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The Cooler Guild: A win at NC, are we kind of good?!? - Ep. 28
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In this week’s episode Coop and Van recap the Reigns impressive performance in Saturday’s win against NC Courage, award an unexpected Cooler Player of the Match, answer some listener questions, and briefly discuss the other weekend’s matches.
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:20
Speaker
Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to episode 28 of The Cooler Guild. I am Coop, and joined with me as always is my co-host, Van. What up? We are recording on Tuesday, March 25th,
Reign's Victory Against North Carolina
00:00:29
Speaker
2025. On today's episode, we'll be discussing Reign's massive win over North Carolina.
00:00:34
Speaker
Oh, I know. ah From Saturday evening, as well as doing our usual look at other highlights and lowlights from around the league over the weekend. uh did you have you how was your enjoyment of the win just quickly fantastic i've watched jordan broke bugs goal probably um like 100 times yeah um mostly on mute yeah uh anything other like uh of note from your weekend no yeah i feel like that's what else is this was the greatest thing that's happened to me
00:01:06
Speaker
Yeah. So ah before we get into the rest of it, we got some housekeeping.
Podcast Network and Episode Structure
00:01:10
Speaker
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.
00:01:20
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.
Match Highlights and Player Contributions
00:01:30
Speaker
I'm ready to get into this.
00:01:31
Speaker
am so, so stoked for this. Let's get the match recap out of the week. I've been waiting for this day for so many months. I know for many, many months. The match recap, we'll get that the way so we can dive into how incredible ah we feel um and how this was to watch.
00:01:48
Speaker
The Seattle Reign faced the North Carolina Courage on the road for their second game of the season. Despite some availability woes and a less than stellar record in North Carolina, the Reign were eager to change their narrative.
00:01:59
Speaker
They came out with a high press and were able to get on the board first with a great attacking buildup that resulted in one sweet Jess Fishlock goal. In the second half, Jordan Bug helped cushion the Reigns' lead with an absolute ridiculous golazo from 30-plus yards out.
00:02:13
Speaker
um Roughly three minutes later, the Courage got one back, but it ultimately was not enough as the Reigns' defense held strong, earning all three points in maintaining the Reigns' undefeated 20-25 record.
Team Dynamics and Player Chemistry
00:02:26
Speaker
it continues I love it. You said we, you we know, we might win. And I don't know if you, in that moment when you said that, realized we were playing Carolina and how bad we were there. But but who cares? You were right.
00:02:42
Speaker
knew. Okay. Okay. Well, no, I actually said this could be our the last game that I could say it. Okay. That's what I said. And then we were like, yeah, we are playing North Carolina. But I'm like, I don't know.
00:02:55
Speaker
The positivity vibes are flowing through me again. They're flowing with the team. But good reason. good reason. They're flowing with the team. I mean, the team... I'm going to bring it up just because it was my top positive, but the team is just flowing with chemistry.
00:03:09
Speaker
Yeah. bits It's... They're just exuding chemistry.
Lineup Changes and Player Milestones
00:03:14
Speaker
General notes. Yeah, there's a bunch of stuff coming into the match. Yeah, I mean, there's several notable injuries, people out as well.
00:03:23
Speaker
um But as you know Harvey's discussed, she wants to be rotating that front setup. So guess what? We got kind of see more of that.
00:03:35
Speaker
Yeah, there were only two changes from the starting lineup from like from last game. Well, Darlene's balling out. I know. Haidem was out. ah She was questionable. um But so Mercado started for her.
00:03:48
Speaker
And then shey Holmes was out this week. Excused absence, I believe. ah So ah Emily Mason went on it right back and Karee swapped to left.
00:03:59
Speaker
Worked out pretty well, do you think? Mm hmm. I think so. That was a first start for Mercado, too, and that was ah ah joy to see. yeah yeah these kids are these kids are fun to watch. It's ah also Fishlock's 200th NWSL match.
00:04:14
Speaker
ah You know she had to score for that. Yeah, something had to happen. Yeah, so getting into maybe some notable
Significance of Reign's Victory
00:04:22
Speaker
stats. I love a notable stat. ah They they brought brought this up on the broadcast, but I did think this was kind of interesting. Not that the Carolina Courage have lost this year yet, but they have only lost two consecutive games at home, like one other time in their entire history being in North Carolina.
00:04:37
Speaker
Yeah. They don't lose at home very often. No, and that goes to our previous record, ah their previous record at home against Seattle. All time, including playoffs.
00:04:49
Speaker
North Carolina has won nine games against us, lost one, and drawn us zero times. So we've only taken three points from them. It's ever. Out of a possible 30. I think it was a playoff match for one of them. But yeah, it's...
00:05:04
Speaker
i don't like When you read that thing, you're kind of just like, well, this isn't going to be the Reign team to do it, right? Given our season from last year. you're just yeah I don't know. But you go
Fan Engagement and Media Investment
00:05:13
Speaker
and watch. They've got this new video that they put out with... If you haven't seen it yet, go to YouTube, the Reign channel.
00:05:19
Speaker
um They kind of give you a little match recap, but it's like a... don't know. Cinema. It's like very well done and really well produced. But they kind of but like they put a camera in the middle of the huddle and kind of...
00:05:33
Speaker
you kind of get the energy that they were coming into that game with. And when I heard that, I was just like, if I would have heard that speech, would have been like, there's no way we're leaving here without a win. Yeah. And I think too, um there just seems to be, and maybe we're just seeing it more this year because of the advancement and the amount of money that the club has and the kind of availability that we're, the team availability we're been being able to see and just like the visibility with the you know, they um really expanding more on the social channels, but especially in the video side.
00:06:09
Speaker
Yeah. um And so that's just been really neat. And it just makes I think it makes fans feel more connected to the team. But you also get a better kind of behind the scenes look at how the team is interacting with each other and the kind of energy that they're giving each other, which you which then translates onto the field.
Improved Team Chemistry
00:06:28
Speaker
Yeah, something that I thought was interesting too, mean, I saw this on, think it was the broadcast. So the huddle was really good with the whole team. But then I saw like the defense kind of like you know meet up too, which I'm sure they do this every game, but the defense kind of got together too. And you can kind of just see them hyping up each other and kind of like...
00:06:47
Speaker
phoebe is specifically was just like all right like let's go like we're gonna get this done like stay focused and uh they had some work to do in this game the defense for sure especially in the second part of the game after that second goal that we got um but i just feel like they came in there with like an insane mental game and and uh they stayed on it yeah it's fun to watch Yeah, I mean, there was a little bit of a breakdown. I wouldn't call it a breakdown, though, even in the second half um after they went up 2-0. Yeah.
00:07:19
Speaker
yeah But there wasn't the kind of lapse that we have seen in the past. So that's an improvement. Yeah. And I just think the chemistry with the team and the fact that there was an 11-pass sequence in the lead-up to Jess Fishlock's goal is just, that's not a team that we've been for a while. No.
00:07:41
Speaker
And we talked about it a little bit last week. You know, you're seeing that connection and you're not seeing as much players playing to a space where they would assume their teammate would be.
00:07:52
Speaker
And then nobody's there. It seems that they're all kind of on the similar page and know where each other are going to be. And the cool thing is, is that's just going to get even more solidified as we play more games.
00:08:04
Speaker
Mm hmm. So, I don't know. It's exciting. Yeah, it's super exciting.
Jess Fishlock's Leadership
00:08:09
Speaker
um Positives. Let's roll into the positives. We got a lot to talk about about this game. So, positive number one I had listed, Jess Fishlock.
00:08:18
Speaker
Any questions that we had about her maybe, you know, taking retirement, getting out? I mean, even with the Euros coming, but... You know, a player like that could just slide into the Euros.
00:08:30
Speaker
Play in the Euros. Get it done. And be done. Yeah. That's not who she is. And, you know, as... little or maybe as as much of a struggle that she had last season, something's just working this year. Yeah, ah yeah it's hard for me to sit here and say like she had a bad season last year you're given ah how bad everything was last year. yeah um I don't know how you're supposed to kind of go in there and try to affect game ones when when nothing's working. um And that wasn't her fault.
00:09:07
Speaker
ah You would hope and maybe... expect a player like her quality to change games a little bit more than she did last year obviously but she wasn't fully healthy right the pieces around her quality was kind of not there for parts of this season and now there's just a a completely different look and i think that these young players that she's kind of being surrounded by is giving her this kind of extra motivation and like excitement because there's they're they're really exciting players
00:09:38
Speaker
Yeah, as well as the fact that she's able to play a more comfortable role for herself. Oh, absolutely. You know, the the midfield is is more, we just have more talent.
00:09:51
Speaker
And that I think that allows her the freedom that makes her the player that she is. And being able to be in places where she can make change.
00:10:02
Speaker
um And she can be effective. And last year she was stretched so thin.
Match Highlights and Defensive Efforts
00:10:07
Speaker
and don't know when they when we're getting to these games where things are kind of like getting close, getting close, getting close, and we're like looking pretty good.
00:10:14
Speaker
She is that player that changes those games. Mm hmm. So that's what it gets me excited. I was talking to somebody on set like on Reddit as as one does and someone was trying to there was like a match week one. What would you want your team to do differently for ah next week? we I think I saw this. Yeah. Yeah, and I had interacted because somebody was like, I want to see this person, this person, and and this person, like, not start for the rain.
00:10:41
Speaker
And they included Jess Fishlock. And a few of the other ones kind of made sense to me. um But I was like, I agree with most of this except for Jess Fishlock. And then what do we see this week? Jess Fishlock balling out. And that was also a ridiculous finish that she got on that, too.
00:10:55
Speaker
Yeah, left-footed. Yeah, and just skies it into the fucking net right there. i mean, it was beautiful. Well, and the clearance that came out to Jordan Bug, which she ended up taking a really great first touch and scoring, came because Jeff Fischlach was crashing the box.
00:11:10
Speaker
Mm-hmm. yeah There's energy. Yeah, that's what she did last game. That other goal was from her just kind of getting in the way and mean getting the ball turned over and everything. Yeah. I love it. I love seeing this from her. i love it was i was watching the game with my wife and then she had a friend in town who was picking something up from her house.
00:11:29
Speaker
And we were watching the game together and and our friend's like, can I guess how old that person is? And it was
Standout Performances
00:11:36
Speaker
just Fish's luck. Yeah. And she was having a really game, right? So it wasn't like she was just like, you know, i bet she's old because she's playing badly, but she was really impressed with her. And she's like, I bet she's 38.
00:11:47
Speaker
She got it spot on. don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but for her to be doing this at 38 is mind blowing.
00:11:58
Speaker
I'm 36. My body can't move like that. No, it's great. It's great. She's got this new energy about her with all these young players to feed off of. Maybe that's they're just actually drinking the youth.
00:12:12
Speaker
simply ah Yeah. you got What do you want to bring up next? Well, there's a kind of a callback I wanted to pull from last episode when we were talking about Laura Harvey's press conference after the Gotham match and her talking about Maddie Darlene.
00:12:27
Speaker
And How she just wants her to... There's not always going to be people with you because you're so fast. And so just take the shot.
00:12:39
Speaker
Get yourself into a dangerous space and take the shot. I didn't know she could dribble like that. Yeah. Yeah. And make cut in and get shots off. What?
00:12:51
Speaker
She had to make Casey Murphy come up with three big save, two? um word A couple of them were off target just by a hair. Yeah.
00:13:03
Speaker
Otherwise, I think she had to make Casey Murphy make like two saves. Yeah. she was She was in that box. I mean, getting around defenders. I think we're watching something incredible. Yeah.
00:13:15
Speaker
Between her and Bug, I mean, well done to whoever's finding these players and signing them. It's Laura Harvey. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I guess she coached a lot of them when they were on the youth teams.
00:13:31
Speaker
And she know exactly she knew exactly who to bring in when she, you know, was coaching for the rain again. So I'm much appreciated. Thank you. but i'm I'm very excited to see her in upcoming matches. I definitely think she's a starting player.
00:13:44
Speaker
oh yeah, absolutely. I don't want to overdo it, though. I don't want to overdo it, and I don't want to make a player who's new get discouraged because they're not scoring and then fall into a slump.
00:13:56
Speaker
ah But i I don't think she's – I mean, I don't know her, obviously. I'm watching her on the field. But I feel like she's on the verge of something really, really great and scoring, getting a couple goals in. And and I hope that happens sooner than later.
Claudia Dickey's Contributions
00:14:13
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:13
Speaker
I think when Lynn gets back, she's going to have a lot of really good feedback for her. And it's going to be ah it's going to be a ah challenge figuring out that front line once Lin is back. Yeah, yeah,
00:14:25
Speaker
I think, I mean, Lin's such a, you know, vet. She can figure it out. it's But the it that is definitely a dynamic thing that everyone else is also going to have to learn to adjust to. so Well, yeah, and then you've got so many other players. I mean, you've got Coco. You've got You've got...
00:14:43
Speaker
ah sort of gorovic who I would argue actually played pretty well this match. She did. read the game really, really well and knew where to be. kind of had pretty good awareness of where everybody else was around her too.
00:14:56
Speaker
And her header wasn't too far off. No, it wasn't. We haven't had chance like that in a hot minute. No, I was very impressed with her game. i would say the last game, you know, lacked some things from her. But ah that was another player that the person on Reddit was saying should be benched.
00:15:14
Speaker
I'm like, you gotta to trust Harvey sometimes. yeah She was an integral part of the fish lock goal. Yeah. She's also, i don't know. She's like a physical bit, like, you know, she's not small.
00:15:25
Speaker
Right. So she can kind of hold up and do what she needs to do on that side to make sure that we're getting numbers um with her. ah Yeah. i I, I, I really, really enjoy watching her play. Yeah.
00:15:40
Speaker
I also like seeing her reactions. Oh, yeah, she's funny. Yeah. She's funny. um and And like you said, I mean, we're we're already starting to talk about this, but your next positive in here is just so many players had a great game. It's difficult to pick one standout.
00:15:55
Speaker
is Is this really what chemistry looks like? Yeah, yeah. I mean, one had bad game. It's been so long, I forgot. No one even had a mediocre game. They all had very good games. Some even had great games. Mm-hmm.
00:16:07
Speaker
Amazing. I like well i got you know watched the game back. I kind of didn't take notes the first time I watched it through because i was watching with other people. But like I went and watched the game back and it it was like fun to watch.
00:16:20
Speaker
And it was just like every single person was just doing something so helpful for another person. Yeah, it's very much and and especially like you saw that come out in the defending this game when Curry would get stuck up top.
00:16:35
Speaker
Sometimes you would see G enter into the back line. It really feels like the communication is there and they're well organized. And this is how a Laura but laura Harvey team traditionally looks.
00:16:46
Speaker
Oh, the good old days. The good old days. I don't want to overhype it because it's been two games. sure but it's a big result you can't it's a huge result and it as somebody that had to watch through last season and talk about it every week there was no game like this there was never a complete game we might sneak out a win but it was never in like a repeatable i'm confident we could do this again kind of way yeah i'm make i'm
00:17:18
Speaker
I'm feeling good about it. I don't care. i think we might be good. I think we're but think we have a chance of being good. think we have a very good chance of being good.
00:17:29
Speaker
ah My next one, I wanted to shout out Claudia Dickey. Yeah. Claudia Dickey with the claws out. The lobster claws. I noticed people were doing that at the rain game. Did you see that?
00:17:41
Speaker
I did. When Claudia makes a big save, that everyone puts their little, not everybody, but but more people should put their little Claudia. cla So I was doing that my house during the game. And I was getting mad when when my my wife and her friend weren't doing it. Because by the end, we were all doing it. Or my wife maybe isn't predicting, but my friend, I was getting her to join.
Team Unity and Potential
00:18:01
Speaker
Yeah.
00:18:02
Speaker
Because she was just making so many saves at the end. She had to. Yeah. Then, I will say, will say, there's saves she should make. or Some of them were tricky.
00:18:13
Speaker
Some of were tricky, yes. But if we want her to be a good goalkeeper, this is what we need to see. Yes. And I think it's great. Yeah. I think she deserves the shout out because she did make sure that we got away with three points.
00:18:27
Speaker
For sure. I think that also comes down to though the defense keeping keeping players like Jaden Shaw oh yeah in in line. Yeah, because she got up there, but it never amounted to anything.
00:18:41
Speaker
Claudia did make one really good say, i think, down to her left-hand side. It was what I call in the triangle of death, which is like if you reach down, if you put your arms at your side and they kind of reach them out and reach down and try and get as close to your body as possible.
00:18:55
Speaker
It's the space between your arm and your leg. h And that it space like that so close to but to to that area is really hard for a goalkeeper to save. Yeah. And she's able to get down and get to those balls. and I think it's, she's playing really well.
00:19:11
Speaker
Yeah. And I will, I will eat my words. It could be the pressure of having a backup though. that's just foaming at the mouth to take your spot, which we was kind of like what we were talking about that dynamic there where there's really no other option.
00:19:28
Speaker
And now we have another option in Cassie Miller. It's true. So she might be feeling the pressure. Yeah. Cassie Miller was hyped up after the game too. She looked so happy about that result. So that to me looks like a keeper that is invested and interested in maybe what could happen for her future playing there.
00:19:47
Speaker
Yeah.
Match Analysis and Strategies
00:19:48
Speaker
um We don't have it on the positives, but obviously we need to talk about Jordan Bugg's goal. Cause I just, we didn't need to even put it in there cause was so obvious.
00:19:57
Speaker
Jordan Bugg, not only is she a ridiculous center back, but apparently she can score absolute screamers. i She just doesn't, I don't know. i don't, it just looked physically impossible.
00:20:12
Speaker
Her form, like her form was like so effortless. She's like a little gazelle with the follow through. They always used to tell us in like old school soccer camp, like after you take your shot, hop the creek, land on your shooting foot.
00:20:27
Speaker
And like, that's literally what she did. The technique was so good. I've never seen somebody just do something so beautiful. It was so nice to see.
00:20:43
Speaker
it was incredible. and that Just the fucking audacity, right? For her so just pop up, take that take that first first touch. Which got just far enough ahead of her that she could just wind up.
00:20:58
Speaker
I love, yeah, I loved seeing, i mean, I love watching the replay for many reasons, but I think my favorite part is seeing, like, everyone else, like, running the opposite direction. they're all because no one's like jordan g stop g knew it was gonna happen if you look at g in the replays you just see her kind of look
00:21:19
Speaker
uh incredible absolutely incredible and i will you know i'm not gonna maybe it was something to do with me but my i don't know if you didn see me wearing my new new jersey turn around turn around i see it nice i knew I knew. It came that morning of the game. My bug jersey came the morning of the game.
00:21:38
Speaker
So I did have ah an idea, if anybody wants to do this. After she does something great, somebody needs to make a bug spray sign.
00:21:50
Speaker
it's like Like a little two-pole. I've seen the but the people also have been saying they're bugging out for Jordan Bug. Yeah, I did. I did Blue Sky that. Yeah. Bug Brigade is going strong.
00:22:02
Speaker
Bug Brigade, line up! it's ah It's unreal. She's absolutely unreal. Laura Harvey, thank you.
00:22:14
Speaker
yeah um There were a few negatives. We'll roll into that. Did you want to talk about Laura Harvey's jacket, though? Oh, yeah, I do. um Love a good jacket. Laura Harvey's jacket on the sideline.
00:22:26
Speaker
Did you notice it? Yeah, it was like a corduroy. yeah I went and found it It's on clearance at Nordstrom, which I hate. I love a clearance jacket, but it's it was like pretty expensive usually. And they have my size, but I already have a jacket almost exactly like that. doesn't have that nice little button collar. Oh, your Blue Sounders one?
00:22:49
Speaker
uh or is it a corduroy one yeah i mean it's the sounders jacket that they had worn that they embroidered but mine's the adidas one right yeah yeah i remember that it's a really nice jacket i like love that jacket and i feel like that was like the nike version but the corduroy was an extra nice classy touch so shout out laura harvey great jacket keep wearing cool jackets and i'll i'll shut them out so Like she shouts out Susie's. Yeah. i yeah shirt That's why I was like, I could shout out Laura. Laura needs to get some some love on her her fashion for you know o of her compliments to Susie. It's the least she deserves. I know she's always listening to the Cooler Guild and waiting for us to mention her her jacket choices.
00:23:36
Speaker
Anyways, ah yeah, so negatives. This is something I brought up last week and I'm getting a little nervous watching it.
00:23:45
Speaker
I know we're not saying it's a pattern yet, but... It's not a pattern. Well... Because last week we got scored on right after the second half started. Yeah, but I'm talking about like restarts, right? So we're not talking just half starts. I'm talking about restarts also.
00:24:02
Speaker
Right, but that chance after Fishlock scored when Jaden Shaw got in, that was a half chance. I don't know. It was a half chance. It was shit. we But we weren't controlling it, so that made me nervous.
00:24:15
Speaker
But it was taken care of. Okay, but I'm just saying it made me nervous. And then ah when the second half kicked off, they also had a pretty good chance. Like, they had a chance, too. We did handle them. I'm saying we did handle them.
00:24:26
Speaker
And then the the goal that they did get was three minutes after the bug goal. So that's not what I want to see. that was also like just like a weird goal super weird goal super super weird didn't um jordan bug kind of got she got cooked she got cooked she got cooked she went in full commitment and it did not work yeah she's just got to kind of hold her ground there but that's a learning thing i mean i would have been kind of maybe like that after scoring an absolute
Match Challenges and Defensive Errors
00:24:56
Speaker
ridiculous goal well and like a couple of shots before that they were showing her face and she was like backing up like
00:25:02
Speaker
Yeah, I'm like, girl, I get it. I get get it. I get it. But settle down. Settle down. It's only two. they They get one more and it might be a problem. Yeah. I don't think she'll do that again. I mean, she'll still score me, hopefully. I mean, if I. so Yeah, I mean, the it was her first goal.
00:25:18
Speaker
So first goal nerves, excitement released over that. She got cooked, but also Emily Mason was like straight up on the players. So they're like the the marking was there. It's not like the players were unmarked. Right. Yeah. I just trickled in.
00:25:30
Speaker
Yeah, and it was like a back. And then I was kind of being like, oh, why didn't Claudia and Nick Dickey die for that? And it was just like, it took her a
Commentary and Atmosphere Observations
00:25:36
Speaker
while to see it. Yeah. Because it had to go through the legs of two players. And then also there were two players sliding in trying to stop it.
00:25:45
Speaker
I don't want to get cleated in the face. No. It just was kind of looked bad. It looked bad, but it didn't. I don't know. It it was a bad moment.
00:25:56
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a fixable mistake, though. Yeah, it didn't seem like it was like the entire defense got broken down because North Carolina was brilliant. Exactly. That's the stuff you got to worry about more.
00:26:07
Speaker
it ah what ah What do he got next? i boom I... I don't know why this man has a job.
00:26:18
Speaker
Or why he covers so many games, at least. That... I might be able to listen to him like once a year. Yeah. That's. Yeah. But he doesn't fucking shut up.
00:26:31
Speaker
I need to make like shut up Mike Watts pins like the shut up Alexi pins. doesn't shut up but like it's about stuff that's not pertinent to the game. Right? No. So with the Jordan Bug goal.
00:26:44
Speaker
They're talking about um there's well, you can hear it in the replay when it plays. There's no there's not been a dearth of of goalkeeper talent. Oh, what is that? What a goal. And it's like, shut up. Stop saying things to fill just to fill the space.
00:27:02
Speaker
Yeah, you can be quiet. You can be quiet. You can tell people what's actually happening. Yeah. Yeah. You can put out fun stats. you were We were deprived of a very, very good call Jordan Books. There was another. I think it was the um international feed. Yeah. Had a different. Yeah, they had a very good ah call on that.
00:27:20
Speaker
And saw that after the first one, after I put the first one on my story. And I was like, oh, going to put the other one. I was like, here's without the shitty commentary. Make sure you email it to Mike.
00:27:31
Speaker
This is how you do it. And it's always just so like when he talks, I don't know. I think it's i just over it. And he covers so many games. Yeah. And he does all of the USL. It's too much. Pro games.
00:27:45
Speaker
He's our main guy. don't know if he does all of them, but does he just like not talk when he's done? Or is this how he's like all the time? I hope I never find out. Fair. um Last negative. I had to bring it up.
00:27:57
Speaker
The carry 5k is still going strong around the stadium. Always. Just a personal pet peeve of mine. You want to tell people what you mean by that?
Stadium and Fan Experience
00:28:05
Speaker
Yeah, if you didn't catch our episode that we covered last year when they went to North Carolina, but like It's like watching an ants in an ant farm.
00:28:13
Speaker
Like those little ant farm things you maybe had as a kid. right from this you know i didn't have one, but you know what i'm talking about. You can just see... Like the Lemmings game? Yeah. There's just people moving all the time. and I'm just like, go sit in your seat. But it's like a whole sporting complex. so I don't really know what's going on, but it's really... a stadium in a complex.
00:28:32
Speaker
yeah Yeah. There's entry into it. But I think it's their walkways. Their walkways are so visible that that's all you see. Yeah, but they also like their walk they have like a walkway and that goes through the front row. h That's what I'm saying. oh They need to re-block off something, maybe, because it's it's so distracting for someone like me, at least.
00:28:53
Speaker
I don't think it was as bad because it got a little bit darker on the day. I think there's date maybe it was daytime last time. Well, it was daytime in the beginning of the game this and it was also like super busy the last time. So it was even worse than this one. But I just wanted to make note that I still hate it.
00:29:08
Speaker
Yeah. I also did look up the park that they're in, like the sporting center they're in. Yeah. They do have a cross-country track that you can or like a cross-country. So go do your 5K there. Yeah.
00:29:20
Speaker
Yeah. We don't need to do in the stadium. Yeah, go run your cross country outside. Thank you. Okay. Whoa, so drama not spicy enough for you?
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Speaker
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Post-Match Insights and Player Returns
00:30:23
Speaker
Post-match presser notes. Did you listen to that? you watch it? I did. don't know if there's anything super of note that we haven't already covered. I did like that Harvey said again, i don't know if we would have done that last year.
00:30:37
Speaker
We're talking about being able to close out the game. Yeah, absolutely. That was nice to see because that's how I felt as well. Yeah, something dumb would have happened. For sure. i mean Like during the Louisville at home game.
00:30:50
Speaker
Yeah. like, oh, we might win. And then we give up a goal and go, oh, God. Yeah, I think the one thing maybe I just wanted to cover if people didn't catch this. ah She talked about the injuries that we had. And she was quote unquote hopeful that they might be back in some capacity next week. I don't know that that includes Lynn being Dello just just to, you know, dampen expectations on that a little bit because she is a was a high and low ankle sprain.
00:31:17
Speaker
Yeah. So it just takes a little bit more time to recover. And she sounded like Lynn was very disappointed. This is on a podcast. She was like, this happened like the week before the season started. So it couldn't have been worse. I mean, but I don't know. What grass field was she on when she did this? That's that's what I'm wondering. Because she said she stepped into like a little divot or something like that. they have a grass field. that Okay.
Individual Performances and Tactics
00:31:38
Speaker
somewhat um but Listen, maintenance crew. going to come find you if this happens again.
00:31:43
Speaker
ah Still better than that high school field they were training on when they were at Cheney. That's true. um The other thing I guess I would say is Harvey talked about how that she thought the team was in total control until the second goal. And then it kind of just seemed like maybe they got too comfortable, maybe a little bit of fatigue. just had their foot off the gas, which I think everyone could probably see that's exactly what happened. Yeah.
00:32:05
Speaker
um but also Yeah, she's also going to need to learn like with the players that she has now, like there's also going to be a bit of a curve for her to figure out, OK, well, that that's when this player is looking to looking and getting tired. Yeah, the press the whole time is maybe not going to work.
00:32:24
Speaker
I think it's going work, but i every day I think that you need to realize when it's not working. And if you want to keep doing it, you have to swap your players out. Yeah. and ah yeah Or change little things, which I think has had mentioned that in the two or three questions they had in the player one.
00:32:42
Speaker
Yeah. And just adapting to what was happening on the field. So they were capable of it. And they, you know, got three points, which is all that matters. Anything else you want to add before we move on to the player of the match?
00:32:57
Speaker
No. Okay. Cooler play the match. Cooler play 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 very first sponsor.
00:33:08
Speaker
Who are we who were you giving it to this week? i'm goingnna I'm going to say that maybe she listened to our podcast last week. Had to have. That's the only explanation. Has to have.
00:33:21
Speaker
That's two of James Turner. Yeah. Well done. Oh, absolute turnaround. And you might not have necessarily noticed it. If you're just watching. i mean, if you're just watching the highlights, you're not going to see it.
00:33:33
Speaker
But as a whole, she was everywhere she needed to be. And it just seemed like she stepped into like a position that somehow she understood.
00:33:46
Speaker
And it played out flawlessly this game. She came back and and blocked so many crosses, got in the way, helped out the defense. She was playing the sixth role pretty much.
00:33:57
Speaker
And I was blown away. Yeah, I think Fishlock was also blown away.
00:34:04
Speaker
I mean, I think Fishlock knew she had that in her, but like you could tell there was so much pride in that performance with with her and the way that she was reacting to her after the game um and in the press or like the post-match presser and stuff. It was very short, but I feel like you could just see Jess.
00:34:23
Speaker
She was excited for her because it doesn't seem like Haz is very... I don't know. She's kind of like a stoic, kind of not super expression person.
00:34:37
Speaker
Yeah. And you could tell Jess was just kind of giddy for her. i loved watching that. Yeah. I think, too, like you were saying in last week's episode, there's got there's something there. Mm-hmm.
00:34:50
Speaker
We knew that because we see it with the Welsh team. Where is it? Oh, there it is. Okay. Yeah. and he did I need to see the consistency, but the fact that she went from having a pretty horrible game to this is pretty neat.
00:35:04
Speaker
And at least makes me feel that like, okay, this might be the right player for this team. I'm going to expect it now. Yeah. She's capable of it. Do it every week. i like when I like when these like questionable choices that Harvey makes.
Podcast Sponsorship and Support
00:35:19
Speaker
We're like, oh, God, why are you doing this? And then you're like, no, that's why. Okay. Yeah, I think James Turner was on that that subreddit thing again. I think she was also on that list of players. Wow, I mean, maybe we're just we don't know anything we're talking about.
00:35:34
Speaker
This is why I don't coach anymore. yeah exactly. Let the coaches do what they need to do.
Final Match Thoughts and Player Shoutouts
00:35:40
Speaker
yeah so shout out james turner congrats second player this season for a cooler player of match the doctor's office is the blessed blessed hashtag blessed the doctor's office is the best place to grab a drink before or after a rain match.
00:35:58
Speaker
Take a page out of my book and try their vodka martini. Like a spy, their house vodka martini is precise, sneaky, and ice-cooled. It also comes in a cool little beaker thing.
00:36:09
Speaker
Anyway. Yeah, like a scientist. you know I got to like concoct my my own little drink. um Anyway, check out their Instagram at TDO Seattle or better yet, go drink there in person. Cheers.
00:36:20
Speaker
Cheers. Clink. Clink. Didn't do that last time. like Can we take a short break? Yeah, let's take a short break. We'll be right back.
Podcast Support and Membership Benefits
00:36:31
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network, which now includes Nos Anietes, Lobbing Scorchers, and The Cooler Guild. We've been independent since August of 2023. but need your support to make sure it continues.
00:36:44
Speaker
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00:36:57
Speaker
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00:37:12
Speaker
To find out more, just visit centeratheart.com and click the subscribe button in the top right corner. Thanks for listening.
Listener Q&A on Match Highlights
00:37:24
Speaker
We are back. We have got, it sounds like Van reached out. I have been enjoying the sunny weather and also trying to uncover a mystery in my house, which has been, I think, solved.
00:37:36
Speaker
Um, very mysterious. I know. Um, but Van had reached It was her shoe. Yep. That's all you're going to know. Um, keep the mystery flowing.
00:37:48
Speaker
Come back next week and maybe you'll find out what happened. Uh, Community questions. we She reached out into the Discord and got some stuff, apparently. So let's hear it.
00:38:00
Speaker
ah So best friend of the pod, Susie, Susie Rance, asked us, aside from the goals, what was your favorite thing about the match?
00:38:10
Speaker
I was like, I haven't even seen these questions. So really, we're just... I'm going for it. Best thing about... I saw in the match. Or the best thing about the match. About the match. Favorite thing about the match. I mean, I did really like Laura Harvey's jacket. Like, I looked it up later and tried to find it. um You want to go first?
00:38:28
Speaker
I was just going to reiterate the chemistry point. That was my favorite thing. Is just seeing the players working together being... being a team yeah i think i'll add on to that and i think my favorite part after seeing that little movie that they had was the huddle and just a speech in the huddle i can't tell you what it sounds like because i am not that kind of i don't have that energy that kind of energy but i yeah i really enjoyed seeing that huddle and and then kind of knowing how that ended as well it worked sometimes it's gonna get really cringy
00:39:08
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. I've seen some from some certain players. And some certain teams. Who I've definitely sent to you and been like, LOL. best This would make me want to quit the team.
00:39:23
Speaker
But not that one. That one's good. Another question from Susie. Emily Mason debut. Let's talk about it. How do you think she did? I think she did great. I think she did great. And I noticed in the first half... um They kind of had Jaden Shaw on that side a little bit.
00:39:38
Speaker
And then she actually switched over. mean, she kind of moves to both sides, but it seemed like Jaden Shaw had more success against Madison Curry than she did against Emily Mason.
00:39:52
Speaker
Jaden Shaw is very good, so that's not a huge knock on Curry. but No, not at all. Yeah, but yeah, agree. he's just a type of player. and and Yeah. I do think Harvey talked about this in her post-match presser, but Emily Mason was like primarily a center back, and...
00:40:13
Speaker
she was She hadn't trained as a fullback for like five years. And then you know this season and stuff, Harvey kind of switched her over to that. and the Outside back? yeah to Yeah, outside back, right back, right?
00:40:26
Speaker
So um this is a new thing for her. And I think maybe we're seeing the center back in her and her defensive prowess there.
00:40:37
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. I think that other than the kind of weird thing with the goal, there weren't any bad things to take away. were a couple times where you saw that she had some speed here and she was able to get back.
00:40:52
Speaker
And she did a really good job of like cutting players off right at the edge of the 18 on the outside. It's that youth, man. It's that youth. But again, that's ah and another young player that comes in and has ah successful game.
00:41:06
Speaker
so I mean, I talked about her in the preseason. no And I think that, again, there's... And I don't know how much more we can stress a preseason and a full preseason than the results that we're seeing now.
00:41:22
Speaker
i thought the I thought the comment was funny about, like... all it took to like get get this chemistry and the trust and team was they had to like murder each other because of the traitors game yeah they had murder each other first and now now everything's clicking now that they've murdered each other i mean suzy you'd probably have much more insight than we do about this Maybe not. I don't know.
00:41:46
Speaker
But I think that she played well and I liked what I saw out of her. And I liked the way that she was able to close players off. And she made a couple of really important tackles.
00:41:58
Speaker
So I'm excited to see more. What's next? June asked or said, I'd love to hear y'all's Claudia takes. To which I responded with the claw emoji.
00:42:09
Speaker
i I feel like you're being called out specifically.
Claudia Dickey and Team Depth
00:42:13
Speaker
Probably.
00:42:17
Speaker
Look, i i think she had a really good game. And I think we should see more of that. And this is what I wanted to see out of her. I never wanted her to be bad. I feel like everybody thinks I always wanted her to be bad. No, I just expected more.
00:42:33
Speaker
Yeah. And I think I'm so I think we're starting to see that because a lot of the time the last couple of seasons, she was making mistakes or not making saves that she should have made. We knew that she was capable of making and the consistency just wasn't there.
00:42:47
Speaker
But this entire match, she had that consistency. I think her distribution is also getting better. um She's smarter about where she's playing the ball. So I i i think, the yeah, I'm into it.
00:43:00
Speaker
I think we're seeing specifically, there was one save specifically where i was like, oh, there's the basketball player in her. Was it the big two-handed catch? Well, it was the one. She, like, oh tipped it, right? That was the one that I was, like, most critical of because I was like, girl, get both hands behind that ball. I was like, oh, God, this is not going to go well. But she tipped it up and then she caught it, right?
00:43:21
Speaker
But, like, I was really seeing her basketball, like, skills in this match. Yeah, that screamed basketball. It kind of makes me nervous when I see it happening.
00:43:32
Speaker
Because she got like a scholarship for being a basketball player, which a full ride, right? Like, ah so I guess I didn't realize it was that. Dual sport. Yeah, crazy. Yeah, she played a couple games for UNC.
00:43:43
Speaker
Crazy. So, i you know, i maybe I wasn't always supportive of of the dual sport athlete and this basketball thing that everyone's always like saying she's so good at it.
00:43:54
Speaker
Okay, maybe maybe I was wrong.
00:43:58
Speaker
No, I think that that's definitely not something that you should do in a soccer game. But we if you look back on that play, it was kind of out of nowhere and she got a hand behind it. Yeah. And was able to recover. So whatever. Yeah, she's got it. That's insane. It's not the prettiest shit you'll ever see, but it works.
00:44:11
Speaker
Yeah. As long as she can keep doing that, I'm into it. yeah, yeah. didn't hate it. No. Next up, ah we've got Rick. Welcome, Rick. ah Discuss the significance of this lineup and how much we can take from this going forward.
00:44:26
Speaker
It's early, they're young, but it looked solid and it was at North Carolina. Not really the lineup, but the depth and combo of players too and with significant players out. I think that's the biggest biggest thing for me is the depth.
00:44:38
Speaker
Yeah, and they're ready. that was like i think that was the question more so than anything else was, are these young players that we're going to be relying on with the depth, are they even ready?
00:44:50
Speaker
They're ready to even start and go and play North Carolina in North Carolina. Yeah. So hell yeah. and I'm fired up about it. and think, you know, when you're bringing players on like Lou Barnes towards it at the very end of the game, you're bringing um Olo. Olo got in, which was amazing to see.
00:45:10
Speaker
We've been waiting for that. But Meza came on. I think Meza played 20 minutes. Loved watching Meza. ah Yeah, Mesa came on in the 70th minute. Also, fun fact, 7.3 FopMob rating for 20 minutes.
00:45:22
Speaker
i I really enjoy watching her play. Me too. So I think that when you look at the players we started and the players that we were able to bring on... And even the players that are are backups, right? Or not even backups, but that were still left on the bench.
00:45:36
Speaker
You have Hannah Glass. You've got Julia Lester. Haven't seen a lot from her, but she's been good in the past. Ainsley McCammon, which we haven't seen a lot of her, but I'm sure that will come with time.
00:45:47
Speaker
And then Haidema. So I think the depth is there. and it Remember our depth last year?
Team Growth and Young Potential
00:45:54
Speaker
What depth? Exactly. It was a shallow. i like I don't know that we have maybe the... And this could happen. We don't know with these young players and maybe some of them will step up and be huge stars. But you look at the rain and I think people are like, well, you don't have a Barber Banda ah kind of thing, right?
00:46:12
Speaker
No one has a Barber Banda besides the Orlando. But... You what i mean, right? So i don't think we look at our team and like that's the superstar on our team, right? But I think we have so many interesting pieces who have so many different skill sets and now they have chemistry with each other. It's pretty, I think teams should be worried about us because they've also seemed to have ambitions too.
00:46:37
Speaker
And i think that, like you were saying, there's not a star player minus Biandolo, but she's not even playing. That's what I'm saying. That's, I guess, why I'm saying it's because she's not even playing yet. I was looking at the lineup from the last time we played ah North Carolina, which was August 25th, 2024. That was a home game.
00:46:55
Speaker
Excuse me. We played at Lumen Field. and And... and we At that point, we had Huerta. We had Quinn, Fishlock, Haidama, and King started. And off the bench, yeah, it was Athens, Montessir, Howell, Let's Go, Adames.
00:47:13
Speaker
it was all It was a lot of new. yeah and these players new new. Yeah, yeah. New to the team. No preseason. Just get in there and try your best, I guess.
00:47:25
Speaker
We did win that game. Did we? 1-0 on a Casey Murphy own goal in 90 plus 7. Do you remember this? ah Was that the Pino match? No, because that's the one that...
00:47:36
Speaker
What was the other goal? Well, they called Adama's goal a different goal, didn't they? They didn't credit that to her. The Pino match. They not? No. Was this the only goal game? That's what I was asking.
00:47:47
Speaker
ah this was the start of that three game win streak. Remember when I was like, are we going to make the playoffs? Okay. Anyhooser. We didn't. Down one of my ADHD rabbit holes there. So yeah, I think that we have the tools to be a successful team this year.
00:48:03
Speaker
and we're figuring out how to use them appropriately and successfully. And I don't care that we're pulling out a two to one win when you're getting blasted they know the last 20 minutes of the game.
00:48:16
Speaker
You're still winning. That's got to do. So thank you for the questions. You anything else you want to put on that
League Results and Social Issues
00:48:22
Speaker
stuff? No. oh Yeah, let's move on quickly. Wrap up the rest of the results from the league.
00:48:29
Speaker
Things that we saw that we liked or did not like. um I'm still keeping Casey on Fraud Watch. Yeah. I don't care that they won against the Spirit. I will say, i if if we're proving that they're not on Fraud Watch because they won, i would rather be wrong, and that means that the Spirit lost.
00:48:48
Speaker
I'm fine with that. um But going to keep them on Fraud Watch just because their first goal was a penalty, and does that really count? I don't know. Yeah.
00:49:00
Speaker
i don't I don't know. I just feel like they they they will do look they do look very threatening. It's just not completely there yet. It will probably get there. But for now, it's not. So yeah, that's where I'm at with it.
00:49:16
Speaker
ah Portland tied Angel City one to one. Battle of the boring teams. Battle of the boring. um Orlando beat Gotham 2-0, but there was an own goal, like a really, really terrible own goal, a minute and seven seconds into the match.
00:49:33
Speaker
And then the other goal was a penalty. Did you see this own goal? Mm-mm. Oh, it was bad. And it was this poor player's first professional start. Oh, no. No. Yeah. um There's also something that maybe we'll come back to. You want to at the end? um I mean, I feel we can just make note of it and make our thoughts known about it, I guess, because we've this episode's are already going on pretty long. But.
00:49:58
Speaker
um This game, the Orlando-Gotham game was in New Jersey. I think they play in New Jersey. um But there were some comments from some people, at least one person in the stadium, that they as a fan definitely caught them saying some transphobic and racist remarks towards Barbara Banda.
00:50:16
Speaker
um And I guess the person like went to tell security and they just got a warning to this person. So now there's like a league wide or like an investigation into what happened. Hopefully they get this person banned for for life. and There's no place for any of that in the sport.
00:50:34
Speaker
um I don't know. You know, no player deserves to be treated like that. ah Just because Barbara Banda is an incredible soccer player doesn't mean you get to be a piece of shit to to her.
00:50:46
Speaker
Yeah. Do you want to add on to that? I think that when we were like, were like du we don't tolerate this. We need to tell people we don't fucking tolerate this. The league needs to take a deafening fucking stand on this.
00:50:58
Speaker
Yeah. This needs to be addressed. This needs to be fucking killed at the start. This should not be happening in the NWSL. No. and it's yeah I feel like we might be getting the initial treatment that the WNBA has been getting. It's kind of at the start of that.
00:51:11
Speaker
When you see these influx, this work gets a little bit more popular. And you see this influx of people that don't understand that this these players, especially, and the culture surrounding this game does not fucking support your racist, transphobic bullshit.
00:51:30
Speaker
Yeah. Especially in the stadium. Yeah. Yeah. And with the current administration, it's it's just even more important than ever to make sure that you shut it down.
00:51:41
Speaker
Yeah. Shut it down. Shut it down quick. Yeah. Because she's going to to go back to Florida and play a lot of games. And that's not a good place to be when people are um deciding to be assholes, uninformed assholes.
00:51:52
Speaker
It just, and it's it happens all the time in the men's game, which it shouldn't. But, you know, there's always just like the, we stand for everyone, blah, blah. blah No, we don't stand with.
00:52:05
Speaker
No, we we we they try and put out these PC fucking press releases and shit. No. Find out who that person is, because I'm sure somebody probably got on a cell phone somewhere.
00:52:18
Speaker
It's probably on some sort of mic that picked it up. They usually have the emails of these people who sit in those seats. Yeah. It's not hard to identify these people. And get it out. Yeah. Done. You're done.
00:52:29
Speaker
Yeah.
Player Well-being and League Support
00:52:30
Speaker
Make a statement. Find them. I don't know. i'm I'm just I hate to see it. She doesn't deserve it. And I just if anybody fucking does that in Seattle, I will find you.
00:52:41
Speaker
Yeah, if you ever see anybody doing that shit, call them out and then also inform security and also do not make them feel welcome. So it's the best thing you can do. Yeah. It's not how we roll.
00:52:53
Speaker
I don't think I really have much else worth highlighting. There was pretty sick goal in the Bay game. Yeah, there was it was. It almost stole the goal the week from Bug, but Nah. Nah. It was a very good goal, though. Other thing, I guess one other thing. ah Bethany Balser ah is taking a mental health break from the sport.
00:53:12
Speaker
um Sounds like she's not finding joy in playing. and Don't know if the trade maybe had something to do with it. I'm sure that was not easy on somebody. um But I know she's also got a bunch of other stuff that she's working on outside of soccer. So I hope um she's all right.
00:53:28
Speaker
hope she gets on her feet. And yeah. I'm glad players are are able to take care of themselves. Yeah. Didn't used to have that in the league. Other results.
Recent Match Results and Team Call-ups
00:53:40
Speaker
Houston 2, Chicago 1,
00:53:45
Speaker
san Diego 3, Utah 2. That a high-scoring game. Houston did win. I'm just going to go ahead say. I know it she was against Chicago, but I'm still hyping up Houston. Yep.
00:53:56
Speaker
You enroll in the next thing. Yeah. so this, well, very recently, the U.S. Women's National Team call-ups happened. Kool is back.
00:54:08
Speaker
I mean, Kool. The graphic got messed up. The graphic got messed up and said Kool instead of Alana Kool. So bringing her back. Yeah. Good for her. Yeah. thats I mean, we knew that, like,
00:54:20
Speaker
She had it in her and hoped that her being able to move environments would facilitate her getting back to where she was. And apparently they're seeing that there. So very cool.
00:54:33
Speaker
Valantos Joyce. Hell yeah. If she gets, like I need to see her in a game. Yeah, she needs to play. Definitely. ah Rodman's back for the first time since the Olympics.
00:54:45
Speaker
It's fun. The Lily Yohannes hype train. Hop on. If you aren't already, ah then I don't know what you're doing with your life.
00:54:54
Speaker
love I always love any chance we get to see her. ah Yeah, Lily Yohannes is incredible. They're also going to announce the U23 camp um on Wednesday, and that's going to run at the same time
Upcoming Matches and Expectations
00:55:05
Speaker
as the U.S. Women's National Team April window.
00:55:07
Speaker
And I fear that we're going to have several players in that. Yeah, we don't have any because I assume just because of Biendo's injury, that's why she's not getting the call up. Plus, they want to look at other people.
00:55:18
Speaker
um But yeah, I think that's where we're going get hit.
00:55:22
Speaker
But good for them. They deserve it. They'll earn it. Hopefully we're deep enough and maybe get some other people back. We don't play a lot of games during that break, though. But still, I don't want to see anything bad happen to them.
00:55:33
Speaker
That's true. um But I think it'll also be ah when we do have one or two games during that period. um It'll be a test test for the yeah ah the bench.
00:55:44
Speaker
And same with other teams because they've also got players. It's not just us. It's everybody. So that that depth that we've been touting will be put to the test.
Team Signings and Development
00:55:52
Speaker
Yep. ah Other things in the NWSL. The Reign announced today that they sign ah Sally Menti to a short-term contract through June 2025.
00:56:00
Speaker
And she was with us through the preseason. I watched um her highlight video from college. and this girl can play a through ball. She can drop a dime.
00:56:13
Speaker
it'll be interesting to see that. Excited for that. Got another one of your favorite ah Brazilian players. Oh, I don't want oh i want them on Gotham.
00:56:23
Speaker
We're being honest here. That's the last team I want to see Brazilian on. Well, maybe Spirit. But second would be Gotham. But yeah, Gotham signed a Brazilian. like Do you how to pronounce it properly?
00:56:37
Speaker
Did not look that up. I don't know to say it. mean, I am usually know a little bit of Portuguese pronunciations, but I'm a little bit of a lost. Geisse? Geisse? Yeah, you see? Sure. When she gets her first goal or something, I'll go.
00:56:50
Speaker
um Yeah, that's just a loan for Manchester United, though. ah Next match for the Reign. We got Reign versus Angel City on Sunday, March 30th, 5 p.m. in L.A. That one's going to be on CBS Sports Network.
00:57:02
Speaker
ah Have fun finding that. It's on Paramount Plus, too. Is it, though? Sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's tricky. don't That's said good luck. um Because I have trouble sometimes. ah Previous results for Angel City.
00:57:14
Speaker
What do we got? They have 1-1 draws. They have two points.
Expectations for Angel City Match
00:57:18
Speaker
They played San Diego and Portland and they tied both games 1-1. Yeah, they're not... Yeah. but should i We should go there and win. You were saying maybe this undefeated streak might end, but like we should beat we should beat them.
00:57:31
Speaker
Yeah, we should beat them. They look lost. Unless there's a really good crowd or something. i don't know. I know. I think that from what I've seen from us compared to what I've seen from Angel City, we should go there and win.
00:57:44
Speaker
Yeah. And if they can shut down Alyssa Thompson, then we will have even more of a chance. I feel good about it. How do you I put things that we want to see. I mean, I spoke for you and me, I guess, because you didn't put anything else. No, I totally agree.
00:58:00
Speaker
i want to see a clean sheet. Yeah, I saw you put that and I was like, yep, that's exactly what I want to see, too. Our defense has been good. It hasn't been great yet. Just because I think we're capable of getting a clean sheet.
00:58:12
Speaker
Yeah. i don't think there's any reason we can't do that against Angel City. No, especially if you're able to, like I said, shut down Alyssa Thompson. Shout outs. What do you got?
Reign's Video Content Quality
00:58:22
Speaker
I wanted to shout out the Reigns video team.
00:58:24
Speaker
We talked about kind of the content that they've been putting out. And it's just been really good. And even as somebody that's like going to be a fan either way. Mm-hmm. It's really, really good to see, especially like the quality. Yeah. It's not even the amount of content of content.
00:58:40
Speaker
It's the quality of the content. And it's it just finally feels like the front office is able to do what they've been wanting to do for a while.
00:58:52
Speaker
Yeah, it's what the team deserves. They need this kind of coverage and they've deserved it for a long time. And, you know, the best best part about women's soccer is always the storytelling storytelling for me.
00:59:02
Speaker
So it's it's fun to finally kind of see that investment um and have that that fund the funds behind it to to give out this kind of product, video product and all that stuff. Yeah.
00:59:15
Speaker
I'm looking forward. I'm hoping they're going to do more of these things. It seems like i don't maybe maybe they're only doing them for wins. I don't really know. ah That would kind of make sense, I guess.
Content Improvements and Fan Connection
00:59:23
Speaker
But they seem to have a lot of footage like ready to go with that. So I was curious on kind of what they what they're doing there. But maybe could find out later. I don't know.
00:59:32
Speaker
Maybe it's secret. Secrets.
00:59:36
Speaker
No, I've thoroughly, like, I'm not a huge YouTube person other than watching, like, game highlights and things. Yeah, me too. So. It's getting me on there. I have turned alerts on on YouTube for rain content.
00:59:50
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, the traders, I mean, the traders, they could definitely up the ah audio quality next time. But they got the subtitles, so I knew what was going on. Yeah. So I ah just shout out to whoever's on the Rain video team.
01:00:04
Speaker
I can look it up. But it I'm going to wait till you keep doing your good good shit. Yeah. And then we'll do a whole thing. think that's pretty much it for the episode, right?
Sponsor Acknowledgements and Support
01:00:12
Speaker
Yeah. think we always we want to thank our sponsors, the doctor's office and Hacks and Ferments.
01:00:17
Speaker
If you want to go follow us on Blue Sky or Instagram, we're at Cooler Guild Pod. You can send us an email. We love an email. ah the cooler gill At at gmail.com. Go to our main website. Wait, what? what I was just going to say the same thing. It's fine. Okay. You can go to our main website, sounderatheart.com forward slash the Cooler Guild. They're not doing pop-ups to try encourage you to go and get a subscription.
01:00:41
Speaker
Highly recommend it. Although you can get most of this stuff for free, especially them for their email subscriptions. But that's how you support local independent soccer coverage. Which is super important. Yeah, absolutely. Because if we were on a main, some weird thing, we were on a ah main big company, we wouldn't have the ability to have the expression and creativity that they allow us.
01:01:07
Speaker
That's right.
Episode Wrap-up and Listener Engagement
01:01:08
Speaker
And with their upgraded cameras, we're slowly but surely getting stuff together on YouTube. I'm apologizing right now that our audio is not synced up. but it's amateur hour over here.
01:01:21
Speaker
ah But we are working on it. We are trying to get to the bottom of it. But if you want to go follow us, give us a click. YouTube.com at The Cooler Guild. Yeah, it's the same audio.
01:01:32
Speaker
We just get the video. The audio just seems to be a little bit before the video or after the video. Yeah, it's a more uncut version, though. So if you're looking for, you know... Looking for some extras for every time I fuck up.
01:01:45
Speaker
That's where you go. That's exactly where you go. We are getting a few more followers on there. Subscribers? what do you call them? I don't know. We'll figure it out. But that's the future.
01:01:55
Speaker
We are growing just like the team. ah Go rate wherever you listen. Five stars. Till next time. Stay cool, y'all.
01:02:07
Speaker
I'm Van. I'm Coop. Bye. Bye.
01:02:27
Speaker
Has it resumed on your side?
01:02:38
Speaker
No, I just like unpaused it and Van just put out the biggest burp. I didn't like tell her I unpaused it. thought she would just notice. I just sat down! Oh my god.
01:02:50
Speaker
ah oh my god