SoccerWise - NWSL Edition: ORL-KC Recap, Portland Troubles & Playoff Push For Bay/Louisville

Episode Date: September 18, 2024

Orlando & KC clashed again and Orlando remain undefeated! Jordan & Gass sit down to tell you why this matchup was much different, and what it could mean going forward. Then they try to chart a way forward for the faltering Portland Thorns. Plus what has led to Bay FC's charge towards the playoffs and is Louisville's gamble to get to 8th worth it? 8:51 Orlando-KC Reaction 25:08 NWSL Cup 2024 Predictions 27:24 Whats Gone Wrong In Portland? 40:30 Louisville Playoff Push 47:40 Bay FC’s Glow Up 54:45 Sofia Huerta’s Loan to Lyon 1:00:00 Weekend PreviewSoccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

Welcome everybody back to SoccerWise. David Goss, Jordan Angeli with you to break down all things NWSL here on a Wednesday afternoon. Our new start time here, starting a little bit later than normal Jordan we weren't sure about that we were talking earlier in the day about when to start and I have just recently moved to Miami by recently I mean like in the last few days. Welcome to Miami. Yeah exactly that's how I feel. Went into a breakfast place today and was asking questions as I do like being a classic like New Yorker dad guy. Oh, what does this mean? What's that? What's that? And I asked the question about Cuban coffee.

So that's what everyone says. I have read about it because I didn't experience it yet. And it was like, oh, they mash sugar into the beans before they brew it. And that's how they make it. And I was like, oh, so the whole thing's about sugar why does everyone act like it's so intense and it's so strong so i said some of this to this guy and he's like oh i can make you one and like i had already ordered an americano and he was like here have this coffee and then he had made one so he had to pour it out okay because they poured in the mini cups have you done this before yeah they do it all the time at vista okay so uh yeah so they give the mini cups so then he's got to like give them out to everyone because it takes 87 mini cups to get

rid of a cup of coffee and i drink it and it's like instant it is so strong yes and so that was at 7 15 this morning 7 30 and like it caught it finally wore off in the last 60 minutes i have been chugging water all day to like flush it out of my system so when you were like oh maybe we'll push back a little bit i was like yeah that sounds great because i'm losing my mind right now perfect this one's great that's great yeah they do it at vista and we have the 10 p.m. game most weekends. Well, every Saturday night I'm on a 10 p.m. game. And they brought it in the other day and it just smells so good though. Yeah, it does.

With the sugar and the coffee and it's just like I want to drink this. And I took a sip and I was like, no, I don't. Not happening. I immediately was like, whoop, I'm awake. And I think that's enough for me because Because if I drink anymore at 10pm, I will be staying up until my flight leaves at 8am. Yeah. And so I said something to him like, oh, it's really because I'm not the biggest coffee drinker, but I do drink coffee. It's become part of my schedule.

And I enjoy the like hot beverage. I drink coffee often on this show because I like to have a lot of times, though, it's become part of my schedule and i enjoy the like hot beverage i drink coffee often on this show because i like to have a lot of times though it's decaf i like to have the hot beverage i don't i like bitter so i don't mind that but i don't really like like coffee drinks like i don't get milks and creams and all that stuff in it so i said to him like well so people don't sip coffee and he was like oh well you can put it with a bunch of milk and make it like a full cup of stuff and it's like oh so you're gonna give me heart racing caffeine and then a bunch of dairy. That sounds like a worst case scenario. This was not made for me. And now I know. So September 18

was my first and last Cuban cafecito. And now we move from there. How was your weekend? How were your games overall? It was good. I had a one game weekend, so it was pretty chill for me and it was a fun game. I had the San Diego game, like welcome back to NWSL San Diego.

They came in and marked some territory and it was fun to call them just a little bit of a revival for them after what has been a very difficult season so I think that was yeah that was it it was nice to watch then I had time to watch a lot of other games but I also had a Sunday where I was already back home and got to experience a day on the weekend with my family which was nice. That is very nice. I'm glad to hear that. It was an interesting weekend in MLS across the board.

In NWSL. You're still in MLS. Yeah, I'm literally editing MLS stuff on the side right here. And my head is all over the place. That coffee, man. Yeah, that coffee has sent me for a loop. But three Friday games friday games saturday then a sunday early game and then a monday night football game which is the weirdest thing that could possibly happen so it was a bizarre one um but it was impactful as we expected the topsy-turvy continues the insanity

is there we're going to dig into all of that here on the show today we've got Orlando Kansas City of course the rematch the big game this weekend we will dig into that we have to talk about the trouble in Portland four straight losses for the Portland Thorns coming out of the Olympic break for a team that I think had a lot of promise under Rob Gale a lot of excitement the playoff push continues it was Seattle as the golden child the last two weeks. It is Bay FC and Louisville, I think, today. Those are the ones I've anointed in there. So we will talk about all of that.

CONCACAF W Champions Cup action continues this week. There are games tonight and tomorrow night. So we're not going to dig in as deep because there's not as much time there. But we'll talk, of course, about Portland, who will be playing in that and then the u20 women's world cup the semi-finals tonight so we don't have a ton of time to preview that one but the quarterfinals i mentioned it on the show on monday jordan i didn't get to watch this live because i fell asleep again yeah did you how did you experience this And what do you make of like, you've talked about the U20 world cup, the experience you had, um, for these players to sort of live through this.

It is, it's so cool. I, when I saw, I didn't, I didn't catch the game live either, but when I saw the highlights and the comeback and the videos of the coach talking to the team about that, that was the most incredible thing she's ever seen. I was like, this is American spirit. You are down and out. You're two goals down late in a game and you find a way. That is exactly what this country in women's sports and women's soccer specifically has been built on of just

believing in themselves. And it felt like a really big moment for not just the people celebrating, but for the youth club or the youth teams to get everything back on track. Cause it hasn't been great over the last few years. And now they get themselves in a semifinal. So guaranteed two more games. It just is. It makes me so happy these are memories that they are going to remember forever i think this is a memory that

a lot of people are going to remember about when the 20s performed a miracle and i'm just it just makes me so happy and it should be should be a fun semi-inal. It it's not, you know, none of this is perfect science. You don't go from 20s to the full team and everything's exact. But international soccer is different and it's weird. And one of the big things about international soccer, it's single elimination. It's not about flow and form and style. It's about moments. And so I think that's what this team has learned in having back-to-back games

go into extra time and then one go into penalties and if anyone's listening that doesn't already know uh the u.s was down 2-0 to germany they scored in the 97th and 98th minute to equalize ali sentnor the utah star the number one draft pick scoring the second of those goals like that's the learning experience which is you're never out of it you have no idea what's going to happen but if you put your head down and stay focused and have that belief and that team spirit which you talked about which has elevated u.s teams in the past in moments when maybe they weren't the best soccer team on the field or weren't playing the best that's a lot of the learning experience of a tournament like this

columbia has been a phenomenal host columbia fell in the quarterfinals linda caicedo went like they have been must watch television both around the world and especially in colombia the stadiums have been sold out for them that's really exciting that's been cool i think ecuador was just announced as the next copa america women's host coming up in 2025. So next summer. So a cool moment for soccer in that area as well. But it's been a really fun tournament. I love having something like this, which is like, we don't really cover it.

So it's like, oh, I'm sitting around, nothing to do. There's games on. Like, let me throw a game on and watch and sort of just enjoy the sport and stuff like that. It's been really fun to watch over the course of the last few weeks. But let's dig into NWSL now. And, of course, we're going to start with Orlando against Kansas City, the rematch. This was the big game.

It obviously a little bit of a less shine with Kansas City struggling, but coming off the win against Utah, going down to Orlando, trying to finally knock off this Orlando team and get revenge for the March of Celebration and everything else that happened. And it was, I think, good moments for both teams. It ends in a 0-0 draw, a little bit unexpected. In watching this game, what did you make of what was different or similar from the first time we watched these teams match up? First off, I would have taken a 2-2 draw. You know, these two teams also we

specifically said we wanted to draw last time so both teams could remain undefeated they didn't do that and now they give it to us this time yeah i in in there were really good opportunities for both teams to score in this game i think um my first first thought is both of the goalkeepers made incredible saves, a little bit more for Kansas City to, why am I blanking on her name? Schultz? Yeah, Schultz. Schultz to keep them in it made really, really good saves to stop Orlando and Banda and McCutcheon at times.

But the biggest change I noticed in Goss, I think that both teams are very aware that Shawinga, Banda, what are they like? They want space in behind. And so to me, it really felt like it was a back four and then six players who had a little bit more freedom to go attack. And the opposition or the team that was defending at that time would keep Banda high or keep a couple of players high so it was really like we're sticking with our back four we're not really asking I don't think either team asked as much as they normally do of their outside backs to enter and join into the attack because they were saying okay if there is a transition moment here all we're going to do is we're going to drop behind the ball and we're going to let showing

go. We're going to let Banda dribble at us and we're going to have pressure. We're going to have cover and a little more cover. And I thought that that is where this game, if you're a spectator watching this game and thinking, oh, this is going to be a high-scoring game. That's what slowed it down, is the good defensive principles and the good defensive tactics of both of these teams, because that really did help. And one last thing on the defensive side of things, I thought Corey Dyke was unreal. Player of the game, playing outside back,

this is a center midfielder by trade I've known Corey since she played here for me when she was 10 years old she is a center midfielder knows the game but that is what Seb Hines has done in Orlando he picks footballers and he says can you fill in at this spot because you're going to be really good on the ball when we need to build out so Corey Dyke is there good defensive responsibilities really good on the ball when we need to build out. So Corey Dyke is there, good defensive responsibilities, but can keep the ball in pressing moments from the opposition. The same that we're seeing from Haley McCutcheon. She's originally a center midfielder, played mostly outside back

her whole entire career, but was stellar in the midfield and has been for those last few games. So, yeah, kudos to Corey Dyke because she rocked it. I think it's something you see similar with both these teams in this game, which was the way they balanced the two sides of the field, right? The difference in responsibility for this Orlando team between Abello and Dyke, of Dyke being a bit more possession and play through and slide in as the third center back or step in as the third center midverse, stay wide and dominate the sideline.

We we associate Kansas City with two fullbacks who do that. They chose to step away from that in this game, as you said, to be a little bit safer. So pushing ball out to the right back spot more naturally as center back, it shifted their shape, pushing up that left side and it gave a different look I don't mind that I talked about it last week or two weeks ago with Louisville before the Peterson trade of like how you knew Millett was going to be the one to attack and left back was going to be stay home I like some of that predictability for my own team when you when you play the game of like sort of understanding where the space is going to be and where it's

going to flow and I thought it was really comfortable for both these teams in this game. I thought the other thing that this led to was even though the raw numbers weren't that high, I thought the quality of possession for Kansas City was better than we've seen. Yeah. Over the last few months, I thought playing Prince as the quote unquote center forward and her ability to drop off and pick up the ball and then Dabinia could float and Shawinga could float. But all of them seem to look more to find options to feet rather than always put their head down and drive forward. I thought there was a development there for KC of like they could win games with the ball. It looked like the way they played in this and they had the best chance of the game coming from showing it was a direct moment but it came through a flow of like lulling Orlando a little bit more to sleep versus the last matchup in the first half of the year which was Kansas City was just playing with their hair on fire and hoping everyone played that way and waiting for

chances to fall for them and I think Orlando was a lot more meticulous about where their line of confrontation was and how stretched outulous about where their line of confrontation was and how stretched out they got between their midfield and their back line. So they gave more space to Kansas City in certain areas of the field, definitely in front of their midfield line, making them play in that space and say, OK, if you're going to find Prince's feet, then we can double or we can get pressure on that. But yes, Kansas, I thought did a really good job of finding where the space was. They also utilized Ellie Wheeler as a winger. And I think that this was interesting by Vlako Ananofsky because she has more of a defensive presence

in that winger role so she could track a bellow. But then it also gave them the upper hand in the last moments of the game because you bring in Bia, you bring in Michelle Cooper at the same time, and now you have your front line of how you want it to be. Schwinga, Bia, Cooper with Dabinia underneath. Now you're getting those players, especially Cooper and Bia, minutes at the same time. I don't know if they said there was something wrong with Cooper, but I think in my mind, Vlaco's thinking these players have not played a lot together. They need as many minutes together as they can, so I'm going to hold back Cooper, utilize her speed, pace, creativity in the final third for the last moments of the game when she has my my number one front four alongside yeah I think what we've seen from Cooper as well this year is when she's been at her best finding the game freestyling a little it's a lot of what Dabinia does as well and I think it was dangerous to go to Orlando and play

two players like that yeah where you're licensed to float and find the game. You can't have two players in a group against a squad like Orlando that's going to take advantage of any of those mistakes or lack of spacing. It will be interesting to see how Cooper gets back into this team now if Bia is fully healthy. There's a numbers crunch, which is great for Kansas City. They've dealt with injuries the whole year. That's what they're looking for. But it is something Vlatko is going to have to deal with

in a different challenge from what he's had to deal with so far, which is how to cover the injuries that they've had. On the flip side for Orlando, they remain unbeaten. They are on the verge of history. This was one of their biggest tests. They have a big one coming up on October 6th as well against the Washington Spirit, which is going to be awesome to watch as well.

And that's the team now closest to them. But for this Orlando team, did you feel like you learned anything of what we would see in a playoff setting, what we would see in a must-win final type of situation for this group? I think they asked a lot of questions out of Kansas City. Like I said, the best saves were coming from Kansas City's goalkeeper, not from Anna Morehouse, which I think gives you a little bit of this Orlando team can allow teams to have possession and then really do a good job of creating a good goal scoring chance in whether it's through a little bit of possession, but most likely through a quick

change of the progression through the lines, not necessarily a counterattack, but how quickly can we get into the attacking third and create? I think that they're finding their groove with McCutcheon, Angelina centrally, and then Marta as a floater. Because Marta at times was picking up the ball behind them, behind both of those, I would call them eights. Like I wouldn't call them true sixes because of the way that they play.

But Marta would come all the way back and pick up the ball. And this is when they feel most dangerous because who the heck is going to pick up Marta when she's all the way there? And it's just confusing for an opponent. And that confusion can lead them to really good attacks. And I think I'm not worried about it. They're still undefeated, but Banda's not scoring like she was scoring. And I think that for them, they have to figure out a way to unleash that.

So maybe is it Marta floats less? And you try to get a little closer to Banda to create some kind of combination play and pull players around through that as opposed to making that space between those two wider. Just a thought, because right now, going into the last part of season, I think you want Banda to be scoring goals as you hit the playoff mark mark it doesn't have to be

every game but she needs a couple goals here teams have adjusted teams are I think that's part of why ball got the start right you basically played two center backs on the right side where Banda likes to get into that channel and likes to pick up the ball and and that's like that's her safe space of like for Orlando they know they can drop a blind ball down the left wing or into the left channel and Banda's going to get there. Kansas City didn't allow that. Other teams won't allow that. I don't know if it's Marta getting closer.

Or I think what Marta recognized over the second half of this game, which you see the double save she forces late in this one, is actually there's going to be a gap and she just has to dominate that space and shoot from distance and like you need to force if a defensive midfielder is going to drop a little and get close to their center backs to help on banda and help on summer yates and like all the space that's there then martin needs to dominate the middle of the field and i thought in the beginning of the game or the first half of the game she tried to get out and transition more and it's like you kind of need to be a true 10 in that space and say if you're not going to step to me like i'm going to

kill you from this spot until someone comes out and marks me and it took a little while to get there yeah which might also hit my point right if that happens and she dominates that space well now you shift players and a combo could be on and maybe it doesn't get banda on the score sheet but maybe it gets her an assist right and then the next time you're so worried about marta that you don't have a double team on banda and and she can get that half a step which is all she needs in order to get a really powerful shot off yeah that's a good point goss i think there's i think banda has created such a threat this year that like you are always going to force a defense to make a decision on this team right now the way these players are playing and I think Marta has

the ability to pull it all out of it it's just different maybe than the way she had been playing for most of this season and I think Kansas City probably set a little bit of a model here of of how to go out and try and play against Orlando at the same time not everyone has a shwing like not everyone has these options. Let's talk about two of the notes from this game. So one, you mentioned Anna Morehouse. 11 shutouts on the year. She ties the single season record in NWSL.

I think we did this two months ago where I said, who do you trust more? Who do you like more? And at the time, you said Orlando because of Anna Morehouse in the back and the way she has played for this team. What have you seen that has changed this team's ability to probably win a shield with her in this pack? Yeah, she made some really good. Can you hear that?

Yeah. Wow, what's going on? Something's happening. As long as it doesn't come through the ceiling. Yeah, let's hope not. Oh, okay, a little construction. Okay, well, I'm going to remember what I was talking about. Anna Morehouse, she has done a really good job of, I think,

her and her back line because shutouts are not just goalkeeper stats, right? Love it. This is a defensive stat. Respect the back line. This is a defensive stat. And I think what her defense has been able to do is make things pretty predictable for her. But I feel like her timing is really right. There was a chance with Shawinga coming at her.

And she comes off her line. And I don't even think she gets a touch. But she makes Shawinga go around her. And then Shawinga. And saved the game. It was an incredible moment to come off your line and be brave. So I think moments like that, she's a little bit more confident in herself because she understands her back line and what they can and cannot get to. I think she just knows where shots are going to come from. And the predictability of

it allows her to shine as a goalkeeper because she's a good shot stopper. She's a big frame. She can cover her goal. And I think that that in and of itself has been the change of the stability of the back line their predictability that they give her a look at wherever the shot's coming from and so she can make the big save yeah that moment was the whole game because if showing the scores it's like the 44th minute yeah you get the goal you get the momentum now Orlando hat like all the things you just talked about of optionality and Marta getting into space, all that stuff goes out the window because Kansas City now is going to sit super deep.

They're going to put Schwing up top. They're going to play in transition. Like that was the biggest moment. And as you said, I don't think she touches the ball, but her body shape is perfect in pushing Schwing a wide. Understanding that she didn't need to make the whole play, that defenders were recovering. Because a lot of times you see a goalkeeper say,

I got nothing to lose. Like, I'm going to go through this and hope the ref doesn't call it. And that wasn't the play. That wasn't the need in that moment. And to recognize that I thought was huge. And there's not really much Shawinga could do after that. Like, the angle gets tight. There's now two defenders in the goal, so it's not an open goal.

And Morehouse got off the ground quickly and was back in the play and so it wasn't like Shawinga could pull it back and lay it off it was a huge moment and a big game and it led to Shawinga's goal scoring streak to end it was eight games in a row um going into this that is now that is over it was awesome to watch it it's been amazing because we talked about a little bit before we came on Kansas City's numbers have fallen off in terms of like they were putting up five goals and dominating everyone in the first half of the year and everyone's personal numbers have fallen off and Shawinga has carried them to mediocrity over the last few weeks to keep them alive in the shield race I thought she was phenomenal in this game once again. You saw why I think she might be the best player in the league this year and is in the MVP conversation, will probably win the Golden Boot,

but didn't hit the back of the net and so broke that streak. And I think because she was so good in this game, I think that's why I said Corey Dyke was the player of the game because Corey Dyke did a really good job of containing her and being the cover defense if need be. But most of the time, that first defender that was on Shawinga and making it predictable for the players around her. But yeah, Shawinga has been, it was fun to watch.

It was a nil-nil game. And it was, for me, I enjoyed it still. I thought there were still moments where I was very impressed by both sides. But this is going to be the difference, right, in a playoff. And so it did feel like a little bit of a playoff game where both teams didn't want to take too many risks because they know what is for them. For Orlando, they don't want to lose. Yeah.

And for Kansas City, they don't want Orlando beating them again. So it felt like there was a little hesitation from both sides. We don't bet here at SoccerWise. But if we were doing a SoccerWise bet, SoccerWise tokens, or apparently I've been told the first set of SoccerWise t-shirts have been sent out. So anyone who subscribes to our Patreon at the highest level, our MVP level, is going to receive a t-shirt. So if you have not heard yet, reach out to Charlie Fiction on Discord. We do not have more to give out, but you should

still join because we will do more stuff like this. So you should subscribe immediately and you can get into our Discord. You can get into the mailbag episode every week. You can chat NWSL with us, US Women's National Team, all those things as well so i'm gonna bet you an imaginary soccer wise discord or soccer wise t-shirt here if you were putting it on the line do you think this is the final that we see this year in kansas city uh for nwsl cup no okay would you have said the same thing after the first matchup going into the summer break. You know I've been high on the spirit for a while. Okay.

All right. All right. I think it would have been harder to say that after that game than it would have been this game. But, yeah, no. It's a no for me. What's it for you? I don't know. The X factor is Kansasansas city's hosting yes um but they would not host what's odd is they would not host to get there right they're only hosting as of right now yeah right they would

need to earn the right to host the second until the final second spot right so they're like first or second the two questions we could ask is if kansas city gets there would they win it we could feel confident about that but will they get there is the other side of the question yes because the belief right now I think is in Orlando and like I've said it over and over this amoeba style that they can play of like they can be more possession they can be more defensive they beat everyone both ways um the Washington spirit are coming downhill right now we're going to talk about them in just a moment. But I like what I saw from Kansas City this week. I thought the last seven days were bounce back, the win over Utah and this performance. And to get beyond the field at the end of this game, they're playing the Washington Spirit this weekend.

So we're going to have an answer to this in about four days. She's my, if they have Bia, I see them being in the final. Okay. If they don't, i don't see them in the final she's the caroline of this year or maybe just caroline is the caroline of this year and bia might be as well we're gonna talk washington spirit because there's a lot of excitement there as there should be but let's go sad first let's talk talk about Portland. The Portland Thorns losing 1-0 at home to Chicago. They have now lost all four matches since the Olympic break. There was a CONCACAF win in that stretch.

They beat Club America, and they will face off against San Diego later tonight in CONCACAF W Champions Cup action. But this week it was the 1-0 loss to Chicago at home. So two of those losses have been at home. This to Chicago and then Bay two weeks ago. And for Portland, I think there was a good amount of excitement. Sophia Smith coming off a gold medal.

Sam Coffey coming off a gold medal. They finally got healthier. Time under your what was interim and now full-time manager. What do you make of what's gone wrong over the course of this month or what's gone wrong in Portland in general yeah it's it's multifaceted I feel like one of the things that I think goes against them is teams have figured out how to manage Sophia Smith in moments that they're not as risky with the numbers they send, knowing that if you give Smith any kind of room,

it doesn't matter if she's in front of five defenders, she can find a way. I just think teams have done a better job of getting pressure cover, pushing her to the place that they want to for her to go and just disrupting her being a part of the game for long periods of time I think that's one of the things so that goes on the opposition right for Portland I think they have been their worst enemy in a lot of the games you know it's a bad back pass in this one that gives Ali Schlegel a layup. It's a penalty that they gave up, too, that Mallory Swanson did not hit a convincing penalty,

and it gets saved. But that's 2-0 to us against Chicago, who doesn't score goals hardly ever, right? And I think that this Chicago team plays exactly the way that Portland struggles to break down is they're compact. They don't let you have space in behind. They're okay with you having possession.

And I thought that it was difficult in those moments for Portland when they don't have space to let Sophia Smith run into or play a little bit more direct at times they really struggle to find the answers to pick a lock for a defense and so to me that's what it felt like just um it was it's not to say that there weren't chances because there were and I think getting Morgan Weaver back is really going to help take some attention off of Smith but it just doesn't feel like they have the mojo that they used to have. And I like the pickup of Spanstra. And I think it's worked to an extent of when she's had one V one chances

because of the focus on Smith, she's been dangerous on the wing. She's gotten crosses and she's earned them corner kicks. There is not enough connection though, to midfield. there is not enough connection though to midfield there is not enough connection across the team you talked about picking the lock like this game was a perfect example of it of chicago kind of exposed themselves like they don't have true center backs they played grosso as a defensive midfielder they played four forwards in theory in this game and i thought some of those ideas were really good. I thought the front four for Chicago pressed counter-pressed shadow marking, which not something we've talked about in the past, but like an ability of an attacking player to keep the player you want to pass to

in the line behind them so that the passing angles aren't always there. I thought a lot of that was good, but Portland beat that fairly often. And then the midfield didn't have ideas of how to break lines into the back line. And they didn't have ideas of how to break lines into the back line. And they didn't have ideas of how to get Smith and Sinclair into dangerous areas. And maybe the hope was that Coffey would solve all of that on her own coming back into the team. I think that's an odd expectation. And I think it's tough to say it's on Moultrie's shoulders. Like, that's a young player to ask to do that.

And I think they've been better with her on the field than they were without her when she was out hurt. But it just feels like too much. And at some point, Rob Gale has to set them up in a way in which less responsibility falls on individuals to just play make in space. It feels like to me, Rob Gale, one of the things that, the biggest thing that he changed when he took over this team

early in the season is he didn't want the wingers to play so inverted and they weren't playing inverted. Like, like we see, um, I'm trying to think of what team I can give you an example of Savannah DeMillo. Yeah. Like Savannah DeMillo for Louisville where she comes inside and she is another 10, right? Um, their play inverted, they were playing inverted on the front line so they were basically making the field smaller in moments where they shouldn't if you're going to play true wingers play true wingers and let them stay a little bit wide and i think that that is what he wants from them but i think the savannah de mello model of bringing in a player from the wing like they did with crystal dunn last year would help them overload that space

and then connect with Sinclair. Let Sinclair be a little bit higher. Smith can then isolate, but you need Mueller to be able to get down the wing. And that would also allow her to get into the attack and be a little bit more a part of it. I think that that it's a small tweak and it's not really Spanstra's game. Can it be Weaver's game spanstra's game can it be weaver's game can it can it be sophia smith's game where she comes into that pocket and there's a 10 and then she's running downhill with a player to connect and sinclair weaver whoever in front of her i just think that that is a tweak that they could utilize because they can have possession they can break through a press but they need numbers and better spots when they get forward in order to keep it into the final third to to create

something out of the hard work that they've done because that's where they have been so good for so long and that's where the mojo is not there right they get there and it feels like sometimes they're grasping at straws or it's one runner in the box and you're like, what is going on here? Yeah. Yeah, it is. There's a lot of disconnection in those moments. And it's funny because when I watch this theme play, it's the way I would build a team of like, I love short passing possession players.

I don't like people who create goals. I don't like goal scoring moments. Like I like control. I like possession. And this team's really fun in those moments or has all the building blocks in those moments. But you go back and look at winning an NWSL Cup two years ago and like the ability to either pull a back line higher and play in transition for Smith to play over the top. And then that starts to stretch teams out and create space.

It hasn't been there. I still go back to like, I think Smith should be the center forward. Yeah, I do too. To just allow her the freedom to do all of these things. I think it's harder coming off the left wing. Could you play Sink as a 10 and Moultrie as a winger? Yeah. I know they tried that.

Or you could call it a 4-4-2 and say like, we're going to play Weaver and Spanster on the wings and two true forwards up top. And Sophia Smith then kind of becomes the 10, right? She's the second forward. I think you get stuck sometimes in the cross between we need a center point that holds center backs and is always an option as that center forward that you want. And if Smith's dropping in and playmaking, she's not that. But I also think coming from the center position, Smith can be the most dangerous because there's the most optionality for her

to drop in and attack or be played over the top or be played through into the channel or go wide and then attack 1v1. But you need to have that optionality and that pivot. I would say Chicago actually showed that a lot in this game, which is Swanson was the 10 across this front four in which everyone in the front four played all four spots. We've seen Joseph work pretty hard and like,

isn't the most dangerous in the final third, but we'll pick up different positions. Yeah. Ludmilla I thought was phenomenal in this game. I think what I thought Grosso would bring in can hold the ball in dangerous areas and get you out of pressure. Ludmilla brings all of that as well in the defensive third and the attacking third and also comfortable playing up high, playing out wide, dropping in. And so there was a ton of

rotation. I thought that rotation made Chicago more dangerous because you didn't know where players were going to be and you didn't know where they were going to pick up the ball. And Portland doesn't have that right now. So they're not breaking lines out of midfield. There's not a ton of movement out of the front. There are not obvious overloads that keep coming and coming where, okay, you feel like the dam is going to burst, and then any mistake against them becomes a loss, right?

All of these mistakes that teams make in games, half chances, giving up, even the Moultrie pass back, it's not the worst. It was not a gift. Schlegel still had work to do, had to recognize it. games half chances given up even the Moultrie pass back it's not the worst like it's not no it was not a gift Schlegel still had work to do had to recognize it you've got still a goalkeeper and a defender closing but like those half things become losses right now for this team and it feels hard to see them really pull themselves out of it and so you probably are going to see something drastic I think from them formationally or tactically at one point just to try and break this whole thing.

Yeah, I was staring there for a second. I got lost in what you were saying because I was thinking, how could this team play? Yeah. How could they have obeys and they could play three center backs and play Becky Sauerbron as a central of those center backs, play a 3-4-2- four two one I mean there are options here for them for sure so tonight is the CONCACAF match against San Diego you think they'll tweak things

it seems like the right place to do it yeah but my question for you is this San Diego got a win this weekend it feels like the playoffs and a championship run for San Diego is probably out the door in 2024 like is this the competition for these two clubs is this not the place to tweak and is the NWSL matches the place to tweak because this is their chance to move themselves into a final that's a really interesting way to think about it. I think I got to talk to Landon Donovan last week before our game, and we mentioned this in the broadcast, is that these first two games, the game over the weekend against Utah and then this game today for CONCACAF, he was considering those the two big games of the week.

It's a three-game week for them, but those two games had the highest of importance and so it does it does feel like to me for San Diego they know that this could be with this kind of competition right it's a different format and wins there can really help propel you to a knockout round and etc etc but can you have good performances here I think you're right do you tweak in these moments? I don't know. But I think for San Diego, they feel more comfortable in what they're doing as far as when it comes to Portland. I don't think they have confidence.

And it doesn't feel like there's confidence. It doesn't feel like there's swag about when they get on the field, they're going to just play you off it. And that is how Portland has always felt. So it kind of feels like for them they're not in a terrible place and in the league right like why wouldn't you then use CONCACAF as a way to tweak some things against NWSL competition and then hopefully find if they

can find something tonight that could work then you know these last six games for them who's to say they can't go and win yeah still in a playoff spot right now for Portland, sitting in sixth right now in the league. They play Angel City on Monday night, another Monday night game. Don't really understand it, but that's fine. Are you ready for some football? Exactly. But they're in a situation where they are right now two points above the playoff line.

So they could fall to eighth this weekend. Sorry, they are five points above the line, two points above eighth playoff line so they could fall to eighth this weekend sorry they are five points above the line two points above eighth with bay fc so louisville and angel city are chasing them uh the concaf thing is the one weird part about it is like the semis are in may of next year and the finals in may so it's not exactly like okay it salvages this full season but like that's sort of the point of other competitions a lot of times it's like okay some teams will focus here some teams will focus here like yeah we see that in the men's game because there's open cup and there's now there's leagues cup and like you can say hey

we're gonna put a lot of eggs in this basket to say hey it's not going well in league but open cup we're gonna try to get to the final we We're going to try to make something of it. And if you're a GM or a coach, you can walk away and say, like, we made a – like, San Diego, I mean, if they get out this year, in theory they could say we won Commissioner's Cup and we are into a semifinal of CONCACAF, which I think would be kind of a ridiculous thing to do. But they would do it because that's their job and that's what they would do.

I don't know that it saves Landon Donovan's job or gets Landon Donovan's job because I don't even know where he stands right now and where that whole conversation is. But it's something to salvage a season. It's an opportunity. I think it makes tonight's game a little bit more interesting. Gotham plays against Monterey, I believe, tomorrow night in Concacaf play as well. So something to keep an eye on. Let's talk about that playoff line, right?

Portland are sitting in sixth they are right above this fray everyone else is coming after them let's start with Louisville because Louisville made the trades and they specifically said we did it to be competitive and make the playoffs this year and both players coming out of the trade score this weekend come from behind win over Angel City um balser gets the opening goal becky gets the second goal so angel city had the opener um in like the 20th minute or so a little bit against the run of play and then louisville are able to come back and they're able to get the result the opening goal from balser is like

so good you talk about a player being the best header and you're like, okay, well, that only matters here. And she's so good at it that it expands the realm of how it can affect the game. And it's an unbelievable moment. The chip ball in is like outside of what you're normally going to do because no one else can really finish that. So it's not really something the backline is worried about. Like Gordon is shifting to play because the game is going to Angel City's left and to Louisville's right, and all of a sudden this clip ball comes in. It's a header basically from the 18, and it loops into the far post, and Balser knows the entire time what she's doing,

and it's an unbelievable moment, and it's one of those where you're like, okay, this is the relief of having a goal scorer. Like, we don't have to grind for this, and now we're in a 1-1 game I'm gonna give Bev Yanez so much credit because during summer cup she tweaked with how this team was going to build and what they were going to look like in attack and so now they're building out of uh 3-2 and they have three back line players and now Aaron Wright is back in a center back which I think is going to help them they have courtney peterson who they also got in the summer window a left-footed outside back who played wing back for um houston so she can get forward but she knows that she has

responsibility to just stay so now you have three really good ball playing players in the back in front of them is Flint and Ari Borges. And those are not sixes. Well, I'll just remind you that those two players are not sixes. Taylor Flint has been a 10 her whole life, and now she's playing in a six position. So she has, um, she told us a couple of weeks ago when we got to talk about her, she was like, I like playing risky passes and I like doing cheeky things. And now she's doing it from a position with so many players in front of her. So now it's a, it's a three to five for Louisville and they throw Lauren Malay up and the mellow tucks inside. And those two have a really good combination on the right, which is hard for teams to defend. But now you

have, this is why I think it works so well too, is you have these two sixes and Borges and Flint who are distributing space around them and everybody in front of them. And they are, they're creators. And so Ari Borges playing from a deeper spot allows her to say like, you guys are silly. You think I'm going to play the right because that's how we're always playing. But what I'm going to do is I'm going to clip it against the grain because I am a creative mind with every single pass in my bag that I can play. It just works so well. Now you have a goal scorer. Now you have Janine Becky who can balance you out.

Now playing on the left side, cutting inside to her right foot. All of these things work. Or sorry, left side. Yeah. Yeah. You said it. Yeah. Left and right. Cutting inside to her right foot all of these things work or sorry left side yeah yeah you said it yeah um left and right cutting inside to her yeah yeah you're right whatever um so it just it's working for them and I think all credit to Bev Yanez because she built a foundation with them but then she said huh we can tweak this and we can be even better in the way that we go forward and they're scoring goals now and I think they're going to be a team to watch as this last six games unfold it wouldn't

surprise me if they are in the playoffs when all said and done and we questioned a little bit um you mentioned the trade for peterson i believe was on the last day of the window um when it was open of carson pickett leaving and not having a true left back. And they ended up, you know, they made $30,000, I think, in allocation money across those two moves and still have an option at that left back spot. And I think even if you're saying, you know, maybe less versatile, but now you have Becky out there as well, who's great 1v1. And I think you see for that central midfield for louisville sometimes when you have players who come a little bit deeper they don't want to eat up the space in front of them and

they actually get uncomfortable with how long they have on the ball but i think you're seeing for both the players for louisville is like oh i can pick my head up and scan the entire field and choose to do whatever i want and they're playing a lot of line-breaking passes centrally, which is dangerous, but it's what exactly we talked Portland not doing. You disorganize back lines, and at times it's for a bounce, right? It's played into DeGrande's feet, and it's bounced right back to them. But it just starts rotations, and it starts movements, and it's dangerous. And it creates that moment where Borges has now set the chessboard and is like, well, this is how I keep playing, and I won't do it this time yeah it was awesome to see and then the second chance

comes off a pressing moment um for them but I think it's in a way in which their backline was not high enough up the field for them to even be in those situations for large parts of the season I think overall they're going to be happy with the moves they've made and the push they're making you can question big picture if like putting it all in for eighth place this year is the right move but it is goss this is why it is this year because they've finished ninth in every single year that they've been in nwsl yeah so to finish eighth in eight playoff spots i don't think it'll matter for them especially if they're playing like this and they because they're gonna have to work to get there, right? They're going to have to get on

some kind of run to get there. And to me, that's where you want to be when you go into playoffs. You want to feel like you are starting to peak, right? You're on the up. So I do think it's worth it. And that is not everybody's mode of operation. But for Louisville, I think it was theirs this year. And in fairness, it's not like they went and got players who are 35 and not going to play anymore. But they gave up Howell. They gave up some allocation. They made some big moves. The run here for Louisville, they host North Carolina this weekend.

They travel to Utah in the next two games. That probably has to be four points however you want to slice it that's probably the necessity out of those two games if you get there in that moment then I think you take a ton of confidence and you say like we can get this done they finish in a tough way it's Kansas City and Washington right after that and then Portland and San Diego to close but like if you can get four points over the next week plus I think you'll feel pretty good and you'll feel pretty confident about making the run into the bottom of this playoffs and the team they are chasing is Bay FC who when we did our draft of like

alternating and who we picked yeah we never really touched on them because neither of us were that excited about what they had you know they didn't make a ton of moves which is fine because they made a lot of moves to build the roster and there was belief but there wasn't really a clear path forward obviously they bring in abby doll kemper which is a big move having her come home and you know we've heard about how it's revitalized her and and we've seen it out there on the field as well so three straight wins right now for this uh sorry three undefeated for this bay fc team they go to north carolina they get the one one draw in this match it's only the second time north carolina has dropped points at home this season so for bay to do it in their first ever matchup

against this club coming cross country on a friday night it was impressive and they were i thought the better team in that first half they got out to the lead they make a mistake to allow the chance back and ashley sanchez takes it really well but what have you seen different from this big squad yeah and this was their first draw of their existence they have not drawn a game yeah that's absurd i didn't even think to look for that because they've won and they've lost they've never drawn a game and this is why this lost. They've never drawn a game. And this is why. This is why they've never drawn a game. Because at the beginning of the season, Albertine Montoya said, go attack. I don't care how you defend.

Just go attack. We're not talking defensive principles. Then halfway through the year, he spoke defensive principles. And what happened? They went from winning all these games, 4-3, 3-2, really high-scoring games on both sides, to then losing a couple. They insert defensive principles. They also lose Alex Lueta.

They're trying to figure out who's going to sit in the midfield. And then for about six, seven, eight games, they struggled to score because they were so focused on defensive principles that they couldn't figure out how to attack and one of the things that I feel like over the last handful of games they are they understand what is being asked of them but they're not robotic in the way that they're doing it offensively or defensively and Albertina Montoya has allowed them to learn about how to problem solve in games so then when situations arise they can make that decision on the field but they've also done some things tactically that are different they're now playing with two holding midfielders most of the time in builds Dorian Bailey's coming back

she's helping them have more outlets in shorter balls but you know the addition of Dal Kemper can't be understated, right? Because she can play short, but she can also release going long. So now there's a duality to the way that they can build. And the other thing that I feel like they have done a really good job of is just understanding what the opponent is presenting them, staying tight between their lines. But I think the way that they played against North Carolina

is not something that we have seen from them. They pushed two North Carolina builds with a box or really like a trapezoid in the midfield, right? Like they don't tuck in their tens. They kind of let them float into the half space. And so they pushed Bailey and Bodie all the way to the two sixes for North Carolina in their build. And that made then Dahlkemper, or a lot of the time Menges,

have to step out of the back line and almost become a midfielder to deal with Sanchez at moments. But they were more interested in stopping the build than they were at letting them build and dealing with it when it got there. And so I thought that was really gutsy from Albertine Montoya and the whole group. They managed the game plan pretty well. And it shows you their understanding of like, okay, now we know both sides. It's coming together.

Now we can problem solve. And it just feels like their spaces between their lines are tighter vertically and horizontally. So it's harder for teams to play through them or, yeah, through the seams. And it just, then it gives them the opportunity to do what they want to do and have numbers in good spaces when they do go and attack in transition moments, which has always been their bread and butter. That's where they score goals in transition. And it's where the goal came from this time.

But you saw, I think, the addition of Bodi already being in the attack in which you had four players. And so now North Carolina is down one in that transition moment. It comes off a bad turnover. So it's not like North Carolina is perfectly set up for it. But you saw the four players in the high attacking position. Kuninanji wins it back, immediately plays forward. And now while North Carolina is struggling to recover,

San Diego has the – sorry, San Diego. Bay already has the options in there and already has the danger. So it's been really interesting to watch. It's interesting the way you talk about it in that now I'm like, oh, yeah, this is what I was seeing and this is how it definitely went down. And it was one of those moments in which Ashton Sanchez was asked about it at halftime like you're going over into that right channel is that where you think the game is and she said well they're not giving us any space in the middle and that lack of space wasn't because they were sitting in with the deep block it was because

those center mids were pushed higher and weren't allowing them to play through the two sixes Dennis Denise O'Sullivan was not able to get the ball in there and play straight through to Sanchez. Sanchez had to go and find the game. It works on the goal. Which is what you want. Exactly. It works on the goal.

And it's like, if that, you know, you're only going to concede one in a game against North Carolina if that's the type of chance you give up. And that's the whole situation. You also talked a little bit um about with portland changing up the fullback play and changing things now and since been really big in this shift great her comfort in being in possession has released kundanji to be more dangerous and so it is like what you said with portland of like the little tweaks that can have the knock-on effect yeah

this is the best stretch we've seen of kundanji the whole season, like hands down. In the first half, she was the best player on the field. I think it's just the comfort of like, Mallinson's going to either step in and help them build out so Kuninanji doesn't have to drop in and be the option, or Kuninanji knows she can just drop it down the line and it's a safe option. And then she can turn and run and get the ball into space. She was phenomenal in the first half and that feels like a big piece of it. And I think that's one of those tweaks we've seen where Bay FC now have found just a half inch more in these games in which they were on the verge for large stretches of the season, and now they've been able to put together

a really good run over the last few games. Yeah, good shout out there to Mallinson because she has. She's been great and a player that barely got playing time in seattle and now we're seeing her step in and be a major have a major role in a different team just speaks to expansion the depth of this league and um there's going to be more of that to come as we spoke last week goals and back-to-back games yes that's huge that's a dream situation it's huge and you could see the emotion i think for the entire team like when she has scored both I think, for the entire team. Like when she has scored both these games,

you see the entire team react and her emotion and all of that. There's a lot going on there, and it is very, very big. Final game of the weekend. Seattle, as I said, were the darlings in this race for the playoffs. Three straight wins. They fall at home to Gotham on that Monday night. But before we talk about that game, really, we want to talk

about Sofia Huerta, who was sent on loan to Lyon for the rest of this season, through the whole European season into next summer by Seattle, right at the end of the window with the inability really to replace her. Huerta signed a contract extension, so is on the books for this team through 2027 now. So there really doesn't feel like a danger of her leaving permanently this caught me by surprise i talked about a little bit on monday what do you make of this move and this timing and just like the moment it really because it was after the window here that it got the loan got announced so i think it was it caught everybody by surprise but since it's a loan it can't that can happen right and as long as the team the player is going to the window is open

exactly that's all that matters right so i feel like and this is just me reading like the writing on the wall it was this has not been an easy season for Seattle they have struggled and Sofia Huerta has been sitting on this assist number for over a year like she has just been waiting for the moment to score goals yeah but break this so I think there's a lot of talk there how is she contributing she's done a good job to lead this team, but I also think when you're in a situation that is difficult, as it has been in Seattle this year, you're looking for other things. And when Leon comes and knocks on your door and says, hey, we would love to have you, and the season isn't going right,

I feel like the timing feels weird because weird because Seattle started playing well those these last few games but this has probably been in the works for a long time the move doesn't come together in six days yeah I just feel like this is you can't you can't turn this down it's a great opportunity to play in a league um where you're going to learn a lot about yourself in a foreign country. You're going to be playing in Champions League. All these things that as a player you dream about. So I think it's a smart move for Sofia Huerta. And yeah, I think Seattle has her heart.

And I can imagine her coming back there and playing there. But it makes sense too for the the move like I the Hannah Glass move didn't really make sense to me when that happened from Kansas City to Seattle but now I understand because now you have an outside right back that can slide in who it hasn't gotten a lot of playing time off of an injury and now it is probably going to get that and give you some stability there but it'll be interesting from Seattle, especially after the loss over the weekend to Gotham at home. Weekend? Monday? Weekend?

Yeah, Monday night. It was a three-day weekend for no one. But us. But that's the vibes that you get from a Monday night game. That's sort of what I echoed on Monday was like, honestly, it feels like with the glass move, they actually probably have to get the roster numbers right way which feels slightly inefficient in a salary cap league to be like how much are we going to commit to this roster spot with knowing that the all-time leader in assists is coming back and is a major part of our team the other thing is you know Huerta can be flexible like she was not a fullback earlier in her career so maybe

the idea is just we're going to get talent and we're going to figure it out and we're going to move forward it is a time of change for Seattle and I think if you're like you talked about if you're honest and Laura Harvey obviously is as good at this as anyone and has been honest about a lot of it you can look at it and say like we don't really know who we are right now go have this experience maybe become a better soccer player or a better leader or a better person or this is the thing you want to do we can't really look and say like no let's make a championship run you should be here because that's not the reality of what this season has been it feels like almost Seattle has let her down the first half of this year and now you can't

really hold her back if this opportunity comes so it'll be interesting the 2-0 loss to Gotham I think deflating for Seattle. Some of the things that worked weren't there. Jordan Heidema not being a part of things was obviously a massive loss. They lost the point of the attack. And so I think all of the like half, all the good stuff we've seen from the now two wide players or from G, you lost the point to a lot of that, or you lost the focal point to a lot of that. And I thought Gotham looked pretty good. Rose Lavelle looked as healthy and as comfortable

as we've seen for Gotham since the Olympic break. And it was a good performance for that team. And now Gotham is going to go to the White House and be the first NWSL team to go celebrate a championship at the White House. Yeah, I know. I had something in the back of my head, and I was like, I was supposed to mention something, and that's what it was. Let's talk this weekend before we get out of here. And the big one we've mentioned a bunch of times, Washington against Kansas City. That one is Friday night at CPKC Stadium.

Washington knocking off Houston 3-0. We're not going to dig into Houston here, because we already did the sad stuff with Portland. So you can I read Jason Anderson's piece about the weekend recap I thought he touched on it really well uh so go to Pro Soccer Wire and read all of that uh but Washington coming in incredible form facing off against Kansas City this is mouth-watering to see because I think Casey at home they got to open up like they can't go and do what they did in Orlando. And if you open up with this Washington team, they'll go there with you.

You want to play in transition? You want to open up the lines? We'll bring all of our horses to Kansas, and we'll get ready to ride for this one. And it's going to be awesome. As my Morgan started the last game for Washington. So I think this is, I've spoke about it this whole year. Washington's, if they are questionable they're questionable along their back line right their center backs have uh i'm not quite sure if

they're going to be able to hang with the big horses that are around in this league right are they going to be able to run with showing are they going to be able to manage via this is the test that washington needs right now as they are flying going forward. But Houston didn't test them. And I think that, I mean, you're playing at CPKC Stadium. You're going to get a lot of attack from this Kansas City team. It is going to be very interesting first to see if Morgan's the one that starts because Washington had been playing well. And I think at some point it was like, all right, let's get Morgan the minutes. Let's get her in there.

It's Houston at home. Like, that's a really good spot to do it. So I'm curious to see what Geraldez does as what is his first options here. And then I'm excited because I think this will cement Trinity Rodman's MVP campaign in this match. It's Friday night, national TV against the third place team against the golden boot leader in Shawinga. Like you watch the form Rodman's in, you add in the narrative of now playing on the left large stretches

because Corey Bethune went down injured. And obviously Lacey Santos, a huge part of the replacement of Corey Bethune, but Trinity Rodman, it feels like has elevated to another level. And then you throw in the little bit of olympic gold stuff and like people are not supposed to vote on that they're going to vote on that that's what happens i think if rodman remains on the streak she is on and this team challenges for the shield legitimately and is within three to four points of the top i think there's a chance orlando everyone takes votes from each other because you're probably looking at a finalist

for goalkeeper of the year defender of the year and potentially golden boot winner in Orlando I think Rodman inserts herself into this convo besides the fact that I think she will deserve it if she plays the way she's been playing yeah so I'm just looking at numbers right now Rodman has eight goals six assists right now correct yeah and Banda has 12 goals, six assists right now, correct? Yeah. And Banda has 12 goals. I don't know what Banda is out of assists, but not very many. If she has some, it's minimal. I can't click that right now.

Let me see if I can find it for you. That NWSL website is a real bugger. 12 goals, five assists. 12 goals, five assists. So I don't know. Gus, I hear you on goals yeah I hear you on Rodman I do I hear you but if Orlando wins the shield there's no way Banda doesn't get end of it it doesn't get MVP unless Rodman goes it's just hard So you think Washington has to win the shield for Rodman to win it? With the way the season is set up right now? Or she has to score more goals than Barbara Banda.

Right, yeah. It feels unlikely to think she's going to win the boot. We talked about this when we were talking about the ball and door, right? That's what people are going to vote on. Do I think Trinity Rodman has been an MVP? Yeah, the girl is unstoppable. She's sleeping on players. Yeah, for sure.

Oh, I would be so mad if she did that to me. But it is so fun to watch. Once you're in the trend spin, you don't even really notice the celebration. You don't. Because you're just watching everything around you. You're just circling. Yeah, you've got those dizzy eyes from the cartoon

characters i think it'll be it's hard to say but i think it could be between those two banda and rodman yeah those are my those are my final two final answer yeah i think i think shawanga will win the golden boot me too um i think k Kansas city is not going to be high enough to win for her to be MVP. Yeah. And it feels like Orlando will win the shield, but I, I'm just putting it now. I'm putting my flag in the ground.

Cause I want it before Friday night when Rodman has a goal and an assist in a three, two win at Kansas city in the best game of the year. And then all of a sudden Orlando falters. And now they're within one game. And we're going into October 6th. And they've got the opportunity to take the first place. Maybe we should just stop calling these games,

like stop hyping them up to be so big. Because the ones we hype up are like, but I do think it'll be a good game. You should watch it, everybody. You should absolutely watch it. It will deliver. I will say this. Washington has delivered. Geraldez has will deliver. I will say this. Washington has delivered.

Geraldo has his principles. They have a style. You talked about the center backs. They can't really move away from it in a lot of ways. And they're good enough to not have to. Like, I think Washington will come and play. And I think they will open up the game. I hope the referee doesn't ruin it.

Not saying that the referee ruined it in the Orlando game. Because like that was a red card and there's nothing you can do about it but i'm just throwing that out there uh friday night has i think our second best game as well bay fc against orlando that's the double header we just talked about it with bay like they're on this run they look really good okay here's the ultimate test here is the best team in the league here's the unbeaten squad and we're going to learn a ton about that team and their ability as we just said with all these tweaks to be able to make a strong run at the end of the season so that's going to be the weekend we've got monday night coverage again and then i will be here with the weekend recap on monday

to walk you through everything i saw i don't love the monday night game because i like to be able to make like grander assessments of like, this is where everyone's stand. Like coming out of this weekend, it was Gotham could drop down the table. Seattle could have moved closer to the playoff line and then you don't know. So it makes my life a little bit harder,

let alone whoever has to work on a Monday night. We'll talk to the schedulers. We'll just talk to them. We'll, we'll get them in with our t-shirts and our bets and all that stuff stuff and we'll get it done so thank you to all of you out there for listening thank you jordan for being here uh we are excited for the rest of the week big weekend of nwsl coverage join our patreon so you can get into the discord and chat about all of it and we will be back next week we'll also be back tomorrow talking mls we'll talk to you all again very, very soon.