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Crushed in the quarterfinal - Ep. 54
215 Plays7 days ago
The kids will be alright. The Reign’s 2-0 loss to Orlando in the NWSL quarterfinal ends their postseason run. We talk about the match and pull some positives out of something that was actually a total bummer. We also discuss the other playoff results and make some semifinal predictions.
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The Cooler Guild Est. 2024
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Transcript
Episode 54 Introduction
00:00:21
Speaker
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to episode 54 of the Cooler Guild. I am Coop Cooper and joined with me as always is my co-host Van Crisp. Hello. We're recording on Tuesday, November 11th, 2025.
Reigns Playoff Match Recap
00:00:34
Speaker
On today's episode, we'll be diving into the Reigns playoff match versus the NWSL defending champions both in the Shield and in the NWSL championship game they're very they're very good if anyone remembers how good they were last year and then um we'll kind of just get into that look at at the other results and we of go over a few bits of news
00:00:54
Speaker
think we're go to save maybe like a season recap for later for another episode because there's a lot to get into
Cooler Guild and Sounder at Heart Network
00:01:00
Speaker
for this. So, um but first some housekeeping. The Cooler Guild is part of the Sounder at Heart podcast network. You can either listen to us on our public feed or if you're a Sounder at Heart subscriber on the private unified feed with the other podcasts on the network.
00:01:12
Speaker
If you'd like to become a subscriber, just visit our page at sounderatheart.com forward slash the Cooler Guild. New subscribers get 10% off the normal rate and you'll help support everything we're doing. So are we ah like, I don't, I'm not even like, I don't watch
Personal Anecdotes: Cats and Mandolins
00:01:28
Speaker
soccer. I don't, did you do anything? I don't, I don't.
00:01:33
Speaker
Oh God. What a brutal, what a brutal way to start the weekend. Yeah, and it didn't get much better the next day, so. Sure did not. In fact, it was definitely worse. That game was definitely worse from performance perspective than the rain game for the Sounders. But um did you do anything else else that was notable?
00:01:51
Speaker
Not really. Anything fun happened to you? Anything interesting happened to you? got a haircut. Okay, that's not interesting. don't know. I've just been lounging around today. It's a holiday, so. Oh, that's why you're off. Got it I thought you took the whole day off for your...
00:02:07
Speaker
ah For your vet appointment. No, my cat's going to the vet. And I was like, damn, that's ah quite a day off to have for your cat. It also would have checked out, to be fair. Yeah. He's also upstairs just zonked out on gabapentin right now. so Oh, that's where you have to drug him up for the vet. Yep. So I got to do that after this. That's why we're recording midday.
00:02:25
Speaker
Cool. and yeah Anything interesting for you? I've just been kind of bummed. Yeah. Same. i ah I've been playing my mandolin. Yeah. You know? um Yeah.
00:02:37
Speaker
I asked Alex came home on our lunch today and I was like, oh, got a practice my mandolin lessons right now. She gets so annoyed by it. I was like, any requests? and And I have like three so i like three songs that I work on.
00:02:50
Speaker
And I have one that has like singing with it. But like, sometimes I don't always do the singing. And I was like, you want me to do the the one that has singing? She was like, maybe not. She's so nice about it.
00:03:01
Speaker
ah She's like, oh, what else can you do? Anyways, been going it's beening going fun. I don't know. I like it. I'm enjoying it. It's so good to learn new things. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's also easier as an adult to like understand the like rewards of practicing a little bit better.
00:03:19
Speaker
feel like I was just super impatient as like a youth. Oh, yeah. i used to fudge my dad's signature on my practice charts in high school. um Yeah. um That's what happens when you're like naturally gifted, though. That's see yeah, that's how I feel. It's like if I'm not really good at it to begin with, then why do I not? why would Why would I continue this? So yeah, no, I definitely get that more as an adult, as somebody who's currently trying to learn how to golf.
00:03:44
Speaker
Yeah, but I really want to be good at mandolin, so practice.
Reigns Season Analysis
00:03:47
Speaker
um Well, we practiced this episode last week because we played Orlando Pride last week. What a transition. I know. Unfortunately, there's a lot higher stakes with this one.
00:03:58
Speaker
ah The rain season is officially over after losing 2-0 to the Orlando Pride ah down in Orlando. I'm still calling it 1-0. Yeah. Sure. That's fine. I mean, again, I, well, I told you this, i guess people here don't know this, but I shut the game off when I saw murder running.
00:04:18
Speaker
I was like, I'm not doing this. I'll rewatch that part later if something happens. And then I check my fucking socials. because I'm not like, I don't completely shut off everything, but I was like, I don't want to watch this. I don't want to watch them celebrate.
00:04:29
Speaker
And then a sure enough, i see that they got a penalty and scored. And I was just like, you well, it didn't happen if I didn't see it live. So yeah, one zero to a rough, rough ending to the season, but it was a good season.
00:04:45
Speaker
Yes, all things considered, this was a pause ah step in the right direction and a positive twist on how I thought it would go. Sure. You got any kind of general thoughts before we kind of dive into like the stats and the positives, negatives?
00:05:03
Speaker
Like I said earlier, I'm just kind of bummed. Yeah, man. I was really hoping that they could at least get on the score sheet, but it was kind of a reflection of how the season's gone. definitely.
00:05:14
Speaker
Yeah. So, I mean, it wasn't surprising. I was just hoping for a little bit more. And they had chances. That's the thing is like the way that this game ended, we've seen them win when they aren't able to get decent shots, when they aren't able to get like an attacking threat going.
00:05:32
Speaker
But this game kind of actually did feel like they had momentum to get back into it in a way that like they just couldn't finish those little little things. Yeah, they did a much better job than the game before um with keeping possession and kind of eliminating a lot of that pressure until they broke. yeah It wasn't enough.
00:05:54
Speaker
Yeah, it just wasn't enough. And there's definitely, which we can get into in the next episode, but some some spots ah on the pitch where there could be improvements made in personnel.
00:06:05
Speaker
Yeah, I think so, too. um Which is what happens in the offseason. You have to try to find ways to improve your team. And luckily, now that the sale of the team is finalized and all that stuff is kind of going, um you know, maybe we get some good Harvey moves.
00:06:20
Speaker
Yeah, and we can finally have a postseason where, you know, they're not in limbo. Mm-hmm. Or like an offseason and and going into preseason where, you know, they don't feel in limbo. There's clarity surrounding finances and that sort of
Team Improvements and Offseason Hopes
00:06:35
Speaker
thing. They can prep some merch to hopefully make that game better. But...
00:06:39
Speaker
but Yeah. And there's definitely like some players here that I'm not like, there was a huge overhaul last season. um And I don't want to go too far to this, but like, I do think that there's a good set of players we have to work with now. So that's, that's good. That feels nice.
00:06:54
Speaker
Yeah, so there was, i pulled one notable stat. um It was the NWSL playoff debut for 10 rain players. Six appeared in the starting lineup, while four entered as substitutes.
00:07:05
Speaker
Just a few. Just a few. So more than half your squad had never played in an NWSL playoff game. It's asking a lot. Well, and including players that you maybe have played in um youth national team, high stakes games. Sure. And such.
00:07:21
Speaker
But like, definitely not all of them played college soccer. Yeah. So this is new. Championships too. This is new. Yeah. Yeah. um So I thought that was interesting.
00:07:32
Speaker
Definitely. We do have some positives. Yeah. fucking piece I'm just fucking bummed, man. I really like... Okay, let's let's make a like a let's let's find a way to make this an enjoyable episode to listen to. Yeah, all right. ah The first positive I
Marta's Performance and Controversy
00:07:51
Speaker
put down, we got to watch Marta be Marta?
00:07:53
Speaker
question is that a good thing or a bad thing? I don't know. its She's 39 years old and is bawling her absolute mind out. And yeah, it sucks that our team was kind of on the other end of it. But to watch greatness is a treat.
00:08:12
Speaker
and I think the rain handled her pretty well um so to see our young like team be able to handle a player of of her stature and talents uh I think is is is a good thing to talk about um until that until the last moment yeah until last moment but you know that sheer frustration and frustration and they also had all of their numbers up um trying to get a last last minute goal to hopefully keep their playoff hopes alive and it just didn't happen i don't know where marta uh i don't know if she's gonna train for the olympics soon in in the hundred meter because i don't understand how she had that much gas at that late in the fucking game it was crazy it was crazy
00:08:57
Speaker
I don't. i There's something superhuman about her that I don't understand. And I don't think any of us ever will. No. um There was some questionable commentary in the match.
00:09:10
Speaker
I wasn't even. yeah I mean, the commentary with. That's not great. I don't think Zerboni was on that call. unless she was Was she on the one on Nidbecile Plus? Is like the one that she was on?
00:09:22
Speaker
I don't know. i was trying to tune it all out. Okay. So so the there is if you caught it on socials, um Marta called called out Zerboni.
00:09:34
Speaker
And I don't think Zerboni was on, if she was on a call, she was on the other one because she definitely wasn't on the one that was on the main watching. But she called out Zerboni for her general commentary. But I think she specifically called her out after the shit that she said on Attacking Third.
00:09:47
Speaker
o Because she said that Orlando doesn't really have any stars other than Marta. Now the band is not available. But like Marta is where it ends for for Orlando. Yeah. God. And so that's what set off Marta to ah post.
00:10:02
Speaker
Get onto Twitter for the first time in many, many, many months. ah Maybe, I don't know. i don't know the last time she was on there. but Somebody said she hadn't posted like an original content for like over a year. Probably longer than that, to be honest. Yeah. So she just called out Zerboni. I think she has since deleted the tweet, but people have some screenshots of it. um Just saying how she, so like an average player with an average, like...
00:10:28
Speaker
commentary sometimes people are better at being on the field than they are at being commentators something like that yeah what did uh did you think that was pretty funny does you thought it was hilarious a lot of people were like damn marta's really mature i was like but she's standing up for her teammates so like i don't mind it no they won the championship from last year let's not be disrespectful and not one player did that um i also had in the positives um which you also put in the negatives ref cam well i was offended that you put it in the positives i fucking hate the ref cam i liked it i hate it the screenshots that people got from it i don't need was enjoyable i don't need it
00:11:09
Speaker
sure i guess but like i felt so sick when they were showing it yeah they need to find some stabilizer action for that if they're gonna yeah if they're gonna do it they need some sort of stabilizer yeah it yeah i just thought it was funny and it was new so like i've seen it before though i didn't wasn't i hated it i hated it i'm anti it don't need it felt sick if they want to show it for like maybe a moment because i feel like they were just like oh it's new we're just gonna keep putting to it whenever we kind of can If it makes sense to show it, sure. Which the Marta moment was kind of funny where they were showing her... With her directions.
00:11:46
Speaker
Like, that was pretty funny. I'll give it that. But, like, this is 2025. We have stabilizers. Yeah. Don't make me sick. I think the idea is fun. The execution was very poor. Yeah. um And i Moving on from that, i did have an addition here. um I've talked...
Sally Menti: New Set-Piece Talent?
00:12:05
Speaker
Generally not in a favorable light about Sally Menti. Yeah. Most of the season. um I think she might be our new set piece person. think you're right.
00:12:16
Speaker
um She hit one off the bar. hmm. we haven't had that much luck with set pieces lately. I like her. I don't know. I think she's got this.
00:12:27
Speaker
This year is going to, I think, transform a lot of these players who haven't had a lot of experience. Yeah. And I think she's one of those players that's going to benefit from what happened this year and being able to reflect on everything because it wasn't always good.
00:12:42
Speaker
um But that to be able to hit a free kick like that in a big moment. yeah it didn't go in. But I mean, you're you're damn close. Yeah, that's saying. And I think, you know, when I criticize people, and I said this with Claudia Dickey, and when I talked about her when she was underperforming, i don't criticize people to be mean, or to put them down. I want these players to be better.
00:13:05
Speaker
yeah you want I want to see them perform for the team. So I hope, you know, for all of our sake and that she continues to improve and grow on, you know, some really good moments that she had this season.
00:13:18
Speaker
Yeah. So I look forward to seeing her next year. um And we do need somebody on those spot kicks who can get them, get them on frame. Yeah, that ah that will unlock something that for a team who has trouble scoring at times will be extremely helpful.
00:13:35
Speaker
Now, can we just get somebody to put in um some corner kicks? Yeah. I mean, maybe she's taking them soon. I don't know. because i took She took some this season. it Well, yeah, but yeah, I don't know.
00:13:49
Speaker
Yeah. I don't know. I mean, adding on to that, I guess I would say that like for how many times the rain played this season without kind of looking like they even wanted to score a they did look very hungry to do so in this match.
00:14:05
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, there was definitely more opportunities and more of a press this match than we've seen. um So that was good because I know a lot a lot of people were frustrated. They didn't really play Harvey ball this match. No.
00:14:17
Speaker
They didn't really get the chance to, though, because they went down. Yeah. I think that pushed them into doing that, which was nice to see them change stuff, but they did kind of have to. Mm-hmm. And they had they had chances to equalize.
00:14:29
Speaker
Plenty. So it wasn't he completely completely a runaway before that last flub, but... um Yeah, I'm happy the team made it to playoffs.
00:14:40
Speaker
I'm sad that they couldn't perform in this game. um But I think it was just a feat in and of itself to get the team into fifth place. Yeah, last year was awful.
00:14:52
Speaker
We had a lot of trauma.
00:14:55
Speaker
ah to get To get to where they got to this season, i think a lot of there's been a lot of hot takes out there. And I don't think a lot of good takes. I think there's a lot of and, you know, maybe this is my hot take, but I think there's a lot of lazy takes. I think there's I think the easy way out is to just completely a shit on this season.
00:15:14
Speaker
um blame the coaching, whatever you want to do. um i just think that that's kind of lazy to do. If you look at this team in the way that it's built, I don't like, sure. i would have loved for them to make a run and I can picture how that could have happened.
00:15:28
Speaker
But this league is filled with experience and stars who have experience um across the league and different teams for us to go on a run. we would have had to overcome so many different things and,
00:15:42
Speaker
Yeah, I could have I would have loved to see that happen. But there is a reality that this team isn't quite to that level yet. And they I think they will get to that level. I don't think that there was a fault in the coaching that happened here.
00:15:56
Speaker
I think it's just the lack of experience. And we have a youth ah core that is just going to take a little bit more time. I agree with that. And I think this experience is invaluable for those players.
00:16:11
Speaker
You know, because they when we make the playoffs next year, right, they've been there before. They know what it what it feels like. They know the pressure. They know what they need to do and how cutthroat the NWSL playoffs are.
00:16:23
Speaker
You're one and done. Yeah. So... And it's also not like you need to win a bunch of games to get to the final either. So, like, that'll probably be eating them up alive, too, because it's like, we would have won this game, we only need to win one more get to the final. That's it.
00:16:36
Speaker
So... I don't know. I think there's a lot more positives to take from the season than there is negatives. And it kind of bums me out how upset people are talking about this team. but Yeah, I i guess it's easier to do that. It's kind of a guttural reaction just because you're upset, sad that it had to end.
00:16:55
Speaker
Sure. But I just feel like anyone who's actually followed the team this year understands that like all the odds were stacked against them. Yeah. And they they had pulled out results this season that they maybe had no business pulling out.
00:17:06
Speaker
And definitely they had some disappointing moments. That's also true. But I just think it's unwarranted to just sit here and blame whatever various things you want to blame for the team when really it's just like this is a this kind of was a rebuild year. Yeah, it was kind of built into the timeline. Yeah.
00:17:26
Speaker
Yeah. I have one more positive I wanted to talk about, but I will save that for cooler player of the match. so Okay. Sounds good. ah Negative number one. We didn't score. surprise. One goal. One goal. Just give me one goal. It changes the game. know. You can't expect to go on if you don't score a fucking goal. And I know this is something we have dealt with all season, but man.
00:17:48
Speaker
We need to do something different. And I don't know if it's just going to be a matter of the differences. We have an offseason and there's a little bit more time for like me official to get going with the team, stuff like that.
00:18:00
Speaker
It would have been nice to have that in the playoffs, but it didn't happen. No. And another, we did have shots. Yes. I mean, we underperformed XG for once in our lives.
00:18:13
Speaker
Um, cause XG was 1.24. Yeah. yeah With 17 shots, eight on target. That's rough.
00:18:23
Speaker
And the problem is, is that all of our shots had like 10% power. Yeah. Yeah. It wasn't. There was like, Darlene came in and had like a really soft shot.
00:18:34
Speaker
It was kind of happening everywhere. Yeah. and weren't even really shot. I think the closest one was um Mercado. Yeah. With that foot save by Morehouse. She looked great.
00:18:45
Speaker
Which was a great save. Yeah. Morehouse had a pretty good game. Morehouse had a good game, but I'm excited for Mercado. Me too. I really think she's going to be a big part of the team next year. Yeah.
00:18:55
Speaker
So yeah I guess ah the second but biggest negative is obviously um the blip in the back line.
Analyzing Orlando's Winning Goal
00:19:03
Speaker
It was something we it was very familiar, reminiscent, but I mean, things were just clicking for Orlando in that moment and not one defender could get a foot in when they needed to. Yeah, just I mean, they ran that thing up so fast. Well, it started with a Marta no look pass.
00:19:20
Speaker
And then, yeah one touch back in by Julie Doyle. And then a one touch finish from McCutcheon. And perfect placement, too, for the shot. hu Right on that corner. um me Didn't she Meg?
00:19:34
Speaker
Didn't Phoebe get Meg to do? I don't know. I rewatched it too much today, and then I kind of felt like I was, like, hurting myself. I was like, I feel like I really hate myself today. How many times they've like rewatched it over and over again. And I was just like, I need to stop. I actually need to stop.
00:19:48
Speaker
Like being a masochist over here.
00:19:52
Speaker
Oh, yeah, it was it was rough to see. And it was unfortunate. um Just see it passed around like that. But it's quality soccer from Orlando. Can't. Yeah, there's a reason I won last year. And I know Banda was a big part of that. But um you can't have Banda doing as well as she did last season without everybody else around her also clicking. so Yeah, that's kind of been a talking point in the Discord today about is it ah the issue with the forwards or is it an issue with attacking midfield players and who we how we have in there who's able to get the ball into those areas for those players?
00:20:29
Speaker
So, you know, Barber Banda does Barber Banda shit and makes something out of nothing a lot of the time, but most the it's the supporting cast, right? And we don't really have a lot of that in the attack, that kind of supporting cast.
00:20:43
Speaker
No, and then on that goal for Orlando, they mean they just got fucking picked apart too. And that was pretty brutal to watch because the defense is supposed to be the one thing that we're like solid with, but these little things do happen.
00:20:56
Speaker
But yeah you also have to give credit to the quality of Orlando. so Yeah. you have any other negatives from the match? Uh... I don't... I mean, we lost.
00:21:07
Speaker
That sucks. Our season's over. That sucks. Lou Barnes is know also now officially retired as a professional soccer player. That sucks. Um... Yeah, I don't know. i think I think the thing that annoys me the most is that we went down relatively early and just like couldn't respond.
00:21:25
Speaker
We had so many opportunities to do so, couldn't, but at the same time, I don't know, man. I was watching the replays of the rest of the games and like the highlights and everything like that. There's a very good chance if we would have moved on, we would have absolutely gotten slaughtered.
00:21:41
Speaker
And I'm you know taking a little bit of comfort in the fact that we didn't do that. Obviously, like that would have been nice to get to that point, to have a chance. But a lot of these teams are just so fucking stacked.
00:21:52
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Yeah. it does it would have It would have severely scared me. Yeah. So, I don't know. um The next game would have been scary. The final would have been... would have been possibly windable yeah I don't know. I guess to wrap up the negatives, i just it sucks that we had that camp before, and then there was like injuries because of that, and we didn't really get to continue the momentum from the regular season because of the break and everything. That that sucks. I think the NWC still needs to figure out how to schedule better for the playoffs um to set up teams all over to have their best lineups because there was injury problems all over.
Post-Match Reactions and Future Outlook
00:22:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Post-match presser, they brought in Fishlock and Lou, obviously. What were your big takeaways? I mean, just jess talking about how young the team is and how they're almost there, but they're not quite there, and that just comes with time.
00:22:45
Speaker
So I think that's encouraging. Yeah. Yeah, that's pretty much all I got to. Yeah. ah You could just see their body language and just like they were very, very upset.
00:22:56
Speaker
Just defeated. Yeah. it was It was a rough watch, to be honest. who Almost as hard difficult to watch ah Harvey. Someone tried to bring up Blue Barnes. Yeah. And she just shot it down. Nope.
00:23:10
Speaker
because she was She was starting to get emotional, which, yeah, of course she would. i was a hard way to go out. ah would have been Would have been nice to give lou Barnes her Allie Krieger a moment, um but it wasn't meant to be.
00:23:22
Speaker
no but yeah, I mean, Laura just saying she's proud of the group and, you know, noting noting how close they were to a home playoff game. Pretty incredible, all things considered.
00:23:34
Speaker
Yeah, which I think is something that fans of the team need to remember. Sports are not easy. Only one team can win it all. And the NWSL is the most difficult women's soccer league in the entire world. So it's it's it's just, you have to, and if you like this team, enjoy them for what they are. I think that's kind of where I'm at with it.
00:23:54
Speaker
um I enjoy when they win. Yeah, but I also feel like like but i feel like there are people who are frustrated that we're not doing, say, like what Kansas City is doing and just bringing in.
00:24:07
Speaker
big glad we're not doing what Kansas City is doing. I know, but like big name after big name after big name, just spending, spending, spending, spending. I feel like what the Reign are doing is something kind of unique and special and can also eventually win a championship, the at least the way that this this current team is kind of being built.
00:24:25
Speaker
Yeah, and and just build ah camaraderie and a team that grows together. I think that that has value. And I think the players ah seem to be realistic on the expectations.
00:24:39
Speaker
And I think that's healthy. Because like you were saying previously, yeah, you want to go on a run, you want to win it all. But there are, you have to look at the competition and you have to look at the makeup of the team.
00:24:52
Speaker
And we just didn't have it this year. No, I guess like what I when I say like enjoy the team for what they are like, they have quality. And then we talked about this last week. They there were they were fun to watch this year. Yeah, that's why. Other yeah people may disagree with us at times. so People on the Internet who don't know what they're talking about. But real people and are not real.
00:25:16
Speaker
But yeah, I enjoyed it. i And compared to last season, just and outstandingly better. Yeah, if you want to, I don't know, I just, it the way some people talk, I'm just like, I feel like the rain maybe aren't always going to be a match for you then.
00:25:32
Speaker
so It is a Seattle sports team. It's going to struggle at times. Yeah, that's, I mean, like, that's just the reality of sports, though, too. But, like, you look at teams that have actually struggled and don't know what the fuck they're doing, Utah, Chicago, um like, they have, like, a brilliant moment, but you don't really see the the bigger picture.
00:25:51
Speaker
And I think you can tell that the Reign have a bigger picture in mind and they are actively trying to improve. They actively want to be a championship contender um and they're building towards that. It's just going to, I don't know where it's growing pains right now.
00:26:11
Speaker
Yep. But like, I don't know, what's the alternative, right? You like fucking don't sign these young players and then they go to other teams when they have peaked and then you have to spend even more money to get them back to your team.
00:26:22
Speaker
There's like an investment thing happening right now. I think it's smart. And I think for the longevity, it's brilliant, actually. And it makes me excited for the next season. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:26:32
Speaker
People want to blow it and I don't that. hop on the bandwagon now because next year next year is going to be even more yeah exciting, I think. I just don't, yeah, I don't like the wanting to blow it up kind of mentality. No, that's unnecessary. this season.
00:26:45
Speaker
Last year, I get it. But a lot of shit was going bad when the sale the team got announced and everything, so... ah Any final thoughts before we hit into Cooler the Match? Okie dokie. Cooler Player of the Match.
00:26:58
Speaker
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 is a big fan of the rain and is proud to be our first sponsor.
Cooler Player of the Match: Sam Meza
00:27:07
Speaker
I didn't really know who to choose. This was kind of a knee-jerk reaction just because at times she just was absolutely outstanding. Yeah. um To the point where like people in the bar that weren't there for the game noticed.
00:27:20
Speaker
hey Like asking me who that was. i was like, that's Sam Meza. So congratulations, Sam Meza, cooler player of the quarterfinal match. Yep. And I think she handled Barbara, but or not Barbara Banda, Jesus Christ.
00:27:33
Speaker
I think she handled Marta well. yeah And, you know, she, one of the, and I've said this several times, I think one of the more the redeeming things about this match, even with the loss, was the penalty.
00:27:48
Speaker
Sam Meza did tackle Marta yeah to to cause the penalty that allowed Marta to hand the ball to Luana to score.
00:27:59
Speaker
Yeah. After an incredible recovery and story that she's had. Yeah. She got put back on like the active roster or whatever. They pulled her off of what do they call it?
00:28:11
Speaker
She was on like leave, but she got pulled. up She got put back onto the team, like as on the active stuff ah in September. Yeah. because of her uh hodgkin's lymphoma after yeah beating cancer yeah like you can't hate that moment and that moment doesn't happen without some i mean i'm just pointing out but yeah But so i she had her recovery stats were top. um She had six recoveries. She won six out of eight ground duels and won two for two in aerial duels.
00:28:50
Speaker
and She's like my height. Yeah. She's like 5'2", I'm pretty sure. She also ah was getting the ball in the box and like trying to get into the attack as well. So she was really all over the place. Yeah. Big fan.
00:29:00
Speaker
Yeah, obviously. Yeah. ah Congrats, Sam. um Looking forward to more of this next season. This was a great breakout year. so 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. Also a great place to go during the off-season, which unfortunately is here today.
00:29:25
Speaker
Swing by the office today and get in a Negroni, one of my all-time faves. A classic bittersweet cocktail, much like the end of the rain season, with imoral style and grace with the mortal style and grace, unlike Kansas City's postseason performance.
00:29:41
Speaker
Really worked on this copy, didn't I? meant ah Check out their Instagram at TDO Seattle or better yet, go drink there in person. Cheers. Cheers.
00:29:52
Speaker
Oh, have some other rain news. We do Kind of some cool news. This is not something that happened last year for us. Nope, not at all.
00:30:05
Speaker
ah We've got three NWSL award ah finalists this season. We've got Claudia Dickey up for goalkeeper the year, obviously. Jordan Bug, defender of the year. And Maddie Darlene is up for rookie of the year.
00:30:18
Speaker
All well deserved. Extremely. I'm excited about it. I do think Claudia Dickey should get it. I don't know that she will. Is it like the Stephen Fry curse? Maybe. I actually do think people rate her.
00:30:30
Speaker
I don't think people rate it Stephen Fry. Yeah, fair. ah Well, she did make the national team, you know, top three. Yeah, it's kind of hard to avoid that. i I mean, if you're straight looking at the numbers, it's her.
00:30:41
Speaker
Yeah. If you're me noticing the incredible difference between last year and this year, like there's no other option. Yeah. They didn't even include Jordan Bloomer.
00:30:52
Speaker
Yeah, that was a snub. Yeah, it was a snub. um But yeah, she should win. um I hope that she does. But people, people are weird. So i already voted. Did you vote? Yeah, i did vote. i the The possibility of Lorena getting it it kind of annoys me. But yeah, it really annoys me.
00:31:10
Speaker
you know she's not good with her feet maybe this i don't know if this will fact this last game will factor in at all but yeah i don't know it'll be interesting to see what happens don't know if jordan bug will get it but if it's not this year maybe next year and then i think maddie's got a long shot for ricky the year yeah but it's still really cool that she is up for the the ah award so well deserved yeah congrats to all the players
00:31:38
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network, which now includes Anietes, Lobbing Scorchers, and The Cooler Guild.
Sounder at Heart Membership Info
00:31:46
Speaker
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00:31:51
Speaker
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00:32:20
Speaker
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00:32:30
Speaker
Big piece of NWSL news.
Atlanta's NWSL Expansion Team Announcement
00:32:33
Speaker
Atlanta is getting an expansion team. Woo-woo. and For a meager fee of $165 million. dollars That's just the expansion fee now. Yeah, that's crazy.
00:32:45
Speaker
I went and looked up to for how much the rain were sold for to the Carlyle Group and the Sounders. It's $58 million. who Yeah, that's that's a that's they got a good deal on it now. So that's what? $113 difference.
00:32:58
Speaker
million different Yeah. Oof. Yeah. I thought it was interesting that someone, i mean, ah guess I don't know everything about Corey, Corey Bethune, but Corey Bethune is from Atlanta.
00:33:08
Speaker
Um, that would be, I definitely think assigning that art, uh, Arthur, uh, blank, blank, blank, blank. blink The guy from Home Depot who owns the Falcons in Atlanta United because he's going the owner of Atlanta. But like he has no problem spending money.
00:33:24
Speaker
He loves divvy out money. So like I think if Croy is has ah no problem giving money to terrible, terrible politicians. Correct. Correct. And I also we I mean, we both have worked for Home Depot.
00:33:36
Speaker
Yes, we have. And we both have feelings that it's a bad company. Very. um But he doesn't have a problem spending money on, I would say, sports, too. So I would could see them bringing in Croy if she's on some sort of deal where they're going to need to put up some money to bring her in.
00:33:53
Speaker
could see it happening. Yeah. And Atlanta's a fun soccer city, too. Yeah, that would be a good um kind of debut
NWSL Playoff Excitement
00:34:00
Speaker
signing. Are you excited about it? First for signing. It's kind of like a, I don't know, we haven't, I feel like the market hasn't really been tapped into for some places already.
00:34:07
Speaker
I don't know. I'm excited about Alina. Yeah, I think it'll be good. Yeah. Get more. a Hopefully they don't have noon games in the middle of the summer. Oh, God. Well, they have my thought.
00:34:18
Speaker
They have they have a roof there. Fair. Yeah. So it'll be fine. OK. Yeah. All right. And to be so playoffs. Yes. A lot of exciting stuff. In fact, our game was the only one that didn't go to extra time.
00:34:30
Speaker
I know it was a lot of Sunday soccer for me. Yeah. Yeah. Well, the Spirit won against Louisville. No shocker there, I suppose. But at the same time, it had to go to penalties.
00:34:42
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, there was a really great moment in added time. 90 plus 2, Louisville came back. You know, and I was rooting for Bev.
00:34:55
Speaker
So it was nice that they put in a fight, something that we couldn't do. um For Washington, ah they did have um Rodman on the bench, which seemed sketchy to me. but Super sketchy. Whatever. really But yeah, GIF Monday.
00:35:14
Speaker
i put I put her in my best 11. Yeah. The pairing with her and Kawasi is is is really nice to watch. Yeah, it's pretty clutch. ah The penalty kicks were awful.
00:35:26
Speaker
What is happening? That keeps happening. I don't know. feel one gives a shit about practicing penalties. I don't know if it's practice or if it's pressure. i don't know. But um you know who does give a shit about penalties?
00:35:40
Speaker
UW women's soccer. Anyway, um yeah, Louisville just could not score a penalty. Well, one player Bethany Balser could. Yeah. um But Aubrey Kingsbury made two saves. Yeah.
00:35:53
Speaker
And I think was it the semifinal last year? She made three saves in the Tunley Cooke shootout. Yeah, she's, you know, you want your goalkeeper to save one. Yes. The rest is up to the team. You make two. You're.
00:36:05
Speaker
Yeah. You'd think you'd win the game. Did racing start off those? I couldn't tell what order I was watching the penalty highlights in, but racing also like skied one high. Yeah. Not a good way to set everybody else up for.
00:36:17
Speaker
yeah It's not really a confidence booster. No. yeah rough but so watch his spirit move on no surprise and uh yeah the next game was the morning game for us and gotham beat kansas city listen i hear all these pundits like no one saw this coming i saw this coming we fucking called it last week we said that yeah maybe it's an upset but at the same time gotham's fucking good like you have a low seed but whatever and when gotham's being gotham yeah they're pretty unstoppable they just weren't themselves a lot of the season absolutely um this game was actually really fun to watch um yeah we called it akb um had a minus one glaring yeah issue she had an exceptional game yeah
00:37:11
Speaker
Um, there was, well, Jaden's shot scored first in the 68th minute. She's, she's doing great at Gotham. And then i think there was six minutes of added time, but Casey scored at 90 plus six.
00:37:27
Speaker
Yeah, it was right. we were talking about this. um And Ketcherberger got scored on near post, basically cheating, waiting for the cross. um And I can't remember who mentioned this, but um in the Euros in semi this year, um Bon Matisse did the same thing. um After the game, she was asked if the goal was planned. She said, yes, the truth is that we had studied it. Marissa, the goalkeeper coach, had told told me that Berger made certain movements and that sometimes she left the near post clear. And that's how it was.
00:37:57
Speaker
Well, they that's the one thing they got strategically right. Yep. The whole game. That was pretty much it, to be honest. Yeah, and then just a stunner, ah Katie Stengel, 120 plus one.
00:38:08
Speaker
um I really didn't want this one to go to penalties just because i wanted... Gotham. Yeah, pull it through. um and I think this was kind of a redeeming another redeeming moment. She had several in this game, but Ann Ketrenberger sent in a huge ball.
00:38:21
Speaker
um Jaden Shaw with that excellent little side foot flick and ah Katie Stengel just blasts Yeah, you're listing off players and I'm just like...
00:38:33
Speaker
that's not the rain. Like we don't have that kind of, we don't have that kind of star power. but no we don't. And we knew Katie Stengel was going to do this. Like, I think we mentioned when she came back to Gotham, we were like, that is a player you want for the playoffs.
Gotham's Playoff Victory
00:38:47
Speaker
Yep. And sure enough, ah she knows exactly what to do when the moment comes to her. ah So congrats to Gotham. I don't really enjoy them, but I also love an upset to Casey.
00:38:59
Speaker
yeah. Yeah. And for a team to be so dominant in the regular season and then get blasted out in the first round of the playoffs. um Who doesn't love that? It's it's so fun to watch.
00:39:11
Speaker
Yeah. Unless unless it's your team. Yeah. And got them to this without a stare, too. Yeah. She's on the bench. They didn't even bring her in. No. This game. Portland beat San Diego 1-0. At home.
00:39:23
Speaker
At home. at home uh san diego didn't look terrible we saw that happening we called that they can be good um but it was just kind of meh this game was kind of meh um there was an opportunity in the second half uh where somebody went to put a cross in and ball went off i can't remember who was from portland but their arm and it was absolutely a penalty it didn't get called a portland would have gotten that call um So this game went into extra time. I will say this.
00:39:54
Speaker
Rob Gale did not start Pietra Torton. I know she was injured last week, but she came into the match and like made a huge difference. um But yeah. um Extra time, 94th minute.
00:40:09
Speaker
They score back post, unmarked. three Very, very rain of San Diego to get scored on that way. I mean... I guess I don't like to
Olivia Moultrie's Impact on Soccer
00:40:21
Speaker
just my bitterness comes out when I talk about this, obviously.
00:40:25
Speaker
But Olivia Moultrie is having a great season. It just annoys me that like how she became a pro. And like, I just wish that wasn't how it happened.
00:40:37
Speaker
Because she is fun to watch. And she plays for fucking Portland. And that sucks ass for someone like me. um And I just like you got like you paid to play kind of growing up and I hate that sucks I hate when that happens but uh you know I guess the MLM money went well then you sue to get included on a team that's notorious for harboring sexual predators so yeah it's all it's all child I don't get it it's yeah it's all a little little tainted for me that I feel like I can't fully
00:41:12
Speaker
ah enjoy her and what she does i also know that she flops a lot so that certainly helps me not go get full actually jealous about her um but yeah i think i think she she's the reason the thorns are in the playoffs yeah so that's it's exactly why they're in the playoffs i don't know how much more they don't know portland just they fucking turn it up in the playoffs and it's just it's annoying it's super annoying can't say it any other way
00:41:44
Speaker
and then oh the the fucked up thing that happened this game i don't did they stop the game and like pull her out at all um i don't remember so mckenzie arnold had a huge save uh was it intentional i don't really know with mckenzie arnold sometimes but she made a huge save at the very end of the match when the ball got blasted straight to her face yeah and uh and like i mean that thing really hit her in the face that i was like i don't know she should be continuing um yeah i don't know that was pretty wild to watch also like the whoever was in the commentary he was like laughing about it for a second yeah i was like are you kidding me that was like a head injury that's a really bad head injury yeah there's a lot wrong there yeah um anyway so marlon goes on boo
00:42:33
Speaker
ah But they don't play at home. They don't. And they have to go to a pretty difficult place next. Yeah. So they Portland plays Washington Spirit Saturday, the Saturday, November 15th at 9 a.m. m on CBS.
00:42:44
Speaker
That's not helpful for Portland. um I will say when I was watching the Spirit game, i did think they looked vulnerable. So ah my money would be on the Spirit, but they aren't at their best.
00:42:56
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, we'll see what availability is and whatnot. Giff Monday and Kawasi, though, could tear the fuck up out of their oh yeah they could Portland's defense. Yeah, that's asking a lot of Portland's defense.
00:43:08
Speaker
um And then the second game, um Orlando plays Gotham ah November 16th. That's Sunday, 3 p.m. on ABC. No clue which way that one's going to go. Yeah, that one's toss-up for sure.
00:43:20
Speaker
Yeah. You got any final, any interesting things you want to say about what happened all all this weekend going into the semifinal? No, I mean, i was happy with the Gotham upset.
00:43:33
Speaker
Yeah. And that just kind of shakes things up because it's just so annoying how Casey's been lauded and just kind of like coddled all season for how good they are. Yeah. um And then to lose in the first round as a fan of chaos, um that one, that one was a little bit of redemption for my weekend. Yeah.
00:43:57
Speaker
Yeah. Who do you got for ah who's going through the final? I'm going spirit Gotham. Yeah. I won't be surprised if Orlando gets in and I would maybe prefer that.
00:44:08
Speaker
But um yeah, I don't know. I just I i feel I feel like if if a stare is available at all and can get some minutes in and they've got Katie Stengel. ah just I feel ah feel like Gotham's kind of got the edge in terms of kind of just I don't know, just causing problems for Orlando. Yeah.
00:44:27
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I want i want Orlando to win just because you want to lose to the best. so um But I think Gotham's got the edge on this one. um I do think if the Washington the Spirit PDX game might be high scoring, um maybe possibly on both ends. But I think that Kowasi-Gift Monday partnership could really tear Portland apart. Yeah, I think so too. I hope so as well. Just to be completely transparent. That'd be absolutely. Yeah.
00:44:58
Speaker
This is a biased podcast. We don't try to pronounce anything else.
00:45:02
Speaker
Uh, so yeah, sucks. The rain are in it. The season ended in a little, you know, sad way, I guess, but maybe not unexpected. Still of this team.
Season Reflections and Future Optimism
00:45:12
Speaker
I think everyone should be proud of what they did this, this year. And, uh,
00:45:16
Speaker
I don't know. I think next year is going to be good. think there's to be less frustrations. Yeah, I hope so. Which is, you know, something we... Those 1-0 games, just like... Can we get, like... i need We need goal scorers, man. We need goal scorers. Yeah, there's got to be more production next season. Yeah. so I need someone to break in into double digits.
00:45:37
Speaker
Please. Please. I'm taking you. All right. think that's kind of going to do is little chaotic here at the end. But ah just like the NWC playoffs, that's just how it goes. um Any shout outs for you?
00:45:51
Speaker
Yeah. Shout out to the UW women's soccer team. Yeah. Who won the Big tim big Ten championship in PKs days, you know, just days after the tragic passing of ah Mia Hammond.
00:46:04
Speaker
And yeah, i what a moment for them. Yeah. Yeah. I messaged one of their assistants who I know and congratulated them. And I hope they hope they go on a big run.
00:46:17
Speaker
Yeah, they've got the they've got the inspiration. They've got the players. So they play on Friday. Good luck to them. What about you? Well, first one, I guess, would be Barnes. um Shout out to her and her phenomenal career and this league. And in general, she's played other places as well in the off seasons, because that's how gnarly the NWSL was back in the day when they weren't making a lot of money. But she kind of paid paved the way for a lot of players and for this league to be where it's at today. So, um yeah, shout out to her.
00:46:48
Speaker
Second one that I had is to the lobbying Scorchers. Yeah. The race for the mayor of Seattle is as tight as can be. And um they had they had Katie Wilson on their show like a few months ago.
00:47:01
Speaker
And maybe kind of unusual to have have someone on like that. But I also feel like there's a very good chance that Katie Wilson might might win by like less than 100 votes or something like that.
00:47:13
Speaker
Yeah, it was at 91. She was up by 91, still with... still with I can't remember how many left to count, but I think what I was reading was anything under 6,000, they do an automatic recount. Yeah.
00:47:25
Speaker
But the fact that she even is this close in a race is... I know. She was down by like seven points yeah for a while. Incredible. And they were like, well, we're staying positive. And i was like, oh, that doesn't usually end well. And it was just like, oh, crap. yeah well they called it somewhere and then the next day they were like never mind yeah um but you know if noah and ari want to claim that they influenced this race enough to make it where it's at today i think they can claim that yep um because all you guys yeah i think lobbying scorchers is the reason this race is actually close And if she wins, Noah was like, I'll be so insufferable. And i was like, as you should be. yeah
00:48:05
Speaker
um So, yeah, I just I think it's cool that they got to use their platform to kind of do something meaningful for the city of Seattle and hopefully ah kind of bring in some new change, hopefully. But whatever happens with that race. um Yeah. Just cool to see the city kind of put their foot down and want some different.
00:48:23
Speaker
Yeah, i agree. Just like Zoran Memdani. Hell yeah. I'm have that song stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Thanks. All right. I think that's going to do for the show. Thanks again to our sponsor, the doctor's office. You can go follow us on blue sky and Instagram at cooler guild pod.
00:48:43
Speaker
can send us an email. We love an email. ah You can email us at the cooler guild at gmail.com. You can also visit us on the main landing page at sound at heart.com forward slash the cooler guild.
00:48:54
Speaker
Go on there. Subscribe to sound at heart. through our page do it and get in on the action follow the off season there's going to be some moves definitely will be um i think we're hoping to get a player on maybe for our final episode for the season we'll see how that goes and see who wants to talk
00:49:14
Speaker
It was a good season, though, so I think they'll feel good about it. We're also on YouTube, youtube.com forward slash at the Cooler Guild. I'm working on getting some clips up there. See how that goes. um Go rate five stars wherever you're listening. um Until next time.
00:49:28
Speaker
Yeah, we'll be back with a recap. Yeah, we'll have recap of the season. Yeah, we're going to do that. I think it was just too much to cram into here. Yeah. I kind of want to give it give it some space and air to breathe as well and kind of just get our heads put together with What actually happened here and our feelings, all that. um Also, you know, I'm leaving town for a bit, so.
00:49:49
Speaker
Sick. Party on. All right, go rate five stars wherever you're listening. Until next time, I'm Coop. I'm Van. Stay cool. Stay cool, y'all. Bye. Bye.
00:50:16
Speaker
I had some nutty pasta so hopefully it's done my throat was like a cashew cream anyways