Latest / Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football / NWSL WK8 PREVIEW | NC Courage v Orlando Pride | San Diego Wave v Portland Thorns | KC Current v Bay FC | Reign v Dash plus much more!

Transcript

NWSL WK8 PREVIEW | NC Courage v Orlando Pride | San Diego Wave v Portland Thorns | KC Current v Bay FC | Reign v Dash plus much more! · Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football

0:06
OK, welcome to Into the Channel podcast primarily about one's
0:09
football. I'm your host, Dino de Suspitas,
0:11
and as always, I'm joined by my Co host Mr. Grant Engel.
0:16
What's up, man? I'm feeling fantastic, buddy.
0:18
I'm ready to get into match week.
0:20
Eight seasons hitting its stride.
0:22
The Celtics are frauds. Oh, wait, differently.
0:24
Doesn't matter. I digress already.
0:28
I've always got time for Celtics being fraudstock.
0:31
Always maybe another podcast, but we might get some more
0:34
sprinkles of that in here as well.
0:36
But I think we're in for another great week of the NWSL.
0:39
I love it. I love it.
0:40
Yeah. Full slate, as mentioned, felt a
0:43
little empty with no midweek, you know, championship.
0:46
Well, I guess there was some some men's championship, but
0:48
that's still sitting on my DVR. I haven't, I haven't caught up
0:51
with with what happened on the men's side.
0:53
But big match Week 8 coming up. That's exciting.
0:57
Wait. Yeah, this is Matchwe cake.
0:58
Yeah, that's it. Really nice.
1:01
Really nice matchups. Excited to get into it.
1:04
I wanted to do a quick Sprint, Sprint ahead, look ahead,
1:08
preview, recap, precap of what we've got coming up this
1:12
weekend. Got some good matchups, but I
1:14
wanted a little sprinkle, sprinkle through each of the
1:17
seven. So I don't know.
1:19
We can go any which order you want.
1:21
I'll leave that to you, Mr. Grant.
1:23
Angle. Where do you want to get?
1:25
Started. Oh, I think you know where I
1:26
want to get started. It's one, with a frosty beverage
1:30
and two, we got to do chronological order.
1:33
Right, Let's go. I'm with it.
1:35
Seems like the right way to do a preview, yeah?
1:38
Cheers to chronology. So let's start with Friday
1:46
Night. Racing Louisville, Gotham FC.
1:51
I don't know, racing Louisville. We're just coming off the
1:53
Kentucky Derby. Horses versus bats.
1:57
I don't know like what what we're talking about here.
2:00
What are you looking for in this match up?
2:02
I mean, you know, obviously racing Louisville has been the
2:05
big question mark of the season. You know, is Gotham going to
2:09
bounce back from that nil nil Ester, you know, obviously on
2:13
absolute tear, still leading the league in goals.
2:16
What's Ester going to be able to do against racing?
2:19
But I, you know, I continue to be super interested in like
2:24
Louisville offensively, you know, they continue to create
2:26
chances. They're putting up those big XG
2:28
numbers, not quite scoring, but you know, super intriguing in
2:33
terms of like who they've got, you know, out out on the pitch.
2:37
And a match where I think both of these sides have a lot to
2:40
play for reasons to kind of like try to pull together this
2:43
weekend and and try to get a result happening.
2:47
I don't think either side is probably particularly happy with
2:50
the way this season has gone thus far.
2:53
I think that's fair to say, even with Gotham sitting in fourth on
2:56
the table. I mean, they probably feel like
2:59
with three draws and two losses that they've left points out
3:02
there for their expectations for their roster.
3:05
I think you nail it with a stare.
3:08
Must watch television whenever she's whenever she's on the
3:11
pitch. You mentioned she's leading
3:13
Golden Boot race, seven goals so far.
3:16
She's the chief reason to watch them, in my opinion.
3:19
It was announced, I think like a day or two ago, we're recording
3:22
this on Thursday night, that Adi Borges for Racing Louisville had
3:27
her suspension extended three more matches after the fact for
3:33
making contact with the referee post match after a red card.
3:37
I think it was. Yeah, I think it was after her
3:40
red card, which may or may not have come post match.
3:43
I'm trying to you know, I'm foggy on the timeline, busy,
3:46
busy work week. Either way, they gave her more
3:48
matches after the fact, which I'm still kind of like up in
3:50
like not sure how I feel about it, Like obviously don't touch
3:53
the referee, but also like we're we're doing a re review after.
3:57
I don't know. I don't know if I love that, but
4:00
I I also want to point out racing Louisville doesn't have a
4:02
win at home this this season. Zero wins, one draw, 2 losses.
4:06
They're going to be looking for their first one.
4:08
It's going to be tough to find it against Gotham.
4:12
It might be tough to find it, but you know, obviously
4:14
Louisville has some stuff going in their favor.
4:16
You know, we talked about how many shots they were able to put
4:18
up there. They're leading the league 13.7
4:21
per 90. So they're getting shots up.
4:24
They're not really able to cash in just yet.
4:27
And then Gotham, you know, we saw them kind of like, you know,
4:30
lay an egg last week against not the not the staunchest Chicago
4:35
side, even despite the potential new manager bound.
4:39
So I think this one is going to be relatively exciting to kick
4:41
off the weekend. Definitely going to be in that
4:43
must watch category for different reasons.
4:46
But let's skip ahead here. This team, we're keeping it
4:50
chronological. So you can you can just also pop
4:52
open the schedule and and figure out where we're headed.
4:55
But 7:30 PM Pacific, because that's what that's what time
4:59
zone we rock with here on the ITC.
5:01
Angel City hosting the Utah Royals.
5:07
Safe to say arrows point in different directions.
5:10
Feels that way, certainly this season.
5:12
You know, we mentioned Astaire with her seven goals, Riley
5:15
Tiernan not too far behind in the Golden Boot race with five,
5:19
notched A brace last week versus Washington.
5:22
And we all know this, it's, it's part of the reason to watch.
5:26
It's part of the reason Angel City fans should be excited.
5:28
But I, I just want to point out with, with Tiernan sitting on
5:31
five goals, Giselle Thompson is 19 years old, Alyssa Thompson is
5:35
20 years old and Riley Tiernan is 22 years old.
5:37
So not a bad core for Angel City FC to build around.
5:43
And if you're Utah, you got to get something, man.
5:46
I'm going to, I'm going to shut up and pass the ball to you, but
5:48
you got to get something. You got to get.
5:52
You got to get close. You know, we talked about last
5:55
week one shot on target, you know, and granted, you know, not
5:58
the most talented side, but they just don't seem like they're
6:02
getting anywhere near anywhere dangerous.
6:05
And I think it's going to it's going to take some time.
6:08
You know, obviously this is a road match against the team
6:11
that's playing really well or at least getting results.
6:14
So I mean, I don't think Utah is necessarily going to come in to
6:17
Angel City and be like, all right, we should roll this team.
6:19
You know, even though Angel City wasn't super strong last season,
6:23
but you got to get something. You have to get into some kind
6:25
of rhythm. You have to take something from
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this match into next week where it's like, OK, well, now we've
6:30
got this that we can start to build on.
6:33
But I mean, from my point of view, doesn't look like the
6:35
Royals have anything really that they can build on.
6:39
Yeah, and I mean, we talk about it a lot like football can turn
6:42
quickly, but how quickly do they need it to turn?
6:45
I mean, I think it's it's worth pointing out.
6:47
So they're, they're in Los Angeles this week to play Angel
6:51
City, who's been looking good and even with the injuries next
6:54
week they go to Washington, DC to play the Spirit.
6:57
And the week after that, oh, they're at home.
6:59
Isn't that nice for the Utah Royals?
7:01
They're playing the Orlando Pride.
7:03
So we could be looking at a situation where, you know,
7:06
they're sitting on 4 points right now.
7:08
Let's say they, they scratch out a draw versus Angel City or
7:12
maybe get a weird draw versus Washington or something.
7:15
But they're we're we're living in a world where they could be
7:17
sitting on five points after 10 matches and then we really
7:21
starting to get into, is the season totally lost at that
7:25
point? I think it's super.
7:27
I think it's already super close to be honest.
7:29
I mean, you look at where they're at, you could probably
7:32
look at Chicago, you could probably look at Houston and
7:34
say, all right, these are the teams that we're in the same
7:37
category. You know, we don't feel like we
7:39
are under manned against those two sides.
7:42
I think every other team in the league, Utah, Utah's got the
7:47
short stack. So they're going to have to
7:48
figure out how to make a splash here.
7:50
And this one on the other side, Angel City, you know, how does
7:54
Angel City take these positive results and start to build on
7:57
them? So we talked about last week,
7:59
this is a team that has dropped more points than any other side
8:03
from a leading position. Pick that one up from from the
8:07
the friends that expected own goals, who I think picked up
8:10
from someone else for I forgot the original pick up point.
8:13
But either way, Angel City, a side that loves to drop points.
8:16
Can this side, you know, obviously Strauss incoming not
8:19
here yet, but can this side kind of like mature a little bit and
8:23
be the type of club that's like, Oh no, this is a team.
8:25
This is a match that we should win.
8:27
This is the match that we're going to come out here and win.
8:30
No, that's a that's a great way to look at it.
8:33
I mean, and I, I do wonder in this league, and maybe this is a
8:36
thought exercise for another day, but when you have teams in
8:41
in this league, you know, you don't have a top three situation
8:44
who's like qualifying for Champions League.
8:45
You have a top 8 of, you know, 14 teams in the league who are
8:50
challenging for the playoffs. Is it fair to talk about a team
8:54
that's battling for that 678 spot and saying if you're for
8:57
real, you'll handle this bottom of the league type team?
9:02
I think in some cases it is because just how bad Utah has
9:05
looked this year. But it's it, I think, you know,
9:09
we love a good sports. Cliche might learn a lot about
9:13
Angel City FC this week. Yeah, I mean, we'll see.
9:17
Like, you know, they've they've won three of five after starting
9:21
the season with two draws. So you said they're they're in
9:24
the mix. Their offense is cooking 4.86
9:27
shots on target per 90. That's good for first in the
9:29
league. Kennedy Fuller, 3 assists, also
9:32
good for first in the league. I'm not sure that Utah's going
9:34
to be able to hold up defensively against Angel City,
9:37
especially, you know, where like that attack you mentioned those
9:39
you mentioned those young players.
9:40
It's almost like that attack is maturing as well, like before
9:43
our eyes. So I I think it's it might be a
9:45
long day for that Utah defense. Fully expect Angel City to, you
9:48
know, definitely get a result, but probably probably take home
9:51
the three points in this one. But who knows?
9:54
Unpredictable chaos like anything can happen.
9:56
Let's scoot ahead to Saturday morning, 9:50 AM out here on the
10:01
West Coast, PT Chicago Stars host Washington Spirit.
10:07
I mean, two more question marks, fair to say or maybe maybe is
10:12
that too early to say I. I don't know how much of a
10:16
question mark Chicago is. It's not that's been great.
10:21
But yeah, it it's interesting. I don't know, man.
10:24
Like you have a team like we're talking about, like with Utah.
10:30
We'll talk about Houston later, like where to use another sports
10:35
cliche where it's getting late early, then you start to kind of
10:39
to worry about what's happening. I still feel like we can still
10:42
say it's early for Washington spirit because of the injuries
10:45
because they're going to get some players back.
10:46
Now. I, I, you know, we haven't
10:48
talked about it at length and we don't speculate like a ton on
10:51
injuries. I'm just, you just got to be
10:55
worried about Trinity Rodman's back injury here because when
10:58
we're talking about a back injury and you know, from, you
11:01
know, watching sports, like what that looks like over time, like
11:06
really in some cases, if you're, if you're ever having the debate
11:08
of how much rest can I do or how much rest can I get versus
11:13
should I get surgery, never a great place to be.
11:17
So, you know, if that's part of the debate and I'm not reporting
11:20
that it is obviously, but if that's part of the calculus,
11:23
that's worrisome. But still, I, I think Spirit has
11:27
the benefit of the doubt because of the roster.
11:29
You got to get Kruger back, you got to get SAR back, you got to
11:32
get Santos back who missed the last match.
11:35
You know, the Croix, Bethune needs to work her way back in.
11:38
Hal Hirschfeld needs to work, work her way back in.
11:40
You know, I just rattled off 6 absolutely incredible top tier
11:44
players in the league. But I, you know, if you're, if
11:48
you're spirit, can you get some points on the road, on the road
11:51
here and then, you know, get back in into the swing of things
11:54
when, when some of your players return.
11:57
Yeah, you mentioned the Casey Krueger you can throw it.
12:00
So that makes up a player that that still waiting to the to
12:03
rejoin the fray. Quick note on gift Monday,
12:09
Washington attacker who I think is, you know, obviously not not
12:13
going to solve all these problems, but really interesting
12:16
player. I think he's a 23 year old from
12:18
Nigeria but leading the league. Non penalty XG per shot is 0.36
12:23
per shot. So that's every three shots
12:26
she's over a goal. Obviously not not a ton of
12:28
attempts just yet, but I agree with you, man.
12:30
I think the injury stuff is concerning.
12:35
I think Hirschfeld is the one that it's easy to kind of look
12:38
over because there's a lot of big names that are very
12:41
recognizable. I mean, even even a player like
12:43
Aubrey Kingsbury, I mean, Kingsbury is near the top of the
12:46
league. We talked about it even all the
12:47
way back to the Challenge Cup. Like a player that is in that on
12:53
that short list of best keepers in the league.
12:55
And I think a player that is probably on track to having the
12:59
one of the two or three best seasons this year of all the
13:02
goalkeepers. So I think Kingsbury missed the
13:06
last game. Hirschfeld, we'll see.
13:08
But I think the thing I was going to say about injuries is
13:10
sometimes it's just so many injuries.
13:14
Somebody like the the the door continues to revolve.
13:17
The chemistry doesn't really quite get set.
13:19
Like we were talking about like we're already, we'll be 1/3 of
13:22
the way through the season after this weekend.
13:24
So like, what are we really talking about?
13:25
Like at some point, you know, soon we'll be halfway through
13:28
the season. It's like, yeah, there's players
13:30
that are kind of quote coming back.
13:31
But I mean, I remember a player like Ule SAR last year.
13:33
We were expecting SAR back last year, the end of last season.
13:37
And then I think obviously not fully keyed in on what the
13:40
setbacks could have been there. But I agree with you, man.
13:43
I think it it could be a little scary.
13:46
Yeah, no doubt. And you know, we talked about
13:48
the return of Rosemont Quasi. She's going to have to work her
13:51
way back in. She looks pretty.
13:53
She looked all right in the last match, in her last appearance.
13:58
So yeah, you just kind of got to see it.
13:59
And it's a great point, like, if you can never quite get the
14:01
chemistry right, you've seen a lot of great teams, you just
14:05
kind of end up with a lost season when that kind of, I like
14:08
the way you describe it. A revolving door of injuries on
14:11
the Chicago side did get some good news, some positive news
14:14
here. Mel Swanson announced her
14:15
pregnancy this week, which is a relief to many fans who are just
14:19
kind of like in between of like what's going on with her status.
14:22
So Congrats to her and her husband, who's a pretty decent
14:25
athlete in his own right. 2021 World Series champion with the
14:29
Atlanta Braves for anybody who cares about that kind of thing.
14:32
Dansby Swanson fielded the final ground ball in game six of the
14:35
2021 World Series to seal the title for the Bravos.
14:38
But again I digress. I think Chicago is you know,
14:43
they're they're living in so obviously Congrats to the
14:46
Swansons, but Chicago, they're in full on salvage the season
14:50
mode. So Swanson, Mel Swanson's not
14:53
walking through that door to to to play any matches.
14:56
So even with Washington being banged up and Chicago being at
15:01
home, you don't want to be in a salvage the season mode playing
15:06
against the Washington spirit. So it's going to be a tough one
15:08
for them. Yep, totally agree with that.
15:12
All right, let's go ahead. 4:30 PM North Carolina Courage host.
15:18
My still, my Orlando Pride. We'll, we'll see.
15:22
We'll see what kind of bounce back we get.
15:25
It's been interesting, you know, weird to say, but I think this
15:29
one also might sport a couple different sides with arrows
15:32
pointing opposite directions. The courage 2 straight wins
15:36
looking good after a really slow start.
15:38
We talked about Orlando, Seb Heinz not quite on the hot seat,
15:40
just joking. Definitely not on the hot seat.
15:43
But he's lost the pride of lost two of three.
15:46
And this team does struggle when they had to carry.
15:49
And I think if that trend continues, we could be at a
15:53
point this season where not quite panic meter point in the
15:57
season, but we could be at a point in the season where it's
15:59
like, all right, maybe it's a personnel fix, maybe it's a
16:01
stylistic fix, maybe it's a tactical strategic fix.
16:05
But I think we'll know at that point if Orlando comes out and
16:10
the offense looks stalled again, even though it's at North
16:14
Carolina, you know what that team's about.
16:17
It might be time to say, all right, well, I, I wouldn't be
16:19
surprised if, and I'm, I'm doing the look ahead, look ahead, but
16:23
I wouldn't be surprised if we see some, some, some real
16:26
shuffling because I think, I think there's enough here to
16:30
say, well, it might be something.
16:33
Yeah, that's probably fair. In that same vein, like you
16:39
said, North Carolina, you know, traditionally historically tough
16:43
at home, they scratched out a nil, nil draw verse the pride,
16:49
you know, during their absolute sick run last year, their
16:52
dominating run last year. But also the pride did beat the
16:57
courage 4 to one in Orlando last year.
16:59
So that you know, there was a there was a, a gap in quality
17:03
between the two sides. You know, even with losing 2 of
17:06
the the last three matches, Pride are five wins, 0 draws, 2
17:10
losses on the season, one of three teams in the league
17:12
without without a draw yet this year.
17:14
Kansas City and Washington are the other two.
17:18
Feels like this isn't going to be exactly a bold take.
17:22
We might have a Barbara Benda game incoming here.
17:26
She had that brace in the opening week and that six NIL
17:29
drubbing of Chicago Stars FC. But she's only had two, two
17:34
goals in the last six matches. So, you know, you got to expect
17:38
the production to come back. You you can only hold Barbara
17:42
Benda back for so long. So I'm, I'm keeping my eye out
17:46
for this. Here's my bold take.
17:48
Barbara Benda's going to score a goal in a football game.
17:51
Well, what a revolutionary idea that is.
17:55
I I could definitely see that happening, but I continue to
17:58
think that the pride have to connect.
18:02
They have to connect some stuff in the midfield.
18:04
I mean, they've got to make it a little bit easier.
18:07
He can't just be kicked over the top, let Banda run onto it and
18:11
which could happen. But it seems a little bit of not
18:16
something that you want to continue to go back to and a
18:18
little bit easy to defend, you know, because I think if teams
18:20
are slightly more prepared for it this year than they were last
18:24
season. But I think Orlando have to
18:27
figure out who in the midfield is going to play that role to be
18:30
able to advance the ball, get it up field, put pressure on
18:34
defenses, be able to drive or pass in in any direction.
18:38
And the courage is is a little bit of a tough customer to be
18:42
able to come back and try to do that against.
18:44
And I think, you know, when you look at like an Ashley Sanchez,
18:48
what she was able to do last week and, and just
18:51
stylistically, I think they are playing a little bit more on the
18:55
front foot, a little bit more assertive in the attack and a
18:59
little bit more varied in the attack as well.
19:01
I think it could. This could be a sneaky tough
19:03
match up for Orlando. Yeah, I don't doubt it.
19:06
And I'm trying to, you know, I'm trying to remember like all off
19:09
the top of my head. But you know, there was
19:12
definitely there was no halfway LA last week, no Summer Yates,
19:18
no Julie Doyle. So I think there's you know, the
19:21
help is the cavalry is around somewhere, just not Nadan are
19:25
yeah, also so they're just not on the field yet.
19:27
So there might be a little bit of like Washington spirit, like
19:29
hey, we don't have we don't have some of our like stalwarts, some
19:33
of our like fence post type players around the pitch to
19:38
which could be contributing to, you know, some of this a a mini
19:42
schneid. If you will live live losing two
19:45
or three for the first time in like a year plus could be
19:49
considered a schneid. But yeah, I, I, I'm, I'm nowhere
19:55
near the panic button for Orlando Pride just yet.
19:59
Yeah, my, my car's got a little seat warmer.
20:01
It's on level 1. You can barely feel it.
20:04
That's, that's kind of where Orlando's at right now.
20:07
And it could all just be totally boot.
20:08
They could come out and win 41 and feel, feel I'll feel a
20:12
little bit like a dummy, but I don't know that that's kind of
20:15
my read on it now. Potentially the match up of the
20:21
weekend. Who?
20:22
Is is that it seems seems weird didn't didn't even seem possible
20:26
maybe even 2 weeks ago. 7:00 PM Pacific San Diego Wave hosting
20:31
Portland Thorns in a battle of what I like to call these teams
20:36
are currently where in the standings there.
20:39
You go nicely done. Yeah, no, I totally, totally
20:43
kind of surprising, which is funny.
20:45
You know, two years ago, San Diego Wave win the shield,
20:49
Portland Thorns a a common contender for both the Shield
20:52
and the NWSL championship. But think of the turnover and
20:56
think of the the personnel loss that these teams have had over
21:00
the over the last two seasons, particularly I, I think this is
21:06
the, the second contender. I mean, honestly, I'm glad you
21:11
mentioned this. I feel like courage pride is
21:13
probably my #1 contender for match of the week.
21:16
But I think this is number 2. So, you know, those two are both
21:20
going to be absolute must watch on Saturday.
21:23
This one, you know, next level, it'll be NWSL after dark for our
21:27
pals over on the East Coast. I can't wait to watch this one.
21:31
Going to be a absolute banger. I think stylistically it's going
21:35
to be a fun match up because San Diego this year just clinical
21:40
like you look at, let me see where we're at.
21:42
Yeah, they've turned 43% of their shots on target into
21:45
goals. I think we we looked at like
21:47
even Barcelona at their peak was in like the high 30s.
21:50
So they're a little bit better than that.
21:53
And they're averaging one goal every six shots.
21:56
San Diego wave and then they're getting off 11.1 per 90.
22:01
So they're definitely getting them up.
22:02
And then that's first in the league in both categories.
22:05
They're also first in all three categories, short, medium and
22:08
long passes and also pass completion.
22:11
While the rest of the league is between 67 and 79%.
22:14
San Diego's at 82.5% of all passes.
22:18
The entire team absolutely cooking.
22:21
Also leading the league in assists, also leading the league
22:24
in goal creating actions per 90. This is a team that I don't
22:27
know, man. Like they there's something
22:29
here. There's definitely something
22:31
here. I'm not sure if it'll they'll be
22:34
able to sustain it, but to this point, I even where they're at,
22:39
where they third in the table, I I still think it's possible that
22:42
they might be being slept on. I think, I think they, they,
22:46
they could be that good. I.
22:48
Think it's probably true and for two guys who were not at all San
22:53
Diego Wave guys before the season, I'm still maintaining a
22:56
little bit of skepticism. I'll give you credit, man, you
22:59
identified it real early. Like it did not take more than a
23:02
couple matches for you to be like, Nah.
23:04
I actually you started to change your mind early and identify
23:09
that you thought there was some real stuff here.
23:11
I mean, you mentioned the passing numbers.
23:12
They're, they're absolutely fantastic.
23:14
Savannah McCaskill and Kenza Dolly are top five in the league
23:17
and passes into the final third. Dolly and Delphine Cascarino are
23:21
top five and passes into the penalty area.
23:23
They're running right at you. They're they're, you know, they,
23:27
they're possessing the ball in danger areas and they have the
23:30
players with the skill to score. 100%, yeah.
23:34
Congratulations to to Kenzo, Dali and Dalfi and Cascarino
23:37
selected to April's best 11 for the NWSL.
23:40
On the Portland side, though, I mentioned an interesting
23:42
stylistic match up. So obviously we know what Sande
23:44
was about. They're going to be clinical.
23:46
They're going to be sharp. Portland's just going to try to
23:49
overwhelm you. They're going to try to kick it,
23:52
kick it hard, kick it off it. Do what they do, what they can
23:57
do. This is a team second in the
23:59
league shot creating actions per 9023.6 monster number there key
24:04
passes. Olivia Military is second in
24:06
that category with 18. Sam Coffey 4th in that category
24:09
with 16. They're getting it done.
24:12
Raylan Turner second in the league non penalty XG this
24:15
season. 3.9. They're they're figuring.
24:18
I mean credit to Portland. This is another team that we we
24:22
sold all our stock. We, we, we emptied the account,
24:26
just unload all of it and they found a way to get it together
24:31
minus Sophia Wilson. And I don't know that this this
24:37
is secretly a very, very tasty match up.
24:39
I'm going to be excited to watch this one.
24:41
Yeah, I'm a dope. I, I, I absolutely sold off all
24:46
the stock. I think in, in our season
24:47
preview, I was like probably bottom 3.
24:49
It's it's, it's time. They're not going to be able to
24:51
replace, you know, replace the retirement of Christine Sinclair
24:54
and the, you know, the maternity leave of Sophie Wilson.
24:58
But they're doing it. They're they're patching it
25:00
together. You know, you, like you said,
25:02
Raylan Turner, Raylan Turner, Pardon me, three goals.
25:07
It's it's just like everywhere you look like players have have
25:11
like goal creating actions and you know, like big goals or
25:16
assists just all over the field and they're just figuring out a
25:20
way to get it done. And it's just, it just kind of
25:23
made me think, I put it in my notes that the Portland Thorns
25:26
think about their season last year where they had these big
25:29
swings of like real kind of like ugly looking down swings.
25:32
And then they were able to claw it back.
25:34
They might be the zombie team of the NWSL where it's just like
25:38
this team is not going to go away because that's their
25:42
pedigree as a club. I believe it.
25:47
I mean, it's going to be a tall task to kind of take to take
25:50
this season anywhere into deep waters.
25:53
But these good organizations, if we see this across sports, like
25:57
this means something like when you lose a player of Wilson's
26:00
caliber and it's easy to pack it in and be like, all right, well,
26:04
OK, this is in the playoff year. That's OK, We'll live with it.
26:07
But for a team to kind of like really kind of pull together and
26:11
be as competitive as as pretty much any team in the league,
26:16
that really says a lot. I think other players in the
26:18
league noticed. That definitely goes a long way.
26:21
And I think this match is going to be a banger like just through
26:24
through Saturday night. This one's going to be fun.
26:27
But I do want to scoot ahead Sunday morning, 9:50 AM Kansas
26:32
City current hosting my other team, Bay FC.
26:37
This one should be good KC for for all the you know, I'm
26:41
looking at these numbers for all the hubbub about KC and then
26:44
their defense only five goals allowed this season.
26:47
I was I was a little surprised by that number.
26:50
The current Bay FC, they'll lock up Sunday morning.
26:52
What are we looking for in this one?
26:54
Yeah, I think the defense has been good.
26:56
I mean, this is my, this is my third contender for match of the
26:59
week. I I think it's, you know, pretty
27:01
safe to say we we, I've already used the word once, which I hate
27:07
because I had, I put it in my notes, but hubbub, not hubbub.
27:11
Great use of hubbub by you, but I want to say there's one thing
27:15
and one thing only Kansas City Current is looking to do in this
27:18
match. Get off the schneid, The D
27:23
schneid, the D schneid. They've lost two matches in a
27:26
row. They I think they had they had a
27:30
three loss stretch last year. That was like kind of weird.
27:34
I think it, I think it was sandwiched in between that, that
27:36
loss to your Orlando Pride before the Olympic break and
27:41
then they lost two more after it, if memory serves.
27:43
So that's kind of like a weird three-game losing stretch.
27:47
I think it would be, it'd be pretty odd, maybe a little
27:51
worrisome if if they had that here.
27:53
But again, this is another team. There's too much talent.
27:57
I don't expect that to happen. Our guy Tom Bomb from Shades of
28:00
Blue from the 12 from the current moment.
28:03
One of the best NWSL just general football reporters out
28:07
there in the world. I had a chat with him last week
28:11
and he had mentioned how how large the absences of Michelle
28:16
Cooper and Michelle Prince loomed over over that Seattle
28:21
Reign Kansas City current match. So I'll be interested to see if
28:25
if either of them are back. I haven't seen any injury
28:28
updates on them just yet. And Tom Bomb also pointed out
28:31
that in that last match versus Seattle Rain FC that Claire
28:34
Hutton probably had her worst match as a pro.
28:36
And he didn't say it in like a derogatory way.
28:39
It's it's actually a testament to how well she's played her
28:41
entire young career and now that she's like one season and seven
28:45
matches in. So.
28:47
But there's one thing that that leads me to believe is we're
28:50
probably due for a Claire Hutton bounce back game.
28:55
Yeah, I could see that could be a long day for Bay FC.
28:58
You mentioned those two straight losses for Kansas City.
29:01
Feels like they've been hit a little bit differently by the
29:04
injury bug because they've had players coming back in addition
29:10
to players cycling out. So, you know, Joinga's out.
29:14
She comes, comes off the bench in one match.
29:15
BIA, I think she rejoins the squad, maybe the match prior.
29:18
No, Michelle Cooper, so some flux there.
29:23
So I think that it it it is a little tricky when you have a
29:25
going both directions, but I think I'd hate to be playing
29:29
this Casey current side coming out two losses, especially if
29:32
you're a Bay FC who's, you know, in in a bit of a wobble.
29:36
You know, it's funny, I think thinking about both expansion
29:40
teams from last year, Utah and Bay, it's almost like the
29:43
sophomore slump a little bit where it's like, OK, some stuff
29:47
to build on in that first year, you know, like some, some
29:50
important foundational pieces, some building blocks, some
29:52
momentum, you know, and it's like, oh, well, well, what are
29:55
we going to do next year? Well, let's add three wins to
29:57
the total. And then these couple losses,
29:59
those will all those will be a draw.
30:01
And there's there's another nine points this season.
30:03
And I think that's obviously a trap, like a logical kind of
30:07
fallacy. It's like, OK, you know, we're
30:09
we're it's a natural progression that we're going to be
30:10
expecting. But it's interesting to see
30:12
both, both teams, expansion teams from last year kind of
30:16
backslide a little bit. Doesn't necessarily mean that
30:18
that's what the season's going to be about, but it's going to
30:20
be something to monitor and they're going to have to find
30:23
some kind of solution because these these other established
30:25
teams, they're making adjustments obviously week in,
30:27
week out, you know, and they've they've they've, they've sort of
30:30
gone through, they've had a longer, longer runway into the
30:34
season. But I don't know, I think Bay
30:37
FC, I think they're up against it this week against KC.
30:40
It's such a great point by you because when we came into this
30:43
season that we, you know, we talked about like, OK, Centinor
30:46
is going to take a step. They got some more help around
30:49
her. Some of the some of the help
30:50
that they got in last year's summer window is going to be
30:53
more comfortable playing around Centinor, you know, Zornosa
30:58
Tanaka, like all the, you know, all these pieces that they've
31:01
added and, you know, I get fooled by it way more often than
31:07
not. You could tell, you could talk
31:09
yourself into like quarterbacks in the rookie quarterbacks in
31:12
the NFL where you're just like, well, yeah, obviously he's going
31:14
to get better in the second year.
31:16
And there's so many times where like the the progression is not
31:20
linear. I think it's a great point to
31:22
make about Bay FC and and you're seeing it with Utah Royals right
31:25
now. I want to say Jordan Silkowitz,
31:29
she saved that penalty last week against San Diego.
31:32
She kept Bay in the game as much as she could.
31:34
I think she's looked fine for for most of the season.
31:37
She's had some really good moments and then some really,
31:39
you know, she's been putting some tricky spots, has had a
31:41
couple, has had a couple, you know, scary moments too back
31:46
there at goal. You know, the other part I
31:50
wanted to kind of jump off from here with is let's just start
31:54
the clock on when are we going to see an Aussie saw Oshwala
31:58
goal? Because we got to see one
32:00
eventually and it if you're Bay FC, it's got to be sooner rather
32:04
than later. Well, let me ask you this.
32:07
If I give you Oshwala over under 1 1/2 goals this season, it's
32:13
kind of it can't. It can't be under.
32:16
It can't be under for Oshwala. If it's under, it's an
32:20
unmitigated disaster for the club.
32:24
Yeah, I mean, even even with that said, I think I'd still
32:29
pause at least to beat and be like, damn, have I seen anything
32:33
this season that leads me to believe that a goal.
32:36
I'm not sure if she's managed a shot yet.
32:38
I don't think she has because I think the last time we we looked
32:40
at it, she was at zero shots and I don't think she's played.
32:44
She definitely didn't play last last week or a different start,
32:47
didn't start either way. Fact Check that.
32:51
Yeah, go ahead, go ahead and I'll Fact Check that.
32:53
Yeah. And I want to shout out our guy
32:55
GOOG who who has pointed out that Oshwala has been a little
33:02
has looked a little rough in terms of going to get the ball
33:06
and then when going forward, you know, having turnovers and kind
33:10
of getting the putting herself, like getting herself into
33:13
trouble essentially on the ball. So, you know, it's not all
33:17
Oswala lacking the service from her team mates.
33:21
She's definitely accountable for some of the struggles, But you
33:25
you got to figure it out like with her.
33:27
And and you know, I think Kunanagi has has looked good,
33:31
started to look a little more confident in spots, but you
33:34
can't have Oshwala on the team and not get the ball to her in
33:38
front of goal. And, and she's partly
33:39
responsible for that. Yeah, I definitely did
33:42
definitely share some of that responsibility.
33:44
I just double checked it. One shot, 234 minutes this
33:48
season. Come on, man, at that point, you
33:51
know, that 1 1/2, I think, I think I, I'm staring at it for
33:54
another minute or two here trying to figure out what we're
33:57
what I'm penciling in here with my #2 pencil.
33:59
Either way, all right, we're we're on a swallow watch for
34:01
sure. I would love to see that that
34:03
number more like a 678. See her get back on track and
34:07
then really have that Bay FC, you know, just give them
34:09
another, you know, killer up front.
34:11
I'm definitely excited about Lima Hakuna Naji mentioned.
34:14
I think they, you know, still transitioning here, but I think
34:17
there could be there could be something there.
34:19
Nothing. I mean Oshawa getting back on
34:21
track is a good thing for everybody.
34:23
So let's hope to see that happening.
34:25
And now the closer of the weekend, 5:00 PM Pacific, your
34:30
Seattle rain hosting not racing Louisville, but the Houston dash
34:35
in in the last match of the weekend.
34:37
This is your domain. I'll I'll I'll clear out here
34:40
for you. What are you going to be looking
34:42
for in this one? I'll be in the building on
34:45
Sunday, close out the weekend. Lovely Sunday in Seattle.
34:50
This feels like another one of those like you're talking about
34:54
with Angel City. You know, how good are you type
34:57
of type of matches? Like if if you're Seattle Rain
35:00
FC, like can you, you have a Houston Dash team that's been,
35:04
you know, kind of struggling, I guess maybe not even struggling,
35:07
but just a a team that doesn't look to be as good as you, a
35:10
team that's sitting closer to the bottom of the table.
35:12
I think what rain have like 4 points on them in the table.
35:17
So it's not like a massive golf or anything like that, but I
35:20
think I think most folks. It's it's not a massive golf.
35:23
Same 4 point golf between Seattle and KC Curran and
35:26
Orlando Pride. So let's fucking go.
35:28
There you go. OK, well, that's the you know
35:31
what, now you've kind of reframed it for me a little bit
35:34
because I wouldn't say there's there's maybe a substantial
35:36
golf, but also I could have some pals at Seattle Rain FC.
35:40
You could look at me and say, oh, it's a massive gulf between
35:42
US and Kansas City, the team we beat last week, you mean so.
35:47
Yeah. Which way is this Gulf going?
35:48
Is it America way or is it Mexico way?
35:51
I'm not sure. Let's go there.
35:52
You go a fair question. So yeah, I mean, this league is
35:57
just fucking outrageous, by the way.
35:58
But I, I think it's, it's going to be a situation where if, if
36:04
Seattle is able to, you know, take the take control of the
36:10
match early and see it out, that would that would perk up an
36:15
eyebrow from me where it's like, OK, so now you're competing
36:19
really well against the Kansas Cities of the World.
36:22
And then you're kind of grabbing the game by the scruff of the
36:25
neck against the team that's near the bottom of the table.
36:29
Perhaps perhaps people should start really looking at this
36:32
team as as you know, a a middle of the playoff contender, not
36:36
like squeaking in in the eighth spot, but like can you kind, can
36:40
you kind of easily walk into the playoffs in like 4th, 5th, 6th?
36:44
That that would definitely be something.
36:46
Yeah. And it's so funny.
36:47
Seattle's like stuck in that seventh spot, which is where I
36:49
had them in pre season. It feels like they've been there
36:52
since like the first week The the math doesn't check out on
36:54
that. But I don't know.
36:55
Somehow, somehow that feels accurate.
36:57
What I'm excited about with Seattle, we talk a lot about the
37:00
defense. You know, we got like, you know,
37:03
the veterans there, Jordan Bug we've been excited about, but
37:06
Claudia Dickey, I think in goal, you know, we we started talking
37:10
about this last season. I think she's really put it
37:13
together. You look at the stats like, you
37:15
know, kind of like across the board goalkeeping wise and she's
37:18
in the mix of pretty much every major stat.
37:21
She's in the top three or four of the league this season also
37:25
definitely, definitely passes the eye test because she's
37:27
playing really well and just a great backstop for them.
37:30
Defensively, you know, Houston's got a team that can throw a
37:34
curveball at you and, you know, maybe steal one.
37:37
I'm not sure if they could necessarily steal 2.
37:39
And I think that's kind of where this this game is going to break
37:42
one way or the other is can Seattle's defense, who should be
37:47
in the dominant position most of this match?
37:49
To your point, can they control the match with their defense?
37:54
And then offensively, can they breakthrough like Lynn Biendola?
37:57
I think she's definitely had so moments.
38:00
It was cool to see the the connectivity between her and
38:02
Haitima. I think it it's definitely been
38:05
brewing. I think you've seen little
38:07
smidges here and there. The whole team, the whole
38:10
offense as a unit hasn't able to been able to put it together
38:13
from from my, you know, perspective.
38:15
But you've definitely seen some stuff to to kind of get excited
38:18
about Maddie Dalene, I think as well.
38:20
Offensively, what would represent like Seattle turning a
38:26
corner that that they can actually do on the field versus
38:30
Houston? Crooked number time like put up,
38:34
put up two or three and kind of have your have your run of of
38:40
the game, I would say. And then Speaking of like
38:42
offensively, you mentioned Maddie Dolly in the rookie
38:46
currently second in the league in both carries into the penalty
38:49
area. She's only three behind Barbara
38:51
Banda and then second in the second in the league in
38:55
progressive passes received, three behind Rachel Kundanagi.
38:59
So pretty good company for her to be in.
39:02
I want to point out, you know Sam Meza leads the league in
39:05
tackles. According to the club Seattle
39:09
Rain FC she has 31. According to FB ref she has 30.
39:14
So we have a stats fight there. Perhaps they they take issue
39:17
with FB ref shorting her one tackle.
39:19
I also want to point out that Phoebe McLaren has 52 clearances
39:24
to lead the league and Jordan Bug has 42 clearances which is
39:29
good for 4th. So there is some clearances is
39:32
always an interesting one for me because I'm like, OK, that's
39:35
good that you're getting the ball out of there, but why do
39:37
you got so many? Is always a question is like my
39:39
next like logical question. But to to answer your question,
39:43
for the offense to look good, you know, you want to see
39:47
Dalene's development continue. But like you pointed out,
39:51
Heidama winning balls in the air in dangerous areas and then
39:54
Biandolo being there to clean it up.
39:56
It was the recipe last week. It's a pretty good recipe that
39:59
you could look for considering Heidama's height.
40:02
No, no pun intended, but. And Biandolo's just nose for for
40:07
scoring goals, Yeah. Yeah, yeah, no doubt.
40:10
And it's funny you mention that stat because I had one for
40:13
Dickey as well. This is funny that I was like,
40:16
is this a good thing or not a bad thing?
40:17
But Dickey's first in the league in post shot XG minus real G
40:22
allowed. So it's like the quality of the
40:25
shot. What can Dickey do about that?
40:29
And then what were what was the the net result, you know, from a
40:31
real G standpoint? Did the other team score?
40:33
Did they? Did they not?
40:35
So Dickey's at 0.67 per 90, which kind of reads like she's
40:40
saving, you know, 2/3 of a gold per 90, which which is pretty
40:43
awesome. But either way, I was like, is
40:44
that a good situation to be in? The XG is so high and like the
40:48
the delta is like something that that that you're kind of racking
40:51
up there. But either way, I think you
40:53
watch Seattle, they look like a 5 through 8 playoff team.
40:58
And to your point, where could they, how high could they reach
41:03
the season? And I think it's interesting
41:05
because there's the Orlando, there's the Kansas City, there's
41:09
the Washington, it's got the question mark.
41:11
And then after that Gotham, I think is, is also there, but
41:16
with, with some question marks. I don't think there's any team
41:20
in that 5 through 8, five through 9, five through 10 mix
41:22
that's looking at Gotham or looking at Washington,
41:25
especially in their current shape and being like, oh, we
41:28
can't catch that side, you know. So I, I think it's going to be
41:32
definitely pretty wide open and would, would love to see Seattle
41:36
kind of kind of stamp stamp themselves as like a real, real
41:40
playoff inside track kind of team this weekend.
41:43
And it's kind of funny to say like that a win over.
41:46
And I realized I was the one who brought it up that a win over
41:48
Houston Dash, who was bottom of the table last year and near the
41:51
bottom of the table this year, that a win over Houston Dash
41:54
would be like the thing that cements them as like a real
41:57
playoff contender. But we're talking about like, if
41:59
winning in dominant fashion. I think yeah, I think that
42:02
that's it's a it's at least a signal that they could be in
42:06
that class. I I want to point out, I'm glad
42:08
you you threw out these Claudia Dickey stats.
42:10
The shadow executive producer of this program pointed out to me
42:14
that there was some buzz on NWSL Reddit of when does Claudia
42:19
Dickey get a look for, you know, the US women's national team
42:23
squad. And I also want to shout out our
42:26
pal Van Crisp over at the Cooler Guild.
42:28
If you have any interest in Seattle Rain FC you should
42:31
immediately subscribe and follow the Cooler Guild podcast on
42:36
YouTube or wherever you get your fine podcasts.
42:38
But Van Crisp is a goalie herself and pointed out to me
42:41
that she really likes Claudia Dickey's first step before the
42:46
ball is played and feels like Dickey is putting herself like
42:49
in good positions to stop those shots.
42:52
So that stat of the post shot XG minus real G kind of makes that
42:58
put it in context a little bit for me where it's even when the
43:02
opponent is getting a good look, Dicky's putting yourself in a
43:05
pretty good position to. Stop it.
43:07
Yeah. No, I mean, that's a real
43:09
keeper. And like I said, she's top three
43:11
or four in pretty much every big, big, big stat.
43:14
I'm realizing I rehash to our Phil, our PTJ description.
43:19
Not on purpose, but we keep it moving.
43:21
All right. Episode calendar.
43:23
Episode calendar, big quick ahead.
43:25
All right, match week 8. We'll be back with some recaps
43:28
early next week. Come rock with us for that and
43:30
more chimpsy coverage, obviously.
43:32
May 25th. What are we?
43:35
Saturday on May 10th? Yeah, 25th, 2 weeks away.
43:38
Two weeks from this weekend, we will get our Champs League
43:41
final, Barcelona versus Arsenal. We're going to have some special
43:46
guests. We're lining them, lining them
43:48
up, filling up, filling up our our calendar, our super secret
43:52
Champs League final guest calendar.
43:54
Can't wait to unleash that super exciting stuff, man.
43:57
Anything else you want to hit before we get out of?
43:59
Here, I think that's it, the finals on May Saturday, May
44:01
24th. My bad.
44:03
Thank you for the correction. No, all good It is.
44:07
It is the most important match of that day.
44:10
I will say just barely squeaking out Rosenborg versus Braun in
44:15
top Syrian next year. They'll have to reschedule that
44:19
fixture, obviously, because Brown will be playing in the
44:22
Champions League final. Just pop in a couple days.
44:25
Maybe they can do A2 Fer a little double header.
44:27
I should even. You know what, they're strong
44:29
enough to I would, I would never put it past the Norwegian side,
44:33
but yeah, man, special guests like Dino said lined up.
44:37
We got some, we got some real heaters coming in.
44:40
So yeah, looking forward to it. Awesome man.
44:43
There's been another episode into the channel.
44:45
Thank you, thank you, thank you for hanging out.
44:46
If you enjoyed the show or loved ones with us as much as your
44:48
boys do, make sure you kick in with us each and every single
44:50
week. Like if you liked, subscribe,
44:52
follow YouTube, Spotify, up a podcast wherever you like to
44:54
watch or listen. Leave us a review over your
44:57
favorite podcast app. We want to hear from you.
44:59
We love hearing from you. Links to all of our socials
45:01
except 1. The show notes of this episode
45:04
and a big thank you to my coach as well.
45:06
Mr. Grant Angle for recap, pre cap preview, Champions League.
45:12
Single header, double header. Doesn't matter.
45:14
My guy's always ready. I appreciate you bro.
45:17
Likewise, buddy, I think, you know, like I said, ready for a
45:20
good week, good week of matches. And you know, we'll, we'll come
45:25
back for the review and figure out all the stuff we got wrong.
45:27
And, and when we said like, Oh yeah, this team should win this
45:30
way, this team should lose this way.
45:31
And then none of it matters after we actually watch the
45:34
games on the field. I love it.
45:35
Let's go. I'll be here for it.
45:38
Yeah, that that's what this league provides.
45:40
And so thank you all for watching with us or hanging out
45:42
with us. Watching with us.
45:44
I guess we watch the show too, while it's happening.
45:46
Who cares? Whatever.
45:46
Some of you guys are listening. Appreciate you guys too.
45:49
Yeah, everybody. You know what we're If you want
45:51
to watch 2 very sleepy men talk about the NWSL, you go ahead and
45:55
do that. We appreciate you rocking with
45:57
us and we will see you all next time.