SoccerWise - NC Fire Sean Nahas, Chicago New Coach, ORL-KC Preview & Celebrating Colorado

Episode Date: August 13, 2025

It hasn't been long since our last episode, but SO much has happened. North Carolina has parted ways with Sean Nahas after 4 years as head coach, but we're not totally sure why. Jordan & David break it down while discussing Chicago's 4th interim but new permanent head coaching hire. On the field the Thorns showed their threat in a huge 4-2 win over rivals Seattle this past weekend, and we prepare for a matchup of 1 vs 2 in KC on Saturday.6:00 Sean Nahas Fired From NC Courage23:30 Chicago Hire New Head Coach Sort Of27:40 Weekend Action Recap36:20 Portland Shine & Coffey’s MVP Campaign41:47 Orlando-KC Preview53:00 Ally Watt 1st Summit FC Signing55:25 Celebrating Colorado Soccer

Hello, everybody and welcome back to Soccer Wise, David Goss and Jordan Angeley, with you for a packed AWSL episode. We've got news on top of games, on top of news, on top of chaos, on top of other news, and wrapped in all of it is we get to celebrate the great state of Colorado. Jordan, it's a perfect episode for you. This is my episode. Co-state, baby. It is a state that has a lot of pride is one of the things I have learned around Colorado, which you thank you for exhibiting that, so I didn't have to explain it to people.

You're welcome. We are doing our 50 states of soccer here at Kickback Media, which soccer-wise is a big part of. And last week we did the state of Wisconsin. We talked Leslie Osborne. We talked Kito Fos. We talked about Casey Lloyd, a lot of different players. And now we're going to be talking about Colorado.

So we're going to dig into all of that at the end of the show. But it is going to take a little while to get there because we have a coach that was fired in North Carolina, somewhat unexpectedly. We have a coach that was hired in Chicago, somewhat unexpectedly who will not be arriving for a couple months. So on top of all of that, we have a rematch of last year's semifinals and one verse two coming up this weekend. in Orlando traveling to Kansas City, and I don't know if you remember, but KC fans do. Marta had something to say last year when this game happened at CPKC Stadium. It's going to be as good as we get in NWSL, rocking the baby.

And that one's coming up on Saturday. And we had a rivalry week this weekend, which had its lulls, but had its high finish for the Portland Thorn. So we have a lot to discuss, a lot to dig into. But to start, I have to ask you a big question. Because this is a point of contention in my household. And I know that you at least are somewhat involved because you coming in here, we have different time zones. You're closer to breakfast than I am right now.

When you make eggs and you take the eggs out of the container, how do you remove the eggs from the container? Just like in a row. What does in a row mean? The short way. so you so let's say there's a dozen eggs a dozen eggs so it's two by six yes two by six you go from left to right you go from back to yeah left right right no yeah so you end grab two so you end with two eggs all the way on one end um you know I typically do but I I found that sometimes that just it unbalances the cart end and so then I like to keep the eggs the last ones more in the

middle. Yes. Thank you. So the argument in my household and argument is a very loose term. We barely ever discuss it. I just passive aggressively say things and she ignores me is. So I take alternating from each end so that I finish in the middle. So when I start a carton of eggs, I take one from the left and one from the right and I continue to do that because I have had experiences where there are two eggs left on one end and you pick it up and you don't know the weight's going to be in balance and it falls and when eggs fall they tend to crack yes this is like and eggs are expensive and they're a mess yeah i don't understand is this not just like everyone's doing it this way no actually weirdly enough i had a producer at cbs go lasso and she actually would call her husband out her name's

amanda she would call her husband out because he would just like pick random eggs like No, no order. That is wild. I know, but like part of me wants to be that wild. Like, I don't want order to it. Let me just pick random eggs, like two over here and one here. And then the next time, whatever I'm feeling like that morning. Like, it just gives a lot of, you know, interpretation to the breakfast making.

Well, that's a whole, that's a whole art form then. Yeah, it really is. It really is. She's annoyed about it, but I think she should see it as something unique. I would like people's input, though, because I would like to state once again that I never end up in a situation with imbalance. My last two eggs are two right down the middle, diagonal from each other, perfectly balanced weight. It is one of the few efficient things and consistent things in my life. Wow. And I make a lot of eggs. Yeah. So we talk about a lot of things, but this

might be up there with most important conversations we've had. It feels like it. Yeah. It feels like it. And So we're trying to change the world. One conversation at a time. That's the nature of soccer-wise. And let me know what you all do in your lives and what you all think. Bangalov in the chat says I grabbed the eggs closest to me, regardless of where they are in the carton, which I think is understandable as well. That goes back into a bit more of the chaos theory, which is not what we are leaning into. Let's lean into our show, though, and get into our big topics.

And we have to start in North Carolina. Sean Nejas, let go right after. we finished recording this show and putting it out last week from the North Carolina Courage. And it has been an experience since that moment has happened, trying to follow why and what has gone on. So Sean Nejas was let go on Wednesday evening last week after the first game returning from the long international break before, of course, their matchup on Friday night against Houston. This was the statement that North Carolina Courage put out upon terminating Sean Nejas, it said, quote, the North Carolina Courage have terminated the contract

of head coach Sean Nejas effective immediately. The North Carolina Courage remained focused on the continued development of the team and maintaining a professional competitive environment for players, staff, and supporters. Sean Nejas, last Wednesday, did an interview in market that was organized by the club to promote the team and was posting on Instagram a few hours before this post went up of him coaching the team. So it was very unexpected and he was in the building in those moments. The club had a press conference the day after with the sporting director, head of communications in which multiple phrases were used many times. And none of those phrases really meant anything.

The big ones being there were multiple reasons for the termination and that they could not land on one specific reason that they could state. Since then, after all the questions where it's almost like North Carolina was caught off guard that people were surprised that they fired their coach and therefore wanted a reason, another statement was put out that said, quote, confounding performance issues, culture issues, and a perceived lack of fit that created an environment that club leadership felt was untenable to the point that change was necessary at the head coaching position. The schedule of this is bizarre, the languaging since it's come out is bizarre. The reality may actually be the least bizarre part, which is the team was sitting in ninth place when this happened.

What did you make of this and what's sort of been your reaction? Gosh, even that comment you just mentioned with the performance issues and culture issues, where did you find that? Yeah, it was a statement given on Saturday, I believe. After on Friday, the coaches and players spoke, didn't really seem like they had clear direction of what to say. And the statement I found in an equalized article, because they do an incredible job, don't know where it was actually given. Well, that's my one of my main points is it just was handled poorly from the North Carolina courage standpoint. Because you could have given this exact, these reasons. When you said there are a lot of reasons, that's fine. Just give us one. You know, in that press conference,

give us one of those reasons. And that could have been culture issues. It could have been performance issues. It could have been lack of fit, but those, it was just like a multitude of reasons and there was not even one reason given. And the thing that is hard for me as someone who has played in this league, has experienced things in this league. And this league has gone through some really difficult things. The most of which were with a North Carolina Courage head coach. And what happens is in this community, your brain right away, whether you want it to or not is concerned about that side of things. And this is not fair to a head coach in this league,

that they are automatically grouped into this group of people who maybe, you know, they don't deserve to be grouped into. So I think that because there was a lack of clarity in the first statement, in the first press conference, and we only got this, what, four days later or three days later in, um in a press i don't i don't even know where it was right they didn't repost it it wasn't on twitter it wasn't on instagram it wasn't on socials i i feel like it could have been handled so much

better to clarify that it was a culture issue it was a performance issue and that's fine you have every right as north carolina to hire to fire your head coach that is your right and if you don't think it's a good fit then it's not a good fit we don't we can't say that but to just and inherently like lump him into this speculation to me is not fair to Sean Nehaas. So I am glad that this cleared some of that up, but I do need to say something about Sean because I've got to talk and got to know a lot, all of the coaches in this league. And the way that Sean Nejas stands up for his players, he is adamant about the unsung heroes. Why aren't you talking more about Riley Jackson?

this is one of the best young players, trying to take pressure off of players who are young. And I think Jaden Shaw comes to mind. He's like, this is a young player who's had a really big moment, but I don't want her to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. And so he's trying to take the weight in the spotlight off of her a little bit to allow her to be free and to play. He's every single player on his team, the way he speaks to us about them was, you know, he'd really true.

believed in them. And you could tell that belief was not only I'm going to, I'm going to fight to make you better, but I'm also going to back you up when push comes to shove. And I, I think that that is something that people need to know about him. And it was just a weird, the whole situation was weird. And I think, I hope, I don't think, I hope as a league, as individual clubs, we learn from this and understand that we could handle these situations a lot better. Yeah, absolutely. I think the acknowledgement internally has to be like that this is a place people's mind could go and the reality which the schedule part is the part that I keep coming back to which is you had a month off and then you played one game and then you fired your coach in the middle

of the week and clearly abruptly and you can hear it from Denise O'Sullivan's comments after the Friday game as well of like she's talking about the emotional roller coaster the way they found out but just like very out of nowhere. So therefore, then the assumption is going to be something just happened. Like this is a flashpoint moment of why you're firing someone not, okay, long-term cultural issues. You had a month to put in a new coach and plan stuff and you chose not to do it there. So did you just find out about those long-term environmental cultural issues? And as you said, this is for a club where Sean Nejas was the assistant coach under Paul Riley

and then took over his interim head coach and then was named full-time head coach. after the largest scandal in the league's history. And so the thinking is going to go there. And that was the first reaction. I think everyone that I talked to had of like, what do you think happened? To a flashpoint, right? Everyone's talking about something specific.

And if that's not the case, then yeah, it is your responsibility as a club and an organization to understand the language of what you say and understand around it. And then now a week later, it still hasn't been fully cleared up. And besides that, that it hasn't really been fully discussed.

Like the club has not come out and had another press conference and been like, this went poorly. Let's try this again. We have a message. We have a point of view. If you're a fan of the team, I think it's really hard to deal with because it's so much unknown of what's going on.

One thing that now we're just going to speculate from the outside because we have no choice because we have nothing else that we can do, is that they announced a new sporting director on May 9th in Curry Bowley. who came over originally from Wales, has worked on the women's side of the game in England, and then was consulting with ECNL, a huge, obviously, youth set up here in the U.S. And a large part of that was based out of North Carolina and then was brought into the club. There are obviously now probably contending views and contending theories of how to run the team. And, of course, Bowley was the one at the press conference after this happened,

who is now deciding the sporting direction of this club and doing so without Sean Nejas as part of this. So it has all led to this huge mess of what's been going on and the way things have happened. For Sean Nejas, took over his interim in 2021, became full-time managers in 2022. Since then, has averaged 1.5 points per game, which ranks fifth in NWSL in that time period alongside the San Diego wave and their multitude of coaches. 2023 and 24 they qualified for the playoffs they were third in 20203 in the standings fifth last year no playoff wins the road lost to kansas city last year in a tight game and i think the expectation was this year they would move forward from there caroline of course leaves and that was a huge part of the 2023 postseason run that didn't happen was her injury in her MVP season right in

the final game of the year they bring in jaden shaw which was a huge move by them and At the moment of him getting fired last week, they were ninth in the league. They had made the formation change during this season, and the team had gone from one XG per game to 1.5 XG. So a little bit of a jump. Since then, and this also all goes into the mess, Jayden Shaw got benched, as you mentioned, sort of the struggles on the field. And then Sean Nejas took a medical leave for a number of games. So that now is a question mark that's out there because it wasn't touched on. It was said in the press conference that it had nothing to do with him leaving the club and the way these things finished.

But I'm curious your thoughts on the expectations at this club where he hit over the three full seasons, four years, that he's been coached and where they stand right now. The expectations of this club are always going to be championships because they set records and how they played back in the day. And the issue that I have is NWSL is very different to what it was then. And you look at all the teams that are competing at the top goss, and what are they doing? They are signing stars. They are signing game changers like Atemwa Shawinga, Barbara Vanda, Estere. And I think Jaden Shaw can be that, but you have to have support around her. And I think that's one of the big frustrations from an out, somebody looking into the club.

And I would imagine would have been a frustration. for Sean Nahas is we gotta sign some players we got to we have to spend money and if we're going to be championship and we're going to have that expectation on ourselves which they should then we have to keep up with NWSL 2.0 whatever's happening right now. I was waiting for our point. I didn't know what number we were going to be on. I think we're at 2.0 don't you? I think we might be at 3. 3. Okay. You know what? I think we are at 3.0. I think initial launch was one. I think the 20, The 2018, 2019 was two, and now we're at three. And that was the Portland, Seattle growth and pushing the league a bit.

And now I think Carolina. I think Casey, Washington, and you could argue a San Diego or Gotham, whatever, Angel City have pushed it into three. So I think that that is a frustration, is your expectations are not meeting your reality. And the thing that I think we all need to talk about with Sean Nahas, too, is he changed this league. The way that he played. and the style that North Carolina have, everybody was, you know, utilizing some of the best aspects of this league, which is transition, which is athleticism. And I'm saying, I'm not saying that's not a part of the game because I think North Carolina needs a little bit more of that and what they're doing.

But he said, we are going to value the ball. We are going to value rotations and manipulating defense and building up and having 14 past sequences to a goal. So I, I think, there should be a lot of credit given for Sean Nahas and how he transformed this league by saying, I don't care if we're going to win right now. We are going to win games and we're going to do it in a really good style of play. And now you've seen, I mean, him and Laura Harvey were the longest tenured coaches in this league. And now, you know, everybody has turned over, but now we're seeing Seb Hines with a style. You know, we're seeing Adrian Gonzalez in Washington with a style. There is more of this. Yonis Idaval, Juan Carlos Amros, there has been now these layers of, okay,

we don't have to be that 2.0 style anymore, right? We don't have to be super athletic. We can mix and match. We can be possession based with a little hint of transition, which is the game. And I just, I think we need to give him credit as to how he stuck to his guns and really created something beautiful to watch at North Carolina. There's like, I think a really fun conversation that can happen around soccer, which is the only sport in the world that you can have this conversation, which is a right way and a wrong way to play. Every other sport, the right way is the thing that wins.

There's no like pure, I don't really know football, but there are like different defenses and offenses you could run. I love the Jets and they sucks. I mean, that's why I don't know that much about it. And I think the people believe in there. because they think it's going to win, and that's why you choose the way you choose. Soccer is the only one where you actually have this, like, emotional connection to the way it's played.

And so there's a decision that some teams have to make, clubs have to make, of like, do we have an identity? Does that identity matter? And then I think part of, to me, always, with what Sean Nejas has built, is the reality. The reality of the 2.0 to 3.0, and an equalizer is, and playing a, um, playing a style that is an outlier, because if you're not going to match talent, it is hard to say, all right, we're going to play the same as KAC, and we're going to do so without five national team players and two Brazilian international starters.

And we're not going to be able to afford to trade for Ali Centaur as a backup to fill in or to cover for Vanessa D. Bernardo. Quite honestly, DeBigno went from North Carolina to Kansas City. If you can't compete in that way, you have to have something else. some clubs maybe it will be giving young players opportunity like what Portland's doing and so they their outlier is well we're going to get the best young players and maybe we'll lose them when they get a little older but we'll keep bringing in the best young players that could like there are different ways for this it's not just style felt like for North Carolina though the decision was this style and the reality

of that is like it is on a knife's edge every time they play if they don't finish one of the early chances the game becomes a struggle for them but if they don't have the same quality in their odd that other teams do, that that's the reality anyway, which is you don't have a lot of like extra space to win games. And I think it made sense for them. I think it made the league a better league because I think it pulled other teams out of, okay, we have to be transitional and opened up the door to the idavals of the world to say, no, this can work and convince front offices and ownerships that you can then shift teams in that way. And it creates a space for other players to be successful.

So it's not the only way to play, but it's an option. And then you get the Denise O'Sullivins who can be world beaters because they're in the right club playing the way. Ashley Sanchez can find the right spot for herself. Riley Jackson is another one that we're going to be talking about for 15 years now as a big time player. So I think there's a lot that's interesting for this team now because they've got to make a decision.

What are they going forward? They came out. They played very similar this weekend. It's not a lot of time to change things. and I don't know how you drastically change things. And they had a heartbreaking loss at Houston. Stoppage time penalty kick conceded. They conceded in the first half on a penalty kick as well.

A set piece at the, it was a... Oh, sorry, they scored on a penalty kick in the first half. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, you know, it looked fairly similar. I think Jaden Shaw back in the starting lineup, Monaca pushing a ton of the game has been super talented. but like this is a team that has over-indexed on young players because they can afford that and they are trying to build them into stars and it's going to take time.

I think coming off last year, the expectation was that they were going to grow from last year and clearly they have not and the question will be now, what's the path forward for this club as a group? Yeah, yeah. I was just going to say, I feel like they have grown in how they're playing, but it's not resulting in wins. Yeah. And the change in style is hard because they have a very specific type of player profile that they have leaned on. Yes.

So to change that style with those players midseason, it worked a little, but not a ton. Yeah. And again, I'm just going to harp on you got to buy players. Like, it's time, North Carolina. You got to go. Or pay the ones that are there. If you pay Caroline, maybe she stays. Yeah. And like, that's not a knock on Caroline for saying like, oh, I want to go to like maybe it never would have worked but there are other options with players that you could say okay maybe those players would have stuck around me and wanted to be a part of this longer it is we needed to talk about this because that was 20 minutes on topic and the and the reason is

there's 37 things to talk about in this there is the way it happened what is happening what should be expected the club big picture and everything else going on It means we're not going to spend as much time on Chicago right now. One, because it's like only depressing after talking about all of this. And two, because we don't know a ton. So Martin, dealer's choice on pronunciation here, Scorgan has been named the full-time new manager in replacement of Lauren Donaldson for the Chicago Stars. He will finish out the Swedish season as a head coach for Hammerby,

one of the biggest clubs in Sweden. and so Anders Yacobson will take over as the interim manager for the rest of the season. It is not entirely clear to me what this means for the current coaching staff, but Ella Massar has worked with them before and has made a statement in this press release. Yeah, I didn't read the statement in the press release, but I spoke with Ella before the match on Sunday. And I asked her, you know, just one, how proud she is. to be from Illinois, has played for the stars and now is standing on the sideline as the interim

head coach. And, you know, she was just overwhelmed with joy and pride. But two, would that interim potentially turn into a head coach job? And she said, no, but the rumors, so this was on Saturday. So now the rumors are true. If the rumors are true, the coach that they are going to hire is the best human being for this job. Like she, the way she spoke about him makes me. me feel like, one, she knows him, Babette Petter, who's the assistant GM, is Ella's wife in a long-time German international, knows the game very well. Those two have played and coached in Europe for a long time. So their knowledge of other coaches that maybe not in the US spectrum or realm is higher. And I think that there is a really good foundation laid here. You know,

just the fact that Ella has that good of things to say about this new head coach. Yes, he won't be joining until January, but it sounds like the staff that is there will stay on under this interim coach. And I think that will be good because my goodness, Goss, this is the fourth coach for Chicago stars in, it hasn't even been six months. When do they start? March, April, May, June, July. It has been six months, August.

This is good content, though. On my fingers? Yeah. Part of what was in the statement from the club, which is true, is that LMSR played in Sweden against Martin Scorgans. Yes, I think you're right. His team, so there is like... Help us!

Yeah, there is a ton of genuine familiarity between the two, and as you said, very closely connected to the process. He was the head coach of the Norwegian women's national team from 2016 to 2022. and then has been with Hammerby, the women's side since 2024, one of the better teams in the Swedish League, which is one of the better leagues in the world. And so the hope is that this is your path forward. Obviously, I think for many people, this will have a connection to Yonatan Heraldez, finishing up with Barcelona and Adrian Gonzalez coming over first.

And it feels like the idea is Andres Jacobson has the familiarity, knows the style that they want bring in can come in and work for the rest of the year i think the most frustrating part to any chicago fan is everything they have done has been short term not for like the last month or two for the last two years but especially this season all of these contracts that they have signed are through the summer and then extended through the year it is incredible the amount of players that this club has signed on short term deals and now as you said a fourth interim head coach with a fifth coach to come at the end of the year. I would say Chicago actually thought looked pretty good this weekend.

I thought there were some bright spots, but it's hard to like land on anything and say, oh, this is positive going forward with the amount of churn that this club has had and the amount of unknown that this club has. Let's talk about the weekend and some of the big games we saw. Let's start with San Diego, Angel City. It was this rivalry weekend. Gotham, Washington, we're not going to talk about a ton. Jesse with the 30th minute red card

It killed a lot of the momentum There's a lot of early red cards in these matchups You think it was a red card? I don't know I of all the games this weekend This has been completely deleted From my memory bag Good, all right, let's delete it

Let's talk San Diego Angel City though Because it felt like a reemergence to me of San Diego I thought they looked more dangerous I thought they looked more goal dangerous I thought they looked back to where they were Pre the break But they're not able to see things out they're not able to get the victory at a one-one draw against Angel City, which is a tough result,

I think, for a San Diego team that had eyes on competing towards the top of things. And it feels like every point they drop takes them further away from a top two spot to finish out the year. Especially when you're playing an Angel City team, it was struggled, right? And you're at home. There were so many things in favor of San Diego in this matchup, the most of which is the number of chances they create, Goss. like there should be more goals in the San Diego team. And it goes back to before the break. A lot of the data was telling us they were extremely outperforming themselves.

The XG was, I don't know, it was like six goals off of what they actually were scoring. And so we knew that there was a little like, okay, maybe this is not going to last forever. But when they create as many chances as they do, you just, you start to think like, there's just no way they're not going to score multiple goals in a game. But with how this league is going and just, you know, I think Angel City is going to be a different beast this second half of season. We talked a lot about that a couple of episodes ago is you have to finish out games and you have to finish your chances early when you get them because San Diego was the first 17, 18 minutes. Like they were all over Angel City. And so to not get a goal there when you're at home,

with the momentum like these are just non-negotiables in the league anymore you you have to if you don't do that it's going to be hard to get a result and if it weren't for caylin sheridan with an incredible save you know they could have very easily lost this well lost this game so it's fascinating sheridan makes one of the best saves of the season yeah in the sequence that then leads up to the goal which i think you could say the goalkeeper could have done better in that moment i It's two questions. Do you come off your line and do you not? And then once you come off your line, are you, you do, I mean, you have to win that ball.

It is right on the edge. It's outside the six where it's like, okay, is the goalkeeper's spot? But then when she comes, doesn't get there. No one likes getting hit in the face more than a lot of Kennedy and puts another mark on herself. Did you hear our interview with her afterwards? I did not. I was like, well, don't worry. Your nose is still in one piece.

We don't have to look at it on the jumbotron. it feels like that girl and her face are just a target for the worst things. I'm good friends with some Australians here who like every time we hang out, we do like a quick update on every Australian in NWSL. I love it. Pretty much every other time, it's like, did you see a lot of Kennedy's face this week? Yeah, I know. That's wild.

But it was a huge moment for her. It was a huge moment for the team. She has been phenomenal. I think right now she's in some end of the year season award conversation. part of the question with that will be what position she plays for the rest of the year and so therefore is it a midfielder is it a defender, is it just Best 11

like whatever it is, but she's been that good for this team and I think this is an Angel City team that should be excited not just that they get the result but they felt out of it for large stretches of the second half and so they're just like claw back and show that little bit of fight and I think you're still trying to figure

things out. I thought Jan's daughter I think she makes things happen and affects the game in a way that Angel City hasn't had a ton of where a lot of people sort of like, okay, they want the ball at their feet, but it feels like Jan Sauder is like pressing and going into 50-50s that can lead to good moments where outside of Alyssa Thompson, I don't know that anyone else was really doing. What I'm curious about Angel City is they have operated in the first half of this season with a stretch winger and a pocket winger.

And now the question is, can you be as effective with, two stretch wingers because the player profiles, although it seems to me just seeing Yon Sutter play for a couple of games, is Alyssa Thompson could be more comfortable in the pocket than Yon Stodder would be. So now, you know, you're adapting. It depends on what outside back you're using. If Jiselle's back, maybe you play Alyssa on Jaze's side and use her as a pocket in Jazeel to run the channel. But the thing that I am not, I just don't, am not a fan of is with, with, with two stretch wingers, it's asking a lot more of Riley Tiernan to come back and to get the ball lower on the field. And I don't want Riley Tiernan back in the midfield. I just don't.

She's one of the best goal scores in the league right now. Like she needs to be on the back line, stretching, pulling, manipulating centerbacks, and then they're in the six to score goals. If she's constantly dropping back, I just don't think it is putting her in the best position to be the best player for this team. And so I'm curious, you know, it's just a two-game sample size, really because they got to work with Alex Strauss over the break. I'm just curious how that develops and how that evolves. And he does want to be a very rotational group. But I hope that rotation is like less on Tiernan because she needs to be in the box. So the other thing about this, and I fully agree with you, the way I sort of read it while watching is I wonder.

if you have full complement of options, if a lot of Kennedy's in central midfield, do you push Kennedy full or higher? I think it's too much responsibility on endo coming back from the injury layoff. And I thought... And she doesn't know any of her teammates around her. She hasn't played with any of those people,

except for Alyssa, but like barely. And because the other option here is you create space for a 10 to be able to function in space in a dangerous area, but that 10 has to take players on. and it has to beat players because you don't have options around you. And so it's like, I think Kennedy Fuller can be comfortable in that. She doesn't move the ball off her foot quickly. She has been.

She wants the ball. She'll shoot from distance, which then can pull defenders a little bit higher at her and create gaps for Tiernan to run into. I thought that it was a lot of responsibility on Endo's shoulders this quickly coming back from the layoff. Totally. And for me, like, let her come in late in the games and affect a game when players are tired because she is

uber creative and one of honestly one of the best ball playing tens in this league but I think with the relationships that Kennedy Fuller has created over the last six months. See I didn't have to count this time. Last six months why not continue that

wave of confidence that she has? I did something for NWSL. I thought she's been one of the best. I called it playmakers because I wasn't just choosing tens. She has really helped Angel City and now you're taking something that has really worked and moving that when,

I don't know, just like make your strength, your strength. And that's just my, I'm just curious to see how this develops. And it sounds like you are too. Yeah. Still, I think both these themes are still kind of like must watch every weekend. You don't know what you're going to get. A little bit of fireworks. San Diego has Bay FC on Saturday night, which is a fun one.

You will be on the call for that one. So we will all be watching. Well, my sister's getting married on, no, Sunday. I will be watching on Saturday. So, anyway, I was like, please, please don't watch at your sister's wedding. I'm going to be cell phone on the side. No, no, no. I'm on both of the games this weekend, both Angel City and San Diego.

Oh, these are your squads, your California. These are my teams. Is that why you meant that they were must watch? Yeah, that's what I meant. Because I'm on the call. We'll play the O.C. theme song when we come out of this. Someone sent me a clip of it the other day.

It's one of the best TV shows of all time. Wow, I didn't even remember that I remember. numbered that until you said that. California here we come. We had the Gotham-Washington game, which was a rivalry game this weekend. And then we had Portland, Seattle, which was like the headline game of the weekend. It always will be. I think maybe this just like solidified the fact that as we get into 3.0, it remains one. It also kind of throws my entire perception of the league on tilt because all of what we said about North Carolina. Yes, I know. That doesn't mean Portland's not trying to do these things, but those players are all injured, or some

have left, and yet they are now fourth in the league. They play when they're on, and this is one of the things I've, I know I've harped on, is they are an inconsistent team because they are young. I think that is part of their problem. And yet, you see solidifying the strength of this team, which to me is central midfield. This is the best Jesse Fleming has played since she joined. Sam Coffey, I think, could end up in an MVP conversation this year with the way she affects the team all around. And then that platform that they set for the young attackers in front of them, Seattle comes out, they score in the third minute. You're thinking, oh, my God, here you go. Pressure's on.

Biggest crowd of the year for Portland. They did not even waver. There was no change for them. They did not look affected. They're able to take the two-one lead. They explode in the second half. they make it for one. Just Fishlock gets the late goal, but Rylan Turner was incredible in this game. And overall, I think this, this is like a statement victory for the Thorntz.

I think their inconsistency actually is more unlike where they're playing because they have found away this year. I mean, they're unbeaten at home. So when I was just talking about San Diego not being able to, you know, that game where they, the momentum was their way, what, the thorns feel when they're at home, it is hard to bet against them because they get the Rose City Riveters in full voice, the whole crowd. It was a huge crowd for a rivalry game. Like this is what, this is a rivalry. And Laura Harvey said it. This is the best rivalry. And we saw why because these teams don't like each other. And I love that. I love that they don't like each other. I'm with you on Sam Coffey. I just think there's so many pieces that have worked really well.

you know, the duality of like experience with youth. You know, Sam Hyatt experience, obeys, experience, but young. And I think we've seen her flourish into an excellent centerback in this league. The outside backs are effective. Raylan Turner is young, Tordon, young. But then right behind them, you have Segita, you have coffee. And I don't even know how you explain how this midfield functions because they're not two sixes. no they are they are at times but they're also two eights at times and like their understanding

of one another and their soccer intelligence is another level and i i love at the beginning of the year rob gale was like no sam coffee is not she's not playing good enough she needs to affect the game more i need her to go forward more and you see why he said that like she she she is an excellent six has continued to develop her game has been humble in the way that she approaches it And it's like, I can be the best building midfielder. You can play me the ball wherever you want to. I don't care who's on me or what the numbers are. I will be an outlet for you.

But also, if I get an opportunity to go forward, I'm going to go forward. And I'm going to help my team create by being a late runner and creating an overload. It's just I've loved watching Sam Coffey develop into the soccer player. She is. And it has been through adversity. It has not been through the easiest of times. And yet still, and maybe because of that, she is like, I can be better. And that's the thing we love about sports.

That's the thing we love about athletes is their desire to continue to grow. And so just kudos the Sam Coffey for being the leader of this team needs and doing that through the work she's put into herself in her game. And you look at a player like that, and she was arguably the best ball winning center mid in the world. And she had worked her way into being a staple athlete. the national team. And this club, because of, you know, injuries and Sophia Wilson being unavailable needed more. And so there's the fusion of she's worked on her game. She's tried to add these things and then the space where it was needed. And she has stepped firmly into it. She's a leader for this

group on and off the field. And I think all of that combined puts her in this conversation as the most valuable player in NWSL. And I think some of the wobble early in the year. And I think some of the wobble early in the year was she believes cup and international stuff and like not having her around as much and now i i think the hope is the second half of the year she's around um and this team's able to like grow off of all of this because this was awesome and they put seattle under so much pressure that there's so much space for these pullbacks and there's so much space to work underneath and the rain your rea's goal you're talking about the fullback seeing that and the center mid seeing that and everyone attacking zone 14 and being in the most dangerous spaces on the field

and them creating a number of chances. And they did it in an awesome event in this game. Like the crowd, Megan Rapino on the broadcast, the whole thing had an experience in a vibe. I think was the perfect way for many of us, NWSL fans, to finish the weekend. Two other games to note from last weekend, which we will use to help preview, the upcoming weekend is Kansas City and Orlando. They, of course, are going to have a rematch on Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern time at CPKC Stadium. The list of things to note for that game. You have the Marta celebration a year ago when these teams were tied for the longest undefeated streak in NWSL history. And then Orlando picked up an early red card and somehow won for the first time ever for an away team at CPKCC

Stadium. And then Marta did the crying baby celebration, whatever you want to call it, to anger the fans. You then had a semi-final matchup between these two teams that was electric end-to-end stuff, extra time, goals, the whole thing. Then you had Orlando go and win the championship at CPKC Stadium. And on top of all of that, this year, they go into this game as first and second place in the league. But there's a little bit of a caveat to that, which we'll get to. Kansas City comes off a one-zero win at Utah. It was Ali Sentinel's debut off the bench in Utah. which is a unique experience. It was Chloe Lacasse's return,

who made an immediate impact off the bench, and a tough one for Utah. They controlled a ton of the game. They controlled the game through possession. They were building as the game went along. They got stronger as the second half went along, and then Tim was Chowinga. But, yeah, Shiawinga's going to get the credit,

but I know in MLS, Doyle loves assist of the week. I'm going to assist of the week here. Kayla Sharples from, like, like right beyond half field, threads the seam between the outside back and the center back, like what, four yards off the 18 and it drops right to Schuenga? Like that pass was ridiculous. And like it was going to take a ridiculous moment to beat Utah in this game. And like Kansas City can produce that.

And of course it comes at the foot of Schoinga, but I think it speaks more to the depth of this team and the ball playing ability of every single player in this group. So shout out Kayla Sharples. I thought you were going to say Nichelle Prince, who I think is the one who makes an attempt or fake attempt at the original ball that sucks in the defenders for the ball to go over their head. Yeah, no. But go Nichelle Prince. Yes, too. But all of this comes though. If you, as you watch, Utah dominating possession for like 15 minutes going into this. And it was like a long ball that Schoingo puts pressure on for Casey to reset their lines, come higher up the field.

for that to even happen. And those are those moments that, like, Shoringa drags you out of a tough part of the game, even if it's not just the goals, which the goals are then there as well. These are games to me, and I think there's been a number of them that feel very much like Orlando last year,

which is, like, they just keep stacking wins and wins at times that you don't fully understand. And then you look at the table and you're like, well, they've got enough of a cushion now, that even if it went away, it wouldn't matter. Like, that win reminds me of the Orlando win at Bay last year where Banda scores a header from like 20 yards out. And it was like at the end of the game and you're thinking, how in the world did they pull this off? And I don't, you know,

I think aura is the word I keep coming back to. Like I said that with Orlando last year. They had this aura about them. Like, come and beat us. It wasn't, it wasn't cocky. It was just confident. And Kansas City's like, come and beat us. Like if you have possession, cool. If you don't have possession, cool. They just can hurt you in so many different ways. And when push comes to shove at the end of the game, if they're not winning, they're going to find a way. Orlando on the flip side this year, not exactly the same. It was a matchup against Louisville that was highly touted with the way Louisville has played. Louisville struggling against Kansas City in the two matchups, they've been better against Orlando. I think it probably fits their game states a little

bit more. And a game that I think last year, Orlando would have won. So for starters, shout out to Jordan Blumer. Two penalty kick saves in the same game. It is the first time ever in NWSL history that a goalkeeper has saved two penalties. Two penalties have been missed before by a team in the same game, but they were not both saved. So that is Jordan Blumer's record now. And on top of that, an unbelievable save against Barbara Bando. I think right after the second, the first penalty kick save on a shot that I think scores 99 out of 100 times. And then Orlando eventually does get the equalizer. And then Banda has the ball on her foot in a, you know, it was at the time,

Angelina pushing on a 3V2 situation to win the game. It ends up being the final kick of the game. First touch is a little bit poor, kills the angle, and then Banda is not able to even hit the goal. And it just feels like that's slightly the difference from last. year for this Orlando team is like I think there's some big picture stuff that you could worry about that is much different they feel less dominant they feel less dangerous in possession but these are these little like moments like you just said where they knew it would land for them last year and it

just hasn't been the same this season just on some of those stats just shout out Jen Cooper because she keeps all these stats and during the game she's updating us on all these things so I'm sure she gave that tidbit to Jill Lloyden when she was calling the games for on for one having an electric evening. Yes. And like you have to say what you told me before the show because she's the best goalkeeper broadcaster out there. And I have worked with a lot of goalkeepers where I'm like, this is your, this is your space.

You're an expert. Hit this. And they don't really. They're like, oh, good save. Should have been better. Whatever. There's a moment in this game. I think it's on that band to save where Jill is like full all the technical knowledge

you could possibly hear. And what she's seeing is something I'm not seeing, which is good. save. And she's like, Bloomer opens up her left shoulder. It allows the power to the right shoulder. She explodes the ball over the crossbar to save it from a rebound. And you're like, that's exactly what happened. I had no idea that that's what I was looking at. She's excited. She's energetic. She's locked in. And she is an expert at her craft. And it is awesome to hear. Yeah. So shout out Jen Cooper for giving us all the little stats that we need during games. And then shout out Jill for the way that she can describe moments,

especially when it comes to goalkeeping. And, yeah, what a performance by Jordan Blumer, who's been pretty good through this, you know, getting the head starting job, is what I was going to say. Well, we've had a lot of coach talk on this, on the show, and we've talked about a lot of interims. Whatever, she's in that, and she's been great. I'm going to just stop there.

So this game is one versus two in the league. The caveat is that there is a 12-point gap between Kansas. City and Orlando, Washington also sitting in second on 27 points. That gap is equal to the gap between Orlando and 12th place Houston. Oh my gosh. So Kansas City is almost up on Orlando as much as the league is all put together below them. I think it's safe to say the shield race is probably done if Orlando loses this game. It might already be done. It might already be done. it would be one of my questions on 12 points with the amount of games left. Right, that's the hard thing.

12 points with 11 games left. Like, that's just usually when that number of points is greater than the games that you have in hand, it just makes it really hard. But at a minimum, Orlando needs to get a win. I think for Kansas City, you could argue this is the biggest game left in the regular season. And I think for them with the way the playoffs went last year, like, okay, here's a little bit of a test run. Pressure's going to be on. Orlando's going to sit in.

You know that based off what happened in the championship game. And I think for Orlando, it's the right thing to do going to Kansas City. And so, like, for Casey, can you poke and prod and find your gaps without exposing yourself on the counter? That's going to be the ball game for them. And I think that's going to be the case in the playoffs as well. My favorite part about this matchup is these two teams are so poised to face each other because they have the two biggest threats in the league and they play against the other biggest

threat every day in training. So what you're just saying, like to have, I think where Orlando hasn't been good is teams have given them the ball and they haven't been able to really attack a low block and find gaps and find goals when teams sit in a little bit more. Orlando needs to be better at that. But they also are like, all right, well, now we're going to try to, I think, away at Kansas city, you give them some space, as you just said, make them have to figure out a way to break you down in a really good block because Orlando is a great defensive team. And they have proven that through a year and a half. So can you be good defensively? And then again, like, use the strength that you have. Let your strength be your strength. And the times that they've

been very successful in this season is they've been able to go in counterattack moments and utilize Banda with pace with space and behind and I would imagine that that is try is going to be the matchup that they're trying to get going to try to against it against really either center back but I would I would think it might shift slightly towards that right side and yeah we'll see I think you have to manage not just the way you play but the way you play through the first 15 minutes at CPKC. You cannot let Kansas City get an early goal. You can't. Yeah. There's no coming back from that. The way Banda plays, though, I think will affect the way Wheeler can play in this game. It changes the spacing a little bit, which might affect the way Michelle Cooper maybe feels like she has to stay

wider to give with, which is a positive for Orlando. And it's something that not a lot of teams have been able to do. So I think that right side is going to be like where this game is won and loss. And then I think for this Orlando group, you can kind of play your best pieces, which is we saw early in the year, is it Angelina, quote unquote, playing out wide, but comes inside because you don't have that expectation to like push the game in possession. And so I think you can have your best players out there who fit a little more comfortably in this matchup, which gives Orlando a huge opportunity. And this would be sort of like a cherry on top for them at this point of the season to just re-firm and re-establish to everyone like we're the reigning champions we have

intention to be there again martha of course coming off the copa america final not fully available against louisville so was an option on the bench um and angeline with some really good emotions to some marta emotions and and also was a uh angelina didn't get the start because coming off the same copa america so this is a huge matchup it is 4 pm eastern time this weekend it is going to be the biggest game of the weekend. Let's dig in now to Colorado, and we get to start with an interesting little tie-in. Orlando's current player, Ali Watt, has been named today officially as the first signing in Denver Summit FC history, a Colorado native, which will go into the conversation we're about to have, which is for women's soccer. This is a hotbed.

Ali Watt, a native coming home to be the first signing in club history. Jordan is pretty cool. Yeah, it's really cool. I just read what she had posted. I think she said, like, I'm coming home or something like that. And I, it's so cool to be able to, you know, when I started this whole thing, my why was I want players that are from Colorado who have dominated the women's soccer space forever to have an opportunity to play in front of their friends, their families, their neighbors, the young kids that might look up to them because they play in their club. I wanted players to have that chance. I never had that chance. And for the first signing for summit to be a Colorado player just feels perfect and excited. It's the player that is Ali Watt because she is dynamic. She's aggressive. She's hardworking. She has a lot of those X factors that I think Colorado players have. So, yeah, really, really pumped that Ali Watt is a summit player.

I think for many people from the outside, the assumption is there will be a couple players like this who have probably already been signed or will be signed. So it may be a matter of like who gets announced first. It is fitting that it is a local, as you said. I also think it's a player who's very flexible, like has played as a center forward, has played out wide, can play in a two up top. And I think as you build a roster, these are the types of players you want who know what it takes to win in this league and whatever star players you end up bringing in, whatever Nick Cushing, now that he's finally a part of this, is able to sort of put together from a style point of view. Allie, watch should fit into all of that.

And there are not a ton of players that are like that. And so it makes sense to have one off the top who you know can be a part of whatever it is you build going forward. And a big moment for Denver Summit FC and a big moment for soccer in Colorado. You are a native. This is your state. We are excited to talk about this one. I've been in group chats with you talking about it all week.

Big picture, you just mentioned it, some of the characteristics. What is soccer in Colorado? What is the culture there? And I guess for someone from afar, it feels very vibrant without being so loud that it's one where people talk about the U.S. They normally are like, oh, L.A., Inland Empire, New York, Dallas, Miami. And yet Colorado here has three gold medalists that have just come out and start in a gold medal final.

The culture of soccer in Colorado, I think there's like this tenacity and humility. like we just always I don't know I just feel like there is such good competition that it breeds humility because you know you always have to get better and the tenacity the competition there's been really a solid like two or three clubs that have established themselves so you don't have to go far to have good competition you know it's right down the road some of the best teams that I ever played were real which was 20 minutes away for me and they they could have very well competed in a regional or a national tournament alongside my team, that's how good they were. And you have to be better when you're doing that. I think there is a grit to Colorado players, too. Goss, we are playing through every element. Like, I, you know, it's wind. It's not a lot of rain, but some rain.

A lot of snow. We don't have access to like a ton of fields or at least growing up. We didn't. And I train on a dirt field with like rocks on it. And like that, but that was our training field for one day a week. we were on dirt because that's the only space we could get and we loved it because it just made us that much more mentally strong that like if you can trap a ball that is hitting off a rock into your foot you're going to be okay when it comes to grass on the weekend so I love the grit about

the players from our state the hard work ethic and because there is such good competition it breeds this ground for players having to be better to stay in their team, to compete with teams around them. And yeah, it's just, I said we're humble, but it's the best. I was making a joke with Susanna on the kickback committee that you love your flag. We know that. The flag is on everything, everywhere. And it's a pretty good flag.

It is pretty cool. The altitude doesn't seem to hurt, which is. The altitude, yes. You get fitness. How did I forget that? You get fitness out of control for a lot of people. And I think there is also this, like, culture, it feels like outside of soccer even, of just like being active, being outside.

And so you get a lot of people who are from athletic families. I've got nieces who are now growing up into the Colorado soccer community. And every moment you facetim them, it's like, oh, well, we're at so-and-so's game, so-and-so's doing a camp, so-and-so's playing. And you're like, okay, so soccer's a pretty big deal here. And just like that coming from athletic families, like Lindsay, heaps. for example her dad has done i don't even know the number like dozens of ultra marathons like a hundred mile runs cool that sounds super fun her mom used to do them too before she can't she

does it anymore um just due to her health but like that's what you're talking about it's like not just like hey we like sports it's like we like to do things that are outside we ski we you know i feel like it's not so much like this anymore but you just do a lot of different sports growing up here because you have access to it and you have the mountains and I think that really helps and breeds better athletes because you can do a lot more movements with your body and you know body control and all that yada yada and expectations like a state that produces olympians all the time because of the sports that are so popular and so then I think you get some of that cross reading let's we have a lot of players to talk about but I want to talk about the clubs first because

one of the things we're doing in our scouting report is the best and biggest um men and women's youth clubs. And I think that for this specific state, you already mentioned it, this is like a unique rivalry that exists. And I would like for you to explain it to all of us outsiders. Okay, the rivalry forever. And I think it's probably changed a little bit now with Rapids having more presence in their youth club. But it has been Real Colorado and Colorado Rush. And for a couple of decades. It has been those two teams that have just, you know, head on gone into these duels year in and year out. And it's been, I think a lot of good men's players produced, I would say maybe a little bit more heavily in Real, but like Rush has produced great men's players

too. You know, it was every single year, you kind of knew who you were going to face in State Cup. And so all of those games with like, it wasn't. just your family on the sideline. It was the other teams, like you're the team that was ahead of you a year, a team that was below you, like on the sidelines during your state cup to cheer you on and make sure that you beat your rivals. And, you know, led by two of the great coaches, Lauren Donaldson and Eric Boucher and maybe some contrast styles of play. But in the end, really knew how to develop players and to treat them in a way. that they have confidence in themselves and to grow them.

So, yeah, it's kind of, it was a really, it is a really fun rivalry between Real and Rush. So Lindsay Heaps is Rush. Yes. Sophia Wilson is Real. And Mal. And Mal Swanson. So three starters on the Olympic gold medal team coming out of these two clubs. Two of them at the same club.

And they're like, we're like 10 miles apart, you know, it's like not, or maybe 15. Like, we're not very far apart at all. That is, like, that's the type, when you look through the alumni list, because Rush has their alumni list up, and you're like, any club that I grew up around would have one and be like, oh, this is cool that we have this one player who made it. Ryan Williams is from Colorado Rush, Jordan Baggett as well. And then obviously, Lindsay Heaps, like, unbelievable. And then Jordan Angelie. And Jordan Angelie. That's what I was about to say, the biggest name from the biggest club in Colorado.

That's what everyone's talking about. So we're going to do our five-aside. We're going to finish it up tomorrow. We have our live happy hour at 530. Eastern Time on the Kickback Committee YouTube page. You're going to join us for that one. I think it's pretty safe to say three of the spots are locked with the talent that you have there. We will discuss a little bit more going forward.

I think Connor Casey pretty close to locked as a fourth. A huge debate on the fifth spot. But before we get out of here, I want to talk about one of my favorite topics, which is the lore local legend player, a player who, when you're growing up, it's all anyone talks about. It's the best player you've ever seen play. Maybe doesn't have the high-end career or get out the same way that other players do. It feels hard for a state that has the type of talent that Colorado has to have one.

And I'm curious if you have a name that you could throw out there. Oh, I have a name, Goss. And if you're from Colorado, you know the name Alicia Kramer. She was multiple player of the year, multiple times player of the year. She played with the U.S. Women's National Team, but only for a small stint. She went to my high school, Green Mountain High School. But Alicia Kramer, Central Midfielder, magic on the ball, magic. The things that she could do were just so above and beyond.

And we would watch her play in awe. Like, you know, when you're in a club and you have a team that's like a few years older than you, everything they do is just like, I want to be like. the pros, yeah. Yes, and I wanted to be, like, we all wanted to be, like, Alicia Kramer. And she played with the national team for a little bit, but left soccer all together to start a family. And I just think, like, what could have she, like, she could have done the most.

Like, she would have been a lock-in at one of these five if she would have continued to play. So she's my lure player, and, yeah, if you had watched her play, like, you would have have this feeling when you think about her of like how fun it was to watch her play out on the field. This is why I love doing this. I love learning about all these stories. And I think pretty cool that we got to start this by saying that a local player like Ali Wat can now play for a local team in Denver Summit FC. We interviewed Marcelo Balboa, whose jersey is going to be retired this weekend for the Colorado Rapid. So no one will ever wear that number again, which is pretty rare in soccer. So really cool moments going on across soccer in Colorado from the youth ranks all the way up through.

Yeah. Can I just name a couple of players that I don't think are going to make this list, but I feel like we need to talk about them. Also, we're going to have you back on tomorrow to do this. Yeah, tomorrow, yes, but like I want to, maybe tomorrow I'll have some more time to talk about these. Keel and Winter won some shields with Seattle rain, played for multiple years, but was the Kikog in their central midfield to let them, the other players go around her. Nikki Marshall won a championship at Portland Thorns, centerback, set all the records at CU, was excellent. Marion Dalmy, Marion Doherty now, again, won a championship with the Portland Thorns and went to Green Mountain with me, went to Santa Clara with me, or I went there with her because she was

older than me, an excellent outside black played in a World Cup. So I want to give her a shout out. And then there's just, I mean, I could keep going with the number of players who have. have been great. Amy Barzick, Taryn Hemings, all these players who played for multiple years, that probably won't make the list. But yeah, I got to give them some shout-outs. No, absolutely. And tomorrow, when we have a little bit more time, we're also going to talk the Colorado Foxes, which is a whole history. We're going to talk tournaments in Vail, Colorado, which sounds like something I should be a part of. And a lot more soccer. We mentioned

Connor Casey. We will talk Colin Clark and Chad Ashton and Cole Bassett and Ethan, Corvath and all these other players as well. There's a lot to dig into. So thank you to all of you for listening. Thank you to all of you who are here live. Thank you to you. Jordan, I look forward to seeing you once again tomorrow afternoon for our live happy hour. And we will talk to all of you again very, very soon.

So thanks for being here. Thank you.