SoccerWise - Denver USWNT Signing, Gotham London Trip & Big Signings In Bay & Chicago

Episode Date: February 4, 2026

The moves continue to come as all teams have started training camp but continue to build their rosters. After putting a bow on Gotham's London trip. Jordan and David dive into the big defenders added starting with USWNT CB Eva Gaetino joining Denver from PSG. They then talk about Bay breaking West Hams transfer record for their new addition, Chicago loading up on the backline, and North Carolina finding their Denise O'sullivan replacement.7:00 Corinthians Shine At FIFA Women's Champions Cup11:45 Gotham Win 3rd Place18:49 Denver Adds Eva Gaetino & Sells 40k Tickets31:40 Bay FC Spend Big On Additions From West Ham & Manchester United37:27 Mexico Intl Aliyah Farmer Joins Chicago Defense40:55 NC Courage Finally Add Along Their Spine

Welcome back to everybody to Soccer Wise, David Goss and Jordan Angi with you for another big NWSL show. We've got a lot to talk about some big moves going down in a city called Denver. I don't know if you've ever heard of it. They seem to be pretty good at the PR rollout. All these players have been signed for two months. But the slow trickle is news to me every time. And every time I get excited. Oh, this one does actually feel a little bit newer as they've signed U.S. women's national team center back.

and maybe a couple other players. We'll talk about that. We have a lot to talk about in Chicago. We have a lot to talk about with Bay, North Carolina as well. Gotham finishes up their trip over in Europe. And Jordan, we are fully into. Every team is in preseason training. We've started a couple scrimmages.

Some of the big preseason tournaments like Coachella are just around the corner about two weeks away. A few teams have made some trips to Spain, I believe, specifically. Good work if you can get it, you know. Yeah. I mean, if, if, you know, if, I'm working for a club, I'm saying, are we going to Spain? Am I going on the trip to California? Like, you want to go on all these trips in the middle of the winter. It's just nice to see the team is playing again. I think it feels, I don't know, do you just kind of get an itch

around this time? It's like, all right, it feels like it's right. It's time. It's time. I'm craving the information we download from games. Like, we're going through. We got a very nice Patreon message from someone. And if you don't subscribe, you can. can do so. Soccerwise, we have our own Patreon and get you access to our depth charts on both the MLS and NWSL side. The NWSL ones are outdated because they're from last year. And I got a message saying, like, are you going to do them again? And it's like, yes, I don't have any information. Like, we have signings. I could add names, but I don't know what teams look like. I don't know formations. And there's so many new coaches. But there are so many new players that

are going to be core players to teams that are coming new, whether it's from, college or outside the league where it's so hard to place you know we're going to talk about two or three defenders today where are they a deem it are they a center back are they right back is it three at the back like we really have no answers to some of those questions right now and I'm craving the answers which you get from seeing the teams on the field and I'm also just thinking man I got a lot of work to do I better start doing so that work before season starts in a month it's fun it is it's going to be a big season and obviously there's going to be a lot to talk about across all of these teams, two new teams coming in as well.

But before we get to it, we're going to start with some congrats on both careers and on babies. First of all, we've got our own Theo Boger, Tommy Scoops, with his first born son, born about a week ago. We are so excited for him. We are so proud of him. And we cannot wait for Theo to become the next soccer-wise NWSL depth chart user. we might be able to sneak him a free subscription if he if he goes the right way. I'm not I'm not quite sure about that. You might be pushing it there.

But I can just imagine him right now just taking his little baby naps on Tom's chest as Tom's just giving everybody the scoop still like he always does. Hamas Rodriguez's story coming out and I think every chat I'm in with Tom is, you know we're going to tell your son that he was 40s old sleeping and this is what you were doing at the time. But you can't not do that, right? Like, I mean, it's a pretty, Thomas. It's a pretty big deal. So congratulations to Tom and we are so proud of him. We're so excited and he will be back on the shows when he, you know, has gone through some time where he gets to be in his little baby bubble, which we are very excited for him. As well, we've got an

NWSL birth that we want to shout out. Yeah, Vanessa Di Bernardo had her little baby Charlie Ray. They posted on Instagram and so congratulations to her and her and husband and their new itty-bitty little baby girl she looks so cute and it's just exciting right we've seen the the baby boom in nwsl over the last few years with now differences in the cb a where these mothers feel like they can't have a baby and come back to play so um definitely excited for Vanessa becoming a mother and also excited to see her back on the field at some point hopefully this year yes on both counts incredible soccer player incredible part of NWSL, but I will say I'm sure this is something you know better than me.

But I did read, I believe it was Claire Emsley's interview at the end of last year talking about how much more comfortable she felt. Having a kid after both watching Sidney Leroux on her team and some other players go through it and also seeing the support that had been added by the league and by Angel City. And I think that's something really exciting for all of us is for these players to feel they can live the lives, they want to live while also being high-level athletes and being a part of NWSL. And I think for a player like Vanessa DiBanardo, who's been in the league for a while, has

seen the changes. I think it's exciting that, as you said, this baby boom has come and all of these players have been, are still in a really good spot in their careers. Did we talk about Claire Imbley having her baby too? Because she had her baby at the end of December. So maybe I think because it was, we hadn't had a show for a long time. She also had her baby, a little baby boy. And another player that we're so excited to see back on the field sometime this year, which

Yeah, we didn't do a full baby update, but if it interests you, you were the first co-host of our newly set-up kickback committee show, which Susanna is the full host of, and there'll be a rotating cast, myself and you are involved. Brianna Pinto will be involved as well. And you guys did a deep dive on some of the off-season weddings, which is a necessity in the soccer world because you can't do it during the season. and obviously the headline of it was the Chrissy Mewis, Sam Kerr extravaganza. Yeah. So you're saying that that could be a really good topic on the kickback finney. We could talk about all these cute little babies that have gotten bored. We could have done.

It would be a great place. So make sure you guys check that podcast out too because it was really fun. Susan and I had a great time. You talked about some of the topics we're going to hit, but a little bit of a different angle. So that show sort of gives you a little bit more of the culture feel. We love to talk soccer, but maybe a little bit less of the, X and O's on the field like we like to do here at soccer-wise. So please go subscribe to Kickback Committee if you have not.

Share it with people, especially people that you think, oh, they kind of like soccer, they're going to get into it. Obviously, the World Cup is coming. I think it's a really good place to start to get excited about some of that stuff. And Suz is one of the best in the world in what she does as a host and bringing people in and having those conversations. And in that show, you talked about some of your favorite stories around the soccer world. And yours was the Corinthians fans.

at this FIFA Women's W Cup Championship, which is not the Club World Cup. The World Cup will be coming in 2028 and will be a whole different thing. The Corinthians fans really stood out. We talked about it a little coming out of the Gotham game. I think it was even more pronounced in the final against Arsenal in just this team from halfway around the world

having this robust, loud fan base that just showed how much that club means to their fans and how big they really are. And I think for a lot of people, Corinthians' performance, their professionalism, the way they played, that may have been the takeaway of this FIFA tournament. Yeah, I mentioned this on kickback, and I think it's good to reiterate. Like, we oftentimes see, we see the Brazil national team play as a unit, but we oftentimes only see players spread out across the league that are Brazilians, right? We have Luchmila on one team, Marta on the other side of the country, Devenia in the middle, but you're not often, maybe it's, a group of three or four players, but to see a full Brazilian team play is not something we get

to see all that often. And I thought it was, one, I was like really impressed with their defensive prowess, like their ability to just stay in it, make it difficult for Arsenal, and the belief that they had. Like, I think that maybe is just something that runs in the veins of Brazilians, but like they always believe they have a chance in whatever game they were in. And in the this game and Arsenal should have for sure been up more than two to one. But they kept it close and right in the waning seconds of stoppage time. It's Corinthians who get the penalty and push it to overtime. I loved their tenacity and their drive. And that was, I agree, it was a takeaway. It was not just the fans, but how they played on the field that really kept you interested in a game

that maybe could have gone very differently with Arsenal putting a few away. And this is the context of Corinthians are also in preseason. Their season starts right now. So they're closer to where they want to be than Gotham, which was a part of the complaint, but not against Arsenal, who are in midseason form. This was a home game for Arsenal. So Corinthians traveled halfway around the world to play in preseason against the European champions in their building.

And it comes on the back of a 21 shot performance from Gotham and over 55% possession in the previous game. So for Corinthians, it was two straight games with extra time of battling through this, as you said, staying committed, had three players that couldn't get visas for the semifinal. So there were three players down for that game, which then just adds more minutes and more energy on the legs of some of the other players. And I think overall, it was really, really impressive to watch them. It shows the level that there is in Brazil.

I think we've seen now the jump between NWSL and Brazil is not that high, right? We've seen enough players immediately affect the game coming from Brazil where now the feeling is, okay, at least with the top level teams, Palmeiros, Corinthians, San Paulo, that that level is high. And I think it was a really big performance for them. I put in the notes. I thought Lucas Piccinato, the head coach for Corinthians, should be on a short list for NWSL teams that are looking to hire. He was Arthur Lias' assistant when he was coach of Corinthians for about five years, went over. became the head coach of Sampalo, got let go, right, as Elias took over as the Brazil national team coach. As you said, one of the most successful teams in the world.

And so he now moved back over and really, I think, showed well with this Corinthians group. Portland is the only vacant job right now. I could think of crazier things to do. I wouldn't say this team would have to set up so differently, right? He created defensive strength through numbers. And there's a lot of transition opportunity with this Portland group. But I would be shocked if that's the last job opening in NWSL history as well. So it might be someone who's on a short list, but I think we saw in this offseason with the,

especially with the two expansion teams, people are kind of trying to figure out like what is the model of an NWSL coach in Chicago and North Carolina and all of that. And so I think running a really successful group out of Brazil should be one of them. Let's talk as well. First of all, congrats Emily Fox, three for three in cup finals. with this Arsenal team. I think it's an FAA Cup, a Champions League final, and now this FIFA tournament.

So a big one for them. Big money, obviously, for both these clubs in making this game, which we'll talk about more in just a moment. But for Gotham, they finished out their competition with a four-zero win over AS FAR from Morocco, who had previously lost, I think, 6-0 it was, to Arsenal four changes to the starting lineup. Andrea Kedahada and Tilea Samar both made their professional debut

for Gotham in this one and what Carlos Omar said after the game, quote, it's a similar game in a lot of ways to the ones we played four days ago. Main difference is we were able to get the early lead that we know unsettle teams and we were able to be more clinical in front of goal, which really allowed us to then play a bit more of the game where players can enjoy opening goal in about the 27th minute. And then, you know, this is the story for Gotham. This is not a new story. Right.

Right. It is dominant possession at times with very little threat. And so teams can settle in. And then obviously, as one Carlos Homer says, the early goal in this one just sets the tone for them to really be able to play their game. Yeah, I feel like that's going to be the key to Gotham, especially coming off a championship from last year to this year in NWSL is can they punish teams earlier and a little bit more often? Because this is a team, I mean, it doesn't matter because then they ended up winning the championship, right? But last year, I think there were so many moments where they just let a team out of the times where they had a lot of possession, a lot of quote unquote chances, but didn't really say like, okay, this is a quality chance on goal. This is a quality chance on goal. So when they do get that, they win, right? Like you get a fairly early goal and you punish a team and then you have a little space, a little more room to run into, all the things you want. If you're this Gotham team. And so for them, I think they, are very pleased that they got out of there in third place,

that they didn't, you know, go there and not win anything. But I think just unfortunate that that wasn't the case during that first, that the semi-final game, so then they could have played Arsenal because it very well could have been that way too. And I think, you know, I think the comment there from one caller someone else is like, like, we played well enough to win last game. Like, we should have been in the final, we weren't. Yeah.

four changes for them all up the spine. So I think it shows now I wouldn't say this is NWSL level exactly. And I don't know that Kaya Harper is starting at Center Forward for them next week, you know, if there was an NWSL game. But I think it shows a little bit of the added depth to this team. And a lot of that is going to be the rookies they signed last year, who won one more year experience plus the rookies they signed this year. And Savannah McCaskill, a part of that.

But I think just showing like Cook Harper, Duran, And the trust to play them where they played them shows a little bit of, I believe, how Gotham's going to grow this year from last year. Totally. We didn't get to see Sophia Cook play nearly at all last year. And this is one of the most talked about players coming out of college. So to have that really almost as a surprise to shock opponents of being like, hey, now you got to deal with her too will be a real benefit for Gotham. and I think they're going to continue to get a lot out of not just their starting 11, but again, with the way that the season is this year,

there's so many more midweek games. And I think that the teams that have that kind of depth that can, you know, Rose LaVelle doesn't have to start every game. You know, she can start. Sophia can start the next game. They can get a little bit of a rest. Those are going to be the teams that are going to be most successful. Andrea Keita Hata, who made her pro debut,

uh, college squash player. Whoa. Yeah. Didn't know this. Was like a phenom in high school. Quit because was focused on soccer. And after she took her redshirt year, after the tragic passing of Katie, Stangle, her teammate, took some time off. Ended up coming back.

I didn't know this. First to Squash and played for USC and Squash before, or Stanford, sorry. No, you're good. Before ending up, well, I know you're a West Coast person. Yeah. No, I was just thinking. It means things to you. I was thinking.

All these schools. the same to me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was thinking, you said Katie Stengel, I just want to correct and say Katie Meyer. Sorry. No, that's fine. I just want to make sure that's the right name. Because we were talking about Gotham.

Exactly. Which did not help, but it would definitely be a terrible confusion. So played squash at the collegiate level, which- That's so cool. Athletes are athletes. That's a wild game. Squash is so fun to watch. It's like gotten a little bit popular on broadcast stuff.

I don't watch full matches. The ref just talks to the players. and they like kind of yell at them through the glass. Yeah, it's kind of a cool setup. I'm, I'm into paddle now, so I'm like learning how the sports work. Yeah, I just, I'm like paddle guy. I just like paddle when I have time. When I have free time, I just paddle.

Exactly, you know. I haven't tried yet, but that is my, it's on my list. Have you played tennis? I have, yeah. Poppy Miller, I used to play tennis when I lived in Connecticut. There you go. It's closer to tennis than pickleball is, which is why I like it. Okay.

So it's a bit more of like, what I would say is a real sport. But I'm glad for people who play pickleball too. I also like pickleball. So yeah, it's fun. It's just a different level of exercise than what it can be. Final stat from this one, four goals on 11 shots in the final game for Gotham. 21 shots, zero goals against Corinthians, starts to talk a little bit about the problem.

This was interesting. It came out of an ESPN article and then we're going to move on. We've talked a lot about some of the issues with this tournament, timing, location, how you're going to set it up, all of that. Gotham earned $200,000 for their third place appearance, which the understanding is they spent more than that in the time that they had to put together training in Spain, extending players time, and then setting up friendlies and then going to London,

training there. So it shows a little bit of the issues that still exists with this competition, but it is year one and hopefully it's something that grows. They didn't have to train in Spain, though. No. You know, like that was a choice. Yeah, but like they weren't probably going to train in New Jersey. Yeah, but I mean indoor facilities.

You could train in indoors. But I'm just saying like I think they're going to be happy. They made some of that money back. But with a Spanish coach, I'm sure he's like, hey, let's go to Spain for a little bit before we go to. That's what I would do. I think the part that will be interesting learning after this year, and we won't know until the end, is the calculus of how much energy was wasted in ramping up this early before they. the season and whether it will have the value of a normal like Chicago just got to Spain to

train but like that's going to ramp into the season so if it's the same both ways I would agree of like yeah well they were going to go to Spain and train either ways and they got $200,000 that they got back if not then it becomes interesting of like what's the value for the teams becoming a part of this and we'll have another contest competition this year so we'll see if another end of a cell team ends up in this going forward to next year let's dig into a I think the biggest signing of the last week and a couple of them, all potentially announced by the newest Scoops Master of NWSL. That's Carson Pickett,

both when it comes to ice cream because some of the photos literally are the team eating ice cream, but mostly on her Instagram as she has been posting pictures of players who have not been announced yet for the Denver Summit. And they became announced when Carson Pickett posted them. Shout out to the club for having fun with this and letting it be a thing. I think it's really good vibes early on for a new team and a new group. But the big announcement a week ago, right after we got off the show, as always, was Eva Gattino joining from Paris Saint-Germain, 23-year-old centerback, former All-American and ACC defender of the year at Notre Dame,

left college in 2023 and immediately went to PSG to start her European career. Lockdown starter for them has scored some big goals, including being the youngest American to score in a Champions League knockout match, has played with the U.S. Women's National Team as well. And our understanding is there's a transfer fee involved, but we don't know the exact number yet, and we don't know where it sits as she then joins Denver and signs a new contract through 2028.

Jordan, this was sort of what I was saying of, I didn't have this as a name pegged. And when it came across, it was like, oh, wow, this is a real big move to make. Totally. Some of these players, it was really in that draft, I want to say, there was a number of players who opted to not go into the draft and instead went to Europe. And Katina was one of those players.

And she was coming out of Notre Dame so promising. And there were so many eyeballs on her probably would have been second pick in the draft, like because of how vital she can be to a back line. Instead, she kind of, you know, I'm not saying she disappeared going to play in Europe because that's not the truth. She played 44 games with PSG over the couple of years that she was there. But you almost like forget that she would be an option. And so when this name came across, I think a lot of people had the same reaction and Summit pounced on it. Because this is, when you're building a new team, you have to have players of all different ages, like of all.

different experiences and I think that her youth but also her experience playing abroad already and really competitive tournament like the Champions League is going to help her adapt really well to NWSL. So this is a great pickup and I have those feelings that I had when I was covering the draft back in 23 where I was like I want I can't wait to watch her play. Like I just think she's going to really add a lot to NWSL. It's a huge anchor. at centerback. She is a massive threat on set pieces, which has been a huge part of her career,

which is like one of those things. It's not a bonus, but it's like when you talk about the job description, it's not a part of it. And then it's like, oh, here's another thing that she will add. You throw that with Lindsay Heaps, by the way, as well. Doesn't be a dominant team on set pieces.

But to have someone who has now gone and found her feet internationally and established herself, in a club coming into this has won trophies already with PSG. Being a part of the spine of this team, that's going to be huge. Because year one, to me, that's like the starting point, is can you have comfort and reliability up the spine? And then you will grow as an attacking team.

Like, that's the harder part to come. That's the stuff where it comes with time and comfort and knowing and anticipation and all of that. But the defensive core has to be there first. And this feels like a home run on top of Kaylee Kurtz, who's already joined the team, on top of Carson. picket. There is a lot of experience. There is a lot of quality at that centerback position. And this feels like one for Gatino where I think PSG is a little bit of a mess at times, but also she's putting herself right in front of Emma Hayes now as if she can be a go-to

starter for one of the better teams in NWSL. She now is immediately in a conversation with the other centerback, you know, options that we've seen emerge for Emma over the last year. Yeah. And we were just talking about Gotham in depth, right? Now you have three really strong centerbacks and Megan Reed, Kaylee Kurtz, and Gatino. So I think that was probably another thought process of like, how can we create depth in a position that if you don't have that depth, you oftentimes and something, you know,

God forbid happens, you can fall apart pretty quickly. So I like that there is some added depth in that position and like three really good players who are going to compete for a starting spot. Yeah. It's going to be. exciting to watch this one, like you said, like I can't wait to see her out on the field with this group. I think I don't watch as much of some of the European League,

so I'm excited to see what does she look like in buildup? How comfortable is she in possession? How does she deal with the speed and direct play, especially at that position, especially in transition moments, 1V1 defending, all of that stuff where I think Tara Mikion has shown that she's been elite, and I think that's what's pushed her into the centerback. national team pool convo really, really high.

Here's a chance for Gatino to show in the same league against the same competition that she's capable. And this is a big, big move for this Denver squad to bring in at this point. We think from the outside that Pauline Perard Magnin could be joining as well. 33-year-old French international goalkeeper has been with Juventus since 2021. She announced that she was leaving Yuvai with no destination connected to it. And there were rumors and reports from Sakharana and all the other spots that Denver could be the destination. And then a week ago, Denver Summit registered her on their website as a Denver player, which auto pushed, I believe, into the NWSL website.

So it's now on two. And everyone picked up on that and started to blast it around on social media, Reddit, blue sky everywhere else. And there is no official announcement yet. So that would, though, go to the continuation of building this spine, like we talked about. It would be an experienced goalkeeper to come in alongside Gatino and alongside these other pieces where it feels like there's an understanding that there needs to be a strength in that position. And it feels like it would be a really good player to bring in for year one again, experienced across different leagues, different competitions coming in.

And whether it's starting or challenging at that goalkeeper position, just more quality to this squad. Totally. Should we call Carson and Carson Pickett and see if she wants to? Yeah. Yeah. I think when you're just talking about this and is this a potential, well, to have a player like that with the experience that she has, I think any team in the league would say,

like sign me up. I want to have a goalkeeper who's played against not just the best when it comes to a French national team, but in some of the best leagues in Europe. So now you bring, like if this is, if this is happening, you have Abby Smith already. Now again, like this is, you're building a team from scratch. So you want to have the best depth in every position that you have. And there you're, you know, just creating. And Jordan Knight, too, is the young player out of CU, who's also a goalkeeper for the summit.

You're building some good depth in the goalkeeper position, which is what you're going to need. Because at the end of the day, you want the player that's perfect. forming the best in that moment to be able to dictate how it's going out there on the field. It's a big week for this team, especially if they can make that signing and goal. Just as this team comes together, a lot of exciting pieces, some national team players, some borderline national team players. And we'll continue to follow Carson Pickett on social media to see on Instagram. She posted a picture of Natasha Flint on the team.

who has now officially joined the squad, English forward most recently with Tampa Bay in the USL Super League scored 10 goals last season, but has played across England, played for Nick Cushing. You mentioned as we were getting ready for this at Manchester City when he was the coach there. So long-time experience with the new head coach

and then experience across a number of big teams in the UK. Yeah, I spoke to Nick a little bit yesterday during Media Day, and he had mentioned when he saw, he had Tosh a long time ago, and then when he saw when she was back playing in the United States, he kept an eye on her because he said, all right, I think, you know, I think she's turned into a player and developed into a player that he wanted to, like, he never thought she would go to the, to America.

So I think that really interested him. And it's cool to see some of these players like Janine Sonas, who's already played for Nick Cushing, some real good camaraderie there. And like when you have a brand new coach to already have players who understand what you're like within the squad, is so helpful when you're trying to implement

a brand new system. So she joins. And then the latest photo, eating actual ice cream is the latest scoop. It was Meg Bodie, Allie George, Caitlin McBean and Ellie Somers all hanging out with Carson Pickett. So all four of them,

the understanding is non-rastered invites to preseason. Meg Bodie, of course, we've seen in NWSL. Caitlin McBean, I was doing some research, big time goal score at Penn State, a school we have seen players come out of and make positions shifts, but be good NWSL players. All of this just goes to the depth. And I think a lot of this is exciting. And I think you can tell that because over 40,000 tickets have been sold for the opening game.

Jordan, you've been at, I think all the biggest NWSL games in terms of attendance, right? You were at Rigley. I didn't go to Oracle. Okay. Douglas was our representative at Oracle. Okay. Yep. Yep.

But you were at Rigley and you've been obviously to some big moments. Most likely this is going to break the attendance record in WSL history and that will be on tickets sold before the game even happens. It seems like people like the team. Yeah, I think so. I think Denver is pretty excited about having a team. And you know what's really also helpful is people are just, they want to be here. Like you're going to come. I have another friend from D.C. area who is going to come out with her family because she played

W League in Colorado back in the day. So she has connections here. Douglas is coming. All these people, I think Washington Spirit fans will travel pretty well because it is that they traveled well in the last game at Oracle. It's going to be a really fun game to be a part of. You know, you're talking to me. I'm a dreamer. I've always been a dreamer. You know, we dreamt about this. team. So I'm just saying like 40. Let's let's get 50 plus. Let's get, can we, can we get to 60 Denver? What's the capacity? Like 60. 78. Oh, even for soccer. Well, that's how many people you can get in there. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So let's get to 78. Wow. 76. 125. Oh, 76. I thought it was 70. Yeah. Because at Broncos games, when you go, we always do the attendant. They do the attendance on the board.

and they always say how many no shows there are and we all boo them. How many no shows normally is that? Like two? No, it just depends. Like at the last game, the, whatever that final was. Yeah. Before the school.

The AMC title game. I should know what that was. There was like 300 people that didn't come and we booed hard. Wow. That's inexcusable people. Yeah, inexcusable. Also, what do you do with the ticket? Yeah, what'd you do?

Yeah, 40,000 and we are still basically two months away from this game happening. One of the other things which I hadn't thought about is it will be Trinity Rodman. And I think all of the energy and excitement right now is off Denver and their debut and people from Colorado wanting to see their team and wanting to be a part of this event. But once the teams hit the field, you know, it's going to be what, week two of the season. Trinity Rodman, highest paid player in the world, biggest name, Star or must watch. Week three. Yeah. Yeah.

That's going to be another like driver selling point. All of that. I don't think it needs it, but I think that's going to be another piece of this as well, which is going to be really, really cool to watch. All right, let's talk about some of the other big moves that have happened. A lot of them defenders. So we got a lot of the attacking moves in already. And let's start with Bay FC, who have acquired a nuke Denton from West Ham.

It is reported around 200,000. pounds in allocation or in transfer fee which is the club record sale for westham in the w s l she was the first lioness for west ham since 1996 and will sign a four-year deal as an international player joining the roster already familiar playing in the u.s played college at louisville for two years and then played for both the coach and knows the general manager for bay fc so the quote from Coates was I'm really pleased to welcome Anuke to Bay. She's someone I've worked with before. So I know exactly what she brings.

She brings valuable experience at the top level from her time in the WSL. What's exciting is that there's still room for her to grow. So a big addition for this Bay team that hasn't been quiet, but hasn't really made moves like this. And they need defenders. They have now three defenders out on maternity leave. Caprice Sadasco announced that she's pregnant. So now you leave.

I think did Did Did I ask go? Was it this last year? She had an Iron Woman season or the year before? You know, she plays a ton of minutes for Bay, regardless of if the Iron Woman was this year or last year. So she is now out on maternity leave. So you need to bring in more defenders. And this is exactly the type of player that you want. Young knows the head coach, adaptable, willing to work hard and grow. And I think that Denton will be a really nice piece. for this Bay team for your deal. So you have hope in what she can prompt, like what the ceiling is for her. And it continues, it feels like a trend for all these teams, because we're going to talk about a couple where bringing in new players or having new coaches or new GM, trying to lean back on some players who understand the way you work,

understand what you're trying to accomplish. You obviously know their background. Didasco was iron. woman this year. Also, do they count stoppage time in minutes played? No, because they don't, they don't, no. Yeah, because it doesn't count like when you score the goal, you scored in the 90th. Because it's an exact clean number. Yeah. It's 23. And I was like, what are the odds that all the stoppage time of the year combined landed on a clean zero? Do you remember all those games this last year where it had like 15 minutes of stoppage time? No. So she probably ended up playing another

Yeah, probably like a whole other game and a half. But yeah, so a huge addition for this team and obviously a statement of intent for them. It also is just a time to mention we have all these conversations about existential debates about where NWSL sits in the future of the league and what's happening. And we've said it on this show a couple times, but I like to stress this is not an NWSL-WSL-L-L-Liga-F conversation. It's NWSL and like seven clubs around the world. Yeah. Like for this to be the record fee for West Ham, who are sitting in relegation right now, but like that's what we're talking about in most of the WSL.

We are normally just talking about City and Chelsea and Arsenal and Byron and Parsa and the Madrid teams and Leon. And so just a reminder in all of that of where all of this sits where and in WSEL for the most part, we're talking about every team that's capable of competing at this level. But also, we still need to see it from a couple of. of these teams and a little bit of intent. But a huge move for them. And then, that was followed up right as we were getting ready to record this with Kyra Barry joining via transfer from Manchester United, also played for coats with the England U-23 team. And if this quote sounds familiar, it is not the same one as before.

Having worked closely with Kira in England, I've seen firsthand the relentless energy and technical quality she brings. She's a brave forward-thinking winger who isn't afraid to take players on and create something out of nothings. Two players. But also for Bay, yes. Yeah. Go for it. Yes.

That description of a player is exactly what this Bay FC team needs. Because when you have her on one side, Kuna Nangei on the other, right? Still looking for that number nine. But those two, you have to have that duality because otherwise all the attention goes to Kudanji. Yeah. And now you have more balance to the way that you move forward. So that that's... description goss had me saying okay let's go bay fc um time to you know start fresh new head coach

new tactics and this is the type of player that i think they're they've been screaming for thought experiment and this has nothing to do with reality we don't know what bay is going to do we don't know what the team's going to look like would you play rachel kuna nangia at center forward like just in a in a bubble in abstract no i don't think she's a i don't right i personally think she needs space, not back to, she's not a back to goal player. You want her running at players as her biggest skill set. Yes. Yeah.

Yeah, I think that's fair. And I think that's part of, you know, breaking apart the two big signings that you made in Oshala and her at the beginning. But it's why it made sense originally because Oshala is more of that true center forward. Exactly. Back to goal. But now Bafc still needs to fill that spot. But a big addition here in Barry, an even bigger addition in Denton.

and as I mentioned two years with Louisville, then two years with West Ham. So now getting ready to come back to the U.S. and join Bay FC. The other big addition on the defender's side, third one of these three straight moves, is Chicago acquiring Alia Farmer from Tigris, signed to a three-year deal. USC alumni who signed with Tigris late in 2024 out of college. It's been a full-time starter since then and has been locked in over the last year as a starter for Mexico as well, mainly friendly is a little bit of Concaf stuff and has played across defensive positions. So centerback, D-Mid, and right back, but has won titles with Tigris, has played against

NWSL teams in Concaf, actually scored in her debut against Portland Thorns in Concaf competitions. And so is another big ad for this Chicago team in this off season, especially to that backline. Yeah. Was it last week that we talked about, we were talking about Chicago? and I was like, well, Quika's back. And you were like, hold your horses, Jordan. And unfortunately, Quika announced that she tore ACL the first training of preseason. So, man, what a bummer to a team that, like, it does feel like even you just saying earlier

in this episode, Goss, that Chicago is going to Spain for preseason, like, that's huge news, too, right? Like, it does feel like they are saying, all right, now we're fully in control of everything, this new ownership group, we've turned the page and it's like, we're going for it. Yeah. And to have a player like Quika with the experience she has internationally in this league out on the first day of training, it could be a little bit of a bummer. But I think that the timing of this announcement coming right, you know, just a few days

after the announcement of Quica is perfect because you need depth in that position. I think they have right now three players in Maitane, Staub, and Hendrick, who, can play as a centerback. Farmer can play a centerback. She can play, I would say probably could play outside mid or holding midfielder. So you're now bringing in a player with professional experience who can add, like, some grit too. Like she's pretty tenacious as a player. And I think that that is something that the Chicago team can really use down the spine of their squad. And it feels like a decent chunk of flexibility with some of these players, which Quica was part of as well, right? Could play centerback, could play should be right.

back normally, but has played center back at the international level. So you replace a little bit of that and a little bit of that flexibility as they're still figuring out central midfield. And then the big one is center forward where Mal Swanson's obviously the ultimate answer, but there's going to be some time you have to cover there as well as if you find a good answer there, Mal Swanson can play anywhere because that's how good she is. And so I would assume if Chicago is going to do one other big thing, it'll be a solution there. But this feels like a really good add to them. And as you said, it feels like they are beefing up as a club.

We're hearing good news on training ground stuff. There seems to be some excitement around the stadium and the games they've placed and what it'll feel like and how they can make it their own and make it their home sort of there. And I'm excited for the views from broadcast just to be like, huh, sunny and water. I'll take that in the background even if I'm not there. And big thought out to Quico, which is just,

I mean, you've been thinking. through more of this to me, but I can only imagine the mental experience of building through off-season to pre-season and then finding out that you're out for the full year and then having to go through that sounds absolutely brutal. Okay, a couple other big news that we want to hit before we get out of here, starting with North Carolina, who have made a big edition in Central Midfield. They have signed Canadian International Carly Wickenheiser from P.K. Haken. If that club sounds familiar, that's because that's where Mack Lynn, their new head

coach who they announced last week came from and won a title with last year and wickenhouser was the core of it in central midfield. So they triggered her release clause. I saw someone on Reddit post the translation of the message from the sporting director for Hacken of like, we really wish this hadn't happened. And they just knew about this. And it's like, yeah, obviously there's a clause in the contract, which her agent can go out and tell anyone, I assume.

but shocking that North Carolina knew about this one and maybe other people didn't. Got three caps with Canada last year, joined out of college from Texas Tech in Sweden, the second division, worked away up to the first tier, and over the last four years, has 145 appearances and 11 goals. And the Swedish top division topped off with that championship win.

It doesn't feel like for like Denise L. Sullivan, but it feels like this is the replacement centrally, of some experience, some ball control, a player who will probably lead things with a really young group around in that part of the field. That's what I was thinking, Goss, is just how young the midfield is now with Shinomi, Manaka, and Riley Jackson, it would be nice to have a player that's a little bit older to help. You know, Danny Weatherholt can play centrally. She's done that. She also can play outside back. So there are players in this North Carolina team who have that, but it feels like Wickenhizer, what she's been able to do,

played in Champions League last year with Hacken, which is just nice to be able to size her up against herself up against some of the top clubs in Europe. It feels like this could be a really good player. And it kind of goes back to that same thread. Like all of these coaches, what have we said? They were all bringing players with them that they have played with them before. Just to like set the tone and to buy.

into, hey, things are going to change, but believe me, it's going to be great. And you need those kind of cheerleaders within your squad. And so I would imagine Wickenheiser is going to be one of those. And clearly is from a really good family of athletes. This is more your vein than me, because we're talking hockey on this one. Yeah. Her dad was the first pick in the, I think it was 1980 NHL draft. That is incredible.

Yeah. long time player in the NHL and then her her cousin plays her Canada hockey. Like, is he playing in the Olympics? I didn't look that part up. It was part of like one of the things I read about her. I guess that's probably a thing that would make sense. I think he has a different name. Yeah, maybe.

Is it Hayes maybe? So then that would be where he's under his name. But I hope she has like a little bit of hockey grit, you know? some bite because Denise O'Sullivan had that bite so if you're going to come in there bring a little bit of that spice with you um hockey is not a world that I normally operate in yeah hockey's a fun world oh no former Canadian international so her cousin is Haley Wickenhouser who was a Canadian women's national team player who won a bunch of gold medals so cool Yeah. One, a lot of gold medals, by the way. I didn't realize Canada was so much better than the U.S. on the women's side. Shut out.

I think the U.S. has been better for a couple of cycles. So these are, most of these are a little bit older, but won gold medal in 0-2, 06, 10, and 14. Dang. And a silver in Nagano. Captain of the U.S. women's team, Kendall Coyne, was captain of the Northeastern women's team when I was there, was in class with me, and I stand. the U.S. women's hockey team because Kendall's the best. But yeah, there's a little bit...

Wait for the Olympics, side note. We're going to find a way to work it into the kickback committee show next week. Perfect. Purely because I absolutely love the Olympics. All of my alarms on my phone because I set alarms for like meetings and times because I'll forget stuff.

And at the last summer Olympics, I named them all like volleyball, handball. Because it was like when the alarm would go off remind me to turn on the TV. Yeah. And they've all still been set for the last two years with those. So like my alarm went off for a meeting. I had at 10 a.m. this morning and it just said volleyball, gold medal game.

So I can reset all of those going forward. That's funny. One more thing to add on the North Carolina side, centerback Cameron Brooks has signed from Napoli. Oh, by the way, on Carly, because her father played in the NHL in the U.S., she was born in the U.S., so won't count as an international player, even though she's a Canadian international right now. So they save that spot.

And then Cameron Brooks, who also is from the U.S., signed from Napoli, where she's been playing most recently. Texas Longhorn grad, played a little bit in Super League with Fort Lauderdale, and now comes back at a centerback position of need for this club because of all the losses they've had at that spot. So we're still learning about this North Carolina team. I'm going to take a shot here. I think they go like three.

defensive midfielders in that position. I think Wickenhows starts with Riley Jackson and Shinomi in that spot. Yeah. I mean, this is the best part of this time of year is you could just, we can, so you think Shinomi as an attack, you think they play three in the middle, two holdings and an attacking midfielder, and Monaco is still up front? Yes. And I think in saying that, like, I don't know that any of them are true attacking mids, but

I think that's kind of where this team lands of like... But now you have more attacking talent. You also have Ali Schlegel. Where do you play her? True. Where do you play Minaka? Is she still a nine? Does she have to be a false nine anymore?

Because she just play as a 10? You know, like there's just so many questions. And the craziest part of all of this is I don't know that we've said Ashley Sanchez's name in the last six months. I know. Where does she play? Yeah. And, you know, you get the best out of this team.

by getting the best out of her, but she didn't force her way on the field to close out the last second half of last year for North Carolina. And if she's not, someone else find a way to get her on their roster and say, we believe in you. And there's more there because it's been proven in this league with two different clubs, including North Carolina for a time.

So a lot to watch for them. Unfortunate news, Bella Bigsby announcing. She saw her ACL, so she will be out for the year. And that's, you know, unfortunate news. there and then Utah has signed Haitian international midfielder Diana Pierre-Louis from R.C. Lenz, who she helped get promoted to League One last season and has been a starter for them this year. So another big addition in Central Midfield, as they've had some players retire, some players moved back to Europe from the group that was there last year. Okay, I think that's

all of it for us, Jordan. Interesting time of year. And we're going to continue following everything as news comes out as more things happen. Congratulations to all the baby. out there and to all the families. Welcome to the world. And we are excited to continue to do this. We're going to be bringing in some interviews we're going to be doing across the league. So if you have anyone that you really want to hear from,

you think has great personalities and people haven't, you know, spent the time to interview and bring on and all of that, hit us up because we want to do some work with every team going forward. And then we've got our previews that we are planning as well that are going to be rolled out as we get closer to this season. So thank you to all of you for listening. Thank you to you, Jordan, for being here. And we'll talk to you all again very, very soon.