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Whole Lotta Draws, Not Enough Winnin' - Ep. 6
6 Plays3 months ago
As the Reign go into the Olympic break without a win since May 3rd, the team records yet another draw, this time against the last place Utah Royals. We dive into the Reign's current form, if there's any hope for the rest of season, and just overall trying to wrap our heads around why there hasn't been any major changes in terms of getting results on the field.
We also discuss the other happenings in woso and what we can expect to see from Reign players during the break from league play.
Follow us on twitter:
CoolerGuildPod
Coop
Van
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Show produced by Coop
Theme song by Alex Juarez
Show artwork by Coop
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The Cooler Guild Est. 2024
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Transcript
Joining Sounder at Heart Network
00:00:21
Speaker
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to Episode 6 of the Cooler Guild. I am your host, Coop, and joined with me is my co-host, Van. What's up? We are recording this episode on Wednesday, July 10th, 2024. And we got some exciting things going on with this episode. It's our first episode officially under standard art.
00:00:37
Speaker
Yeah, we're stoked to join the podcast network. Baffling to me that people, I mean, I guess it's not that surprising. There's really been a lot out there on a weekly basis for the rain in terms of podcast coverage. Um, so we're like so happy. I think that we kind of are getting the seal of approval from something as
00:00:56
Speaker
Notable sounder hurt. We've looked up to those people and like read read everything they put out since since beginning I've made friends with like a lot of people from there too. So yeah, I mean the the entire like Seattle soccer community Supporting us and and getting behind us has really been like absolutely just like mind-blowing. Yeah Yeah, I really really want to thank Jeremiah. Yeah, what a guy for kind of I don't know. Is this opportunity? What a guy
00:01:22
Speaker
So going forward, The Cooler Guild will now be part of the Sounder at Heart podcast network. In addition to remaining available in our podcast feed, Sounder at Heart subscribers can now listen to us on the unified network feed where all the network podcasts are available. To learn more about supporting our show and getting access to the feed as well, the rest of Sounder at Heart content, you can visit sounderatheart.com forward slash The Cooler Guild.
Seattle Rain's Déjà Vu Struggles
00:01:44
Speaker
In today's episode, we're going to be discussing Rain's latest results against the Utah Royals from Sunday at Loom & Field.
00:01:51
Speaker
like a loss. Not gonna lie. Always does. Not great. You know, Laura Harvey says this is Deja Vu, and let me tell you what, Laura Harvey, no one makes it feel like, like this feels like Deja Vu for us especially, because we're just episode after episode talking about the same thing.
00:02:07
Speaker
Yeah, it wouldn't be so bad if we hadn't decided to start this podcast and then have to keep talking about the same crap every game. Our first episode that we dropped, that was a loss. And I think we had like we did a few practice episodes to make sure we didn't tell like shit, but we had recorded the win that we had.
00:02:29
Speaker
And we felt like, I don't know, maybe it was going to go better by now, especially since we won a game with an early red card. And how can we not do that now? I don't know. All right. Do you want to do a little match recap? Sure. Rain played Sunday in
Rain vs. Royals: Controversy and Recap
00:02:44
Speaker
Seattle. It was really hot. Hot day.
00:02:46
Speaker
I was in California, but it's hot in Seattle. The rain played against the Utah Royals for the first time since Utah rejoined the NBSL. After a scoreless first half, the rain dominated most of the possession. The second half kicked off and five minutes later, the rain found the back of the net only to have the call reverse by VAR for a foul by Boats. I don't agree. Controversy. There's controversy. I am. I don't agree. We can talk about it later, but I'm not in that camp. I thought I was fine.
00:03:12
Speaker
Moving on, but in the 67th minute, so like 17 minutes later, Ally Centner blocked a lot of cooks pass out of the back and took advantage of it and she killed it. She absolutely put that one in the back of the net. Embarrassed us. Yeah, it was terrible. But just after that, 12 minutes later, let's go hit one in. So she'd come off the bench and finish the game off for us and the game ended in one, one draw.
00:03:40
Speaker
not great not great once again not great once again a tie that felt like a loss yeah this one almost i mean the other one was obviously felt it definitely felt worse the way it ended but like this is the game where you know you're playing the one team that's below you in the standings that's been doing worse than you in ways that like they actually look worse because
00:04:00
Speaker
It seems like if we played a team like that, we should be beating them. Yeah, I mean, and even though we are a not great squad, but a good coach, we have had some consistency. And what, two weeks ago, Utah fired their head coach. Yeah. And so now they're under their interim head coach, which was their goalkeeper coach. And they come in, and I'm not dissing goalkeeper coach, like, by any means, because I think goalkeepers make the best coaches.
00:04:29
Speaker
It seems like there was a huge shake up in that organization Yeah, and they've been bad and we've been bad and there's been no shake of an organization. They're also a new organization So they're a new organization, right? Like, you know back new whatever but new organization and they fired their coach so like Laura Harvey veteran of the league Laura Harvey like We should
Inconsistency vs. Utah's Changes
00:04:52
Speaker
have had this this should have been win
00:04:53
Speaker
Yeah. And I mean, it's one of those like the press or whatever afterwards, it's just, she said, you know, deja vu, same issues, exact same issues we're dealing with, right? Lack of quality on finishing, lack of quality overall. It's not just, it's lack of quality in passing, lack of quality in the defending, those lapses that we have, we might be good for, you know, the majority of the match, but all it takes is like one chance from someone like Centnor. Yeah. That's all it takes. And one mistake.
00:05:21
Speaker
And sure, like, we dominated possession. Zara King had a lot of opportunities. If the score line was different, we might say, oh, she played really well. But the score line the way it is, those missed opportunities add up.
00:05:38
Speaker
Yeah, her and Boats, I think you need to call out both of them. Yeah. I think Boats keeps having these huge opportunities and isn't taking them. Or at least not taking them is boring. It was like very much, you know, I rewatched the game, the episode, but I was actually listening to it, somebody's phone, and it just sounded like the first half, the first time I'm, you know, listening to the game.
00:06:05
Speaker
that, oh, we had great possession, we're getting in, we're creating opportunities, but nothing was happening. Yeah, I was actively screaming at my TV. Alex was like, you need to be quiet. I think I have my window open too, because it was super hot. And so I had my window open. I'm sure my neighbor's house is maybe 10, 12 feet away from our house.
00:06:25
Speaker
that was just screaming because i just like it was so this this game especially was so frustrating because it did feel like this is the one that we're going to turn around like or at least this is the one we're going to get the win before we go into this break right and it didn't happen and i mean i i had tweeted i was like if we don't win this game i don't see i don't see a path for us to turn the season around because if we can't if we can't beat this team i i i don't see it
00:06:49
Speaker
But there's also like in the same frame that I talk about, like how we have a consistency that they don't have because they just fired their head coach. That can also add an X factor of those players have something to prove. Right. When you are bringing in a new coach or a new leadership. So, I mean, look at what's happened when, when our team, when, when the rain has really screwed things up, saying gone down a player eight minutes into the game.
00:07:17
Speaker
What do they do? They deal with adversity and they win games. They go down a goal. They squirtle. Yeah. So I think there's something to be said about that and like credit to them. They fought through, they went up a goal, but at the same time you have to expect better from a
Scheduling Conflict: Rain vs. Storm
00:07:34
Speaker
group like the rain. Yeah.
00:07:35
Speaker
I did, I mean, I did point out to you, I think the last episode is, I don't know if I edited it out or not, but I did say like, you know, Utah did just fire their coach and it could be one of those moments where the players will figure something out and find a way to get a result. And, um, yeah, I wasn't shocked by this result because knowing that, but I still expect better this team and I know they're capable of more.
00:07:58
Speaker
But are they? Are they capable of more? I feel like we're reaching the end of the abilities of this roster. I would say they're... I would say against this Utah team, they were capable. I would say against this team, they were. I wouldn't have maybe said that about their... The thing is, they got a pretty good... The result that they just had against Gotham, that was a good result for them.
00:08:21
Speaker
Right. So they play well against Gotham. I'm expecting you to go get the win against the team that's below you. And it is below you because they're you can see how bad they are. But you have to think about it and sense it like our the rain are so poor at this point that they are playing to the level of their opponent. Yeah, that's the question we're trying to figure out. Right.
00:08:42
Speaker
I mean, it's not our job to figure out, but the fact that we can see these things as fans makes it oh so apparent that there's an issue other than the organization of the squad on game day, there's an issue with the squad. Because the lineup itself isn't doing it. You can paint it however you want and put them in whatever places you want. They're not getting results.
00:09:05
Speaker
Yeah, that mean we we brought in the two players that we brought in that like we haven't seen much from in quite a while because they were starting when they came in to Welsh players are just kind of I think we just seems like we were just kind of I don't know given up on them starting or if it's just we're hardly trying to rotate everybody and trying to still figure out magic sauce, secret sauce, whatever that takes up two international spots. So if we're not playing them, I'm a little like confused. I mean, we haven't really been able to make
00:09:33
Speaker
anymore moves. We don't know how much money they came here for. That's kind of the problem with the individual. Like you can't see what there's not the transparency. Yeah, transparency is lacking for sure. We don't know in that sense. But yeah, they're taking up two international spots. They aren't always playing. James Turner had a decent game this last game was helpful in the goal.
00:09:55
Speaker
Yeah, I've been pretty happy with what I've seen from her at times. I mean, I think Woodham's done well, like the opportunities that she's had since she she started and like played really well and then like kind of wasn't starting so much and came on and was kind of mediocre. But the last couple of games she's played, she's looked pretty good. Yeah, I think that there there's got to be some consideration in that. But we talk about rotation, you know, or Harvey's rotating the lineup. Is she really?
00:10:22
Speaker
I don't think so. She's rotating the line up in the sense that she's changing how we're lining up, but she's not really
Fan Challenges at Lumen Field
00:10:30
Speaker
changing the personnel. It was hot that day. It was hot. It was hot. It was 88, 90 degrees. I think Jane, photographer Jane, shout out to Jane.
00:10:41
Speaker
she was saying that the turf was like 110 degrees oh it had to be and she was like getting burns like maybe had a burn on her from from all that so i know we never want to see that for jane especially um like and then like on tv right it didn't look like there's very many fans there because they all had moved to like the shady spot
00:11:01
Speaker
Which I didn't know because I was watching it on TV. You couldn't see it unless they were on that corner, right? Like in that corner, because you really couldn't see it, but like a bunch of people are just crowded over that. And I don't blame them. I mean, this is the problem with like the way that things are set up, you know, they, they make these games. I once again, why are we having games in the middle of the day in the summertime? We're having to deal with these immense temperatures that are not going away in the summer.
00:11:27
Speaker
No, we keep pretending like, oh, it was just hot this year. No, this is like years on end now. No, they should be playing these games later for sure once the sun starts going down or something. But it's hard because it's a Sunday game because they're not giving us Saturday night games. I mean, I don't know how well a Friday night game would go, but that would be an option too. If they did the right advertising marketing for that, I think that would be good.
00:11:53
Speaker
I mean, they do Friday night matches for the end of you sell. So like, what's the deal with the rain? Maybe not hosting those. I don't know. Um, they seem to always get the Sunday afternoon slot. And, um, I think especially for summer, that's just kind of fucked up because people are like, they're out and about. I want to go to like, go out on Saturday nights, whatever. And, uh, no.
00:12:10
Speaker
The other problem was is that which the attendance for the rain match in the heat and everything else combined 6,276, which is quite a drop off from the Louisville game, which got over 10 K, but another crime against the gays.
00:12:26
Speaker
Another crime against the gays as far as scheduling. The storm game against the Chicago Sky, I don't know if you've heard about the Chicago Sky lately, was happening at the exact same time. Why? Like, what do you, and like, okay, you're like a Seattle sports fan and it's a scorching fucking 90 degrees outside. Would you rather go inside where there's air conditioning and watch, I don't know, Angel Reese?
00:12:48
Speaker
And the entire Seattle storm, in air conditioning, would you rather go sit in the blazing sun and watch the second to last place ranking? Yeah, I mean, that's a choice that people shouldn't have to make. That women's sports fans shouldn't have to make in Seattle. No. Because there's so many, like, we have so many good players on both sides. And generally, the people that want to go watch storm games are the people that are going to go to rain games. There's definitely like the two, like, there's a crossover for sure.
00:13:15
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, the crossover is bigger for that than I would say it is for sounders. Sounders, yeah. I would say that, yeah, I would say we've seen that. I mean, they've done, like, the storm and rain joint stuff before, so... The rain storm. Yeah. And the storm... Okay, so I will say that I think the rain attendance wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be, but considering they got, like, a little over 11,000 at the storm game, feel like getting a little over 6,000 is not bad.
00:13:40
Speaker
No, it's not terrible. And with the heat and with the way that people are placed at Lumen for Ring Game, which is on that east side, which is in the sun. It's so brutal. It's so brutal. It's so hard to sit over there when it's that hot. And then people sit for those matches too. So you're just sitting in your sweaty seat. Yeah, it's not great.
00:14:02
Speaker
It's not good at all. You know, the the rain are still sitting on the fact that they haven't won since May 3rd. Yeah. Yeah. So we're over two months in now since a win. Fairweather sports fans. It's a little hard to avoid in Seattle, I think we see with the Mariners. We've seen it with maybe not the Seahawks.
00:14:21
Speaker
People want to see teams play well and also the rain, we'll just keep being in this draw, but they haven't found the big names to replace Roosevelt, Megan, or Pino. You're going to go out on a Sunday and get a sunburn. And I'm not saying there's not big names on the rain still right now. We're seeing clubs elsewhere, sending off their U S Olympians, you know, and the NW cell is an American league.
00:14:43
Speaker
I don't need an Olympian from the US, but can we get someone who's world-renowned and that high level of world-class player kind of stuff? Yeah, I mean, it's really hard because our bar was set so high. Yeah. So when you create a team with somebody like Megan Rapinoe and they become an international name for multiple reasons,
Replacing Rapinoe: Ongoing Issues
00:15:06
Speaker
and are a draw from so many different facets of society, right? To come watch the game and you lose that. You can't replace Megan Rapinoe. You really can't. No, you can't. But I think that too, you're right. We've tried really hard to make somebody on our team like a household name and nobody's really performing in a way that would make that a reality, right? So bring somebody in.
00:15:33
Speaker
and I think that that's that's the next step that's the next step and hopefully moving forward like we'll get some whether it's somebody that Laura Harvey will miraculously decide to start playing or or somebody that she's totally bought in on yeah it wasn't a terrible game for the rain I mean minus the fact that they didn't win the game minus the fact that they were not productive
00:15:56
Speaker
If you want to be a stats person and look at it, it wasn't the worst thing that ever happened, right? Yeah, they had shots. There's, you know, a VAR call. We held possession. They had some big chances. All of the things you want to see from a team were there. It's just that those final little touches that we're lacking.
00:16:13
Speaker
to really make this like a I don't know what's the what's the word like a like a show you know what I mean like a definitive performance exactly yeah and we don't really have that no we haven't seen that we we've seen comebacks we've seen kind of like wins that we shouldn't have won but there's not been a definitive performance when you say this group is good enough to win games
00:16:35
Speaker
in this league. Yeah, I want to see like a hungry, greedy team. I want that. Yeah. Either. Right. Because you either have like a hungry, greedy team that's just like dominating the shit and just scoring goals like crazy or you've just got like a solid defense that can, you know, just shut down opponents and then you can find your goal when you need to.
00:16:52
Speaker
And I think Claudia Dickey played all right. I don't think she's the main problem of the rain right now as far as like goals against. But she got saved the week off of a save that she shouldn't have had to make. And she and she was well, she was like the first person to admit that. Yeah.
00:17:10
Speaker
And any good goalkeeper would be that way when kudos to her. I mean, I like her. Yeah. If we keep her in and bring players in in front of her, I think she will probably become like a steady number one. She seems to grow. She seems to understand the mistakes that she makes and not make those mistakes again. Yeah. It's hard. Like when you have somebody like Alana Cook, who you should be really confident in, who should be your stalwart and like your center back and that player just making stupid mistakes.
00:17:38
Speaker
Yeah. And it's not an easy thing to... I don't envy these players right now, right? Because it's not like they don't know that they're making mistakes. Like they know exactly what they're doing wrong. And for some reason, they still can't get it right, you know, every week. Or they'll get it right again for most of the match. And then it's just that one time that takes to turn the whole game
Frustration Over Rain's Performance
00:17:59
Speaker
upside down. And so I don't envy these players having to reckon with that. And also like the criticism that comes with all of that.
00:18:06
Speaker
It's not fun to have to deal with by any means. This is one of those situations where like, I feel like this is where Laura Harvey is supposed to rise up and figure it all out. Yeah, but you can only do so much with the hand that you're dealt, right? Yeah, we keep going back to that. It's so annoying. Okay, I think we just need to move on from that because I really just
00:18:30
Speaker
This is so frustrating. We've done this for like a month and a half now. It's an infinity. It's an infinity. We're going to have to get infinity tattoos on us soon. And it's going to say the reign above it. OK, so let's maybe talk about any other positives we saw. So we got Claudia Dickey. I think that's, you know, she saw a mistake. She knew them, but she did well overall. I did. I know there's been a lot of criticism for King, Sarah King, but I think switching her side like to the right has been pretty good.
00:19:00
Speaker
I've been pretty into it. I don't think she's as bad as some people are making her out to be. I really don't. I think she's, like, good at passing. She's pretty dynamic. It's the same thing that's lacking with everybody else in the front, where she does not have, like, his fishing. Right. But that's my kind of qualm with it is, like, sure, she was more creative on that side and created better chances, but still was not productive. And so that's kind of my takeaway is, like, she might have looked better, but it didn't make the team any better.
00:19:29
Speaker
We didn't get scored on. We didn't get scored on right out of the half or at the beginning of the match, which is great. It was hilarious because the commentator was talking about. Did you listen to that part? Oh, yeah, I heard that. The commentator was just like, yeah, Laura Harvey has been trying like all sorts of different things and taking a team like back into the field after halftime.
00:19:47
Speaker
So whatever it was this time, hopefully she made note of whatever it was because they did not concede right out of the half. In fact, they had a very good goal opportunity, which I guess maybe now is a good time to transition into the VAR call, the goal opportunity after the half. I don't know. I thought it was soft. So Cross came in, right? And Mandy Howe comes out and gets it. And Balzer is right there with the defender.
00:20:09
Speaker
little bit behind her and how it comes out to get it and kind of reaches over the defender. She got the ball, but then she lets go of it before any contact. And that's my biggest gripe with it. Right. So it's like, OK, she comes out to get it, gets her hands on it, but doesn't catch it and then gets hit.
00:20:26
Speaker
and okay I can yeah I can see that argument on further review it looks as if Bethany Balzer might have extended her left arm to the defender to push her into the goalkeeper which I can also see that argument yeah that's and that's the side I'm on is
00:20:42
Speaker
But for me, if you're gonna come out and get the ball as a goalkeeper, you're gonna come out and get the ball, it's all or nothing. And the fact that she let go of the ball before contact, she gave up. But you can't really argue that because there's no real rules regarding that.
00:20:58
Speaker
If you, if the refs are arguing Bethany Balser fouled, you know, the defender and the defender inherently runs into the keeper because of the foul, whatever. There was a slight push whether or not, you know, like, yeah, I mean, the arm extended. Yeah. So there was a push. So to me, I was like, yeah, that makes sense. I'd be fucking pissed if that was our keeper. I'd be, I'd be upset if it was our keeper. And like, I saw her get barreled in by like the forward pushing my own defender in front of, you know, like that whole sequence happened to us. I'd be pissed.
00:21:24
Speaker
She let go of the ball. She let go of the ball before she got hit. And you call it a goal on the field, right? And so that's the other thing is like, was there clear and obvious evidence that the foul caused the goal? And in my view, as a goalkeeper, if I let go of the ball before I got hit, that's my own fault. It's not because I got hit. Yeah. My issue is she couldn't get back up because Bethany wasn't even part of the play with the ball, right? So Bethany, you know what I mean? Well, that's because the goalkeeper came out over the top of everybody, but
00:21:54
Speaker
I don't feel like this one's as clear as some people are making it out to be. No, I don't think it is at all. And I think that I think for me, if you call it a goal on the field, there needs to be clear and obvious evidence. I don't agree with it, but I can see the other side.
00:22:10
Speaker
I don't know, it's one of those things where like could have gone, could have gone either way, but the call on the field was a goal. What I'm, what I'm annoyed about is Laura Harvey afterwards, just like digging in on her heels about this call. And she's like, well, that was a goal. That was a goal. That was a goal. No, that was a, that was a. Okay. Well, guess what? You didn't win the challenge. Well, there's a reason why we just talked about it for like five minutes because it was so convoluted, right? There's, there's so many angles that you could take from that call.
00:22:39
Speaker
But you can't dwell on that. Not for the coach, we can. We're just like a bunch of bums though, you know? That call to me is not worth trying to sit there and be like, that should have been a goal. No, go score more fucking goals. Finish the other chances you had. Yeah, and there were so many other chances.
00:22:57
Speaker
Just go finish your chances. Don't complain about the VR call. Yeah, I don't know. I'm annoyed about that. I don't get annoyed with a lot of things that Harvey says, but that that's particularly kind of annoyed me. Yeah. And I think like it's still we need to give her a chance if we bring in more players. But if we're not if we're not bringing in more players, I mean, I'm kind of at a crossroads here where I'm getting sick of defending it because there's literally no movement.
00:23:24
Speaker
Yeah. And I guess she's probably, I mean, she's probably more frustrated than all of us. Right. But at the same time, like if you're that frustrated, you got to try something different. Yeah. And her trying something different has not worked. Yeah. That would lead me to question some other stuff. Oh, God. A hundred percent.
00:23:42
Speaker
I don't know, it's so hard to speculate and figure out stuff that could change that might fix this.
Coaching Dynamics and Adversity
00:23:50
Speaker
Would Sam Blady coming back help? Oh, 100%. Because the energy that he always seemed to have with the players, I'm not trying to say anything about what's going on there now, because I don't know. But I know for sure that Sam Blady, you know, he had a notable win when he was taking over for Laura when she was unavailable or whatever it was that one time.
00:24:08
Speaker
And he knows this group and he knows the program. Like he gets it. I would be curious. I don't think he has a job right now, right? I don't think so. But I think the intricacies of the coaching staff is very much like something that's above my pay grade. But what I know from the people that have worked in the organization that I talked to and things is that Laura Harvey likes to win the way that she likes to win. She doesn't really like screwing with things.
00:24:36
Speaker
And if the people that work within the system she likes to win in aren't working, then it's not her fault. And so she's not a person that's going to really screw with that system. And I think that the thing that Sam Lady did was not be a yes, man. He challenged her. And I think that there's not really, from what I've heard, there seems to be a lack of adversity within the coaching staff and people polling for the players that aren't getting a lot of time.
00:25:05
Speaker
Does that make sense? I mean, does that make sense? Yeah, I feel like that's just coaches in general. They play favorites and they have their people. Yeah, some do. Yeah, I don't know. Coaching stuff, something I would I think Laura maybe needs to reflect on. Yeah, I wouldn't not like her self, but she maybe needs to figure out if she can surround herself with people that might kind of help figure out what the issues are and maybe if we can get more out if if we can get more out of the squad or or what players we need. Exactly. Because I don't feel like it's very clear what we need still.
00:25:34
Speaker
No, it's not. And and they're not. I mean, that's also the hard part, too, is because she's notoriously vague. Yeah. Yeah. But I think Leanne Sanderson's right. You know, on the call from not this game, but the game before saying the reindeer now, no gold for you need somebody like chewing. You need somebody like that coming in just to score goals. Yeah. And we have players that can play those balls in there. Yep. Yep. We absolutely do.
00:26:02
Speaker
So I think that's one way you can solve it, but I don't know. One thing that I would change as an organization, if I was miraculously in charge of the rain one day, would be that vagueness. You need to have an open communication with your fan base, with the people that are supporting you and the communities that are supporting you and letting them know, especially in times like this, when you're absolutely awful, how you're going to make it better.
00:26:28
Speaker
I would say I agree with that, obviously, but I understand why you don't do that. I think it's a problem within the league, though. I feel like we see this with like almost every single team whenever like big news drops about like a coach firing or a player being traded like this happens everywhere. So I feel like it's just maybe the norm for the league. I don't know if we can can change things like that.
00:26:53
Speaker
We've changed things other ways, like why not be that something to take up with the front office who I have other issues with. Nope. And we're kind of just rambling about a bunch of stuff going on, but I feel like that's kind of.
00:27:05
Speaker
I mean, it's all kind of pertinent, but... What do we break down from this match, right? Like, it's the same shit. And I guess the one thing that happened is Lazco did what Lazco does, and she came off the bench and, like, did her thing. Yeah, she does what... She's coming off from injury, right? Yeah, she's coming off from injury, but she, like, scored that goal, and that's, like, a kind of goal that, like... Why is it only Lazco can, like, find those kind of goals? Just, like, scrappiness. I don't know. Like, go...
00:27:32
Speaker
Just find a way to get your foot or your head on the end of these balls in the box when they're just kind of bouncing around. Yeah. Make it happen. And I'm no person in charge, but if I were to take one forward that we have on our lineup right now. Let's go. It would be her. She came on and I feel like she is a very mature player in the way that she deals with things.
Let's Go: Game-Changer
00:27:52
Speaker
Like when she starts, she understands her role. And when she comes in off the bench, she understands her role. And she came off the bench this game and was like, all right, I got to change the game. I got to be a game changer. And she came on and did exactly that. She did that in the playoffs. I don't know how we don't give her more credit.
00:28:07
Speaker
I mean, I feel like I do. I'm like, I mean, I do too. I remember when we signed her, I was like, this is, this is like probably the best signing, just like added to her roster, like to have that in your back pocket, starting subbing, whatever. I feel that's like a player everyone wants to have on their team because she just knows she gets it. If I had to choose a cooler player of the match for this match, it would definitely be Let's Go.
00:28:30
Speaker
Yeah, me too. Again, I feel like maybe we need to hold off on giving someone it until we win a match. I don't know, she kept us from losing three points. She did, because it was going to be maybe the most embarrassing thing we've ever done this season. Yeah.
00:28:47
Speaker
losing to Utah, so she saved us from that. So I guess for this match, yeah. We'll give it to her. And we can also add on to the cooler play of the match. What do you want to add on? The shade at Lumen Field, keeping people cool. If that's not, you know, cooler player of the match, I don't know what is. So for everyone who showed up and got to go in that shade, you know, shout out to the shade. No shade. Stop. So the shade in Lumen and Ladsco, you're going into the cooler play of the match Hall of Fame. Woo!
00:29:17
Speaker
I guess I'll say I watched the post-match pressers and they had Latsko and Dickey on and their goal is still to make the playoffs and go on a run. They know they need to go on a run because that's the only way that they're getting to the playoffs is if they go on their own and that they said that that's still their goal. I'll believe it when I see it. Yeah. Uh, that'd make me really happy because I bet my buddy Ron a beer at the beginning before the season started. Yeah.
00:29:43
Speaker
that even though we lost everyone, the rain would still make the playoffs. So that would make me happy. But I mean, I like that that's their vision. Is it a reality at this point? That's hard. That's hard to fathom right now. They understand where the bar is. So I guess that's good. They know that this isn't this isn't really acceptable in that they should still have ambitions.
00:30:04
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, they've been safe. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I don't, I really, I feel like we should just move on. I feel like there's really no, no point and just continuing the rainy to do something better. We're also going into a break. So it's just like, we can decompress. Yeah. I mean, I think that this is, that was, that was a good point to start the break. Uh, but also we have to go back and play them again.
00:30:25
Speaker
It'll be a completely different lineup and everything. Oh, I know. We do. They also get their players are getting a whole week off the mandated week off. We love a CBA. Unions forever. It was funny because Laura was like, I thought that was kind of weird. My girl.
00:30:43
Speaker
Think she's just obviously she's like wants to just get back into things, you know and just try to get get work done But like whatever they get a week off to do the same thing again. Yeah, let's just take some time off Especially us maybe weeks off. No, it's been nice to see the players like kind of relaxing and just getting away from things
00:31:01
Speaker
I think that's going to be good. Give us time to reset, reboot, whatever. And then we've got a couple of players going to the Olympics. Yeah, Canadians are going to be talking a lot about Canada, which we're not super familiar with.
00:31:18
Speaker
I was hoping we could talk about the US National Team players that we have on our squad, but that's not gonna happen. But we'll do our best with Canada. We got one in the U20s. We've watched a lot of the US beating Canada in the past, so we're basically experts.
00:31:33
Speaker
Those two players will be gone. And that's, that's Quinn and Jordan Heidema. There's the U20 training camp because their World Cup is this year as well. It's August 31st to September 22nd. And I don't know if you've heard this name, maybe we want to see more from the field. I think a few of us maybe feel this way, but Adames is going to be going to that camp, the last training camp before that World Cup.
00:31:58
Speaker
Thank God. I mean, I like watching her play. Every time she comes on the field, like there's some sort of magic there. And I really, uh, dislike the fact that that has been overlooked at this point, but she's young. I I'm, I'm stoked for her to like be able to come on and get into that camp, uh, and get, get some more time under a different system. Yeah. She's also going to like, uh, set nor is going to be there, um, as well. So maybe she can get some little tips from her.
00:32:28
Speaker
I was pulled up the stats between the two of them for the league when I saw that they were both going to the same camp. And I was like, man, I wish we were because Sender was so good in the game against us. I was like, man, I wish the dominance could have been playing more. And Sender has played, which she's two years older. So that's kind of a lot, you know, experience to extra two years.
00:32:47
Speaker
Center's gotten a little over 1400 minutes. Three goals, three assists, 16 starts in all 16 matches displayed. And she's averaging right now a 7.34 fought mob rating. And Adamas, so compared to the 1400 minutes-ish, 290 minutes. We got to bump those numbers up, Laura. We got to get Adamas on the field more.
00:33:05
Speaker
three starts. The camp that Adames is going to is July 8th to the 16th.
Adames' U20 Camp Hopes
00:33:10
Speaker
There's two matches during that time that they're playing. So maybe we'll find some sort of stream to be able to see what kind of gameplay Adames gets. Because if she has a decent showing there, then I feel like Urarvi can't avoid putting her in. Watch her. Watch her. I need it. Watch her avoid that. No, she will 100% avoid that. I don't know if the competition is going to be there for Adames.
00:33:33
Speaker
Usually those games, like historically have been on like ESPN plus. I talk a lot of crap about like King missing chances, but Adamas came on and had like what, 12 minutes or something and had a fantastic strike that missed by like a foot. Imagine if she got to try that for more matches or longer than like 12 minutes. It's annoying the shit out of me. It's true. I mean, that's, that she's not, she's not getting more minutes.
00:33:57
Speaker
Next game though. So the rain are in their break. The summer tournament with Ligia and Becky's Pem and Neil starts. And our first game is Friday, July 19th, 6 PM at Loom and Field. We are facing again, Utah Royals. Real mystery. What's going to happen there? Yeah. But you were saying that in Laura's presser, she talked about playing. She must play the kids.
00:34:17
Speaker
Are we going to see Samaza? If we don't, I'm going to start a riot. I'm going to start a riot. I'm going to get the orcas. We're good. I don't know if because it doesn't just live on an island. She lives near an island. I'm going to get the orcas and we're going to go. I don't know. Get a sign out for her. And I can't. We don't know. We just I need to know. I just need to know. Maybe she's not very good. I don't know. Maybe she's amazing or just saving it. I don't know. Why would you save it when you're trying out that?
00:34:43
Speaker
Yeah, summer tournament should be good. Get some players some minutes that haven't had some. That's what we're kind of looking forward to is July 19th, so nine days from now. Also, there is going to the Olympics going to be starting soon. There's going to be a watch party if people are interested in going to the watch party at Ruffin Temple in Seattle. I think we're going to try to make it out there. It sounds like we're putting it in our books to go out there. I'm still not sure where my ankle is at with recovery. You're fine. You just told me you don't wear your boot anymore. You're fine.
00:35:10
Speaker
I, I like to make sure I have an opening and excuse to not go to something. So this is, this is that moment. Um, in case I need to bail for whatever reason, they're going to have rain players there beforehand, about an hour before the match, um, signing and doing pictures and stuff, but they're also going to be doing giveaways. Yeah. But it's a firm adoption agency for families. Yeah. It's, I think it's a organization that last goes partnered with, right? Yeah. Gabe adoptions.
00:35:40
Speaker
Yeah, seems like a cool organization and I mean, I'll be there. Yeah. We can meet some of you if you are out there. We're just as pleasant in real life, probably not. Yeah, but it'll be with the rival owners.
00:35:57
Speaker
for the new USLW club in Seattle. The Ballard FC has joined the chat. I think that's kind of all we've got for this week. Sorry, it's kind of a mess. It's just the rain or kind of a mess. It really is. It's really not easy to do this week after week after week and just be sad.
00:36:18
Speaker
Sad and embarrassed and just hoping things will change. And they don't. But hopefully next NDB still matches. You have to look it up. End of August. So end of August, August 25th, everything will change. Everything will be good again. I wake up every morning hoping for a signing notification. We're all waiting. I've heard some things, but we have no clue what any of those things might actually be.
00:36:46
Speaker
we'll probably have a bonus episode coming out later and we'll talk about the uslw and we might dive a little bit into the situation going on with san diego yeah but a lot of exciting stuff going on with uslw and van's knows firsthand all that stuff so i think we're gonna have some insight maybe that other people don't have that because it's it's gonna be new for ballard yeah new for ballard but van knows it
00:37:09
Speaker
Very familiar to me, but I think there's also some important happenings in the league that are not so positive, but are pretty relevant, we should talk about, as well as a little bit of Olympics preview.
00:37:26
Speaker
And yeah, I think we also can talk about the other new league that's joining. Oh yeah. The super league. There's a lot going on in the background. Um, and I think we should, there's a lot going on. It's going to affect the NWSL for sure. I think Spokane's got three players, right? Signing for them that have played for the rain. Okay. Definitely a bonus episode needed block going on women's soccer right now.
00:37:46
Speaker
Yep. So we'll get
Listener Feedback and Suggestions
00:37:48
Speaker
to that. You can follow us on Twitter to find out more at cooler good pod email. If you want to ever send us suggestions, suggestions, some helpful feedback. If you got something nice to say to us, we love emails. We've never gotten one, please send us an email. You could be the first one to send us something nice. I don't know. The email is the cooler guild at gmail.com.
00:38:04
Speaker
And now we can link you to our website, which is going to be on center at heart.com forward slash the cooler guild. And that's where you can go and you can click a subscribe button and then we'll get part of that cut as well. So we can kind of put that back into the podcast and yeah, by a sounder heart subscription, I mean, you can support it's worth it. Support local coverage of soccer, men's soccer, women's soccer, independent media.
00:38:32
Speaker
It's, like, supporter-funded. Yeah. You don't have to go through any paywalls. It's all available. But the idea is that it's something that you enjoy reading, and so you're gonna pay for it. And it's beautiful. Yeah, they try to also make sure that it's not, like, bombarded with ads and everything like that, so it actually is, like, a very good site if you want to catch up on... I mean, I feel like most people who listen to this probably are aware of it, but I just can't say enough good things about it.
00:38:58
Speaker
and uh it's like pretty cool that we'll be on it now one of you will be our first subscriber and it'll probably be my dad honestly don't wait i yeah i am i'm actually a paid subscriber for center heart before this all happened too it's honestly that much money for like a full year of like opera thing because there's different tiers and all that stuff you can get access to like um a discord if you pay for a certain tier and then there's like a whole community going on there which is pretty fun to get into yeah i've enjoyed it
00:39:24
Speaker
I guess I want to do a special shout out also to Susie, Susie Rance. Susie, you absolute gem of a human. She's just like a great person, but she's been really supportive with all this stuff too for us in this podcast. I don't know what kind of part she played in us getting with Sounder at Hurt, but sounds like she has been an advocate for us. So we're really appreciative of her and Jeremiah and everybody there who's kind of pushed this thing forward.
00:39:49
Speaker
even as fans before the podcast happened, you know, having that connection with somebody who really cared about the team. Like we did offer us like tickets when she had extra tickets and just being there. Like the Seattle soccer community just continues to absolutely just blow my mind. Yeah. Give me right to the airport. Yeah. So supportive, cool people, even cooler, like people to be connected with in a work sense.
00:40:17
Speaker
Work sense, friend sense, all of it. It's great. Shout out, Susie. Anyways, uh, I think that's it for now. We'll be your ears soon. I know Van loves when I say that. Um, go on, go and rate us five stars wherever you listen to podcasts. Rate, like subscribe. We'll be here. Rate five though. Only five. Only five stars. Five stars. Thanks. Okay. Till next time. Till next time. Bye. Bye.
00:40:55
Speaker
It's not Haney. It's living in age. Hot. I've got it right here. Hot. So who? How? How? How? How? How? How? How?