SoccerWise - NWSL Edition

Episode Date: August 15, 2024

WE ARE BACK! Jordan & David back in the saddle to break down the best one of the best leagues in the world. And we have a special episode to welcome you all back. First they put a bow on the 2024 Olympics Women's soccer & breakdown all the latest big time signings. Then Jordan & David partake in Soccerwise's first ever standings draft while digging into the biggest stories for those clubs heading into the second half of the season. 2:07 Top Olympic Memories 13:21 Katie Zelem Signing Breakdown 17:26 Trend Of WSL Players Coming to NWSL 22:12 Utah Continuing To Add With Cloé Lacasse 25:09 What Does Seb Hines Contract Extension Mean 29:02 US U20 World Cup Roster Reaction 38:40 Soccerwise NWSL Final Standings Draft Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

Welcome everybody back to SoccerWise, the number one destination for all your North American soccer talk, both men's and women's. Of course, we've been covering the U.S. women's national team day in and day out on their run to the gold medal over the last few weeks. We have done so with Casey White, who we've loved having, but now we've got the one, the only Jordan Angeli back on the mic. Jordan, how does it feel? It feels good to be back, but man, I love Casey White and I'm so glad that worked out because she has a great brain for breaking down the game of soccer. And she's just fun, like enjoyable to be around. And so I felt like you guys had a good time.

It is one of those things where I have like a quarter idea about what I think I'm seeing. And you say it and then she explains it back to you while agreeing with you of like, yeah, exactly. Like the midfield was over rotated. And then because they were stretched wide when you're coming out of a 4-2-3-1, that's when you get lost. And you're like, that's what I said. Yeah. Like, it's great. It's kind of like when you like sit next to someone who's a writer and they write down what you're thinking and you're like, that's what I said.

Yeah, no, for sure. That's what I said. That's the word I would have used, for sure. Exactly. Yeah. We need more coaching courses. That's where you learn all the technicalities like that. And I love the way she can make it technical, but also really relatable at the same time.

Absolutely agree. We had a great time. It was a lot of fun. You were working on another show, Just Women's Sports, throughout the Olympics. It conveniently had a Brazilian and American co-host for you, which ended up being the gold medal match. So I think we'd all look forward to you working on a show with a Spanish and an American co-host for the Women's World Cup in Rio so that we can get that final as well. Yeah, I mean, that feels right. Like, I hope I'm doing that at the World Cup final or the Olympic final, which would be really nice. But yeah, it was it was ironic because I don't think us going into this tournament. I had hopes for

Brazil. I thought that they were going to have a better performance than they did last year at the World Cup. And part of that was because a lot of their players are in season. They're fit. They're playing in NWSL right now. They are ready to put in those back-to-back performances. And we saw that in some instances with some of those players that put in some big shifts. But I think when things happen outside of your control, like your star player and one of the greatest to ever play the game when that player goes down like Marta with a red card it felt like this team had this new energy like we're doing this for Marta we're making sure that she can play again and that

really seemed to propel them it was fun to watch. It was fun to watch these games. I felt like it happened so quickly, though. That is a quick tournament. Can you imagine playing in that? No. I can't imagine having, and this is the Olympics in total. Like, Noah Lyles built up four years for a 9.7 second race. Those things are wild to me those things are nuts but like I can't imagine the legacy that is oh have you won and that's like rings

culture a little bit right Marta has two silver medals she's the greatest player of all time she doesn't need a major international championship with Brazil to change her legacy but like you come into it let's say you slip in the shower and you hit your foot and you're out for six days it's like a college soccer season where it's like oh you're out for a week you've missed four games you've missed a quarter of the season it's like if you if something happens jayden shaw's injury timing poor we didn't even see her you missed the entire tournament because it is legitimately two weeks yeah it was fun though who was your favorite team to watch um who was my favorite team to watch i think columbia brought a lot of the vibes that i expected yeah

with a lot of the quality as well and to have the like range in their games of like down big comeback red cards go up big give up leads and also they were one where they didn't need to win the whole thing for it to be historic and so you were in the group stage of like they just need to get out yeah and that like gives you a little bit more of a tangible thing to root for then oh it will how does this pathway set them up to a final right um so i think columbia delivered linda caicedo didn't seem fully healthy which sucks And, oh, well, how does this pathway set them up to a final? So I think Columbia delivered. Linda Caicedo didn't seem fully healthy, which sucks because she's the one, the special player to watch, I think, right now, maybe in the world. But they were pretty high up on the list.

What about you? I feel like it was an interesting tournament because I don't feel like one team truly stuck out to me like, oh, this is the team. Yeah. You know, it felt like there were glimpses where Spain was amazing. There were glimpses when Brazil were amazing. Like the United States in the game against Germany, you're like, whoa, this is the team. And I think it was actually really cool because last year at the World Cup,

we saw the level of the women's game across the world just step up. And I think that this Olympics was another good indication of that. Like, there are going to be challenges in every single game. And either team is going to be like, we're at a place now where I feel like it's getting crowded at the top, right? There's a lot of good teams that on any given day can beat the United States, can beat Spain, can beat Brazil. And I like that. Like, I like that there wasn't a team where you're like, oh, they're going to take it for sure. And I think that's going to be exciting for the women's game going forward. I think coming into it and even in the group stage, my feeling about Spain was almost that.

And it was almost an uh-oh, which was, oh, they're going to win on off days, which is like, that's how you win a tournament, right? You're going to have your bad game in a quarters or semis all of a sudden. And they kept winning in these moments where I was like, okay, here's the flaw. Like they can't play through. They couldn't play through Japan, right? And they couldn't really handle Japan in transition the other way. and you're like okay there's the cracks there's the flaws and then they kept winning those games in brazil as well that whole first half brazil went toe-to-toe with them and then for 20 minutes after the red card they went toe-to-toe with them you're like

ah they can't break down this low block they don't know how to handle the physicality along the back line all these things and they kept winning those games and so then that's where i kind of started to fall into the like on the men's side what we saw with like in england or france this summer where you're like this team isn't good but they're going to keep winning yeah and i don't know how to like deal with that and you are right though in that the gap isn't big enough for any team so if you don't show up on your day and you aren't good there is no guarantee to win there's not there's not enough there aren't easy games to get through and i think that's kind of what we saw with canada knocking you know taking out france and yeah canada yeah for sure jeez louise that is that was saying oh canada after that you know like that was the whole thing was like three weeks ago and it

feels like a lifetime i. It really does. It really does. So it was fun and it was really cool to see some of these players that, you know, in a way like Lindsay Horan, I know Lindsay, like I, I didn't grow up with her,

but I've known her since she's 15 and we're from Colorado. I know her very well. And to see her captain a team and maybe not have her best tournament, but still be the leader that the team needed and to stand up on the podium and to see them getting a gold medal, like, gosh, there's just like,

I love that American spirit. Like, I love the pride. So it was, I think, all in all, a really fun tournament. And yeah, I'm kind pride so it was I think all in all a really fun tournament and yeah I'm I'm sat kind of sad it's over we need to be longer next time I know yeah I the other part that's tough is the back-to-back nature of the World Cup in the Olympics yeah because like you're in this peak now we're like what's next and we have this weird gap now until 2027 in brazil which is going to be unbelievable um i've been to rio once i would like to be in rio for the entire thing let's

go yeah i'll go back with you um okay soccer wise we're setting up camp soccer wise hq is going to be in rio for the women's world cup On the beach with some coconuts. Exactly. Exactly. I'm drinking a fresh coconut every morning for breakfast. But coming out of this, help me contextualize. Like, what is next? What are we looking at? It's Euros next summer.

Is it just big time friendlies over the next few years? Yes. And countries create different tournaments that you can play in. You know, cup there was a tournament in algarve i think it still happens with the united states don't go to that anymore there will be a ton of friendlies but i don't remember what's on the schedule as far as like conca calf goes um but the there is something happening and now I can't off the top of my head, remember what it is, but yeah, it's most mostly,

you know, the, now we're going to really see what Emma Hayes can do with this team. We've already seen them win a gold medal and now it needs to get better than that. So yeah, it'll be interesting, but I think the euros next summer will be really fun to watch.

And I would have looked at those things if i knew that question was coming but yeah i wish i had thought of it as well tons of international friendlies and competitions but i think more than anything if this is a level now in these back-to-back years and the growth of the women's game not only only domestically, but internationally in all these different countries. Like I cannot wait to see what happens in Rio because it is going to be, it's going to be a spectacle with the performances that these teams put out, because now I think we know what the standard is and now they're going to start to continue or they're going to continue to push that to the next level. Yeah.

I guess because England is team GB and it's a whole mess, we didn't see England at the Olympics. The US is playing at Wembley November 30th, sort of the repeat of coming after the Euros. After the Euros, it was kind of like, okay, here's this barometer of like, where do they stand? Where do we stand? I think this one's going to be wild because this one is going to be like, where the Olympic gold medalists were back. And back then it was like, oh, you know, players are making debuts at 19 and 20 years old. And now it's like the triple espresso is coming into England,

like get ready. And I think that's super exciting and going to be a ton of fun. And euros is going to be amazing. It's going to be, I think just the way we see this Olympics. And as you said said the game grow last Euros felt like oh wow it's so much deeper right but not every team was ready for that level and I think you're going to have a Euros now where more teams are ready and they're from the group stage on you're going to have these great moments that you see where Scotland makes history and you know

Italy makes history and all these other things I think that continues to grow and will be really exciting. And one of the things we saw from this Olympics is because of NWSL, which I think that was one of the big conversations me and Casey had at the end of our last show with Brazil specifically making the final again. It's the U.S. of how heavy the NWSL experience was. And that's why we love covering this league. You get to broadcast it every week. We get to talk about it here every week as well. Soccer wise, we'll continue to do that.

So if you're listening for the first time, subscribe on anywhere you get your podcast, YouTube as well. We go live most weeks at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesdays. You can also subscribe to our Patreon to get access to our Discord where we're talking about NWSL, along with MLS and U.s women's and men's national team and canada and all those things all the time in there and we have our own depth charts that you can go to to sort of see where teams stand and as these transfers are happening which is a big part of what we're about to talk about we go in there we update them we put the names in we put them where we think they're going to play and you can link to their profiles and all

that type of stuff as it goes along. So make sure to subscribe there. We've got a really fun show for you today. We've got some news to talk about. We've got some things to hit. And then we're going to do a draft. A first ever SoccerWise draft where we are going to select every team in the standings. We're going to select them based off the ones we think are going to do better as the season goes along. And then at the end of the year, we're going to score ourselves and we're

going to see who wins because I always need to have a way to win. I always have to have it because that's how I game the system. You have to have winners. Being a system. Yeah. So we need to have a competitive edge to it. So we're going to do that and help us all sort of get reacquainted and get ready for the NWSL season to continue post-international break as well. So a lot to dig into, a lot to roll on, and we are so excited to be back here and be doing it. So let's get started, I think.

Let's start with some big signings. We start at Angel City, where Katie Zalem, the Man U captain, 28-year-old England international, has signed to sort of solidify things in central midfield for this team. Started and made two appearances in the Women's World Cup for Canada last year. 23 goals. For England. Sorry. Yes.

Good. Good catch there. 23 goals, 46 assists, over 160 appearances with Manchester United. Jordan, how big is this for Angel City? I think it's really big. Zalem is like this, she's crafty, she can cover a lot of ground. She has a knack for like the which pass to pick in forward progressions. And for Angel City City it feels like a lot of the times to me when the ball gets lost it's getting lost in the middle of the park there there seems to be this mixture of a lot of players that they have they have Fuller and Rodriguez and

Madison Hammond they have good players in there but I don't think they have a player to lead all those good players. And to me, it feels like Katie Zellum can be that player for Angel City. And really, this team has a lot of the pieces it needs. But if you add one piece who's a leader, who has the ability for you to hold the ball a little bit more in ball progressions, which is what Becky Tweed wants them to have. I think they can find a different level and also find what they need in the attacking third with a little bit more instinct, right? It feels like a little bit, sometimes they get there and they don't know what to do with it. Well, you add someone like Katie

Zalem and she, Zalem, excuse me, and she has the intuition, the feel for the game. She's played at the highest level, not just with the English national team, but in the WSL. She played for Juventus, so she's played in different leagues in Europe as well. It'll be interesting how she adapts, but I think this is a massive signing for them because that is the area of the park where Becky Tweed has said a number of times and I've said it on broadcast she said I'm not quite sure what the mix is in there and this is a player that you can build around and find the right mix

um I absolutely agree and like having a central force it's going to make everyone else's life easier and now it's like can we see the best of Alyssa Thompson? If there's not a responsibility on her shoulders, if she's being put in 1v1 situations, played in earlier, put in the right areas, but also in what we saw in the Summer Cup Series, because obviously we haven't seen a lot of these teams in a while in NWSL play. Summer Cup Series, Gotham, it's a week in Gotham, but it's still a strong team.

They had 60 possession in the final third there was no answers and i think that starts to wear on players and especially wears on some of these younger players now you have someone to look to to say oh it's not my job to pick the lock right i can get i can rotate possession i know that if i start making runs and keep moving around the back line, eventually the pass will find me. And this is all on top of whatever you're going to get from Christian Press, which we don't know what it will 100% be.

But if you talk about someone who you can lean on and a veteran, that's Christian Press. Yeah, and I just think, too, about a player like Kennedy Fuller, who I think has so many of the right tools, but is so young. And now you're giving her this player and Katie Zellum to play alongside, to learn from, to glean all this information from, you know, not saying it's the same like for like, but I worked in Columbus for a while, right? And it was, it was Aiden Morris and Darlington Nagby. And Aiden learned so, he was always next to Darlington. And I feel like this is going to be the relationship that is going to help this team get better

because Kennedy is going to know, hey, I can learn from this international who has experience in multiple leagues, who knows how to problem solve and can help me just understand how to play at a professional level week in and week out. So we've done S.A. Morgan, Jess Carter. Now you have this signing. We're about to talk about Claire Lacoste. Do you make something of the WSL to NWSL movement right now? It's interesting, isn't it?

Yeah. I think some of those, there's different reasons for some of the moves, I would think. I think Jonathan Giraldo has a big pull on a lot of people, right? If you couldn't go play for him in Barcelona and you wanted to play in America, well, here's your perfect opportunity. I'm going to go play for the best coach probably in the world right now, right? Who's Giraldo and coaching at the Spirit. So I think that makes sense.

Zelom, I think it makes sense because things are not good at Manchester United for the women's team. It is a mess over there and what they're doing, frankly, sucks. Like it's terrible. And so why wouldn't you want to go to Los Angeles and play football in the best stadium to play in in NWSL I think that makes sense it's interesting Dave and it makes me think like what's what's the future of NWSL because now there's players from this big league that plays on a different schedule than NWSL does and that's the big talk right like can we pull players on an international schedule playing in a league that does not fit an international schedule

so i i don't know what the answer is but it's just interesting to me that more players are willing to come here and play i think it's a good thing for nwsl i think i think you're right in in starting by saying these are case by case. Yeah. Like, I think we're in trouble. I think we were in trouble the last two years with this grand statement of, well, Spain and England are the best leagues. And, like, it's why the U.S. struggled at the Women's World Cup last year and why Spain performed and England as well. And, like, this is the class and it'll never change and it'll never move.

Because I think the ground is fortunately and unfortunately a lot less stable than that. And you just go to like, man, use existence now over a six month period versus Utah's existence over a three month period. And like, that's kind of the space we're in. You can't get past the conversation about facilities and setup and all of these things that all these players have. Then you start to bring in the Geraldezes of the world. And it's like, well, we've got the stadium, we've got the facilities, we've got the teammates.

And now we're adding these coaching minds and these international coaching minds and bringing some of the best in the world. I think you're going to continue to bring in some really good pieces. We're going to talk about some young players as well. I think academy setups can start to shift things as well, where there's just more talent coming through and more professionalism to these teams that maybe people will want to join, but there's no world in which you shouldn't be excited.

For sure. I was just going to say, we haven't mentioned, I mean, you mentioned it briefly, but Chloe, look, has the Canadian international signs with Utah Royals, a deal through 2027, I believe,

which is what it was. And for me, if you get a look, you just said they're case by case. You get a look at Utah's facilities. You're a Canadian international. Your travel back to international play is a lot less long you get to play with Tanaka one of the most exciting forwards you get to be on the front line with her

not to mention some of these other players that are playing there I just think that there's a lot of things like if you look at the various teams that these players are going to that can draw you in and say, I want to be a part of that. I want to build there. I want to create a legacy in a place like Utah, which I think players are going to have the ability to do that. Maybe, maybe you can't do at Arsenal. Yeah. Right.

Yeah. It'll be really interesting. Each one that pops. I think my first instinct is this is fake. This is a fan report. And like, great, we'd all be excited. But it is interesting. It's especially interesting when you see like what's going on at Manchester United and then the option to be come to NWSL.

Like that's the opening there rather than staying in England and finding the next club. And the window makes it tough because you have a lot of rosters that are set. Yes. But teams are finding openings and teams are finding ways. I think every time Gotham signs a player, I text you, how is this happening? I don't know. Our text session is like, we need to figure out the parameters here because. And I don't know that we ever will.

Besides the fact that is the greatest city in the world and things happen when people want to be in the greatest city in the world so that's a big one you mentioned Chloe Lacoste that we just did another big ad so now that's three big international signings for Utah since they've let Amy Rodriguez go these frustrate me when things like this happen because it's a clear acknowledgement the roster wasn't good enough. And we kind of had the coaching conversation. That's I don't know how clear an acknowledgement you can have besides, oh, here are going to be the three or of the four highest paid players on this team with the biggest resumes now going forward on this team. But from a soccer point of view, it's exciting because they have found their feet defensively. Allie Centenor is one of the most exciting young players.

She is headed to the U-20 World Cup, which we'll mention in just a moment. She's one of eight players coming from NWSL, which is wild as well. Ana Tejada, though, has fit in perfectly on the back line. And now you've just got a completely reloaded attack to come into the season. And it feels feels like i think we talked about for utah like how do you make this work for next year and it feels like they're trying to do both of like win tomorrow and win

in 2025 yeah it is frustrating because i do think a lot of the work was done defensively they weren't bad under Amy Rodriguez. They were losing one to nothing, two to one. They just couldn't score. That was not the issue. The issue was, are they going to score goals? And I have loved to see some of the comments coming out of the Summer Cup. I got to do their game where they scored five goals,

and they were like, the foundation was built. We just built upon the foundation. And I love that you know it's not gonna it's not gonna be any less hard for Amy who got you know doesn't get to coach this team any longer but what I love is that there is a there's growth from this group and they have strengthened their spine and that is what you need to strengthen if you are going to find your footing in this league. If you are not strong up the spine, you are going to get worked. And it felt like they could not find the right combination of players.

And now as these pieces start to build themselves in and they find themselves as a unit i'm pretty excited about a tejada henry tanaka lacasse sentnor like that's really the the spine of your group yeah it's pretty good it is pretty good um it's gonna be really impressive they are probably the team i'm most excited to see on august 23rd of like the team that left guess who's calling that game oh yeah oh yeah did you sign all these players to make sure it was a good I did it was um we had a call Utah and I did I said hey we got to make this work because I'm on the game you said I've done enough of the one zeros because I've heard you on enough of those so far this year so i'm glad you're going

to be a part of that one uh it is going to be a lot of fun when nwsl comes back uh in utah as i said i think are going to be one of the shows when it does return orlando will be in first place in the standings and they will have a head coach in seb hines who has a new contract extension extended through 2026 with an option for 2027. Done in the middle of the year. Probably not that odd considering how well this team has done. What do you make of the job he's done and sort of what this news indicates to the club? I've been obsessed with what Seb Hines has done. He has had this way of creating a culture that was not for years.

The culture in Orlando was not good. It was not a place that players wanted to play. Players were there. They wanted to leave. They could not find themselves into the playoffs. And then Seb Hines comes in and he has played at the highest level. He brings in a staff who've also been professional athletes or professionals in the soccer world, and it felt like they said, we're going to build this the way that we wanted it to feel, and this is truly a team. This Orlando team, from top to bottom,

there is depth in this group that it feels like he can trust anyone that goes on the field and therefore it feels like everybody on the field trusts whoever's on the field if that makes sense like there is this unifying power within this group and that has to do with cold coaching and the culture that has been built so I think Seb Hines when it comes to the mentality that he has brought in there not not to not to mention the coaching tactics, because what we've seen from Orlando has been an evolution over the last two years, but he has set the tone with how he wants this team to feel and how he wants the, the practices to be in the competition and how they want to compete. I think that this is the best move and I'm glad they did it when they did it

in the middle of the year and saying, Hey, this is our coach and we want them here for a long time. But I, I have admired what Seb Hines has been able to do in Orlando. If you are a club with their history, why would you mess around? Right. And this is a good acknowledgement of its new ownership under the wealth family over the last year, year and a half. And it's like good acknowledgement of like this. That's not us.

Like we are here. We mean business. We know how to run our organizations because this is the way you should reward a coach. And a reward like this, I think, signifies to the players, one, what you like. We're going to keep together. And two, your reward is coming, too. Like we understand the results and we're going to keep together and two your reward is coming too like we understand the results and we're going to reward people financially based off that and with security

and then with that security you now open the door for all of these players to say okay well then i will sign a two-year contract because i know that i'm going to be playing here in this culture as you said what's been built if they're undefe, and they're undefeated in a season where Banda hasn't been there the whole year, and Marta's been hurt, and Adriana's been hurt. And so what you talk about has been tangible on the field, which is they are the number one team without a blemish, and yet they have not been consistently healthy because they have entrusted their depth and built their depth

and built a style that team, I think the players can lean into and believe in. And it doesn't go past, you go to Kansas City, you get a red card and you win the game. I know. Like that one game could encapsulate everything and could have been his, you know, if there was a meeting where it was like a negotiation, I would bring the highlights of that game and say,'s here's my presentation um let me know how much you'd like to pay me and for how long because we just went and beat the number one team in the league in the hardest place to play yeah down a player for most of the game because we believe in who we are and we know exactly what we're doing yeah so great yeah so super exciting to see big news news for that team. Big news for Orlando.

I would assume they are going to be hot property when we get to our draft in a couple moments. Let's talk USU 20s. The U-20 World Cup coming up in September, I believe, in Columbia. Eight NWSL current players have been selected for that team. So Claire Hutton, Ali Centenor, who we've talked about a ton. Giselle Thompson, Ali Lemos, Riley Jackson, Savvy King, Emery Adomes, and Jordan Bug have all been brought to that World Cup. Exciting, I think, for a lot of those teams. Big losses for some of those teams as well to have those players out for that stretch of time where do you fall in sort of that value for the national team and for the players experience versus your club responsibility

i fall in let these players go compete you're an american who played soccer and you yeah and this was the the one big international tournament i got to compete in. And it was a highlight of my life to represent my country at a U-20 World Cup. And I just wouldn't, I would hope that no one would ever want to take that away from any of these players who have that opportunity. I understand they have obligations now that they're professionals. You know, some of these players are 18, 19 years old, and they are now not college students who, you know, maybe have a scholarship, but aren't getting paid. Well, now, I don't know, are they getting paid? But anyways, they're not college students or high school students who are not getting paid. This is

their job to play for a professional team in NWSL. But I think more than anything, in order for them to be a good professional, you want them to have experiences that develop them, that challenge them, that they can have a different role. So I look at this list and I think, what's Claire Hutton's role going to be? What's Allie Settner's role going to be? Are one of those two going to be the captain of this team? Are they going to be the leader? Are they going to be able to fill a different role that they might not have when they're playing with 25, 29, 32 year olds that they

could be the person that, that Emory Adamas can be the forward that they rely on to score the multiple goals to get them to the knockout rounds. You know, like those are experiences that build and breed confidence that then you can come back and say, I can compete against anybody. So I think that of course, go compete, enjoy. But these are, these are special moments for the players personally. But I think if you look at it that way, it's also going to develop them professionally. And that's what we're here to do, I think, especially with these young players, is to give them the platform to continue to grow at these young ages. Yeah, I completely agree with you.

I do think I love the national teams. I got into soccer via the national teams, not as a player, as a fan. To be clear, I've been to a U-20 World Cup. We should go to this one though, in Columbia? In Columbia. It sounds amazing. I already know that. Are we just going to go to everything South America?

I literally just brought up the calendar to check the dates of like where they are. It's like, oh, when are they in Bogota? When are they in Cali? Yeah, I wouldn't be against it. So SoccerWise HQ in Columbia for the U-20 World Cup as well. But I think what you said about responsibility and experience is the biggest part. Centenor, not as much to me because she's unfortunately been the star of her team to start the year, but it's still different. She will be the captain. I have like

zero doubt about that. But Claire Hutton's a huge one to me. Her ceiling I don't think exists right now. Like you have to say out loud her age every time you watch her play because there's no way in the world you'd think that she was a rookie. Like it's bizarre. And you come out of watching the national team, and I think central midfield in the future is one of the debate conversations. It's like this is your first opportunity to sort of insert your name there and go win a U-20 World Cup as a dominant two-way central midfielder.

And then the next step is the full national team. And she's doing it in a KC team that she won't be the leader on. She shouldn't be. She won't be the leader in that midfield. She shouldn't be. You've got true veterans. You have players who have played in finals and won championships and been MVPs and all those other things already on that team.

This is a huge opportunity, I think, for her to have that experience. And I think for Kansas City, this is a way for them to get that for her, which they can't do. And you just said that. These Kansas City players, a lot of them were in the final just a couple years ago. They were there. They know what it feels like,

but maybe Hutton will get there at the U 20 level in a year where Kansas city could also be hosting the final at their own place. So, Hey, she's already been in a big game, had a lot of pressure on her. This is how she handled it. She can win.

She can learn from that. She can grow, whatever the case may be, I just, it just gets me excited for these players that they get to go do this and they get to all be together. And it's just a special tournament because I remember competing against some of the players that then I see what I watch playing now still in games for Australia and in the Olympics and the World Cup. And there's just experiences that you you should never take away from a player. And I'm so happy that all these players get to go and get to experience it. And I think they're all going to

come back better players because of it. Yeah, they are. The US is going to play Spain in the opening game on September 1st. Like that's got to got to be better right that's a chance you can't replicate where it's like oh let's do a training session let's put you in the middle let's make all the pressure on you we'll turn the music up like we'll make it feel loud no you can't do that if you play a columbia in columbia at a u20 world cup like you can't replicate that we don't know rosters by the way i believe linda caicedo is eligible um it wouldn't make a ton of sense but also like it's a home world cup would you not if you're columbia to continue to sort of spur the energy and excitement behind your team so there's some really cool opportunity

there it is going to be a lot of fun uh i cannot wait to watch i also thought it was the end of september so that's coming up starting august 31st so like right back into it to have a thing to watch during the days, which is great and something to look forward to as well. We updated for Kansas City because I brought up Hutton. Claire Lavaget had left the team. Blacko had mentioned she had an opportunity she couldn't pass up on. And we wanted to give her the chance to sort of go in and do that. It ends up being it turns out it is Real Sociedad in Spain. So she will be headed to La Liga F for that opportunity.

Rumors abound right now that Jessica Silva, former KC player, currently with Benfica, has left Benfica and could be headed back to the United States. The name we are hearing connected to them is Gotham. Again, how do they do this? Where do they have the spots? Yeah, it's just a Portuguese international. We're sitting down with Yao if this happens and saying, give us your secrets.

Can we have some more roster spots as well to use? And then Seattle continues the work. They continue to move everything around around we've talked about the trade with alana cook already we talked about uh mondesir the haitian captain coming over as a goal scorer as well now they're bringing in uh swishin international anna maria serena gorsevich did i nail it yeah so i'm gonna go serena gorsevich thank you uh and i've sold luani to atletico madrid we're gonna do the draft so we're gonna talk about seattle but quick answer are you sold on the rebuild for seattle yes or no

i am you don't have a quick answer no i don't have a quick answer and i don't think it's going to take one window i think it's going to take multiple windows for Seattle to rebuild because it feels to me like it's more than a couple of players. It feels like it's a little bit of a style renovation too, but I think they need a few more players in this, and I'm not sold, but I do like Serna Gorsovich. I think this will be fun to have her uh threatening goal scorer really good in the box but they have Heidema and they have Balser and how do you fit all three of those together can you will you how do you do it I think

that's the question um but it'll be fun to watch her play in NWSsl um i think for seattle it's been so tough this year that it's like with injuries as well as players leaving late in the window and then not being able to replace them a lack of ownership it's like let's get all this talent on the team and we'll figure that part out later yeah where some teams and and for example kansas city um which we'll talk about in a second um we mentioned last week uh that last week that they brought in Almuth Schultz, German starting goalkeeper for a team that's settled and doing well. And that worries me culture-wise for Seattle. They just throw a bunch of talent in there and see what happens,

see what falls out, and then you continue on for 2025 in that vein. So Seattle continuing to rebuild a massive movement of players for a team that was in the final last year. I think you knew with Megan Rapinoe retiring, it was always going to happen. Rose probably sped that up a little bit herself in choosing to leave. And now you have a lot of moves coming down in this summer in the first window now under new ownership, which makes a ton of sense all right let's dig into our draft i don't have music i probably should have created some sort of

music you like my um rumor music earlier was that what that was yeah i had no idea what that was i was trying to like add a little bit of mystery for's just like, ooh, you're in the rumor zone. We'll have Morgan cut that, and then we can just keep using it over and over again for production purposes. Perfect. Going forward. So there are 14 teams in NWSL. They are currently in the standings, one through 14.

So we're each going to select a team back and forth. All 14 teams will get picked, So we'll each have seven. If I understand math correctly, the person with the lowest score based off their standings at the end of the year would win. So like you want to have the less numbers because first place is just one and 14th is 14. Yeah. And then we'll combine all your teams. I'm pretty sure there's a chance we could tie so because of that i think the tiebreaker should either be whichever person has the summer cup

winner or the shield winner the summer cup window winner i think would affect how you draft a little bit more because we already know right the finalists there um which is what casey and gotham yeah but would it really because you're gonna pick those teams anyway so what do you want the tiebreaker to do because those two could win the shield too i don't know they could um i think shield makes most sense okay so the tiebreaker will be the shield and because you were so decisive i will give you the first pick. Oh, you are? For this as well. I don't know. What else am I going to do?

Flip a coin? You want me to flip a coin? Yeah, flip a coin. Do you have a coin? No, I don't. If you have a coin, then you have to flip it. All right, give me a second. Yes, this is amazing.

Oh, wow, yeah. You also have really nice flowers over there yes we just started ordering them from a new service they're called the botanical brothers they send it to you in a box where they're not set up and they teach you how to cut each flower and how they set them up and then you make the thing yourself so thank you for noticing yes it's in new york i think they like ride i think they ride them up and then you make the thing yourself. So thank you for noticing. Yes. It's in New York.

I think they like ride it. I think they ride them around on a bike in my neighborhood. Okay. I have a real coin heads or tails. Am I calling it in the air right now? You can call it right now. It doesn't change how I flip. It was heads.

Okay. So after all of that, perfect, you still ended up, we had to make it you still ended up we had to make it fair yeah we had to make it fair uh you still ended up with the first pick um so we'll each pick we'll go alternating i will cross them off as we go through uh we have the shield winner set as the tiebreaker but i'm bumping the number one pick of the 2024 midseason coming out of international break and the Russell standings draft goes to Jordan. Jordan, you select. I am going to pick shocker. I know the Orlando pride for my number one pick.

I think this is the most complete team. The depth of the players that they have. I mentioned it a little bit earlier. They've all played significant minutes they've rotated they've played in multiple positions I feel like your front line you have players like Adriana and Marta and sometimes neither one of them start and then you have Angelina who comes in sometimes Raffaele hasn't even been healthy. And you have a player like Corey Dyke, who's a rookie and playing significant minutes. I just think that this is the team that right now is playing the best soccer when it comes

to their style. They know and understand it. And Dave, they have not given up a goal in the last 15 minutes of a game this entire season. Yeah. They don't give up goals then. And that is a mentality that you have to build, and it is built there. And so I think this is the team that is going to be the hardest to beat. Yeah, not a shocker on that one.

Yeah. To take the number one team, number one one especially with the win already in kansas city they have that advantage there let me ask you this and i don't have an answer for this yeah what would be your this is why it doesn't happen goalkeeper okay if something happens to anna morehouse i don't i don't know if they have a number. They have multiple goalkeepers, but I don't know which one would step up and who they would choose, but it would not be Anna Morehouse. And that's my – if something were to happen there, that would be the – I don't know what's the phrase.

That would be the tripping point i don't know that's a phrase i just made up i was gonna say stick in the mud and i was like i don't actually think that's what that term means um yeah i think that's a fair one and they are the one where i didn't really have a great answer for that and injuries are always and you know if a team has 10 injuries but like we said for orlando they've had huge injuries to big players and they've continued to perform and they've continued to be okay so that one a little bit different for this team as well um all right Orlando off the board with the number one pick they are the favorites for the shield going forward they are leading at the mid-season point um as expected I am going to

go with Kansas City I'm not going to recreate the wheel on that one either. I've had a ton of speeches about why I think Kansas City are phenomenal. A lot of them were disproven in the loss to Orlando. I think that part's a little bit hard to sort of reconcile for this team. But they've gone out and brought in a lot of cook and a potentially starting new goalkeeper. It shows me the internal awareness that they are not the finished product and that there is more for them to go. 80 French is a legend.

She has struggled though at times this year and she has struggled in games where it has shifted result mainly from win to tie where there were points left on the board for this team and i wonder as well if you take some of those struggles out um how much it gives confidence to the back line especially when you're asking those center backs to step into the attack very often and be involved and go forward and take risks and open the game up which is what they want to do and how much easier now that makes it. The main reason you picked this team is because of Schwinga, because of the front attacking pieces, because of Labanza,

because of all of the talent and the ridiculous talent in this team. And it's not a mistake that they went through the Summer Cup without a lot of these pieces at a really high level. They will host a lot of things going forward because that's the building that everything will be at. And so I don't think it's, you know, I don't think it's that wild for this pick, but I love the talent, the way it's put together, the flow in this team.

And you even see in the Summer Cup where you're missing a lot of big pieces. Now Dabinia steps up and you're talking about an mvp getting into form and dominating and now there's that's a new element to win games in that i think if she was playing the way she was playing now three weeks ago in that orlando game i don't know that they lose that game i think it's i mean it's a good second pick. Could easily have been a first pick too. The question to me is, I don't know if they can win it all without Bia. I think that's the biggest question. But one of the things that I like about Kansas City right now is they're not sitting on an unbeaten streak.

The pressure is off. They don't have to think about, we have to win this game we have to keep this alive we you know there's like a little bit more of like let's go avenge this let's go make this better let's go yeah you don't have so much pressure on the win at all it's not when it all costs that just the pressure of saying hey we've been on a undefeated streak throughout the whole entire season. They have come back in games when they've been down a goal, they've been dominant at keeping the pace and the, the pace of the game and setting the tone.

So I think that there's a lot of, a lot of reasons why Kansas city is a good choice. A very few why they wouldn't be. Yes. They, one of the ones would be they've played a little bit of their easier schedule to start the year. They've got Washington twice. They still have to go to Orlando. I believe they still go to Gotham. No, they host Gotham.

So part of the points run early was the quote unquote softer part of the schedule that now shifts. But as you said, they're not protecting the undefeated streak. And I think as we get into this conversation, you're talking about six pointers where everyone's going to be beating everyone. Yeah. Over the next few weeks. The other thing is you add in the summer cup final. That's an added big time game.

Yeah. Especially right at the end of the season. So it's between the second to last and the last game of the season. I believe their last game is against Chicago as well. That's a tough experience to play a Gotham team in the final right before that. But I still have a ton of belief in this KC team. And I'm excited. I'm actually excited about a couple of these because I'm not good at making decisions.

And you got stuck with whoever you decide. I just take the other one. I know. I was just looking. I'm like, I don't know which like you got stuck with whoever you decide. I just take the other one. I know. I was just looking and I'm like, I don't know which one of these I want to take next. So we move to the third pick. I'm between two. And I think you probably want the other one. And this is really hard for me.

I am going to. I am going. I'm going to go with washington spirit okay the washington spirit are off the board as the number three pick jordan's second pick jordan give us okay let's start let's start the one they just got a great coach we have not really seen that much from herald does and what he's going to do to this team we've seen them play in a couple of different formations, but the intricacies of his style, I think are going to unfold over the next few weeks. Plus they've been able to work on it, right? They've had this little bit of break. Maybe we'll see glimpses of it this weekend as they play a friendly against Arsenal, but

for Washington spirit, this is a team who is built really well. I like Bledsoe in net when you think about from the back to the front. They bring in Esme Morgan, which I think center back was their weak spot. They needed, not that those Boutel and McKeown were not good center backs, but they needed competition in that spot. And I think you bring in a player who competes there and now it's only going to up the level of everybody around them. Then you have a midfield that I think is elite in this league. If you're looking at the three in the midfield, I don't know. There are very few midfields that I would take over Andy Sullivan, Hal Hirschfeld, and

Croy Bethune. I just feel like they bring this dynamicism of good passing, toughness, grit, distance covering, but like the silkiness of Croy. I think that this team is just scratching the surface and in the depth of what they have up front. Not only do they have Ule Sar and Trinity Rodman, but they now have Lacey Santos who is going to be on the team and has lethality cutting inside and striking from the inside pocket. But Ashley Hatch, does she start? Does she come off the bench?

There are players on this team in the front line who score goals all the time. And that is what you need in a knockout and move forward type of competition. So I think the Spirit are going to be looking good. Going to be looking real good. I absolutely agree with you. Kuasi as well, another player they've added into the attack that we talked about a bit when she was signed from France. Where you're adding to that attack, where you're adding more options and different styles of players, right?

Santos a little bit different than the pieces you have in there. The only, so here's the drawback stuff, and I don't really have any. Like, I think this team is absolutely loaded. I think this team's a contender both for shield and for the championship they've got star players who can carry them what trinity rodman just went through like great she has now been there so she knows how to step up she has yeah she has arrived so it's not going to fall on a croix bethune or even a sar who hasn't been there and knock outy stuff in that late moment, because you know, you have a Rodman that you can lean on and all those things,

Esme Morgan, as well as a ridiculous ad to this team. But you had Rodman at the world cup or sorry, at the Olympics, you had Hirschfeld and Corey Bethune at the Olympics as well. So the central core of this team didn't get to work under her all days over the course of this break when other people did. And while it was his tactics being used the early part of the year,

it's a big name, big personality. Yeah. And to come in at this point of a season, which is very unique because you have a team that's already played. You don't fire a manager when a team's playing this well. I know. So like,

right, exactly. So a hundred percent, but so there isn't really a blueprint for this and my only worry would be that does that cause a hiccup at some point which drops them below where they could be or where they have been already yeah over the course of this season but you talked about the midfield three. Everyone has a role. It makes sense. It all pieces together. It's all clean.

I talked about Hutton with the national team, Hirschfeld. It's probably going to be her spot to lose over the next few years. Oh, for sure. What a draft and what an experience with these players. Yeah, yeah. Okay. All right, number four. You took Washington. Therefore, I think the obvious one comes to me with Gotham I would have been stoked with either of them um me too I don't

even know where to go with this Gotham team I could not tell you they're starting 11 like if you asked when healthy and we do the depth charts and I have moved it around. Let me see. I've moved around 18 times over the course of the last few weeks. And I'm like, well, Yasmeen Ryan could play here. Crystal Dunn could play here. Lynn Williams could start here. We're not even talking about Esther. We haven't even talked about her for the last few weeks. She's been injured, wasn't there for Spain.

And yet she could be the best center forward in the league when she's healthy and when all and the way Ella Stevens is playing can Lynn Williams start at the center forward position does she need to will she play on the wing there are so many options the Jess Carter move is a cheat code as well we've already seen her play fullback and center back because she can play all of them they've got a ton of depth in those spots there is some question marks in that they are different when roosevelt is healthy and roosevelt has struggled to be healthy over the last year she would she looked fantastic going into the olympics it's probably the best run she's had in the last two years and then all of a sudden it's load management stuff doesn't play in the

biggest game of the olympics and so there are some question marks there, but talk about a match winner burger. Yeah. And like a cheat code keeper in the league. She, she saved three penalties in back-to-back games and scored one for this team for Germany to win a bronze medal. There's so much strength through the team and you see it in the summer

cup. They didn't concede a single goal. Missing Emily Sonnet, missing the pieces they missed, bringing Carter into the team on the fly. They didn't concede a single goal. They have enough creativity to create chances. Now they're going to bring five Olympic gold medalists back into the team. It's the only reason you can say that the Davidson injury

and wherever she stands is not the end all be all for this team because they just have so much depth and they clearly understand the tactics and how it fits uh they're able to adjust on the fly so that they don't have to be the same team game in and game out but you come with the championship pedigree from last year into the roster they have this year uh and this feels i think they could contend for shield even though it's a bit of a stretch in terms of points but they're also obviously a championship contender they definitely play chess and chess is talked about a lot with this group um jesus is one of their i don't know his last name but but he's one of their assistant coaches,

and he plays chess with the players, like literal chess. He teaches them how to play it. And it feels like when I watch Gotham, that's what I'm watching. They are playing chess. They are moving players around. They are opening space for someone else to fill, and they are moving the ball in such an intricate way. It feels like a different game at times.

The thing that I do not like about this team is they do not have this we are going to punish you they don't have that so they let you hang around because they know they're going to win by one they don't have that switch and that is i think that is going to be their downfall because they could score four goals a game, and it feels like they're content with one because they know they can hold a one-to-nothing lead, and that's great, but I just, I feel like for them to be amazing and win back-to-back championship, they need that.

They need, like, I don't know. It's like a little bit of, like, bite. A little bit of dog in them. Yeah. It's hard to say that with five players who just won a gold medal coming back to the team. But you are right in terms of when they are set up as a group. Now, part of that is we have not seen them all on the field, right?

And so the first two months of the season was, well, we know how good they are defensively. They struggled to score goals, but Roosevelt will come back. Crystal Dunn will be coming to this team. Lynn Williams will get healthy. And as that's happened, I think there was the one stretch going into the international break where they were really cruising and they destroyed Louisville and the heat and all that.

They took care of a couple other big teams and you're like, okay, they finally arrived. But that's been hit or miss for this group as well. By the way, it's Jesus Boteo Hermosa head of tactical analysis. That is a chess job for sure. Chess job.

And I'll just say like, Ella Stevens is one of my favorite players. Yep. Top three players to watch in the league right job. And I'll just say, like, L.O. Stevens is one of my favorite players. Yep. Top three players to watch in the league right now. Like, I did not understand this move when they made it. And now that it's coming to life, I'm thinking, that is a chess move. It was – I did not see how that was going to fit, and it has been amazing. And they have her under contract if they want through 2026.

Yeah, sign her right now. Which is wild. Okay, now we are up for the sixth pick, seventh pick of the – fifth pick of the draft. Biggest five, yeah. Jordan, and it starts to open up a little bit more now. Yeah, it starts to open up, but I'm going with a team that I just – I love their style.

I think there's consistency. There is bite in this team I'm going North Carolina don't do it to me I'm doing North Carolina yeah they just they know what is expected of them there are seamless rotations there's understanding of spacing they know how to get forward they know how you know Sean Nahas has played with just starting in a three sometimes he starts in a four again but like he understood at times he was asking too much for them and they were getting a little too stretched but now it feels like it's North Carolina again and they're finding their groove in the attacking third which is where they weren't connecting and you bring back the MVP

who is healthy played in the, just won a silver medal. Caroline is going to be back playing in this team. And it'll be interesting to see how much of a jump she can help them have in the variety in which they can play, right? Because it went from, hey, we have an outlet in Caroline last year to stretch at times when need be, but we can also play through the seams. but we have the outlet if we need it, but she can play inside. She can go long.

It just brings variety that they haven't had in a while. And I cannot wait to see that come to fruition now that she's back. And Denise O'Sullivan is one of the best leaders in this entire league. And so I trust, I just like what she has done over her years in this league, going from like waived in Houston to being one of the top midfielders consistently year in and year out. So, yeah, I just love what Shanae House has done, and I'm taking them off the board. Yeah, that's our first skip in the standings of the current standings.

So North Carolina are sixth. You are taking them number five. I was hoping to get them at number six. This is a team that I've raved about because the style, but also I think the way they've handled the loss of an MVP. Like to maintain the style and maintain a level of the success without Carolyn just shows you where they stand and like the belief in what they do. And one of the things that I've harped on is Ashley Sanchez has stepped up

as a goal scorer. She doesn't have to do that anymore, but yet she can. And so you've got another element. You've got another weapon. I thought Riley Jackson was one of the surprise. We, and so you've got another element you've got another weapon um i thought riley jackson was one of the surprise we we did a segment on who are the young players that are going to step up in the summer cup and like i were excited to see i think riley jackson was a big one of them but

courtney vine coming in like you've got a ton of wide players yes courtney vine i forgot about her so natural wide players who want to go 1v1 which is just an added element to the system already creates chances for this team. So I absolutely love that pick with North Carolina. I think it makes a ton of sense. It puts me in a weird pickle right now. Yeah.

What are you doing next is the question. We should have done a snake one where I go two in a row and then you go one. I proposed it. You did. And I don't understand why people do that, but now I'm realizing why people do that. I think it makes more sense when it's not just two people though yes probably um can i trade you a pick so that i can get two in a row i'll pull a washington get four first round picks and rebuild my team right here no because i don't know who i want next so i need to know who you go with okay um

should i stick to my guns or should I go with logic? No, stick to your guns. Logic, throw it out the window. All right, I'm going to go with Chicago. Okay. This is the other team that I've been super high on for the second half of the year behind North Carolina. You could not watch that Olympic gold medal game

and not walk away and say, when is the next Chicago Red Stars game? You could not watch Ludmilla be the best player on Brazil, but be stonewalled by Alyssa Nair. A new teammate. And then lose on a game-winning goal by Mal Swanson and not say, when does this team play? And that doesn't bring in Grosso,

who I think is going to be a massive add to add some possession when they need to, to be able to hold the game a little bit more, to be able to control things, as well as to slide other players into their more natural position. I don't know exactly how all of this lines up, for example, when I'm doing the depth charts. I don't know 100% what it looks like yet. Where does Nesbeth play? Where does Bia Franklin play? Who does Ludmilla start for? Is Mal Swanson a center forward? Is she not? Does it really matter when she goes and finds the game? The big sticking point is that Sam Staub, the Iron Woman of NWSL, tore her Achilles and is out for

the year. This is a player who played every minute of the last two years and was we thought going to be on this national team roster at center back that is a huge hole for this team so you were not 100 sure what that position looks like but there's a level of belief with nair behind it and i think as well with the coaching staff being a more defensive minded group that has built this team from the back line forward that this is a team that can find enough there and now have these offensive options and this offensive explosion to be able to go forward i talked about it coming out of the gold medal game ludmilla her decision making between when she goes dribble or pass early or delayed seems to be perfect and to watch swanson make runs either

off the wing or from deep off that and grosso as well i think is going to be really special it's a good pick i i it was higher than i would have put chicago because i think i'm i just am very interested into what happens without sam stopobb because sam stobb changed this team in a second they were a completely different team last year than they were this year with her inclusion in in the roster and it was one of the biggest trades of the off season and something that people did not expect but it made sense for chicago and i think the one thing that maybe Lorne Donaldson did, sorry, I should word that differently. The biggest thing he did right is he built this team defensively first.

So they, without Stobbs, still understand that we are built on defensive principles. Because you watch them and you understand. They're built on defensive principles. It is not. They never overextend their lines. They're always in the right spot in rest defense they're always plus one number behind the ball all of those things are we are not going to expose ourselves defensively can they do that without Sam Stott I don't know I don't know who the leader is I don't know who's going to do it I think that's the biggest question for me but i like it because ludmilla i cannot wait to watch her in nwsl my goodness that alone i think is a good reason to pick them

this is just a fun one to root for so now i have a reason to root oh my gosh so much fun yeah she's been she's been great so okay good choice good. That means it's back to me. This is seven? Yep. Okay, this is where it gets tricky because I think I am a little bit in between a couple of teams here. I'm going to go with LA. Wow. With Angel City. Okay.

I think Angel City is going to feel like a little bit of a boost the second half. I think the ad, I don't think they're done adding to their team. So we're going to still see some additions. Um, Zellum is going to be a big addition. We talked about that already, how she can be a little bit more like galvanize this team, right? Be a center focus, the focus of the central midfield to help them advance the ball. And even if Kristen Press, through the end of the year, even if she doesn't play significant minutes, and I'm talking like significant, I mean like 60 plus minutes a game,

she's still threatening, right? She understands. She boosts the training she her presence there has been talked about a lot I think that they I like what Becky Tweed has done and there are real ideas that this group has they get into the right spot they are not finding the final piece, but their XG screams like we're going to score goals. So I'm just going to believe that they're going to score goals. And when you have a player like Sarah Gordon in the back, I don't, I don't worry about them too much defensively because she can cover so much.

They can play a higher line because she can cover the space and behind. She's good. And they're pretty good in 1v1 defensive situations Madison Curry has been one of the standouts as a rookie this year so I just like overall what they're like what Becky Tweed has what progress they're making it might not show up in the like wins or losses but i'm gonna believe in them and i'm gonna go with angel city um i like that pick i like the idea of like the xg is there and they're probably bringing backslash in a 10 and a 9 yeah so like a team that's already creating the two positions that should be scoring and creating are now being added or new and Christian, whatever term you want to use. Like that's,

that's a good formula to believe in. And I think that's fair. And I think what we saw from a lot of the summer cup series was the backline has solidified and Gordon on top of all the things you talked about is also really flexible. So like there's an injury, she can play left back. She can play any,

either of the center back. Same with Curry. Same with Reed. Reed can play outside back back center back it gives them a ton of flexibility which over the course of the season as the games get tough uh i think is is a good thing is some one of those things you can rely on and i think makes a ton of sense um so i like that pick and that sets me up here okay i'm gonna take portland i can't skip on portland again i skipped on them once i think it's fair and i think part of the reason i skipped on them the first time is there doesn't feel like there's a dna it doesn't feel like portland yeah it doesn't feel like Portland. Yeah. It doesn't feel scary to go play there for a lot of teams.

They don't feel like they play downhill a lot, which is, oh, my God, it's chance after chance after chance, and it's poured on you. But when you look at the underlying numbers with this team, they have underperformed their XG, but the XG against them has been terrible. They are the worst post-shot XG versus what actually gets saved goalkeeping team in the league. And they've signed Mackenzie Arnold to solve a lot of that. It wasn't a great Olympics, so it may not solve all of it. Or hopefully they don't play Zambia at any point in this NWSL season

but it is it's a goalkeeper who has been there in big moments I mean obviously led the Australia team last year in the World Cup has been West Ham's goalkeeper for years now it is an added stability at the biggest position that is the reason for their issues. And so if they continue to be the Portland they've been just with that one change, they could be okay. So I don't feel amazing about it, but that's kind of the reasoning in my own head. And the positives are Sam Coffey and Sophia Smith. There's a ton of talent.

And Sophia Smith is probably going to end up in MVP voting and all of that. And coming off, I think the Olympics, she's going to feel even more confident. And I've keyed on this a couple of times. I think Jesse Fleming has taken a little bit of time to feel comfortable, but she was phenomenal in the Olympics.

And like, can that be something that spurs her on where she remembers who she's like I am one of the best players in the world I'm like look what I just did for my country when we were against it and everything was against us and can she bring some of that play back in because if she plays the way she played at the Olympics for this team it takes creative pressure off Sophia Smith and Smith can be a finisher again and can play higher up the field more often and that makes her life a ton easier. Coffee had some injuries that I think they were managing even extra going into the Olympics.

Cause it was such a big opportunity for her that like now she can go out and play the full nineties game in and game out. So I think if you're a Portland fan, there's reasons to feel positive. I don't know that we're back into the, they are a contender conversation, but at this point I couldn't pass on them again. Yeah. And I think one of the things with Arnold,

you mentioned the Olympics and performance there, but her defense was in six and sevens. They were just, it was just scrambled. And I don't think we're going to see that from Portland because they have Becky Sauerbrunn and Kelly Hubley, and they're pretty organized defensively. And are there going to be chances? Of course there's going to be chances, but I think they're going to be less crazy than the chances were that

Australia was giving up in some of those games. So I, I think that's right. I think there is just something about who is Portland now. And that's the question. I think they are trying to find out. And I think Rob Gale has done a really good job in bringing some more fluidity into the way that they attack.

But also we haven't seen them with Sophia in a while. And I think that you forget how good they can be when she can really have four players on her and find a way to dribble through all of them and still score a goal 50 yards through a slalom dribble shot from 20 you know like she's just incredible so okay you're great you should take that i i went a little i went wild and you brought it back to reality bringing it to portland this is where it gets a little tricky don't you think yes it's this is sort of preference and yeah and it comes down to belief yeah um okay so we are on to now the ninth pick i believe yes yeah um and you go first okay i'm

trying to think of the teams that i don't have here i I might go with another wild pick. Ninth pick, ninth pick. You know what? No, I don't know. Yeah, no, I'll go with this one. I'll go with the ninth pick being Racing Louisville because you know who's finished ninth the last three years in a row? Racing Louisville. Nice. A historic pick. Maybe I'll just think that they'll do the same thing. The thing that I'm excited about for the second half of the season with racing Louisville is I think, I think Bev Yanez is a really smart intellectual coach and she has helped them understand the game in little nuances.

They're spacing as they build when they want to press, how they want to press different moments in transition and how they can have a little bit more help on a side of the ball where they feel like they could be weaker, whatever, all these different little nuances. But one of the things that we haven't been able to see very much this year is we haven't seen Savannah DeMello and Ari Borges on the field at the same time. And Savannah DeMello and Ari Borges are like joyful in the way that they play together they see the game the same an american and a brazilian and they're just like it feels like two peas in a pod on the field and i think a healthy ari playing centrally allows savannah

de mello to float a little bit more and find spaces that she can attack, especially she likes to go to the left side. And I just feel like that's a good combination for them with Ari centrally that we're just going to see a different level to Louisville. And that is the thing that excites me the most. They have a very experienced back line as long as they're healthy and available, which they typically are Malay, Ursig, Wright, and Pickett are incredible when it comes to the knowledge of the game the

experience that they have so I think that that is a nice foundation to build off of but the biggest thing that I'm looking forward to is is Borges and DeMello. Yeah, I think that makes sense. Let me throw in this, which is they are the biggest expected goal differential underperformer. So on expected goals conceded, should be scored slash should be conceded, they should be seventh in NWSL. They are currently ninth. So they have underperformed over the course of the year and feels like they're going to get healthier and more talented going forward. So I think that makes a ton of sense. That brings me back up. And one of the problems here is like the teams I like, I feel like I'm reaching on and the teams I don't like are the ones that I should be taking here and I'm trying to do quick math and say like how big a jump can I expect a team to make

with this pick I'm gonna go with San Diego and this is sort of the second straight pick where it's like the biggest conversation is they don't feel like themselves they don't feel like the team we've come to know I really like the Cascarino ad. Yeah, I talked about it when they made when it was rumored and then they made the move. It feels like you are you have a formula now where you kind of know what you're going to get from both wings. And Maria Sanchez, I think, can play more to her game where she doesn't always have to stretch the field as that natural winger style. And she can come inside a little more and connect and play because cascarino will stretch the field on the other side and the geography will work and i think jayden shaw will be better off for all of that and i think the goals will start to come and if the

goals start to come you can start to gain some confidence and like for this team you could argue they have the best goalkeeper center back pairing in the league and so if the goals start to come it should come with wins um it feels like there's some cultural stuff going on or it doesn't feel like there is yeah which is super dangerous and i don't know if this team ever really turns the corner this year. It's dangerous if it affects, if the front office stuff affects the team. I don't know if it does, if it doesn't. But the biggest thing that, and I'm sorry I cut you off,

the biggest thing is, who's the coach of this team going to be? And how are they going to play? Did I do my theory out loud on the show ever? No. I think it's going to beony gustafson oh yeah okay we talked about that yeah australia done yeah obviously knows jill ellis very well uh it feels like there's a chance there now i don't know if he would take over right like if you get hired

i don't know we have seen coaches say like oh i'm taking my time the season's over i'm not there yet so i don't know if the season would end under an interim um but that's my like harebrained or i don't have the hair so the tinfoil tinfoil hat um theory but you are right it is it is hard to play under an interim manager it's hard to find. It's worked a little bit for Portland, so it could work. And the one thing I would lean on with this team in picking them, besides just the pure talent on the roster, is it is the DNA of a team that has won. And if it starts to work,

I think there is a chance that the players can figure out on their own. And, like, what are we going to get from Alice Morgan? Left off the Olympiclympic team like different moment in her career um does she come back with a vengeance and if she comes back and starts scoring goals it makes everyone's life a lot easier yeah yeah okay that wouldn't have been my pick i would have gone you said you were between what who you think you should pick and yeah i don't know how much i should give my theory what who you think you should pick and yeah i don't know how much i should give my theory although for good radio you should think out loud i'm going a

big boost because i'm bringing the team is utah still at the bottom of the table yes utah's at the bottom i wanted to take utah last round and i thought it was too big a jump when you said that i was like please do not take Utah. Yeah. Utah. Utah Royals. We're both sold. Yeah. I don't know why. I just think that they've done a really good job of bringing in some of these pieces.

Tanaka. I think Tejada was really the first one, right? When we, the first game I saw her play, I thought, oh, this is way different than what they have. And then you bring in Henri, who's right in front of her. And then now Setnor can play as a 10. And then you have Tanaka up front. I talked about the spine being strengthened. I think Mandy Hott is the best ball.

Maybe not now. Maybe Berger is the best ball playing goalkeeper but she is up there as she's just a solid goalkeeper in all aspects but the what she can do with her feet helps them build solve some pressure situations it just feels like they are reinvigorated i called their game when they scored five goals in the summer cup and this team it just felt like the monkey was off their back and they have this interim head coach Jimmy Kunratz who you know has praised a lot of what was done before him but also is seems very demanding and specific about the things that he wants and we I don't think we have seen all of that we have seen them switch to a double pivot which i think has helped them in builds so much um and in keeping the ball and giving freedom to ali set nor as a nine or i keep calling her nine she's 10 as a 10 and isn't she wearing number nine

she does wear the number nine that's why good job um we've just seen the way that there has been a little bit more fluidity in their bills they've they've kept the ball more i just i think the difficulties of the beginning of the they're not just the beginning of the season the beginning of their birth into nwsl has galvanized them like they they can make or break a team and when you don't win in that many games you can be done for and it felt like this team it feels like this team has gone the opposite and now you sprinkle in the talent that they sprinkled in with a really um detail-oriented coach i think this is gonna be a fun second half of the year for Utah. I agree with everything you're saying

and it goes to the conversation we had around Chloe Lacoste and that exciting signing. The math I was trying to do is they're on nine points last place in the league. They have to win out?

Well, they're five points behind Houston in 12th. They are currently the teams we have left. They are nine points behind Bay FC on equal games. If you had to guess, where do you think they fall in this game? Because from a soccer point of view, I completely agree with you. As I said, they're a must-watch. They're going to be entertaining. They're going going to be better they're going to be more competitive if they were to sneak into a playoff conversation I think they could come in with momentum in which

they're a team you don't want to play that might be a bridge too far where do you think they fall if you just had to guess a number in the standings um I think they fall. Could they fall nine or 10? Yeah. Yeah. I think that feels like they could jump four to five spots. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. They're not, they're not, they're not winning the league. They're not getting, they're not getting into the playoff. I don't think they're making the playoffs. Okay. If they make the play,

they, they would have to probably went out to make the playoffs so they start they come back they start with bay fc at home and then they go to houston if they were to win both those games there's a decent chance they've already jumped to 11th or 12th okay um one weekend now then you start playing everyone and like whatever i don't want to do the i love a good schedule read so i will do it all day um i don't want to do it right now but like you can get into it introduce the nwsl audience to your schedule to my schedule reads win loss win loss and now they're at six points um but yeah it could be interesting that was the hard part which was basically what you said,

which is it could make or break a team, but from a points point of view, are they too far behind? Is it too much work to do? Right. I guess what you leave from last year with what Gotham did and what Seattle did is like, there's no such thing as there's not enough time left in NWSL.

And we can see if utah can be an example of that one you have left me with three options none of which i would like so i'm gonna stick on the points i'm gonna go bay fc i feel like i'm getting boxed into these i feel like i went with my guns on chicago and since then i've got boxed into three picks actually no stop I'm not gonna do that I'm gonna take Seattle okay I'm gonna have some belief in the rebuild as I said I'm gonna have belief in the infusion of talent I'm gonna have belief in one of the best coaches in NWSL history being able to figure it out now that the ground has steadied they know who their ownership is it is a group that has I think enough creativity and the finishers are now there we can to create chances and we are exposing

ourselves in ways that we don't need to because we are taking risks to try and break through the door and I think that there's a lot of space for this team to get more comfortable to get better and like you're a group like this that gets an infusion of talent I just think it brings confidence for everyone coming into the locker room now to restart the season where you look around and you're like, there are multiple big time internationals in this locker room. There are players who have played in a final very recently. Now we've got some younger legs.

Now we've got some one V one creativity. Now we've got some goal scoring World Cup experience. And I think you bring that all in. I think Seattle could be in a Utah conversation of they get the wind in their sails. They turn things around quickly and it starts to roll. Yeah. I don't know if I'm convinced. But I think when you talk historically,

it makes the most sense, right? Laura Harvey has figured out ways to win every year. She has been in this league and I can tell you one thing. She knows where they are in the standings and she's not happy with that. Right. She is like trying everything she can to figure out how to solve this situation. I think it's going to be a tough one for seattle and i'm gonna move on because i don't know what else to say about that we have two more picks right yep

so you choose and then mine gets chosen yeah i'm gonna choose bay you should yeah i should have you probably should have yeah um because i honestly probably would have chosen Houston over Seattle. Interesting. Okay. Yeah. Skip the Bay part and give me the pitch there. I just am not. It's less to do with Houston. It's more to do with Seattle.

Okay. I think that Houston, I think there's a lot of question marks about Houston right now, which is why they're at the bottom. They don't have a coach. They have an interim manager, Ricky Clark, who I think is going to really help them. But who's going to coach this team? They just lost their GM.

Are they going to sign any players in this? They've brought in Tarciani, which I think is going to be a long-term vision. But that back line has its moments where you think, oh, this could be really good. If they do play a 3-5-2, it could be great. And if Deanna Ordonez gets the service that she needs and she can stay central and she doesn't have to move around as much, she's going to score goals. I just don't know who's going to coach them. I don't know how they're going to score goals. I just, I don't like,

I don't know who's going to coach them. I don't know how they're going to play. I don't know who's, who of those players are going to fit in with what they have going forward. But I just, I think that I, I don't know that there's something about, there's something about Seattle that feels a little stagnant to me right now. And I don't know how they're going to get there. Historically. I think that's where I'm like, I should believe in Laura Harvey because I think she's an excellent coach but there's something I don't I can't put my finger on what's missing there but there's something

missing yeah um so yeah and I just chose Bay over Houston because they have three incredibly good players who have not performed at all and they they need to at some point and so I'm just hopeful that they will because I want to see some more goals from Castellanos I want to see Asisa Oshuala like really be what we know she can be it doesn't seem like she's comfortable yet and then you know we've seen glimpses from Kundanaji. Even Princess has shown us little, like, sparks where I'm like, whoa, what was that? But it hasn't fit, right? It was a team built on offense first, and they tried to bring in defense. And it honestly, I think, messed them up in the middle of the beginning of the year.

You know, they were flying. I think they could have gone a long time with five to three games. I really do and um it is i think i think if we had done this preseason the two teams that we ended up on at the end here in bay and houston to me are the least inspiring teams which is like and i don't think we would have had i don't think that's what we would have thought we would have said about these two teams right in preseason which is why i kind of just we kept skipping bay where it's like yeah we were so excited about the build we were so excited about the attacking talent we were so excited about the ownership and the atmosphere and everything

and a lot of that stuff is still really good yeah um And it hasn't hit in a way in which it's almost gone on to the back. They've gone on to the back burner really quickly where Casey and Orlando stole the show. And we've talked about all these other teams and talent. And now here in a window where they're not really adding. And I don't know that they have to like, that's part of the issue. Kunan Anji scored a little bit in the Olympics and I'm hoping that's just

like the spark where it's like, yep, I can do whatever i want on the field and i'm this good um but i don't know that we hit that yet and and if i'm gonna have to root for them so that my team does better then that's where we land so the tiebreaker will be the shield you've got orlando and washington towards the top i think north carolina is in that conversation as well. I have Casey and Gotham. It's probably a bridge too far for Chicago. So those would be the other pieces as well. Jordan, I think this has been a successful first draft. Yeah.

For everyone, I think this is just a way for us to sort of reset things as we get ready for NWSL to come back on the 23rd. We'll have another show next week. So I think we'll start to do some previews of games and get, dig into some of these moves and how these teams fit together. And I assume we'll have a lot more even by then with the rate. Yeah, let's hope. With the rate and the speed things are going,

but it was great to have you back. Thank you for being here. And thank you to all of you for listening. You can follow us of course on soccer wise hq on all our social channels subscribe to everything podcast youtube everywhere else in between and we will talk to you all again very very soon Thank you.