SoccerWise - Weekend Recap MLS Rivalry Chaos & NWSL KC-ORL Rematch

Episode Date: May 19, 2025

Big weekend of action across both MLS & NWSL and David takes you through all the top stories. He starts breaking down the MLS Rivalry week results and then digs into the big NWSL matches.1:00 MLS Rivalry Recap12:37 Club World Cup Special Transfer Window News14:40 NWSL Recap Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

Hey everybody. Welcome back to Soccer Wise. Your weekend recap here with David Goss coming in for another big week here at Soccer Wise. We have US Open Cup action coming up on Wednesday night. So Tom will be back with me tomorrow. We will talk all about our takeaways from the weekend as well as of course preview those games and talk a little bit about what we expect to see. Join in back with me to talk about some of these big NWSL results as well

on Wednesday before previewing the weekend that is to come. On the weekend highlights we start with of course Ravelry Week in Major League Soccer because when you've got good juicy tasty matchups You got to put them all on at the exact same time and make sure there are midweek games right before so that you can Water down the ability to focus on the games Pat Noonan actually had some really good quotes about this We talked about not say's quotes last midweek saying we had to rotate the team to focus on Hell is Real. Pat Noonan talked about it and he talks about it from a soccer point of view and a non-soccer point of view

and said, we would love to have been talking about this game for a week. We would love to help be a part of the buildup and be quoted about this game and be focused on this game. But we can't do that as a professional sports team, you have to be focused in talking about the next game. And so Wednesday night was the next game for them. That was the conversation for them up until Thursday.

And so then you really only get like two days of buildup for what is as Andrew Weeby came on our show and said, the best rivalry right now in Major League Soccer. Two teams in the top three in the Eastern Conference, located in the same state, stylistically different, tactically different, culturally different, with a good nickname in the middle that has a little bit of history in the region.

It has everything you want. And so to not be able to push it the way you want, and that goes for all of these games, right? It goes for the Cascadia Cup game it goes for Hudson River Derby that is the frustration I think with the way this all lined up this year but some of these games were fantastic some of these games were intense some fell a little bit on the side and then some in Canada were absurd and bizarre but also hard to watch at the same time depending on who you are a fan of. Let's start with this hell is real. We had a Nirvander bike kick assist

after a Denke bike kick goal last week which led to a Denke goal so the high-priced attack for instance Cincinnati coming out quickly in this one getting the goal in the first six minutes. Diego Rossi helped draw a PK and then finish it off later in the first half on Hagland and then Columbus you could say dominated throughout the second half They had a bunch of huge chances and not able to put them away And that's the fear right now for this Columbus team Ali you got the start in this one hasn't been a consistent finisher in his young career But Columbus they stand towards the top of the Eastern Conference

But the big question between them and trophy potential is finishing off the big chances in games once again It was a sign that in their style with the pieces under Wilfred Nante. They will always be competitive. They will always be dangerous They will always be very very good Will they be elite though is the question mark right now and they pushed a really good Cincinnati team right now. A Cincinnati team with Miyazga and Robinson back in the group, Orojano playing in a more comfortable position. As I said, Denke and Evander playing at a high level. So they pushed a really good Cincinnati team.

Only got a one-one draw though at home in the end of this one. In the Canadian classique, as I mentioned, tough to watch for Montreal fans. Joel Waterman picks up a red card on just a completely mindless tackle from behind as he was beaten on the run in the 21st minute already down 1-0 this game finishes 6-1 to the red side TFC in

Montreal a brace for Bernadesi a brace for Corbinu on his birthday off the bench. And my understanding, I'm not a hockey fan, but maybe a bit of catharsis and necessary hope for the people of Toronto, as I think the Maple Leafs had a really bad night after this one coming up. But for a TFC team that have struggled this year, a big result there in Montreal

continuing to struggle themselves. The weekend ended with El Trafico. We said it on the show on Thursday, MLS is dumb. The LA Galaxy, the longest winless streak to start a season in MLS history. So they'll probably win this game and that is how it felt right at the beginning. The Galaxy a goal in the opening 10 minutes to go up 1-0.

Then Dennis Buonga broke the back of the net with his minutes to go up 1-0. Then Dennis Buonga broke the back of the net with his shot to make it 1-1. Eventually Nathan Ordaz with a gorgeous finish himself put through by Ryan Hollingshead later on in the game to make it 2-1. And the Galaxy eventually equalized. First it felt like through Gabriel Peck who ended up being offside in what was a classic Gabriel Peck goal though. He gets defenders moving at full pace, is able to cut on a dime and curl it to the far post. Had a similar chance later to win it 3-2 from not the same spot, but a similar area where

we saw him feast last year. He missed that one and that's been one of the big differences. Payne still off the bench in this one. A welcome return for this LA Galaxy team. But it was Marco Royce, the hero, free kick from the top of the box. As they approached stoppage time, placed it in the corner, an unbelievably gorgeous shot.

It was overall one of Marco Royce's best games. He was more prevalent throughout the game. You saw him pop up more often. You saw him be a little more aggressive, both on the half turn, trying to take players on, but then You saw him be a little more aggressive both on the half turn Trying to take players on but then also trying to be a little more aggressive with his passing less east west and more north south And I think all of that helped the galaxy now in saying that This was a game in which lafc had more of the possession At the la galaxy which I don't think we would have expected right?

This is a galaxy team that loves to be ball-dominant in LA FC team That doesn't really want the ball some of that's game states the early goal But from that moment on even after LA FC went and tied at 1-1 They remained on the front foot and in possession and I don't know that that helped the galaxy They weren't uber dangerous in transition, but it did change I think the game up a little bit for both teams Maybe it took a little pressure off the galaxy a galaxy team that has struggled to create Chances and you see a lot of their mistakes and goals conceded come from silly mistakes

Turnovers trying to overcommit in areas where they normally wouldn't because they're trying to make something happen So maybe the game states ended up helping the galaxy a little bit Obviously, they don't get the win, but they do get the tie. After our last show last week, it was announced that Greg Vani has signed a three year contract extension. So something to note on this galaxy team, it's been a lot of question marks. I think we've kind of said we'd be surprised if Vani wasn't there anymore. And now you get your answer.

I think $9 million for the next three years to coach this team. And it shows I think the level of composure in the galaxy which is as I have said many times this is built to be to try and win multiple cups over a few year span. It's not about this year specifically and I think this now shows it to the team and maybe you saw the team play a little bit looser in this one. El Clásico de Sol I will continue to call it dominance for Orlando City over Miami. Opening goal and assist by Pedro Gaiasay to Luis Muriel. Yes, goalkeeper assist, Gauss theorem in effect for Luis Muriel. He has found his MLS style is what he told John Arnold over at MLSsoccer.com. You should read anything John Arnold writes. And he was able to score this goal on a full field punt.

He brought it down, continued his run, and then placed it away. Now during that, the Injun Miami players were busy complaining to the referee, because they believed it was a back pass from Ivan Angulo to Gaiase. I think it's pretty clear that Angulo's trying to lay it off to another defender, misses that defender.

Gaiase picks it up. I don't believe it was a purposeful back pass either way. We heard Vancouver talk about what they saw on tape going into the champions, the CONCAC champions series, which was that this Inter Miami team complains to the referee a lot. Take throw-ins quickly, take set piece quickly. There are opportunities inside the game because of the obsession with

complaining to the referee. You see it on display here once again. And Orlando didn't take their foot off the gas at all in this one. They end up closing out with the subs. Duncan McGuire showing his explosion in pace, sets up Dagger Dan for the third goal. Pasalic scores the second goal, Oheda continuing to pepper goals. Every opportunity he gets, he is ripping shots. He is in incredible form. Right now this Orlando team continues to ascend as this Miami team continues to falter. And the big stat coming out of this one from Opta Jack into Miami's three zero loss to Orlando city was the largest margin of

Deficit of defeat Leonel Messi's club has ever suffered in a home league match in which he appeared in its 313th home league match it shows you where this team stands Messi gave an interview to our own our friend of the show Michele Giannone after the game doesn't speak very often. Shows, I think right now, where this club stands and how unsure they are in this moment. In the Rocky Mountain Cup, Georgie Mihailovich killed it off and the vibes right now for RSL not good. I don't think anything could feel better for the Colorado Rapids. They get the Rocky Mountain Cup win. They're halfway on the way to bringing it back this year and RSL now we're in a bit of a tailspin. They've already lost more games in 2025 than they did in all of 2024 and there's still 20 games remaining. Pablo

Mastroeni, furious about the game afterwards. I think before the game he was also asked about Diego Luna's future, said he would be surprised if he was still on the team after the European window. So the only player really performing at a high level seems to be on his way out and this club right now has taken a step back from last year. In Cascadia a low-scoring 1-1 draw Ryan Kent I think's been really fun so far. Danny Muscovsky looked awesome once again in this game helped set up the goal but right now he's terrorizing centerbacks He's stretching the back line, but he's so purposeful with his possession. It's not just head down. Take a shot

He brings players into the game. He creates for them. He's able to create openings with his runs So another really strong game for him And I thought David to coast the ball doubt for this Portland team help set up the goal Has been one of the best players since he joined the league. He's not a Vander. A Vander has this flair and ability at a different level. He's closer I would actually say to Lucho Acosta, which is funny that that's really where those players switched.

He covers a lot of ground. He connects the game in a ton of areas. He's over an option for right back, left back, right wing, left wing in the middle to finish opportunities, but super skilled, super creative and you'd assume as he gets older and gets more comfortable in this league, maybe he becomes more chance creation dominant and maybe the game flows through him even more. I still question parts of this Portland Timbers back line. I think he saw it in the goal.

I think you saw it in a couple other big opportunities and Christian rolled on just anytime he's on the field you're tuning in to watch him on the East Coast the Hudson River Derby Alonzo Martinez unreal screamer from the top of the box to open up the scoring should have been two or three zero at halftime Hannes Wolf set up multiple times by Julian Fernandez Julian Fernandez one of the best games he has played for NYCFC. Just pushing the game down the right wing, whether off counter presses or just the ball played through to him. Maxim Morales continues to be a medical marvel for him to have come back from the injuries

his come back at the age he's at and continue to play at the level he does is absolutely unbelievable. In the last big rivalry game of the weekend, the Texas Derby, Jack McGlynn, another left-footed bomb for him. I think in the preseason preview, Andrew Reaby set the line for us at 10 and a half goals plus assists for Jack McGlynn. I went over. I do not remember what we ended up landing on overall for the belief there, but he has six goals in 13 MLS games so far, sorry, six goals plus assists in 13 MLS games so far, and he's reaching the point where if he's inside

that your half of the field with the ball in his left foot, you should basically be man marking him. Last piece of news before we move on to NWSL. Finally, Tom has gotten confirmation that US Soccer and MLS has approved a short temporary transfer window for Club World Cup participants. We have seen this for Club World Cup participants in other countries,

and now it is coming to Major League Soccer because you have a Club World Cup occurring before most summer transfer windows open, including here in the United States and Canada. And so the teams that are going into the Club World Cup, many of them in other leagues have players whose contracts will have expired that they couldn't resign. So that gives them the opportunity to do that.

And if they're going to sign new players, they can sign those new players if they are on free contracts and bring them to the Club World Cup in MLS. This will only apply to as of now the two teams that have already qualified in Seattle and Inter Miami and potentially LAFC if they're able to knock off Club America on May 31st in that one game playoff. MLS because it is across two different federations would have needed clearance from both the US and Canada Canada having no teams qualified for the Club World Cup because none of the three

Canadian sides are in the Club World Cup was not eligible to even open this window So MLS felt it was unfair to open the window to every team So only the teams that have qualified are eligible to be a part of this And of course, we know there's a little extra money coming in to these teams via allocation money and money that they can pull forward from future years, allocation money that they can spend. So now Miami, Seattle, and potentially LAFC can spend that money before the tournament starts and potentially enhance their teams. Those players will then be eligible to play in MLS.

So after the Club World Cup, there will still be games for these teams in MLS before the secondary transfer window opens and everyone else can bring those players in. And Seattle, LA or Seattle, Inter-Miami and potentially LAFC will be allowed to use those players in those games. On the NWSL side of things, the big game we were looking forward to. Kansas City against Orlando. I tried to hype Jordan up about it. She said, watch out, it might fall on your face. I think it landed somewhere in between a one zero win for Kansas City. It was by for sure a physical game. It was for sure a game that felt elevated from a regular season matchup.

And it ended up being Kansas City's first win in Orlando since 2023. This was the big test that they were trying to prove that they could overcome. I thought Kansas City was the aggressor in the first half. I thought they were really, really good after they settled down. Opening 10, 15 minutes was mainly Orlando. Then KC settled in. Dubinia started to create for them. Bia started to find the game, a formation shift for this. Kansas City team coming out of five in the back for large stretches with Dubinia pushing high and her and Bia

swapping across the front three. Schwinga going wherever she could find the game as well. Orlando I think you still saw that missing attacking piece. Adriana we talked about last week, that big loss for them being sold to Saudi Arabian It feels like just so much of the attack falls on Marta that there are not enough options to be able to open up the game For them and the goal. It's just one of those moments. That's special I thought Nadine are played it as well as you would have expected and Dana has be under control has be on her back He's facing her own goal takes a bit of a long touch but Sort of sets herself up to either clear it away or potentially have the goalkeeper come in if they if Morehouse decides and clear it away Shawin go though is giving effort that most players aren't giving and then has that of course

Ability that speed that other players just don't have pops in behind the Daner is able to pick up the loose ball puts it away for the 1-0 win. It was though in the end a bittersweet result for Kansas City. Alana Cook goes down with a knee injury around the 60th minute non-contact trying to cut back after a cross passed her does not look good so we're hoping for the best for her. Cook has been such a huge part of this defense this year for Kansas City that has been a massive turnaround from last year. And then Dubinia came off early as well

with a bit of a knock, so something for us to monitor. Shewenga also came off early. Vlatko said post game, it's with the same thing she's been dealing with, so we'll have to monitor. So at least for Shewenga, it's not anything new. She got hit in the face with a clearance a few minutes earlier, played for about five, six minutes after that, almost had a goal in that span and then ended up coming off. And so the hope is that it's nothing

major with her. The injuries had nothing to do with the physicality of the game. They were all irrelevant to that, but the physicality of the game was there and now Orlando in a little bit of a tailspin in their last three matches they have yet to win and they have not won in four of their last five. So for a team that went undefeated for most of last season and for a full year and then won both titles last year this is the biggest issues that we have seen Seb Hines face as a head coach. We're going to learn a lot about this team. One team not facing any issues right now is San Diego. They are currently the hottest team in the league. They have picked up the most points they possibly could pick up in this last stretch and they get a

1-0 win on the road Friday night at Gotham. So another big performance for this San Diego team that has been must watch. The other team we've talked a lot about is the Portland Thorns, who have played some really fun soccer, who have been super entertaining. They went and waxed Houston 4-1 on the road

right after Jayden Perry, their leading scorer, center back, the PK specialist, the rookie, who was so high on our rookie ranking list last week, signed to contract extensions So right now the Portland Thorns going in the right direction their Cascadia rivals Seattle got a weird 1-0 win at Louisville So it was supposed to be a Friday night game because of weather last minute It was switched to Saturday afternoon So went from an evening game to a 1 p.m. Game in the Sun completely different setup

Sam Meza ended up setting up Maddie Deline with the game winner midway through the first half. Deline, one of the other rookies we talked about in her special last week and how dangerous she's been so far this year, but how much further it looks like she can go. And coming out of this game, Theo Lloyd Hughes, who's a must follow on Blue Sky, said this. Per FB Ref, Seattle rain posted the fourth fewest completed passes 148 ever for a team in

an NWSL match listed the bottom five. What's shocking about this is in this bottom five, none of the teams lost their games. So it was the thorns in 2019 tying the courage. It was Houston dash in 2023 with a 2-0 win over Gotham. It was Chicago last year with a 3-0 win over San Diego. It was this game for Seattle, which was of course a 1-0 victory and Washington in 2023, a 2-2 tie with San Diego.

So maybe passing the ball is bad in NWSL. I don't know that Chicago is proving that that's correct right now as North Carolina continued their hot form with a 2-0 win over Chicago. Monaca, fantastic second goal to put the caper on. It's set up by Shinomi coming off the bench. Jayden shot back into the starting lineup. Still though, that 3-4-3 setup for this North Carolina team, but the game looked a lot easier for Shaw.

It felt like maybe a little bit less pressure with her moved out of the central area, allowed to swap and float with Menaka. And it feels like right now because of that 3-4-3 setup, a lot of natural service comes from the width because of the shape. And maybe it takes off the individual pressure to create for those wide attackers in Ashley Sanchez and Jaden Shaw for the Chicago team. Jasmine Joseph pushed to the bench, didn't really help any of the attack for this team

and coming off the back of this game, the Chicago has announced that they will be hosting a game in September at Northwestern's field. If I believe correctly, this is the Northwestern soccer field which is right along the lake which I think has temporarily been used by the football team so it has extra stands. It has been built out for a higher capacity while the football team builds a new stadium. Not sure where that stands because I've never watched Northwestern football game in my entire life but we have heard rumblings about the potential that Chicago

will be moving. Their games permanently in the Northwestern next year are going forward, so this feels like a bit of a test run late on the season. That game is against Orlando on September 7th. On Saturday, we had a number of wild results, including Washington 3-3 draw with Utah. Croix Bethune back in the starting lineup for the first time since her injury. So the Rookie of the Year back on the field full-time ready to go for Utah. They have scored four goals in eight games coming into this match.

They had a 3-2 lead in the 36th minute. So an absolutely absurd game continued to get even crazier. Mandy McGlynn saves a penalty kick as we approach the 90th minute. And yet Washington, able to get the equalizer through Casey Krueger, another return from injury, has played her most minutes in this game coming off the bench at halftime.

This game was historic. It was the largest expected goals difference in league history. So Washington finished the game with over four expected goals at 4.05 and Utah finished at 0.87. Now in that, a penalty kick is as high an expected goal as you can get and then that one missed and then Washington still went on to score so you've got some statistical skew there and of course Rebecca Bernal the third goal was an own goal for Utah or excuse me yeah Utah scored an own goal that Rebecca Bernal put into the net for Washington so the own goal not gonna come up on expected goals because it's not a moment that you

expect to score in so a weird game Aubrey Kingsbury said at the end honestly one of the most disappointing games I've played for this spirit, but Corbett Bethune back in the starting lineup, Casey Krueger comes off the bench at halftime plays the full 45 and then Hal Hirschfeld returned late in this one off the bench as well. So maybe, maybe the light at the end of the tunnel for this injury crisis for this Washington team. And the final game of the tunnel for this injury crisis for this Washington team. And the final game of the weekend was Bay FC against Angel City.

Both teams wore warmups in honor of Savvy King. And we've gotten some great news from Savvy herself and from the club that she has been discharged from the hospital, able to return home and continue her recovery. So everything going in the right direction right now for Savvy King. That is so good to hear. We talked a little bit on last week's show about the fact that the league continued the game

after Savvy King's medical incident. And there was from most of the players, not all of them, an uproar. That that shouldn't have happened. We were hoping the league would look at this and be able to figure out a better protocol. The league has come out and said that they should not have continued the game, that they should not continue games when there are life-saving methods used.

There is some scale there that I think you can talk to. Medical professionals, the league, the players union, and create a protocol in which it is not a decision. The moment that this process is taken and I'm not a medical professional, so I don't know what that is, if it's the use of a defibrillator, if it's the use of oxygen, whatever it is,

or scaled in any way, that games are just canceled after that. And there should not be conscious decision-making by anyone who is in an emotional state. They just shouldn't have to do that. The way you should build a protocol, the same way you built the protocol to save Savvy King's life, right? Those medical protocols, all those steps that occurred, the way the process worked out and worked well should be the same thing as what you're doing then in the decision-making and

taking it out of people's hands and making it a set process so that you don't have to deal with the emotional fallout in that immediate moment when you have people who are in shock Who can't believe what they've just seen So it feels like at least the nwsl is going to learn from that and take it into the next step on the field This bay angel city game was awesome. Both these teams opened up. They played they went after it two early goals for bay Taylor huff one of our rookies of the year in the running that we talked about last week, helped create the first goal, drew a penalty kick for the second goal and Bay went up to zero. Angel City though, they flew forward. They

took their chances. They tried to create, I think you saw Alyssa Thompson before she got a knock to the head, show some of her best qualities as well. This was a great display for the NWSL. I think you're looking at two fairly young teams in the Western Conference that can get after games and open the game up and I think this is what we'd hope to see going forward. Angel City huffed and puffed in the second half, couldn't get over the line in this one but I think a lot of positives for both these sides coming out of this game. As I said, US Open Cup midweek action this week. So we will have a ton of coverage for you here at Soccerwise.

We appreciate all of you for listening and we'll talk to you again very, very soon.