Latest / Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football / Best 2026 NWSL Trades + Transfers | Claire Hutton Croix Bethune Lindsey Heaps Emily Sams Ludmila

Transcript

Best 2026 NWSL Trades + Transfers | Claire Hutton Croix Bethune Lindsey Heaps Emily Sams Ludmila · Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football

0:04
Oh. OK, welcome to into the channel
0:08
podcast premier about 1 so by my host Dean of the suspicious and
0:12
as always I am joined by my Co host Mr. Grant Angle.
0:16
What is up man? I'm feeling fantastic buddy.
0:19
It feels like it's been a while since we've discussed the
0:23
National Women's Soccer League, the NWSL, in these United States
0:27
of America. I'm ready to chop it up with
0:29
you. Yeah, I think the last time we
0:31
talked to NWSL, you know, we were shaking champagne out of
0:34
her hair, you know, at the final on my stomping ground in San
0:37
Jose. No, but I think a lot of moving
0:40
and shaking in the league. I was excited by my, my, my
0:44
experience at Bay OF CS Media Day.
0:46
Quick sidebar, your boys launched a little side project.
0:49
Let's go if you can, if you are so inclined, if you're
0:54
interested, if you're of the ilk to be interested in what's
0:58
happening in the National Women's Soccer League.
1:01
Your boys launched the channel dedicated to Bay FC called Way
1:05
Into Bay. I want to, I want to do
1:07
something week in, week out. I want you to be a big part of
1:09
it. You know, I want to see what we
1:11
do with Seattle, you know, maybe have like, you know, some sister
1:13
show kind of action, you know, the Bay show, Seattle show.
1:17
But basically we want to kind of like dig our heels and into our
1:20
local markets to cover the league.
1:22
And I think the first foray into that is our new YouTube channel
1:26
that we just launched Way into Bay.
1:27
Go check it out. I'm going to drop a link into
1:29
the description of of the showness to this episode.
1:32
So if you can, your boys be extremely appreciative.
1:35
You'd be a fool, a fool, I tell you, if you do not subscribe to
1:39
Way into Bay. Dino's obviously already off to
1:42
an amazing start doing getting great interviews, asking great
1:45
questions at Bay FC Media Day and I think your club, your
1:50
hometown club, Bay FC, they might be pretty interesting this
1:54
year after some changes to the organization.
1:58
So talked about some of those changes, talk about some of the
2:01
the moving and shaking in the league.
2:03
I wanted to and you know, I wanted to do a thing basically,
2:06
I want to do a little bit of research.
2:08
I said there's a lot of people changing teams.
2:10
There's a lot of people changing last names.
2:11
Congratulation on all the nuptials, on all the various
2:14
nuptials to everybody, you know, who got busy this this
2:16
offseason. But your boy needed I I needed
2:20
to put a dock together. I needed a list of who went
2:23
where when this happened, how much money changed hands.
2:27
And then I think, you know, it's an opportunity to kind of talk
2:29
about some of these moves. I don't want to get into like
2:31
the the the departures because that's like that.
2:34
That's sad boy times. I want to get I want to keep it
2:36
happy. I want to get excited.
2:38
I want to talk acquisitions. I want to talk about these teams
2:41
that have added some big time players and we're going to keep
2:43
it in the end of yourself. So we're not really going to
2:46
rank them, but let's talk about some of the biggest moves that
2:48
that, you know, kind of raised some eyebrows, got us excited
2:51
about this upcoming season. I think that's a good plan.
2:55
And so if we're going to talk about some of the good moves, if
2:58
we're going to keep it positive, I can think of no other way to
3:01
celebrate positive football moves than a beverage.
3:08
Nothing says positive football moves like.
3:11
Beer that's right to you. Cheers to the football moves.
3:14
Cheers to the football moves. Cheers to you, cheers to the
3:17
football and the football moves. You know, there's nothing better
3:21
than the hope that arises from your team acquiring a great
3:26
player, perhaps a great young player, perhaps a great young
3:28
player who's going to see time for the foreseeable future for
3:32
the US Women's national team. Let's go.
3:34
I love that word. Hope so.
3:35
It got me thinking about Night of the Seven Games.
3:37
Are you watching that show? I'm not, but I've heard it's
3:40
really good. Fucking awesome.
3:43
It is just a line of a, it's kind of like a throwaway, but
3:46
it's like, it was just like one of those I thought about 50
3:48
times like hope. I know it's like hope is a tool
3:50
for those who employ it or it's not a tool, but it's like a more
3:52
of like a, you know, like a, a tool with lots of upside.
3:56
And it's like the show is loaded with lots of little bits of
3:59
wisdom like that. A show with a ton of heart, lot
4:02
of action. Very cool.
4:04
High, high high recommend from your boy.
4:06
OK, I'll keep that in mind. And that concludes TV Corner.
4:09
Let's talk about these moves. All right, first movement, it
4:12
has to be discussed. Claire Hutton, defensive
4:14
midfielder from Kansas City, current your 2025 NWSL Shield
4:20
winners to Bay FC. Let's go.
4:24
I cannot. I mean, I talked about the the
4:26
Bay FC media day. It seemed like every player,
4:29
every coach at one point or another mentioned Claire Hutton,
4:33
most of them unprompted, They did.
4:35
She just kept coming up over and over.
4:38
Unbelievable for a player who just turned 20 years old last
4:41
month. You know, like you mentioned
4:43
already, one of the best players in the league, an out and out
4:46
staple for the US women's actual team today.
4:48
Like if we had to win, if we had to play a game for, for, for all
4:51
the marbles tomorrow. Claire Hunt is absolutely
4:54
starting, absolutely playing 90 plus.
4:57
Just an incredible player. You look at the one of my
5:00
favorite stats. So in 2024 KC while Claire
5:04
Hunt's on the on the pitch allows a goal every 66 minutes.
5:09
Last year, historic defense while Claire Hunt's on the
5:12
pitch, a goal every 227 minutes. KC defensively just an absolute
5:18
suffocation, like a suffocation device.
5:21
And I and I think Claire, when I close my eyes, Claire on just
5:24
was a player that is going to win the ball from you and is not
5:28
going to give it back to you. It's going to kind of bully you.
5:31
And it's just not really anything you can do.
5:33
You don't like. You just have to wait.
5:35
You just have to wait until the ball finds its way back to you
5:38
when she's kind of at at the helm.
5:41
And she has multiple ways to keep the ball from you once she
5:44
wins it. I, I, I know I've mentioned this
5:46
multiple times when I have talked about her in the past.
5:49
She plays with a great style. She, you know, she's not afraid
5:53
to do like a back heel to get a spin move in there when, when
5:57
it's needed. Our pal Tom Bomb from the great
6:01
Shades of Blue podcast, one of the great media members in
6:05
Kansas City, has told us multiple times that she displays
6:10
an unbelievable maturity for somebody her age, not even just
6:13
a football or just a person of that age.
6:17
And, you know, he's talked about her composure on and off the
6:20
pitch. And so I mean, she just seems
6:22
like an incredibly impressive young person and footballer.
6:27
And Bay FC should be absolutely thrilled.
6:31
And I think it's $1.1 million well spent.
6:35
I can, I can confirm they are thrilled.
6:38
Everybody, everybody I talked to there is absolutely thrilled.
6:41
I was just kind of chuckling because at at media day, I asked
6:45
her. I was like, you know, like this
6:47
team, I'm kind of paraphrasing. I'm not not a direct quote, but
6:51
like I basically was like this team has gone kind of sideways
6:53
recently. This is a bit, you know, there's
6:55
a big vacuum in terms of like leadership and skill and talent.
7:00
You're stepping into that. You kind of feel pressure and
7:02
she's just like, you don't feel pressure.
7:04
Like, you know, like it's not really he just like a 20 year
7:08
old just like brushed me up, you know, And I was just like, Yep,
7:11
that's why. Yeah, you're clear.
7:12
And I'm sitting here hanging out podcasting, try to figure out
7:16
what's going on. But incredibly impressive on the
7:19
pitch, off the pitch, everybody kind of talks about, you know,
7:22
like, well, I, I really want to see it.
7:25
I don't want to like, you know, kind of I don't want to sight
7:28
unseen it. I trust our guy Tom Bomb through
7:31
and through. I, you know, he gave us great
7:33
bits on our show, great insights into into HUD and obviously all
7:37
I can talk about is what I've seen, you know, on the screen,
7:40
which he's put on tape and my brief interactions with her.
7:43
But I cannot wait to see what it's like on the pitch in person
7:48
live. Just I, I just kind of want to
7:50
see it because this team was crying out in the biggest,
7:53
biggest, biggest way for like a linchpin, like a centerpiece.
7:58
So this could be it. I mean, it could, it could end
8:02
up paying huge dividends for Rachel Kunanagi.
8:05
You know, even if it's not direct passes from Hutton to
8:08
Kunanagi, you just need another kind of like organizer out there
8:12
to kind of help get win the ball back and get it moving in the
8:15
right direction. It's it's a, it's a home run
8:17
move that I think has very little chance of being one of
8:22
those moves where you're like, oh, it was, it was, it looked
8:25
good at the time, but then it didn't pan out.
8:27
I think that that's almost a 0% chance.
8:30
Yeah, great take. I love that we're we're, we're
8:34
doing terrible on time, so. 9 minutes in we got one player all
8:38
right, let's go. It's.
8:41
Gonna take three days to get through.
8:43
All right, second player on the list.
8:46
You kicked us off with Claire Hutton.
8:47
These, these two broke. I think we felt like within
8:50
minutes of each other. Cory Bethune moving on from
8:53
watching Spirit to the Casey current, but you know, not
8:56
quite, you know, replacing Claire Hutton, but maybe
8:58
replacing the, you know, maybe the gravity or, you know, just
9:01
sort of like the the impact or how we want to think about that
9:04
measurement. But the 24 year old joins in
9:07
exchange for him, you know, $1,000,000 fee contract runs
9:10
through 2027. This is a player who even in a
9:16
year where maybe you could say Bethune kind of maybe took a
9:18
step back or we took a step sideways, still had a very
9:21
productive season. And, you know, obviously the the
9:23
ceiling is there every year that, you know, Bethune puts in
9:27
every every match that she puts in, I think is only kind of
9:30
building up towards, you know, eventually, you know, the the
9:34
the apex that she will reach during her career.
9:37
But I do wonder what a move like this is going to do.
9:41
She seemed to have like really good chemistry with a lot of
9:44
those players in Washington stepping into KC, you know, some
9:48
movement, you know, be a obviously out the door as well.
9:52
What do you what do you think about this move?
9:54
Obviously a super talent you know, but I'm interested in your
9:59
take on on Bethune to KC. Definitely a super talent, a
10:03
player who I've pretty much compared to every excellent to
10:08
great undersized central midfielder in world football.
10:13
You know, I, I've often describe myself as the foremost owner of
10:17
Croy Bethune stock in women's football podcasting.
10:20
I think she's absolute dynamite. It's a good point by you look,
10:23
she comes off a pretty bad injury.
10:25
She's had a history of of injuries in her college career,
10:30
so she wins the rookie of the year.
10:32
She ties Tobin Heath's assist record in the NWSL and then
10:36
suffers that bad injury. Has to come back.
10:40
Didn't play nearly as well last year, but now she should be back
10:45
from that Like I. And so, you know, Croix Bethune
10:48
to Temua Chowinga, anyone? Could that be interesting?
10:53
Or show Cooper on the other side.
10:54
That's right. Some national team, you know,
10:57
you know, Jelly happening there. I, I like the move it does.
11:04
I I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, I this is a complete, you
11:08
know, caveman take, but it does feel like offensively the
11:13
spirits attack quite a bit different than what they do in
11:17
KC. Could, could, could, could that
11:19
be an issue? Like, I mean, obviously Croy,
11:21
you know, you, you see the IQ you, you, you don't, you don't
11:24
have the ability to pass and create like that without being a
11:27
genius level footballer. But there's something about the
11:32
fit that feels like I got to kind of see, you know, like, I
11:35
don't know, And it could just be that it was, it's too jarring.
11:37
You know, Claire Hutton moves, Bethune moves and these are, you
11:40
know, two of the the biggest names that we have in the sport.
11:43
But do you feel like they're they're I don't want to say it
11:46
could be some downside, but when you said that there's a 0%
11:49
chance for that Hutton move not working out.
11:52
Let's take injuries off the table.
11:53
Just from a football standpoint, do you feel like this could be
11:57
like have some Jaden Shaw North Carolina courage potential for
12:00
just to just work? Or do you feel like this is like
12:03
kind of like a match made in heaven type situation?
12:06
I there's a world, I think where it doesn't work.
12:09
We call it, I would probably put it somewhere like in the five to
12:13
10% chance that maybe this doesn't work.
12:17
And I think my I probably skew closer to five, maybe like a one
12:19
in 20 chance that this doesn't work so well.
12:21
I'm but I'm such a believer in Bethune's her vision, her
12:27
passing ability. Now think about like the year
12:30
before last 2024 when Bethune when she would be running at
12:35
goal, you think about some of those strikes that she would hit
12:37
for some for a couple of her goals.
12:39
I think she had five goals, 10 assists that season.
12:41
Or, and and I'm totally with you, like, especially in the in
12:45
the Geraldes kind of universe of coaching that she was she was
12:51
living in in those times. Now we think about Kansas City,
12:57
they don't necessarily want the ball.
12:59
They don't necessarily need the ball to punish you on the
13:02
attack. What if this is a Steve Nash is
13:06
good for The Mavericks? And then Steve Nash is a world
13:09
beater for the Phoenix Suns of just hey, I'm a supercomputer of
13:14
making good football and passing decisions, and I can play fast.
13:18
And if I'm going to play on the break and I have Cooper and
13:21
Chewing on the sides, what if we're unlocking something kind
13:24
of different there? That's certainly live and I
13:29
think that's going to be that's going to be kind of on arm is to
13:32
like piece together from a from a strategy, from a tactical
13:36
attack standpoint, because things are definitely going to
13:40
have to change. You know, they have to change,
13:41
you know, like the change at the top, a player like be out the
13:44
door, a player like Bethune in I mean, those are already pretty
13:48
size. Those three are pretty seismic
13:50
in and of themselves and then hunting out the door, you know,
13:53
so like, like there's a lot of work to be done to piece it
13:57
together. But I like that take that it
14:00
could be like a a major unlock, you know, for Bethune to just be
14:05
like, all right, here's here's some, some some toys out here on
14:08
the wings to kind of like, you know, play with and then and
14:11
utilize. And, you know, Bethune, you
14:13
know, has the skill set to to maximize everything that that's
14:16
went on there for sure. Yeah.
14:18
And then I want to say I called it a Geraldo style.
14:20
Adrian Gonzalez obviously did a great job of taking that baton
14:23
and kind of running with it. But yeah, I think Bethune again,
14:28
you know, I'm not, I'm not get, I'm not selling any of my Corey
14:32
Bethune stock. And so I'll, I'll be interested
14:34
to see how Kansas City's defense looks.
14:37
But as I always like to say, the best defense is good offense.
14:42
You do like to say that, but let's go ahead.
14:48
I wanted to package these couple players just because they're
14:50
both heading to Denver. They're both coming from France,
14:53
one from Lyon, one from BSG, Lindsay Heaps, Eva Gottino, both
14:59
signing with Denver. I like I like these pickups.
15:03
I like the international flavor. Denver I I feel like, has kind
15:06
of secretly put together a nice roster, like not not really an
15:10
expansion team roster, which is something to be excited about
15:13
for sure, But I want to talk about heaps specifically who I
15:20
feel like it's kind of like you're not not to really like,
15:22
you know, go full Bill Simmons here, but I feel like has snuck
15:27
into the maybe the underrated camp at this point has taken
15:30
like so much shit that you know, you see the limitations and it's
15:35
like, OK, well, you see, maybe like the light, you know, like
15:38
the the finish line potentially on a on a on a stellar US from
15:41
his national team career. Sure, I will, you know, like
15:44
coming, you know, to the NWS. This is this isn't a player
15:47
leaving, you know, you know, Chelsea to to come to the MLS.
15:51
You know, this is this is a player still with a lot in the
15:53
tank, a super still effective player with limitations.
15:58
But I kind of feel like coming to the NWSL at this point in her
16:02
career, it it could be the the perfect move for Heaps.
16:10
I think so. Hometown kid done good, has a
16:14
Champions League trophy from 2122.
16:16
I think that's what, 5 leagues? Somebody will correct me if I'm
16:19
wrong in the chat there over at Leon.
16:24
Obviously 2019 World Cup winner. Yeah, everything, the list of
16:27
accomplishments goes on and on and on.
16:30
I think it's great for the Denver Summit.
16:32
It's great for the league. She's an instantaneously a a
16:37
face of that program to kind of get everything launched there.
16:45
I have some questions about her style of play.
16:47
I mean, obviously, like I plotting is probably too strong,
16:54
but like it's a slower style. It's a European style.
16:57
It's why she told all of us that we don't know ball in America
17:00
because she prefers a European style of football.
17:03
I think that was her quote a few years ago.
17:05
And thank you to her for that, for obviously she told us, all
17:09
of us, we don't know ball and it inspired one of the greatest,
17:14
you know, women's football Youtubes of all time.
17:16
Busy watching women's soccer by Brady O'Toole.
17:18
If you're not subscribed, if you're not subscribed to that
17:21
YouTube channel, just pause us and subscribe to that real quick
17:24
'cause you'll be smarter for doing so.
17:26
But I digress. I think you know, Heaps and
17:29
Gatino, I like where your head's at here of they have less
17:34
expansion team vibes because of the moves that they're making.
17:37
And you know, they bring in Pigot, they bring in Ally Watt.
17:39
We'll probably talk about them later.
17:42
I do wonder too though, like are you Ally?
17:44
Brazier, congratulations on the nutshells.
17:46
Thank you very much for that. Yep, It's still got to do some
17:49
of some of my extra research there.
17:54
I I, I do think there's a little bit of danger in how old is your
17:58
team in its first year of existence?
18:01
How's that going to look? But I also think that that can
18:04
help you guard against some of the some of the things that we
18:07
saw happen to Utah Royals in their first season where they
18:10
were just like there were matches where you're like, oh,
18:13
they're getting, they're getting dragged into the depth of the
18:15
ocean here and they got no answers for it.
18:19
Yeah, I mean, what the Denver's got a couple other players that
18:22
will hit on the list, but Kaylee Kurtz, a OK, you know, one of
18:27
the US young defenders that a lot of promise here, Cameron
18:33
Bugalski and then in goal, Pauline Perry Almagnon.
18:37
So I don't know a professional team and I I you know, I'm going
18:43
to put a I'm going to put a take trip down.
18:46
I wouldn't be surprised if Lindsay Heaps finds her way on
18:51
to either a first or second team best 11 this season.
18:55
I could see Denver kind of outperforming, you know, Heaps
19:00
being a little bit of like a, you know, like that, like a
19:02
foundational piece, kind of like a like a spiritual cultural
19:06
leader. And this is kind of if she
19:08
embraces it, it's like I'm going to come back and we're we're
19:10
going to really do do you know, we're going to really do it in
19:12
Denver That I think that's in the cards for me because I think
19:16
she's kind of tired of hearing about it.
19:18
And you know, she's not the best player in the world, but she
19:22
gets a lot of shit. I think she get I think it's
19:24
it's it's unfair the treatment that that she gets a little bit.
19:28
She definitely has limitations but I wouldn't be shocked if
19:31
she's kind of sneaks onto a second, a second team best 11
19:34
and kind of has like a nephew type season.
19:37
I love it as it takes. So let me ask you this then, is
19:41
it better for her, for Leo, for her to have lifted the Champions
19:47
League trophy and then come over here?
19:50
Or is it better for her for them to let's just say, let's say
19:53
they lose in the final or or maybe, yeah, lose in the final
19:58
or lift the trophy. What's better for her mindset
20:01
coming over here? Does she come over here trying
20:03
to be a world destroyer if they lose in the final?
20:07
I don't you know, she's honestly, she's lost enough
20:10
games, she's lost enough fish. She she doesn't need to kind of
20:13
she got a rolodex of games, which is awful, You know, like
20:16
if you want to pull some extra motivation, she could go back
20:18
and find find something. I think if they raised the
20:21
trophy, you know, and she you know, she comes back with a
20:25
barrel big ass ring. She gets off the plane, you
20:27
know, sunglasses, you know, just like the the Montclair flipped
20:31
up and you know, like you know, like she's like I'm here, I'm
20:34
ready, you know, nails fully done.
20:35
How she do Like I I I like that. Give me the give me that story.
20:40
Give me Champions League champion Lindsay Heap stepping
20:43
off the plane being like, all right, let's, let's keep it
20:45
going. I love that.
20:47
I think it would be it would be good for the club and and not to
20:49
totally forget about every guy. Tino, she comes to Denver also
20:53
from France, like you mentioned from Paris on German.
20:56
She hasn't played for her French side since December.
20:59
But I think, you know, the Tino was a good was a good and
21:01
interesting prospect. That's why she ended up at PSG.
21:05
She was a two time ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the Notre
21:09
Dame Fighting Irish, the women's football team in Notre Dame.
21:12
The only good football team in Notre Dame.
21:16
Shut up. Be no cook.
21:17
And Brady O'Toole miss you, Brady.
21:19
She believes the right around the corner.
21:20
Brady, let's go. What are you doing?
21:22
Come on. Hang out with us.
21:24
That's the invitation, all right?
21:26
Sure. No.
21:27
I'll I'll cut that. We'll set a proper invitation.
21:30
I. Think she would laugh at it?
21:32
She's. Great.
21:33
She's great on the show. I love her.
21:34
Yeah. She's the fucking best all.
21:37
Right. Let's, let's keep it going.
21:39
Where do you want to go from here?
21:40
We got a bunch on the on the board.
21:42
I'll let you kind of pick. Let's take a talk about Brazil,
21:46
my good man. Let's, let's talk about Luge
21:48
Mila. From Chicago stars to the San
21:52
Diego wave for the handsome price of $800,000 in trans fee
21:58
funds and up to an additional 200,000 in conditional transfer
22:02
fees. Here's my take, Luge Mila.
22:06
That's a good player. It is a good player.
22:10
You know, what's wild is that like, I think you know,
22:12
underrated in a in a different way.
22:14
I think because doesn't, you know, doesn't check all the
22:18
boxes but checks that main one. It's like put the ball back.
22:24
On the issue, I like that one good box to check.
22:27
Yeah, that's a good one. ITC best 11 last year.
22:33
Let's fucking go. And just an absolute goal
22:35
machine, you know, great, great celebrations, an explosive
22:40
player. And you know, it's it's weird to
22:45
see kind of like, and I wanted to talk about this a little bit
22:48
because it's come up in at various stops.
22:52
I talked to Leanne about it. You remember when we when I
22:54
asked the end, I'm like, who's the player that you were
22:57
surprised hit hit a ceiling based on what you saw them
23:01
younger? She's like Chloe Kelly.
23:02
I thought that was like really surprising.
23:04
But she also mentioned players like Kylie and the Danner.
23:07
And when I was at BF CS media day, that came up too, because I
23:10
talked a lot about like toughness, competitiveness,
23:13
mindset. And it came up a couple times
23:16
where people are like, you know, our locker room in this league
23:20
isn't filled with blue chip, you know, freshman, sophomore in
23:25
high school, just, you know, like all the way through top,
23:28
top, top recruits all the way through there.
23:29
There's like real, real grinders in this league, you know, and I
23:33
and I love a player like Lujmila a little older, you know, kind
23:38
of, you know, makes a big splash for Brazil.
23:40
Not a big splash, but, you know, makes a big impact for Brazil.
23:43
Kind of like announces herself this next iteration of Lujmila,
23:48
you know, for Brazil, carries that into Chicago now, maybe
23:52
carries out in San Diego. And that is a kind of a record
23:55
recurring story. And Leanne also checked you a
23:57
little bit like, oh, you know, players, they're 29, they're in
24:00
their prime, they're 30. They're, you know, they're all
24:01
kind of over the hill. You know, I feel like in this
24:04
sport, there are players that kind of come into it late 20s,
24:09
early 30s. Like it becomes more of like an
24:11
IQ game. They they kind of unlock some of
24:13
the the parts of what this game is.
24:16
And I feel like Luge Mila is one of those players.
24:18
I wouldn't be surprised to see her carry that form to San
24:21
Diego, even considering, you know, some of the funky stuff
24:24
that's going on over there. I'm really interested to see how
24:27
she fits in, how she how she likes playing there.
24:31
We've talked about, you know, some of the turnover that's been
24:33
happening with that club. But you know what, what makes
24:38
everybody relax? You know what gets the the
24:40
manager off your back? You know what makes the the
24:43
manager relax If. Maybe he thinks he's like a
24:46
super genius and maybe the results don't don't totally
24:49
spell that out. You just score goals, and Lucia
24:52
scored ten goals last year. Now I do think it is worth
24:54
pointing out that she had two braces and a Hattie, so that
25:00
that accounts for seven of the ten goals in just three matches.
25:05
And they were all kind of bunched together like in the
25:07
middle of the season. That hat trick she, she had was
25:12
in that 33 draw versus the North Carolina courage, which was one
25:15
of the most bonkers matches of the season, which is saying a
25:18
lot in an NWSL season. But I, I'm, I'm going to be
25:23
really fascinated to see how she fits into Yonas Eidvall system
25:27
and, and how she how she likes it out there in beautiful San
25:31
Diego, CA. I think she, I think it's very
25:36
live that she plays well and San Diego's still not very good.
25:43
I mean, I'm, I don't want to kind of like make a prediction,
25:50
but I'm a little bit higher on San Diego just because, I mean.
25:53
We're back. I think I think they they they
25:55
took a a weird turn last year and I don't know, I'm a sucker
25:59
for Lujemila. I think she's she's explosive.
26:03
What did we say last year about that team?
26:05
You know, and obviously you lose Castorino, you sell Dolly.
26:07
I don't want to get into the departures, but whatever here we
26:09
are. You lose kind of Lundqvist.
26:12
Talk about that one later, although we've talked about that
26:14
one quite a bit in our changes, the coverage.
26:18
I feel like, I feel like Lujemila could be the finisher
26:21
that they needed. I mean, I'm not, you know, call
26:23
me crazy, but I think it's possible.
26:25
San Diego wave optimism by Dino de Cespedes.
26:28
We are back. Season is almost here, all
26:34
right. I'm I'm on low battery.
26:35
We got it. We got a hostel.
26:37
Let's go, let's hit a few more. Who are some of the biggest ones
26:40
you've got left on your list? Narumi Mira From Washington
26:45
Spirit to to Utah Royals. I, I think the Royals get a
26:50
steal here for, you know, spending $180,000 in, in
26:56
allocation money. They have, they have Narumi
27:00
through the 2027 on the VSL season with a mutual option for
27:04
2028. Narumi was just never quite the
27:10
right fit in Washington. And I, I know we talked about it
27:13
a little last year or at least I put it in my notes.
27:16
I can't even remember if we totally talked about it.
27:17
But like, watching those matches, they signed Narumi from
27:21
the Courage. I know she's good.
27:24
I know she's a smart player. I know she's a fast player.
27:27
But she didn't quite fit into that Adrian Gonzalez kind of
27:31
free flowing side to side, move the ball around kind of offense.
27:36
She is kind of more of a structured midfielder.
27:40
There were just times where she would make a pass and be like,
27:42
you're supposed to be there. But then like her teammate would
27:45
be like, yeah, But like the space dictated that maybe I
27:47
should be over here and I wanted to do it.
27:50
And there was just like, it just didn't feel like the the pieces
27:54
were clicking together. So I'm, I'm, you know, obviously
27:59
the spirit or a massive contender in the Royals were not
28:03
last year, but I'm interested to see her in a different context
28:06
to see how she plays. I really like this because, you
28:11
know, Utah just had a lot of trouble connecting one one part
28:16
of the pitch to the other. You know, and I and I feel like
28:19
when you think about what Mira is really good at it, it it
28:21
really is just that. I mean, defensively, you know,
28:24
super stout, but can can send the ball where he needs to go,
28:30
you know, in a very responsible, you know, effective way.
28:34
And I think Utah is really going to benefit from that because
28:37
that'll just kind of get them go.
28:38
It'll just give them more opportunities.
28:40
I think we're going to see more touches in the final third, more
28:43
touches in the box, just as a result of getting Mira more
28:46
involved. Yeah, totally agree.
28:50
Very interested to see Utah again.
28:52
Obviously, we'll do our NWSL preview.
28:55
We'll pick the teams. You know, maybe I'm, I'm scared
29:00
of Utah now in the sense of I'm not going to pick them to do
29:02
well again, but that could be my downfall.
29:05
But I don't know, you know what I, I, I retract that.
29:08
Maybe I will pick Utah to, to do well and maybe I'll just pick
29:11
them to do well every single season until I get it right.
29:14
You never know. Stay tuned.
29:16
I mean, eventually, eventually Amy Rodriguez is going to be the
29:18
coach of the year. Just hang in there.
29:19
That's right, this next move. I hate it.
29:22
Emily Sam's leaves my Rolander pride to join Angel City.
29:27
Just just a real heartbreaker. No sad boy angles.
29:33
I know, I know. Yeah.
29:34
It's Sam, Sam's Angel City. They've got to be pumped.
29:37
Obviously the 2024 end of the Defender of the Year, the D boy
29:42
or the DOI, however you want to think about that, You know, I
29:46
don't want to say. Took a step back last year.
29:49
I think things, things went a little sideways.
29:53
How Viola comes back, the Danner comes back is a weird year.
29:57
Things are moving around. They're trying to sort of piece
29:59
together. But I would say if Angel City is
30:02
a is able to carve out a spot on the pitch for Sam's and just be
30:08
like, right, you're you're one on the depth chart for the time,
30:13
you know, for the time being, I think that would only benefit
30:18
her. And then you can kind of build
30:20
around because she's she's so good defensively and
30:23
offensively. I think her game is evolving as
30:26
well. Yeah, totally.
30:29
I mean, she's, she's too smart for it not to.
30:32
I mean, what she's, she's around that 2728 years old mark I think
30:37
too. So she's in her prime now.
30:39
I think she's a reliable US women's national team player.
30:43
That's good for Angel City. I think she fits Alex Strauss
30:47
says 26. There we go.
30:49
Like, so I mean, yeah, so she's still even there might be a
30:51
little more room to grow there. Like as the, you know, the, the,
30:55
the mentals continue to improve. I think she's an Alex Strauss
31:00
kind of player. And, you know, obviously Alex
31:04
Strauss born in Bergen, Norway, got that, got that Bergen
31:08
toughness to him. So I think Sam's is a perfect
31:10
fit there. Yeah, you almost like, you know,
31:13
like Sam's has a little glow to the biggest doe to her to her.
31:16
You know, you think about that center back like like I can see
31:19
her and not but you kind of just want her to be a staple.
31:23
I think moving around or in Orlando last year really didn't
31:27
serve her at all. Even if those skills, even if it
31:31
did serve her, I guess from you know, from the from the the fact
31:33
that those skills, you know, kind of developed not included
31:37
in the she believes cup roster. I think that was something of
31:39
note. So we'll see if if that's a blip
31:43
or, you know, obviously still some time before we get to 27,
31:45
but something to track either way.
31:47
If you're an Angel City fan, you're probably pumped a few
31:50
more big ones on the list. Where do you want to go from?
31:53
Here, let's see here I I, I do want to say randomly now I just
31:57
have the thoughts stuck in my head.
31:59
Emily Sam's to SK Brown eventually I I would like to see
32:03
that. Let's go with a former San Diego
32:09
Wave Football Club player. How about they're the former #1
32:13
goalkeeper for San Diego Wave, a Shield winning goalkeeper for
32:16
San Diego Wave FC. Caitlin Sheridan, Canada's
32:19
number one goalkeeper from San Diego to the other coast, North
32:23
Carolina. I might.
32:26
I don't know if where they play is on the coast or whatever, but
32:29
who cares? Geography.
32:30
Not my strong suit that's been well established in this
32:33
podcast. North Carolina is on the coast.
32:36
North Carolina is, here's what I do know, Caitlin Sheridan,
32:42
that's a goalkeeper right there, Great bounce, great shot
32:45
stopping ability. Replacing Casey Murphy.
32:48
No disrespect to Casey Murphy. I think it's an upgrade for
32:51
North Carolina. I agree with all that.
32:55
No disrespect to Murphy. It's an upgrade.
32:59
ITC Hall of Famer courtesy of Jordan Sikowitz, who nominated
33:03
Kayla Sheridan on the spot with her on the spot and she put
33:07
Sheridan in. So shout out to both of them.
33:09
But really big pick up for for for North Carolina.
33:13
And I think there was some, I think there was some strategy to
33:15
it. I think this is a move that they
33:17
went out and wanted to make. You know, I think they kind of
33:21
like targeted it, made it happen.
33:23
Obviously a big game goalkeeper, you know, a keeper that you have
33:29
full confidence in, you know, kind of like, and you know, to
33:32
be fair, there might be 4 or five in the league that like,
33:36
you know, we were at the final and it's a different it, it
33:39
feels so different than like the week to week action.
33:42
It it really, it really felt like a few levels higher and you
33:47
start to look at these goalkeepers like you were you,
33:49
you need to be solid every single position, but goalkeeper
33:52
specifically is a big one. And I think if you do want to
33:55
compete and you do have have aspirations to be at the very,
33:58
very top, top, top level of the league, you know, you have to
34:01
have a keeper like Sheridan, you know, to, to be able to be in
34:03
that mix. Yeah, I mean, totally true.
34:06
I mean, I mean, we watched on Kutcher and Berger face off
34:09
against Aubrey Kingsbury, who is a former NW Self Championship
34:13
match MVP, and then on Kutcher and Berger, one of the best
34:17
goalkeepers in the world. I think it's a great shout by
34:19
you. You know, we heard it from
34:24
Jordan Silkowitz, Silky just given us the game on what
34:28
Sheridan is even good at good at, you know, just completely
34:32
mind blowing stuff for two dudes like us who, you know, obviously
34:36
don't see don't see the game the way any pro does to even 1%.
34:41
But also just goalkeeping knowledge in terms of what what
34:45
the keeper has to be considering out there.
34:47
So I think it's an interesting move and I, you know, I think it
34:52
adds to some intrigue of what North Carolina might look like
34:56
this year, especially when you think about last year and all
34:58
the intrigue that they had with Jaden Shaw coming in and we're
35:01
like, what's this going to look like?
35:02
And it was a total disaster. Now they kind of make this move
35:06
and some other some other changes.
35:08
It's like, all right, well, maybe do these under the radar
35:11
moves work a little better? Could be.
35:15
I mean, definitely something, something to track.
35:19
I want I want to put you on the spot.
35:21
Give me give me let's each do one more that we really like and
35:25
then maybe we'll hit some honorable mentions on the on the
35:27
way out. I think if I'm going one more,
35:32
I'm going to stay in my hometown.
35:33
I'm going to stay Bay FC who also lifted who I should say
35:39
lifted another player from the Casey's current 18 year old Alex
35:43
Pfeiffer, who just happens to be Claire Hunt's bestie that I
35:47
learned I was also media day. So a key signing you would say
35:51
for Bay FC to bring Pfeiffer over before you know, you know,
35:55
getting getting the the ink try on the Claire Hunt contract.
35:58
But Pfeiffer just 95 minutes played last year in her age 17
36:02
season. I mentioned Claire's bestie.
36:04
I got to interview her very briefly as part of Bay FC media
36:09
day. Go check out Wayne to Bay
36:11
YouTube channel if you haven't already.
36:13
Appreciate that. But I asked her.
36:15
I was like, hey, I did a little bit of a cheat also because I
36:17
wasn't super familiar with your game.
36:19
And I'm like, hey, for those not familiar with your game, let
36:22
everybody know what kind of. Attack that more.
36:25
That's a veteran move by you, so.
36:27
She's like, all right, I like to assist, I like to score.
36:31
She's like, you can count on me for creativity from the wing,
36:34
taking people on one V1, putting in crosses.
36:37
I'm like, all of that sounds absolutely fantastic.
36:41
Sign me up. So Alex Pfeiffer that that's how
36:43
I'm going to round out my list of and abusive acquisitions that
36:47
I'm most excited about. Fun trivia about Alex Pfeiffer.
36:51
At one point she was the youngest goalscorer in the
36:53
history of the league, and it happened in that 54 opening day
36:57
match thriller and CPKC when it was the what the opening match
37:04
of the 2024 season, Kansas City Current versus Portland Thorns.
37:08
She scored what would ultimately be the winner in that match, the
37:12
fifth goal for Kansas City. Great shot by you.
37:15
Very interested to see how she how she turns out for Bay FC.
37:19
If if I got to be put on the spot, I'm going to go with
37:22
another Canadian. In the spirit of Caitlyn
37:25
Sheridan, I'll take Janine Sonas from Racing Louisville to
37:29
Denver. Talked about Denver already.
37:32
Janine Sonas, you know, one of five players to log more than
37:36
2000 minutes in the league. Racing Louisville gets over the
37:39
hump, makes the playoffs last year.
37:41
She, you know, 31 year old has seen a lot gold medal winner for
37:47
Canada. If if if memory serves, I you
37:52
know, just another player who is going to add some kind of kind
37:56
of veteran medal to this Denver squad.
38:00
And you'll see like what's what's the ceiling?
38:03
Is it 5th on the table? Is is the ceiling, you know, was
38:08
the ceiling 4th on the table? Like how high can they climb?
38:11
Well, you know, they have to, they kind of have to tread some
38:14
water, wait for heaps to come in, but how good can they be in
38:17
the build up? I think they have enough players
38:19
to kind of carry them until they until they get there, that
38:23
central piece in the midfield. I mean, it's super early, but I,
38:28
I would say they probably are. You know, if they were in the
38:32
playoff mix, I got to imagine they'd be really excited about
38:35
that. You know, so that would probably
38:38
be they they they got to stay alive.
38:40
I would say before you know, but well, while they're waiting on a
38:43
maybe heaps and guy Tina, we'll see.
38:46
But I love the shout. So this to Denver, Denver
38:50
getting doing business. I love that.
38:52
I cannot wait to see them actually play.
38:54
Couple other ones that I wanted to hit real quick before we get
38:58
out of here. Semantic McCaskill to Gotham,
39:02
just a minutes monster. You know, it's a a weird career
39:05
for McCaskill, 29 years old, you know, hasn't really, I don't
39:09
think she's played in a for a team for more than two years.
39:12
So so it has, you know, a lot of bouncing around last five
39:16
seasons logged a ton of minutes. But then you look at where you
39:19
where teams of finishes, where they finish.
39:22
It's between 5th and 10th. So we'll see joining Gotham if
39:25
that makes a big a big difference.
39:27
Ali Schlegel to North Carolina. I love that one.
39:30
I thought that was really interesting.
39:32
Lucia de Guli Elmo to Washington Spirit.
39:35
Yeah. Champions League.
39:36
Crazy. There was, not to mention that.
39:38
Yeah. There was just so many moves for
39:41
Adi Borges, Angel City, you know, that's right up my alley.
39:45
Rachel Hill leaves Bay of Cedar go to join Racing Louisville.
39:48
So tons of talent on the move and they're really exciting.
39:51
Offseason What? Were there any other couple I
39:55
mention honorable mention on the way out?
39:56
You know, when, when Casey Murphy goes to Boston legacy and
40:01
then Laura Livery goes to Boston legacy, I, I think you and I are
40:07
probably two members of the Laura Livery fan club.
40:11
Like she's good man. Like I, she's we, we were
40:14
talking about her last year as maybe the best backup goalkeeper
40:17
in the league. She probably had a look at best
40:20
goal, best backup goalkeeper in the league in 2024 when she was
40:23
playing out here in in Seattle. I mean I I.
40:28
Look forward to the day where she gets the opportunity to be
40:31
the number one for some club and I don't know if she's going to
40:34
be fighting it out with Casey Murphy over in Boston.
40:39
I don't see how she won't be. But yeah, I'm fully on board
40:42
with, yeah, let's stop calling Laura, Laura Library the best #2
40:46
in the league. Let's get up to the number one
40:48
status one way or the other because I think she's got, you
40:52
know, she's got it in her bag to be able to, you know, reach
40:54
those heights. Were there any others that you
40:58
liked? That's a great shout.
41:02
Did you say I, I mean, I'm just going to sound like a like a
41:05
Denver guy here. Did we talk about Carson Pickett
41:08
just in the like veteran leader, makes good plays, makes smart
41:11
plays. I like a lot of I like a lot of
41:13
what Denver did, but. I love Pickett.
41:16
I I just have some. It almost makes like it's, it's
41:20
such a dumb thing to say, but like it almost makes me more
41:24
cautious that I'm just like, I like a lot of these names on the
41:27
paper here. It's just like, well, how often
41:30
does that work out for an expansion franchise?
41:32
I guess we'll, I guess we'll have to see.
41:34
And then luckily, we will see because we'll be watching.
41:37
Yeah, and I don't want to pit them against each other, but I,
41:39
I, I like that what Denver did slightly more than I like what
41:42
Boston did. Couple of their shouts for my,
41:46
my Orlando Pride, Nicole Payne, a nice addition and Hayley Mace.
41:52
You know, I looked at, I looked at thought Mob's rating for last
41:55
year. You can, you can scroll, you can
41:57
sort by ratings for the whole season.
42:00
Hayley Mace was the 27th ranked player on follow up.
42:03
And if you look at it, it's legit like you, you can knock
42:06
through and you're like, OK, yeah, these are the best players
42:08
in the league. You know, it's a, it's a, it's a
42:12
pretty nice metric for the whole season.
42:14
Hayley Mace ranked super high on that list, so was excited to see
42:18
her move over to Orlando considering some of the
42:20
departures. We want to talk about those, but
42:23
I, I, we're getting dangerously close, man.
42:25
We're we're like a few weeks, you know, there's a lot
42:27
happening in these few weeks or a few weeks away from the end of
42:30
this all season kicking off. It's amazing.
42:32
Time flies when the world is in the death spiral.
42:37
So I I look forward to some NWSL buoy buoying us just as the way
42:45
for Women's Champions League has been doing.
42:47
The NWSL will do it a little more on a on a little more
42:50
consistent schedule. So I look forward to chopping it
42:53
up with you about it all season. No doubt, man.
42:57
And yeah, we'll do a quick episode calendar.
42:59
We'll be back what she believes right around the corner before
43:02
we get to the end of this, I'll kick off.
43:03
So we're going to do a few, at least two, maybe 3 she believes
43:07
cup shows. I think at the at, at the maybe
43:12
the post game variety, you know, so definitely keep it locked for
43:15
that Chamizy that returns end of March.
43:18
So we'll be busy there. And I think in between, in the
43:21
interim, we're going to be tracking these European teams,
43:24
We're going to be tracking these NWSL moves, everything in
43:28
between. It's a it's a really fun time of
43:30
the the football and calendar. So definitely continue to rock
43:33
with us. All right, man, I think we did
43:36
it. We didn't run out of battery
43:37
just yet. Is there anything else you want
43:38
to hit before we get out of here?
43:39
Hopefully nothing too long. No, I think we've done it, my
43:42
good man. That is a what I thought was a
43:45
comprehensive discussion over some NWSL moves but of course I
43:50
look forward to you guys re educating us in the chat.
43:53
Let us know who we missed. Let's go.
43:55
No doubt we missed a bunch of a bunch of great players.
43:58
So apologies a little program preempted Apologies for that.
44:01
This has been in the oversight of the channel.
44:03
Thank you, thank you, thank you for watching, listening, hanging
44:06
out. If you enjoyed the show.
44:07
We do this every single week, sometimes twice a week,
44:09
sometimes twice in in the same eve.
44:12
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Like, subscribe, follow, comment, leave us a review while
44:19
you're at it. patreon.com/into the channel.
44:21
Great way to support the show into channel merch, even greater
44:24
way to support show. Links to all of the above.
44:26
Much much more in the description of this episode.
44:28
And a big thing in my coast as well.
44:30
Mr. Great angle for being the biggest key transfer in the
44:33
history of this show. I appreciate you bro Like.
44:38
Likewise, buddy, I don't think you know, we're a package deal
44:42
at this point. We're, you know, we're, we're
44:44
clear. Claire Hunt and Alex Pfeiffer.
44:49
Claire Hunt and Alex Pfeiffer, thank you.
44:51
I mean, it's sleepy boy hours here, so I appreciate you
44:54
helping me, helping me finish that.
44:56
I just want to make sure I didn't put your name.
44:58
Yeah. And again, let us know who did
45:00
we miss? Who should we be thinking about?
45:02
Is Denver really going to be that good?
45:04
Are you high on Denver? Are you low on Denver?
45:06
Do we think Boston Legacy might be better?
45:08
Who's the team with that we should be watching out for?
45:10
We're going to try to land some good guests to preview the NWSL
45:14
season. We are efforting to do that, so
45:17
please, you know, keep it locked in and see what we come up with
45:21
there. And again, thank you all for the
45:23
support and we will see you all next time.