 18 points.

And then Bay and Angel City are tied on 17 points. Bay losing 2.1 to San Diego in a little California rivalry game. It allowed San Diego to jump Orlando and Washington this weekend and move back into second place. But as you said, a large 11 points behind the KC current. So the gap from San Diego down to the Houston dash in 10th is equal to the gap between one and two right now at the top. And it feels like Kansas City did the job of getting the result against Orlando not allowing them to close things down and probably ensuring their spot. as the shield winners this year, but we still have a lot of soccer left to play to figure that out.

As I mentioned, all of the teams that are playing in Conca Calf competition this week and next week, so it's caused a little bit of an odd schedule. Orlando is playing Angel City on Thursday night this week, and then you are kicking off on Friday night as the lone Friday night game between Chicago and North Carolina on Saturday 10 p.m. Eastern time, so it feels like the heat will be a little bit less at that time. Portland is facing off against Kansas City, and then Sunday the weekend ends with maybe the best game of the weekend as San Diego will face off against Louisville. Brianna, that one is fun because you mentioned when we talked about both those teams,

their styles. Louisville has become this high-pressing, high-intensity team. They're trying to close down space, but they leave gaps. And San Diego, you could argue, try and play through you short passing as much as any team in the league. And I think it's going to be an exciting one to watch those two teams match up to close out the weekend. San Diego has been really, really impressive. We actually struggled when we went out to San Diego to play. They're finding a lot of success with internationals, especially on that right side with Cascarino, her, Dali. They are finding a little bit of combination play, and they're looking for a lot of cutback passes to

score goals. A lot of people have been involved in their attack and they're pretty sound defensively. Trinity has been really, really impressive just as a young player coming up in this league. And obviously with Caitlin Sheridan in the goal, they've got experience, they've got distribution out of the back, they've got a real leader. So, you know, San Diego is reinventing themselves after having a few successful seasons just a couple of years ago and then maybe having a down year last year. But that Louisville, San Diego game is certainly going to be a game to watch. But to everyone listening, I do believe they should tune in to North Carolina in Chicago. I totally agree with you. I will be there destination viewing on Friday as well.

It's going to be an awesome weekend of NWSL action. And we'll be back next week, of course, to break it all down for you. But before we go, we got to talk North Carolina. Now the Pidi-Poblo song goes on in my head every single time that I say it. We do every single week our 50 states of soccer in which we go and break down into on the soccer-wise side of things, a five-a-side of the state's best players. And then we have our scouting report that we will do on the kickback committee, which we will close up tomorrow on our live happy hour. So that one is 5.30 p.m. Eastern time. We are going to be on live with myself, Susanna Fuller, Claudio Pagan and Iko Para, who is also a North Carolina native just like yourself,

who was just promoted to be the interim manager of Sporting Kansas City too. But he is going to come by to talk to us a little bit about North Carolina. So we'll put a bow on some of the things that we talk about right now. And of course, shoot us all your messages on Blue Sky and on Instagram. What are we missing? Who should we be talking about? What are some of the great stories and the great moments around the soccer scene in North Carolina? and as we said off the top, a diverse one.

You've got Charlotte, you've got Greensboro, you've got Asheville, you've got the Raleigh-Durham area, the triangle, and all of that. Let's start with the players, and then we'll dig in a little bit to some of these other categories. And in the five-a-side convo of players from North Carolina, and that is a part that I think has gotten us in trouble with North Carolina more than any other state because of the great success of the college soccer programs. And the moment you say North Carolina soccer, people start, listing, Mia Hamm and Christine Lillian all the way through to your teams and Megan

Klingenberg and all these players. And most of them are not from North Carolina. And it's kind of an argument that you have to start to get into and Wake Forest and Duke and all of that are added to that conversation as well. Well, I've loved growing up here just because there's such a rich soccer culture from the youth to the pro levels. I grew up as someone who went to all of the college soccer games. I loved following UNC men's and women's soccer. Wake Forest men's soccer went on a long run. Even their women's team was in the most recent national championship. Unc Charlotte has won a few national championships. So just to see the success that we've had in this state is really, really special. But to your point, when I was

reflecting on this, I was like, there are not actually that many people that grew up here, maybe born here. I personally was not born here, but I've lived here. the vast majority of my life, like 23 years. You count us from. So I count us from because I went to school here from elementary to college, and then now I'm playing for my hometown club. But, yeah, it's been cool just to see players like Eddie Pope. He's been a person who made a name for himself at the national team in the pro level.

John Luca Bousseo is one of the up-and-coming young stars. Ike O'Para actually went to my high school. school. So shout out to Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina. Oh, yeah, there we go. So, yeah, one of the other players I'd highlight is Jeremy Kelly. He went to UNC Chapel Hill, and he's had an excellent career, and he's been involved with the USL as well. And, you know, he's a talented player that I got to train with in off-season. Obviously, I love playing with my brothers. They'd be on my five-a-side team, by the way, just because we have great chemistry on the small-sided to feel together. But again, there are so many talented players who have been involved in the

landscape of soccer in North Carolina to some extent. And I'm grateful as a player and a fan just to have a great training environment and off seasons and also so many levels of soccer to watch. Yeah. Let's talk about the culture a little bit because that I've never lived in it. So the college soccer experience of like, you know, is the UNC women's team a huge deal? Are people talking about the games in between games like you mentioned going as a kid like is everyone from across the youth clubs going to these games and that you know pre nwsl was that sort of the pro experience like what is the feeling around the college soccer with all the success of these programs in the region yeah so there are a lot of Thursday and Sunday games so on a Thursday night you might have practiced at like

530 get out of training for a youth team at 7 and then you head right over to chapel hill that's something I grew up doing. I'd go to the men's and the women's games. I was the ball kid for both teams. And it was a way for me personally to see my dreams come to fruition and believe that I could one day get there. To be quite frank, my first goal was to play for UNC. It was not the national team because you didn't really see it on TV. Like I believed in what I could see and having players like Crystal Dunn or Heather O'Reilly and Tobin Heath quite literally in my backyard and I could watch them become the legends that they are today, it gave me a sense of belief of where the women's game was headed.

But even on the men's side, my favorite player growing up was Kirk, so I wanted my game to be just like him. He was an incredible midfielder played for Columbus crew, and he helped North Carolina achieve and win a national championship, and I think it was 2011, if I'm not mistaken, under coach Carlos Samuano. But what I will say just about the dynamic here is it's very diverse. It's a very educated environment. So both my parents were student division one athletes at UNC, and they wanted us to be in an

environment where not only we're getting great education, but we're also in a rich soccer community. And you have so many different schools to choose from within this state. So accounting for how expensive soccer is, like in-state tuition might be important for a lot of families. You know, there's also private schools like Wake Forest and Duke, but they've made a name for themselves and have become such competitive organizations. And then to see North Carolina courage and then go to Railhawks games as a kid, And now, like, we having Charlotte FC, there's just literally every level of the game that you can become invested in because there's so many different touch points. So I just am really grateful that one, it's accessible, two, that you have superstars that you can look up to, three, that it's a welcoming environment, and four, that you can watch games all day anywhere.

It is absolutely on every level. We talked about it when we first chat at TSD now. has become, uh, found a home in Raleigh. Um, there is, I believe Hickory FC, which won the NPSL championship is based in Hickory, uh, North Carolina. You mentioned Charlotte FC and of course, everything they're doing. Um, there is soccer in so many different ways and on so many different levels, uh, across the state and, and the areas are so different. I remember growing up, I grew up in New York and it's like the winter we would go to tournaments in, whether it was Virginia or North Carolina and you would be like, uh-oh, we're playing

like the big time like this is these players are sort of like steeled in a culture where the game is really really consistent you mentioned on the five aside some of the the big time players Eddie Pope unarguably I think the best player to come out of North Carolina and a player we all kind of have our own moment with for me he was the first American player that I felt in any debate with any other fan you could put him up and say like players from the US are as good as anyone in the world and the stories, of course, of the offers from A.C. Milan and what he could have, where he could have gone in Europe, but his decision to stay in MLS and help grow the game locally and now what he's doing with Carolina Ascent is really, really cool. And underneath him

at Carolina Ascent, the head coach is Roy Lasseter, who held the single season MLS goal scoring record for almost 20 years and is also from North Carolina. You mentioned John Luke Cabusio, Icopara, and then a lot of players who played really good careers, um, the professional ranks. Sam Cronin, who played for a long time in MLS, Clyde Sims, who was for a long time the last college soccer player to be called to the national team until Jordan Morris was called up as a Stanford player, which I think was like an almost 20-year record that Clyde Sims held. You mentioned Jeremy Kelly. You threw Wells Thompson on our list as well, a great winger in his time, and of course winning many things with the New England Revolution. and so a lot to appreciate, a lot to like from there.

Do you have a five or would we have to debate the last few points? I think we'd have to debate. I think Eddie would definitely be on the back line. There's no question about that. I'd need to find like a goalkeeper, though. Yes, this is one that we've, this is something we've fallen into, which is like, our goalkeepers required, no. If there was two players that we were debating at fifth and one,

one happen to be goalie, then we could throw them in. But I don't think you have to have a goalkeeper, is what I will say. Well, I have to go with what I know. So I'd have Eddie myself. John Lucas is so good at, like, restarts. Like, he can hit a dead ball better than almost anybody I know. Jeremy Kelly is so good in tight spaces. I go par has to be there and myself.

So if that's, yeah. I think, obviously, all those players are so talented. I have to go with the players that I've seen play. Yeah, I think that would be a really good five-a-side team. We're going to, I'll present this to the full committee tomorrow. And I will come back to you with a final answer. Let's go into our scouting reports. Let's talk youth themes.

It is like one of the big conversations around North Carolina. I put a couple down and then you added to it knowing the actual region a little bit better. What are the like big youth clubs that people from outside North Carolina should know? So I actually started at Rainbow Soccer, which was underneath Triangly United. So that's in Chapel Hill. I loved my time there. It was great. Just, again, it was super diverse.

People from the entire community played there. And there were a lot of players that went on to play at the collegiate and professional levels from Triangle United. Then I moved to TFC. So TFC has now been acquired by NCFC, which was Castle back in the day. Castle was like the premier club. was one of the biggest clubs in the Southeast. It was home to, you know, national championships at the youth level. They have WRL Soccer Center, which is where the college showcases, I think in November, December

at time, so many teams from all over the country would come to that tournament and you'd play really, really talented teams. So after my time at TFC, where I played with the boys, I then eventually moved to Castle so that I could play E.C.N.L. and EC&L has actually since grown since my youth days and it's expanded to the boys side and I think it's been a really successful alternative. MLS Next Pro I think is the most premier level on the boys' side, but for the clubs that don't offer it, EC&L is the next best. So NCFC has EC&L for boys and girls. They also have the Girls Academy, which is a pipeline into NC Courage.

I think that's been super special because we're starting. to see younger players, like, getting pulled up to train with us. And I think there's no greater exposure than training with pros, especially during the summer when they're not in school. I have to highlight NC Fusion. My brother's actually played for their academy growing up. And they serve the Piedmont region of the state. So that's the middle of the state for those that are not familiar.

And they pull from anywhere from, like, Greensboro to Kernersville, maybe even into Charlotte, Winston-Salem areas. And then lastly, Charlotte FC, they have a big academy down there and a lot of talent. And one more is Wake FC, which has actually has MLS Next Pro. So that's been the highest level on the boys' side in the Triangle area. And it's one of the younger clubs that has been added to the area. So I definitely say that the youth landscape has evolved a lot. But there have been a lot of dilution, for lack of better term, with clubs kind of merging.

But there are so many opportunities at different levels, no matter what level you want to play at. Let's talk about hallowed ground, because this is one that I love getting from people who are on the ground. Because I think from afar, we think of like the big stadium. And with Texas, Cotton Bowl was the right call. Like, it's the Dallas Cup. It's where it starts. It's the Houston World Cup games and everything else. else. But what came to your mind first when you thought of North Carolina,

hallowed soccer grounds? Definitely Brian Park. So that's actually in Greensboro. I chose that because it's in the middle of the state. The fields are stunning. We play 3B3 there in the summer sometimes. State Cup was held there. They have a smaller stadium where semi-pro teams would come play. I think Railhawks had played there a few times. And Brian Park was just, the premier place to play as a youth player and it's somewhere that I've gone countless times. My parents have burned up I-40 just driving us to practices and games there. So I would say that is definitely a hallowed ground for the state of North Carolina. So I'm going to, I think this is why I like learning about this.

I literally never heard of that place. So I think that's an awesome one and that's exactly what we're looking for. I think that's one that everyone who grew up in North Carolina will be like, Yep, I remember my memory from there. But we do have to throw one in for Wakebed Soccer Park because going back, it is one of the first soccer-specific stadiums in the U.S., and I think that is why it has been the site for men's national team, women's national team, all-star games.

I mean, the amount of college cups alone that it has hosted and has seen some local teams win, it helps when North Carolina's women's team wins 22 national championships. It gives you a decent chance. But I was going to throw that one in as well. you know it better than I do, but it is, you know, growing up from afar was something in New York that I was jealous of that, like, you would always tune in to a random U.S. women's national team friendly and random U.S.M&T friendly, and it's like every soccer thing's happening down there.

And I think for a lot of people, the idea of having access to that was really, really special. It's been a full circle moment for me because I can remember being on field eight, which is the smallest youth field. if you're on the stadium field, it's the top left. And, you know, I played there from age eight to now. And so to go from the youth fields to then being on the first team with North Carolina courage, it's just so cool because I remember so many different games. So even when I walk around the soccer park, I can remember youth games that I was playing, like the boys on field six and who we were playing.

And it just brings back so many fond memories. of just my time being at Wakewood med soccer park. It was even our home field during my time at Carolina. So field two when our stadium was being built. That's where we played. And then we played national championships and ACC championships. There was also TST, which is arguably been one of my favorite experiences as a fan of the game. It brought back a lot of nostalgia from my summers as a kid playing 3V3. Obviously, it's not the same numbers, but so many people from the community and even neighboring states came to WakeMed.

They're playing on what I believe are the best fields in the country because they're maintained to such a high standard. We had international superstars coming, like Chat Ocho Cinco or Nani, who I grew up watching. Like, that was so sick as, like, a fan of the game. And then lastly, another fond memory of being at WakeMed was the U.S. women played against Switzerland, I believe, around 2014. So this is the time I was getting involved with the youth national team. And Alex Morgan gave me her cleats. So Wake Med would be the obvious choice for Hallowed Ground because there's so many different events that are going on there all the time from youth to professional levels.

but I chose Brian Park just because I feel like a few more people would be able to relate at the youth level. But yeah, it's been cool just to play at Wake Med. The fact that it was built as a women-specific stadium for the courage back in the day is a testament to just where the league has, well, not only the league, but where women's football has come and grown to in the course of around 23 years. So let me ask you this one. And then we can get out of here.

But so for one, we have soccer bars. You put in the bootroom in Durham, I believe. Yes. The boot room is great. So they actually have a location in Durham and in Chapel Hill, but it's my favorite soccer bar because they strictly play soccer games on the TVs. And there's soccer memorabilia everywhere. So different iterations of the North Carolina Courage or U.S. women.

I think Heather O'Reilly has, like, signed memorabilia in there. or like Landon Donovan. They're finding pictures from quite literally everywhere. And it just makes for such a fun environment to go watch a game. I go there sometimes. I watch the Club World Cup final there, and it's five minutes for my house. And I don't know. I just love being a part of the greater soccer community.

So the fact that they celebrate it there has been special. I will throw in Courtyard Hooligans, which is a walking distance from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. and I went to the first ever Charlotte FC game because I was hearing the rumors online that we think it's going to be 65,000, 70,000, and I was like, I have to be there. So I flew down for the game, went as a fan with a couple of friends, and there is this stone street in Charlotte, and there's no cars, and all the bars look back out on the stone street, and there is this soccer bar on it. All of them show soccer, but courtyard hooligan similar has the scarves and the memorabilia

and all of these different things to celebrate the game. And I think the game for Charlotte FC was like a 7 p.m. game. We got there for EPL in the morning. We watched LaLiga in the afternoon. And then we walked over to the stadium and experienced this like unheard of to me idea of Charlotte selling out an NFL stadium for a local MLS team to play their game. It was so, so cool. So if you're ever going to a Charlotte FC game or you're in the area,

I highly recommend going to courtyard hooligans there. But the last one I want to close you. on, because this is one I have no idea on, is the rival state. So we assume every state has a rivalry. North Carolina feels like it probably has a couple. But what comes up first in your mind? I have to think back to ODP days. So I'd say Georgia. I think Georgia is a hotbed for talent. There's a lot of clubs in and around the Atlanta area. And, you know, I remember fondly going down there to play so many youth games and I wouldn't say they're as far advanced as North Carolina at the collegiate level but they definitely do have a lot of players who have gone on to do special

things at various levels so I definitely say Georgia is a rival state all right well there we go we have the start of our scouting report Brianna helping set us up very well we'll close everything out on the live happy hour stream on Thursday say 5.30 p.m. Eastern time with another. Jordan High School is what you said. Jordan High School. Is that Michael Jordan High School? No, it is Charles E. Jordan High School. Okay. When you say North Carolina and then you say Jordan. I'll save it. But I will tell you our logo for our high school is the Atlanta Falcons logo flipped. So we go Jordan Falcons. Okay. That seems maybe not allowed, but we'll accept it on this one.

I thought you were going to say the jump man. I was going to say, no way. That it is Michael Jordan High School. That would have been pretty amazing. Brianna, your first show with us. Many more to come. We're very excited to have you as part of the Kickback Committee family. And good luck on Friday.

And we'll talk to you again very, very soon here. Thank you so much for having me. It's been such a pleasure just to recount all things sucker. All right. Well, for everyone out there, we will be back tomorrow with a live transfer. breakdown on the MLS side of things. You know it's Tommy Scoops' season. So Andrew Reevee will be joining me so that every time Tom goes, hang on, I got to take a phone call in the middle of the transfer window closing. We will have someone for me to hang out with. And we will be live

on YouTube for that one, starting at noon Eastern time on Thursday. So log in for that one. Send us any of your thoughts. We're going to talk transfer window in general. What did you think where some of the underrated moves? What did you think about your club and what they were able to do? what do you think about the stretch run of the season going forward? And then, of course, we'll have our live happy hour stream on Thursday evening as well. And then next week, we already have some big interviews lined up. I think we're going to do an in-depth, long interview with some of the big players in the college soccer scene as the season comes up, as the women's game has already started. And the men's is about to start this weekend.

And then we're going to dig in with some of the big characters across NWSL as well. So thank you to all of you for listening. Once again, thank you to you, Brianna, for being here. Here, shout out to Jordan for being on vacation, but we love you anyway. And we will talk to all of you again very, very soon.