SoccerWise - NWSL Championship Preview In KC, Moultrie & Shaw Light Up The Scoreboard + Update On Savannah Demelo

Episode Date: September 17, 2025

Did we just see the NWSL Championship preview between KC v WASH. Jordan & David get together to breakdown all of it from the absence of Temwa Chawinga to Hal Hershfelt's questionable red card. Then they talk about the record goal for Olivia Moultrie as she raises her game in 2025 and Jaedyn Shaw scoring in her Gottham debut back in San Diego. And of course they ruminate on the scary moments in Seattle for Savannah Demelo.9:10 Update On Savannah Demelo19:12 Kansas City vs Washington Recap Of One vs Two33:45 Olivia Moultrie Sets NWSL Teenage Goalscoring Record And Levels Up Her Game41:05 Gotham Move To Third In Jaedyn Shaw's Debut45:40 San Diego Struggling Down The Stretch52:05 Weekend Preview

What is up, everybody, welcome back to soccer-wise David Goss alongside Jordan Angeli, ready to dig into some big time NWSL coverage and WSL news. We've got a lot to talk about in this show, some great, some less fortunate. and some stuff that we will work through together as a group. But we start out, Jordan. You are not in your normal setup right now for anyone who's watching, anyone who's not. I've now given away the secret. You are on a little bit of a trip and one that I'm very jealous about.

One that you helped immensely with the preparation and planning. Although my planning and our preparation was not, we really didn't have much plan when we set out to do this. But I am currently in Connecticut, but I just looked at myself. and looked like, you know, I walked 17 miles yesterday, which I did. I walked with Lisa Carlin from the tip of Manhattan at the top all the way down to see the Statue of Liberty at the bottom.

And it was a full-day adventure. That was so fun. We had the best time. And I would recommend for anyone to do it because you can see the entire city that way. Yeah. Have you done a 14er? Are you a Coloradoan who has climbed mountains? I climbed a lot of mountains.

I climb a lot of mountains. I've never done a 14er. Okay. How does that compare? How does the mountain hiking compare to the city hiking? Well, when you're mountain hiking, you're never really going, like, that was, you're not really going 19 miles in a day, right? It might be like a 10-mile hike and part of it is up hill.

Yeah. And then you're coming downhill, which I always find the downhill, the hardest. But I have not done a 14er because of my surgeries I've had on my knee. I've had a few surgeries on my knee, and the downhill is not my friend. So I would say, because you're just, like, walking the same pace for hours on end, it kind of makes it really difficult. Like, we were, when we got two miles from the end, we felt re-energized, but also there were, you know, our hips were hurting. My arch and my right foot, really, was stuck into me. It's just things like that.

But it was fun, and it's very doable, and we had a great time. A lot of good things, saw a lot of pre-sites, and chatted a lot. Had friends made us along the way. It's like running the New York City Marathon without having to accelerate. Yes. Actually, when we got back to Lisa's apartment, she said, I could totally do a marathon. Which in that moment, five minutes before that, not even. We had gotten out of the car, and I said, why did we do that?

So we had very difficult thoughts last night after walking nearly a marathon through the city. I agree with Lisa in the style of normally I go from that was the worst thing I've ever done to immediately thinking I could do more next time. Right. But normally I'll oscillate back pretty quickly. And I think we all know I'm not a marathon runner. So that won't really happen. I was like, good for you.

But walking a marathon felt like enough for me. Yeah, sounds terrible. But I'm very jealous of it. experience you had to have. It's one of my favorite things. So if anyone hasn't done it, I highly recommend it. It's tough on a trip because it takes a lot out of you. Yeah. So then you're kind of like less for the rest of the trip. But as you learn, like every 12 blocks in New York City is a different experience, different geography, culture, smells, music, people is one of the greatest places in the world. And there's like more, it's actually more hilly than I think. It was very hilly.

Yeah. People don't realize when you call things like Washington Heights. There's height. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, it was cool. I really, we had a really good time. And then you got to finish. And you had great recommendations.

Breakfast burrito to start at G's coffee shop. Mm-hmm. Delicious. Thank you. Mama-toos. Mamas, two? Mama-too's. Mama-too's.

Because his mom owned a pizza place around the corner, and he went and learned a new pizza style, and he's like, we should do this. And she's like, I've been doing it the same way. No chance. So he opened up a place around the corner as in also. Like, that's Mamas, but this is also Mamas. Got it. But Mamas also doesn't sound good.

A celebrity, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And then I think it was your wife's recommendation for Levine. Is it Levine? Levine is very famous, very good cookies. Yeah. And they, yeah, it was delicious. She also wanted you to go to a culture cookie, which is a second cookie.

We thought about that, but it was not on our, we had already taken some rerout. and we didn't need to reroute again. Good. I'm God. You don't need more cookies in your life. That's me. I'm a savory person. But my dream is to leave this whole world and just plan trips for people.

And I previously had a dream. I have an exam book to be a New York City tour guy. So it's good to know that I did this fairly win. You did. I would hope so. But I think for everyone out there, if you ever want to do a walking tour of New York, just hit me up for advice.

And I will send it to you, I don't currently live in New York. because I won't take you on the tour. No. But I'm happy to... But you can listen to us while you're walking and it'll feel like you're there. Hell yeah. That's actually a great idea.

Everyone should fly to another city and then download soccer-wise and listen to it while you are doing it. It is a fairly intensive physical workout. So I'm wondering if maybe Denver Summit FC preseason, one of the physical testings they'll do, is just walking the length of New York City. And if they do so, they will know that. that they will potentially be in front of 15,000 fans because Denver has surpassed the record for season ticket deposits more than any other team in expansion history with 15,000. Just a little bit of pick me up for you, Jordan, off the top of this show.

When we thought that Denver was ripe for the picking, when we started this whole thing two years ago, this is what we mean. People are jacked. They want to go watch women's football in Denver. And to see it be 15,000 season ticket members, people wanting to make, you know, made these deposits. And now you got to figure out a way to get everybody in the stadium, which is going to, you know, be a task for them. But, man, I am so proud. It's so cool to see that come out and for everybody to know what's going on.

Because we're, you know, it's months away before Denver Summit at the place our first game. and yeah, I just, the stadiums are going to be packed. You know, no matter if it's our temp stadium or the new stadium in a couple of years, it's cool to see this come to fruition. First player announced, we've got a coach, we've got a general manager, and now we've got fans who are ready to storm the gates and get into the building. It is going to be really, really special. And Nick Cushing, you lived in New York.

So I'm giving you the advice that maybe you should make your entire team walk the length of New York. city before you start. Did you like that? You're laughing at me. You got to tell people while you're laughing. I was taking my invisible line out people. This is just real life. I was too Lispie. Did you notice my Lisp when I was talking? Never. Couldn't even tell. Well, you know, this is reality. And sometimes you just got to take your invisible line out in the middle of a show. Yeah. And sometimes you have to ice your hip after a long walk and whatever. Well, now you're calling Lisa out and she's not even a part of this. She just became a part of it. Her hands went. up and she said, what did I do?

Don't worry. I played my 65 minutes of 5V5 soccer last night with my old Latino dudes and I have been stretching for the last five hours since I woke up this morning. And I think I feel worse that I did when I woke up

and started stretching. So like you said, this is real life. Last piece of news before we dig into the weekend, the U.S. Women's National Team has announced their final friendlies of the year. They will play Italy around Thanksgiving. So I believe the first game is Black Friday in Orlando, and then the second game is the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend, and that one is in Fort Lauderdale, a place you know very well at Chase Stadium.

It's, I think, a really cool matchup, like Italy, semi-finalists in Euros. I think that's run was slightly flattering in terms of where it finished because of the bracket, but they are still a top eight team in Europe, and we see from Cantori and, you know, now the other players who are moving outside of Italy and playing, like, high-level opponent, probably a really good spot for the U.S. to be in and a good place for them to play. I assume there's also some climate stuff where they will start trying to play in places that mimic what Brazil looks like in 2027 over the next year plus in the opportunities that they get.

Let's dig into the weekend and let's start with the biggest story, unfortunately, an on-field, off-field story with Savannah Devello, who was taken off the field in Seattle towards the end of the first half and then taken to a hospital. This is the second time this has happened to Savannah this season on March 22nd at Bayfc. She spoke afterwards about being diagnosed with Graves disease. The immediate reports from the club, thankfully, were that she was in stable condition. Then she put out a statement on social media saying,

I'm lucky to have my family with me while I'm waiting for test results to come back. I'm extremely thankful to our whole medical staff for the quick response. They've been with me every step of the way. The support from everyone has truly meant the world to me. and I'm excited to cheer on the girls this week. The game was postponed on Sunday night at halftime and then continued last night, which we'll get to at the end.

But Jordan, you were on the call for this. You experienced this very intensely, not for the first time, actually, as well. You were on the call on March 22nd. Just give me an idea of sort of what it's been like over the last few days and what you make of everything that happened. It was really a challenging thing to be a part of. in some ways I'm very thankful it was the same crew that was on that March 22nd game that

was on the Savvy King game. We had experience to be able to handle it in a better way when it comes to the broadcast. I felt like we handled it with, we were calm, we were human. And we also knew right away that we needed to go to a break. Like the the way that the production staff handled it. I'm really proud of them. And I'm grateful that we were all together because we had, you know, I don't want this ever to happen, but we could, we could handle it in a better way. And I think once we found out that she was okay, that was the number one thing. Everybody wanted to know. But it's a lot. It's a lot to handle. And I, actually, this is the first time I've talked about soccer since then. I have not even, I don't want to, I didn't want to talk about it. I just needed a

break because it's a lot to watch that because we're getting pictures that you guys aren't And we saw a lot more than you guys saw. And that's very difficult on someone who, you know, we're all just human and we never want to see anybody be injured. You never want to see anybody get into an ambulance. And so I think one of the things that has really been great and maybe because I've been in the league for a long time, I've grown to know these players, it feels like, and support them at least vocally when I'm calling games. And Savannah DeMello's father has been reaching out to me on social media and giving me some updates on her. And he has said that her mom's with her.

As you just said, her mom is in the medical world. So she understands a lot of the things the doctors are saying, which is great. But that the club has been amazing in helping take care of her mom and her boyfriend as they got themselves out there. And that's really big to see Louisville step up like that and make sure they're taking care of the whole player. So I think there's been, you know, I'm just grateful that this community is more than just soccer, right? We care for people. We really care for people. We want the best for people, no matter if it's succeeding on the field or their health. So I think in general, I said it on the game. I'm just praying that Savannah de Mello is able to figure out what's going on so she can continue to play soccer. And that might not mean tomorrow.

it might not mean this year, but I hope that they can figure out what's going on with her because you can tell that she loves this game and she wants to play so desperately. And I just hope that they can find a way with what she's dealing with to give her the opportunity to continue to play the game that she loves. Yeah, it was really tough to watch from a distance.

You could hear the emotion, I think, from any people in your both voices and experiencing it, as you've said, you've been in it before, which I don't know. I know if it helps you. Yeah, but it makes it worse as well. And I think just echoing your sentiments, seeing everyone support. Savannah is really, really special.

I think across the league, you know, we saw the wristbands on the players on Wednesday night in the game being resumed, finally in Seattle from both teams. Messages from people all over the place and the messages from people outside the league. who cover it or talk about it or care about it or passionate about it or in any way connected to it. And as you said, she wants to play in, you know, soccer. I think one of the great things about soccer is you see people's personality in the way they play. And that's why we use phrases like beauty and artistry and all of that. And Savannah has all of that. And so I think we're all better off getting to watch her play soccer.

And hopefully we can do that once again in a safe environment for her. And if not, they look forward to whatever else Savannah DeBello does because she's really good at this. And I can imagine she's going to be really good at a lot of things in her life. And she's a huge part of racing Louisville. So let's finish this up by talking a little bit of soccer on the field. The game was resumed on Wednesday night. I think really hard to like fully dive into this. You're talking about a team that didn't, you know, two teams.

Wait, Tuesday night last week. Oh, sorry. Today is Wednesday. Yeah. Call two teams that didn't know they'd be playing this. They didn't know what happened, blah, blah, blah, whatever. It was behind closed doors. It was at Lumen Field, and Jess Fishlock had a 90th minute winner to win 1-0. Jason Anderson put this out on Blue Sky, saying by my count, racing Louisville has lost 10 points on goals,

scored from the 86th minute onward in 2025. And you followed up with this note saying five of the last six games, they've given up a game-changing goal in the 90th-plus minute. It is, I think, indicative of a few things. for Louisville one as it has felt all season it feels like they are pushing the parameters of like what they are right they're new to this style they're not they haven't built depth depth to fit this style fully and it feels like we're starting to see them bump up against the wall of what they're capable of this year it also you have to think of it on like two sides of the coin because for them you can't not talk about giving up like goals right but you also can't over talk about it because then it builds pressure within your group to like, I don't know, are we going to do this? Like, you're almost like walking this tightrope. But on the other side, if you're a team playing them, you are thinking

we've got a chance and you're riding that. And, you know, because of the game circumstances last night and, you know, you're going into a game, but knowing you're only playing 45 minutes. And I think Laura Harvey did a good job. Like in the game plan on Sunday, she wanted to use. utilize Jess Fishlock off the bench, hoping that it would be the same energy as their last win, which was against Angel City, where Jess Fishlock came in and had a goal. And like, I don't think the second one counted as a goal for her, but she had, she was a part of the two goals that allowed them to win. And you get to do that with everybody else going hard for, you know, 30 minutes. Just Fishlock comes in. And she is, she's one of the most experienced players in this

league. She is savvy. She is technically proficient. She understands where gaps open up and she could watch and, you know, really find the moment that she needed to be successful. So I think both of these teams, you know, if you're racing Louisville, I don't know how you get yourself out of that, how you stop the bleeding in that case where you're giving up these late goals because it's focus, it's mentality. It's, you know, you can play this way through 90 minutes. But in the last five months, minutes of, or 85 minutes, but in the last five minutes, how do you shore things up? Like, maybe you're not trying to pass through the midfield. Maybe everything just goes long, you know, what tactics can you implement at the end of the

game to make sure that you're not dropping three points? But even, like, when they went from winning to draws, like, those are even bigger moments, I think. When, because if you're going to make the playoffs, you have to be able to, if you have a a one-to-nothing win, you have to secure that through the end of the game. And that would be the concern I have with this racing team. Because I think beyond that, they were the better team. They showed the most, you know, they should probably been up two to nothing at half-time

if it weren't for Claudia Dickey, making some absolutely ridiculous saves on Sunday. So there's issues there. And it's hard to be able to really pinpoint what's wrong if you don't go beyond focus mentality, stay in locked in. Yeah. and it is a team that I think because of the push into the style there's not really a plan B as a way to see games and Aaron Wright got injured in this game.

Yeah. And she there's a lot of question marks. Katie O'Kane was the one who came on at halftime. So there's going to be questions filling in for Savannah DeMillo, however long that might have to be. This is a Louisville team, though, that has kind of sat in this all season, right? They made, they started out slow. made the huge run, then they fell off it. They have bounced back, though, like consistently throughout this year when it has felt

like, okay, the runs against them and maybe the playoffs aren't in the conversation, this is a team that has bounced back at San Diego, tough results, tough moments. And this might be the biggest one for them. We are going to talk about their game coming up this weekend because I think it's one of the better ones, but we will get to that in a moment. Let's talk about what we saw else on the field in this past. weekend. And I think we thought we'd come into this show with a big, this is the NWSL championship preview. KC. Washington, one versus two. This is what it's going to look like.

This is how Washington's going to go about trying to handle Temwa Shawinga. This is how Washington's going to go about trying to build out and score goals and push the game late on. We didn't get all of that. So we start at the starting lineups where Temwa Shawinga is unavailable for this game, which many people didn't believe when Black said it in the week of like, oh yeah, she's dealing with the knock and everyone's like, right, we've heard that before. And then time we're showing it, we'll play 90 minutes because that's exactly what normally happens. So she was out, Michelle Prince took over her starting spot, Ali Centaur, in the starting lineup as well for this KC team. And it's going to be a different team, right? We're talking about

an MVP, MVP winner. And I feel fairly safe in saying a back-to-back winner coming up later in this year. And it felt like, especially with the way. Casey then goes in and chooses to play this game, which in my eyes was like they decided to sit in, stay packed defensively and try and press when they could, and not having Schoinger's ability to break out and create that threat made the game a little easier for Washington to push more numbers into the attack and take a couple more risks that you probably don't do if Page Metzier has to deal with Schoinga going back the other way. And even in the first half, you could see that Washington's structure was, it was, um, Oh, I don't know. How do you say the new play, Deb? How would you say it? Abiodon? Abiyodun. Abiyodun. Abiodun. Assists from Lisa. We have the game tomorrow, so we're just talking about it, but I didn't remember from 20 minutes ago.

Abby Odun was playing this. It looked like a flux system from Gonzalez, which we've seen, but she was playing almost as a three-back sitting in the back line. And then they're midway through the first half. Florena goes down, they kind of reevaluate and they push her more into the midfield. And even that, like the adaptation of this spirit team is good, but they were a little bit more. I think both teams are more defensive, but you see that when you go into playoff situations, right? When it's been a playoff game, you tighten up things defensively, you sit a little bit back. And I think it's the right structure from Kansas City, what you were talking about, because this spirit team has a lot of, you know, no, it's not one. player like Temwa Shouinga with that kind of pace, but you have the pace of Rodman.

You have, I think we are starting to see the ability of Croix Bouthon on the repress and how quickly, and this is what we saw at the beginning of last year and why she had so many assists is her ability to jump a passing lane and go press and do it where it kind of shocks the opposing team. I think she's got that step back. And, you know, Washington has the players that can really hurt you. So I think, although it wasn't the game that we were hoping it would be, I think you saw some good structure from both teams as to like, all right, well, we're going to be hard to break down, so, which is what you want to be at this point of the season

heading into the playoffs. One of the things that is interesting about this game, the way it ends up playing out, that just as it's not the only reason, because this has been the case all season, this is now the eighth straight shutout for Kansas City. last year, Casey wouldn't have been able to do this. If they had sat in in their shape, they still would have given up goals. Right. So it was like unnecessary.

So I think it's a sign of the progression the club has made, the progression that the individuals who are there, as well as the tweaks they've brought to the team. Right. Lorena is a huge piece of this as well as the development, continued development of Claire Hutton and many other pieces in this team. Kayla Sharples, another fantastic game. We have talked about her impact, you know, as a voice along. that back line as well as just getting more comfortable being in Kansas City now for a second year. So I think that sign shows you like what I just said on the opposite opposite with Louisville is like Casey has plan A, plan B and plan C and they can beat almost anyone with all

three of those plans. And that's what you want going into a postseason because different matchups, whether it's weather or timing or all of a sudden a red card and a suspension, whatever it is, you're going to need to be able to do that. Orlando was capable of that last year. And then KC now showing in this game that they're capable of that, even though it finishes in a zero-zero. And I think they'd wish they would have been more threatening up a player as Hal Herschfeld picks up the second yellow in the 66th minute.

But in general, it's a game they should have won. The XG says that. I think the I test says that. And that wouldn't have been the Casey year ago. Yeah. And you just mentioned Kayla Sharple's name. Did you see these nominees for Defender of the Year? I did.

Is that the full length of the list? Is that it? You tell me, you're the one who just talked about being connected in the community. I think so. It goes along with the Concaf Awards and everything. It can't be. There's no way. Tara McKeown and Kayla Sharples are not up for a defender of the year.

The whole thing is, yeah. There are, I think, and I've seen other people talking about this on social media, and I think they are correct on Blue Sky. Shout out to Blue Sky. We love Blue Sky. There's not enough people who want. watch a lot of stuff. There are most people who know names or watch a team fairly consistently or the national

TV game, you know, whatever that counts as for people. And yes, I agree with you. There are not enough options and there are a lot of deserving candidates going on a part of it. I'm not saying that those players weren't, you know, aren't there, but. I think it was Sam. Stop. McClearnan, Kurtz, and Rodriguez.

Cool. I love that Izzy Rodriguez is in there because you don't often see an outside back going up for a defender of the year, which I am all four. But Sam Stobb's team is the worst team in NWSL for the majority of the season. No.

I think she's been good, but no, Kayla Sharple's team is going to potentially clinch the shield this weekend. How is she not on that list? Again, I don't know if this is like a final list of four players. but and and you know tangent I think part of

estab thing is like the story that she's being honored for which is coming back from the killer which is great that is a different award and that's one of those moments where like people are kind of doing their own thing sometimes people push young players as like a young player award but in the wrong award sometimes people

want to give like a lifetime award thing to someone it's like that's really cool let's just have a lifetime award they don't have to win the award for a category that they're not the most eligible in. I fully agree with you on that. And then the Conccaf one, I don't know if you saw this, but no NWSL player

is in the Conccaf Awards. I didn't see that, but... So it ended up being, I mean, not shocking, right? Bunny Shaw is in it. You have mainly... Ovaya is the one who actually technically

is an NWSL player, but not Lindsay Horan or Lindsay Heap. So, yes, it's all connected, but like Sam Coffey probably has a decent shot at one of those awards and probably could be mention and whatever else. So award season, you are on notice by Soccerwise. Yes.

You're coming for you and we are getting no quarter. Let's okay. Let's talk about Deb Abiy Odin for one more second though. Second career start, Nigerian International played at Pittsburgh, obviously the connection there with Randy Waldrum, head coach of Pittsburgh and the Nigerian national team came out, signed with Washington, was immediately sent on loan with the Dallas Trinity in the USL Super League. Now we are seeing multiple players. Sam Meza a big one of them who have used the U.S.L as a chance to play and get minutes and then come back into their NWSL team and earn their spot. And you talked about the way she dropped down as that third centerback on the right centerback side in their buildouts, which allows Matt Tire to push

higher, which is when this team's at their best, because then Rodman has license to go inside to come outside. But the other thing is, since the loss of Andy Sullivan, Hal Herschfeld's been the true defensive midfielder. She is good in that spot. I don't know that. she is great. And I think as an eight, she is great. It's hard to say this in a game. She picks up to yellow cards for going and hunting the game and doing what she does best. I think the first yellow card was a little bit iffy, whether or not it's deserved there. But it is a whole other option to this team. And when you look at Abia Odin's heat map and all of that, she is dominant in front of the centerbacks and all along the midfield line in winning the ballback and covering ground to create a platform with Lacey Santos and Herschfeld to do.

do what they do best, which is something they've tried, you know, I think Naurumi gives you something so different, right, because she's more of a ball playing. She's not going to be, have that tenacity, win the ball back, not, but not all the time. So you're adding different layers. And you had just talked about this with Kansas City. Like, can we present different problems for the teams that were, or different solutions for the teams that we're playing depending on who we have and whatnot? Well, this is kind of a good opportunity, you know, how Herschelt is not going to be available tomorrow night. Aviodin, how is she going to step up and play that potentially lone six or Naurumi plays alongside her or they play two more aggressive tens trying to overload the

attacking midfielder of Angel City in this next game. I don't know how they're going to look or set up, but I do think it's been such a, it's been a little bit of a seamless transition from going on loan for Abudin to now playing games here for the spirit. it's going, you know, I think there's still moments of her decision making in that first game, you know, she's shooting carelessly from distance and like you don't really need to do that with the threats and the players you have in front of you to be able to just dish it and let them go to work. But how can she be that in, you know, going forward if you don't have Hal or you can then press Hal into a higher position, it's going to be important for them to utilize her because

it gives them a little bit more bite centrally in the midfield. This is a funny thing because it's two yellow cards. Hal Herschfeld will come off suspension after the next game and then we'll be on yellow card accumulation warning and we'll be one yellow card away from being suspended again, which like all kind of... You can appreciate that. It feels very Jordan-ancially like, Sarah. I like that.

Listen, I was the one at the end of games where I was like, oh, I don't have a yellow. Let me just grab one real quick. Just be faced. I need to have one to bring home with me. But it will be a huge role for them to fill. No Rebecca Bernal as well in this game. Another player who has played in that defensive midfield spot or the three centerbacks, whatever it is. And obviously missing Casey Krueger as well, a big one. So you know, you're missing three or four big players in this game. It is not 100% what we could see. But what do you make of the idea right now that this could be the championship preview? The odds that it had. or what your excitement level would be like if that was the case? Is the championship pre, do I think these two teams should be in the championship? Yes. These are the two best teams in NWSL. I hope that the, when the champ, if they do get there, I hope they have more availability.

And I hope that they are willing to go win the game, I think, is the thing that is the difference. Right. Right now, it feels like you're in this where you don't want to, you don't want to mess up a streak or you don't want to mess up how you're starting to peak, right? Kansas City feels like they're on this upward trajectory. And a loss could help you and like, okay, what can we get better at? But you're also not really super willing to be too expansive. And I think Washington is a little bit more willing to do that right at this moment. So I hope if this is the preview, that the game looks different, that both teams are a little bit more

willing to go win it and have the availability of showinga. I hope Bernal's back on the field. You know, these are the things that if we get to that point and these are the two teams and the championship, I would hope it was a little bit more of an expansive championship than we saw last year. And I think Washington looked more expansive in this game than they did in the final last year. I think they've already learned a little bit of that lesson. maybe they didn't have the personality sharpness for the full ability to do what they want.

But I think you see that lesson and maybe Casey uses this as that moment to then take that going forward as well because they didn't make it to the game last year. Also, if you're Washington, you're prepping the whole week thinking that Schuenga is playing. Yeah. And so I think that that's why that quote unquote timeout in the middle of the first half actually helped them a lot to change what they were doing. because it was going to be a different game after that was not the case. Yep, it is a fascinating, fascinating matchup, a lot of options with these teams. Ali Sentinel are still sort of finding her feed and settling in. Like, there's a lot to watch with these two teams going forward.

Casey, historic start to this year. So they have 49 points more than any team after 19 matches of an NWSL season in history. could become the first team to reach 50 after just 20 games if they're able to get a tie or a win coming up. No, they did that last game. So they got the tie, so they got the 50s. Yeah, yeah, yeah. One game behind.

You are, but you have now. And they have the potential. They did it. And they have the potential to clinch the shield's coming up. We do have a comment in the chat from Golshin Jalali, who says it's not the final list on Defender. They're just drumming up excitement. So that's good to know.

Thank you. have been catfished for that, but everyone knows, be on alert now and be ready for us because we will come after you, depending on how things go. Let's recap the rest of the weekend, some of the big stuff we saw, and then get ready for the week to come. You had mentioned it. Washington plays on Thursday night in NWSL action. So, you know, a little bit of a different schedule. Get ready for that one. Some Gunk Calf stuff going on this weekend as well. Congratulations to Olivia Moultrie, who set the record for goal scoring as a teenager in NWSL has 14 regular season goals,

the most goals by a teen in NWSL. She did so three days before her 20th birthday, which I think is today. So happy birthday to Olivia Moultrie. Happy birthday, and congratulations to her. As she turns 20, she has, I think, pushed her limit this year

has become more influential, more essential to what they do, more consistent. I think for a player who led this charge, to fight for the opportunity to play at the professional ranks. Like, it is really hard to then deliver. I just watched a doc something about Messi yesterday,

and you're like, the amount of players who are hyped at that age, then to the amount that it's just understandable that you're not going to hit the levels people expect is pretty high. It is rarer to be able to live up to the expectations. And I think with Olivia Moultry, what we've seen so far is, like, not just playing on a high level, but willing to learn and get better.

And she took so much from the veterans that she did play with. And now as this team got younger, it feels like she has stepped up into a young leadership role. She just feels like this is her role. Like, she knows what her role is now. And she is the chance creator on this team. She leads NWSL and key passes with 41. So even though she only has four goals, one assist on the season, there are so many more opportunities where other players could have scored goals and jumped

her assist. And I spoke about that with her before they played the spirit right after the break. And she said, I know I'm in the right place and I'm not going to get bogged down by people, you know, like things that I can't control. I can't control if my teammates score a chance. I can only control if I can set them up. And I think her mentality has grown so much. she like we've watched her become an adult in front of our eyes and she has such a good mentality to say I I want to shoulder this and we spoke at the beginning of the year gosh I don't know if you remember this about Moultry and how she needs to be the chance creator she she needs to have a 10 you know 10 contribution goals assist type of season I don't know if

she's going to get there this year with the thorns. But the way she plays, if you have a Sophia Wilson back playing, she's, you know, this is a 15 goal contribution, I think minimum player over the next few years. If you can get the right pieces around her to allow her to take some, you know, take some of the pressure off her, finish some of the chances that she sets up. I, it's been really impressive. And I like that she left it to the last game, but she still found a way to become the leading teenage goal score in NWSL, which now some of these youngsters are going to challenge her for that over the next couple of years, but good for her. It's been fun, watch her progress. Just to back that up a little bit with stats, Olivia Moultrie, 3.5

expected assists on the season, which is one more than Hina Sagita for tops on the team. 41 chances created, which is 10 more than Sam Cofy. Jesse Fleming, who's had a great bounce back season, by the way. have to talk about that at some point as well, is leader on this team right now with four assists and it's not top four in chances created. So, like, to your point, Olivia Mutry is doing a lot of the work. Jackie D. in the chat says her expected assists are like fifth in the entire league in NWSL is putting together production, putting together the work.

You mentioned Sophia Wilson, maybe even Kaya Hanks. If Kaya Hanks was healthy this year, like another player who could finish things off. but no matter what, the team is succeeding because of the way she is playing. She drives the game forward. And consistency, and we're going to talk about San Diego in a moment, consistency for a young attacker so hard. Games against you a lot. You're not getting touches where you want to fairly often.

This season hasn't been straightforward for Portland. The injuries they've had, there have been games where we thought they were going to dominate possession and control the game and play where they wanted to, and they didn't. And it feels like Moultrie has dragged them out of some of those moments in a way that a more veteran player does. And a lot of young players disappear when that happens. And so she has lived up to expectations. She is a cornerstone player.

Like you can say going forward, the Portland Thorns are built around Sam Coffey, Olivia Moultrie, and Sophia Wilson. I think that's fair to say. And that's a team that's probably capable of winning a championship in the next year or two. And, like, that wasn't something we knew coming into this year. So she, as you said, has delivered on what they needed from her and has had a really big season. It was a direct free kickle, well-placed, put in the top corner to give Portland a 1-0 lead at Chicago. But Chicago remains fairly hot since the break. Ludmila scores its four straight regular season matches now equaling the second longest run in Star's history.

Mal Swanson and Jan Hoy are the top two. or sorry, tied with her, and then Sam Kerr is the top, obviously, because she scored like 500 goals in one season. So you have to score every single game if that's the case. But Ludmila stays hot, stays aggressive. Jasmine Joseph, another really good game from her as well. It feels like the front three really makes sense for Chicago with the way Schlegel interacts with them and sets them up.

And while portions of this game were against them, it feels like overall Chicago is elevated and, like, is legitimately in every single one of these games, no matter who they're playing against. Absolutely. That's been the turnaround in Chicago since Elamasser took over is the story. And I know they have another interim now. But it is the foundation that was set there. And now the Chicago team is, I just think there's always been belief,

but now they have a better structure. And it helps when Lujmila is, finding the back of the net every single game. But they're getting players in good positions. And I think they're kind of enjoying playing spoiler and stealing points from people. I think they have the fifth best points total over the last five games. Oddly, they're behind Utah, who have points over the last five games because they've gotten hot. So the bottom two teams, it feels like for the second year in a row, have started to turn it on late on in the season.

The team that is hottest is the New York, New Jersey, Gotham FC. We haven't talked about them a ton outside of the big move for Jaden Shaw, and Shaw was a part of the victory in this one. They went to San Diego. Shaw came off the bench at halftime, scored the second goal in a 2-0 win. Slightly a gifted first goal for Esther in which San Diego had a lot of possession, a lot of the ball, a mistake playing out of the back, and it was basically a tapping for Astaire from the top of the box on an open goal.

But for this Gotham team, Jordan, they have kind of been afloat much of this season. They currently sit in third place. That is a large amount of ties on points between third and seven in the league. But like they're firmly back into this, which was not a conversation I thought we'd be having, I would say two weeks ago when we were watching this team play. The result in Orlando, I think, started at all. And then they don't play a good half against Angel City at home. And the second half, I was calling the game against Angel City.

And it felt like they were a different beast. And they were, they high press. They did everything that we've seen Gotham do. And they executed really well. And I think that gave them like, hey, we have everything we need here. Well, so we thought. Because then they go get Jaden Shaw. and so it's this this mentality shift that seems to be this team reinvigorated on we're going to go high press we're going to go turn teams over high up the field yes it was a gift from to the ball from esther but that's just like you know they press them press and press and then you think they're going to press and they don't and you gift you know you're you're not playing their correct pass in those moments um I think Gotham will be it'll be interesting to see what they do or

over the next few games. And I think that Jaden Shoggle is, as a, she's had opportunities like that. And for her to put her body in the position to get a flick header on that, it's an absolutely ridiculous goal, so difficult to score. And for her might be the confidence she needs

to just put herself in positions where you don't know what's going to happen, but just trust your gut, trust your instinct. Stop thinking about the game too much. And I think that that is what was maybe hindering her a little bit in North Carolina. They have a very structured system. And Gotham has structure, but they, you know, they've talked a lot about how it's organized chaos and just go play the game and be around players who just feel the game a little bit more.

And maybe that's going to help Jaden Shaw. Well, it evidently did through 45 minutes with that goal. And one of the basic numbers in this, which I threw down, which, you know, is not indicative and it's not perfect, but Gotham has put in 360 crosses this year, and North Carolina is put in 309. And like, crosses are not super efficient. I get that. Right.

That goes to a little bit of the, like, North Carolina is going to keep working and working and working for a higher percentage chance. And all of that's built in, where Gotham's like, sometimes players are going to put their head down and whip a cross in, but that maybe that opening of style there, and clearly Jaden Shah ready for that. We talked a bit about what it all looks like. We got a little bit of an example of this. It was more of a 4-4-2 in this game with Roosevelt playing alongside Jalen Howell.

They hung on through stretches of the first half when San Diego was finding Corley in the pockets and Cascarino's coming in off the wing and you're getting overloads. And it's a lot of defensive work for Roosevelt and Jalen Howell. A lot of defensive work for Roosevelt. She's capable of it. You are still reliant on Roosevelt's health in this. setup of like she has to be great for you to be good and she's good enough at her when healthy at her top end to lead a team but you are still worrying about that the whole

time and then shaw comes in at halftime and fills in as one of the wingers can play as that second forward as well there is flexibility in all of that but that seems to be the setup where we were talking maybe a bit of a four three three where roosevelt and shars are two tens and pushing on. For some reason, Juan Carlos Omoros thinks this is the right setup, I think it still exposes them a little bit too much defensively. And I don't know that San Diego is even the best example because while you have to work hard against the ball, it's not as transitional. And if other teams are more direct in transition, you might start to see the openings in that central midfield. Yeah, that's a good point. And something that, again, I think Gotham has made

their name on. They want to, they don't mind exposing themselves defensively and just trust that they can get back and recover in those moments where they have a high line and they're going to high press. But if you get the right team, they, they will punish you. But I think for San Diego, they could be a little bit more aggressive and risky. So for this game, drop San Diego down. Now reminder, Gotham, Portland, San Diego, Seattle are all on 30 points with the exact same games played. So dropping up and down is a goal differential thing, not a points thing. It is insane that 3 through 7 is the exact same. And Orlando is a one point behind these teams. But for San Diego, this is, for the other teams they've pushed into this, for San Diego, they've

dropped in. They had 0.88 XG in this game with zero big chances. They only had one big chance in the game against Houston and won for Seattle. They have won five of a possible 18 points. in their last six games with only four goals scored in that span and a negative six goal differential. They were shut out in one game. They were shut out in three straight games, sorry, one of which was at home in this last four game stretch. And on the flip side, going into the international break,

they had only lost one of nine. So this is a team facing almost a polar opposite run in the back half of this season as they did. the first half of this season, we are getting into also like, I am going to be rattling off schedules because we kind of know what things look like. And I will just say it is not easy. They go to Portland, Washington, and Chicago for the rest of the season, and they finish at home against Kansas City.

For San Diego, we sort of talked about this coming out of their international break when we were doing some award stuff of like MVPs and where they sit and where this team sits, it always felt a little thin to me in year one and I think we're seeing some of that and I alluded to it in the Portland conversation I think it's a lot of responsibility on a lot of young attacking players and the system is not built in enough

that it's muscle memory that it's creating its own chances often enough for you to be able to steal points I just think it's a lot to ask a Gia Corley and Akini Asconio and players like this to carry the attack for a full season season. It is hard, the ebbs and flows of a pro season for a young player who's new to a league

and new to a team to be able to do that. And it feels to me like that's the biggest story with this team. And maybe Euros on Delphine Cascarino was a lot. And now it's tough to maintain that level for her. Also, teams have adapted really well to Cascarino. And we've seen a number of outside backs play their best game against her because they know what you're, she's going to give to you and they are saying if we can shut this down, if we can have good pressure cover on Cascarino and not let her get to the line, not let her create in that half space that she is so good at, then we can stifle the attack of San Diego.

And they were the team with the highest XG differential. They weren't creating a lot in the first half of season, and they were scoring more goals than they were creating. And so it felt like at some point something's got to give or like can they continue scoring more goals than they were creating. And the answer we are saying is no. I don't think it helped them that Savannah McCaskill was injured for a couple of games. Now is back into the mix. But they rely on tempo and Dolly and McCaskill set the tempo for them.

And because Dolly wants to play a little bit less transitional of a game, I think they don't, they're always playing to Cascarino's feet when I think you need to send it over the top and just go and let her turn the defense and go pressure higher up the field. So yes, there is a system. They are very good at playing that system. They are the most enjoyable team to watch when things are clicking, but you have to find a way to score goals. And, you know, when Leon isn't scoring, when Asconio isn't, you know, now it doesn't have the space that she had at the beginning of the year because teams are understanding that she can score in a multitude of ways and are tracking her a little bit more. Same with Cascarino. Like, it makes things that much tighter and that much tougher. And it's an interesting problem for Janice Ideval because he was so successful right when he came in. How do they adapt and how do they find a way here? Because a couple more losses. and they might not be in playoffs. Now, coming into the year, we didn't have them in the playoffs. So, like, I think one of the questions is...

But now our expectation is so high. But it's like, where should they fall? How do they evaluate this? Because I think, to me, I still trust what they've built. And, like, I like this group and I want it to stay together and be added to, but, like, stay together. How do you manage the rest of this season to have the confidence in the group? like to make sure that the front office and ownership and the fans and everyone are still bought in.

And I think from San Diego, there's probably going to be a little more risk-taking coming of trying to throw more numbers into the attack or maybe you start to play, like you said, a little bit longer and then you start to push your lines a little bit higher. And can you press a little bit higher and maybe create chances out of that? Other ways to generate opportunities besides one-v-one quality and quick combinations, which is what everyone is playing for. But I do feel for a Gia Corley who I think you watched many games and she looked like the best player on the field

and the game's just gotten harder because there's more focus on her. There's less opportunities. There's less spots for her to connect in that attack. Shout out to North Carolina. They scored two goals in 19 minutes to open up the game against Angel City. There's only the second time they have scored more than one goal since the international break. The other was the 3-3 draw at Chicago.

Let's close up with what we've got on 10. There is Conca Calf happening right now. Gotham put up a 4-1 win against Vancouver. And Orlando had a 5-0 win against, I don't know, throw something at a bingo card of Concaf teams. And it's Alianza or Churillo or Waterhouse or whatever team. And maybe one of those is close and right. Thursday night is the first NWSL game of the week. Angel City hosting Washington 10.30 p.m. Eastern Time.

and you are on the call for that one. So it's an attempt at a bounceback game for this Angel City team. Welcoming in a Washington squad that I think will come in with a decent amount of confidence. But as we mentioned, a suspension to Hal Hirsch felt. And that will set the tone for the rest of the weekend and for all of us. If Washington drops any points in this game, Casey can clinch the shield with a victory over Seattle at home on Saturday. Now, I think we all feel fairly safe in saying Kansas City is going to win the shield.

The question is where they fall or when it happens and how much Washington can delay it. But between these two games, what do you make of what we might see this weekend and the opportunity maybe for a Seattle or an Angel City? For Angel City, it'll be interesting to see who they start at Centerback. It's been difficult for Dorson in our first couple of games in NWSL. the goals for North Carolina come down that side just in the last game. This is a German international, a lot of experience. But I think coming in at this time of the season, yes, she knows Strauss and like probably understands a lot of what he's asking tactically.

But she's not played against any of these players before. It doesn't know what they're like is learning on the fly. And I think for Angel City, if it were me, I would stick with against this Washington team. I would stick with a Megan Reed and a Sarah Gordon. in that just because they've played more games together, you stabilize the backline, you try to keep yourself in it and not give anything away. But for them, like, Angel City has not proven that they can play through 90 minutes, right? They played a great 45 minutes against Gotham.

Second half couldn't get a hold of the game at all. We're under pressure. So they're going to be at home against Washington, who has so many different threats. How do they handle the pressure of Washington in moments? I think that's going to be a difficult game for Angel City to get points against a spirit team who I don't think will be satisfied with what happened last weekend and we'll try to just delay, right? Like we have a chance if we get any points here or if we get a win in Angel City,

like Kansas City doesn't clench the shield. Like we want to keep that alive. So I think that's going to be difficult. And for Seattle, I don't think the Seattle team will be able to handle. Kansas City at home with what they can do in CPKC. On the Angel City side, it's going to be a good test because we are seeing Cantore show that she is like a true center forward. Yeah.

She has great feet. She is ability to hold off defenders strong, but also can turn and shoot so you can't play off of her. And it's going to be a really good test for that centerback pairing and to see like where in the city falls. Yeah. sometimes sits in, sometimes goes and presses the background. Sometimes she's the highest player so Cantore can come underneath her.

There's a nice juxtaposition of the way those two play the game, but also Cantore is, she's an option always. If the ball is in a crossing situation, she is an option and she is ready to score. And Rose Colossi coming back for this group available in the last game can potentially start in this one as well, a huge option for the. them. The only one of the 30-point squad, that mix of jungles that is matching up against each other is Portland against San Diego. So for San Diego, a chance to stop this fall right now for Portland. Something to note from them is in the Chicago game. They did have Obase

come off with an injury in like the 21st or 22nd minute. Hyatt didn't get the start in this game, so came on in place of her. Not a bad option to have, but a Portland team that has had enough injuries that they probably would like to avoid all of them for the rest of the run. Now they go home and they play against a San Diego team. I think for San Diego, this is a decent chance in which Portland's not

going to shut the game down. It's going to be a little more open. There will be possession. If you can get a couple quick switches to Casarino, maybe you can get her isolated every once in a while and maybe she gets a chance to take Reyes on where she's at her best. It feels like

not the worst spot for San Diego. to sort of like get right and get a little bit of a flowback. And I'll say too, one, I think San Diego in the beginning of the season, what they did so well is McCaskill and Dolly are playing like these two sixes, but like one of them would push high and become. And it's usually Dolly, but Mac and McCaskill in moments too, like they just would pick and choose the times. And Portland, it's hard for Sam Coffey to cover all the space around her.

So if you can overload that space on either side of coffee and make her work laterally, defensively, that's going to be really important in how San Diego plays. Because I think that's a vulnerable space for this Portland team with how they want Jesse Flumming to go high press, get a little bit higher. If you can win that second space in that second seam or around coffee, that'll be really important to San Diego to try to get more numbers forward. and, you know, whether it's chance creation centrally or finding the ball in the channel with Cascarino or Asconio on the far side, you'll have numbers and good goal scoring positions. It is going to be a fun one. I think this one will live up.

I think it'll be entertaining. And as I said, it's opportunity for both these teams to sort of get right, or especially for San Diego to get right and get back into their style a little bit. And we will have all of your coverage coming up next week. You've got a bunch of games to go and call this weekend. I am excited to watch from afar. I cannot wait. And we hope to have good soccer to talk about next week.

Continue to recover a little bit. Yes. And we will keep Jordan healthy and we will be back and ready. Reminder, we've got all your kickback coverage. Soccer-wise, coming out once again tomorrow. I will be out, but Tommy Scoops will be on to do all things U.S. Open Cup as we head into that final. and then we'll be back next week with your full slate of show. So thank you to all of you for listening.

Thank you to all of you in the chat. Shout out to Jackie for being a legend. And we will talk to you again very, very soon.