SoccerWise - NWSL Soccerwise | The NWSL Is Wide Open

Episode Date: August 25, 2026

Ashley Sanchez is putting herself right in the USWNT conversation, Boston is still trying to figure things out and the NWSL standings are getting very interesting. David Gass and Jordan Angeli dig into where the league stands, from Gotham's incredible run to San Diego's statement win over Utah and North Carolina's wild finish against Boston.0:00 Jordan's Favorite Form of Transportation2:42 Ashley Sanchez's USWNT Case6:59 Sarah Schupansky to Boston16:09 Esther González Heads to Saudi Arabia21:23 The NWSL's New Tiers32:56 San Diego Breaks Through Utah42:43 Orlando's Defensive Masterclass47:38 Croix Bethune Is on Fire53:24 North Carolina's Wild Finish1:00:05 Chicago Finds Goals & Games to WatchFor the sharpest coverage of American soccer, we’ve got you covered:https://linktr.ee/soccerwisehq

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to Soccer Wise. David Goss and Jordan, Angerley, back in our familiar haunts, ready to roll out of another wild week of NWS. Jordan, you have been on planes trains and automobiles over the last like eight days. What's your favorite form of transportation? I like when I get upgraded to first class, honestly. I'd prefer that. I'd prefer that, especially because most of my flight. have been across the country. But, you know, I do like driving my own car. It's pretty nice. Or just going on a walk, a good old walk.

But when I was in Florida, gosh, walks are hard right now because that air is thick down there in Florida. Disgusting. It is so gross. There's a sweat that I experienced here that I didn't know I was capable of as a sweaty person, where it's just a flow of water out of the back of my head. Yeah. I'm a head sweater too. So like if I wear a baseball hat when I walk and it's just like my hair is drenched and I must shower it before I do all the rest of the things.

I own a hundred different baseball caps because of that purpose. So if you're ever looking to offload out there, that is one thing I am accepting. I'm not supposed to be accepting a lot of new items, but that's one of them. So if you're in the baseball cap industry or you work somewhere. They're easily movable too. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, fair. Well, if I'm being honest, they probably won't last long enough.

True, yeah. So you can throw them away. You don't feel as bad. I didn't think this is how we were going to start, but this is how we're starting, you know? This is how we're starting. But we are excited because it was a great weekend of action. It started on Friday night with a six-go thriller out in San Diego, between San Diego and Utah. You were on the call for two games as well.

The standings continue to move around. So we're going to talk big picture about sort of what the reality is for some of these teams. where we see some of these points marks ending up. There is midweek NWSL this week. We won't have a ton of time before this show comes out. So we won't talk about it, but North Carolina faces off against Angel City. And then we've got a loaded weekend coming up

that we will look forward to the big one off the bat once again. Friday night, the two of the four hottest teams in NWSL, Gotham and Portland face off. Portland trying to take a shot to close that gap a little bit and try and get within touching distance of a shield, which is not something we thought we'd be saying even a week and a half ago, let alone coming out of the World Cup break in the way

that they have played. So a lot for us to hit, a lot for us to talk through. If you missed it, we are going to be covering the U.S. Women's National Team every single week now on our U.S. show. So Jill Lloyd and will be joining us there. Jordan, you were with me last week. We dug into the U.S. Women's National Team Dept chart, which we did put up on our Instagram page on SW-W.

Wos OFC. we've gotten a lot of response from it Jordan. The main name has been Ashley Sanchez. And we fully agree. We get it. We talked about it on the show. But if you want to hear the full conversation, we did 20 plus minutes where we laid out each position category.

Then we talked through sort of who's making the battles from the outside. Who's trying to get in to each of these positions. And Ashley Sanchez, I think fairly golden boot leader right now is at the top of that list for everyone. What's interesting, Goss, is I'm trying to look back at other World Cups. And of course, you can think of every World Cup and think of players that have been left off of teams and think, oh, if only this or if only that, or they probably should have made it. This might be the deepest we've seen this team in a while, which is really exciting, but also puts more pressure on these players to continue to play well and to perform week in a week out

because it might come down to that. It might come down to who's getting the assists, who has the connections on the field, who's getting the most playing time. All those little nuances come next summer, but it'll be really fun to continue to break that down over on that other podcast. Yeah, I think 2019, you had this moment

where it was like there was a lot of legacy players, even though there were other players playing well who probably should have cracked in. And when you talk about Ashley Sanchez, I think back to Lynn Biondolo and the amount of goals she was scoring in NWSL before she was. got opportunities to break in. But you're in this weird moment now where you have solid veterans who are, you know,

no question in Penn in the Rose LaBelle's and Lindsay Heaps and Tierna Davidson's of the world. And then this giant generation of young players who are all scrapping. And some have become put into Penn and Alyssa Thompson or Lily Johannes and others are fighting to get in. And then on top of that, you have the Ashley Sanchez of the world who are in the primes of their career, playing the best soccer they've ever played that aren't really in that category. And this week, we're going to talk about where college soccer sits for the future of

premier development for the national teams. And we talked to Mark Corcorian for that show, former FSU head coached three national titles, and then ran the Washington Spirit for three years, helping rebuild this roster that's gone to back-to-back NWSL championships. And he brought up Emily Sands, who he coached at FSU, and is like, in his mind, No question national team player. But she is kind of stuck behind Naomi Germa already arrived. So you're not getting that spot.

Tierna Davidson is arguably the best defender in the world. And where do you fit in behind that? And how can you sort of prove yourself? So it's going to be, that was a really fun conversation. I'm really excited for everyone to hear it. And then on Friday, we have a series of interviews coming up with the Casey Current slash global soccer ownership groups of Angie Long and Ryan Dells talking about the Brazilian academy they've built, talking about the Danish club, HB Kerr that they've acquired,

that is in Champions League for the first time in the league phase in that opening round, as well as how it sort of connects to Kansas City and what they've built from a youth development point of view in Casey. So really excited for that one. It'll be our second open mic episode. I'll just say, you know, you talk about me traveling around, but gosh, you're putting it work too. You're grafting over there. You got interviews after interviews, doing the most. So a little hat tip to you and all the work that you're doing on that side as well. And I don't even have to put on shoes to do it. The magic of the internet and what the world has become. So make sure to stay tuned in for all of those, as well as, of course, our Major League

Soccer coverage. We're here to talk NWSL, baby. There's a lot for us to hit and a lot for us to talk about if you're listening to via Serious Radio. Welcome and thank you for being here. And you will know what we will start with, which is we're going to start off the field for a minute. then we'll dig into all of the wild and wacky games because once again, Gotham FC has traded a former traffic or college player to Boston Legacy. It was Lily Real a few weeks ago in a big time move that I think we kind of understood, but now it is Sarah Shippansky who is headed from Gotham to Boston for $50,000 in allocation money and $30,000 in intra-league transfer funds.

So some of those assets are going away at the end of this year. This is very clearly like a use now move for Gotham. And it's, you know, I think Jordan an understandable move from both sides, but probably a little bit of shock for people when it first came through. Yeah, and those funds that are going away, you wonder if Gotham use them to get Tesbodi, who they just got. Actually, I think they mutually parted way. So actually, they wouldn't even need interleague transfer funds for that.

Correct. They signed her. I'm working this out as we are live here in my brain. But it just popped into my head about that. But I think, one, Gotham, just on a grander scale, have done such a good job at this, Goss, is picking up players who they know can play in this league, giving them a role and enough experience within what Gotham is doing in order to establish who they are in this league and who they can be in this league and then saying, all right, well, who wants them?

You know, like in players like this, like Sarah Shepansky, when was it? Two weeks ago, we talked about her specifically and said, this is a player that should go somewhere and get playing time. And for her personally, I think is my second point is what a good move because you look at this Boston team and they are a team who want to play. They want the ball. And I mentioned it in the game over the weekend. I think sometimes their physicality out.

outweighs their soccer playing because they have their fourth highest in the league when it comes to number of passes and ball retention. So they want to utilize the ball. And a player like Shepansky, her ability with both feet, what she can do on the ball, I think could be a real connector for them, which they've been missing. So it's a win-win for me in a trade that not only boost Boston in a time where they need a boost, but gives Gotham a little bit of money to play with throughout I would think trying to use some of it throughout the rest of the season. Yeah, I've talked about it a couple of times. It feels like Gotham kind of went all in in 2024.

They went all in to try and win. They didn't. And then they spent about 12 months resetting themselves. And one of the ways they did that is bringing all of these college players in and giving them opportunity while understanding the reality there, which is this player could be a difference maker for you or an asset that you could use to generate more revenue to bring. bring in other players. And with the nature of the new CBA, it has to be beneficial for both the

player and the team. But you assume for Sarah Shepansky that there's more playing time in this move. And maybe it is a style that she wants to be a part of even more. And so it connects to sort of the way she wants to play. And Gotham are in every conversation. So you assume as players come to them and agents come to them, it's like, okay, well, how do we make this work? And and then you end up with moves like this. Katie Simons, who works with us, she put all these players in a list of who Gothman has, Gothen has traded into the league.

And when I go down this list, Goss, it is incredible because it's just that. It's players who maybe aren't playing on this Gotham team and go to a club and create a significant role. Yasmin Ryan, Macy Bell, Abby Smith,

Neely Martin, maybe not so much now, but at the end of last year, into the start of this year was there. Hasbo, you mentioned Real. and now Shippansky. They're all going from a place where maybe they were starting,

but most likely they weren't starting every single game to a place where they are and they're contributing. And it's awesome that Yall Averbush-West has this foresight to say, okay, we want the best players here, but also we want what's best for the players. And sometimes it's development and selling on to the next club. And if you are a clubbing in WSEL, you have to be watching. And when Girl Ritin comes into this league, when Sam Kerr comes into this league,

when Denise O'Sullivan comes into this league, well, Esther's another conversation to have, you should be making phone calls and saying, okay, like, there are only 90 minutes in a soccer game. 11 players start. Another five can be used as subs. This is a big time player who is now available. And I think that's probably a lot of these conversations. and you mentioned Shippanski and what she does. I'm a huge fan of her game.

I love tidy, clean players that can play out of pressure, that can connect the game. I think a lot of that helps a Boston team that is overly exposed in moments and they get caught. There is not still a difference maker on Boston. That is like, there is no one who creates the special moment

who breaks teams down. And that is part of what is hard is, they need the overwhelming numbers to create chances. And when you make mistakes, you get caught the other way. And like, this isn't fair, but you watch this weekend and you watch Tanaka and you watch Mel Barcenas and you watch Croy Bethune and you watch Sophia Wilson. And there's just no one on the Boston roster that gets up there. I would say Olivari might be top of that list.

And she, more than that, is more a connector who has the athleticism to break out. Like there isn't really a moment with Boston where it's like, oh, wow, that person can change the shape of the field by themselves and can do it consistently. I would think Isata would be that. But the consistency part is that. And she's just a little unrefined. And I think that that is something that will aid her being in a league like this where she'll have to refine some of those moments within the attacking third where is it a shot or is it a pass. Is my pass to this foot or that foot? Is it in the air is on the ground?

all these things that if you get a Sophia Wilson in those same exact spots, she's most likely making the right decisions where I don't think we see that quite yet from Isata. So Shippansky can be at least the player in the attacking third or even in the build, Goss that can connect the lines for them. But when they get into the attacking third, she has the ability with both feet. Juan Carlos Samaros told us last year, best two-footed player he's ever seen come into this. Which is funny because the other name I would have guessed,

I would put Yasme and Ryan probably up that list. And I also probably would put Ellis Stevens on that list. And all three of them are former competition. He likes them, but not that much. So she can get out and wiggle out of things, which you just said. And I'm excited for her. I want to see her play in this league. And we'll see how it works in Boston.

Yeah, I think she's in every game player in NWSL. So I don't know, like, I don't know that she is a national team player, like that gap there. But I think good NWSL team that has Sarah Shepansky in the team every single week is doing well. One of my favorite things about the league now is for so long there was so much pressure on that. Like, you have to be a national team player if you play in this league. Like that is what you're aspiring to. And I'm not saying players don't aspire to that. But I'm, I also think it's really cool.

We've gotten to the place where these women, can actually just have a really good pro career. And that can be good enough. And I love that we have players like that throughout the rosters in the league. So just the longevity of this league has added to that. And yeah, she might not be. She might be. But the one thing she does need in order to try to get there is she has to be playing more.

You've mentioned the changes in the CBA. Obviously for the national team, that's changed opportunity. It's also changed that reality, which is the U.S. and Mexico. in Canada paying the salaries of top paid players on clubs. So there wasn't really a gap because you had to be a national team player to be a star. But we're going to talk later. Vanessa DiBanardo and Lola Banta. Every week they play in front of a sold out crowd.

They win trophies every single year. We should have a Hall of Fame for the NWSL. They should be in it. Neither of them are really going to be discussed around the national team in their entire careers because of where they're at at this point. And like, as you said, that's totally fine. and it's only going to grow as there are more teams. Like there's not another national team coming in.

So Columbus Atlanta comes in. There are just more spots to have really good players who are the face of franchises and the face of winning team. It just made me happy thinking about that. Yeah. It is probably the happiest conversation we'll have around Boston over the course of the show. So I'm glad we're there on that side.

On the Gotham side of things, as we said, they continue to fund the big moves that they're making by making some of these moves. And now we learn a little bit about probably where the push for Sam Kerr came, which is that Esther has announced that she's signing in Saudi Arabia. She left Gotham as a mutual parting of ways a week or so ago. And the sort of language around it was for personal terms and potentially a family emergency. And now the announcement comes out that she's going to Saudi Arabia.

I'm not inside of Esther's life. I have no idea what's going on. I think there was a quick reaction for a lot of people around the world that a family emergency ended so quickly and now you're on to the next contract. It probably was part of though the understanding inside of Gotham that they needed to find a full-time solution at the center forward position. When they signed Sam Kerr, we all said how did these two play together and it probably was never really in the plans for Gotham. And, you know, Esther ends up where she wants to be. and Gotham ends up in an okay place with one of the leading goal scores of all time. Yeah, it's really interesting.

And of course, it's all speculation because we don't know inside Gotham and we don't know inside Astaire's life. But I don't think Gotham would ever just let a player like Astaire go without a transfer fee unless it was something that the player was adamant about. And so was everything on the table and did they know about everything? Or did things in matters change in Esther's life inside of Spain to allow her to sign? so quickly in Saudi Arabia. I believe this is the place that Giles Barnes is the head coach now down in Saudi Arabia, the former assistant coach at the Orlando Pride and former MLS player, among other things that

he did. I don't know everywhere he played. But it does, it was a head scratcher for sure because we just talked about how good Gotham is at the business side of things. And a player like Astaire would warrant a transfer fee and a lot of, money and you just, I don't know. I don't know if we'll ever know, but it's interesting that it was a mutual parting of ways to attend family matters and then quickly signing in Saudi Arabia. I am in a bizarre Wikipedia hold right now. It was like your face, you just made a funny face.

And I didn't know if I said something funny. So you're correct. It is where Giles Barnes is coaching. What was confusing is Carmillina Moscata is listed as the coach of that team on Wikipedia, which is clearly dated. She was just announced, I think, in NSL as a new head coach in Canada. Correct.

Yeah. So I was in the process of trying to figure who was the coach as my internet went down. And now I'm deep in it. Your internet went down? Wow. It's not me for once.

Clear, like, and that's, you know, probably that understanding that maybe Esther is available. We know originally, right, the Orlando Pride's transferred Adriana over for what at the time was a world record fee for a player who was good, but was not a world record fee number. So that, I think, is some of the conversation is like,

well, if Gotham knew this was on the table, was that type of number there. I think the flip side might be that maybe the deal works because she was a free agent. And maybe Gotham looked at it and said, well, if you're going to go, now's the time to go, because Sam Kerr's coming. Yeah.

And it all maybe works out in the end of like, fine, we'll take nothing because we need to secure our future. And for us, that means Sam Kerr now or never. And if this is how this works best, then this is how this works best. Like, yeah. I wouldn't be shocked if there's, right. I wouldn't be shocked if there's a world where that's a scenario. But I mean, no team probably handles this better from like a roster point of view than

Gotham because they have depth. They have options. They can go out and convince the next player. to come, and they are cruising right now in the league. So as they're headed to Saudi Arabia. And then the last piece of news before we get to the games, Emily Mengas, activated from the SEI list, returning from maternity leave for Bay. We have talked about the balance issues for Bay of when they score, they can't defend, when they can't score. So bringing another sort of experience player into the back line could be helpful for this team at this time. And just with Dalkempra and

Mengas being back, they now regain about 200 NWSL game experience. Something that this team has lacked. They've used Joel Anderson in the back line. They do have Cometti with experience internationally as an Argentine international. But whether or not Mengas and Dalkempur play a prominent role in the league this year, great to see them back from maternity leave, back out on the field. and at least their voices and their knowledge being instilled in some of these in day-to-day actions out on the field.

So congratulations to Emily. We saw Hatch come back in this last week. A lot of moms coming back into the league, which is so cool to see. Vanessa DiBanardo, of course, another of the players that I mentioned. Had a great weekend, 60 minutes with Michelle Cooper, both of them returning. but before we get into the KC game, let's talk big picture NWSL before we dig into some of these games.

So our producer Douglas, of course, big Washington spirit fan, has traveled coast to coast over the last three weeks just to see a win. That's the only desperate, desperate, uh, wanting and has not happened. So four games winless for Washington. And I think in my mind we're going to come into the show

and I was going to ask you like, what's wrong? How worried should they be? What's going on? they are tied for second place in NWSL. They have gone four winless, and they are tied for second place still in the league. They'd obviously love to win the shield. They are not out of it yet.

They are seven points behind. But I think it's a bigger conversation about the fact that all of the teams in that middle pack from two to five have jostled with each other, and all of them have struggled over the last few months. I would say to seven, actually, right now, because Kansas City sits with 31 points. That's just six points behind two and three in Spirit and Portland.

And North Carolina, sixth on 33 with a game in hand that will be played tomorrow night. If they won that game, they'd be one point behind Washington and Portland. It's madness. And it's crazy one, the streak that Gotham is on right now, even with all these changes that we just said, I think they're undefeated in nine straight, which is so difficult to do in this league. with the variability of the games and how you can see Chicago win a game against the best, the hottest team in the league in Louisville this weekend, all these things that you have to manage from week in and week out.

But it also shows you it's not like the seasons of past, right? The last two years we saw teams run away with it. And even though Gotham is in a really good run of form, I don't know, Goss, do you still think, I'm just not as convinced as I was the past two years that Goss, them is going to be, that streak is going to continue throughout the rest of the year as I was when Orlando in 24 or Kansas City in 25. You don't know. Well, how do you feel about it?

I think Kansas City last year was a juggernaut different than anything else. Anything else. And that also had to do with the gap in the teams. I think in the convo with Orlando, obviously Orlando had that defensive solidity. but it was this weird like Ben don't break thing, right? They won all these games one, zero. They won all these games late. And it was dominant mentally,

but it wasn't dominant out on the field. Right. They weren't scoring four or five goals. Gotham aren't that either, but it just feels like, you know, I've said it last week. I think this is the best soccer they've played in this span, whatever connection point you want to make it,

if you want to call it, the Yal Averbush West span. If you want to tie it to a specific player, it's a little bit harder because there's so much churn. Is it the Mitch purse span? Is it Juan Carlos Amoros? But in this four-year gap, it just feels like the best soccer they're playing.

And you add on the fact that it's elite talent. And like Roosevelt goes down this weekend. They don't win. Maybe that's why. But you're not surprised if over the course of five weeks, Jane Shaw is a match-winning moment. Roosevelt has a match-winning moment. Jalen Howell does. Sam Kerr does. It does feel there's a lot of diversity

and who can be the game winner for them. Whereas with Kansas City, you're banking on showinga. Which is the greatest guarantee in maybe women's soccer history. Yeah, but this team, you do have Shaw, Kerr, Lavelle, Dudley. Midge Purse.

Midge Purse. yeah, just so many girl right in with what she's doing. There's a lot more, I would say, you would think, game changers and with the ability to have those magic moments as opposed to relying on one player. So it's interesting. It's an interesting conversation. Like, will they, like, if they continue this throughout the rest of the season, and they could be far and away the leading points taker in NWSL

because there's still 27 points left on the table, and they're at 44 right now. And this isn't everything, but on XG, they're like top three. So sometimes you get these years where a team is great, but the underlying numbers don't say it. Sometimes the underlying numbers say the opposite

and the team struggles actually. Gotham's kind of in both, which shows that it's there. The one thing I'd add is, I think we'd all probably agree Berger's the best goalkeeper in the league, maybe in the world. When healthy and fit, which is what's happening right now, Tina Davidson, best defender in the league, maybe in the world.

You add in all the options you have in midfield, Roosevelt at what she does, maybe the best on the planet. So the Tierra Davidson addition of coming back and being fully healthy, it kind of sets up this space where you've got a top of their level world class player on each line. for this team. And that's the part that just feels different. Yeah.

Than everything else. They have a plus 13 goal differential, which is three better than Utah right now. They're not scoring as many goals as the top of the, they're about 10 less than every, the team's at the top. But they've only given up 13 games in 13 goals in 21 games. They've given up 13 goals. Wild. It's incredible what they've done defensively.

So they've almost had as many shutouts as. games they've they've almost shot out half the opponents is where they're at right now yeah which is absurd then you've got this middle class and we kind of just talked before we came on about sort of like points total

and where you want to land more games this season so it's not like for like we end up in a points per game situation which I did a little math I don't think we want us me doing a lot of math if we do we get as much math as we should be doing we'll talk to Katie and we'll be more

prepared for it in a future conversation. But you have Washington, as I said, four winless still tied for second, seven point gap. And then from Washington all the way down, as we said, to North Carolina or Kansas City, whichever one you want to put it in sixth or seventh, that sort of that group. So if you remember last year, huge gap up to Casey. And then from two to nine was like everyone was on top of each other where North Carolina finished one point out, Gotham finished eighth, and then Gotham makes it all the way to the final. And then two years ago,

we had this dominant top four, where any of the top four felt like they were the number one team in other years, and they were all jostling, Washington, Gotham, Casey, and Orlando. How do you feel maybe about the classes in the league this year? Explain classes.

What do you mean? Like, the... Like, is it Gotham and then everyone, is it Gotham? Then is it these four? teams that are right next to it? Are those four teams strong enough to be considered top four teams in past years? Like, I think overall, where do we see this grouping? Yeah, I feel like it's, Gotham have separated themselves slightly as of late. And I do think it is just their consistency

over this nine games stretch. But I wouldn't say it's that, I don't know, I just still don't think of it's that that's a bit of a gap. I do think the spirit, the Royals and San Diego are right in that mix. Portland is third right now, so you kind of have to put them in that mix. But it does feel like maybe those are the next, that's the next class of teams. And I don't know how much that is going to get jostled

throughout the rest of the year, but the way Utah's playing, even though they're fourth, they're at times looking like the best team in the league. For sure. with how it fine-tuned they are with their game plans and the execution of them. Yeah, so I'd probably say that through fifth, like Washington, Portland, Utah, San Diego, or probably that next class of teams.

Yeah, it feels like those teams have really high ceilings. When they're good, they're great. And it's whether it's a lack of depth, whether it's health issues, whether it's a quality issue or a chemistry issue, it's the inconsistency that makes it hard. to figure out where they stand, and that's what's pushed Gotham over them, which I think was for us, probably where we landed on Washington

at that mid-season point when we picked them to win the shield of like it felt like with their quality, depth, and experience, they were going to be the most consistent, and that was going to be the difference maker, rather than just who's the best team or who's set up the best. And all these teams are sort of chasing what you came in and said, 40 to 42 points feels like the safe number to say you're a playoff team.

Yeah, that's a Laura Harvey quote. She said 42 points this year. And so I'm going with it. I'm going with Laura Harvey because she's been in the league longer than anyone. And the interesting thing, too, is most of these teams, like if you look at, if you look at Kansas City in 7th, they're at 31. So they need 12 more points to feel like they're solidified. in that, which is... Which would be 12 out of a possible 27.

Yeah, which is very doable. And I will say, it's hard, too, because I mentioned those four teams, but then North Carolina and Kansas City, are they in that group? I think you would feel that way Kansas City now with Lorena back, much more than you would have felt a week ago, North Carolina. I think I would feel that way, honestly, if Natalie Jacobs was healthy because the way they play with her versus not. And I think those are the differentiations right now.

And maybe in two weeks, we're saying, all right, they're definitely in this group as opposed to right now. I think I'm still, I don't know. Yeah. So Casey and we're going to talk about all these teams. I don't know why I'm doing this, but I can't get out of it. So Casey, they're one over the next few weeks. So they've got Bay on Friday after playing midweek.

Sorry, no. They have North Carolina. This weekend, North Carolina plays midweek. Bay, Orlando, San Diego, and Denver. Shiawina's coming back. Lorenzo's back. Vanessa Di Bernardo's back. Michelle Cooper is back.

I do think that in four or five weeks, it's going to be like Casey's in. They're the top three. They are on a different level. I would agree with you. I don't know if it will be Casey from last year. I'm not sure how it all fits together as you're watching this weekend. It's like, okay, Haley Hopkins is playing at center forward,

showing us back. Who goes to center forward? is it Debian, does it all look the same? You haven't gotten the same type of play at a right back. There's questions on the back line. Michelle Cooper, we haven't seen her be fully fit. And so that's a game changer. You don't know where you stand.

And goalkeeper has obviously been a different position this year. But that's a lot of talent coming into the team. And a lot of talent that's one stuff together. So I think that's the team that I'm looking at saying, can they make a run up the standings? But let's talk about the games we saw and two of the teams in there. which is San Diego against Utah on Friday night, four to two game.

A lot to break down from this one. The big one for me is, I don't know how Trinity Byers is faster with the ball than without. Like it's absurd her ability. It's her second touch. So her first touch, she gets pretty clean out of her feet. It's her second touch that she weighs out in front of herself

better than anyone else to allow herself to get up to full speed, but not being too long that a goalkeeper can come out on it, or someone gets in the way. And then if she's even with you, she's gone. And it's just whether or not she can finish. And those are tough finishes because those are confidence finishes. Like the whole world slows down. You're out by yourself on the 1v1.

And for a player who I said like literally last week has been the worst finisher in NWSL but gets in good spots. Those aren't the ones you think will come up. It's the Ludmila ones which are like instinctual first touch. Okay, finally it went in this time. but Trinney just like went, I'm just going to go to the hardest challenge here and prove that I can do it. And if she's scoring goals like this, like watch out because that's kind of the last piece for San Diego. She looks like the roadrunner out there like meep, me, me, coming through.

Like I am not stopping at anything. The thing that was, I'm sure, a real confidence booster for buyers is this is how she scored goals time and time and time again at the college level. And left college with an injury, came into. San Diego played at the end of last year in the playoff game was her first game. And it takes a while to find yourself in this setting. And she is a really quiet person. And I had the chance to talk with her. And she's just very introspective of like, I'm just focusing on the things that I know that I'm good at. And I'm trying to help the team as best as I can. And I think because she was able to almost put herself in this bubble of, okay, what am I good at? And how can I,

do this well. Her teammates now know, okay, if we can get her into these positions, she is going to figure out a way to score. And that first goal comes in and you're thinking, oh, great. And then the second goal. And the thing that when you're playing Utah, you have to know as an opponent, they're going to press you hard.

They're going to come with a lot of numbers. It's going to be really difficult to beat. But if you can and you can find maybe that second pass direct, there is so much space. The runway is open. it is open. And the pass has to be good because Mandy McGlynn is nice. She does a really nice job of playing off her line and scooping a lot of those things up. But when it's done correctly in San Diego, chef's kiss to how well they did it in this game, it is, it's really unstoppable. And it's this, I think, a push pull that we're going to see in the league as teams get better at breaking high pressure because every team high presses. But Teams are not that good at breaking the high press. The team that is best at it is San Diego because they're so comfortable in the ball.

And they now have outlets that give them something different. And so they can play through you and be confident about playing through you. But they also can play the first pass and under pressure, release the pressure by going up and over. And I think they showed that really well in this game over the weekend. Yeah, it was like a master class for them of like what they're trying to do and what they're trying to build. and I thought those first 45 minutes,

it was as much I've seen Utah struggle because then when Utah got on the ball, they didn't look like themselves. And it felt like now that they'd lost the pop of like, they're rattled and we're playing on the front foot and we're playing in the attacking third, it felt very pedestrian from Utah, sideline to sideline when they got on the ball.

And I think the goal comes out of a great moment of a bunch of movement and a bunch of connection. And it can't, That was like in an island, though. That wasn't like, oh, they're building and building and building. It was the first moment where Utah connected four passes and moved it quick enough to open up space and then Tanaka does the rest, right? It's a special goal. But it comes in a really nice moment.

But that stuff we've seen from Utah for the last two months, that was not there at all. And I really think it was to San Diego's credit that when they broke them, they really took the wind out of their sales. Totally. Because it's not as if Utah wasn't implement. the same tactics. It was they gain confidence with a regain high up on the field with a little touch with counter pressing, all those things defensively that they do that then puts them in good positions. And so if you break that, they're not gaining the confidence that they have typically had. And it makes them a little bit like, not like proud chested, but like they stick their chests out,

right? And then they come at you because they're like, well, we can do whatever we want. Because we'll play these passes and if it doesn't work, we're going to counterpress you, win the ball back, and then we're going to come right back at you. Well, when that doesn't work, they don't gain that confidence. And I think you saw that in this game just because San Diego was clean on the ball.

And it was the best game Lude Mela has played, like I think in NWSL. And the only reference I have to this is this is what she looked like at the 24 Olympics when they had originally, Chicago had originally signed her, she hadn't come yet. And it was like, oh, wow, she has,

that combination of speed and touch. And you saw it in this game of like, at full speed, these soft touches around defenders, through defenders, legs, that set her up for the next piece of the play in which it feels like very often over the last

year, she either takes that touch too strong, too hard, and runs into the defender or too long and the play kind of dies because goalkeeper gets there or whatever. She scores the goal, which again, it's like, okay, that's a bit of an extension. Instinctual.

Instinctual, I got you. Thank you. Instinctual. Goal. This will open up the floodgates. And then three minutes later, she has a pullback that she just fires straight at McClain. And they're like, okay, maybe not. Maybe not.

But still, when this stuff happens, now the space for Amel Bar Sanis is like, whoa. You can't close down because you're chasing buyers and you're stretched with Lumila out. Why? Yeah, I hate to think this. but like imagine if Dugino is up there as well. I do think this game for Lujmila, she is much more connected. And the way she's been utilized in NWSL is an island player, right? In Chicago, she was on island.

Go do whatever you can do. And a lot of times that worked because Chicago defended a lot. And so they let numbers come and it was Lujmila in transition. And I'm not saying that San Diego hasn't used her in that same regard. this year. But I think it's taken a little time to integrate her into how they want to play. And half a season later, you're seeing how good she can be in that integration, how good she can be in isolation and stretching the space for other players like a Barsenis to be able or a buyers to be able to operate in. And it feels like she is really an integral piece in what San Diego does,

which at the beginning of the year, I was thinking, I don't know how this is going to work. And it feels like maybe for San Diego, the timing is right, at least for this. I know they're dealing with a lot of other injuries that they are going to want players back, but the timing is right for that and kind of hopefully riding that wave into the postseason.

That was so cheesy, but I didn't. I hadn't even noticed it, so you kind of called it out yourself. So I appreciate that for you. But the other piece, you mentioned Duginia and what they're missing. So they started Harbor in this game for the first time, 19-year-old English Youth International. She looked good.

Who's just come over to the team. They brought Adriana Leone and Portillo off the bench, Brooklyn Cortnell. It's just they have had a lot of injuries, and there is still a lot of talent on this team. And they are legitimately a top four team. It's just overall, I'm watching the game on Friday night, and it's like,

this is an impressive group. And it's unfortunate because of the things they have to battle through that we don't get to see it all. But I think it goes to show what they've built and their ability to continue to push young players into tough spots and get the best out of them. On the flip side, by the way, 4-2 loss, not great. Utah fought in this game. Like they're on the road. The game's against them. They fought Tanaka's special.

But as a group, they stuck in. they hung in and I even walk away thinking, I mean, they could have equalized. The goal gets called off late on or that that would have made it four, three, whatever it was. Like, they continued to grind away. And I think you saw the overall culture of what Jimmy Kunratz has built in the way this team feels about themselves. Totally. I say it a lot, but I don't think this, of course, they don't want to lose, but they're going to learn a lot from this. And the way that Utah has utilized some of the learning moments in this season to fine tune what they're doing, yes, they want to be aggressive.

They want to be on the front foot. They want to go high press. But if that breaks down, how do we react? And they're going to have to be a little bit better in that in order to move forward. So even though it's a loss, they're going to win a lot in how they react. And hopefully they find the ways that they can be better after this loss. And San Diego picking up points in the standings to get one point behind. second place because Washington lost at home to Orlando.

You were on the call for this game. The return of two of the Wafcon players for Washington, which is pretty big. Kauasi gets the start. Ashley Hatch made her home return in this one. What did you make of sort of what you saw from this team? From the spirit or from from Orlando. You want me to pick your poison?

I'll just say, I'll talk for, I'll talk for Orlando for right now, because they get the win and it was a much needed win for them. One, they came out knowing that if they were going to press the spirit, it had to be purposeful and in certain moments. They get a goal three minutes in. And when you get to go three minutes in and you still have the stretching and the fear factor of Barbara Banda on your team, no team can actually ever really, you can't relax,

like even when you're pressing to get that next goal. because I think for Washington, they struggled. Orlando had a really tight, compact defense. They look a lot like Orlando of yesterday year. I thought their two center midfielers do dwell in breaking up a lot of plays. Their centerbacks did really well. Haffaelli blocking pretty much anything that came her way. And so for Washington, I thought at moments, Gus, it was a little pedestrian.

Like they were searching for a goal, and it didn't look like they could find it without the creativity of a Lacey Santos on the field. Someone who can operate in those little pockets centrally, who wants to get on the ball, who will make a little bit different of a run. So I felt like it was a tough game for the spirit, even though they hit every single crossbar you can hit, or post, post and crossbars.

But I would expect more out of them, especially with their players from Waf, on coming back and the zip and the bite that they get from them. It just, it was a little too narrow for me at times. And then when it was more expanded into the channels, I thought it was a little too late and their movement off the ball was there late in the game. But at that point, 15 minutes left to go, you could tell Orlando was like, we're locking it down and we're not giving you anything.

Like, this is like too simplified of a way to say this, but like someone that's not Barbara Banda scores a goal and Orlando wins. Like they are starving for support. And it's, you know, it was a Banda cross. And sort of what I wrote in my notes is like, Haley McCutcheon reads it and understands, I got to come inside. I got to be the option inside because Banda has gone to the far side.

And you talked about it a little bit going into the game of like, one of the reasons you play McCutcheon is she will pinch inside, more to be a center mid and connect there. But it works out in this play. And it's like, oh, how much easier a sucker is when one other person can score. Yeah, and I think what I was trying to say, too, is as Washington is pressing the game and trying to find a goal, one bad pass, and it is a pass down the other way and you're losing two to nothing, right? And then everything's out of reach, really, against Orlando. And so I feel like that threat helped Orlando at times, even though Banda didn't, Banda had chances, pain had chances. They didn't capitalize on those. but it also made Washington a little hesitant

in how they wanted to be proactive in their build. I thought in the first half, Esmey Morgan was way too tucked in. She needed to be wider. And then I actually think it should have been Tara Rudd on the dribble into the middle of the field and almost split those two, make a midfielder come and mark you.

And then you have that next pass that can hopefully open up a little space in the second scene beyond. But for a team that has been so adaptable in NWSL in their formations and they switched at halftime again this time to play a little bit more of a 4-33 with wide wingers.

I just felt like they didn't have the answers that you would expect out of this group. A big win for Orlando. This is their first win in five games. It's been a struggle. And they are trying to get themselves back on track to try and get into the playoffs,

which is wild to say when you talk about a team that has a true MVP candidate in Banda and what we've seen. But then for Washington now trying to figure themselves out and trying to get back on track. If you're listening to Sirius Radio, we're going to go a little bit long. So search the show on the on-demand player or anywhere you get your podcast. And spoilers, we're going to talk about someone who could help the Washington Spirit,

but unfortunately, Corey Bethune is on Kansas City. So that I'm going to leave you with if you're listening via Sirius, and we'll talk to you next time. if you're listening on the podcast or watching on YouTube, you get to listen to everything that we have to say. But it did pop to me over the course of the weekend of like, Corey Bethune's at her peak right now. She's unplayable.

And you watched Washington. And like this is an obvious thing to say. She's an elite player, more elite players than the team. But this was a thing she brought to Washington that they don't have anymore, which is she can break someone down with no, not outside the flow of the game and create moments when, especially when the game becomes predictable, right?

because she was always really good for Washington at, okay, we've pinched you in, so you're in your block. So we kind of know where all the pieces are. I'm going to go be an overload. I'm going to have to turn over here, and I'm going to do something different. Her requirements with KC aren't like that as much right now

because the game's still a little bit more transitional. But man, if she is in space or 1V1, like you get out of your seat because it is so good to watch. Jill asked JP during the broadcasts, is there a smoother player in NWSL? And the answer was no. I mean, she has Sophia Wertes, as I said, on the edge of the box. And it's like, okay, what's going to happen? Like, you're already mentally like on to the next play because there's just no world that anyone stops her.

She hit the crossbar in this game. I don't know what's worse, by the way. The double doing for Washington are hitting the cross or hitting the post four times over the course of the game. For Casey, it's like kind of hard to imagine. but as we said, Casey's getting healthier. The Nessadie Bernardo gets her second straight start alongside Labanta and this one. Lorena back, Michelle Cooper back for her first start since July 3rd, I think it is. And yet you come into this game and it's like, Corey Bethune is just must watch.

Croy is one of those players who there's just like a not, and it's not nonchalant, but there is like an ease about the way that she does things that it just, oh, well, I'll just do this. and what is a really difficult play doesn't get the credit that it needs because she does it with that smooth yeah that smoothness that ease i'm just trying to see she has three goals nine assists on the year still nine games to play right for kansas city and with all those players back i just i just wonder can't she get herself into that MVP category i think so i think if this team finishes top three and she plays the way she's playing and it's going to be goals and assist because once she winger comes back everything he comes in assist and with michel cooper back

so yeah you also have to think she's missed i'm and i'm not being i'm not exaggerating on this probably five sitters throughout the beginning of this year where she's breaking broken the back line been in a one v one situation maybe buyers like you know where that we've seen and she's either shot at the goalkeeper or missed the frame. And she's talked about that coming out of the summer break about how she just wants to fine-tune those things. If she, I think Chris Armour has told me, like, I've had conversations with her. If she wants to be the best player in this league, she has to finish those. And that is, that is the difference from her being easily MVP candidate to now, you know, is she in that category? But it's not as if she's not getting herself in those

situations. It's just what's the final piece when it comes to the goal because this pass is there. Yeah. I think in the end there might be a scenario where it oddly will have worked out that Shawanga was out the time she was out because it, Croix looked uncomfortable in Kansas City and not she didn't look like herself, right? Where in D.C. she was settled. She knew her role. She knew what she did. And part of this, I think, has always been, she has these long injury layoffs. It takes time to get back to who you are. And so that, like, always is going to happen. But I think Shawinga comes into a team now with Corey Bethune at her peak. And Shiawinga is the best superstar in the world to come into that because she doesn't care. She'll make the

runs to pull defenders apart. And she'll lay passes back, you know, in one v. one situations for easy tap-ins. Yep. She's getting those assists now. I think she actually welcomes it. Like I think she kind of has been waiting for it at times. With Casey, especially when they haven't had Bia and a lot of the like creative and goals and responsibility fell on our shoulders. And so it might be the perfect time where it's like

Kri is playing at her best. It's kind of her team that Shiawinga can come back into now and play her role and be, you know, arguably the best player in the world in that role, which could work out really well for this team. And then the control that they can, exude with De Bonardo in the squad. Like the two of them at the base of midfield can connect passes.

It can let fullbacks get higher. It can make the game more predictable. They are the worst set piece defending team in the league. They've given up 14 goals from set pieces. And the goal in this game was a corner kick that was secondary play out of a corner, comes back across and Sharple scores the own goal. So they've conceded 14 goals off set pieces. Yeah.

It's pretty wild. Wait, how many have they conceded all together? Kansas City. Let me see. I didn't have that one off. 29. They've also hit the post now 14 times this season, which is wild. But if you do it four times in one game, the assumption is you're going to lead the league in that because the odds of that happening are pretty low.

For Seattle, a gritty point on the road and not one that they will mind at all. They're kind of in a pretty good spot right now where they've been able to get the results they should. It has them in eighth. but as we said, they have a game in hand on some team. So with the win, depending on how other things go, they could be anywhere from 6th to 8th right now, which is not the worst thing in the world for them.

They are chasing from behind North Carolina just ahead of them. They had an absurd finish to a 2-1 win over Boston, leading 1-0 the whole game. Traore creates the goal in stoppage time to make it 1-1, and then Bianca St. George strikes again. and a penalty kick for Ashley Sanchez. Basically the last kick of the game ends up making it a 2-1 win for North Carolina.

And Ashley Sanchez now, player of the week, is the Golden Boot leader right now, hence a large part of the conversation of why she should be in the national team, which we fully agree with. But a gutsy win in the end for North Carolina, not perfect,

but they've been on an incredible run and form over the last few weeks. They really have. I would say North Carolina in the first 20 minutes before Ali Schlegel left the field with an apparent foot or an ankle injury, it looked like. I thought they looked really good. And they feel comfortable in that with Schlegel playing. It's really the, it's kind of an interesting position because, yes, it's an inverted winger, but also she looks like a nine at times. And it allows Williams to then get forward.

They look comfortable in that. They didn't look as comfortable once they made the change with Thompson. and they've done that multiple times over the last couple of games, but it's been Thompson coming in late in games instead of early playing a long time. I would say I like a lot of things about this North Carolina team, but if you took that first 20 minutes versus the rest of the game, they themselves look like a different team with a lot less bite. But the thing that my biggest takeaway from this is Boston, I feel like they're being asked to do too many things,

and they look at times, I will say confused out on the field. Like they don't know what the right decision is, so you can see them overthinking, which means an extra touch, a long touch. The player's not in the right place, so you don't know where to play the outlet ball. And it's a lot of pressure on these players. And it's not as if I don't think what they're trying to do would work,

but it's confusing to me. And I can only imagine, you know, how confusing that would be for a player being asked of a few different things, game in and game out. And is that how, is that what you get to? A hundred percent. And then the part that makes it worse is it is a team that has built themselves

on the fluidity and muscle memory of the system building chances. Like, it's not even, oh, this team, I've said this about Gotham over the last few years. This is a team. They look like they're thinking. It doesn't look fluid. It doesn't look natural. But like the point of that is they're trying to isolate special players to have moments,

which in the end they can win two one because Jaden Shaw takes her defender one v.1 creates a chance. Like Boston has completely gambled on the other side, which is we're going to create goals and we're going to win games because our system is different. And inside of that difference, we're going to create chances because the ball will move fast and the fluidity of the play and like all these things. And so when it doesn't work, it's so much worse because there's no bailout inside of the game model. And they're completely exposed. And it's like exposed both open in the field and expose both like as individuals who feel like these players are uncomfortable in what's happened.

Totally. There's a sense of positional play in the way that they're playing. Like they want to occupy certain zones of the field. And it doesn't matter who occupies them. And I think if there was a little bit more structure and who occupies those zones, so you don't see a centerback all the way out as a right winger. And you don't see a midfielder at times maybe getting beyond. But it feels like they're able to fill whatever zone is available to fill,

which can work in the attack because you can cause chaos for the defense to have to figure it out. but if you're not really, really good at connecting those passes and the timing at which you fill the zones, it breaks down like that. Also, you build out deep and you invite the other team. So the percentage of the game that's played in that area of the field is really low because of the decisions you've made. And like, I get a lot of this stuff, right? I believe in passing through pressure.

I believe in inviting pressure because you have. belief in yourself and your group that you can pass through it and that in the long run, like process style, in the long run over the course of the year, we will create more chances from this than we will lose. Yeah. It's just none of it's working and you're putting yourself in really bad spots. And then you continue to start a player who just gives away moments, whether it's red cards or goals. I mean, to conceive the penalty kick in like completely unacceptable.

for a player who's been under pressure in these moments. And at some point the convoy has to be had of, like, show them away from goal if you can, because if you give up the penalty, it's an 85% chance that you've given up a goal. It goes back to just some basic defensive principles. And yes, Bianca St. George isn't a defender, but everybody should know how to defend in one-v-one situations.

And it's just that little bit of patience. And I think when you're, I don't know, if there's pressure on them, but the pressure of making the right play, I think overrode the actual right decision in that moment, which is just keep your feet and invite, you know, invite her to shoot it from there. If she shoots it from there and scores and beats Casey Murphy, it's probably not your fault because you're close enough to get pressure on her,

trying to deny as much as you can. And, you know, you hope for a deflection or you hope for a good save from your goalkeeper, but it's disappointing because Boston did what they've done for pretty much every game. It's like at the end of the games. I know we've talked about the dash and how good they are at the end of the games. Boston's kind of the same way. They believe in themselves that they can get themselves back in this game. They do that.

And then it's just a silly play that takes the point away, gives all three points to North Carolina. And it could have been a really good point for them on the road. Yeah, absolutely. a couple other notes from the weekend. We could talk through all these games. There were some really fascinating swings. We're just yapping today.

Portland 1-0 win over Denver. Sophia Wilson continued to rise up the Golden Boot Run and has put Portland now in this tie for third place, which we'll talk about in a moment. Looking forward to the weekend because they will play against Gotham, who drew 0-0 against Angel City. Roosevelt taken off the field in the first half after a pretty tough collision. Haven't seen official reports out of it yet.

so we'll see how available she can be how soon. And we cannot fail to mention when the Chicago stars get a win because it's been a tough season. Not only they score a goal, they scored three and they beat Louisville who had been on the hottest streak in NWSL with three straight wins, which started with a victory over Chicago. So maybe it's just fair revenge in return. A three-two victory for Chicago. Julia Grosso, her first game in three weeks, scores her first goal of the season, a far post finish in the 85th, 86th minute to win it three to two.

And on the day we get news, by the way, that Chicago will return to the stadium next year, which had been sort of a cloud hanging over this team. They fired their coach. They've got an interim coach with Lauren Donaldson as this coaching sporting director. A lot of chaos around this team. So a victory has to feel pretty good. They had only scored nine goals the whole year.

And they put up three in one game. finally make it to double digits. I think it's the sixth game in which they've scored in. It has been rough for Chicago. But what a win. And this is just how wild this league is. You can play the hottest team and you could be the team that is in the gutter and figure out a way to counteract that and get not just one, not just two, but three goals.

I feel really happy for Chicago. I really do. They needed that. They really did. Mal Swanson with a goal as well. So her second goal since returning, Jimmy's Joseph, her first goal of the season. So congrats to Chicago on that one. Okay, quickly, as I said, midweek game, we won't discuss because we won't have time in advance,

but North Carolina plays Angel City. Next weekend, there are two games on Friday night. And then, no, there is a game on Monday night. Monday night football. I don't know why, but there is one. Boston is hosting, wow, I wrote it down, and then I didn't write it down. Angel City. Boston's hosting Angel City.

So Angel City will come off a midweek game and they will travel out to play. Boston, I do think, though, over the course of the weekend, the two Friday night games might be the best matchups. It starts with Gotham against Portland and then San Diego against Louisville. So Gotham and Portland, the two of the top four teams in terms of form over the last five games. And we said at the beginning here, like Gotham running away with it, where are they going to stand? If Portland wins this game, it's a four point gap with 24 points last. in the season. So if Portland wants a shot at the shield, like this is your chance to control your own destiny. They probably couldn't come at a better time for them with the soccer they've been

playing over the last few weeks and a huge opportunity for this Portland squad. What is the matchup here that you look at? How does Portland maybe go about trying to get a victory against Gotham? Ooh, the matchup. I do think it'll be interesting because the way that Gotham's been utilizing their outside backs in how Wilson and Tordon have played. And, you know, Tordon's actually now playing as a little bit more of a winger, but she's inverted. Inverted. I thought I said that funny.

Love the T on it. I know very. Use a lot of emphasis on that. How do they deal with Tordon? I've really liked what she's been able to do over the last couple of weeks. Maybe that would be my matchup, because how much defense is she's going to have to play? How much defense is Mitch Purs going to have to play? are they going to overload those centerbacks?

Does Carter have to step into the midfield? Yada yada, blah, blah, blah. That's what I'm thinking about. So Roosevelt came out in the game. It was Mandy Freeman that came on, pushed midge purse a little bit high. And, you know, Gotham has this ability to pull a lot of different levers and move some pieces around.

But absolutely, I've said over and over. I think if you want to beat Gotham, you have to make their attacking fullbacks pay on the other side of the field. And Tordon can do that in possession. Lyle's been good. Kaya Hanks obviously would be a huge addition here for whatever minutes she can play. And so that could be a huge opportunity for this Portland team. On the other side of things, how do you manage Dudley?

And how do you manage your backpost? Because I don't think Portland, even though they get a shutout this last game against Denver, they have not been good at managing far post runners and that weak side. And Dudley is, I don't know if the girl's, stops all game. And it was a kind of a spicy matchup between the two the last time they played. Yeah, absolutely. And I think they've been better defensively when M.A. Vignola has gotten the

starts. I think she's the best at staying in tune on the far post, physical enough to deal with the center forward if that's what floats into her area. But then on the other side, they've been pretty open and pretty exposed. But that's going to be perfect game to start the weekend on. must win for Portland, especially if they want to make that run. And everyone else then, right? San Diego and Washington, they're all watching and score more watching to see,

can someone pull Gotham back to the pack a little bit? And then San Diego gets the chance to step on the field right after. And if, you know, we talk about Utah's press and playing through it, what does Louisville do? Because these two teams have played wild games in the past. But for the most part, this is one where Louisville just hasn't been able to figure out how to match their pressing to San Diego's desire for possession. It'll be interesting because how much you change if you're Bev Yanez.

After one loss, you're going to want to go back to what has worked for you, which is winning the ball high up on the field. But you've got to be aware of what's behind and just the pace and the power that they've shown the San Diego team of how quickly they can go in transition. I don't know. We'll see. And you'd hope for Louisville set pieces are a factor because you've got the speed up top to draw fouls. Flint scores a goal off a set piece in this game.

There's a lot of threat on those set pieces. San Diego has fallen asleep in some of those moments. You have to take advantage of those chances. You have to put pressure under them on San Diego. On those set pieces, you also have to make it so that San Diego doesn't want to foul, doesn't want to put it out for a corner kick. Like can you stress them a little bit at least? in that defensive third to then maybe open up an opportunity in the run of play, if not,

take advantage on those set pieces. So those are the ones I had highlighted on Saturday, a range of games, Kansas City, North Carolina. A fun one, though, both teams that have been in really good form. We talked about all the players coming back for Casey. We talked about the improvements for North Carolina, a lot of these young players that have come into this team for the first time, and E.J. and Sanchez sort of leading the run for them. So that was another one to watch out for, and then it all closes out on.

Monday night. I will be back next week to recap at all. Jordan will be away. So we will be back on for your NWSL weekend recap. And then the following week, I will be away. But Jordan will be back on. So Jordan, I will see you when I see you, I guess, at the end of all of this. We will talk very often in the group chat. And we appreciate all of you for listening. Big shout out to Douglas for putting this all together for us. Huge shout out to Katie for the notes. We appreciate that we used and we'll talk to you all again very, very soon.