SoccerWise - NWSL Edition: NWSL is Back! Plus Reactions to the Latest Intra-League Trades

Episode Date: August 21, 2024

Jordan & David react to the big trades for Louisville, KC, Seattle, and Orlando while previewing every single matchup in the NWSL's return weekend. From the top of the table clashes of Gotham v Portland & Washington v KC. To all the new faces in new places we're so excited to see across the league and of course the return of so many Olympic stars. 8:16 Orlando’s Trade For Carson Pickett 14:54 Utah & Bay FC’s Prospects For 2nd Half Of The Season 22:55 Portland’s New Look Attack & Gotham Managing Their Olympic Squad 33:12 Louisville’s New Look Attack & Chicago’s Olympic Stars 46:08 What To Make Of Landon Donovan’s Appointment 54:09 Preview Of Washington vs KC And Their Added Attacking Pieces 1:04:00 Seattle’s New Pieces Taking on NC In Kerolin’s Return Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

Welcome everybody back to SoccerWise for a big one. NWSL has finally returned to the regular season post-Olympics break, of course, for the U.S. Women's National Champion medal and a silver for Brazil and a bronze for Germany. We can mention those as well. We are so excited to be back. We thought it meant that we had to preview and dig into every single game because we're so excited. So, of course, Jordan Angeli back with me right now.

Jordan, you've got a big weekend coming up. You've got a game every single day for the weekend. It's zero-60. Are you stretched? Are you hydrating? Are you doing fitness? Like, are you ready? I'm just a big walker now.

I'm not stretching before my walks. I'm not running. I'm just walking. But my walks are mentally preparing me for this because I just don't have three NWSL games. I'm also doing the Arsenal-Chelsea game. So I'm like, it is like deep end dive. You better be ready to swim.

But I think that it was good. It was a nice break from calling games. Happy to be back. And it should be a really fun weekend in NWSL. It is going to be awesome. Two games on Friday, full slate of games on Saturday, then two more games on Sunday. And I believe the Arsenal-Chelsea

game is a double header with the Washington-KC game, which is a phenomenal match by itself. Yeah, that's going to be really fun. And I think Arsenal got a taste of what it's like to play in the heat and humidity of America last week. And Chelsea did not get that. They did get a little bit of a rain situation in New Jersey, but it'll be interesting to see how these two teams play. It's a four o'clock kickoff. So I would imagine Washington is brewing up something spicy for them. It is the atmosphere for the Washington Arsenal game was special.

Yeah. Closing out the end of the year, we saw the U.S. women's sellout, Audi Field, and I think you heard Trinity Rodman postgame be like, whoa, this is pretty crazy. And we saw the sellout, I believe it was against San Diego back in July as well. So Audi Field crowds, they've been on point. And I think you get a double header, you get some big games. The fact that you get to go to two games, I would imagine this weekend is going to be pretty special there as well. Yeah. And they get to welcome the Olympians so that'll be really nice a lot of gold medalists uh coming back for them which is pretty exciting and it's exciting for all of us

the expectation is that most of the players who played in the Olympics will at least be available this weekend if not all starting obviously the U.s brazil uh germany and spain went the furthest in the competition so other players had already returned some had been back we saw lacy santos start for washington in that um arsenal friendly because columbia had been eliminated earlier and she was available so we're not a hundred percent sure across the board which of these players where they're going to be at. Keep that in mind with our previews. And keep that in mind when you watch the games and think,

oh, I need to go talk smack to David and Jordan for being wrong about everything they said going into this game. Just hold your horses. We don't have the injury or availability report, but we're doing our best here. We're doing our best. If you would like to talk smack, though, which you are welcome to do. I am a New Yorker. I accept it at all times. You can sign up for our best. If you would like to talk smack, though, which you are welcome to do. I am a New Yorker. I accept it at all times. You can sign up for our Patreon. If you do that, you get access to our Discord where we are talking about NWSL,

U.S. Women's National Team, Canadian Women's National Team, and all things like that 24-7. So you can dig in there. There was a lot of USL Super League talk over the last week as well, of course, with the three big sellouts in that league to start things off. So if you want to talk about any of those things with other fans from around the world, I believe we've got subscribers in Uzbekistan, Japan, Fuji, everywhere else. There is not a Smack channel specifically. There's an NWSL channel and that's where that

would occur. I'm just kidding. I knew there wasn't a smack channel but we were talking about smack so you can create it if you want also i would say careful in the way my life operates i just assume it's coming at all times from all directions um so i never i'm never too worried about it and uh and i don't need a you don't need a dedicated space no is what i yes it's what i'm saying going forward. So if you want to be a part of it, though, sign up to our Patreon. You get access to our depth charts as well, which we're going to be. I've been updating heavily with all the transfers trades, which we're going to dig into all these trades coming up later in this show as we get into each team. Some big moves happening over the course of this week.

A lot of intra NWSL trades. And that, of course, will update a lot more going forward because now we're going to see where all these players play and we're going to see how all these teams are set up so i've been um you know doing my best guessing but i'm very excited for what's coming uh as well and we are going to have our our third ever uh happy hour for our highest tier subscribers coming up next wednesday night it will be 10 p.m eastern time so it's very friendly to pacific and mountain time people um to be involved and uh it's a private zoom link and you can come hang out and talk soccer and ask questions or talk non-soccer and do whatever you want as well you get access to that if you subscribe

we've got some merch around the corner as well it's not a bad subscription to jump into yeah so uh i am doing the hard sell right now and uh doing the work so anyone who's interested can be a part of that one uh let's start talking about our games coming up let me hit one real quick that happened which is san diego went down to to Panama and got a 2-0 win against Santa Fe in the first CONCACAF Champions Cup W or CONCACAF W Champions Cup. There you go. But if you take the W out and move it, then you can call it CCCW. There's no acronym that CWCC. Well, it sort of sounds like a One Tree Hill channel. It's just a lot of stuff going on. I've already

said NWSL, Liga MX Feminile Summer Cup Series a lot of times. Too many times. Too many words. I don't think I can add a CONCACAF W Champions Cup. What if they just called it I guess, do they still call WNBA the W? Yes. Dang. Well, maybe that could be our W

for soccer. It could be our W for soccer. It could be our W for soccer. Or you could just call it CONCACAF. Yeah. Let's just leave it there. But so San Diego got their first victory in that game. We're going to talk about San Diego because we're going to talk about Landon Donovan coming up later in the show as well. But we're going to start chronologically.

So we'll start on Friday night. And we're going to start with Houston hosting Orlando in the first match returning from the NWSL summer layoff. And we're going to start with the trade right out the gate. Carson Pickett traded from Louisville to Orlando. She of course played for Orlando from 2018 to 2020, an FSU grad as well. Louisville picking up allocation money in return we will dig into that when we get into all of louisville's moves coming up in just a moment there is reports out there that there was um some personal things that carson pickett wanted to go closer to home originally from south carolina as i said went to f, wanted to return to Orlando, did not want to be at Louisville anymore. For Orlando, this feels like a no-brainer to me in a pickup.

You are talking about a legitimate starting fullback. You're talking about a player that I think, even as good as Orlando is, can actually add something in the way she likes to be in possession in the attack from a true fullback position. Great crosser of the ball, but also comfortable being a part of genuine buildup. And I think for Orlando, that's like the next step, which is they can sit deep and kill you in transition. They can sit mid-block and kill you in transition as well. Teams are going to start to drop off them more and more to the point where if this undefeated run continues, I think teams are going to come out and say, you can go and beat us.

We don't care what the game looks like. And Carson Pickett can be a huge part of picking those teams apart and making this team better. In terms of allocation money, it's a little bit high for a team that didn't need this player, but it doesn't feel like they were gonna use it on anything else so why not make the move to get a known quantity when you're looking at Orlando they have I think the best best depth in the entire league when you're looking at

every position and the numbers that they have or the players that they have in the second or even the third positions they have all played significant minutes and so they are usable in Seb Hines's lineup I think Carson Pickett comes in as not just a starting left back but as the best left back in this league she has been crucial to the way that Louisville has played she's one of the best passers of the ball in the final third has the most expected assists when it comes to outside backs. So I think that it then frees up Cariabello, who's been playing in that spot, to not only be in the depth in the outside back, but then you have her centrally as well, which is already loaded for Orlando.

But this has been the key to Seb Hines' success is he's played players at multiple different positions. Emily Sams has played in many positions. Carrie Abello, Kylie Strom, Corey Dyke, they know how to play in a lot of different positions. So then it makes them just a different beast. And so it's a great pickup for Orlando. I understand it sounds like it's a little bit more of a personal thing for Carson Pickett but to me I feel like this stings for Louisville like this is not a player that you want to lose especially right now when you are pushing to finally make your first playoffs

as a club in NWSL they're not sitting on that money they are using it to move it around as well for more players we'll dig into that when we get into Louisville. So for Orlando, I mean, the big conversation is, can they set the record? Can they make it the longest streak ever? I believe if they get the victory in this game, it would be the longest to start a season. And they have the streak going back to last year as well.

What do you need to see from this team? When you think about this Orlando group coming out of the international layoff, what do you need to see from this team when you think about this Orlando group coming out of the international layoff like what do you need to see this first weekend I think they've already have they not already hit the marker for longest streak there's like 13 streaks going on they have set most of them I think they said I was stuck on that when you were saying that my brain was like yeah they set the undefeated streak to start a season oh no they set the undefeated streak I think going back to last year and now it's to start the season or something like yeah well the things I want to see from Orlando is to keep that going right they have not played with that pressure it doesn't seem

like so can they continue to play free without the pressure of like, hey, we want this extra stat, this extra bonus of having a really long winning streak or when not losing streak, what do I call it? Because they're not winning. Undefeated. Well, words. Undefeated streak. So I want them to...

Words are undefeated. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I feel like this is going to be a good matchup. They're playing against Houston, who has been spacey at times when it comes to letting teams attack them and stretching out. So there's been a lot of space, and there's been a lot of pockets for teams to exploit. I would like to see Orlando to put their foot on the pedal

and to score multiple goals. I think three, four goals is not out of the question in this game. But one of the things that on the defensive side that I want to continue to see from them is they have not given up a goal in the last 15 minutes of a game this whole entire year. And that to me mentally is a crazy stat because they have this mentality about them that is we are not going to succumb to any pressure. We are going to hold it down. We're going to succumb to any pressure we're going to hold it down we're going to play five in the back if we need to we're going to keep with our tactics in a

4-3-3 if we need to or a 4-4-2 defensively I really like that and I think they need to keep if if anything that needs to stay consistent for them because that is something that you can build on and it helps you in win or go home situations like the playoffs which they are easily getting themselves into here quickly um yeah i agree with you i want to see them continue the role uh one thing to remind people carrie lawrence will be suspended for this game because she picked up a red card in the last game it was just a month two months ago that feels like a long time in that game against kansas city in which they went down a player early in the game and they went on to win. And to your point, they held that lead in those final 15 minutes down a player the entire

time. It is a huge part of their identity. And as I said, I want to see them continue and take the steps forward. I don't think they need to become this dominant possession team this year, but they need to be able to figure it out if teams force them into that spot will houston do that i do not know houston to me are the most confusing team in the league they made no moves in the summer because no one's in charge they don't have a gm it seems like they don't have a head coach as well and it's a team that has been lost really quickly this year i think there was some ideas

the first two, three weeks to open up the game, play a little bit more expansive, find the right spots for their stars. And it has all gone away really, really quickly. And so this is going to be one of those games in which I'm watching Houston just to see like, what are they going to be the second half of the year? What are they going to bring to the table because um it's a tight league and every point matters yeah and what have they fine-tuned in this time where they've had a little bit of time off like time off from games because they got out of the summer cup early so now you've had these couple of weeks to be able to work on a couple of things and with ricky clark in as far as i know still the interim head coach there what has he he identified as, hey, we need to be better at X, Y, Z? I think that's what you take away from Houston in this game.

Like, have they gotten better at a couple of things? And what has been their focus? If they've gotten better at a couple of things. I think that's the hope and the key. Because it's tough. We've seen for Rob Gale, it's been successful as an interim to find those things, exactly what you talked about, which is not a wholesale change to style and identity although one might be coming out of this summer cup series

for that team um but immediately like where where are the the the little one percent things that you can get better at um so it'll be interesting to watch that for this houston team that is the first game friday night the second game is the. What did we call it when it happened? Expansion? We had a nickname. I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. That sounds lame now. Was it something cooler than that? I don't know. I thought we landed on something good, but maybe we didn't. Utah against Bay FC. Jordan, you're on the call for this game. Yeah, it should be a good one. Because Bay right now with their couple of wins before the NWSL season took a little bit of a pause got themselves into eighth place and utah is sitting in last but i think they have been the most intriguing team in the summer cup and what they have been able to do under jimmy kunratz and a lot

of that has to do with some players that i think what's interesting when i look at this match i'm looking at utah and they have added mina tanaka they added Zargoza, who I'm imagining it looks like Tanaka's there. And it sounds like she wants to play and get minutes. She wants to play. She wants to play and get minutes right away. And here's the big question that I have coming in from Utah, because it has been the Allie Set North show. It has for their existence right now in this new young season for them and new existence as this new team.

She has been crucial to everything that they've been doing. Leading goal scorer, she is where are we going to play her, what's going to be good for her, and it's been at the 10. In the Summer Cup, it's Ali Setnor at the 10, where they've really found her to be as free and as game influential as she can be? Well, you're going to be with Ali Setnor because she's at the Under-20 Women's World Cup. We talked about that last week.

So who's going to play in the 10? I think that's the biggest question because I think you play Tejada and Henri as the double pivot, which they've been playing out of. They seem to be building a relationship there. And do you play play this is my big question do you play Mina Tanaka at the 10 and keep Hannah Betford at the 9 what do you think about that because your point is the drop off at the 10 position with no one being super comfortable there is larger than the drop off at center forward where betford has scored a couple goals

over the last few weeks but here would be my my one question is this a situation which chloe lacasse is available to this team yeah but i think she would be winger i don't i get that but now i can move it feels like i can move some other pieces around maybe okay and make myself more comfortable that would be my i would play to knock at the 10 and I would play Betford at the nine. What would you move around to make this in this first game back without Ali Setnor? I'm, so what I have down, which I don't think will happen, is basically playing on Ria's the third center made quote as the 10. Okay.

And saying if we have singular creativity from Lacoste on one wing Basically playing on Rhea's the third center mid quote as the 10 and saying, if we have singular creativity from Lacoste on one wing and the way Mazingo has played that I can get away with saying you three can stay higher because we can cover more ground in midfield. And I would play Tanaka as the nine in that situation in which I'm trying to isolate the three of them together more often and let them play off each other and we're going to cover ground and dominate central midfield where we don't have a true 10 out there yeah so that that's my one thinking if Lacoste is available where you have individual creativity on that wing and maybe you don't need you're going to be worse because

Ali Centner is the best player on the team yeah but I think instead of trying to replace it let's like dominate one spot of the field and use these new pieces that we have no that's a good point to be able to create the thing I'm thinking of with to knock out the 10 is the way that Utah has been playing or at least what I saw in their last game of summer cup when they beat um Tijuana five to zero like it was a it was an outright performance from Utah the best we've seen and Betfurt is playing as a as they want her on the ball side and they want her to hold up the play so I'm thinking Tanaka's playing as a 10 but really she's playing as a player that's getting in beyond because Betfurt can come which is like a second forward yes she can be almost a second forward um so that's where I'm thinking she could be most effective.

That's my big question for Utah, because I think they look pretty stable in everything else, but their scoring goes right now. And I think that they have been a united group because of the trials that they've been through. So they're really close. And now they've gotten a little bit taste of success from the summer cup and the goals that they scored. They scored eight goals in their last two games of the Summer Cup. They only scored nine goals in 17 NWSL games before that. It's crazy.

So they are in a really good, confident spot, and I think you want to latch on to that, especially the players that are feeling confident. So that's my ideas and things that I'm looking at for Utah. For Bay, this is a team who, correct me if I'm wrong, Goss, I have not seen them make any moves in this. Zero. I think they are one of three teams that have made no moves.

They have not made any moves. And the thing about Bay that I feel like they need to get back to is they were so good at the beginning of the season, utilizing their strengths. It's Kununanji, it's Oshuala, it's transition, right? Playing good. you know, the game might be a little bit more stretched, but winning the ball and going quickly and utilizing space in behind, that's where they're going to find success with Kundanji, with Oshuala.

And those two players have to step up. I think that's the story of, and as well as Dana Castellanos, like they brought these three players in to be league beaters, essentially. And I think they have the capability of being some of the best in the league. It has not clicked. So I'm looking at what does this Bay team look like? They had pieces that left, but for the most part, they didn't have people that were out for a long period of time. So how much have they unified?

How much have they worked on some of the ball possession that they want to have through the thirds in order to score more goals in possession? Because if that's the way you're going to be, you have to be a little bit better in the channel, in decision-making when you get to the final third and you do break the back line. Can they be better in those situations?

If not, they have to find and utilize ways to be better in transition moments can i give a really um friendly reading of the way that bay has handled this summer window yeah which is the right thing to do which is what you just said they went out and spent huge on like world-class players and it hasn't worked quickly and don't like triple down in mistakes like their transfer window was the off season they spent money in a way that very few expansion teams have done to like be ready utah did it so utah did it in the summer right which is great and it's exciting. And for Utah, it almost feels like it might be a little bit easier because they had some stones set in place of we have center backs that we believe in.

We have central midfield that we believe in. We have center or whatever. Where for Bay FC, you were doing it from clean, but it feels like give this team a chance. If you have belief in what you built and if you have belief in this talent and I don't think we've seen the real kundanaji like I just I can't accept with the players we've seen come into this league and have success this quickly and score goals in the way the game set up that it's been that kundanaji succeeds in at all times in her career that this is who

these this player will be and so i like the idea of them holding a little bit tighter here and like trying to see it out yeah i'm saying that though and not going to be surprised when i read the the feature in three months of like there was no one in charge and it was chaos and no one was there to make the move but i'm hoping that that's not the case and that's what we're going to see um i think this is going to be a fun one oh the one move they did have scarlet camberos left yes so sorry that was a move but it was an outgoing move so yes you would think i don't know is there space there to add something different they might not be done but yep um so. So that is our Friday night. That gets us restarted. That gets us kicked off into the NWSL schedule.

Let's move to Saturday. Saturday is a loaded slate of games. Highest quality. We start with Gotham, the team that had the most players win gold medals in this competition. And the most players play in the Olympics overall, and yet still made a summer cup final and are playing in the concaf w champions cup yeah just add more coming up right

yeah just add some more games in as well and they are playing against the portland thorns who also are playing in 18 competitions i believe becky sarah brown mentioned she has 35 games over 55 days coming up or something like that. No, that can't make sense. 15 games. Sorry. I did the math in my head. I was like, oh, that's a game every three or so days.

And then I said 30 instead of 15. Oh, my gosh. My reaction to that. Okay. Yeah. Whoa. I think it's 15 over 55 days coming up. For this Portland team, it is a lot.

And they got a little bit stronger. Portland picking up Alex Bannstra in a trade from Kansas City. It was a trade for allocation money, which I could have in front of me because I do have in front of me, but I forgot to put it in front of me. And now as I'm trying to do it on the fly. It's two pieces. I can look. I'll look.

$40,000 in allocation money is the trade um for a player in spanish who was not breaking into this kansas city team i believe is in the final year of her contract uh and is looking for the opportunity to play more to show what she's capable of brought into portland and i think i love this move for portland they need true legitimate wingers on this team they need it so that Sophia Smith doesn't play there as much as possible they need it to get her service for players to link up with her and I think there needs to be an infusion of talent into this team to add a little bit more belief that they to me are the line where above them the teams above them are all NWSL cup contenders Portland and down

are in a different conversation right now, but Portland obviously has the pedigree to jump that. I think there should be a lot of excitement for this Portland team because of the way the season has gone under Rob Gale, the way it's gotten better, and now Sam Coffey doesn't have to worry about the Olympics. She can play fully committed. She can play healthy and be in there in central midfield,

game in and game out. Fleming's had some more time to adjust. Sauerbron's not dealing with, is she in? Is she out? Where is she? She can be focused on this as well. I think there should be excitement for this Portland team, but I love this move in bringing a true winger to be a part of this attack. And they have thrived on having really good wingers over the years and spanstra although recently not getting time with kansas city was so crucial to them at the beginning of the year played nearly every minute of the starting like i can't remember six seven games like she was a part of the starting lineup when they were scoring massive goals at the beginning

of the year when flacco was saying well this isn't normal we're not we're not expecting to score this many goals every game and then there they are still scoring a lot of goals. So I don't know what normal is anymore, especially for that Kansas City team. But Spancer comes in. She's very direct in the way that she wants to play. She has pace to get in behind the back line, to stretch in the right times, which I think, as you said, will free up space for Smith. But she also can pull away and find stuff on her own. And I just think that they need, without Morgan Weaver, and they haven't had her this year, we don't have an update on the longevity of the injury.

They have been a different team without Morgan Weaver. And she is, to me, one of the best wingers in this league for what she's been able to do over the last couple of years. She's direct. She's feisty. She is really good in 1v1 situations. And I think Spanstra has some of those qualities. I wouldn't say it's exactly like for like, but I think Spanstra adds a lot of quality

and some experience this year in NWSL that's crucial to this front line. Yeah, absolutely. It is as safe a move as they were probably going to make in this position to say it's a player you've seen in this league you know can play yeah and probably as good as a quote-unquote backup where it's like you're you want a starter people don't want to trade you a starter so who can you elevate and in fairness i think as we both have expressed she is starter level quality in this league and has proven that just happened to be playing on the second best team in the league where their spot was pretty full when you talk about depth and quality I think Gotham comes up first in what

they've been capable of so seven players at the Olympics they don't concede a single goal in the summer cup series they go to the final now they've got another competition in CONCACAF competition coming up. I believe the second match day of that is CONCACAF W Champions Cup coming up. Added that fourth C in there just in case. I believe the second match day is like September 3rd and 4th. So they have a little bit of time before they start in that play. And we talked about the rumors around this. It is now

official jessica silva has signed for the rest of this season which is very odd yeah so it is only through 2024 it feels like benfica and and her were done and benfica wanted a guarantee of some sort that she wasn't going to play for a rival and i think for jessica silva she sees her future in nwsl where her past was and wanted an opportunity to play gotham somehow as we have said over and over again they've got space they've got space they've got roster spots they've got you know the needs now they will be talking to yell over bush west and getting the details about how absolutely we'd love to see the excel spreadsheet of how this all works, but it does. And I think it makes sense in the context of the amount of games that this team is going to play.

And their ability to rotate players around. And I think with Gotham, and I talked about it around the signing of Jess Carter, there is such a knock-on effect because almost everyone on that team can play multiple positions. So it's not, we don't know what Rose Lavelle's health is, so we bring in Jessica Silva to replace her. It's, we could play Crystal Dunn in there. We could play Yasmeen Ryan in there. We could play Katie Stengel in there.

You could play no one in there and play two up top and play a Silva with an Esther or not play Silva and play Stevens with Esther, whatever it is, this team's got options. They've got depth. I feel like I've seen enough of Jessica Silva to say, I don't think, I don't think she's a starter in this group. And I don't know that she, she's not a consistent game changer, but in you're going to make a depth move at this point of the season for a team that's roster is pretty full like this one it's probably as good as you're going to get in this game in particular gotham portland i'm interested to see how gotham if sophia smith starts how gotham

handle their what is typically a very high back line because if they are not careful with how they defend and the pressure that they get on the ball high if that gets broken Sophia Smith is going to beat that back line doesn't matter who it is if it's Carter Matane Davidson she's going to beat all those players Sonnet Sonnet she is going to win that foot race every single time so I think Portland has to be really good in those moments of playing out of the press because Gotham is so good at their press, not giving the ball away, right? That balance of saying, okay, we're going to play out, but if it's not there, we're going to make this Gotham team turn over and see if we can unleash Smith because that to

me is going to open up this game a lot if they can find a couple of those times where they can get in behind Gotham's back line but this is going to be an interesting game because a lot of players from Gotham weren't there and we'll really see like Juan Carlos Amoros has instilled a style of play that it seems like everybody on that team knows exactly what to do in exactly every single position so he can plug and play anybody anywhere will that be easy go ahead oh sorry no continue i was gonna say will it be easy for these players to come back um from the world cup and immediately what is he are they going to immediately take places of the players that have played i don't know because he also doesn't operate like that. No, he doesn't owe anyone anything.

He is not intimidated by any name and like where you stand. He also has been very pragmatic this season. I think of managing players' minutes and injuries and all of that. I was going to say, and what I think is, I don't think most of them play. I mean, it feels safe to say Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle probably have injuries and are going to be managed through this run but even like with the amount that Crystal Dunn played um I would be surprised if most of them come back into this team especially with the way that this team played without them

also Esther is my understanding fully back into training now so that is like a whole new player she played against chelsea oh right yeah yeah so that's like another place space where it's like well we've been playing without her as well so we don't even need to force some of these players back in so i would be surprised if a lot of them played yeah and, with the flexibility of like, so you can just start just garden or if they play three, like they could play a three back, they could play a three,

five, two with the players. The thing about them playing three in the back is I really like Macy Bell. And I think Macy Bell's elite has a third center back and not as a right back yet, or maybe ever. And that's just not where she's played.

And when you talk about the speed and Sophia Smith testing them, that's a way to affect that. But at the same time, I don't think you're adjusting this team for that player with the amount of experience. No, but they have Jess Carter now too, which is another center back, you know, like she, she adds in with, oh, you're saying they don't have Davidson.

So I get what you're saying. Yeah. Yeah. But you still have, you still have Matian. You still have Sonnet. You still have Carter and Bell. Like you still have the option to do it. Right.

If that's something that you choose to do. So, I mean, I agree with you. I think this one's really fun. And I also think it's one where you're like, is this a clash of Titans? Is it not? Like, I think we're going to learn a decent chunk about these teams very quickly um in this game let's keep moving here on saturday you are on i'm on louisville yeah louisville chicago game and louisville has been making a lot of splashes here in this trade window we already talked about carson pickett going to orlando but one of the big news of the week is Jalen Howell and $50,000 in allocation money

traded by Louisville for Bethany Bulser from Seattle. So Howell was 24 years old, captain, wasn't starting every game for Louisville, has dealt with injuries on and off for the last couple of years, but they get Bethany Balser in this trade, which for me is, I think right now at this point of time, a good trade for Louisville, maybe long-term, it will be a better trade for Seattle with the potential of Jalen Howell.

But Bethany Balser has been one of the elite school scorers in this league right now, 33 goals since 2019 she hit the scene she has the most headed goals by any player like i think combined from any any team that has headed goals in the last year since 2019 does not surpass how many headed goals bethany balser has like she is elite in the box does that change now that you don't have a really good ball crossing outside back in Carson Pickett I I think a little bit but one of the things that I'm excited about oh I should mention too before I go into kind of the things that are happening in this game um they

also do pick up Angela Barone a Colombian international center back it sounds like she could play across the back line but I think that my first thought is you lose Carson Pickett Aaron Wright is currently playing a lot of center back for you in the long term does Barone give you the ability to play Aaron Wright as an outside back where she has been really good over her course of time in NWSL, being effective in going forward. So I think it gives you opportunity there. They also have Ellie Jean who can play center back too,

so to also push Aaron Wright. But Barron is good, young center back. When I look at Louisville and the trades that they make, what I really like, especially thinking about, okay, how are they going to score goals, right? Because they're sitting on the precip that they make. What I really like, especially thinking about, okay, how are they going to score goals, right? Because they're sitting on the precipice right now. They're in ninth spot, which they have seemed to love for a long time.

They are wanting to be in the playoffs. Now, across your front line, let's just say Savannah DeMello is healthy because we don't know. She didn't play in the last Summer Cup game, so I don't know the extent of the injury if she will play in this next one. DeMello's healthy.

Beth Yanez was playing her as a left winger. Then you put Bethany Bolser as a center forward. And you put Emma Sears as a right winger. Then you can play Ari Borges in the 10, who her connection with DeMello is really good. And DeMello can come inside and almost occupy that left attacking mid position where Ari can do the right attacking mid position, right? You almost form a box in there. I think that's dependent on who's playing left back

and how good they are at helping you in attacks. But I like that you have a creator up front in Demelo. You have a goal scorer in Bulsalser and you have a player that can stretch the back line in sears that's really good balance across the front line for bevianez's front line and i think that that could be a difference maker for them because it's not as if they're not having chances they create a lot of good chances but can bethany bster be the player for them to push them over the line which is we need to be in eighth place at the end of the year since falsers come into the league every year her goal scoring mark would have been the leading mark for louisville there we go including this year she's

on five where savannah de mello is also on five, I think, just like at some point it's a pure talent play as well as a true center forward. And then it's like, how does it make Sears life easier? How does it make DeMello's life easier when they have that central point to the attack? I think especially when you get into the final third, Balser's movement starts to pull center backs a little bit more and can stretch space where if she goes back post, it pulls maybe both center backs. Now you've got space to attack 1v1 or for underlapping runs to get into the channels. There is like all of this out there. But I will say my reaction to this, and especially over the last 24 hours, like processing it was what you started with, which is this feels like, can we get eighth place in 2024 and not what's safest for our club going

forward? And like, how do we build? It is, it feels like a front office and coach that need success now in early in their time with a club that hasn't had it. And not like your 24 year old captain who if she gets healthy her impact on a roster and the way you can build rosters around her

with the money you're giving up by the way which is like a starter level allocation money when you look at we just said spanstra 40 000 picket 75 so yeah they're they're coming out positive over the course of the window because they've lost pick it for the 75 they've given up. But like, that's a lot for Seattle to get for you to pick up a player who is a very good goal scorer in this league and is a proven goal scorer, but it just feels very like short sighted to do.

But that's the pressure you get when you've never made the post season. And I think in a year where you added two expansion teams ninth looks better because it's ninth out of 14 and not ninth out of 12 but it's still ninth you're still sitting on the wrong side of that line and this is a team i believe they scored four goals in the five games leading up to the summer cup series then they had a little bit of an offensive explosion in summer cup it helped playing against league mx family all sides but they lost both the shootouts when you watch them you feel the stress of a team that thinks they're not going to score and those things i think are palpable with some groups

where they start to play and they start to knock it around and you don't feel like there are answers out there and this is one of those teams and so i can understand going and getting someone who would be your leading goal scorer in there but it makes it feels really hard to do to your club I also think like good luck opponents on set pieces because now you have Ersig you have Flint and you have Balser not just one good target not two but three really really good targets on set pieces and if they don't score a lot of goals on set pieces then I am going to be really disappointed because it is right there for the taking for them. I really am excited about that front three. So I hope those three play against Chicago.

And Chicago is coming in with some challenges. They lose Sam Staub in a Summer Cup game with a torn Achilles. Oh, gosh, it just guts me to say that. Sam, we're thinking of you you you're one of our favorite center backs to watch play i think you were at 106 straight games played like a tip of the cap and we hope that when you get back you will break that record because you're amazing i think it's going to be a good opportunity for hannah anderson a young center back to come in and play and get you really really valuable experience she already has in this team, but I think they're going to really rely on her now.

The big question for me is what is the midfield look like? What is the front line look like? Because are we going to see Ludmila? Are we going to see Julia Grosso? Because if we do, I think Nesbeth, Recaro and Grosso are really good three centrally. Nesbeth can cover ground. She can win the ball. Recaro can do the

same thing and they both can just find Grosso. I think that's going to be the key. Can we find Grosso as quickly as possible? Because if that is what happens for Chicago, this is a team who is lethal in transition. They probably are the best in transition in NWSL because they have Swanson, now Ludmilla. They have Schlegel and Hawking. That's some players with some really good talents with space in behind the back line. Chicago's also really good on the road. They've scored 17 of their 26 goals on the road this year.

And I think they have this mentality about them where the pressure's kind of off them on the road that they don't have to look a certain way or perform flashy for their fans to come and watch them play in their stadium right they don't feel that when they're on the road they're like let's just go win whatever it takes we'll go win they are a defensive minded team who is lethal in transition so So if Grosso plays, can she be that key catalyst centrally to hopefully, I would like to see Hawking, Swanson, and Ludmilla on the front line.

I think that would be really fun because Hawking can tuck inside and almost become a second playmaker to find Ludmilla and Swanson at times. Yeah, I just feel like that's going to be a handful for this back line in Louisville. I think I agree with you on the front line of like Hawking gives Swanson the most flexibility. And I think that's like what you need job number one for Lauren to accomplish and for this team to have. And then after that, in different matchups, maybe at home,

where you want a true center forward, where you're going to have more possession, where things are going to look a little different, maybe that's where Schlegel gets the starter. You shift things around. I also would assume this is how I think. If you don't have belief in a single center back, and we'll see how it goes in replacing stop

then you actually add another one and you go five in the back and then you can go ludmilla and swanson up top i don't think you're there yet because we talked about this last week the defensive identity for chicago is so strong and it is so ingrained in every player's role that i don't think the drop offoff will be as big without Staub as it would be for a different team that lost the level of center back. Not defensively, but gosh, like what she can do with her left foot in starting. For sure, but you've brought Grosso into this team. I get what you're saying. To change your ability, I think, to play in possession, to change the angles you get into transition from, and I think to have a little bit more of the ball

in that middle third where Stobb had to bypass the middle third often, or you had to build out through her because no one in, you know, no one in the middle really felt comfortable finding the ball and getting it under pressure. So that's my hope there. Obviously I went big on the draft with Chicago. I think I jumped a few people to get them. So I'm all in and sold and need to see good stuff this weekend. But I'm really excited to see these two teams get back on the field. I think Louisville fans should be excited as well. Yeah.

Last thing I'm going to say is Mallory Swanson didn't just score the game winning goal in the gold medal match. She's on a four game goal streak for chicago in nwsl and i feel like that's pretty good place to be when you just scored the the game winning goal the gold medal match so i i would i know a lot of the game plan for louisville is going to be on how we can prevent swanson but that's why the addition of ludmilla is going to be so important for this team because yeah try stopping them both i think we'll get we'll probably do this 15 times over the next few weeks I think there's a chance if Chicago gets the bump I think they're gonna get I think Swanson's clearly in the MVP conversation I think she might be playing the best soccer in NWSL but with what KC and Orlando are accomplishing and the

goal scoring numbers pure goal scoring numbers I think it's hard for her to get there but I think it's tough for people to come out of the Olympics even though you're not supposed to pay attention to that and say she's not the best player in the world right now and she's not playing at at least her highest level we've ever seen so it's going to be interesting where a few of these teams I think Portland's one of them as well if Sophia Smith can get into that conversation based on how they play. Let's go to San Diego, Angel City to close out.

That's a beautiful rivalry match to just toss in on the end of this Saturday. As I mentioned, San Diego goes down to Panama. They win 2-0 in this first match. And it's the first match under Landon Donovan. We have not been on since Landon Donovan was named coach. I talked about it on the Monday recap show. I do that every Monday.

That show is half weekend recap and half mailbag. The mailbag is another thing you can only access through the discord. So go pay for the patron and join us there. I gave some early thoughts still processing the whole thing because I think it's all come out of left field on pretty much everyone except Jill Ellis, maybe in the world with Landon Donovan being named the interim. We're placing an interim in Paul Buckle after Casey Stoney was let go for the rest of the season. From all the quotes I've read and all the interviews with Landon Donovan, it was it's an interim for the rest of this year. And then we're going to talk about the future and we'll see how it goes and we'll see what that means. What do you make of this appointment and sort of what this is for

Landon, both and for San Diego? I think my first thought was like, what, where did that come from? I think I also was just, we have talked about this, I was so just thinking that Tony Gustafson was going to be that next coach with his exit with Australia in the group stage and then not being with them anymore after that. I just felt like, oh, well, this is teeing up kind of nicely. So I didn't even, not once did I think that Landon Donovan was in the running for the head coach job here in San Diego. It'll be interesting.

I don't know much about Landon Donovan as a coach. I know he coached for San Diego Loyal for a little bit in USL. So there is experience there. This is a really good opportunity for him is all I would say. Like if you have good ideas as a coach, you have the team and the players to be able to execute whatever your ideas are. So it'll be a testament to how good of a coach you are with how well this team performs because they have not been performing. And with the players that they have, they should be.

I think that's my my biggest thing like he has a really good opportunity to prove who he is as a coach yeah um I definitely agree with you and like the job opportunity for him is huge I think the confusion for a lot of people is why it was offered to him um and that's some that we have to pick through I mean the quotes in his piece were me and Jill Ellis have known each other for a while. I texted her saying, like, I know things are tough. Keep your head up. She responded saying, do you have any candidates that you think of for coach?

And then he responded a few hours later after talking to his wife saying, I would be interested. I don't know, Jordan. You never offer. You never text me out of the blue. And then all of a sudden offer me like a dream to take over a former, you know, a shield reigning team. The place that you live who just won the shield and a trophy already this year. And has an interim coach. That's the part that's most confusing.

If you were to tell me that Casey Stoney was fired and there was no interim in place and Landon Donovan lives in San Diego and has three years of head coaching experience and obviously I don't think the name part really matters in them choosing to bring him on because this team already has a presence in the city but he has soccer credentials true soccer soccer credentials, okay. But they already had an interim. And that's the part that I think is very odd and very confusing and makes less sense as you go through this. I talked about it a little bit on Monday.

I watched some of his loyal team plays. I covered a couple of them. I covered them a couple times. They were fine. They tried to have more of the ball, which San Diego does want to do and probably needs to do with the way the team is created and the way the team is set up. But I was never overly impressed by the groups they had. And one of the things that always frustrated me was they lean very heavily on like bringing in more experience rather than blooding young players and changing things to try and like make the playoffs. And similar to what we just

talked about with Louisville but I don't know that that's his role in this so I don't know how much that will all matter because the team's already set up it'll be interesting to watch I watched a chunk of the game from last night it's hard to tell yeah right now where the level is with a Santa Fe that Alex Morgan looked great but like Alex Morgan would look great in that game we don't know what that means she didn't although she almost set up a really nice goal she made a run along the end line the ball just went out um but the one thing I will say that I liked and it's not a pure Landon Donovan thing because it happened in the summer cup series they've moved Maria Sanchez inside because Jaden Shaw was missing.

And we don't actually know the injury status of Jaden Shaw and when she'll be available. Didn't play the entire Olympics. Huge loss. I like that move right now because Maria Sanchez just needs to be involved. Yeah. They need to get something out of her after the trade they've made. It is not, I think, her best position, but she is engaged. She is around the game a ton more. She is around around the ball she's dictating a little bit more and like those are

the types of I think hard change things that a new coach can do because you have a little bit of a grace period to hopefully restart players like an Alex Morgan like a Maria Sanchez that have crazy potential or crazy histories and have not performed so far this year. Yeah. And that's where Sanchez played at Santa Clara when she had all those. I think she still has an NCAA record of assists in a season with like 19. Is that a good soccer school?

Yeah, it's pretty good. Pretty good. I've heard it's pretty good. I think she had 19 in one season and she's playing centrally. And that's where she, you know, she's not a goal scorer. She is a playmaker. She is a final passer. Yeah.

So I can see how that would work. And yeah, you just, I'm interested to see what this is going to look like over the next few weeks with Landon Donovan. And this game is fascinating because there are two teams that want the ball. They are two teams that are are they have struggled to score goals but they both leave most games over 50 possession um angel city we talked about it they had a pretty good summer cup series they qualified out of the group uh the final third stuff is not all there yet katie's lm will be a huge ad for a lot of that um but she is part of a conversation we

haven't really had which is a lot of these big acquisitions are in their pre-season mode like anyone who played especially in europe they've been off all summer and they are coming to nwsl in pre-season mode into a league that's at mid-season form but also a league that's been off for the last month and i don't really know how to gauge what we're going to get from some of these players and I would be surprised if Zalem's a 90 minute player out the gate because she's not built up the offseason yet to be there and so that's something for Angel City that you're going to be excited about but also you have to manage. That's a good point and I don't think I've thought

about that truly is how can you integrate these players in the time of the game that you need them right like do you want her in the first 45 if she only can do 45 because then that's your you know your top team and you want her with as many minutes as possible but then you just risk like is it 45 too much I don't know like that that's where there is a question because not only is this league in mid-season form and you're not but this league is really difficult every single game is difficult not like wsl where you have a couple of games where you're not giving a hundred percent you you need that every single game in this league yeah Yeah, yeah, it is. So you've got the adjustment period. You've got the catching up on the fly.

And then you've got the expectations for a player like that, where when she's on the field, she is going to be the central force for both teams. She's going to be the central focus for the defense. She's going to be the central focus for her group as well. That's a lot of responsibility to put on a player's shoulders. Cascarino as well that's a lot of responsibility to put on a player's shoulders cascarino as well coming over to san diego i'm super excited about her addition um to that team and i think my hope is as i said when she first signed the way that they're able to set up when shaw comes back is sanchez is on the left rotating inside while cascarino stretches the field and

stays isolated wide right and i think that's how you get most of your talent on the field, but in comfortable positions and playing at their best. But we're going to have to see a lot from San Diego to see them at their best going forward. And obviously all eyes are going to be on Landon Donovan as he finishes out this season in this bizarre interim role. Let's jump to Sunday. We'll start with your match.

Your first of the doubleheader. And we start with Washington against Kansas City. Which is probably the best match of the weekend. Yeah. One point separates these two teams in second and third. And Kansas City in second. Washington in third. It's at spirit.

We talked about Sanstra leaving kansas city going to portland they also um transferred lauren their center back to athletico madrid i believe it was um which is a free transfer that frees up an international spot which boop used right away um they added today south african ford Magaia, I think it is. I'm going to get the official pronunciation and have that next week. But this is a player on loan from Mazatlan in Liga MX Femenil. You're going to remember her. Do you remember her from the World Cup last year?

She had the goal and the assist in the game against Italy for South Africa that pushed them into the knockout rounds. And she said, they call me the bread winner. So I'm out here winning bread. I had to provide the bread for the nation. It was like the most heartfelt moment, I feel like, with the South African team that was so easy to fall in love with. They also added Jericho, a midfielder from Kenya.

I don't know if we talked about this last week. She was in the Turkish Super League, 23 goals for her in the Super League last year. I don't see Jericho playing right away. I do, however, I can see Magaya playing pretty quickly. And I think about with that with losing Spanstra frees up a spot as a really good winger with which Magaia is, and then you can keep the pace of Shawinga centrally and use Magaia maybe a little bit more in the channel. And then you have Michelle Cooper, who's been so good for them on the other side, too. But I think it has been kind of a story for Kansas City, similar to Gotham. Like they have found ways to get a lot of really good quality players and especially international players that have fit in seamlessly.

So I am interested to see how these two internationals fit in, because they have been they've really done a good job getting Bia, getting Shawinga. Those two have honestly looked like they've played in this league forever, which is a hard thing to do as someone who hasn't played in this league. Can I ask this? Yeah. With the way you see these moves falling, because you mentioned Spanstra leaving, Spanstra not getting a ton of minutes. We have not gotten an update on Bia. Do you think that this is to cover themselves if she,

she doesn't play the rest of the year or if they're not sure of her health for the second half of the year? Yeah. I think the issue with Bia, it was a re-injury, which always makes you a little nervous because, um, you,

did you push too hard to get back too quickly? And then the injury happened again. I don't know. I don't want to think about Bia not playing in this team. Because when Bia plays in this team, it is the most fun team to watch in NWSL. And I prefer them with Bia and showing it on the wing and Bia as a nine, but yes, it allows them to have more options in attack and more players that are game winning players, as I just

spoke about in their frontline. And it feels like they just keep adding goals to that frontline. And one of the things that's really helped them too especially in the summer cup is dabina is playing like dabina again four goals and four games and she has gotten a little bit of her groove back so i i feel like for kansas city they're they know who they are they're very direct they play they want to set the tone of the play they want to play fast which is going to be interesting against Washington because Washington has been elite I would say and sitting in a mid-block and choosing when to go high press and picking the ball off on teams that are a little bit lax and a little bit lazy in the way that they build so if they can slow if Washington can slow the pace down of this game against Kansas City and allow their back line to play out with no options going forward

and slow it down a little bit, it's going to be a long night for the back line for Kansas City because if they don't have options going forward and there is no space in behind to play, Washington can pick the ball off of a central pass with Corey Bethune and then the pace of you name it up front. Not only Ulesar, who has been elite, elite as a nine in this league, but now Kowalski, who played against Arsenal and looked really good,

played left wing, can stretch the field, good combination with Sar. It feels like they are constantly in communication, how they can improve how they can get better and as the game developed you saw the passes start to connect in the final third and now they don't just have Croy Bethune they have Lacey Santos as well so can Lacey if Rodman isn't quite ready because I would imagine Goss we're going to see Croy Bethune from the start we're going to see Hal Hirschfeld from the start we're going to see Casey Krueune from the start we're gonna see Hal Hirschfeld from the start we're gonna see Casey Krueger from the start so that's gonna be almost the top team for Washington Spirit I don't know if we'll see Trinity Rodman from the start I would imagine Rodman plays

30 plus minutes but that's just me because she played the most minutes in in the Olympics can you keep her feeling good and get her a little bit more rest by well while also bringing her in for 30 minutes and teens are like are you kidding me i'm exhausted and now i have to go against trinity rodman this is gonna be i think the game of the weekend yeah i agree with you it there's so much going through my mind when i think of this game. The first being the fact that Yonatan Haraldas has managed one NWSL game and Washington is one point behind Kansas City by itself is ridiculous. I also think back to the first stretch of the season when Rodman was coming back from injury and wasn't a full-time starter

and the way Corey Bethune carried this attack. I agree with you in that you can get away with not starting Rodman and you need to protect her. Yeah. And that's like your responsibility as a coaching staff in a front office. Even if she wants to play from the start, I think you have to like have a clear idea of like,

here's what the next few games look like. Here's your minutes load. Here's how we're going to manage you. And here's what we can do. But also because they can contend in this game without her being a starter because of the pieces you talked about them adding like lacy santos if you set this team back up may not be a starter on this team i know which is ridiculous to think about from where they were and kawase as you said fits really well especially for some of the game models they will play which is that

mid to high press and when they go they were the best i think they are the cleanest pressing team in the league in the way they choose their triggers the way their their body shape is once they make those decisions and therefore their ability to pick up the ball in dangerous areas and their execution on the end of it yeah you. And then once they're in possession. But Gotham is, they score one goal a game. Whereas Washington will win it through a press and score the goal. Yeah. So there's a lot to watch with this Washington team.

Esme Morgan as well coming into this group. Wasn't a starter in England for Man City to close out the year. So where is she at minutes wise and how do they manage her? I think all of that's fascinating. I think it's interesting what you talked about in like the way these two teams set up against each other. It's also still we're still learning about Geraldo. And I understand that it was his ideas being implemented at the first half of the year. But he's the best coach in the world and he's now there

and he's now had this stretch of time. How much different do they actually look in this game is really interesting to me as well. And another thing I'm watching out for, so I think there's a lot in this one. I would also add the U-20 players are gone, right? Yes. So Claire Hutton not there.

I think we expect to then see Dee Bernardo in that central midfield area. I think Claire Hutton's been incredible. Itabdar, I think, is my favorite young player. The one I think pushes into the national team, all these things. But Dee Bernardo is a different level of experience. And I think her ability maybe to go upfield on the half turn and take the ball in some dangerous spaces could actually add an element to control in midfield that Kansas City maybe doesn't like or hasn't done but could add something and I think that with the way Dabinia plays

could be a new element to in the first half of the year was like Kansas City's going to put you in a track meet they're going to score five you can score four they don't care Dabinia and DiBernardo and in these positions I think can play east west in a different way yes that can add another element to this attack where everyone else so far has been north south they are just the best in the league at doing it so it'll be really fun to watch i know lauren didn't play a ton but an olympic final starter yeah it feels weird to me especially with gabby robinson out for the year with acl they bring in a lot of cook for depth but yeah now you're still back to three centerbacks it is it is a that move was very odd to me from the quotes we got from the Lavoisier move,

and it felt like from this idea as well, it feels like they're trying to do right by players, in which they are a good team, the lineups are set, players are struggling to get into that team, Spanstra as well, actually. But there's also that limit of like, but you also need to set yourself up to be successful and to win. And they are very thin now at a position that it felt like they were trying to strengthen at going forward so this game is

going to be fascinating it's going to be a lot of fun as you said it is probably the best matchup I mean two verse three in the league and I think it could be a coming out party for Washington which is if they come out and put on a show and Geraldez is on the sideline and everyone's cheering the gold medalists and they've got eight deep in some of these attacking spots and Sark can score. You do that against Kansas city here. That's sort of the, the warning sign to the league for the second half of the year of like, we are in the cup contender.

We're in the shield contender convo even in year one of our rebuild. And we finish up with Seattle against North Carolina. And now we do the other side of the Jalen Howell trade. Howell picked up with $50,000 allocation money for Bethany Balser, for this Seattle team. And this is a Seattle group we talked about on the last show. They've added Mondesir. They've added Cyr Nagosevich.

They've tried to improve the roster on the fly. They've traded Alana Cook. They've been the most active team so far. I don't know how much of it hits this year, but like Howell at 24 with what you've seen her do in this league is a player I think you have to bring in because she could help you this year, but she can definitely help you long term. I think Seattle has to be thinking long term going forward. Yeah. And if you look at their midfield, they're pretty old in the midfield. It's like,

that's just the reality. Quinn is on the older side. Fishlock is on the older side. But I do think that there is a difference in the way that Howell plays to either one of those players and I I think one of the things I like about Howell is her ability to win the ball and be a little bit more forward thinking of over Quinn and that's what Seattle needs is they sometimes they get caught in like we want to play this one particular way but a blind breaking pass is on and they have to be able to recognize that especially with the new front line that they have to be a little bit more dangerous in progressing the ball so I I think this is going to be a long-term win for Seattle I I just hope Hal is healthy I think that is the thing she's

been in the league now this is her third year last year she nearly missed the whole thing due to some injuries she had injuries in this season as well so I think that is number one now you're playing on turf like these are the things I think of because that was my life as an a player um riddled with injuries but I hope that she is able to fit into this group because I know that Laura Harvey understands how important that type of ball winning midfielder can be for her group and what it frees up for them going forward it is an odd time for Seattle their ownership is now settled so you can see already I think in this window starting to make official moves a lot of experienced players who we thought loved being in seattle have left and while some of them are

trades like balser it sounds like the trades were asked for or where they were at least stated that they were open to trades you get rose lavelle leaving emily sana as well there are a lot of pieces that have come out of this team. And I, I think you're going to start asking the questions the second half of this year, depending on how it goes of who should be in charge of rebuilding it. And Laura Harvey is a legend in this league and has won in every place she's been in every way.

But sometimes you have momentum in one direction. And sometimes the rebuild is not for you. Either you don't have the energy or it doesn't seem like you're going to rebuild a culture that you're already a part of. I don't know that we is not for you. Either you don't have the energy or it doesn't seem like you're going to rebuild a culture that you're already a part of. I don't know that we're not there yet. Like you can put this team out there and say Haidama starts scoring goals

and, you know, we can start to be dangerous and Mondesir starts to give you some 1v1 ability you haven't had. And you have, there's a lot of talent in this team still. But it's going to be i think a very important second half of this year even if they don't make the postseason um for this group and so this is going to be our first opportunity to see a lot of these new players in this side and then on the flip side for north carolina they've made some big additions yes um over the course of

this um window but the biggest one i I think, is Carolyn coming back. Yes. And so you've got your MVP returning. You've been waiting so long. Then you have to watch her in the Olympics. Now you get her back on the field. Courtney Vine could be available for you for the first time as well. And so this is for North Carolina. Like you held the fort to this moment, but you can't take the step back because we do see that in this league and in every league, which is like teams carry sort of, okay, we're going to keep playing with this player out. We're going to all work hard.

And then the player comes back and almost everyone takes a breath and a sigh of relief and the performances drop off. And that can't be the case for North Carolina because this is a very capable team. This will be an interesting game. We know how North Carolina will play. We will see if Seattle can get a hold of the ball at all or if they just say we don't care. It's in North Carolina, correct? Was it in North Carolina?

Oh, is it? Did I write games backwards on my list? No, I don't know. That was a question, Mark? Yeah, I think it's in Seattle. Okay. Oh, yeah, it is in Seattle. I have the worst case of the team I put first and second is never actually consistent. I think that maybe slightly changes like the use of Caroline. I think if it was at home, you could feel a little bit better about starting her from the beginning. It's in Seattle. It's on turf. She's just coming back from the Olympics won a silver medal she yeah is not really truly integrated in the team and I think if you can get 20 minutes 30 minutes out of her

that's where you can utilize her but it's a good point like the mentality of this group I don't think under Sean Nahas is anything but like we want to dominate the ball and we are going to do that no matter who we have and we're going to do that no matter what space you give us you know if you give us the space to build through okay fine we'll build through if you give it in behind and we can utilize Caroline well we're going to break you down with that and I think that's the the major piece of this team that they have not had is that stretching aspect, right? Someone to, in the midst of their possession, say, because you get this player back who is world class does not mean anybody else can take any bit of their role back. It's an addition to everything that you've been doing. The other big one is Feli Rausch coming off, obviously, the deep run with

Germany as well. So we're going to learn a lot about, I think, where these players stand coming out of the Olympics. That's going to be, I think, maybe a conversation we have next week when we sort of see what lineups look like and how players play of what we think the Olympic knock-on effect will be because there's kind of this assumption that everyone's going to be the same person, and that's a huge moment that happened. It's a lot of games in a short amount of time.

It's a lot of intense games, and for athletes, you build up and down. And for track and field and swimming, the Olympics is the up. And, like, they're off now. And for these players, yeah, the game is more similar to what you've been doing. But it is an emotional and physical high that you have to now bounce back from. And so it's going to be a lot of work for these coaches to manage this. And it's going to be a lot for these players to manage this as well. But we are excited to watch it because I think it's going to be really fun and we can

stop talking about all these moves in abstract or saying i know we can talk about what they're going to do they actually yeah which is what we saw in summer cup it could be like this it might be like this now we actually know um and that's the part we are so excited about have fun this weekend on your games we will all be watching have fun watching if you not already, jump into our Patreon so you can get into the Discord and hang out with all of us and watch those games. We'll be back tomorrow to talk MLS with Tom Bogert live, and we'll be back, of course, next week with Jordan Angeli. Thank you all for listening, and we'll talk to you again very soon.