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Goal-scoring drought continues - Ep. 64
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A lack of quality chances is becoming a theme. The Reign dropped another 3 points at home with Sunday’s loss to the Washington Spirit. Now four straight matches without scoring a goal, we try to answer the pressing question: are the Reign in big trouble? And as always, we also cover the weekend’s results from around the league.
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Music by Eddie Buchanan - www.eddiebuchananmusic.com
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The Cooler Guild Est. 2024
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Transcript
Episode Introduction & Overview
00:00:18
Speaker
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to episode 64 of The Cooler Girl. I'm so excited about episode 64 because I love Nintendo 64 and I can't even get it right. ah I am Coop Cooper and joined with me as always is my co-host Van Crisp. Hello. We're recording on Tuesday, March 2026th. On today's show, we get...
00:00:41
Speaker
The pleasure to talk about a pretty, pretty brutal way to watch the rain lose one zero to the spirit. We'll go over that. Our final thoughts on that and kind of how things are shaping up for the team. Preview the next game and go over some NWSL results. But before we get into all that, we got some housekeeping to take care of.
00:01:00
Speaker
The Cooler Guild is part of the Sounder Heart Podcast Network. You can either listen to us on our public feed or if you're a Sounder Heart subscriber on the private unified feed with the other podcasts on the
Running Adventures & Community Tales
00:01:10
Speaker
network.
00:01:10
Speaker
If you'd like to become a subscriber, just visit our page at soundheartheart.com forward slash the cooler guild. New subscribers get 10% off the normal rate and you'll help support everything we're doing. What's ah what's been going on?
00:01:23
Speaker
It's been running. Are you doing a half marathon too? No, I've not signed up for anything. I'm just like trying not to be fat. Nothing wrong with being a little oversized, but it's also a good thing to be a little healthier. So any fun runs?
00:01:37
Speaker
No, I've just been running out behind my house. Oh, actually, there is a sheep. There's a couple sheep that are on like the back part of where I live. And one of them just like loves me. oh that's fun. But apparently that sheep also loves everyone else that runs out there because...
00:01:54
Speaker
My friend Nicole, who also lives in the mother-in-law of her parents' house in the back, was like, yes, mutual friend. That's very funny. When posted that sheep on Instagram. Oh, I see. So we're trying to get to know this sheep, and it's very friendly and nice. That's cool.
00:02:11
Speaker
But yeah, no, i haven't signed up for any runs. I'm just trying not to be fat. Well, again, let's not body shame. All right? No, I just, I feel like I need to get my body moving.
00:02:23
Speaker
it's been nice to do that, though. When I went to the game this last weekend, the stairs were hard. Okay. Yeah. See, there's, you know, everyone could, I feel like, always do a little bit. Yeah. Feel better about themselves.
00:02:35
Speaker
Have you done runs? ah Yeah, I went run. I've been doing some runs. up There's like a loop I've been doing ah around my neighborhood and like downtown and stuff. It's been nice. Oh, there's a big hill on that then.
00:02:47
Speaker
Yeah, i usually walk that part on the way up. That's fair. it's I'm not trying to injure myself. I've learned lessons from that many times. I'm not trying to hurt myself.
00:02:58
Speaker
But you're speaking about sheep. And I had ah an encounter with an animal recently that was kind of funny. I was inside of this one of the businesses in town that I make friends with some of the owners um called Shift and Wheeler. But we were inside grabbing some stuff because they were having a sale As we're like about to leave, Alex like looks over and there's like this green frog.
00:03:19
Speaker
What? A frog? Yeah, there's this green frog hopping along the floor of of their store and it's like covered in fucking dust bunnies and it's so sad and dusty. And so like I picked it up and then like the person who works there, she like went and grabbed ah like ah like a like a container and got some water and we put that in there and then like Alex and I took the frog outside and I like cleaned it off with like a little stick and like a piece of grass And they got it all nice and clean. And he looked he was like moving around. He like looks so much better. And then like we got him like a new clean thick container of water. Because I mean, it was just all dust. was like a dusty pond. Like there was so much dust on this poor frog. And then we like dropped him off. Like there's like some ferns and grass behind their building, which is assume where it hopped in from.
00:04:11
Speaker
Yeah. But like we just like put some like sticks in there and some moss and um let him kind of hang out there. But he was like drinking some water. I think he made it. But it was really it was really cute. It was a really cute frog.
00:04:23
Speaker
I love it. has the big eyes. It was like it was like those green, you know, tree frogs you see in the forest that have like those. i think they're like brownish eyes or something. Yellowish brown.
00:04:35
Speaker
I took a photo of it. Let me see. It was so cute. Yeah, they're kind of like goldish. Oh, okay. Yeah. But it had like dust wrapped. Yeah. oh Oh, it's holding on your hand.
00:04:47
Speaker
Yeah. That's so cute. Yeah. It was a really nice part of my day. i love rescuing little animals. Sometimes they rescue little bumblebees and stuff, so... Anyways, ah that was a really nice part of the show. We can probably call a lot of that. Yeah, we could probably. ah Well, actually, I think we could just end the show there because it's like a nice note to end on.
Reign's Mother's Day Defeat
00:05:06
Speaker
So I guess we should talk about this game.
00:05:09
Speaker
So the rain lost at home on Mother's Day ah to the spirit. um They actually held on pretty well. And I think they actually looked pretty damn good. But they gave up a goal.
00:05:21
Speaker
pretty Yeah, they literally shouldn't have lost. um But they did. are They crumbled. They crumbled at one moment and it was terrible. Yeah.
00:05:32
Speaker
it It literally could have been worse. I mean, I expected worse given some of our recent performances in terms of defensive lapses and knowing how good the Spirit are offensively. Yeah. And how many threats they have. Did I expect to get scored on by like a teenager like this? Okay, but the teenager has scored two goals that have won games in the last two matches. So, like, I think that's, like, the teenager's probably okay, you know?
00:06:02
Speaker
i mean, she's training with some very good players, too. Yeah. So that certainly doesn't hurt. No. But it doesn't feel good. No, it does not. And this felt like a really terrible, terrible result.
00:06:16
Speaker
Yeah. The second game you're playing at home and you're getting another, like, really disappointing loss? Like, come on. Yeah, yeah. Maybe we, before we, there's a lot of negatives and things that did not work. But maybe before we dive into all that, let's maybe get into some notable stats, I guess.
00:06:34
Speaker
Yeah.
Milestones Amidst Challenges
00:06:35
Speaker
um Laura Harvey became the first coach in NWSL history to coach 300 NWSL games in all competitions. Yeah, this is her 300th. That's wild. It's lot.
00:06:45
Speaker
It's a lot of games. And most of those are are wins too. So. Yeah. Not lately, but ah still pretty cool. Yeah. And Emery Adamas came on um at the end of the game and she became the third-length youngest player to reach 50 NWSL regular season and appearances.
00:07:04
Speaker
She's the youngest for the reign. Yeah. How old is she now? 20. Okay. okay not ah Not a teenager. Still insanely young. Yeah. I feel like because she's been with us for so like such a long time, it feels like at least. So it's been a few couple years, two years, three, how many years now? Two or three years? think it's third season. Yeah. Yeah. um yeah Sometimes I'm like, maybe I'm being too harsh on her because and she's she's very young. She's a kid. Yeah. Yeah. ah Congrats to her on that. That's pretty cool. That's a lot of appearances for someone like at that age. Yeah.
00:07:38
Speaker
Pretty cool. She's like... And I think that that's why people like... keeping like, let's bring on Adames. Let's bring on Adames. Because she makes a difference. And i can get into later why i thought she might have been coming on sooner, but... ah Whole thing. They lost 1-0.
Defensive Analysis & Team Potential
00:07:56
Speaker
What worked? It's hard to say...
00:08:01
Speaker
It's really hard to get into what worked when you lose a game. Yeah. But they really, they locked out Trinity Rodman in the first half. Not just Trinity Rodman. I mean, that's obviously a big accomplishment for the Reign, given that she's haunted me. Yeah. From having to watch her play the rain. um But they finally figured out how to contain her. And that's like the defense should be really proud of that.
00:08:27
Speaker
um The Lacey Santos was also, you know, having a great game, I thought. And they dealt with her, you know, really well. Yeah. Yeah. lot of a lot of threatening players on that team. So pretty, you know, God, it just really I wish we could be talking about this in a different with a different result because it it really was a good performance.
00:08:49
Speaker
But but results matter. They do. and and that's that's the whole deal. It's like like we talked about last week. This could be a completely different conversation if we'd scored goal.
00:09:01
Speaker
been four games. Four and a half. Yeah. um I will say, so one thing that like I kind of clocked during the game was that it seemed to be that they figured out how to play out of the back.
00:09:14
Speaker
m And there was one instance where... where a ball came out that claudia dickey played with the mezza and then mezza played like kind of a hospital ball back but it wasn't a big deal but other otherwise like it seemed they figured out how to really play out of the back and hit quick passes like was impressed at points Mm hmm. Where was like, oh, you guys are getting it. You know where you are. Like you're getting into really good positions and like bringing it out.
00:09:44
Speaker
So that was nice. Like and the goal did not come off of something that was a problem out of the back. Which they had been struggling with. Yeah. So I will give that a mediocre green flag. um We got to talk about Sam as can. She's so disruptive.
00:10:07
Speaker
She's disruptive. And what I liked about this game in the first half and what I think worked was that she was playing in front. Yeah, she's playing in front and she was getting into the attack. I like that a lot too.
00:10:21
Speaker
Yeah. And she was hungry. She was. And I think it was like maybe the first like two, three minutes of the game, she stole the ball off of Cantore. Like it wasn't a big deal. And I was like, hell yeah.
00:10:34
Speaker
She had like three players around her like constantly and was still like finding ways to get get out of it. She's a magician. And even if she got the ball like swiped, she'd be back on it so quick. Yeah. Yeah. She's a phenomenal player. I this is like I've kind of always been like back and forth. I'm like, do I want to see her play more up front or is she really have suited best, you know, a little bit further back? And i I feel like this that first half of the game did make me think like she could be that little bit of quality that we've been needing.
00:11:04
Speaker
And she has, yeah, and she has, but she also has chemistry with this team already. So like, I don't know. i feel like that's worth looking into still. Yeah. I think that if I'm not, but I think that like she could be a good attacking midfielder. Yeah. i mean, she's the answer to the problem.
00:11:24
Speaker
Probably not. But if, can she be helpful in the solution? Yes. Yeah. And I mean, you put James Turner back in there, get her confidence back up starting. So like, i mean, don't know what the deal is with her not starting, to be honest, but like when James Turner was playing really well last season, I feel like is there a way to put her on the field and and get Meza put bit more space front?
00:11:47
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. i like it. I like it. I want to see that. It worked in the first half. Like, that's why they were getting opportunities and chances. Yeah. um What else? Did anything else work for you? I thought Curry had a really good game. Yeah, she did. And she needed to have a really good game.
00:12:03
Speaker
because She's been on the struggle bus. she Yeah, she was. and to play an opponent like the Spirit, she did a fantastic job, I thought. So, yeah. I completely agree. Yeah, she was she was good.
00:12:16
Speaker
She was all over it. um Her passes were a lot cleaner this game, it felt like. um I don't know. I ah thought she'd she was worth shouting out. um That's kind of all I i really have.
00:12:28
Speaker
So.
Addressing Team Struggles
00:12:30
Speaker
robert i think that like it works with fishel it works with uh mercado um it just doesn't produce sure which and that's a problem it's yeah it's a glaring problem at this point I, I think that they, my thing is like, I think that they're just not, I don't want to say it, but like they are not being hard enough on the players.
00:12:59
Speaker
I can see that. And it when I was listening to the post game pressers and the players are saying like, I think that we're working towards what we want to do. And I'm like, great, but you're not doing it. hmm.
00:13:12
Speaker
And as a fan, like, I don't want to drive up an hour and half to a game and watch you work towards something. Mm-hmm. I want to watch you win. Mm-hmm. And that's frustrating. Yeah. Yeah.
00:13:26
Speaker
And I think that and i I live in this like side reality where I'm like, I get it. Like the team's trying to do what they're going to do. But you got to score goals. You've got to be excited to watch. The the attendance is going to fucking tank. Yeah. If you don't do anything, you're four and a half games without a goal.
00:13:47
Speaker
It's not good enough. Nobody's going to watch that. No. And I get that like it's not necessarily like the worst issue because they did a really good job to set themselves up to like not be completely bottom of the table at this point. But you're getting there.
00:14:03
Speaker
Yeah. And it's getting to the point, too, where people are starting to wonder if those games that they got good results on were flukes. Yeah. At some point, your your bad games are going to outweigh your good games. And that's kind of where we're at right now. It's tough because this game isn't as bad as it you know the result is.
00:14:24
Speaker
But if it that's what we've been saying for however many games now. And it's like, okay, well then something needs to change. Yeah, something needs to change. like Yeah, it really does. I don't care if it looks promising.
00:14:38
Speaker
At some point, the results have to come. And they're not. And they're not scoring goals. and all they are were. They were scoring some goals. I mean, we got three against KC. That was great. They're putting in the back of the net.
00:14:53
Speaker
And now we're just kind of wavering. Yeah, it's not good. So what didn't work? I mean, we've already been there, but not scoring. Yeah.
00:15:03
Speaker
You get ah Mercado hitting the crossbar. Again. Again. Fischl, ball comes out to the top of the box and she goes for a big hit and just absolutely whiffs it. Yeah, I don't know what you do there. Yeah. Yeah.
00:15:22
Speaker
um we so this game was frustrating to me because on paper it seemed like the rain were very dominant and i think we were watching the match but the chances that they created were pretty minimal yeah they were not really threatening yeah and so what do you do with that
00:15:47
Speaker
I don't know. i mean, I'm kind of just speechless of this. Like, they got a... I don't know. i don't know. i feel like, does this lie like lie on the coach? Does this lie on the GM? Like, it just feels like we're missing some piece.
00:16:03
Speaker
And that's not on Laura Harvey. Mm-mm. It's, you know, like we haven't seen major changes, but it seems like we haven't seen major ah determination from ownership to try and be an elite club by bringing in some big names. I like there's you've got to have balance with with the youth that we have on the team. And it just feels like we don't have that at all. Well, the youth aren't really youth anymore. The the players that we're playing are like kind of normal NWSL age players. Sure. But now they're not. But they're not training with like people in their prime. Yeah. art That's also that. Yeah.
00:16:41
Speaker
The other thing is like you. I was watching this game and in second half, the Washington Spirit seemed like they maybe just wanted a tie. yeah And then they subbed in GIF Monday. I know. I was like, fuck.
00:17:00
Speaker
This is what we don't have. You don't have game changers on the bench. No. like You got to have players fighting for the top positions in the starting lineup. And we don't have that. I mean, I will say, if you want to get into other things that didn't work, the substitutions, like why, that like we could i that's on coaching.
00:17:21
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. i mean like this This fucking baffled me. Yeah, we were watching and in about the 55th minute, Montessir was like losing challenges, being tired, taking too many touches. Looking close to getting another card.
00:17:39
Speaker
So we went to make subs. I thought Montessir was going to come out. Montessir did not come out. Bercado came out. Yeah. Bercado should have stayed in the game. Yeah.
00:17:50
Speaker
She's young. She's one of our more exciting players. Why are you taking out her out of the match?
00:17:58
Speaker
I don't know. i felt ready for something more exciting. um that hasn't been clicking for Montessir lately. it was working for a while.
00:18:11
Speaker
yeah a bit, maybe. But I was ready to see Adamus for sure. Yeah, that's what I wanted. i wanted Adamas to come in for Matazir and Mercado to stay on.
00:18:22
Speaker
Yeah, I was a little harsh on Adamas last week. I don't feel like we didn't really focus enough on because I was so hung up on the decision making from her. Yeah. Yeah. But there was a lot. ah There's a lot to her game that this game could have used. Like her corners, like our corners weren't good this match. No. And that's another thing. Like we had, I don't know how many, a lot of corners this match.
00:18:48
Speaker
Adamas was swinging in some very, very nice crosses the last game where she started. But one things that like hurt this game was that the crosses were so bad. Every cross got just like straight to the goalkeeper, straight to the goalkeeper, straight to the goalkeeper. yeah Nothing threatening. yeah And Adamas doesn't do that. No. i I'm confused by the just the coaching and choice on that for the substitutions.
00:19:13
Speaker
Yeah, me too. What else didn't work for you? I was really frustrated with the refereeing. Okay. She kept calling these really kind of intermediate fouls.
00:19:24
Speaker
Nothing really bad. Just stopping the game constantly in the first half. And it just didn't make a lot of sense. I think we were like 10 to 4 at halftime or something and in fouls.
00:19:37
Speaker
hey Even though like that's what the spirit do is they're physical. And the rain were trying to match that. Yeah. And they got called for it. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think it affected the game score-wise. Yeah. But it was just frustrating to watch. Sure.
00:19:52
Speaker
Any momentum they could have tried to get going can't really sustain when the game keeps getting stopped. Yeah. ah Yeah. ah yeah I don't know. it was just...
00:20:04
Speaker
The game to me, I remember, I think it was like the 80 something minute. I put into the discord that like, we should be winning this game. Sure. They're not that great. We should be winning this game. And I think like two minutes later, the spirit scored. And i was like, well...
00:20:19
Speaker
It was a real gut punch to me because they had worked so hard to actually like stand up to one of the best teams in the league. And I was skeptical that they could do that. And they could. They they actually could. it was not only that, they look like the better team for most of the game. They did. So it really, really just like, like kick me while I'm down kind of thing.
00:20:44
Speaker
ah It was brutal. so Super brutal. When you can't put a goal the back of the net, it's like... You don't deserve anything at this point. At this point. It's been too long. It was incredibly frustrating. Yeah.
Critique of Post-Match Attitudes
00:20:58
Speaker
um So we went into the post-match pressers and it started off with ah Madison Curry and McCammon.
00:21:06
Speaker
And the first thing that they said was they're proud of the team' team's performance overall. Sure. And... i wrote okay what i'm a fan like i want you to win i mean they're i yeah i get they're proud of the performance they shouldn't be proud of the result they didn't talk about that yeah this felt like such a media training bullshit right yeah i mean it feels like they're actually like this game is a friendly yeah Yeah, exactly.
00:21:38
Speaker
and and then they talk about how they're inching inching toward what they want, like what the team's identity is going to be. And I was like, well, at this point, your team's identity is losing.
00:21:49
Speaker
Not winning, at least. Yeah. Not winning, not scoring. So I'm just really frustrated in the output of what they're telling me I should be feeling, which is like not at all representative of the reality that you keep losing games and you can't score goals. Mm hmm.
00:22:10
Speaker
Was i woman enough to ask them that question? No, I was not. I sitting in that press conference? Yes. um Yeah, it was just like missing quality. Once it rains, it's going to pour for us. Like, okay, well then like start it What is your problem?
00:22:28
Speaker
Yeah. I was really, really frustrated during during the player presser because i get it. You're trying not to like... be mad at everyone around you and you're trying to create an environment that is positive. And I've talked about this in this podcast, like how that can help you.
00:22:46
Speaker
a But at this point, like I am so frustrated. And when you come in there and you're like, well... We like did the game plan and like it could have gone either way. I'm like, no you lost.
00:23:00
Speaker
Yeah. um But yeah, Laura Harvey, she seemed more frustrated than the players. Definitely. and like maybe that's. Maybe that's gonna seep in like later now at this point because she understands how serious the situation is. Yeah. um She said that all the spirit players like came up to her after the game and even said, I can't believe we beat you. Do you know how frustrating that would be to hear that? Yeah.
00:23:32
Speaker
yeah she got in she says She said it as a positive, and I'm like... I mean, I could see that she said it as a positive, but... That's not a positive. I don't feel like she... I mean, yeah, and she was hung up on the handballs, and I'm like... sure but like if you're relying on a handball i just don't know from what i've seen from the last four and a half games yeah that that's like what we're getting to hung up on i don't i don't i think we maybe need to focus on something else she didn't harp on it too much but it was like a kind of something that you could tell was really really irking her yeah um
00:24:15
Speaker
she also She did mention that the team seems to be lacking some somebody with the killer instinct in front of goal or building up to that. I don't know. Where does that, who, how do we get that? Who is that on her? Is that on the rot? Like I just, where does, where does that get fixed?
00:24:34
Speaker
That it's a player issue. Okay. And I think that if nobody's going to step up, obviously nobody's going to step up, right? We're four and a half games into a goalless streak.
00:24:48
Speaker
Nobody's going to step up. Nobody's willing to go in and score goal. You have to sign somebody. We are beyond the point of we have what it takes to fix it. No, we don't. Do you think they need to trade people and make room for somebody? do you think it's time to maybe move on from certain players as part of the change? Yes, but I also think that we have enough money we could sign somebody. Sure. i don't disagree with that, but it's like, you know, if we bring in the right person, that means somebody is going to get moved out.
00:25:18
Speaker
At least their're their minutes are going to get cut a lot quite a bit. Well, i could I could call some players out for that. Yeah. We're not there yet, so I guess we'll wait. i mean, we are there, but like let's wait for the window to open, I guess. so I'm saying. yeah absolutely. I mean, we have several players on the game day roster that are not getting minutes.
00:25:37
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And that doesn't mean they're not good. But we're relying on certain players to like make a difference when they come in the game, and they're not. Yeah. And so to me, it just it feels like an organization problem.
00:25:50
Speaker
Yeah, I think you're right. I think Bella asked in the presser, like, okay, well, like what are you doing to like not continue this four-and-a-half unbeaten streak? And Laura Harvey said something the effect of, well, all we can do as coaching staff is give players...
00:26:06
Speaker
Like the teaching and ability to like do what they're going to do and it's about their performance. Sure. And i'm like, okay, but they're not performing. So where's the consequence? Where's, where's the trying new things? hmm.
00:26:20
Speaker
We talked about the players that the rain sign that are sitting on the bench every day, these young players, and they're not getting an opportunity. And if what's if what's on the field is not working for you, why do you keep trying the same things over and over and over again, getting the same result and not calling that stupid?
00:26:38
Speaker
Or not so making subs earlier to try new things, at least. You get into the like 80th minute and you're not subbing players. And you can see that other the other team is playing for a draw. Go out there and fucking take it. Go so go take your win at home. and I'm not here to like criticize Laura Harvey's coaching, but it seems like they're trying to manage minutes in a way that hurts the final result.
00:27:05
Speaker
And there's got to be, there's got to be some sort of Understanding that like, yes, you need to help players and ah and take care of players. But also you need to understand that like your team's doing something.
00:27:21
Speaker
Yeah. Also, you can like push players more. not saying like overexert them or anything like that. But like these are professional athletes. Like, I don't know. It just feels like they could be pushed. Like their limits need to be pushed at this point.
00:27:36
Speaker
It feels a bit soft to me. And that's what that's what I got from the player presser was like, oh, it's fine. Like, yeah, we're learning. And I'm like, this feels fucking soft to me.
00:27:46
Speaker
And I get that, like, we need to have a more positive outlook when it comes to like professional sports. I understand that. But there's a difference when you're losing game after game after game.
00:27:59
Speaker
Yeah, like you kind of need to be bullies at times. Yeah. Like you do. I don't ever see a championship team and not like kind of despise them because they're bullies.
00:28:11
Speaker
Not at all. I don't know. i'm i'm I'm frustrated. I am too. do you want to award a player of the match? Yeah, let's do it. um The cooler player of the match is brought to you by the doctor's office, a great little 12 seat bar on Capitol Hill. The owner iss a big fan of the rain and is proud to be our very first sponsor.
00:28:29
Speaker
This week we decided to give it to Madison Curry. I really wish this would have been a more dominant result looking because, again, this would have been so good. This have been such an iconic performance for her. Yeah. To match we have a result to match, that would be so nice for her. She also got in on the attack and like was really helpful in that sense.
00:28:52
Speaker
Yeah. I think there's just a... I don't know i also think it's it's really interesting because like we have her and Sofia Huerta on the other side. And Huerta absolutely struggled this game. so spirits Spirit's a strong opponent.
00:29:08
Speaker
but yeah Straight up, they're a strong opponent. for the For the most part, the team was up for it, but it takes is one. Yeah. To screw it all up. and you got And all it would have taken was one from us. Yep. But the rain couldn't do that. Nope.
00:29:23
Speaker
But we're staying on the positives right now because Madison Curry deserves it. ah yeah yeah she yeah she balled out after not maybe having her typical performances so yeah she and i i asked about that and i asked about like if they trained for like the trinity rodman and like the big players and i was like yeah like did you focus on that because it worked as she was like yeah yeah Yeah. Great job to them. ah The defense minus, you know, it's you can give up some goals like that sometimes. You just got to make sure the rest of your offense can do something to to counter it. So, yeah, it sucked.
00:30:02
Speaker
Yeah. You know, congrats to the defense and Madison Curry. um And thanks again to our sponsor, the doctor's office. The doctor's office is the best place to grab a drink before or after a rain match. Make an appointment today and order one of their limited edition cocktails.
00:30:17
Speaker
They've got the Bubbles and Berries right now. Ooh. A champagne cocktail for the beautiful spring weather. Champagne, yellow chartreuse, blackberry-infused singani, and a blend of fruit liqueurs. I could be butchering something in that once again. um It sounds delicious. I love chartreuse.
00:30:36
Speaker
Hard to find sometimes. Really hard to find a lot these days. So is yellow chartreuse. Yellow Shirtrues too. I usually go with the green, which is not easy to find either, but they got it at the doctor's office. um Go check out their Instagram at TDO Seattle or better yet, go drink there in person. Cheers.
00:30:54
Speaker
Cheers. Do we want to do any final thoughts or you think were people pretty got a pretty clear picture on where we're at? I guess maybe I'll ask you, are things dire? And if they are, or even if they're not dire, because it seems like we're heading down a path where they could be dire. What do you think has to change?
00:31:12
Speaker
How does the quality improve? Personnel. Personnel. They have to get another player. It's not working. It's not. It's not good enough, at least. I think eat either they get another player or somebody decides that they're over it.
00:31:29
Speaker
And we haven't seen, there was an opportunity for the player to decide that they're over it for the last like three games. And we haven't seen it. i think the closest we've seen is maybe Mercado.
00:31:43
Speaker
But that player's going to need help. Yeah. and And we have Mez in the midfield. That's incredible. She needs help. Yeah. She needs an attacking midfielder.
00:31:56
Speaker
She needs somebody yeah that's going to connect her to the rest of it and combine with her to create scoring opportunities. And I think that the players that we have in the midfield are very defensive oriented and that's helped us in the past.
00:32:11
Speaker
But right now i feel like we have a pretty solid front line. Right. But how do we help them? They're not getting balls. Like one of my big problems with this last match was that they weren't getting the ball to Darlene.
00:32:27
Speaker
Darlene broke the line several times. She had a lot of really good opportunities, but like i think she had two really good opportunities. But that was the two times she like got the ball higher up.
00:32:39
Speaker
Nobody's getting her that ball. Where's that player that's helping her? i just I haven't seen it. I think it's a personnel issue and it's frustrating. It is frustrating. I see, i get, I mean, I've always been hyping up Darlene, but like you bring that up and it's it's a point of frustration for me because i see the quality that she has. I see the skillset that she has and we don't have someone paired up with her in a sense, like in a way that I'm seeing like...
00:33:08
Speaker
like feed her, like feed her the ball, find her on the field and she'll make things happen. Like we just, I don't see that happening with another player. Like there should be a combination with her and someone else. And that's, that it just feels like a huge missed opportunity.
00:33:24
Speaker
Well, think you see that when, when Adamas comes on the field, because she loves to play with Emory Adamas, like they kind of pop up and do that. But as a whole, like you have ah you have me official coming in. Who's a great, great holding 10. Right. Yeah.
00:33:42
Speaker
And she does a really good job. And I think that we kind of it's it's really easy to forget her performance when she's not scoring. But she's a lot of the reason that they didn't give up the ball in the in the in our like final third, because she was really holding on. She was trying to make it work. Yeah. And there was not a lot happening.
00:34:03
Speaker
Yeah. But at the same time, like you've got to get somebody that has the the will to just be like, yeah, I'm just going to go and score. Yeah. You're not doing it.
00:34:14
Speaker
I'll do it. And do I think that like we have players that could develop that? Yes. But that's not helping the team right now. And we're not talking about we're not talking about ah a youth team. We're talking about a professional women's soccer team.
00:34:29
Speaker
They need to figure it out and they need to sign somebody and they need to get somebody on it. Yeah, and I don't think it's that's that shouldn't be a hard sell, right? The World Cup is next year. There's someone out there who wants to come and play it in what I think is the most competitive league in the entire world for women's soccer. Like this has got a team that's got a lot of really good pieces in it. Seattle's an awesome city to be in.
00:34:53
Speaker
Go find that person. Get them to like start to shine right before they go to the World Cup. I will point one thing out before we move on. Sure. Sure. ah Our GM does appear to be in Europe.
00:35:04
Speaker
Yeah. Is it too little too late for her job? i don't know.
00:35:10
Speaker
Is there going to be a consequence for that, though? That's the thing. is i I would say whatever happens with the summer signing and how effective that player is, because I just don't see this changing without that signing, like I think that job is on the line.
00:35:26
Speaker
It has to be. It has to be. And if it's not, we've got a real big problem. Yeah.
00:35:33
Speaker
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00:35:46
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:36:15
Speaker
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00:36:25
Speaker
so Okay. Well, on that happy note. Yay. Let's, I guess, get into the NWC. So what's going on? What's going on What happened over the weekend?
00:36:36
Speaker
Oh, well, some stuff. I thought my weekend was going to go great because on Friday, Louisville blew out Portland. That's a unexpected.
00:36:47
Speaker
ah Yeah. so Portland actually scored first and then Katie O'Kane absolutely went off. ah She her second goal was a direct free kick from if you're looking at the goal from the left side, she just twisted it around far post. Incredible role Goal of the week. um And ah yeah, so Portland lost.
00:37:12
Speaker
Nice. It was great. Yeah. And then Orlando beat North Carolina one zero And Barbara Banda, of course, was the goal scorer. And Marta. Marta's coming back. She has not played most of the season. She subbed in 55th minute this match. um And then Gotham, who we play next week, tied Boston.
00:37:35
Speaker
Maybe that's some hope to have. Yeah. Maybe. Yeah. um Boston does not look bad offensively. They're improving. Yeah. ah Angel City lost to San Diego 2-1.
00:37:49
Speaker
San Diego's on a tear. San Diego is on a tear. I will say that Jonas Eidval got red carded last week. Oh, okay. their assistant coach won the game for them. Okay.
00:38:03
Speaker
But GG Heritage had the such a good game. And um it could have gone either way, but that's how it went. I think i think this was a pretty even match. Houston-Denver, though? Houston.
00:38:18
Speaker
Why can't we play Houston when they're at this point?
00:38:23
Speaker
It's so annoying seeing these teams beat Houston. know. I know. oh i hate it you can't city be chicago three to zero chicago we know is not great but chuinga chuinga hasn't scored all season and she went off she got three goals this game she won player of the week that's frightening yeah um bay tide utah zero zero It was meh. Utah actually should have won this game.
00:38:54
Speaker
But Jordan Silkowitz for Bay saved that game for them. Got them a point. There was also a game tonight because we're recording on Tuesday. Boston got another win. Yeah. Didn't Marta score a penalty in this one too? She did. On Brazilian night? Brazilian celebration? Yeah, Brazilian night. Yeah.
00:39:14
Speaker
And then a Brazilian won the game for Boston too, right? Yep. Yep. It was starting off like kind of funny because everyone's just like, oh, no, you might need to clarify which Brazilian. It was in Boston. It was in Boston. And so then MARTA scores and it was like, oh, no, maybe we shouldn't have had Brazilian nights. I think it was Marta's first start of the season as well. Oh, cool.
00:39:35
Speaker
Well, they lost, though, to Boston. Yeah, Boston on the come up, man. I'm telling you. They're not bad. um How are the standings looking? Portland's up top. Thank God they lost.
00:39:46
Speaker
Our one point that we gave to the Spirit puts them in second place. we're We're barely hanging on to eighth place, which does put us in the playoffs. doesn't Even if we win a game, though, doesn't bump us up that much.
00:40:00
Speaker
um So, yeah, i it's it's not good for us right now. It's worse for Chicago. It's exactly what didn't want. Yeah. You were so full of hope. That was funny. always so full of Until now. I'm pretty mad now. Yeah.
00:40:14
Speaker
It makes sense. I'm pretty upset. let's ah Let's preview the Reigns next match, which will maybe give us some real hope next time. they They're playing Gotham FC. They've just got a few players in their team that are pretty good. ah They're playing Friday, May 15th, 7 p.m. at Lumen Field. That'll be on Victory Plus. a General note for everybody, Gotham's undefeated in the last four matches. They have seven goals in those last four matches.
00:40:41
Speaker
um I will say that's kind of it's it's a similar preview that I gave for the spirit and we did okay we still fucking lost and hopefully that haunts them and they don't let that happen again because it's not good enough to just hold the team defensively.
00:40:59
Speaker
I don't know. When you're telling people like, oh, your effort was so good. This is what bothers me. You lost. You lost. You didn't score. You haven't scored for a while.
00:41:10
Speaker
Four and a half games. Get it together. Yeah. ah What do you want to see in this game? ah So one thing that I really liked about the last match was the high press from the rain. Okay.
00:41:24
Speaker
And we know Ann Ketcherberger loves to play the ball with her feet. So I think that maybe they can disrupt yeah a little bit of that. little bit of that play out of the back from gotham and take advantage of that can they score a goal i don't know no but i think they could do that i don't know
00:41:46
Speaker
so defeated yeah i'm not feeling good about it i mean i really want to see them win at home i think they cannot go into this break without finding a win at home. How many home games do they have left before the break?
00:42:03
Speaker
Gotham, Spirits Away, is Boston. This might be their last home game before the break. It is last home game before the break. I really wanted to come out to more games, but ah Spokane shit really screwed everything up. I was planning to come to way more games this year, and then also gas prices got insane. Yeah.
00:42:22
Speaker
So this is, yeah, this is their last home game before the break. Yeah. And and then they're not playing again until what? July? yeah July 4th of July.
00:42:33
Speaker
and they don't play again at home until July 12th. And that's against Portland. So I don't know. Maybe make things look okay for yourselves and be Gotham, the reigning champions of the NWSL. That would feel nice. Yeah. That would give me some hope.
00:42:47
Speaker
I'm really like grasping at straws at this point. Like... I think give me give me a little fucking bit of something. I mean, I think they can do it. That's the thing is I can still sit here with some confidence and say I do believe they have the tools to do that to shut down Gotham. I don't know. Do they have the tools to score on Gotham?
00:43:07
Speaker
Not feeling great not feeling so great about that. um though I mean, like, that's the one thing that's kept me from being absolutely just crazy. terrified that like this season's gonna be a a wash is that they have the tools uh-huh it's about the players figuring out that like yes you're good enough They, they this they're going to score at some point.
00:43:31
Speaker
like's It's inevitable. like There's just no way they're going to go the rest of the season without scoring. So I'm going to go into this with optimism at least one more time because you're better than me. Because, I mean, there's been enough promise last few games that I just feel like they have to be angry now.
00:43:53
Speaker
And I think they should have been angry last game. know, but now they need to have that fucking anger. Like, I don't know if they just sent out the two pacifists in this last presser or something. I'm not. Maybe everyone else is. way too angry to send them out to, you know, people. yeah That's going to be what I'm going to tell myself in my head right now to at least let people um have some happiness, at least briefly, because this is coming quick. It's on Friday. It's quick turnaround. yeah Once again, they're going to need to be creative.
00:44:22
Speaker
with with what they do with their chances i also do think that because of the way i and katcherberger plays they could maybe catch her on something that's i'm saying yeah so i think we can get if we can get me official high up maybe maddie doling can be that little pressure up top and be that little they've been doing a really good job of that they've been doing a really good job of like really trying to disrupt that play out of the back I think this this could be a game that sets them up to finally maybe... want to get too ahead of myself, but I think this could be the right the right set of circumstances against the right goalkeeper. not you mean, Ann Carterberger scares me. Don't get me wrong. She's a very good goalkeeper. Love her. But goalkeepers like that do have these these little lapses sometimes.
00:45:06
Speaker
what And one of the things that pissed me off about the last game was that the spirit really faltered playing out of the back. Totally. And we we took advantage of that at points, but nothing came of it. Mm hmm.
00:45:18
Speaker
So I'm like, at what point? And I hope that but behind the scenes, the team is like, this is not good enough. Like, you're terrible. get your shit together. Yeah.
00:45:29
Speaker
But yeah, on the outside, I'm like, how are you okay with this? Do you think they need to go to a, uh, one of those, like, you know, those rooms where you like destroy stuff?
00:45:41
Speaker
Just like let out the anger and stop pretending that everything's okay. A rage room? Yeah. Cause everything's not okay. Yeah. You need to let out some anger in some capacities to realize that you can also do that on the field in a productive way. I feel like I'm getting gaslit. Like yeah every time I go into these pressers and they're like, well like we're working towards something And I'm like, ah what?
00:46:04
Speaker
i don't see I don't I don't know the mentality of what it is to be a professional athlete. But certainly when I see the results looking the way they are, something needs to change. Yeah. I mean, i i I did not question it it till now. Yeah.
00:46:20
Speaker
It's just really frustrating. i I want them to be pissed. And maybe, maybe like you said, this is the game where they will be pissed and we'll come out and get a result. Yeah. I guess we'll see. Yeah. You know, like there's always like those jokes of like, like angry so-and-so. We see this game of like angry so-and-so. Like I need one of those like iconic, like angry performances from a player.
00:46:44
Speaker
yeah and I just want to see them play pissed off. I want to see them go and score and then just immediately grab that fucking ball and take it back to the center line and just just keep going. you know yeah they're They're not satisfied because they've only scored one. i need them to go out there and get another and get another.
00:46:59
Speaker
don't if it'll be this game that they do that in, but they get one. I want to see them after they score that goal to just get back out there and keep trying. Well, Laura Harvey and the players keep saying when at rate when when you score a goal, it'll rain, it'll pour. Like, okay, well, please start that. Yeah. What's the weather going to be in Seattle that day? Because i know the rain's coming a little bit down here.
00:47:22
Speaker
it it should be raining Sunday. i don't know if raining during the game, but um maybe not. I don't think so. But maybe the rain will make it rain on the goal scoring front. Please don't hit the fucking crossbar again. I'm haunted.
00:47:36
Speaker
Don't make me hire witch. I'm going hire some witches soon. I don't want to do that. I mean, the witches probably want me to do that. Maybe they put the curse on the team so that I have to give them money. um I think that's kind of...
00:47:48
Speaker
That's it. That's all we can say. Do you got any shout outs for the week? Nope. Cool. I don't think I do either. um Thanks again to our sponsor, of The Doctor's Office. You can go follow us on Blue Sky and Instagram at Cooler Guild You can also send us an email. We love an email at thecoolerguild at gmail.com. You can also visit us on the main page, sounderatheart.com forward slash thecoolerguild.
00:48:11
Speaker
um we're on youtube sometimes uh youtube.com forward slash at the cooler guild there's a lot that probably shouldn't like i can't send this video through so this one's not gonna be up but um wherever you're listening ah please go rate five stars till next time until van gets her cough her little her little orphan cough resolved yeah that's what i think of when i think of a cough apparently. I'm Cope.
00:48:41
Speaker
I'm Van. Stay cool, y'all. Stay cool.
00:49:08
Speaker
And oh, sorry. I was going to say Rewind.