SoccerWise - Soccerwise: NWSL Edition

Episode Date: June 19, 2024

06:00 Utah's Dramatic Win & Potential Playoff Push09:12 Playoff Push for Utah and Other Teams11:03 Favorite Teams to Watch Debating  Orlando vs KC18:40 Washington Dramatic Equalizer & Celebrating Croix Bethune27:57  San Diego's Struggles in Attack & Kosovare Asllani Rumors 32:15 Defensive Strengths and Pressing Tactics of Gotham FC36:30 Preview Gotham v Wave39:16 Angel City Offensive Woes & Preview of Louisville Matchup44:30 Sophia Smith Red Card Appeal49:03 Seattle Reign New Ownership What It Could Mean For The Club  Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

welcome everybody back into soccer wise we are live here on youtube and twitch david gosh jordan with you here to talk all things NWSL on this Wednesday, as we will every single Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern time. And, of course, anywhere you're listening to your podcast. If you're listening to it right now, if you stumbled on it, and you want to know where to go find it, wherever you listen to podcasts, just search SoccerWise, and you will find us. Happy Juneteenth to all of you who are off.

We are not off, but maybe next year once we figure things out and are a little bit more organized. Jordan, you are down in Florida, I believe, getting ready for an NWSL game tonight. I am. It is midweek action in NWSL. We've gotten a couple of these already, but now this is really my first, I think it's my first midweek game in NWSL. So I'm going to be on CBS Sports Network tonight. So I have the beautiful rays of the Florida sunshine hitting me in my hotel room right now. I'll take it. We have beautiful rays in New York, and it is 1,000 degrees, and I won't take it.

So I'm a little bit jealous of that, and I would take your AC plus your rays down in Florida. But there are two matches coming up midweek that we will talk about. You are on the call for Angel City. I'm going to be on the call for Gotham against San Diego. So we've got a lot to talk about with all of that. We'll react to the weekend as well. Big ownership news in Seattle that we're going to talk about what the future is for the rain and how exciting this is, as well as some other big news and notes across the NWSL. So if you haven't joined us yet, Tuesday, Wednesdays, Thursdays,

we are live every day at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Tom Bogert was with me yesterday talking mainly MLS. We will preview the Copa America tomorrow. Every Wednesday we are here talking NWSL. I did NWSL coverage on Monday for our weekend reaction show. That will happen every single week. If you want to get your questions in there, if you want to control that rundown, if you want to get involved, go to Patreon.

You can find the link. We are posting on social media, SoccerWise there at Patreon. If you subscribe, you get into the Discord. You can start to build the mailbag out. You get to build the rundown for the Monday show. So anything you want to talk about on this monday uh we had some fun stuff we talked about our three favorite young players in the league i don't know why i say we when it's just me you and your other voice in your head well it's like being a tennis player where you're like at my team and it's like serena you're the only one who won this championship it's like

well me and my team think this and it's like no one else is you're the only one who won this championship. And it's like, well, me and my team think this. And it's like, no one else is on the court. But you need that mental side to be able to stay involved with everyone. So we did that on Monday as well as breaking down some weekend moments. And so while you're watching games on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, whenever it is, and you're thinking something, you want to talk about it, you want to find someone to engage with, you can do that on our Discord and you can send those questions in. If I don't get to it on Monday, we will do it on Wednesday as well, talking all things NWSL.

And of course, we've got an Olympics coming up, so some international to talk about as well as this summer goes along. After tonight, we will officially be at the midway point of the nwsl season the top four right now are all on long undefeated streaks for gotham sitting in fourth i think it's at eight games washington at four and then jordan casey and orlando are in a stratosphere of their own yeah well i'm gonna i'm gonna say just one correction washington is at five now so they're feeling good about that okay but then k City and Orlando 15 for Kansas City Orlando at 14 and they've really been the story of the season to be unbeaten in that long of a stretch for Kansas City it has kind of been something that we thought maybe would happen

land last year but now with Vako Inonovsky at the helm They've really found a way that they can be exciting game in and game out. They've scored 33 goals, which is incredible. But on the other side of things, I think there's some surprises on the bottom of the table as we hit the halfway point. Maybe not with Bay and Utah new expansion teams sitting in 12th and 14th respectively, but rain sitting in 13th I know we're going to talk about that as this podcast goes on but there is I think a lot of changes in NWSL this year which would have created a lot of a lot more discrepancies you know the league last year was decided 12 points from the top to the bottom of the table at the end of the year. I don't think we're going to see that tight of a table this year, but I think we're going to see some of these teams that are in the middle

start to differentiate themselves from the teams at the bottom. It is going to be interesting. We're going to talk, you mentioned about Seattle. Hopefully this changes very quickly for them because they have officially been given new ownership. And the hope is that that starts to roll things along. But you mentioned the bottom. Besides Seattle, it's the expansion teams.

And you were on the call for the expansion. You were calling it the Derby? Is that what you're calling it? Yeah. I mean, we got to have a Derby if we can make one up, right? We can make up as many rivalries as we want. That is something I've learned in American soccer over the last 10 years. Utah against Bay.

I wanted to ask you every week, what's the best thing you saw on one of your calls this weekend? And you wanted to go with Utah. Yeah, Utah hadn't picked up points in too long of a time. Their last win was the second week of season. And going on the road against a Bay team. It felt like this was going to be not just the expansion Darby, but like some bragging rights on the line as to who took home points. And it was the beautiful head of Kate Del Fava

with a head goal off of Allie Centenor, who gets yet another assist in her young rookie career. It felt like there was the biggest relief. I think I haven't seen people smile as big as I did those Utah players after the goal went in. And this is what we need in this league. We need every single team on any day to be able to win. And in order to do that, those teams at the bottom of the table need to produce results like this. And I think this is a really big win for Utah because despite their record, I feel like over the last month, we're starting to see them really create a different identity and how, how they want to play.

Sometimes the attacking third is the hardest place to see that happen. Yeah. And it feels like the idea was to build stability from the back first as an expansion team. It's not every team's decision. You think to like how San Diego started things. You think to sort of how Bay has tried to start things. A little disappointing in their attack in this game. But when you look at this Utah team, I think you mentioned it on the broadcast.

Their lines felt a little more connected and it felt a little more cohesive in their build outs there were moments where there could have been big mistakes that a bay takes advantage of especially with their ability to counter press that utah was able to guide themselves through and manage that maybe they wouldn't have been able to even two or three weeks ago and that's one of the difficulties of starting from scratch and trying to be a possession-oriented team. We saw North Carolina do this at the beginning of last season, where they would just give up silly goals because they're trying to play out of the back. But now what do we see is North Carolina, the best possession team in the league, maybe not the most effective in the attacking third,

but I think that's what we're starting to see from Bay, from Utah, is these teams want to play. And so you have to be willing to give your players the leash to make mistakes in order to learn. And one of the things I love from Avian Rodriguez is she said, it's not win or lose, it's win or learn. And this team is starting to learn. How can we tighten up lines? How can we be a little bit more direct? And when we do have possession, break lines as quickly as possible and when they did that they got into the attacking third did they create enough to be the outright winners of this game where you would watch it and say oh Utah should have won that game no I don't think so but I think that you start to see glimpses of who this team can be and for an expansion team, 13 games into the season, I don't know how much more you can ask.

So what's the future? Do you think a playoff push this season is in the cards? If you are a part of that front office, if you are in conversations with the coaching staff, like is that is that the goal? And would you do things drastically to try and get there? I I can't imagine that's not the goal for any team, right? There's eight teams that make the playoffs. So there is an opportunity to be one of those eight teams for sure for Utah. And this is a league I never say never.

Gotham made it by the skin of their teeth last year and ended up winning the championship. Two years ago, it was Kansas City went from worst to first. So I think, is there a possibility that Utah could do this? Absolutely. But in order to do that, talk to me in a month after transfer window opens and who they get, because I don't think this team is going to be as effective as they can be if they don't get a nine and they don't get a different type of midfielder whether it's it's probably most likely a 10 right they have players that can play in the eight they have quality sixes but can you get somebody that can be a little bit

more of a linker and a final pass distributor for this Utah squad with a nine like but those are the two hardest places to fill every every maybe talk to me in a month guys we're about to talk San Diego they're looking for one you talk North Carolina trying to find that finishing quality they've made another offensive addition here uh this week so every team is looking for that final finishing piece it feels like outside of Orlando and Kansas City. I did this question on Monday. What was the team that I enjoy watching the most? I said Kansas City.

It may have been a little cliche. They score the most. They concede the most. What could you not love about it? 2-2 again this weekend. I want to go to your answer first before we dig a little more into Casey. Did you say outside of Kansas City or Orlando? Like I shouldn't pick those two?

No, no, no, no. I said, I was asked which team I enjoy watching the most. Not, well, who's the best team? Yeah. Not who's going to win. Which team do I enjoy watching the most? Yeah. Oh, that, that's hard.

Does that change your answer? A little bit. I do love, I'm going to stick with my answer but i will say i've always since sean nahas took over i love the way that north carolina plays and i feel like they are really they can create overloads and manipulate defenses really well the final product has not been there this year maybe that would be be different if they had one Caroline up top for them. But I'm going to still go with Orlando because I like what Sub Hines has done with this group because I think last year we saw Orlando be a little bit one-dimensional

where they really hurt teams in transition moments, stretching the lines. You think of the goals, Messiah O'Briain, Adriana scored very direct goals. And we're seeing that still this year, which is great. Keep your strength, your strength. And I think that's one of the things that teams get away from when they start to build other layers in their group. But this year, because of what they've built over the last two years, really now under Seb Hines is they are so comfortable with the ball at their feet that they can shift into a back three and play more out of a three, four, three and create overloads and build up and use Morgan Gattraw and Haley McCutcheon centrally, or even summer Yates to at times be a winger at times via pseudo midfielder and come in, tuck inside

and be a 10inger at times be a pseudo midfielder and come in tuck inside and be a 10 alongside Marta I just like the way that Orlando has been able to hit you with like a little bit of a one-two punch like you can't always think they're gonna hit the left hook because then here comes the right jab and you're like what the heck how do we defend this I really like the variety and the way that they attack. And yeah, I think Raffaele is my favorite center back in this league to watch. So then from front to back, you're just, it's very enjoyable. Are you a lefty? I became a lefty because I tore my ACL three times on my left knee and I didn't like planting on that leg.

So then I was like, I'll I'll just well it started before that but yeah I I'm naturally right-footed but I played on the left side most of my career okay because most lefties enjoy watching lefties yeah and Rafael is one of those players where it's effortless she plays through the lines like you said but anytime you give her the ability to open up towards the sideline you're you're crushed yeah so that's where i was just guessing um if i could play with my left foot then it would be very useful as well but i will take not having torn my acl to not get there yeah i think that's a good plan but i can understand the quality of being two-footed which is what everyone told me i always should be, and I never was. This Orlando team, like you mentioned, a lot of different ways to beat you. The fact that they've established who they were of we will stretch you, we'll be direct,

then you add Banda into that, which makes teams worry about it more. It's opened up all that space underneath. And you see, even early in games, they establish balls over the top, Banda then presses, they can counter press. All of those things. You just see teams slowly start to create those gaps. And one of the things I think they do so well is that second ball. It's ball over the top.

Banda chases. A center back or a full back will get an awkward header to it. And then when it falls there in that middle gap, that's where they take advantage. And that's where they go. I don't know what it looks like in the playoffs. that's like what will i think get to over the second half of the year which is just yeah we saw some high-flying teams last year in the regular season the game condenses in the playoffs those easy transition moments just don't exist can they rely on that possession like can they lean on that for full 90 minutes and beat good teams?

I don't know that I'm there yet. Yeah. But it's not that. But Casey doesn't have that either. Casey. Casey is just can we ratchet it up to 170 miles per hour? And at some point, can we catch you? And that also is not normally playoff style.

Kansas City. They just create more chances than anybody else. You're talking about the two best teams in Kansas City and Orlando. Well, Kansas City has created 44 chances this year and converted 52% of those, whereas 42 big chances, I should say. And Orlando has created 29. That's the discrepancy between the two. Where it's almost nearly 20 different chances that Kansas City, they're just very direct, very aggressive.

First and second ball hogs. Like, they dominate that space. And then they make you, you know, you talk about Banda, but Shoenga has been the same. And now that Bia Zanarata is back, like Bia is going to score goals like she did the other day. And she's also going to score goals in open play. So, yeah, they're terrifying. 16 goal scorers now?

Yeah. It is. And chanting for more, as we said, in Kansas City every single time. Yes. Which is a lot of fun as well. For KC, 2-2 against Chicago. Chicago goals both ends of the game. First half, Swanson pretty much a wonder goal, kind of on her own.

She takes the throw quickly to try and rush play. She is constantly trying to set pace for this team. And no one really seems to be able to get there with her, which I think you see the frustration you can hear the frustration in the way she's interacting with the team but when she does get there all of a sudden openings are created and there are opportunities it's just I think about getting her even more central and that she's always able to affect the play a little bit more and can set that tone then they get the goal all the way on the other end with Staub on the set piece, who I think was feeling it a little on the second Casey goal starts with her possession play

out of the back. And so she's able to get a little vengeance there at the end. Yeah, always nice as a center back to get that set piece vengeance. This is the weak spot for Kansas City, and it has been since the beginning of the year. And I have asked about it to them like what's going to be the difference on set pieces and I think they're starting to realize like this is a true weakness and they drop points because they are not good in set piece situations you have to if you're defending those like this is this is mentality's all it is, mentality of I am going to win the ball or the space,

but this attacker is not going to win either. And it's too easy for Stob to float into the space right at the top of the six. I don't think AD can come out for that. I do think it is a defender. And they have zonal defenders and that has to be the zonal defenders duty. So, um, yeah, I just, I think that that's their, their weak spot right now. And in order to continue this run that they have, but more than that, you mentioned playoffs is we're halfway there. You have to shore these things up to bring

confidence to your group, knowing that if a game depends on it you can defend set pieces and right now Kansas City is not making anybody feel confident that that is the case it has it's been interesting so far it's kept games lively um we'll see what happens let's talk about our other top games of the weekend as we get into our midweek preview um because three or four of the big ones they play as well tonight. Let's start with Washington against San Diego. Washington, a record crowd, a sellout. I talked about it a little bit on Monday. They did not get the win they would like. I thought they had the performance you would like in putting on a show for your fans, and then they get the stoppage time equalizer on basically

the last kick. Corey Bethune, again, incredible season five goals seven assists i believe 10 assists is the record for a full season in nwsl so well on pace to break that um in her rookie year which is a little bit absurd and it goes to the conversation of there doesn't really feel like there's a ceiling on her game. We were shocked when we saw Naomi Girma be Defender of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Kroybethune could very well be Rookie of the Year and MVP of this league. Because she is relentless. Her work rate defensively is exactly what is asked of her for this Washington team. So she picks balls. She can distribute going forward in quick transition moments.

She can score like this when the game is dependent on it. She is well, like she'll strap the pack on and say, I'll carry you guys. I don't even care if it takes, if there's two seconds left, we're going to figure out a way to win. I just love her attitude of, I am not going to settle for anything but victory. And I think that they didn't, we know that they didn't get a victory in this, but the way that they scored at the end of the game and the fashion, which they scored from this long ball from Kruger, it was deflected. Like it's not, it's not a perfect ball, but it's enough hope put into it.

And the run from Bethune, the finish is absolute perfection. She drives it into the net. And I just think, I don't know what there is that she doesn't do well. And that's really interesting because there was a lot of talk, even going into the draft. She was probably the best player, but people were curious, is it going to translate into NWSL? And she must have heard that because she's like, yeah, it's going to translate and it's going to translate right away. I just feel like this is the perfect place for her and she has been thriving because it's because of Rodman and Hatch and other players that can take a little attention off of her she's been able to have a little bit more space in

certain situations and then she'll distribute or she'll score I it's been so fun to watch this rookie just go off it's incredible um as you said and i i don't want to do the like it can always be better i do think there is still room for improvement in that i think there are moments where she anticipates that she could be stopped when she can't like there was a few transitional moments in this game where san diego's scrambling and she plays like an early ball and when if she continues no one's stepping to her or if someone does recognizing that yeah and and i can understand you've got sarah and rodman running with you like why are you going to hold on to it and i do think that's with the assist that's a massive part of her game is like she's not she is not the 1v1 demon that Rodman is.

That's not her game. Right. I think she's looking to set up even more than score. I think that's correct. Yeah. And combine as well, which makes the game easier. There are a few moments where I just thought she played early, almost deferential to the more experienced players, the more senior players in the team.

And I think as the year goes along, that go away a little bit as well as understanding the spacing a little bit more of like when I'm able to beat players where is everyone else on the field and I don't have to rush things after that moment and saying all of that again on the way to a potential record season yeah and when when I say like she I don't know what she doesn't do well, like, well is not the goal, right? She does everything really, really well, but is there another level? Absolutely, and I think that's a really good differentiation of, like, here's a nuance to her game that she can get better at, but I hope in getting better at all those other things,

it only enhances the other parts of her game that are already really good like transition moments finding the pockets all the things that she has been really good for the spirit this season already uh so the spirit are in third right now um you mentioned five undefeated there is still this looming jonathan heraldes is going to take over esme mor Morgan has signed. And it sounded like in her comments, a lot of the reason was because he was coming in to play for him. Yeah, I'd play for him.

And to play in that atmosphere, right? One of the best training facilities. They sell out the game, the stadium. Everything is right with Washington. The success has not been there. The four first round draft picks have all hit. They are on the right way. But it is odd to think that change is coming to a team that's doing well because change will always take time it's always there's always going to be a little bit of an experience we don't know when he's going to take over so we're not going to dig into it too much now we're waiting a little bit

as that comes to see what it means for this team and what goes down. Obviously, Adrian Gonzalez was chosen to help already institute the style, so we don't think it'll change too much. But it's been really entertaining from Washington. I think they're the best pressing team in the league when they go high, when they're able to get touch tight, and when they're able to impose themselves off the ball. And they did that for large stretches against San Diego in this game.

San Diego broke them. They get the first goal. Jaden Shaw gets set up by Maria Sanchez. And for this San Diego team, that is not super common. So they are 0-3-3 on the road so far this season. They struggled to score goals. Only two goals in their last two games. Both were set up by Sanchez, and yet she still feels like she has not been woven into this team

overall. And that, along with the lack of center forward production, probably the two glaring issues for this San Diego squad right now. It's interesting, right? Because you look at San Diego's roster, and you wouldn't have guessed that they're the second fewest goals in the league. They've only scored 10 goals this year. Gosh, they have not found what they want their attack to look like. And Casey Stoney loves wingers who are attacking-minded, 1v1 threats, good in the channels. And I think Maria Sanchez can give you that. But I also think Maria Sanchez's ability in the channel is actually from like a little bit deeper of a space. Like she doesn't want to get to the end line and cross.

She wants to beat a defender with about 30 to 20 to 30 yards, right? and whip in an early cross. That, to me, is where she is elite. Can she do the other stuff? Yes. But how can you set up this team where you are, like you said, weaving this player in a little bit more? Can you shift everything and isolate Maria Sanchez a little bit more so everybody's a little bit more shifted to the right. That's where your buildup comes from. And then as she gets the ball and goes attacking, your numbers can come inside the box from runs from that right side with the cross coming from

her from the left. It feels like San Diego is a little lost in the attacking third. Their decision-making isn't as on point, I think, as we would expect this team in the build that they're in under Stoney in this time of the year with Morgan Shaw, Sanchez, Caruso, who plays as the nine at times too. There should be more goals in this squad. And I think that that is not, they're not the only team that is dealing with that this year.

But is it, and this is a weird thing to say, but is it a midfield piece that can help them figure out a way to be a little bit more dominating in possession so they can find more opportunities when they get into the attacking third. Because that goal comes from a really good passing sequence. Those passing sequences are few and far between when they do want to be a passing dominant team. So I think there's something centrally that could be slightly better for them,

or it's just being brave at playing through the lines and the movement off the ball has to be a little bit more so they can progress the ball in the way that they want to. And you mentioned that passing sequence it's McCaskill in the half space who's able to connect a lot of times it feels like the midfield is a little too deep and a lot of the possession is middle third to defensive third instead of in the attacking third to create those chances and then when it is in that attacking third then they can't find ways to isolate Sanchez like you said and so it's kind of been this weird in between of Sanchez can get space but only when you're too far from goal or only when there aren't options and then we've

got those options higher up the field it goes away I thought there were some decent ideas in bringing Jacobson inside in their press when Washington would build out of having more players centrally, because if you turn it over, the first pass can go wide. Now you've got players attacking the box. James Shaw, of course, scores from a moment like that. You mentioned midfield options. The rumor out there right now is potentially Kosovar Aslani

an interest in coming. So the last we heard from her in April, her deal at Milan is up. And her quote was, it's a current topic to talk about. I'm on an expiring contract. After all, I'm evaluating the situation. It's not something I want to talk about right now. That is not a I'm coming back 100%. And that is not a this isn't being talked about.

So she is a free agent. She is available. She obviously has played with Jakobsen. They've moved teams twice together. They play international together. She's expressed interest in coming back to NWSL, 34 years old. She is not that central midfield player that you were talking about, but she is an elite attacker

in the world is that enough for you is that something that excites you the idea of this move happening I think I think it's exciting I wish she wasn't 34 right because but if you're Casey Stoney and you're looking at how can I make this team better for this season, which San Diego needs to be, when you have a player like Alex Morgan and essentially Jaden Shaw who aren't scoring as much as they should be scoring, well, is that because they're not getting the ball as much as they should? And Asani would help with that, right? She is a very good winger, and she could elevate the work in the channels for this team.

I just, that wouldn't be my first choice when I would be building this team. I would look for, depending on where you want to play Jaden Shaw, right? If you think she's a 10, I think she can play as a 10, but can you start her as a winger and tuck her inside and play more of a box midfield with two 10s next to each other, utilizing your outside back higher up the field? I think that could be a possibility. So maybe then you go for a little bit more of an attacking-minded 8-10 combination type player. Could Aslani play centrally? Yeah, I think she could, but that's not why people know her name. She's a winger. So I don't know. I don't jump up out historically. Of course, I think we all want to watch her

play in NWSL, play with this team. I get your point of view, which is she's not the exact fix. So rather than just try and get talent in the door, go for the exact fix. The only reason it excites me, or one of the main reasons, is because it does open up flexibility with Shaw,

which is they can swap in and out of those wide positions. Shaw could play center forward, which is you don't really know what's going on with Alex Morgan right now. She's not scoring. She doesn't look comfortable. She's still coming back from injury. So that opens Shaw up to play there as well. I think doing all of that puts you in a safer place going forward

and being able to say, like, we have more options. A reminder as well that San Diego hired a new general manager a week ago in camille ashton who came from kc and seemed to like putting big names on the roster and making big moves like a dabina and stuff like that so this would go in that if you can get a player like this on a free at this point of the year i don't know that you can get more talent um this on a free at this point of the year I don't know that you can get more talent but it would be interesting because I mentioned the connection with Jakobsen she's probably replacing Jakobsen I know that's where I was like they're not going to play at the same time together and if they do it's very few minutes but you you add in the the new league

tournament you go into the it's the biggest season ever and the longest season I think adding talent just helps and maybe it even forces you to reshift some things which maybe helps Maria Sanchez get involved at the way you'd like her to as well uh San Diego travels to Gotham tonight that one's at 7 p.m eastern time and so it's coming up soon Gotham beat Louisville 2-0 in their game this weekend that one on ESPN early on Saturday this makes it four wins in a row for Gotham eight undefeated in the four wins in a row they've only conceded two goals it feels like with Tierna Davidson the way she's playing you put that entire back four you know that spine from Berger all the way through into central midfield.

And this is now the core of what Gotham is built on as they deal with the injuries in the attacking third. And they moved Emily Sonna into a center back position, which I personally, I think that is her best position. As a six, she is inconsistent in how she can connect passes going forward. As a center back, she has a little bit more leeway and more options. I feel like she's much more effective in that spot. And I think the combination of those two has solidified who they are defensively. But they're also just a team that's relentless in the way that they press. I thought over the weekend against Louisville,

they gave Louisville no breathing room at all to play out of the back. And if the first line of defense didn't win the ball, it was those center backs stepping up and managing the front runners for this racing team to step in front and then keep the pressure on. Granted, the game was in the middle of the day it was hot and um you know who's gonna adjust to that better i would not want to play gotham in the way that they press and how good they are at finding whatever space gets broken down and repressing in that area i thought they just made made night, well, made the noon game really difficult for Louisville.

And that's one of the things that Juan Carlos Almaraz has always wanted to do is win the ball back as high up on the field as possible. And they're doing that now, but then they're also converting those chances, which they weren't at the beginning of the year. Yeah. And they, like you said, they won it so often high up the field that they had the opportunity to sometimes connect, sometimes go direct. The game looked very easy.

Louisville felt out of it. Just the spirit taken out of them very quickly by the way Gotham played. And you add in the fact that, like, you kind of know you're not getting chances. You're not going to score a ton of goals. So once you give up the first one, you know you add in the fact that like you kind of know you're not getting chances you're not going to score a ton of goals so once you give up the first one you know you're chasing the game against this gotham team shout out to nj goonies in the twitch chat who said go bats um we're talking gotham for you right now ella stevens is out with an injury for this midweek match it's all on top of a long list of injured players ester did not play uh this weekend lynn williams is out so the attack really struggling on top of kelly o'hara who has

not been available uh and a number of other players for this team steven's phenomenal goal on the second goal um against louisville that finish that's like a pure striker finish and she did not she seemed prepared for that moment. And you see the celebration as well, which I mentioned on Monday, of like, you're on a team with Astaire and Lynn Williams, the all-time goal scorer in NWSL history now. Spain's starting center forward World Cup winner. And she's doing the calm down, like relax celebration,

filling in there. And like, I wouldn't guarantee that she's not in the lineup if she's healthy and everyone's healthy with the way things work, which is a great problem for Gotham to have. She's not available tonight. San Diego come into Red Bull Arena. This is the middle of what is three road games in eight days because this game was rescheduled because of the NWSL Challenge Cup where San Diego went to Red Bull Arena and won. What do you make of what this game will look like tonight?

Yeah, well, the list of injuries for Gotham, as you said, is going to change things regardless. But one of the things that Juan Carlos Amor has done since he's gotten to Gotham is I'm not sure, maybe a couple of times he's started the same starting XI. He tinkers with things all the time. So I think that is an advantage to Gotham is I'm not sure maybe a couple of times he started the same starting 11 like he tinkers with things all the time so I think that is an advantage to Gotham that they have players who come in and play positions that you wouldn't normally think like Bruninha playing as a winger they have Matani who plays centrally or can play in the in center back so they have a little bit of a one-up I think on San Diego despite the injuries

with just the fluidity of how you can start this game for San Diego after the result knowing that you have another game on the road in Houston I I wouldn't be surprised if we see a mixed lineup from them here tonight give a mix in the way like, maybe Kira Caruso gets the start. Maybe they try to bring in a certain amount of players that they want to keep the cohesion, like a Morgan Sanchez and Shaw. Maybe they can't play 90, but they can play 45.

So you play them at the end of the game. You bring them in at the 60th minute, because we all know that NWSL stoppage time now is a lot. So to get them 45 minutes you bring them bring them in at 60 and um that gives them the full 45 with the stoppage time at the end um and so you keep that cohesion a little bit if you're casey stoney this is just a thought um thinking can we be good defensively not give up a lot of opportunities, and then at the end of the game try to push and go for something. It's hard.

You're on a three-game road streak. You have not won on the road, and you have to pick up points in one of these two games. So are the tactics slightly different tonight than they're going to be in Houston? I think yes. But each team has different problems they can pose. So that's just my thought. Maybe a little rotation there. Yeah, I think you're right. You have to be realistic and look at the moment and say,

if we can get three points over the next week, we're happy. More likely that's going to happen in Houston than at Gotham. And you have to be realistic as well with managing your players and like not risking everything in this week. So I agree with you on San Diego. Rotate some pieces. Also, it hasn't been perfect. So can you give someone an opportunity to maybe prove themselves in a different position?

You mentioned rotation at center forward. I think that makes a ton of sense. I think there's like a few spots here where you can bring Maya Jones back in to the team. And she's been really, I think she's been really exciting when she's been on the field. Can she give you a little bit of a boost in this game for Gotham? I wouldn't be shocked. I guess there's a few different ways you can go about this. I would not be shocked if Zabroni comes in to start in central midfield and Yasmeen Ryan gets pushed into center forward,

which is how she finished against Louisville, because the wings are really the only place of depth right now in that attack with Crystal Dunn being back. And it feels like you have a little bit of an option there to sort of toggle with that center forward position with someone out, someone trying to help there and see what you can get in this game. But it's going to be really fun. That one's at 7 p.m. Eastern time tonight.

So we're coming up on it. We know that. And there's a second game tonight. Angel City facing off against Louisville. That's the game you're on. That one's at 10 p.m. Eastern time. Angel City, one goal in their last three matches. You were on their game this weekend.

You do it again tonight. Is there a fix in this team? Is there something you'd like to see them try to try and get the attack started? The fix, Goss, for me is just that they're honestly in the right spot. It's just the decision-making when they get there. I mentioned it on the broadcast. Alyssa Thompson had chances, and she's going high on Jane Campbell, who's one of the best shot stoppers in the league. And that is a nuance of finishing that has to be on point in this league. You know, Alyssa Thompson goals last year has not scored a goal this year. And it's those little changes and how she can get better in advance or game that I think are going to be the difference. And it's not just her. You know, they missed a penalty. They drew a penalty. So

there's all these things that are positive for Angel City when they get into the attack. It's just, am I finishing with the right surface? Am I choosing the right pace in which I shoot to, maybe it's not a power moment. Maybe it's more of a placement moment and I think for Angel City it feels like more than other teams that they're they're close to figuring out what the final third is going to look like and a lot of that has to do with how confident they feel in their build they're building more out of this three to structure which allows Giselle Thompson who is playing outside back to be more integral in how they move the ball up the field whether she comes inside or stays in the channel same with Emsley those two have a really good relationship with one another and how they

create going forward so it feels like if I if I had to be a team that was frustrated on how my last touch or my last pass was in the final just, I think, something that if you are a team in this moment where you're saying so much of it is close, how do we get over the line? I think just having a personality like that come back into your team can be that emotional boost that everyone's looking for. Because like you said, you are this close. At some point, your hope is the dam breaks and it just starts flowing. Tonight againstisville could be an opportunity um we talked a little before we got on how impressed we were about louisville's

defensive shape early in the season and how as it feels like they've tried to get more numbers around savannah de mello that defensive shape has started to fall apart and you saw it in the gotham game with their ability to play between lines stretch the back line especially and then challenge on those counter pressing moments that Louisville probably has to try and find that again yeah one of the reasons that I feel like they were so effective early on I think both of their first two goals were through good defensive pressure a little deeper in their own half, and then finding the outlet on the opposite side. And you can still see that pattern in the way that Sears has scored goals or even been on the dribble. All those videos we've seen of Emma Sears and how fast she dribbles down the

field have come in those quick change of point of attack moments. So you build those by being tight, compact defensively, whether it's between the seams vertically on your team or horizontally. And I think especially in that game against Gotham, it was a midday game, right? So when you get tired, what happens? You start to get a little lazy in your positioning. You can't do that against a team like Gotham.

And you can't do it at Angel City because this is one of the loudest places to play in NWSL. So can they make sure their seams are really good and tight and compact? Because one of the things that I learned early on in this league, if you have a good defensive structure and you do the work, you're oftentimes in a really good spot for quick transition moments because you're in between those seams of the defenders then as you transition and you can get after a team quickly.

That's going to be key for Louisville tonight against Angel City, because Angel City feels like they're on the heels of this game against Houston where they missed a penalty. They get a goal not called at the end of the game where they feel like it wasn't a rightful goal, right? I'm sure that's the feeling in the camp. So you're struggling to score. Then you have these two opportunities and you're like, enough is enough, right?

I feel like this is the tipping point for them. So if Louisville is not good in their structure, they're never going to be able to figure out how they can go forward and support Savannah DeMello. And I know that feels weird talking about defense and how it helps offense, but that truly is what has been so good for them. is a lot to work on for louisville uh going forward as we said after tonight we'll be at the midway point of the season so everyone's still alive and i think the second half of this season is going to be a lot of fun we're going to have fun covering it here follow us soccer wise h, anywhere on your social handles.

SoccerWise, anywhere you listen to your podcasts. Every week we will be here. Wednesday, 2 p.m. Eastern Time Live. And then, of course, anywhere you get your pods. Plus the weekend review stuff. Get in the Patreon so you can get the Discord and talk NWSL with us as the season rolls along. Seattle and Portland, Cascadia rivalry game. rivalry game zero zero this weekend we don't want to talk a ton about it because for portland it was their lowest xg of the season but a large part of

that was because sophia smith was not in the team sophia smith suspended because of i think you've all seen it the silly second yellow card she got for a red card in the previous match where she tried to hide the ball on the sideline. Okay. It happened. Move on. It doesn't matter. Who cares? Then it comes out, I believe, yesterday that Portland appealed the red card and that NWSL, not only did they uphold the red card,

they doubled Sophia Smith's punishments both in terms of games suspended and fine financially. And then they took away Portland's right to appeal any other red card for the rest of this entire season, all of 2024 until we get into the next year. I've never really seen a league do this, but I have been in conversations where you have to put up money to appeal and some teams don't want to risk the money. And then other leagues will do where you have a limit on appeals. Do you want to risk the appeal? And this, I feels like was the end of yourself saying you're wasting our time and

you're making us all look bad by just trying to ignore the fact that the most viral moment of the last two weeks was this clear play that everyone saw happen. And so the punishment comes down, and Sophia Smith will be suspended for two games now, which doesn't look great for their XG going forward in those games and doesn't look great for Portland. So the thing that happened because of the NWSL PA, they now have an option to go in and change that.

So Sophia Smith will be at the game this weekend. So they rescinded that second game. The PA was able to go in. That's because of the, why can't I think of the, what's that called? The CBA? Yeah, the CBA. Gosh, brain fart there. Because of the CBA, they could go in and do that.

So she will be, after getting suspended for the second game because of the appeal. They then appealed it and now it's only one game. I didn't know there was a third appeal. This is just getting a little wonky isn't it? It's actually just like it feels very circus to me because

did they think just because it's Sophia Smith like they're not going to give her the suspension, like the red card wasn't going to count. It was a clear second yellow. And it is, it is a moment where as a player, you have to say,

I'm sorry. I had a brain fart as Jordan just did on the CBA. And you take, take responsibility for your actions. There is no one you need to blame in this moment, but Sophia Smith. And you take responsibility for your actions. There is no one you need to blame in this moment but Sophia Smith. And I'm not saying she's the one that appealed it because she's probably not. But in that moment, why don't you just say, like, we're done with it? Because I just, I don't, I never see this being brought back.

Because it was caught on camera in multiple angles and we could see the look in her eye and the cheekiness of the flick of the ball underneath the bench it just is like comical to me that this was appealed i can't even believe it it also comes in this moment where you promote rob gail to interim manager you win six straight games from that moment. And it's like, things are going in the right direction. This, like you said, this whole thing is comical circus.

Like, and it just feels bad from the thorns who are finally in this good moment. Like why risk this? Why? Why waste the energy? Waste the time. And I think in, in the moment with Smith getting the card,

it's like, it was a silly moment. It happens. Now all of a sudden it's like it was a silly moment. It happens. Now all of a sudden it's like a top down. Yeah. It's a top down brain fart for the entire team. That is, I guess, going to be the new title of this show.

Okay, perfect. Is the brain fart episode going forward. Congratulations, by the way, Sophia Smith. She just got engaged. Yeah. So congrats there. And I'm glad that my appeal appeal was not the last appeal. There was a lot of appeals. And the final appeal is she's playing this weekend.

She'll be on the field, which is fantastic. On the flip side for Seattle, we teased it off the top. They have officially changed ownership. So, of course, Olympic Lyonnais' ownership group had acquired them a few years ago, playing as O.L. Reign, has changed the name back to Seattle Rain and then finally sold them off to Carlisle group and the Seattle Sounders, Seattle Sounders ownership. So the Carlisle group is the majority ownership,

but the Seattle Sounders will be the managing partner. So they will be the ones who will sit on the, on the NWSL soccer boards as their representative. They will be the ones running the sit on the NWSL soccer boards as their representative. They will be the ones running the team day to day. Of course, CenturyLink Field, where both teams play. Adrian Hanauer, technically the owner of all of that, going down. And at this point, the Reign are now training at Starfire Training Center, which is where the Sounders were training before they moved over to their new training facility,

I believe at the start of this year. So it's a lot of technical stuff. It's big news for Seattle for a number of reasons. Jordan, I read through the release and tried to get all the things figured out. The one thing that stuck out to me that was interesting on top of what you'd expect, which is, you know, everyone's saying we want to do great things. We want to continue progressing. We want to continue pushing this is it sounds like there will be some Seattle Sounders staff that will now start working with the rain as well without taking away staff from the rain. So it just feels like an increase to the ranks.

My assumption would be a lot of that goes down to analytics, scouting and medical. Those are things where they can cross over very quickly, very easily. And Seattle has been at the forefront of a lot of those things in MLS. You bring that into NWSL and you can very quickly take a jump because that is one of the things we hear when we talk about NWSL front offices is just not having enough staff, not having the ability to have people focused on scouting consistently in different regions or scouting outside of North America to find players. And the analytics should help you get there very quickly without having to have so much human power working on all these things.

So that should be exciting. The other thing is this is a team that has been hemorrhaging players since going to the final last year, and they have not been able to cover for it because we don't know who's in charge and that now has changed those two things go hand in hand though don't they goss like you have to be able to have the people to identify the talent to be able to bring them in in the key moments when you're going to need them because i think that's one of the interesting things about nwsl over the offseason is the increase in international spots and the utilization of that by the top teams in this league went out and made big splashes

in the international market to bring in game-changing players. So now is that going to be something? Maybe it was something that Seattle had in the works, but when you don't have an owner who is going to help support you when the trade deadline comes to say hey i want this player can can we get her right now or walk into a room with a potential free agent and say like this is what the next three years look like exactly sign this contract and live here and be a part of this i think you saw that with some of the players that chose to leave and seattle need it they need

a refresh in this group right now so i am hopeful this next transfer window means the utilization of some big splashing changes and when it comes to players coming in international think players coming in because um it is it has been pretty bleak for them. The top eight of 14 make the playoffs. Seattle currently sitting in 13 on eight points. They are seven points off that playoff spot, all the way from six down to 12. It is a five-point gap.

So the ability to get up there exists. This kind of potentially could feel like everyone had their chance to put their distance between Seattle and everyone else. And Laura Harvey now has the ability to add to her roster to try and amp things back up again. And in the past, Seattle has done that and they've done that at a high level. I think about 10,000 fans at the game this weekend.

They are one of the best-supported teams in the league. People want to play there. People want to be a part of the legacy of this club, and now having that secured for the future, like you said, it's going to be quick going forward. One final note before we get out of here. We mentioned North Carolina, their possession, their identity, a lack of goals.

They made two acquisitions this week. The big one, Australian possession, their identity, a lack of goals. They made two acquisitions this week. The big one, Australian Courtney Vine coming over, winger for the Australian national team, as well as playing professionally in the A-League alongside Charlotte McLean, who also has signed 24-year-old center back, two-time all-league player in the A-League at that position. So North Carolina getting deeper, trying to find some goal scoring options, trying to find a little bit more creativity outside of that system and structure could be a big move for them as well. All right.

I think that takes us to the end of our first episode. How do you feel? I feel good. I feel like we covered a lot of things. We did cover a lot. That's why I'm excited about this. I feel like there's so much to talk about. And now we get our own platform to do it.

And we get to do it at least every single week. For anyone out there who's listening to this, stumbled on it. You can find SoccerWise HQ on all your social handles. We'll be putting out clips all week. You can find SoccerWise in anywhere you listen to your podcast. You can watch us on YouTube as well as on Twitch. Not all the technical issues are solved all the time. So that will be as they come as well as go subscribe to the Patriot jump on

the Patriot page. You can look at the different levels, what that gets you, what's available. We are working. And I think we have just put a early link in for our depth charts for NWSL. So we put together our depth charts of what we think the teams look like links in there to all the players as well as some broadcast notes that we use that's

what i have for both nwsl and mls so when i watch games i just bring that up so i always kind of have an idea of who i'm looking at what i think about them constantly moving them around as you know lineups change and injuries happen and all that type of stuff. So you can be a part of that with us as well. We are the number one place to cover soccer in North America. I'm saying it already, and we're only one weekend. So this is where you want to be. Jordan. I like the confidence.

That's what you got to play with. Have fun on your game tonight. You too, Gus. We are looking forward to watching it. I will be on the Gotham game. I'm looking forward to it as well. I'll be back tomorrow live with Tom, 2 p.m. Eastern time. And then we've got Copa America

kicking off. We've got Canada tomorrow night. We've got USA on Sunday. We've got a full slate of NWSL games on Sunday and on Friday. We've got MLS on Saturday night. There is a lot of soccer, and that is why we are here to talk about it. So one last time, thank you to you, Jordan,

for being here. Have a great game, and thank you to you jordan for being here have a great game and uh thank you to all of you for being here as well and you've been listening to soccer wise We'll be right back.