Hello, OK, welcome to Into the Channel podcast premiere about 1 soap.

I'm your host Dino de Sasplos.

And as always I'm joined by my Co host Mr.

Grant Engel.

What's up, man?

I'm feeling fantastic, buddy, no matter how sleepy we are in these late recordings.

Just trying to just trying to make this work.

I feel great about it and I'm ready to talk about some football with you.

Big struggle out here, but we're doing our best and we're back potting.

I mean, what could be better than this?

There you go all we got to do is know what podcast day is and then we just figure out the rest from there.

And if you are sleepy, there is one way I know to stay awake.

It's to enjoy a ice cold beverage to help keep you awake.

It's.

Funny, you know, it usually sends me the other way.

But talk about that one later.

Cheers.

Cheers to you.

Match Week 18.

Goodness gracious.

I think we're I think we're shaking off some of that that July break rust.

I think we're we're, we're fully now into regular football, some goals, some tactics, some strategies, some organization.

So I saw some stuff that looked, looked aesthetically pleasing this weekend.

So I feel like, I feel like we got back to it this past weekend.

What, what, what do you think?

Where do you want to get started?

Yeah, I'd say I think the NWSL is shaking off the rust.

Obviously, no rust from us.

I mean, we were active the month of July, unbelievable EUR run by us and the Lionesses, if you will.

But for the NWSL, let's do a little something different this episode.

Let's talk about some storylines, A storyline that jumped out to me that I would like to talk about that I, I'm going to guess probably most shows are not leading with.

I just want to talk about the unkillable Chicago Stars FC.

Let's go, let's go.

I I mean, I love starting with Chicago.

I I, I kind of, I had a feeling they would be, they would be live against the spirit.

I went back and looked to see because I'm like that front 3 Schlegel Lujmila Jamis Joseph.

I think it had been since May, since those three had started a match together.

And I think like watching those three together was, was really, really exciting.

They're tough to deal with, those 3.

And you can also see that the chemistry hasn't quite taken.

I mean, they're just a really fun team to watch.

And I think that the, the trippy part is, I mean, some of the results, you know, obviously Chicago gets a result.

You see a team like Utah get a huge Rd.

win in Portland.

And it's like, I'm not sure what's weirder, these results or the fact that we watch these games and it doesn't feel that weird when you're watching it.

You're just like, OK, Chicago is a good now.

Then it doesn't feel weird.

Like, I don't know, where are we?

It's totally true is that you see these things happen and you know, some some things people chalk up to NWSL after dark or weird refereeing decisions.

But I think you're right, you know, Joseph Schlegel, Lujmila, they're just kind of making things happen, especially Schlegel and Lujmila right now.

I just want to we talk about like the week to week.

So in week 12, Chicago coughed up A2 nil lead to Seattle Rain FC at home.

They conceded two goals in 2 minutes.

An 87th minute goal by Biendolo.

An 89th minute goal by Bug ends in A22 draw.

Bitterly disappointing.

2 weeks later, Gotham takes a lead on Chicago on the 39th and Schlegel equalizes in the 68th.

They come back and get that one one draw in week 15.

The very next week Bay FC scores in the 29th minute, then Shea Groom equalizes in the 42nd and they scratch out A11 draw there.

Week 16 Rain scores three goals in the third, the 34th and the 46th and then the Red Stars take about 1/2 hour to equalize and Alyssa Nair gets her.

I think it was her first career NWSL goal.

90 + 9 ends in a three three draw.

They go down at week 17 O2 to the North Carolina Courage which means the scores 2 gets the equalizer.

They follow behind again and then they get the draw 33 and then that once again, week 18, Cantore put Spirit ahead in the 57th, Lose me the scores 10 minutes later, 11 draw.

We're scrappy.

So we're, what are we looking at?

Like 5 of the last six weeks?

They're just kind of, they're just kind of clawing back in these.

I think yes, seven of the last eight they've drawn and I think the one that they didn't draw was a was a loss.

I think if I got that right.

But yeah, I'm looking at the the timeline here.

LMS are named the interim coach July 3rd.

That was 9 days before they had two July friendlies.

They lost both of those and then they go on the five straight draw streak in the NWSL.

Who's the guy they have.

I think this last match was their new interim Swedish fella.

But no, I I will say I think the the tide certainly turned when Alan Assad grabbed the reins.

Yeah, no, I I definitely think so.

And I think some stats I thought stood out.

Their number one in the league, shot on target percentage, 40.7%.

They're #2 winning aerial duels, they're #5 in long passes.

You can kind of piece those together and kind of see how what kind of ball they're trying to play.

But I think the story of this season, they don't have a goal scorer outside of Blujamila, who scored more than two goals.

They're also the second highest in the NWSL with regard to assist rate.

They've got 19 goals on the year, 15 assists.

So they're they're doing a good job connecting stuff and, and playing together.

But Luzhmila has absolutely been the story.

48% of her shots have been on target.

She she's scoring a goal every 3.2 shots, She's scoring a goal every 1.6 shots on target.

I mean, just a like just a stupid rate.

She's so good.

And this kind of leads me to the match for this upcoming weekend that I'm most excited about, the Chicago Stars, this Chicago Stars side hosting the reeling, the stumbling, the the, the ailing Orlando Pride.

I think this is going to be a very, very interesting match.

This is my match up of the week.

When you look at these two teams, where, where, Where's the 1st place your head's going?

I guess at this point is scratching out a draw versus Chicago stars FCAA terrible result.

I mean, maybe not if you ask a a bunch of other teams in the league right now, but man, that last pride match, the two nil loss to Gotham did not exactly it did not.

It certainly did not bring me any joy and it didn't bring me a lot of confidence either.

It really shown a bright spotlight on kind of some of the issues that Orlando's facing this season.

So you look at of the non Barba Banda division of goal scores, Orlando has only scored ten goals this season from a player not from not named Barbara Banda.

And that's from six different players.

You know, So you've got Marta with three goals.

Two of those are pounds of kicks, so it's really just one goal from open play.

Prisca Chulufia has 2, Haley Mccutchen has two, and then one each for Ali Watt, Julie Doyle and Corey Dyke.

So that leaves a big fat 0 for the Simones, for Angelina, for summer Eights, for Ali Lemos, for a lot a lot of players that you just kind of got to get something, especially when a player of Barbara Banda's stature kind of goes out for the season.

Yeah.

And you know, obviously we've talked about Elizabeth Ovallier coming in as as the cavalry.

She'll need to be integrated quickly.

And I will say this is one thing, you know, we talked about it last week.

It was like, oh, she can't get here fast enough.

She needs to get into the in the lineup.

She needs to play.

But one thing that I I thought about after we recorded that episode, what I think is a truth that I try to keep in mind when players come back from injury and broadcasters say, OK, she's coming back from injury, so she's going to help.

And I'm always in the back of my head going probably not so much at first.

Like, and I understand ovale is not coming off an coming off an injury, obviously, but she has to be integrated into a whole new system and maybe she could, maybe she can make a difference.

I mean, she's a great player.

We we've seen her from Mexico, but you know, that's probably hard to count on.

What drug Just getting dropped right into this league.

Yeah.

And just knowing what I know about that organization, kind of how they operate, I don't think that they're looking for that.

They're looking to that, but they are, you know, and I think on the broadcast they mentioned that Seb Hines had talked about, you know, looking to experiment.

And I think we've hit this interesting point in the season where it's not like early in the year where Orlando's in second, they're in 3rd.

They're kind of floating around.

They're they're kind of, you know, sniffing around first.

You know, now they're just five points ahead of 9th place Angel City, five points clear with eight matches to go.

So I'm not saying that they're at real risk, but to your point, going to Chicago now doesn't feel the same as well.

This this Orlando bride opened the season against Chicago, and just how'd that go?

Smash.

Them 6 nothing and miss the extra point, but they they got everything else right.

And now it's like you won't you you don't really expect Orlando to go to Chicago and and get a win.

I certainly don't expect them to get a win.

I think a draw would be good if they they certainly can win, but Chicago's playing really well.

Orlando can't score.

I feel like defensively the experiment of like kind of playing Emily Samms on the outside.

I understand like conceptually why why we want to do that, You know, to get half Aila in there and the Danner is obviously a beast, but it's just not really taking.

And I thought I think Emily Samms has played pretty well up the up the pitch more offensively, but she's just so good as the center back.

You kind of lose that half Aila is good too, but I think it just kind of throws a monkey wrench in it.

And then you still have those four players.

They have to figure out what you're going to do on the outside.

Corey Dyke, Oyana Hernandez, Carson Pickett, Cariabello.

And it's like it, you know, and now you're trying to play Sam's there and then figure out the rotation and, like, bounce the minutes.

It just seems to be one or two or three monkey wrenches too many.

Maybe this season for the Orlando Pride.

I think that's probably fair.

And for folks who have been watching this league longer than we have, I, you know, I, we, we talk about it a lot like what I I, I come waltzing in in the late 20 teens, early twenty 20s, especially when it's once I move out here to Seattle and there's a team for me to look at that.

This is somewhat of a, a, a bit of a return to the typical form of Orlando Pride and still even better really, because I think they were just not a very good team for for so long.

But like we've mentioned, like Hayley Carter and Seb Hines off that like they're, they're no longer like a cellar dwelling club anymore.

I think that's just, there's too much evidence otherwise.

I got to tell you, they're still favored because you got me.

You got me thinking about this.

Like do we expect them to win Orlando pride -170 on the road according to our our pals at FanDuel?

I have a feeling I know what your next question is, so let me just answer.

The draw is plus 310.

You know, I love, loves pizza.

Let's go.

That's that's above the bed.

The Mendoza Line of where we need it.

And Chicago Red Stars to outright win plus 370 so.

That is, there's some there's some taste, there's some taste on the left side of both of those.

I, I, I'll say that like you got to be really careful and, and I want to, you know, I'll kind of get a little bit ahead of myself, but, you know, I, I went on Reddit and kind of shared my take of Louisville's the the third best team in the league.

Reddit got in my ass a little bit.

I'll, you know, you know, including, you know, Mr.

GOOG.

Yeah, he came back for seconds and thirds with some with some with some extra takes on top of my take.

But you know, I, I, I didn't have any problem kind of defending my position.

But I think one of the things I, I took some issue with was people were like, oh, racing Louisville, how can you put a team with a -, 4 goal differential up that high?

We need to just throw all that shit out the window right now.

I mean, you cannot take, I mean, Orlando plus six goal differential after one week.

Like, does that mean anything at this point?

It, it might as well have been five years ago that, that match.

So I think we're at a point now where we need to start thinking current form, last three, last four, last five.

Chicago's not blowing the doors off, but you know, they are out here looking for their next.

It's not quite a victim, but they're they're out here looking for their next team that they're going to equalize with and share the points with in in a very harmonious, you know, afternoon.

So we need to recalibrate I guess is what I'm saying.

I think that's totally fair.

And Speaking of recalibrating, my good man, let's think about what Angel City Football Club is going to have to do as they recalibrate.

I'm sure if you're watching this program, listening to this program, probably aware of all the reporting around US Women's national team striker and Angel City FC left winger Alyssa Thompson rumored to be going to Chelsea Football Club in the WSL.

That would be not great for Angel City on the field, but that's that's my kind of broad estimation there.

But I will say I mentioned this about them a couple weeks ago where I'm going to be interested in watching every match they play from from here until the end of the season.

I think that still remains because this match versus Bay FC, you know, great individual effort from Riley Tiernan Young's daughter could have had could have probably had a hat trick on some on some near misses.

And it just seems like that front three that they played, which was vinyola, Tiernan Yonstader.

Obviously it doesn't pack the punch of Alyssa Thompson and her six goals that she has a season.

I think they're still interesting and I think they're starting to pick up what Alexander Strauss is implementing in terms of their tactics.

I, I want to kind of zoom out a little bit.

I think I, I totally agree with that.

We're we're starting to see a new look Angel City and a player like vanilla up top.

I think it was is is a good, you know, kind of bellwether for that.

It made me think a lot about what did Bayern's attack look like the last couple years and then what were they trying to put together?

And I think when I think about Bayern, I think about the ultimate lack of heliocentricity as a team.

You know, it's like it could come from anywhere.

It's Leia Schuler, it's pretty harder.

It's Tom Yanovich, like different angles and at different tempos.

And I think, I'm not sure if that's exactly what Strauss is trying to do.

But the thing that kind of got me the most interested Alyssa Thompson, a number one overall pick, 2023 NWSL draft, one of I don't know, I, I'm, I'm curious to see here where you have Alyssa Thompson in your rankings of NWSL players, but she's somewhere between 10 and 25, let's say of the the best players.

In the league out.

Where I would get her, but even still a player with a lot of untapped NWSL potential, you know, I kind of always think about, you know, Sam, you as talking about going to Manchester City a little bit later in career, her in her career and kind of picking up some of that experience.

But that was a little bit later.

This is a player Elissa Thompson, who has kind of like an MVP ceiling, who has NWSL championship ceiling, you know, as either like A1A or A1B leading A-Team again, a number former number one overall pick who's leaving the league with a lot of kind of unfinished business.

And it and I can't help but think that if there was a sort of like power struggle, kind of whose team is this?

You know, Alyssa Thompson, who maybe could have a claim as like maybe a player with a little bit of face of the league potential as well versus an Alexander Strauss.

I think the team ultimately kind of decided to go the Strauss route because now Thompson's kind of out the door and you're you're kind of married to this, this new direction.

Maybe a little bit risky, you know, for, for the, for the, for the folks in charge of that, of that franchise.

Yeah.

It's definitely an interesting question.

I mean, I also do wonder and you know, obviously we're not a business of football podcast.

I do just wonder how much money Chelsea FC is is waving in front of the Angel City owners.

One of the first rumors that I saw was that the transfer fee could potentially be around 2 million, which I think, you know, some of the larger transfer fees have been around 1-1 something million.

I think it may have seen 2.5 million out there floating around.

I don't know if that people backtracked off that.

But yeah, I mean, I, I think bringing, bringing up Byron is a good point.

Like you think about like Pernil Arter playing #9 you think about the way Riley Tiernan plays.

You think about John's daughter out there on the wing.

I just think, you know, if you're, if you're going to get a, a massive transfer fee and you think you still have enough and you can still attract players from different leagues, You know, it's, we live in a weird timeline, especially, you know, growing up watching men's football where Young's daughter comes over to the NWSL in, in no world was a player from Bayern Munich ever or, or you know, Wolfsburg or a giant team over in Germany ever coming over to play football in the United States of America.

And so I know there's been some like panic of like, oh, OK, well, first it's Naomi Garma and now it's Alyssa Thompson.

Well, now there's going to be this weird domino effect of who are the best players playing in Sweden?

Who are the best players playing in Germany or in Norway?

And are they going to start to filter over to the NWSL and then maybe some NSL players maybe filter over to the WSL, maybe League F or I don't know.

We'll have to see.

I mean, Sofia Cantori just came over as the first Italian player.

So there's going to be all this shuffling from all the leagues.

And I think my couple like overarching thoughts are, yeah, it's a bummer if Alyssa Thompson leaves our league and goes plays for Chelsea, especially if if they're going to do something where they split time between Baltimore and Thompson on the left wing, where I'm just like, they're both good enough to be like major contributors.

And I don't want to see Sandy Baltimore relegated to left wing back and and have to play defense for like the rest of her time at Chelsea.

I digress.

This is the NWSL episode, but I I also think seeing what Strauss implements at Angel City is going to be interesting.

To your earlier, earlier point, are they going to play like Bayern Munich?

Are they going to have a very distinct style out there in LA?

And then what are they going to do with the big bucks that they get from Thompson?

Who are they going to sign that that we're going to see from maybe another Champions League match or another league that were like, OK, great player that you're bringing in or maybe 2 great players?

I mean, I think it's it's kind of buyer beware kind of going down that route.

But I just feel like a player that young with that kind of ceiling, you know, like you mentioned, a player like Cantore is like, all right, Cantore is a great player and a great addition to the NWSL for sure, and is cooking.

We'll get to her later.

But that's a player that's in a prime, you know, And it's like, you know, there's no telling where Alyssa Thompson's ceiling ends, you know, and does she blow right past that cantore roadblock or, you know, like, what are we talking about here?

Because this is a player that can absolutely reach the the apex of of what's possible in the sport and is still young enough to to kind of really maybe make Angel City pay, You know, if she's able to kind of go to Chelsea and and really kind of let loose.

There's something about her game.

I think maybe it's more her physical.

Her speed, her pace, you know, her kind of like twitchiness that I feel like is going to make her maybe more impactful in the in the in the WSL for Chelsea than even like a Naomi Gurma or like an Emily Fox at Arsenal.

I just feel like there's something about her game, you know, even when you close your eyes And I agree, Sunny Baltimore, I'm not sure where she fits.

Maybe BFCI don't know.

This was there we go plenty of time here available.

Let's get that started.

But I feel like, you know, you think about whether there was Edgar Wrighton out there or Baltimore or exactly what they were doing then left Alyssa Thompson.

There is just going to be an absolute live wire.

She'll be able to link up with Bacario.

There's there's some definitely some fun stuff there, but I I, I will never not feel like she left a little NWSL unfinished business.

You know, like as a number one pick, you know, you kind of want to see what's you know, that you just you write the story of a person's career, what's possible, what the what the ceiling is.

We've had some fun with with that on the show as well, with regard to Alyssa Thompson.

And I feel like we we kind of got robbed of that a little bit.

And now if we see her at Chelsea just kind of running around without a ton of pressure, you know, playing like a lot of low stakes games and minutes and scoring and doing and having a lot of fun.

You know, it's like what, you know, did we learn a whole lot or do we have to wait till like Champions League deeps waters to figure out, you know, is is this move really going to pay off for her?

That's that's a great point.

And I think, you know, we'll see how the London City Lionesses push Chelsea.

Like you got to think that their entrance into the league, it should push Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and to a lesser extent Manchester United.

So I think, you know, that'll, that'll certainly be interesting to see.

And watching Alyssa Thompson play Champions League football.

There are worse things in the world that could happen that that's for sure.

Yeah, no doubt.

And yeah, London City Lioness is quietly putting together a couple, but yeah, I mean a couple that you mentioned.

Lana Kennedy, K Zelam.

Yeah.

Who else?

Kosovari Aslani, Who?

Who shined pretty bright in the EUR.

Elena Lenari, my daughter's name.

Zake.

Also another beast.

There you go, making waves in London City.

Let's fucking go.

But yeah, no, no, no ink dry on that contract as of yet.

So we'll we'll we'll keep track of it, but let's scoot ahead.

Everybody's talking about it, but I don't want to say everybody's talking about it, but everybody has talked about the KC current this year.

You know, we've seen them kind of come out of the gate.

But I think to the to the degree that this team is shredding through the league and shredding through the regular season, it's just worth taking a quick break.

We're at the 25 minute mark of our match week 18 episode.

I want to take a quick break and reflect on exactly what this team is doing.

So right now, 18 matches in, they sit at 46 points.

The Orlando Pride, last year's double winners, lifted the Shield, undefeated at this point in the season last year, 44 points.

So Casey Kearns 2 points ahead of that.

And what's interesting is they only have two big wins on the season, 4 one over Bay, 3 NIL over Utah.

Everything else is like this, this very impressive brand of suffocating, smothering, squeezing, pressing, harassing, Like, it's really, really impressive.

They're, they're just like, like muscling teams week in, week out.

And the last thing that I, that I saw that was pretty comical.

KC has scored 36 goals this season.

Now the worst defense in the league, Chicago Stars has allowed 36 goals.

So basically, KC's offense turns every single defense into the worst defense in the NWSL.

And you could look at the inverse.

The league worst offense is the Utah Royals, who have scored fourteen goals and Kansas City has allowed 10.

So they turn, they turn your offense into like even worse than the worst offense in the NWS.

Like they're they're just the goal differential plus 26.

I'm going to read you the next four teams, KCS plus 26.

Here's the next 4.

San Diego plus 9, Orlando +7, Gotham plus 6, Portland +5, and then if you missed it, it's KC plus 26 just slapping.

Everybody just destroying everybody.

And you're right, it's it's a mix like the the defense is so much better than it was last season.

They're just quite physical.

They look tougher out there.

They're they're organized and then they have, you know, the nuclear weapon of Temua Chewinga up top, flanked by these other genius players of of BIA and Tabina now Ali Sentinor in the mix.

Michelle Cooper, you know, is there like challenging like Michelle, Michelle Cooper challenges all those other players of hey, I'm actually the second best player on this team and she's out there with a bunch of world beaters.

So I mean, you know, we talked about it.

It's a done deal.

The shield is a wrap and now they just they got to finish the job because because our Orlando Pride by winning that double.

I think what the first thing to win the double since North Carolina Courage.

I want to say somewhere in there, it's going to be this weird thing where they're going to coast to the shield and then the pressure ratchets, ratchets right back up was like, OK, well are you going to do the thing or are you going to actually win the double?

I, I, you know, they're going to be in a little bit of a different position from Orlando last year.

And I, and I'm, I'm, I'm positive that they're looking to look at this Orlando post title season hangover and try to take some notes off of that.

But it's even more drastic than you can imagine.

So like this Kansas City currents had already clinched the playoff spot.

But if you look at if you look at their schedule, they go to Bay FC this weekend, then they play the second place Washington Spirit.

If they win both of those two games, they'll be two wins away from clinching the shield.

They can clinch the shield on September 26th, like 444 weeks from now.

They'll need to beat Washington and obviously run the table.

But if they go 4 and over the next 4 at Bay versus the Spirit versus Chicago at home, and then they host Seattle as well, 4 winnable matches for sure.

They they could have the shield wrapped up.

But I think that what makes that interesting is then what happens because you're playing 6-7 weeks of low stakes, no stakes, you know, let nobody get hurt out there.

Let's eat our orange slices at halftime kind of football.

And then are you going to be able to ratchet up come playoff time?

And you start to look at some of these teams that are clawing for that set that, you know, that eight spot, you can look at that four or five.

Who's going to be in there?

Casey's going to want to have a good mix of being healthy but also, you know, staying, staying sharp.

It's a great point and it's like if you look at so you, you mentioned that 4 match run.

So let's say they get it done because it's obviously not outside the realm of possibility that they went for consecutive matches considering all the matches they've won this season.

Then they would play at Angel City, home for Gotham at Houston, and then they close the season at home versus San Diego Wave.

Now, you know, maybe the Wave have something to play for near the end of the season.

I get we haven't counted out Houston and Gotham, so they'll be kind of playing for something.

Can you as Vlatko Andonovsky, you know, obviously we're talking about a a lot of great professionals.

You talk about Lola Bonta as like the the kind of leader of the squad.

Can you almost trick yourselves into thinking like, OK, some of these matches are high stakes for our opponents and we need to go in there and we need, we do need to stay sharp for these, you know, an elimination tournament.

If you want to look at the play offs that way, I think it's going to be interesting to see.

I mean that's that's a pretty boring answer, but they're going to be fighting that as they enter the play offs.

Yeah.

I mean, I've, you know, watched a ton of sports in my life.

You know, can a team, you know, kind of like, crank it up and trick themselves into, you know, reaching that level of intensity?

No, they can't.

It's impossible.

Usually not, you can't, you can't lie to yourself in that instance.

If a team really wants it and you don't really need it, those matches usually go some kind of way.

But Vlasco's going to have to figure out how to again, again, you know, thread that needle and make sure this team's ready for the play offs.

Because I, I think I agree with you.

This, this Shield's a wrap.

I don't know if four weeks is going to be enough time to get it done, but five weeks, six weeks, I think either way, it's just a matter of time.

They're just so far ahead.

And I think the other thing is there's no #2 team kind of breathing down their neck or, or, or or really ready or willing to kind of push them to the brink.

I think everybody has sort of been like, all right, well, let's let's get ready for the playoffs, make sure we're all set there.

But obviously still some some jockeying to be done down the stretch.

But let's shift gears here.

What is your I hit my most intriguing match up of the week, Chicago hosting the Orlando Pride.

What did you have as your your top match up for this weekend?

Well.

What a coincidence it would be the number two team on the table, the Washington Spirit at home versus Seattle Reign.

FCA Battle of Washington's, if you will.

Spirit or two wins, 3 draws, 0 losses in their last five.

Seattle Reign is one win, 3 draw, 3 draws.

Pardon me, one loss in their last five in the last match.

Appreciate.

You upholding the win draw loss format I.

Always will I I won't change.

I will not change for any league.

That's the way football should be described in in terms of the win, draw, loss, record.

Let me do this real quick.

Sorry to do this live on the show.

I'm going to text you a video, my good man, and we'll throw it in.

We'll we'll throw it in and post.

But what I want to talk about here, Sam Meza and Jordan Bug have seemingly returned to form.

They, I think they're bouncing back a little bit from a couple, couple matches where they were kind of reached a performance valley.

But there was a player I was specifically interested in and I thought manager Laura Harvey had something very interesting to say about her.

So I'd like to kick it to that video now, please.

We've talked a lot this year about Sam as a maybe being the best player on the squad.

I feel like the more performances I see Madison Curry stack up, it feels like she's making a run at that title herself.

What did you what did you see from her tonight?

She's very good.

I think I said it last week and I haven't done it yet, but I will do it.

I think she needs a look at the national team.

That's my opinion.

I'm not Emma, it's not my job.

But how consistent she's been, how adaptable she is.

She can be on both sides, how athletic she is.

We, we literally brought her off tonight because she was starting to cramp and I was petrified because, you know, when we brought her off against Chicago, things didn't go right.

Great, but yeah, she's AI think her and Sam I would agree with you consistently have been the you know top for us let's.

Go.

That's awesome there.

We go.

So I felt pretty good about the Madison Curry minutes for weeks now.

She was the best player for Rain in that disappointing loss versus Portland Thorns.

But I like it that Laura Harvey was ready to to put her name on it, throw the alley oop to her pal Emma Hayes and be like, hey, might want to consider her for the national team.

We've talked about that left back spot for the US women's national team.

Kind of a little bit of a revolving door.

We weren't sure if Nicewanger is really going to stick there.

Doesn't seem like Emma Hayes.

I mean, Emma Hayes was obviously looking for other options to kind of assess alongside Jenna Nicewanger.

On the right side you have Fox and Avery Patterson.

We, we saw some Cariabello mixed in there, you know, a few months back.

So I just thought that was quite interesting.

By Laura Harvey, who I'm just going to go out on a limb doesn't say anything without putting a lot of thought into it beforehand.

Yep.

And I I mean tremendous Okie doke by you just kind of taking her one way and we'll bring it back the other way.

That was very I mean that was the AI level crossover by you.

So well, well done by you.

Thank you and great and great answer by by by the legend Laura Harvey.

I talked about last week like Seattle versus the wave.

I was like, all right, well, first goal wins and where we're at like 6 days later, still waiting on that first goal.

Nothing to do it, nothing to do it in that one.

But Seattle, I think good season so far, seven wins so far on the year 6, just six last year.

They've beaten Utah, they beat Angel City, they beat North Carolina, Portland, San Diego, Wave, the Kansas City Current and the Mighty racing Louisville just to kind of like a little icy on the cake.

And Washington on the other hand, they've lost 4 * 3 at home.

Six straight Unbeaten though, is a little deceptive.

4 draws over that six and they're only +2, so not not quite cooking.

They've only got eight goals over their last seven matches.

They scored 21 goals through their first 11.

So they've gone pretty cold, even though Cantore has come on and really kind of blown the doors off a little bit and been like, I think even exceeded expectations.

Even though she was cooking over the summer in the EUR.

I think she's come on and looked really, really great.

I mean, that's that's the hallmark of a great player.

They can just kind of get dropped in and fit with pretty much whoever is on the pitch there.

And then obviously Trinity Rodman last weekend had that amazing.

I I don't think there's another player in the league that can do that, reach a ball either as it reaches the end line or as it just kind of, you know, dips past the end line just by centimeters and then just puts the ball back in and, and kind of changes, changes the game.

So I think Trinity Rodman, hopefully that's a continuation of of her getting back into the mix for Washington.

And then Seattle, I think you mentioned it defensively.

You know, they had those two games that were anomalies, seven goals in two matches.

But you look at their other 16 matches played, just fourteen goals allowed in those 16.

So I think their DNA still remains, you know, that being that defensive stopper of a team and, you know, to your point, maybe those couple players getting introduced back into the mix is the right recipe to make it happen.

Yeah, I mean, they had their difficulties marking Washington at at the the reverse fixture.

When was that?

That was a little while ago, May 23rd.

You know, they lost that match 2 to one.

They were having a a hell of a time keeping up with Gift Monday and Rosemont Quasi, especially out there on the wings.

But you know, I, I think if they're able to scratch out another point, which would be what, their 4th consecutive draw and if they were especially able to get that out on the road.

If you look across 2 fixtures against Washington Spirit from where Seattle Rain FC is kind of in their, in their journey as they kind of make it back with these young players, I think you're OK with that.

So I think that's they're, they're going to have to put in a good performance.

And I, I'm looking at this as when we talk about how bunched up these teams are in the table, Spirit, Spirit and San Diego, they're kind of becoming and maybe racing Louisville's part of this too.

They're kind of becoming the de facto measuring stick.

Because if you are trying to measure yourself up against Kansas City current right now, as we see, as the table would show, nobody's measuring up to them.

It's kind of like, well, you know, when when Orlando was invincible for so much of last year's season.

It's like, OK, well, nobody's that close to them.

How close is everybody else?

So I think it's going to be now obviously I live in Seattle and I and I cover the team pretty closely.

I am out here asking Laura Harvey questions, but I think it's a fascinating match up nonetheless.

Can't wait to see that one.

And you know, we talked a lot about Casey Curran didn't mention Lorena, who I think it's like just I don't know, one of these signings of the offseason and down the stretch he knows may end up being the signing of this of this year, depending on how the the the postseason shakes out.

But I do want to talk about one more match up from this past weekend.

This was probably the the most fun I had watching a match for a lot of different reasons.

Racing Louisville, Houston dash in what I'm calling a tale of two playoff teams.

Oh, wow, let's go.

So I mean, obviously I, I, I've overcooked myself with my, with my racing Louisville take, but I still think that they're really good.

They're so good.

You know, they they put pressure, they create chances.

They've got good offensive players, good dangerous offensive players that are all really, really hungry.

I think when you look at some other teams, I don't know, well, maybe you can see that they're they don't really kind of have that DNA.

But I love watching Louisville play and Houston is another team that you know, the seasons within the season we're at we're we're in that season within a season where Houston is just good.

They're they're hard to beat.

You know, you look at Yasmine Ryan, you look at Delaney Sheehan Messiah Bright actually came in and then was effective in this one.

Evelina Dulian comes in and and has an impact later in this one.

Avery Patterson, not quite an Avery Patterson game, but you look at the spots where Patterson gets the ball and makes plays and makes things happen and it's all over the pitch.

You're just like, how do you, it must be a nightmare having a game plan against this person because you could just be effective from so many different parts of the pitch.

And I mean, this was just a great, great battle.

Talked about Louisville's easy remaining schedule.

Houston's got a little bit tougher, but again, I I still think they're sitting in 11th and they are currently 4 points behind Gotham for that 8th and final playoff spot.

And you know, Gotham's got the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Angel City, there's that Alyssa Thompson breakup, the North Carolina courage.

That's a team that, you know, does is not playing with that offensive intensity that I talked about about Reece Louisville, you know, sports week in and week out.

Bay FC, you know, you already know that's that's a that's a team that is not going to strike a ton of fear in other teams.

So Houston, I think outside shot of maybe sneaking in if they could kind of like run Gotham down here.

And Louisville I think is is a shoe and based on on who else they've got on the schedule you.

Know sneaky contender there.

Contender to fall out.

I mean, Portland Thorns one win, one draw, 3 losses in their last five, including two losses on the spinning.

We'll, we'll have to see, see what happens there.

But also, you know, I won't, I won't just hate on Seattle rain FCS rival.

You know, it's not like Seattle rain is exactly blowing up the world either.

So maybe, maybe they go up against the measuring sick of Washington spirit and and show again that they that they don't measure up.

And that's another team that Houston dash could, could potentially catch.

I, I think I'm with you.

I think they're just good at this point.

And and you know, the early, the early results, we're not completely indicative of the talent that they had.

And it was one of those cases that I was talking about earlier where maybe they just needed a little bit of time to get together.

And, and like we talked about Houston maybe at the beginning of the season, we talked about them improving and then like how much do they improve versus how much the other teams in the league are improving?

And it looks like they're kind of starting to catch up a little bit and it looks like their rate of improvement.

Might be accelerated to a little quicker than some of the other other clubs in the league.

So I'm here for it because I, I, I love, I like, I like their style.

Yasmine Ryan and Avery Patterson are obviously two of my favorite players to watch.

See Houston.

'S got this weekend.

They've got they're going.

They play Port San Diego.

Oh, wait, wait.

Louisville plays Portland.

Yeah, yeah.

Houston play Houston goes to San Diego.

Those are a couple of fun matches, a couple of players I want to this is a player that took my time couldn't quite piece the whole offensive attack together for Houston, but Kiki Vanzen, I think has to get a mention.

What a player a threat pretty much every time she she hits 5th gear like it's just like, oh shit, we're we we don't have the the personnel to be able to contend with this player at this moment.

So I think she's she's come out in a big way.

And then defensively, Natalie Jacobs, Paige Nielsen, I think have been both really, really good, really aggressive, really tenacious.

And I think it's it's kind of like just spreading through the club.

And I think you you see them score goals, you see them make big plays and you see how they react as a unit.

And then you can kind of see some cohesion there.

It's pretty exciting.

I want to quickly round out the remaining mash ups from this weekend just to kind of like put a bow on it.

Friday Racing Louisville host the Portland Thorns, the maybe all of all of a sudden in danger of Portland Thorns.

Shout out to you.

And by the way, told you to avoid that Portland thorns -1 1/2 -, 2 1/2 bet against Utah.

I told you Utah was was pesky and you know, here we go.

It should have gone a little further and asked you for that Utah straight up number, but you know, jeez.

Better without that Nora topic for another show.

Yeah, Ewing Theory.

Let's go shout out to the the pod father, right?

Saturday, North Carolina Courage host Utah Royals Bay FC host Kansas City Current and then Sunday, a quadruple header from the NWS.

Hell, it's fucking go.

Chicago Stars host Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit host your Seattle rain Goth FC host Angel City and Houston Dash head to San Diego take on the wave.

Gonna be a good, possibly a great match.

Week 19 to football.

Cannot wait to get into it.

Mr.

Grand Angle, anything else you want to hit before we get out of here?

I.

Do I want to shout out one of our pals on YouTube, Richard Albertson, who pointed out that Lindby Andolo had said on her Good Vibes podcast with Sam Lewis that she was dealing with a knee issue that was limiting her minutes?

I did not see that episode before we recorded the Week 17 recap where I had said like, hey, I don't want to accuse Seattle Rain FC of lying to me or lying to us as a general public, but why isn't she playing?

Now?

I will say that Lindbiandola revealing that last week, I had been wondering for weeks why she wasn't playing.

And Laura Harvey did say like, hey, she's got a little bit of a a knee thing and we don't want to play her on turf.

I'll say thank you.

Thank you, Richard, for keeping me honest on that.

I think that's that's totally a fair comment.

And it doesn't seem like they're they're not keeping it totally secret.

I do wonder if it's worse than they're letting on.

But now that she's being shut down for a few weeks, I think it all kind of adds up and makes sense of you don't sign Lynn Biendolo and then just not play her.

So I just want to shout out Richard though, because I didn't see that on good vibes.

And then I didn't really hear anything until Laura Harvey mentioned it on the pre match presser before the San Diego wave match.

So shout out to you, Richard.

Journalistic integrity is important to us.

We we, we appreciate the help.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, Community driven enterprise for sure.

Shout out to Mac Daily, friend of the show on Spotify, who also pointed out that piece of news for us.

So appreciate the community as always.

All right, man, I think we did hit this with another episode of into the channel.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for watching, listening, hanging out.

If you enjoyed the show or love them so far as much as your boys do, make sure you're keeping with us each and every single week.

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Thanks to all of our socials except one in the showrooms of this episode and a big thing in my coast as well, Mr.

Grant Angle for always being upfront about his injury status and and his availability.

And I mean, to be honest, he's my guy's always available.

It's I mean, there's no probables, no doubtfuls.

He's always in the lineup, always sharp beat in, you know, my my running mate up top.

You already know what time is.

I appreciate you bro.

Likewise, buddy, I wouldn't, I wouldn't do it with anybody else.

And you know, even when we we sit here and we have to look each other in the eye and say I'm hurt, dog, but I'm putting my heart into this shit.

That's just how it goes.

You know, we'll fight through it when necessary, but it's always good to understand if you are too, if you're injured, not just hurt, it's it's understandable sit out every once in a while.

But we appreciate you guys for not sitting out.

Like I mentioned earlier, thank you for dropping knowledge of the comments.

We always appreciate that and we will see you all next time.