SoccerWise - USWNT Recap & "Too Early" NWSL Takes w/Brianna Pinto

Episode Date: April 16, 2026

In the midst of an International window Soccerwise gets the full crew together to talk the biggest stories in WoSo. With Brianna Pinto joining Jordan & David they talk through everything they saw for the USWNT & in NWSL so far.

Well, everybody, welcome back to Soccer Wise, a big episode for all of you. We are in the midst of a U.S. Women's National Team three game camp. It means that NWSL is on an international break after the first portion of this season. So it means that we're going to look at NWSL, what's happened so far. We are going to be bold and we're going to make bold statements based off the very little that we've seen. We're going to talk about the U.S. Women's National team. And as always, Jordan Angioli is alongside me. but because we have a little bit of an international break,

we are also joined by another member of our kickback family and Brianna Pinto. Brianna, thanks for being here. Thanks for having me. Super exciting stuff going on during this FIFA window. So I'm excited to cover all the games and the league. What a better way to spend your off time than hanging out with us, right? No, I love speaking with you guys because you make me think about the game in new ways. And you guys are so supportive, so it means a lot to me too.

Maybe we should just schedule more international breaks that, gosh. so we could get her on the show more with us. I'm in favor of it, or we could make Brianna go play. I think we have a poll on that. We can make Brianna go play for the U.S. and we'll just make it do it. Or we can do that, yeah. We can do it in the downtime, yeah.

That would be good. Okay, great. Well, I, listen, we started off talking before we got on. We are all Charlotte Hornet fans here. We're all Chicago star fans as well. So, yes, we are all supportive. We're all together in this one. And as I said, we've got a lot to talk about.

So we're going to get into NWSL as we go along. I went to go update the power rankings and forgot that there were no games, so that didn't change, which is kind of how power rankings would tend to work. But those will be back next week. And we've seen teams play four to five games, so we've seen a decent chunk of things for us to talk about. But of course, we have to start on the national team side of things. U.S. Women's National Team playing a three game set of friendlies against Japan. Jordan, I think you'll be at the last game in Colorado, correct? will be the PA announcer, so please welcome to the field. Your U.S. women's national team. Do you have a goal-style call of like, do you know the thing where you say the one name and everyone yells the other name? Are you allowed to do that? Yeah, the first name and the last name?

Yeah. I think you have to really have a keyed-in audience that they know that that's the way that it rolls. Not a traveling national team. Yeah. I'm not going to bank on that during this game, but no, I think that. most fun part of all of it is when you get to introduce the starting lineup because you can really like emphasize their names and get the crowd are we getting how many colorados are going to be said for the local players i mean we'll see we will see uh there could be a chunk of them obviously sophia wilson

back in the team my family is going to be at the game it's my niece's 10th birthday i think so this is her birthday gift is going to the game so a Colorado legend will be in the building at a guarantee but As I said, Sophia Wilson made her return, got the start in the first game. So the U.S., the first game was out in San Jose, a 2-1 victory over Japan. The second game on Tuesday night, nice and late, was a 1-0 win for Japan in Seattle, as Emma Hayes talked about coming into it, rotation through the team because of the proximity of the games. So full 11 changes from the first game to the second game for the U.S. I think it was nine changes for Japan in the starting lineup.

so wholesale for both these teams. I want to talk about Emma and what she's doing, but I did forget as I watch these two games, the thing that stands out, which is, I think Japan's women's national team might be my favorite soccer team on the planet. They play the game the way I want it to be played. Whether it's successful or not is a question that's out there,

but you watch them play and you're like, this is all I want from the sport, no? They play such an incredibly exciting style, and you can see the movement off the ball. It shows that they're so connected, not only culturally, but also like tactically how they see the vision on the field. And I love the positional fluidity that they have, and it makes it so exciting because you've got 11 quality footballers on the field that are ready to get on the ball and make a spectacle of their touches.

One of the things I love about them, too, is they never look rattled. Like, it doesn't matter if they have all the possession or if they don't have the possession. It feels like they do such a good job of managing the game and saying, all right, like, these two games are very different, right? The first game compared to the second game. And but even when the United States has the ball, they are so comfortable in the way that they defend as a unit that they're like, all right, well, you're going to have to really break us. us down. And creative, good attack will be successful, which we saw in that first game. But unless you are pinpoint accurate on things, you're not going to find success against this Japan team. And I just love that. They make it hard things look easy, which I think Goss is a little bit of why we love

watching them. Yeah. Because they're so unified in what they do. And then the other side in possession is, one, the stats are wild sometimes when you watch their game where it's like, oh, Japan dominated that game, and they'll have like 47% possession. They are so clean in what they do. They're so efficient in what they do. I look at the second game and the segment of time around the goal that they scored in the opening 15, 25 minutes. Every time they were in the final third, it's not like a hopeful ball. It's not a ball to space. It's a ball to feet. And it's whether it's three defenders and it's a small little alley to put it in. It's on the right foot to put your attacking, you know, teammate in the right direction. And that's the part that I fall in love with

is just the like no wasted motion and action. And sometimes as you watch from afar and obviously it's harder when you're doing it. Of like, okay, hopeful ball to a far post. Like it's a great moment, but it's frustrating sometimes what's wasted out on the field. And it feels like that part doesn't exist with this Japanese team. They had 33% possession through the opening 55, 60 minutes of this second game. And there's like no world you'd walk away being like Japan was played off the field and they were hanging on. Right. It's just it's so different from anything anyone else in the world is doing. I like your point about how thoughtful they are in terms of the foot that they're playing in and the positioning off the ball because even in the goal last night against the U.S.,

it seems like they drew the center backs narrow to create space inside the box, but on their right side, the U.S.'s left side. And I think they're on the same page of creating overloads and like how they want to go about it. And they're reading the numbers because, you know, as a player, especially at the professional level, you are supposed to take the information the coaching staff gives you in like a scouting report. But at the end of the day, you've got to read the game and see where there's a positional advantage. or a qualitative advantage that you can expose. And it seems like Japan was able to do that last night.

Yeah. And you can see, I think, as we watch more Japanese players coming to NWSL, some of these start players, the qualities they have. And then you see it as you talked about around and connected across a full team. You know, you look at some of these lineups and you're like, well, Tanaka and Manaka are both going to start, right? They're two of the 15 best players in NWSL. And it's like, oh, that's not the case.

That's how deep this team is. They are fifth right now in the world. They just won the Asian Cup. We've talked about it a couple of times. They're coach leaving directly after, going and shocking Australia in Sydney in front of 80,000 plus people. So they won the She Believes Cup last year. They were fully ready for this challenge. And Emma talked about it, which we'll get into in a minute.

But Jordan, as we sit through these two games, what do you think Emma has seen? What is she trying to accomplish based off what you've seen her throw out there? Well, you can tell that there's a real structure in the way that they want to build. And this, you know, a lot of the conversation on the broadcast was a three, five, two. That fluctuates, right? Like, it's not always five in the midfield, but it's definitely a three in the back in the buildup. And the biggest thing that I think she is going to like is they're getting more numbers in the attack through good buildups. But one of the things that I think was slightly off is I think some of the rotations are a little too early.

Because soccer is like a dance, right? If you step when somebody else is stepping in the same way, like you're going to step on each other's feet. And it felt like at times the rotations were too early of Giselle coming inside to fill that midfield spot. And then when you do that, well, Japan's like, okay, cool. like you're not moving when the pass is moving so I can just stay here and block the passing lane. So I think the ideas are there, but the timing is still slightly off. And when they do get those rotations and the timing right for it to click when the pass is coming and you're dragging a defender out, they're going to start to have a lot more success going forward.

So I think that's one of the biggest things I notice is just the timing on some of those rotations. And then I think you see that there still is a gap, right, between some of these players who, I wouldn't say have a ton of experience. Some of them do, but some who are like, there's an ability for them to gel, and they look really cohesive together to last night. Was that last night?

Yeah. Last night felt a little sticky in moments, right? Like we just don't quite know each other that well. And you see that with, you know, I think Claire Hutton gave the ball away uncharacteristically a lot more than we normally see. And I noticed it with Emily Sam's too. There was a lot of times she was like striving to get the ball or it was passed behind her in front of her. And those are the things where, Brianna, you know this, right? When you just don't know your teammates as well, the past can be slightly off or you're overthinking it and then you don't play it as quite as you would like to.

So those are the two things that I kind of noticed in these two games so far. One of the things I really like about Emma and her staff is their willingness to try new players. I think for too long in the past, we've stuck with our best 14 maybe. And in major tournaments, they've had to ride the same players through the course of several games in a quick turnaround. And I think there's going to be a lot of benefit from trying younger players against a team like Japan and giving them a chance to fail forward because they'll know what it's like to play one of the best teams in the world. They'll learn from the mistakes of, you know, the passing quality or the rotations out wide when they're inverting and things like that. And they'll be able to take that into major tournaments when their name is called.

So I really think she's taking a holistic approach about developing the entire roster, and I do believe that that will benefit the women's national team for years to come. Totally. Yeah. Just to go on that point really quick, I don't know if you heard last night on the broadcast. They talked about in the pregame, like, will we see players who get 150, 200 caps anymore? And a lot of them are saying no. And I think we have to credit the new CBA and the new, like, there's no, there's not contracts anymore with the national team.

You get paid per camp. And that is changing. That's changed everything because you can call in whoever you want. You don't, or you're not obligated to bring those same 14 players back. You bring in who's playing well. And that has created this ability that you're just talking about, Rihanna. It's not just that. It is Emma Hayes as well to allow these players.

I love what you said, fail forward to make the mistakes and know that it's only going to benefit them as they get better and learn how to deal with those situations. I mean, you even mentioned Giselle, like, I think she's taking strides, like, with her game. I actually think she'll have a breakout season in the NWSL. Your features of the choir there, Bray. I think she's an incredible player. So, I think, you know, her having the opportunity to play at the highest level, even develop her relationship on the field with her sister.

Like, how cool is that? I think she's got so many different qualities, but also you talked about the 3-5-2, And one of the things I really love about that formation is it benefits the wingbacks because we have so many attacking-minded wingbacks on this team between Fox, Lily, Lily Reel, Avery Patterson, so on and so forth. And I think those players will really be able to thrive when they get forward and get in the attack. And they've shown it. So I want to talk about one thing there, which is also with Emma Hayes,

the element of like she's not stressed about this stuff. The reality is when you give young players opportunity in these spaces, I think two things. One, the amount of opportunity she has given has led to some of the lack of cohesion at a moment like this, which is when you want it, not at a World Cup. And then also the young players, you're going to lose games. Like that's just a reality. It's not going to be perfect. And I don't think, not that she doesn't care, right? She's competitive.

She wants to win. That's what's happening. But, like, there is not the pressure coming out of a loss for her the way there has been maybe in the past for other people. And I think that's a massive part of winning the gold medal right out the gate, kind of like gave her this runway to basically rebuild the program the way she wants to. Now, I'll use this quote from her, which is about the first game that the U.S. won on Saturday. She said, I think 12 months ago we might have drawn this game. I think the progress is staying in the game, not conceding the same. second goal. It's the test we want and I'm so happy to have it. So,

Brianna, there are steps that she's seeing culturally at least from the group that I think you could see play out, even when the players in that group came on in the 65th minute of the second game where it's like, okay, this is a group that sort of knows what they want to do a little bit more or at least what this level looks like. I totally agree. I think Emma Hayes has really created a culture that players can develop in. I think in the past, like, representing your national team is obviously incredibly nerve-wrecking because it's everyone's dream, right? But she's giving them the liberty to play with freedom. And to be quite frank, the U.S. women's national team is at its best when everybody's taking risk and playing to their strengths and going at people on the dribble and defending as a unit.

So I think she gives them a lot of liberty to be themselves. And I really think in a team environment, that'll be the best set of. of the team. On the wingback side of things, you mentioned it. Does that hurt a Trinity Rodman or an Alyssa Thompson in the space they want to be in? How does it fit this attack? So I think that's a really interesting thing because it requires your game to adjust. So for Trinity, she would be required to show more interior.

And I think she loves being on the dribble on that flank. but Trinity's a good player. Trinity is an incredible player even. And she's able to get on the half turn and go at back lines. And maybe you'll ask even more for her playmaking, like in the middle of the field. So will it change her role? Maybe. But I think she's in a position to adapt.

Yeah. And she has to, right? She's still young. You can't be a one-trick pony your whole career and still think you're going to be successful. There has to be, like you think about the greats on this team. They're constantly finding new ways to keep themselves relevant. So maybe it will be a benefit to them. And we did see, you know, depending on what side the player plays on and what's asked of the wingback, Giselle Thompson did come inside a lot. So that did allow isolation for a winger on that side to

stay wide and to take up the outer channel. So it will be interesting though, because that is that is a coveted space for a lot of these players on the team and how do you get the best out of everyone but also ask them to continue to develop and get better so this is great and I love I kind of love you guys they lost one and they won one I kind of love it and you could see the disappointment in there like this team it doesn't matter if it's a friendly like they hate losing and that is a sign of a team that is going to be successful in my mind is like that has that has a has to sting when you lose because otherwise, like, it's hard to continue to find ways to progress and say, all right, we can't take the pedal, our foot off the pedal at all.

Yeah, there's so many players that are legitimately a part of this pool that it's interesting to think through these different styles, how players fit. I think you saw the advantages for a Jaden Shaw and Olivia Moultrie in the second game of like, there's a lot of freedom to float and move, but I do think that left Hutton and Lillie Yohanna. exposed anytime they lost the ball centrally. Then on the flip side, I thought in the first game, you see where Rose LaVelle can fit in, right? She can pop up. She can be close to goal. And I think about if Mal Swanson comes back in and her ability close to goal where it was like, it felt like in the Olympics, the only time she really got there was when Sophia pulled out

wide. And so now they could both be in those areas, but then at the same time, what are you losing from some other players who might fit in different options, which it's all part of what MAs is working on. And I think it's all part of like the options that are out there, as Brianna said, as she built for herself. But also now we're starting to get into answer to her. Like we're in a one year timeline where this ends with the World Cup and you need to have your 11, 14, 18, 26.

At some point, do we feel like she's getting closer to that? Does it feel like that first 11, let's say with Emily Sonnet who was injured in that first game? Is that feel like the group that Emma Hayes right now is going to lean on? I would imagine that that will be the majority of the players. I think Tierna Davidson will be too. I mean, right when she gets in the game. Unreal. She was the first player, the first defender, to dribble past that first line of pressure. I was like, thank you. Finally. Like, break a line on the dribble. And her ability on the left foot, I think if she's healthy, it's hard. And playing,

like, playing consistently, I think she would probably be in that group, too, but she's just working back from that ACL. Yeah, I do, I think that it'll be interesting because there are some key players that are in that second group that I think now you're trying to look at, do they work? Like, what's the midfield? Brianna, what's the midfield of this group? Because there's so many good players. And how do you, you know, is it coffee heaps and Lavelle?

Is it Shaw? Is it Johannes coffee? Like, there's so many options. And I think as a midfielder, like, what makes that those three work well together? And how do you find that? That's one of the questions I think she has to ask. I think the experience from coffee, heaps and Lavelle, they've played it together a lot more. So they're able to read each other a little bit better.

So if, like, Rose goes out of the midfield, maybe the other one can invert a little bit and get higher up the field to occupy the space that she vacated. But I think one of the cool things about Emma Hayes and her staff is she's putting leadership responsibilities on younger players to be able to read the space and step up in a positive way. And obviously you mentioned Claire Hutton and she had uncharacteristic performance, but she has really good elements of covering ground just like Sam Coffey does. So I only think that variety is going to help them. I think Olivia Moultry has also been exceptional. we've seen her play making ability. So I really think rotation is going to be a valuable thing because it's hard to play

so many games after such a quick turnaround. But I think she will probably rely on that experience that we saw in the first match. And that will be closest to what the final roster will look like. But a lot can happen in a year. So I expect there to be some change to some extent. And just that with that variation, you get those players playing together, you know, okay, if we're playing a team that sits in a lower block, maybe we want some more creative midfielders who can break down that low block.

Whereas if we're playing a more transitional team or a team who can cover space centrally, maybe that midfield three looks a little bit different. And you only know that, I think, if you have the willingness to try those different groups together on games that, like this, I'm hopeful we get a whole different, not a completely different 11, but a mixture of the two. Well, that's the part that I was going to say, which is I do think one of the things that's tough about that second game is you have a group that's never played together. And you talk about experience. I think we've seen Lily Johannes when she's around heaps and coffee.

It's a different experience for her versus Claire Hutton wearing the armband as a 21-year-old in this game. I think it's just really, really tough to sort of shine maybe for some of the players who play in the second group where when it's Emma Sears playing all. Off of all these players, her role is much more defined where I think last night you didn't see that as much and it maybe made it even harder for some of these players to step up to the level against Japan. I'm not a coach, but I guess it's a question for you too. Would you rather see two even lineups with an experience, like a mixture of experience and youth like with newcomers? Or would you like to see a first 11 and a maybe second 11? because to your point, I thought it was really difficult for the younger players to show what makes them special. Lily Johannes is an incredible player.

But again, she needs those other players that give her the structure to float and find the spaces to get on the ball. So I would have said at this point, and I know Emma has said like experimenting is over, whatever, I would have said at this point I would have liked to see them mixed more because you're still learning about where I think closer to a World Cup, it's the best 11 has to be drilled down. It's all about chemistry. that's what we're doing. And this one where you built this camp in this way, I think I would have liked to see rotated through the first or split between the first two. And then maybe on the third one, that's where it's like, okay, this is closer to what my best 11 would look like. Jordan.

And just to that point, too, like you see the difference when Lindsay Heaps comes in the game. And she's just like helping everybody connect. And she's saying, hey, pass it there and do this because she sees the next ball. And when you intermix that type of experience with some of the youthfulness and the creativity and these players who haven't played the likes of a Japan and are trying to figure out how to break them down, it just eases them a little bit.

And you could see that. And those experienced players take some of that weight on their shoulders and let that load be a little bit lighter for the players around them. So I'm with Goss. I think it would have been, nice to have the mixture, but it is, it's hard. Like, you're a year out. You need to know, like, you probably feel like you need to start knowing, okay, who are my,

who are the players that I'm going to trust? And then how do I mix other players in there? And it was interesting on a day where I watched England play Spain in a meaningful game where you understand why the U.S. set these games up. Like, you're trying to challenge yourself, Japan's in the same situation. Now with Asian Cup over, like, they don't really have true meaningful games for the year, but it is one of the tough things for the U.S. and Canada, I think in the region right now, which is the region has not really elevated the level as much as you'd like, and you have to

find ways to challenge your team and learn about them because playing in a full Wembley stadium for Spain and England, like, they got a World Cup experience yesterday that the team learned from and had to sort of battle through that the U.S. doesn't. A few notes that just set out to mention. So Claire Hutton got the armband in the second game. She was told before the camp. That's how it would work. And then, wow, Emily Sonnet got injured in the first game and got moved to the second game and in theory would have been the captain. But Emma said, I

promised this to Claire Hutton. So she remained the captain with Emily Sonnet on the field, which I thought was really cool and interesting. Kennedy Wesley, who we have an interview coming out with in a little bit, talked to us about how Naomi Germa is one of her best friends, but also her hero and the player she emulates. And they got to start alongside each other. for the first time for the national team, which was really cool. In that first game, I mentioned the return of Wilson,

and you mentioned it Jordan, Tuna Davidson coming off the bench in the second game, is the best passing centerback in the pool, maybe is the best one in the world, and it's pretty fun to watch her come back into the team and do what she does at her best. So one more game coming up. That one is Friday night, so we'll have a little bit of reaction for you next week coming into it as well. But now, let's talk a little NWSL. So as I said, We're early on, but it's our first little break in the season. So it gives us an opportunity to talk about some of the things we have seen and talk, you know,

maybe I force everyone into some takes or some ideas that we will regret later, which is something I'm learning to be okay with. So we've seen every team play either five or four matches because of the weird midweek, half week game that we've had so far. Breonna, I want to start with you here outside of this, which is you moved clubs. You're in a new city. So what's your experience been like? And then we'll dig into everyone else.

Well, first and foremost, I love the city of Chicago. Everybody who's ever lived here or spent time here has nothing but positive things to say. And the team has been incredibly welcoming. And I've really just enjoyed getting to work with a new staff. They're all from Sweden. So that's been really neat to just see a different understanding of the game. It's been cool to be in sort of a leadership role here as one of three. captains and it's really nice to see how the team is jelling, especially over this last FIFA break.

We started off the season a little bit poorly under our standard and we want to figure out how we can move forward with the best foot, making sure that we're having a little bit more of an attacking presence. So we're hopeful that when we get everybody back healthy again, that we can put on our performance just like we did against Casey. That was like a highlight of her. Yeah, and better weather. I mean, that wind that comes off of the lake is absolutely crazy. I remember driving to the game against Casey and I was like, ooh, looks choppy out there. And it sure was. The ball was flying through the air and it was so unpredictable about where it would land. But I think the team showed some resilience then. So we definitely want to bring that back in our next performance in our game against Boston.

Okay. So we're excited to continue to see Chicago develop this season. But we're We're going to do our early takes here. And so we're going to talk about some teams, some players that we've seen so far extrapolated out. I was going to start with my big takeaway so far, which is that I don't think there is a super team this season. I think Kansas City last year, and while we're still only five games in, and Kansas City was on this pace, but not by themselves. And two years ago, Orlando hadn't fully broken out because them and Casey, I think it was 17 games unbeaten between the two of them until they finally face off. It feels like the league has gotten a little bit tighter. It feels like as you watch through the games,

even with some of the open games and high-scoring games, there is not like one pull-away standalone. Jordan, does that feel like a fair take five games into the season? You're muted, Jordan. Oh, yeah, because I had a cough, so I didn't want that to be. But now you guys know I coughed. We got all of it now. I spilled the beans.

I think you're right with that. It does feel the last two years, we had two teams who just didn't lose for a long time. And it was the defense of Orlando that was really impressive. It was both defense and attack for Kansas City. And I don't think we see that wow factor from any teams right now doesn't mean there's not going to be teams who build into that because we've seen some really great performances already.

But runaway super team. I don't see it yet. Yeah, it feels unlikely that we'll get to August and it'll be like the shield is over, where that was the case last year and somewhat the case two years ago, although Washington will finish second, as they always do and make a run at it. So let's start with our two early takes. I'll go first, and this is one that I think I basically did last year with Louisville, and now I'm doing it with Houston.

But I'm saying they're for real, and we'll finish top five in NWSL. they have obviously come out flying on the season. We've got some Best 11 stuff out of our data provider that we'll talk about. There are a lot of Houston names on there. They're fifth right now in the league on nine points, which has them tied with Angel City. Both them have only played four games. So on points per game, they're the top two teams in the league. Some of it's unsustainable.

I think they've earned three penalty kicks this season. That's something hard to predict, although it can be part of the way you create the game. But there feels like a depth to the. the attacking quality in this team. There feels like a real spine from Campbell up through Nielsen and sort of that part of this group. And while it's a lot of young players who are going to have their ups and down this season, whether it's rookies or second year players who haven't been through this long grind before, I think there's enough talent here where when one player maybe takes a step back, someone else can fill in. So I am all in, fully sold on the Houston

dash at this point of the season. And I'm ready to get hurt and I'm okay with it. That's the thing about these way too early takes. And my first one is Houston too. So Dash fans like listen up. So can I just can I just roll off of what you said, Gus? I think Houston will have a rookie of the year. And I don't know who that rookie of the year is going to be. But right now they have three rookies who have played nearly every single minute and in Raider, Olmark, and Clanky. And these three, have really been, it's a system that Houston plays. I think that really helps them. To me, it's a box. I don't know. Do you guys think it's four, four two box? Yeah. And there is real

variety in what you see from Omerk and Raider. And I think that that is why they can be so successful because clanky on one side, Patterson on the other, will utilize the width and try to get forward. So then those two can float inside and create overloads and find the pockets. And the thing that really like I'm with you, Goss, like I like your early take too. And one of the reasons why I think they're going to have rookie of the year is because all, like, I think last year, Fabrice Gcha did a really good job of instilling the system. And now they have been working on creation from what they're going to do going forward. And that I talked about this with the national team. With this Houston team, it feels to me like the timing of their runs and when they execute like

the pass or the overlap or whatever it may be. Or when they counterpress and everyone steps together. The timings seem like they're in sync. And that is going to be successful for them if they can keep that up. So I'm looking at you three. And even Fossie, is that the other one who got injured early on? Who knows? Like she could come back.

She looked really good in that first game. Like they have four excellent rookies that I think they could take home rookie of the year. I really liked that they leaned into the youth that they have on their team. Gatrow gave them a chance early and they took it and ran with it. They kind of remind me of 2021 Washington Spirit. Yeah. With the flare, the tenacity, they've got bite, but also they've got game intelligence. I think Cat Raiders is a really impressive player.

I've been able to watch her during her college career and she's fit in seamlessly with her time in Houston. So I think they're a very talented team. They've got a really good coach in Fabrice. I was fortunate to be able to play with him and for him. And he just sees the game in a really thoughtful way and instills belief in his players. So I think that's really, really cool. Yeah, there's... Not saying our early takes are crazy.

No, Rihanna's on board with us. And the one stat that stands out to me to throw in there is this team, like, by far, I think they have won the most turnovers in the attacking thing. Like that gap, which Louisville dominated last year, they are, and so that's where for me, it's like they have multiple ways to win, but I do think they dictate the terms of games, which is they cause the speed and energy of the games the way they want them to be. And I think that's the type of style that when the game gets hard or when the season's up and down, you can always lean back on of like, you're going to generate some chances through

that. You have that belief, you have that confidence that'll happen. How it works in Houston over the summer, I'm unsure. But it's going to be bad for both teams. So they've always got that one going for them. So we've got one each out. Brianna, do you want to do your first? Yeah, I think Pietro Torden will have a breakout season.

I think she's really come into her own in the absence of Sophia Smith. She's been able to play a false nine, although differently. She's playing in the way where she's holding up and getting the ball in that pocket and turning. And I think she's got really great chemistry with Olivia Moultrie and Raylan Turner. and I just like the way that they play because it looks like they're having fun, like, while they're on the field, but they've also got the soccer smarts to show for it. And I think Pietra makes some really thoughtful runs on the back side of centerbacks, and she's able to find herself in really dangerous positions.

But also her finishing quality is really good. Like she's really efficient. Her feet are organized and she's ready to strike the ball when it comes to her. And I know in talking to her from last year, Rihanna, she wanted to have more finesse in some of her finishing moments. So if you add that to what she already has in the variety of way that she can score, I think you're spot on. She has been excellent already through the start of this year in a team in Portland

where a lot of people didn't think that they were going to look as good. We're pointing out ourselves, guys. I think I had them 15th or 16th in my preseason rankings because there was a lot of unknown. And for all the excitement that last year held in moving on from Rob Gale, my worry was like they weren't going to believe in the young players that they had pushed. Because I do think last year there was some up and down. We've talked about it a number of times on the show of like the backline, there was some really good young players that it felt like lost opportunity as the season went along. And obviously, Kaya Hanks got hurt. And so you have no control over that one.

But it just felt like as the year went along, they brought in more veteran players to push over. young players who I thought had earned the opportunity to play more. And now you look at it this year and they're giving all those young players a chance to push into the team. I'll be fascinated to see what the attack looks like. I think Jordan's been awesome, but Sophia Wilson when healthy is probably going to start at the center forward position. And so now I think it's about piecing some of those other attacking players around her consistently. And there might not be enough spots for everyone, which I guess is a good problem to have, right? You'd rather have that than to not have enough options to push into your team. Yeah, which they had a lot last year of that second thing.

That is absolutely true. Okay, so one round through on our two early takes, two Houston ones in there. Jordan, I'll let you go first this time so I don't accidentally copy you. Okay. What's your two early one? Well, it's funny. We didn't know what each other were picking and we ended up choosing the same two teams, gosh. Oh, nice. Look at us. Yeah, look at us. We're not creative.

Nope. I put that San Diego Wood in the Shield if they bolster their goalkeeper position. This San Diego team, although I had some humongous questions about them in the offseason, bringing in Kat Makario,

having Mimi's Van Zanton fill in that right back spot, and the Brazilian front line that they now have, it does feel like this is a team who has bolstered some of the areas that they really need. But it was Didi Hadichich who's been injured. They haven't truly been tested, I don't think, on the defensive side.

Their goalkeepers, I think they've given up three goals so far, but their defense has been so good that they haven't given up a lot of chances. But I think they need depth there. I think they need a goalkeeper who can dictate the play and pass through the lines, make sure they find Kenza Dali as much as possible. possible. And if that's the case, if they bolster that position, I do feel like this San Diego team will win the shield. Okay. Behold right there. Yeah. Why not be bold, Goss, because these are just way too early predictions.

Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think it goes to the big story, which I have some San Diego stuff in there. Brianna, you played against them of this team is very good. It feels like in possession they might be the best team in the league. and they seem to have a real connection of what they're trying to do. And it feels like they make the game really hard for their opponents. They make it really hard because they do such a great job of changing the point of attack. And they've got so many players all over the field that are capable of creating something out of nothing. Doudinias has had an exceptional year so far. And she's really fit in seamlessly in this team.

Leah Godfrey's another one. She's really been excellent with her finishing ability. and just her game expertise. So, yeah, San Diego is a really good team. I'm interested to see how the season goes across the league and to see if there will be other teams that will make a case for themselves for the Shield. But right now, I do think they are a likely contender.

But I am not ready to put my full stamp on them being the Shield winners. I think five games in is a fair time to continue to hold off. on that one. I picked Orlando preseason. I like to live dangerously. I know you do. And I think one of the things is we're hopeful that a team that plays the way they play can be successful in this league because it is trusting players. It's getting players into space. It is taking risks in possession out of the back at times. And I think it's something where it's not purely only that sour. I think you see it from Houston with the way they build out and the pressure they can sort of invite in on themselves and then play through, but it's a really entertaining style to play where

then there are other teams at times in this league, Seattle probably being the top of that list, where it's like keep the game safe and see if we can minimize opportunities, which has an neutral is a little bit less fun to watch and a little bit less entertaining. You mentioned her, Brianna, so I'm going to say mine, which is Duginia will lead the league in. And I didn't know what stat to put. Assists would be the obvious one, but assists are not actually always fully indicative of like who's the best chance creator. So I put expected it exists or big chances created. Whatever phrase you want to use, she has clearly taken over, I think, for Cascarino,

as alongside Kenzadali, the go-to attacking piece of this team and the one in the final third. And I think it feels like from the way this San Diego team can build and create, getting her isolated in that left channel is a huge part of what they're trying to do. And Lujmila is a bit more of a finisher. And I don't know what Katero will be in this team because they've been so good. without her, but it feels like that will only increase the amount of sort of focus on being a chance creator for Junia instead of being a finisher. And so she has clearly taken a step to me of she's in that conversation with best attackers in this league, and she's shown the consistency

to do it now pretty much over a full year in NWSL, which is really impressive for a play of her age. Did you see her goal? She just scored for Brazil in this break? No. Oh, like a It's not really a bicycle, but it's trying to do an overhead kick. It was ridiculous. She has been one of the most consistent players. I wish I knew it where it was in my notes. But for their last game, I had the note of, like, I think she scored three goals and two, and had two assists in her four appearances with Brazil in the time where at the same time,

and she's moved to San Diego, and she's been seven goals, four assists. Like, she has been able to create so much. So nice, huh? Yeah, that's awesome. Cat Macario talked about what wonders the sunshine does for you. So maybe she's just glowing on the inside and it's showing on the field. Yes. So I like that.

All right. And if she does that, you know who wins the shield? Nice. That might be the case. That absolutely might be the case. Okay. Last one for us, Brianna. What else did you, were you ready to stamp your name on?

Um, they haven't won yet, but I think Boston is better than they've shown, especially in that Utah game. I think Troyori was a little bit unlucky with foul calls, to be quite honest. She's electric. She's so good, like on the dribble, making runs in behind. She's got speed. She's got pace. She's fearless. Um, and, uh, I think they're going to lean on her heavily for a lot of their goal creation.

But, um, we actually played them in preseason. And I think they are trying to play a very, a great. aggressive style defensively. They want to be very compact. But I do think they've got some good players on the attacking side of things, one being Ella Stevens. They miss her with the foul call, but I think she's a player that's going to have to be a leader because she's so good on the ball with her final pass and also with her dribbling. So if they can get more out of her this season, I think that they will be in a much better position than the way they started off the season. But not the next game.

Yeah, that's what I meant by the foul call, like with her not being there. No, I mean, we just don't want them to be good in the next game. Oh, well, yes. Boston plays Chicago. That's from us. Coming out of the break on April 25th. No, but the reason I even share that ahead of our next game is like you can't take any of these games lately because any team can show up. and perform well and get the win.

So we have to be even more prepared and play with the chip on our shoulder because we're in a similar position on the lower end of the table and we need to find ways to create meaningful attack and put the backlines under pressure because we haven't done that to the best of our ability quite yet. So, you know, Boston's somebody, a team that we're going to have to scout again, learn from other games that we played in the past, see what they've changed here throughout the season.

season and ultimately come out and put our best foot forward. Yeah. I do think one point on that, Goss, I do think they're better. And I do, I'm wondering if they change a little bit of what they ask of their midfield. Because right now, I think Carrick is an excellent player, but I think she runs out of spaces too much. And Brianna, you know how this is as a midfielder. Like, sometimes you have to let the game go and actually just like standing and letting

it pass you puts you in the right position. And the way that they're playing right now under Philippa Patow, I think she's asking a little too much from these midfielders when it comes to what they need to do defensively. So then they're not in the right space when they do end up winning the ball or it's hard for them to get into that space. So I do wonder how they start to adjust that as the season goes by. But they have a good six in Carrick. And I think she can really do big things in NWSL. That's one thing I noticed about her. She covers so much ground.

but to your point, you have to be patient and let the seams open up as the game shifts because if you run with the tide, I like to call it, then you'll miss the gap to then receive the ball. I'm using that. I'm taking that. That's a good thing to say. So Boston comes out, as we said,

they play at Chicago, and then midweek they host North Carolina, and then on the weekend they host Denver, and then they head to Gotham for their first rematch of their franchise on May 9. So that's the sort of run-in over the four games coming out of the break for this team. My big worry for them is just a group that's never been together, not a ton of DNA that has sort of familiarity, just from a culture point of view of like,

how bad can it get where there isn't much to lean back on to say, oh, we've been here before we can deal with this. But the hope is for Boston that it's Brianna's right and they can start turning things around. Okay. If you are listening via Sirius Radio, thank you for joining us. We're glad you could be here. We're going to run a little bit long here and talk some Best 11 early on too. So you can search soccer-wise to listen to the full show on the on-demand player or anywhere you get your podcasts.

We have a new partnership with Gradient Sports, who are a data provider coming originally out of the pro football focus group. and they are doing a totally new style of individual player data that we're going to be tapping into as we go along. They have a setup in which they score each player based off their overall scoring system for every single play that a player is involved in, and then coming out of that scoring, they are able to put together these grades of where a play, and then that gives us an opportunity to put players up against each other. So the grading includes expert opinion, data validization, and normalization to create a holistic and easily interpretable score. So we're going to start using these on the social media side of things. We are very lucky to bring someone in in Kat Busch who has done a bunch of stuff at American Soccer Analysis.

And she is going to be explaining this stuff to me so that we can use it properly and not improperly the way I normally use data. And so for the first thing we wanted to do, though, was to pull out Best 11 so far. So we're going to put them out on the MLS and NWSL side on social. But talking through this NWSL one we have so far, we ended up in a bit of a 4-4-2. This was a debate I was not prepared for when we started this of like, okay, you get the best 11 players in like 5 or center forwards and 5 or centerbacks. So then it's like, well, what formation? Where do you want to put players? And that's like a whole other thing that I was not prepared for.

But the 11 that we have, we have all talk through it. We have Abby Smith and goal, which I will say I was not shocked to see, right? This is a Denver team. Jordan, you watch as closely as anyone. They've kept most of the game in front of them. And so it's not been heavy pressure outside of the Bay game. But she has elevated her game, I think, in a way that maybe not everyone watching from the outside expected. Maybe not everyone thought she'd be the starter.

And she's put herself in a conversation where there's a reason she's been on some of the best teams in her career because she is this good and now she's getting the chance to show it. And they played some of the best chance creation teams in Washington Spirit in Orlando, Gotham. Like she had to have big games. And so it doesn't, with the number of saves and the number of saves she's had to make, it makes sense to me if you're looking at the statistics that it would have been Abby Smith in this spot. Yeah. I think Claudia Dickey will be one of the players that ends up around here as well.

Brianna, she was sort of one of the ones we talked about before we got on. where won't be surprised if she ends up on this list later on and could possibly have been there already. Claudia Dickie is an exceptional shotstopper. I think she's really taken strides forward. She's had several shutouts, which has been huge for her. And she's really coming into her own because her feet are good. She's anticipating the play being aggressive off of her line. So I fully expect that she will be one of, if not the top goalkeeper by the end of the season.

How many years did you guys play together at UNC? Yes, we played together for three years. For three years. Then to now, where do you feel like she's grown the most? I definitely say her feet. Her feet, like, she's always been good in distribution, but now she's adding it as like an element of the game that's helping start Seattle's attack.

And I think that's huge because if you can reach, the flank and bypass a line that allows Seattle to get forward faster. And one of the things as we look at this is, so they are tied for the second best defense right now, again, very early. She is one of the only goalkeepers in this conversation who doesn't have a defender who's on this list as well, which I think shows the important shit that she has. This team's happy to funnel chances into long shots

because they trust her because they know that she'll make those big saves. So the back four that we have is obviously wouldn't be perfect because it's two right backs, but Avery Patterson, Kennedy Wesley, Macy Bell, and Ryan Williams. There are some players you know very well in there. Brianna, I'm sure you're not shocked to see a Ryan Williams in a conversation like this, but her stats very early on are wild. She is one of the best chance creators in the league, not for a defender, for anyone so far this season. And then obviously he is a very consistent defender as well.

you had a chance to sort of play with her. What should people know about her game? I think Ryan is someone who can get to spaces other people can't. Like even if she steps early and you, as an attacker, you think you're in on gold. You know, if she's coming right behind you to clean you out, she's like, ha-ha, you thought. But, no, Ryan is. Ryan's story is truly incredible just to see her go from a player that came in on trial,

I believe, like years ago with the current. and has worked her way into being a leader and a mainstay on the NC courage. She even earned a national team call up last year, I believe. She is the hardest worker you'll ever see. She is always studying the game and fine-tuning, like her positioning, and figuring out when to make the best tackle, to allow the players behind her even to get in position to cover in the case that she misses it.

So she's thinking about her impact, but also how it affects those around her on the back line. And I think that shows like her understanding of the game, her presence as a leader and her ability to close down meaningful attacks in crunch time. Like when you're, you know, within your own final third. So Ryan's an exceptional player. But even on the other side of the ball, I'm loving seeing the way that she is getting involved in the attack and making. more thoughtful crosses. She's adding in that cutback element, and you've got players like Ashley Sanchez coming in off that left flank, making that late run towards the center of the box to go and finish it.

So Ryan has had exceptional growth. I'd even say the same about Macy Bell. Macy Bell has played several incredible games, her tackling ability, her, the way she reads the space and forces you to positions that you don't want to go in as an attacker, makes her an exceptional player. Yeah, two really big impact players right now. And you mentioned Ashley Sanchez, who's on this list as well. So the midfield is Ashley Sanchez, Maggie Graham, Olivia Moultrie, and Linda

Ulmark, where there's a lot of players who could go in this list. You can't say any of these are wrong. And like all of these players have been massive impacts in their first five games of the season. They have. And I think it's interesting Maggie Graham's on that and not Danny Coloprico. I think Danny looks like herself again. I think last year was tough and it was asking a lot of her.

But the way that those two have balanced each other out, I think either one could have probably been on this. Olivia Moultrie, I know we might look at last year as being her breakout year, but now with so many threats that she has in front of her. She's breaking out from breaking out. It's secondary breakout. Breakout square, yeah. Right, yeah.

I was going to say basically that same thing. So I'm glad you beat me to it because it is. She's going to have another incredible year. It's interesting, right, because you maybe wouldn't have thought that Alinda Olmark would have been on this list. You would have thought, oh, it's Trinity Rodman, or it's a Roy Bithoon or Kiki Van Zanton. But she has been playing a little bit higher. Yeah, whatever. I'm interested to see just how this has, this continues to develop and what we learn more about the way that these grades happen.

But yeah, you can't say none of those players like five games in don't deserve to be in those spots because they've had really good start of the year. Yeah, I think Vinton is obviously one who will get around this if she continues to score the way she does. I've talked a lot this season about how Jesse Fleming has elevated and I think taken on a lot of the pressure that Sam Coffey held for this team and creates a platform that Olivia Moultrie can play off of, which I think she will be someone who will be in these conversations. you know as the season goes along and I think if as Kansas City settles and we see all the work Lola Banta does I think she's one who will probably get into a best 11 conversation this season as she probably deserves to be most years and then we've got and Kenza dolly it's not even in there so yeah fair well if you make the game look easy this is the hard part it's hard for people to celebrate it as much and the two strikers up top that we had here were Chloe LaCron And then Pietro Tordine, who, Brianna, you talked about. I think with Lacos, I honestly, I don't fully know the grading style yet. So I don't know how it affects it, as you said. I assume there's a lot of impact there where she's in space a lot of the times.

There's a lot of transition moments. And she's the one pushing the attack for this Utah team, which hopefully with Tanaka back from, you know, the Asian Cup and all that stuff, that attack gets a little bit more cohesive and dangerous overall. But it actually surprised me if that's the case. Like, why wouldn't that be a Savendos Janstotter who has pressed the game and created turnovers, scored goals, three goals and two assists, I believe, through the first four games. So, yeah, she can't not be in this right now, right, Brianna? Yeah, I think with respect to Lacoste, I think some of the numbers who are outliers, I think she had an exceptional game actually against Chicago. She created a lot with her crossing ability.

and I think the team had maybe over 10, 10 corner kicks, like in the first half. Like, it was a lot. And LaCost was involved in taking or creating a lot of those quality chances for Utah. So I definitely think those inflated her numbers, but maybe she'll have a breakout year. But to your point, I think Jan's daughter has been exceptional throughout all of the games that she's played. She's been really consistent. she's been a constant threat. But she's showing that she's not one dimensional.

And she's just a really, really smart player with a great finishing ability. And we saw that with her goal into the upper corner that she scored just a couple weeks ago. I'm absolutely shocked that Angel City is not more across this because I think you could, I mean, we've talked about Jaze Thompson a lot. We talked about it with the national team, but as well with this team, Emily Sams. and then, of course, everything through midfield and what they create and the amount of chances they've created. So far this season, I would have to go look to see

how it's affected based off playing four versus five games. But the grading is an average of your grade. So while you don't have as many impact moments, it should still equal out. But all of this is too early, as we have talked about over and over again. So a lot of it will change. We added in some names there. As we went through this, there are 1,000 other names that we could put in there.

We don't have Rose Lavelle in here. I think that's probably one. That's a pretty strong one to get involved. And, you know, there are a lot of teams that have started the season really, really well. And we're excited to cover all of it. So this was fun. Brianna, thank you for being with us. Good luck as you get back onto the field for the next few games coming up.

We'll continue to talk about it as talking heads on this side of things. And we'll have fun watching you do your thing. But we appreciate you taking the time. Thanks for being with us. Thank you so much for having me. And Jordan, always a pleasure. Thank you for having me, Gus. All right, we'll talk to you all again very, very soon.