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like victory for all of us. Good

1:08

morning and welcome into attacking third.

1:10

It is Tuesday. We have a

1:12

huge show planned for you today.

1:14

We are talking UEFA Women's Champions

1:16

League. We're doing a quarterly NWSL

1:19

check -in scene where we are

1:21

and picking our April NWSL team

1:23

of the month, a packed show

1:25

with analysis and a lot of

1:27

talk about women's football. And of

1:29

course, I can't do it alone

1:32

alongside Sandra Herrera and Jen Beatty.

1:34

I'm Lisa Carlin. We are live

1:36

on YouTube 11 a .m. Eastern on

1:38

Tuesdays and Thursdays plus Sunday

1:40

nights after NWSL action. And as

1:42

always, you can listen to

1:44

us as a podcast anywhere you

1:46

get your podcast. Now we've

1:48

got our very own Jed Beatty

1:50

in London. Jen, good morning.

1:52

How are you? I guess it's like good afternoon

1:54

there. How are you friend? It

1:56

is. It's early evening. I'm

1:59

getting excited to potentially watch Arsenal tonight

2:01

and it's very much. Arsenal focus this

2:03

past week. What a moment it is

2:05

for the club. So, yeah, I'm so

2:07

excited, but we'll have fun nonetheless, right?

2:09

It's only because you're at a pub,

2:11

right? Preparing for the game. Yeah,

2:13

I've blurred my background because I'm actually at

2:15

the pub already. That's pretty much what's happening.

2:18

Don't expose her. Don't expose her.

2:20

Yeah, go on. I told you

2:22

that off camera. I know what's

2:24

going on here. What's going on? Big

2:26

week, big week. Pray your hands in the

2:28

chat for beauty. We're going to have

2:31

fun today. Yes, we absolutely are. It's so

2:33

good to be back with you guys.

2:35

I feel like it's been a minute since

2:37

I've been on a three talking with

2:39

you all. So this is going to be

2:41

good. We start overseas. We're going to

2:43

follow our friend Jen to the pub today

2:45

because UEFA Women's Champions League final is

2:47

set. We have an advancement

2:49

of Arsenal and Barcelona set

2:51

for the final May 24th.

2:53

It's taking place in Lisbon.

2:55

But how the heck did

2:57

we get here? It was

2:59

leg two action. That was

3:01

insanity. The score lines had

3:03

Barcelona defeating Chelsea 4 -1

3:05

in leg two. That was

3:07

8 -2 on aggregate. Holy cow,

3:09

Barcelona showed out. And meanwhile

3:11

for Arsenal, they defeated Leone

3:13

in leg two 4 -1.

3:15

So that was 5 -3 on

3:17

aggregate. Jen, you were... both

3:20

of these games, leg one

3:22

and leg two for Arsenal

3:24

against Leone. You were on

3:26

the call for them. It

3:28

set the scene for us. Like you

3:31

were in Leone for this leg two. How

3:33

the heck did Arsenal pull off this

3:35

insane comeback? It

3:37

was unbelievable. Honestly, it

3:39

felt like the perfect game for

3:41

Arsenal. Everything went to plan. They

3:43

executed it tactically exactly how they

3:45

would have wanted it to go.

3:48

I honestly think, though, we spoke about this

3:50

on A3. If you had just looked

3:52

at the history of Lyon, of course they

3:54

were the favourites. But based off the

3:56

first leg, Arsenal had chances. This

3:58

game, they executed it perfectly. I will

4:00

say as well, Lyon made

4:03

some really uncharacteristic mistakes. They played the

4:05

morning in midfield. Hegerberg was in

4:07

the starting line -up, which was not

4:09

the normal that we've seen from Lyon,

4:11

but... took advantage of every chance

4:13

they got. They started fast. Even the

4:16

second half, they came out flying

4:18

again. Just when you think Leon might

4:20

do something different to come back

4:22

into the tie. No, they

4:24

went through nothing up. So it was the

4:26

perfect night for Arsenal. And what a

4:28

night to go make their first final after

4:30

18 years. It's just an unbelievable moment

4:33

for the club. And I for one felt

4:35

incredibly lucky to get down pitch side

4:37

and be able to give Kim Little her

4:39

player of the match award. It was

4:41

just an awesome, awesome day. And I'm so

4:43

proud of everyone involved for what they've

4:45

done to kind of beat the friends giants,

4:47

right? Because what a team they are.

4:49

And you're looking at the list of players

4:51

that this Leon side had, the

4:54

summer coming off the bench, Madri coming

4:56

off the bench. You're constantly looking, can they

4:58

change it? What are they going to

5:00

do next? But Arsenal rided it, railed it

5:02

out, man. They did awesome. And ultimately,

5:04

it doesn't get much bigger than Arsenal, Barcelona

5:06

in the final, let's be honest. Yeah,

5:09

I love it. You

5:12

have to tip your cap

5:15

to Arsenal in this

5:17

one. I think there was

5:19

this eerie feeling for

5:21

neutrals, perhaps that this campaign

5:23

was gearing up to

5:25

see a familiar final, but

5:27

I love the stunner. That's what

5:29

it was for me when it's an

5:32

absolute stunner by Arsenal. It just

5:34

looked like they landed that perfect punch.

5:36

And it just was daisy and

5:38

hazy throughout the rest of the match.

5:40

It was just you saw how

5:42

difficult it was for the only just

5:44

sort of snap out of things

5:47

and be able to come back. It

5:49

didn't matter that they were at

5:51

home, but maybe if they had some

5:53

some advantage in that sense out

5:55

the window, didn't matter. And it's that's

5:57

the beautiful thing about Champions League.

5:59

Yesterday, Darian and Lowe talked about big

6:02

five moments in games, whether it's

6:04

the first five minutes after the kickoff,

6:06

after the halftime, or after a

6:08

goal is scored and for Arsenal. in

6:11

this game against Leon. It was

6:13

big five moments that constantly set

6:15

the tone, changed the momentum in

6:17

the gunner's way because they scored

6:19

in the opening five, forcing an

6:21

own goal. And then right before

6:24

and right after halftime, they get

6:26

another two. It was like a

6:28

one -two punch for Leon heading

6:30

into the break and then coming

6:32

out of the halftime as well.

6:34

The game plan for Arsenal, I

6:36

don't think I've ever seen a

6:39

team execute their plan so effectively,

6:41

so efficiently as well, and really

6:43

without. any hiccups in

6:45

watching this. And I

6:47

think it's always twofold, right? When you

6:49

have to look at both times, both

6:51

sides and both teams because Leon played

6:53

pretty poorly as well. I think they

6:55

came out really flat footed. Their game

6:57

plan was not executed as well. They

7:00

also had a lot of individual mistakes

7:02

that mentally you can kind of get

7:04

caught up and tripped up in your

7:06

head. And to concede an own goal

7:08

in the opening five minutes of a

7:10

leg two match when you only have

7:12

a one goal advantage coming into this

7:14

game. And then five minutes in, it's

7:16

tied up again on aggregate. That

7:19

mentally is so deflating. And

7:21

for Arsenal, it lifted them up.

7:23

It had them take on

7:25

another level and another step in

7:28

this game. I

7:30

think off the back of that as well, Lisa,

7:32

talking about the five minutes at

7:34

half time, my whole conversation was

7:36

right. What will Leon do differently?

7:38

Because they have to change something. They

7:41

didn't make substitutions. They didn't really change

7:43

anything tactically. And then they go another go

7:45

down. I was, I was waiting for

7:47

that. What are they going to change? What

7:49

are they going to do? Cause you

7:51

know, even, even sat there with Arsenal being

7:53

ahead, I'm always looking at, right, you

7:55

got the summer of the bit, summer on

7:57

the bench, Madrid on the bench, Vanda

7:59

Donk, who I personally think should have started.

8:01

She did so well in the first

8:03

leg in terms of the press in the

8:05

midfield. And I'm thinking, right, what are

8:07

they going to change? And I think the

8:09

changes came late, but you're, you're spot

8:11

on that there was. Opening five minutes and

8:13

then right after halftime those key moments

8:15

in the game are something advantage of every

8:17

mistake that Leon made In

8:19

previewing this game, Jen,

8:21

you talked a lot about how, I mean,

8:23

you were at leg one, and you talked

8:25

about how leg two is so different. And

8:27

there are vast differences between playing a leg

8:29

one and a leg two. It's against the

8:31

same opponent. One is home, one is away.

8:34

And Arsenal had fallen now in leg

8:36

one of both the quarterfinals and

8:38

the semifinals. So we knew against Real

8:40

Madrid that they had it in

8:42

them to come back in leg two

8:45

of this game. Watching

8:47

this game unfold in front of you,

8:49

what was the biggest difference that

8:51

you saw from Arsenal Lyon from leg

8:53

one to leg two? I

8:55

think they just didn't chase the game.

8:57

I think that the worst thing that Arsenal

8:59

could have done was go all out

9:01

from minute one. They took their moments well

9:04

in the right times. They knew when

9:06

to press and they knew when to set

9:08

off and just allow Lyon to have

9:10

little bits of spells of possession and they

9:12

understood. You can't go

9:14

against Leon because you'll be hitting the counter

9:16

when you've got Chowinga, Dianne up ready

9:18

to go on the other end and counter

9:20

attack you and really hurt you. So

9:23

I think for me, they were spot on

9:25

with the moments that they picked and when the

9:27

advantage was there. And they were

9:29

clinical. I said it before, there

9:31

was four shots on target for each

9:33

team in the first leg. The difference was

9:35

Leon took the chances. The difference

9:37

in this game, Arsenal smashed it into the

9:39

back of the net. every single

9:41

time there was an opportunity and they just looked

9:43

so confident. I feel like there was a massive

9:46

belief that they could go and do it. I

9:48

think at home you're a little bit hesitant, you

9:50

know it's over two legs, you know you're

9:53

careful or a little bit more thought out.

9:55

I feel like they had discipline, they were mentally

9:57

engaged for 90 minutes and it was it

9:59

was really awesome to see. Every

10:01

time Arsenal leveled up in this game,

10:04

and they want to tackle or they

10:06

went in a little harder, they looked

10:08

like they wanted it a little bit

10:10

more. And every time Arsenal took a

10:12

step forward, it looked like

10:14

Leone took a step back. And it

10:16

was very, very, very uncharacteristic of

10:18

this Leone side, right? It's not very

10:20

often that we see them, Dianne,

10:23

DuMorne, Shewinga, Hedgerberg,

10:25

Hurran, or Lindsay Heaps.

10:28

not influencing the game every time

10:30

they're on the ball and they

10:33

really weren't they were stifled defensively

10:35

and I think like a lot

10:37

of the individual mistakes that came

10:39

down to some of the weak

10:41

points in this game for Leon

10:43

is what mentally hurt them that

10:45

allowed them to not even be

10:47

able to climb back because at

10:49

halftime you're exactly right. I want

10:51

to change is I wanted to

10:53

just see a little bit more

10:55

gumption from Leon in that second

10:58

half and and we We didn't

11:00

get it by any means. So

11:02

Arsenal take down the Giants. They

11:04

advanced to a final for the

11:06

first time since 2007 when they

11:08

won. And Kim Little, you

11:11

gave her, Jen, the man of the

11:13

match, the player of the match trophy

11:15

after this game. She's been with Arsenal

11:17

for so long, and now she gets

11:19

to make it to a final. I

11:22

got to see some interviews and some

11:24

chat with her, but What did she say

11:26

to you in talking about, like, how

11:28

big this moment is for her? You

11:31

know what, that's such a

11:33

good question, because even him,

11:35

by nature, is a quiet

11:37

person. But I've

11:39

never seen her that quiet

11:41

after a game. I think

11:43

she was just so, I

11:45

guess, enamored by the whole

11:47

occasion. She's worked her entire life

11:49

for big moments like this, and she's

11:52

actually signed the year after the Arsenal

11:54

won it. So to give that context,

11:56

it's been 18 years since that final,

11:58

since they won it. She signed the

12:00

year after. So this is, of

12:02

course, she's gone out and played

12:04

in NWSL and Melbourne and gained

12:07

experience, but she has been unbelievably

12:09

loyal to Arsenal. She's captain the

12:11

team for so long. I

12:13

think she was just blown away by the fact

12:15

that, you know, and again, being

12:17

being Scottish, we haven't made many

12:19

major tournaments. So domestic club level is

12:21

kind of really high

12:23

level is as good as it's going to

12:25

get. So to get to

12:27

a Champions League final for her

12:29

having been knocked out so many times

12:31

at semi -final level was just a

12:33

huge moment. And as of May,

12:36

as she's one of my best friends

12:38

off the pitch, I've known her

12:40

since I was 15 and I've never

12:42

seen her so... quietly

12:45

happy. She was almost so emotional

12:47

about the whole thing. And I think

12:49

anyone who knows Kim, she's

12:51

a very together person. She's very calm and

12:53

collected. So to see her in that

12:55

moment and be able to give her a

12:57

player the match of the warden and

12:59

bear in mind she's 35 this summer and

13:01

she is not past her prime. Can

13:04

I just say that she's I feel like

13:06

just always in her prime. The way

13:08

she just shows up at these high level

13:10

games and just gives

13:12

performances. I will say Arsenal

13:14

dominated that midfield, but Kim little is at the heart

13:16

of that. And she will, she's so calm. She's

13:18

the kind of person you look to on the pitch

13:20

to be like, how do we solve this? What

13:22

do we do now? And I think she led that

13:24

team the entire way. And I think a lot

13:26

of people have come out and said that as well,

13:28

that it was, they were so happy

13:30

for Kim in those moments, but she

13:33

was emotional. And I hope she doesn't mind

13:35

me saying that because she's normally about

13:37

very well together. person and,

13:39

you know, it was just nice to

13:41

see her enjoy that moment and I

13:43

was so proud of her as a

13:45

best friend. Oh, yeah. I

13:47

mean, it was, she ran

13:49

that midfield. She ran this game.

13:51

It ran through her. Oh,

13:53

that's an awesome picture. That's

13:55

an awesome picture. I didn't realize how tiny she was.

13:58

Well, I do call

14:00

her little Kim for a reason. which

14:04

is looking, but no, and also I'm kind

14:06

of tall. So I'm maybe making her look

14:08

smaller, but no, she's also. Yeah,

14:11

we're showing a picture right now

14:13

of Jen handing Kim the player of

14:15

the match trophy that comes from

14:17

a Champions League game. And Jen's

14:19

got her arm around her. It's like big

14:21

sister, little sister kind of in the best

14:23

way. I get it. I'm tall too, Jen.

14:27

Big game for Kim. Exciting for you.

14:29

Hopefully Kim has had a couple

14:31

of days now to soak it in.

14:34

But really, it's looking ahead to

14:36

this final that is set

14:38

coming up on May 24th against

14:40

Barcelona. A team, Sandra, that

14:42

has just ran through this Champions

14:44

League run. Absolutely. And then

14:46

not really surprisingly as well because

14:48

of the last four Champions

14:50

Leagues, Barcelona has won three of

14:53

them. They've won the last

14:55

two. They're looking to go for

14:57

a three -peat. And they just

14:59

crushed Chelsea. They blew them

15:01

out eight -two on aggregate. They

15:03

looked like they were

15:06

playing against bottom of the

15:08

WSL table team instead

15:10

of Chelsea, a team

15:12

that is about to win the

15:14

WSL Sandra. Barcelona was so

15:16

dominant all over the pitch. I

15:19

mean, what makes Barcelona so

15:21

good right now? I

15:23

mean, right now and in general,

15:25

Barcelona's their tactics, but more

15:27

so than that, their culture, their

15:29

identity. I don't think we

15:32

get any. clear

15:34

examples of the joggernaut that

15:36

Barca has become over the

15:38

last decade than in Champions

15:40

League. There are moments where

15:42

we have seen in these

15:44

high stakes games closer to

15:46

these ending top -end rounds where

15:48

the, yes, the stakes are

15:50

very high, but the competition

15:52

is also incredibly elite as

15:54

well, typically. We saw

15:56

them get challenged a little bit in last

15:58

year's campaign, but... within those

16:01

challenges, they constantly find a

16:03

way because the thing that teams

16:05

aren't going to do against

16:07

this Barcelona side as they exist

16:09

is shake them of their

16:11

cultural identity and their soccer, footballing

16:13

identity. That is something that

16:15

is never shattered. We don't see

16:17

them challenging that. We don't

16:19

see them break that. Maybe

16:22

there are moments where we can

16:24

look back in last year's campaign

16:26

to this year's campaign and say,

16:28

okay, perhaps they're going to have

16:30

a grinder of a match. Maybe

16:32

the other side will make it

16:35

a bit more difficult that they

16:37

try to kind of make things

16:39

narrow, bunker in. doesn't matter. They

16:41

found a way lesser and they

16:43

definitely found a way through this

16:45

year. I mean, we're talking, it

16:47

doesn't matter if it was the

16:50

first leg or the second leg.

16:52

For one on each leg, there's

16:54

nothing within it to critique as

16:56

far as weaknesses go at this

16:58

point. They are the team to

17:00

be in Champions League. Even

17:02

the manner in which Barcelona came

17:04

out against Chelsea, right? It was 3

17:06

-0. by half time. And then they

17:09

got another one in the 90th

17:11

minute. Chelsea didn't even get their one

17:13

lone goal in this leg two

17:15

until stoppage time at the end of

17:17

the game. And it was almost

17:19

like, OK, good try. Little sister had

17:22

to go home. Yeah, like you're

17:24

being here. Yeah, like way to try,

17:26

way to show up, which was

17:28

so it's so uncharacteristic of Chelsea. This

17:30

is a team that has built

17:32

their club over the last several years

17:35

around winning Champions League. That is

17:37

the goal for the Blues because because

17:39

winning the WSL comes easily to

17:41

them relatively at this point. They

17:43

want to win Champions League. That's why saying goodbye

17:45

to Emma Hayes was not necessarily in the cards

17:48

for them, but they had to do that. So

17:50

they said, OK, what do we do to win

17:52

Champions League? We go out and get Sonia Bonpastore

17:54

as our manager. And she

17:56

just wanted as a player. She's wanted as

17:58

a manager. This is going to be

18:00

our to get there. Now, there's a lot

18:02

of injuries and a lot of rotation

18:04

that Chelsea had to deal with in this

18:06

game. that

18:08

all aside, Barcelona outplayed them in

18:11

every single phase of it. Even

18:13

if Chelsea had, in my opinion,

18:15

Lauren James, if they had Katerina

18:17

Macario starting, if they had full

18:19

fitness, even Sam Kerr, I'm going

18:21

to say, throw her into the mix at

18:23

full fitness, Barcelona still outplayed

18:26

Chelsea hands down in both

18:28

of these legs. Jen, what

18:30

did you notice? Yeah,

18:32

I actually totally agree. I don't

18:34

think it's a reflection on Chelsea

18:36

in a negative way. I think

18:38

this is a reflection of how

18:40

good Barcelona are. When I'm watching

18:42

them, whether it's Pino coming off

18:44

the bench or Puteas coming back

18:46

to form, watching Barcelona play is

18:48

the style of play that every

18:50

single team wants to play like,

18:52

but don't necessarily have the players.

18:55

And we're also seeing Barcelona having come

18:57

through this generation of unbelievable

18:59

academy players. There's just the strength and

19:01

depth in that squad for it to

19:04

come through. And they've been training this

19:06

style of play since the majority of

19:08

the team were kids. You're watching Bon

19:10

Mati come through the ranks. And these

19:12

guys, I've been training the

19:14

way that they play since they were

19:16

young. And not even just the

19:18

style and the tactics, but with each

19:20

other as well. Exactly. So

19:22

no, I think it's we have to

19:24

give all the respect to Barcelona and what

19:26

they've done because that kind

19:28

of level on aggregate over two

19:30

legs is unbelievable at semi -final.

19:33

And trust me, when I say

19:35

the narrative back in England, Chelsea

19:37

have dominated this season. So

19:39

they have really won

19:41

back -to -back wins, consecutive in

19:43

WSL, teams have struggled

19:46

to compete with them in

19:48

England week -to -week. Bon

19:50

Pastor has done incredibly well and you

19:52

are right. Of course, they are missing Sam

19:54

Kerr, Lauren James. I will say, I

19:57

think starting German, it was a huge jump

19:59

for her to come straight into that

20:01

kind of level of game. Even

20:03

playing Baltimore as a way forward,

20:05

I think she's been unbelievable at

20:07

the outside back role this season.

20:10

But still, I think all the respect has

20:12

to be given to Barcelona and what

20:14

they've done against Chelsea over two legs. They've

20:18

they've stormed to the final and by

20:21

far the favourites going in against Arsenal that

20:23

is the style of play It's almost

20:25

unmatched by anyone else and we talk about

20:27

even looking compare them to man city

20:29

men You know the style of play that

20:31

was unmatched at certain points. That's what

20:33

you're seeing with this Barcelona women's team They

20:35

are phenomenal to watch you're watching it

20:37

thinking wow Exactly.

20:40

And not just in the semifinal,

20:42

4 -1 both legs against Chelsea, but

20:44

against Wolfsburg. It was a 4

20:46

-1 win and then a 6 -1

20:48

win. It is insane. So now

20:50

we get to see Barcelona against

20:52

Arsenal in the final. Barcelona, the

20:55

clear favourites heading into this

20:57

one. They face off May

20:59

24th, 12 noon Eastern time

21:01

in Lisbon, Portugal, but it's

21:03

just one match. It is

21:06

a one -off. And Barcelona? They

21:08

have dominated, dominated throughout this

21:10

Champions League run in domestic play

21:12

as well. And I'm going

21:15

to be honest, guys, I'm nervous

21:17

for Arsenal because they have

21:19

gone down in leg one of

21:21

both the quarters and the

21:23

semis. And now they only

21:25

have one game to do it, and they're

21:27

going up against the champions. Jen, and they're

21:29

coming off our arguably Arsenal's best game of

21:31

the year so far. Is it possible to

21:33

do it again? It's

21:35

funny you say that because actually one of

21:37

the things that Kim said to me afterwards.

21:39

Thank goodness. It's only one game. So I

21:41

don't think you want to come up against

21:43

Barcelona twice, right? Like you want to just

21:45

execute one game the best way possible. And

21:47

I honestly think they'll have learned so much

21:49

from the Chelsea game and kind of moments

21:51

that they maybe think they could have done

21:53

better. But this is a

21:56

90 minute obviously the extra time is possible

21:58

in a final, but it's a. I

22:00

don't think you'd want to play Barcelona twice

22:02

because even if you nail it once,

22:04

there's the thought, right? We'll do that again.

22:06

So I think they're quite happy that

22:08

it's over one leg. But I understand what

22:10

you're saying. They've had to come back

22:12

from a deficit multiple times this season and

22:14

weren't able to get it done over

22:16

90 minutes against top teams. Always needed a

22:18

second game. But I genuinely think

22:20

they'll be quite glad this one's just one game

22:22

and it's all or nothing on this one. Right?

22:25

OK, you don't want to play him over

22:27

two legs. Do you even really want to

22:29

play him for potentially 120 minutes? Like, come

22:31

on. Arsenal's

22:34

like, can we petition for just a

22:36

45 -minute game? Just

22:38

do 45 against them.

22:40

No, man. Listen,

22:42

good on them. At this point,

22:45

this is for all the marbles,

22:47

right? Like, if you are

22:49

the final two teams competing for

22:52

this extremely prestigious title, you

22:54

more than deserve to be there. You've

22:56

earned your way there. And so not to

22:58

take nothing away from Arsenal. I know

23:00

we've got a poll going right now to

23:02

get people's takes. But again, I'm sure

23:04

if you're the neutral, kind of

23:06

zoning in on this potential final at

23:08

the end of May, you're

23:10

like, oh, surely this is, Vars has got it

23:13

in the bag, right? But that's not necessarily true because

23:15

of all of these other kind of high stakes

23:17

that kind of come into play. The one off that

23:19

it's just one game to kind of crown the

23:21

next winner. And I hope

23:23

that look the tape is out there,

23:25

right? They have a whole campaign.

23:27

They have a whole slew of games

23:29

to prep for this. I

23:31

think alongside writing this big win

23:33

into the final arsenals got some of

23:35

that momentum as well. They've got

23:37

some of that belief that the underdog

23:39

component that folks aren't going to

23:41

maybe have placed upon them that they're

23:44

going to look at this game

23:46

and say that it is Barca's twin

23:48

and arsenal. So I hope in

23:50

that sense They showcase

23:52

some of their technique. They showcase

23:54

some of their ability to

23:56

make those adjustments. It's not going

23:58

to be like preparing for

24:00

Leon. You have to prepare for

24:02

a very specific type of

24:04

team. So I do hope. Like

24:06

we saw against Leon that there

24:09

are moments where Arsenal can pick and

24:11

choose and take it to Barcelona,

24:13

but they're going to have to be

24:15

incredibly calculated and strategic in some

24:17

ways to do that. I mean, there's

24:19

a lot of talent there across

24:21

the board and hopefully it ends up

24:23

being a good game. Arsenal has

24:25

to give a lot of respect to

24:27

Barcelona. I think they will. I

24:30

think Renee Sludgers has done a

24:32

good job all season adjusting to the

24:34

opponent, realizing the strengths of her

24:36

own team and her players. And

24:38

yes, to build off of what Arsenal

24:40

did and liked to against Lyon is

24:42

to pick and choose their moments. They're

24:44

going to have to sit back, though.

24:46

They are not going to be able

24:48

to be as fluid and free. flowing

24:50

and open and aggressive as they were

24:52

especially as that Leone game went on

24:54

they have to sit back they have

24:56

to defend for their lives

24:59

against Barcelona. I tried to just keep

25:01

them in front of them. So

25:03

Champions League final is May 24th, 12

25:05

noon, Arsenal against Barcelona. We have

25:07

a lot of Chelsea fans in our

25:09

chat right now and they're like,

25:11

I don't think I can cheer for

25:13

Arsenal, but I don't know what's

25:15

going to happen. We're going

25:17

to give Chelsea some flowers right

25:19

now, a small little bouquet that

25:22

we have because they have an

25:24

opportunity to bounce back after this

25:26

Champions League exit by being ousted.

25:28

by Barcelona from European competition to

25:30

win the WSL title tomorrow. Wednesday,

25:32

they take on Manchester United at

25:35

315 Eastern, 315 PM Eastern time.

25:37

Chelsea, they have a six point

25:39

lead in the table ahead of

25:41

Arsenal and Manchester United. This is

25:43

an opportunity for the Blues. I

25:46

don't think it's going to be

25:48

as easy as. Chelsea fans probably want

25:50

to be considering Manchester United. They

25:52

set 43 points through just 19 league

25:55

games third place. They're one of

25:57

their. better seasons over the last couple

25:59

of years in WSL play and

26:01

they're fighting for European qualification with a

26:03

win for United. They qualify

26:05

for a place in Champions League

26:07

next year. So a huge game

26:09

tomorrow between Chelsea and Manchester United,

26:12

a spot for Chelsea to win

26:14

the title and a chance for

26:16

United to pick up Champions League

26:18

place. They're coming off of also

26:20

four straight clean sheets, a solid

26:22

back line led by the American

26:24

PTJ Fallon Tullis Joyce. So

26:26

check that one out Chelsea giving

26:28

you a little bit of flowers

26:30

a chance to pick up a

26:32

trophy tomorrow All right guys don't

26:35

go anywhere that closed out our

26:37

European conversation, but we're diving into

26:39

NWSL and doing a quarter mark

26:41

check in This

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28:01

The third NWSL is at its

28:03

quarter mark point right now. Sandra,

28:05

you were doing math on Sunday

28:08

with Jess. I heard you. You

28:10

brought out the calculator. You knew what

28:12

you were doing. 26 games were six

28:14

games in. Absolutely not. That shot

28:17

all goes to Mark for doing all the

28:19

legwork and prep work on that. I

28:21

love a calculator though. Matt's

28:23

best friend in my opinion. But

28:25

look, we had a wild game.

28:27

during that Sunday night we joined

28:29

everybody for the recap and we

28:31

had to discuss everything that was

28:33

going and as we were running

28:35

down through the episode we said

28:38

hey like this this is the

28:40

point of the season like this

28:42

is the quarter mark look six

28:45

and a half games are the quarter

28:47

mark for a 26 match week season

28:49

and can't really have six and a

28:51

half matches take place. But

28:53

with with Gotham and in Portland each

28:55

having to take an extra game. This

28:57

is it. This is I think we

28:59

can all agree is effectively the point of

29:01

the season where we can no longer

29:03

really say like it's so early like

29:06

there's so much time left. And is

29:08

there a hefty chunk of season in front

29:10

of all of these WSL clubs left?

29:12

Sure. Can we still say that some

29:14

of the teams who are trying to

29:16

figure things out are still in their early

29:18

phases? I'm not necessarily sure that I

29:20

agree with it. I think some of

29:22

those teams who have been struggling are kind

29:24

of showing who they are going to

29:26

be for the remainder of the season.

29:28

Just like at the top end of

29:30

this table, those elite teams are showing us

29:33

how they are going to be elite

29:35

for the remainder of the season. Six

29:37

games is enough of a sample size.

29:39

Six and a half games, if you will,

29:41

Sandra, to I understand

29:43

how a team is playing this

29:45

year. Can they adjust to competition?

29:47

Can they have different weapons? Are

29:49

they understanding the style of play,

29:51

especially because a handful of these

29:54

teams have new coaches in charge

29:56

or a lot of new players

29:58

that are contributing to what is

30:00

happening with the team? So we're

30:02

doing a check -in. What's happening

30:04

in NWSL? Where do these teams

30:06

stand after six weeks of play? How

30:09

was the benchmark change from what

30:11

we predicted early on in the

30:13

season? So we, the A3 crew

30:15

did our 2025 predictions prior to

30:17

the NWSL season starting. Jen, you

30:19

got out lucky on this one

30:22

because you didn't have to do

30:24

these predictions. You got out lucky. So

30:26

we don't even know what you would have done, but.

30:28

you can still help us

30:30

kind of dissect what we did

30:32

predict. So in terms of

30:34

title winner, before the season

30:37

started, I handed it to Washington

30:39

Spirit. I said, you are going

30:41

to win the championship at the

30:43

end of this year with Jonah

30:45

Heralda is having a full year under

30:47

his belt, the players that they

30:49

brought in. And as of right

30:51

now for Washington Spirit, they sit

30:53

in third on 12 points just

30:55

behind those two giants, Kansas City

30:57

and Orlando. And for Washington,

30:59

they've picked up four wins and just

31:01

two losses so far without any of

31:03

their stars. Trinity Rodman has not been

31:05

fully healthy at all this season. Croy

31:07

Bethune has not been fully healthy. Hal

31:10

Hirschfeld's been out. Andy Sullivan's been out.

31:12

They are missing so many of their

31:14

superstars. Casey Kruger has been in and

31:16

out of the lineup. Washington

31:18

has had to adjust on

31:20

the fly. with players, different

31:22

formations. They've brought in Rebecca Bernal,

31:24

who could have played in the midfield.

31:26

She's dropped back into a center back

31:28

role, played as a three center back

31:30

as part of that four back line

31:32

as well. I am sticking

31:34

with my prediction for Washington spirit to

31:36

still win the championship and be in

31:39

the postseason making playoffs and go on

31:41

a little bit of a run. Darian

31:43

gives me a lot of crap for

31:45

this one, but. I'm staying strong with

31:47

my Washington pick here. I think you

31:49

should. I think it's a good show

31:51

for all of the reasons that you've

31:53

mentioned. Look, it's a long season. It's

31:55

why we're going to be doing these

31:57

kind of quarter mark check -ins from time

31:59

to time. And for me and the

32:01

title winner, I had Kansas City Current

32:03

in my way to early predictions in

32:05

this one. And you know what? I'm

32:07

going to stick with that because I'm

32:09

also feeling pretty good about where Kansas

32:11

City Current is navigating things out of

32:13

six and a half games to start

32:16

this season. I think there's

32:18

going to be some some management

32:20

that needs to take place along the

32:22

way in terms of, you know,

32:24

match load, player rotation, because it is

32:26

such a long season. We see

32:28

that coming to play all of the

32:30

time. You hope it's not catastrophic

32:32

player injuries that you find yourself needing

32:34

to kind of, you know, rotate

32:36

in and out of, but there are

32:38

ebbs and flows to a season

32:40

and because players are female. bodies wear

32:42

down from from time to time.

32:45

So I think coming out of this

32:47

week, I think folks are going

32:49

to probably have their radars up with

32:51

with shawinga and and how the

32:53

current are going to continue to to

32:55

manage her moving forward. But on

32:57

the other side of that. This

32:59

is a season I think we're really finally

33:01

getting to see Kansas City current kind of

33:03

flex off some of that depth in a

33:05

similar way that the spirit have with Heraldes.

33:08

We saw Bea finally get on the

33:10

scoreboard. Like these are players that I

33:12

think people are forgetting about for Kansas

33:14

City current. We see, you know, all

33:17

kinds of different things going on throughout

33:19

the back line, whether it's it's Wheeler

33:21

or Izzy Rodriguez, Sharples

33:23

Cook, Elizabeth Wall. It's

33:25

almost like they have their pick of

33:27

whoever can come in and come out.

33:29

So I think that is often the

33:31

key to a title winning success in

33:33

this league, how you have the depth,

33:35

how you rotate and manage your entire

33:37

roster. And I think for the current,

33:39

they're also sitting pretty, I'm going to

33:41

stick with them as well to win

33:43

the title. I

33:45

think when you're spot on Sandra,

33:47

when you're talking about, you know,

33:50

rotations, squad depth, because I initially,

33:52

when you see Rodman, that's one thing

33:54

you can't predict is injuries. injuries

33:56

like that as well, especially with the back

33:58

that you never know how long it's going to

34:00

be. But other players are stepping up. You

34:02

see Croy -Betoon back healthy. I think that's going

34:05

to be huge for them. She's had a long

34:07

spell on the sideline. But for Spirit, definitely

34:09

having her back fit is a huge boost for

34:11

them. So it was great to hear her

34:13

back play. But I'm just sitting in between here.

34:15

You guys made the predictions. It's

34:17

fun hearing it all. But

34:20

yeah, Casey Cronin for me, they're

34:23

flying. Love

34:25

it. So, Sandra and I both

34:27

flip -flopped. So, I had Washington

34:29

winning the championship and Kansas

34:31

City winning the shield. I'm sticking

34:33

with that for me as

34:35

well. Kansas City, for you, Sandra,

34:37

was going to win the championship,

34:39

but you had Washington winning the shield

34:42

and we both had Golden Boot

34:44

winner, Tim Loschowango, which is just very

34:46

funny for us to do that.

34:48

Who could have predicted that Esther was

34:50

going to just snap off in

34:52

this first quarter of the season? literally

34:54

none of us because we all put

34:56

Tema Shoeinga. Guys, is no

34:59

one having Orlando pride in those top

35:01

two? Not

35:03

us. It's just Lisa and I on

35:05

this one, but we also had Darian run

35:07

and I think Jess McDonald put a

35:09

few out there as well. We could definitely

35:11

revisit those. I think Darian might have

35:13

had some love for Orlando and somewhere else.

35:16

think she did too. It's

35:18

tough to repeat in this league.

35:22

I would love to see it from

35:24

Orlando. And they're built to do

35:26

it, for sure. I'm going to stick

35:28

with my flip. I think for

35:30

me, it comes down to the coaching

35:32

aspect for this. I

35:34

just feel like Heraldes, he's

35:36

built different. He's coming from Barcelona.

35:39

He knows what it is to navigate a

35:41

really long season and make sure that you

35:43

are there at the top of the league

35:45

with the most points and win that shield

35:47

where I just feel like, Lacko

35:49

has got a lot of experience

35:51

kind of navigating NWSL playoff formats and

35:53

making deep runs. And I feel

35:55

like he's, if he wasn't motivated last

35:57

year, I feel like he's even

35:59

more motivated after the way they kind

36:01

of bought out. So I'm keeping

36:03

my picks as well for Titled End

36:05

Shield. I respect that one

36:08

a lot. I am too. I'm keeping

36:10

mine for now. I'm keeping Temuelshawinga too, even

36:12

though Esther has taken over. But

36:14

this season, I mean, the

36:16

funnest part about doing preseason predictions

36:18

is that we really have

36:20

no idea. And there were so

36:22

many changes heading into the

36:25

NWSL this year with roster changes,

36:27

player change, rotation, a

36:29

lot of new players coming into

36:31

the league, whether they're rookies or

36:33

international veterans that we weren't sure

36:35

how they would adjust to NWSL

36:37

play. And now we've

36:39

had some surprises through six weeks,

36:41

Jen. What surprises have

36:44

you already seen across

36:46

the NWSL? I think

36:48

for me, the wave of impressed

36:50

me the most and, you know, adults

36:52

and winning games back to back, but

36:55

for me, the performances have really shone out.

36:57

I think bringing in the likes of

36:59

Dali and Leon, I've been loving watching them

37:01

lately kind of coming into that side,

37:03

Cascarino as well. I just think

37:05

it's clicking for them this season and the

37:07

performances for me, the way that they're scoring

37:09

goals, I think the honest side of us doing

37:11

a really great job so far. So they,

37:13

for me, have been my biggest surprise. I'm

37:16

not sure I would have expected that. Coming in

37:18

coming into the season based on the fact

37:20

they did kind of struggle a little bit

37:22

last year. But it's the performances for me

37:24

the direction of play the sustained attacks that they're

37:26

doing the quality in the final third has

37:28

been really great to watch. We

37:30

did a full preseason predictions

37:32

of like rankings and I had

37:34

San Diego finishing 12th at

37:36

the end of this year. I'm

37:38

rethinking that entirely. They're

37:41

currently fifth in the standings. They're

37:43

going to make playoffs. They're going

37:45

to be in the postseason. I'm

37:47

very, very impressed with how Jonah

37:49

Saitovall has brought this group together

37:51

and brought a style of play

37:53

to these 22 players that really

37:55

allows them to have a lot

37:57

of creativity, to flex their muscles

38:00

of what they want to do

38:02

and how they individually like to

38:04

play on the ball. Through

38:06

just six weeks of play, we've

38:08

seen so much growth from San

38:11

Diego weekend and week out. Imagine

38:13

another six weeks under him. When

38:15

we get to the halfway point

38:17

or just under the halfway point,

38:19

he will have everything figured out

38:21

because it is a hardly to

38:23

adjust to as a manager, understanding

38:25

how much travel comes into play,

38:28

especially when you're coming in from

38:30

England. Now you're on

38:32

the West Coast, you have to travel

38:34

the entire continent to get

38:36

to the other side. And

38:38

he's already figured out how to put

38:40

these players in the best positions

38:42

to succeed. San Diego scores in a

38:44

variety of ways. They're playing such

38:46

technical soccer and a lot of the

38:48

individual talent that he has brought

38:50

in, he is setting them up for

38:52

success. So I'm with you on

38:54

San Diego Wave and how impressive they've

38:56

been. That's what's one of my

38:58

like preseason predictions. I'm like, Take

39:01

that one back. San Diego is going to make

39:03

it. Yeah, it's a triple

39:05

co -sign for me, honestly. I

39:07

don't know how this isn't maybe

39:09

the biggest surprise for a lot

39:11

of folks. I mean, there were

39:13

some clear and obvious things that

39:15

San Diego needed to fix on

39:17

the pitch to compete and be

39:20

competitive in 2025. They could not

39:22

score. for the life of them

39:24

in 2024. They just were, they

39:26

found themselves just not in games

39:28

because they were not very threatening

39:30

in the attacking sense. That is

39:32

completely not the case in 2025. Not

39:35

only are they cooking in a

39:37

lot of different areas on the pitch,

39:39

you can see the direct thread

39:41

between the players that they have brought

39:43

in to help kind of change

39:45

that and be that catalyst to be

39:47

kind of this very dangerous attacking

39:49

side now. North Carolina

39:51

Courage, we have to talk

39:53

about them because this is

39:55

a prolific champion in the

39:58

NWSL. They are always in

40:00

postseason. They have won the

40:02

most domestic trophies of any

40:04

other NWSL market, and they

40:06

are sitting essentially

40:08

at the bottom of the table,

40:10

11th. For North Carolina standards, that is

40:12

the bottom of the table. They

40:15

have shown very, very early struggles in

40:17

the NWSL, mainly where they're going

40:19

to get their goal scoring output from.

40:22

They are coming off of, we can't

40:24

talk about North Carolina without talking about

40:26

their massive win this past weekend over. Kansas

40:29

City Current 3 -2. It all comes

40:31

in stoppage time. They get the

40:33

equalizer and the game winning goal at

40:35

the end of this game, 90

40:37

plus minutes. However, I was

40:39

most impressed with the formation and

40:41

tactical adjustment from Sean Nejas and

40:43

North Carolina Courage. We saw them

40:45

in a 343, pushing Ryan Williams

40:48

higher. Ashley Sanchez was playing

40:50

much more centrally. Denise O'Sullivan was

40:52

more of a conductor on the

40:54

ball. She didn't get lost in

40:56

the midfield and outplayed by arguably

40:58

the NWSL's best midfield in Kansas

41:00

City current. And this

41:02

was a North Carolina team that, prior

41:05

to this weekend, I

41:07

think we would be having a different conversation.

41:09

But now I am optimistic about what

41:11

North Carolina can do if this is how

41:13

they can adjust. I

41:15

looked up the average positions

41:17

of the courage players in

41:19

this Kansas City match. And

41:22

one thing that stuck out to

41:24

me was that Manaka and Jaden

41:26

Shaw, their little bubbles were essentially

41:28

on top of each other. which

41:31

isn't isn't great. We're still trying

41:33

to find the best position in

41:35

the best place for Jaden Shaw

41:37

to be the Shaw that we

41:39

know she is so creative, technically

41:41

skilled, setting up her teammates, scoring

41:44

for herself. She's taking some time

41:46

to grow into it. But this

41:48

formation shift with Ryan Williams, who

41:50

is traditionally an outside back playing

41:52

in the midfield, much higher. Williams

41:54

was the highest North Carolina player

41:56

on the field. She was stretched so

41:58

far. Imagine what that does to

42:00

you as a defense in Kansas City.

42:03

Now you've got to worry about another

42:05

player coming at you. And the three

42:07

center backs in Kaley Kurtz, Macy

42:09

Bell, and Stottie were so

42:11

evenly spaced in their average positions that

42:13

I like this three back that

42:15

we saw from North Carolina. I

42:17

think some of

42:20

the concerns surrounding North

42:22

Carolina in the

42:24

opening six weeks were

42:26

different, I think, from week to week. There

42:29

was always this question of, like,

42:31

something's not working, but none of us

42:33

are quite sure what, like,

42:35

let's see them try something different out

42:38

of this week, and maybe it'll

42:40

pan out, and then it didn't. And

42:42

so I can't imagine the levels

42:44

of frustration in trying to make adjustments.

42:46

and still not seeing the fruits

42:48

of the labor and how that frustration

42:51

can maybe kind of settle and

42:53

fester, and maybe you don't find your

42:55

way out of it. This win,

42:57

I think, comes at the best time

42:59

for them. Because again, we're doing

43:01

the quarter mark check -in. You have

43:04

to have something to build off of

43:06

going into this next quarter as

43:08

you build towards the midway point of

43:10

the season. But it was just

43:12

their first win. Is this

43:14

enough? We'll find

43:16

out in week seven, right? I mean,

43:18

I think along for a while here

43:21

in these first opening five weeks, even

43:23

I think it was about trying to

43:25

figure, even it was even trying to

43:27

figure out the best 11 for this

43:29

team. I mean, you don't want to

43:31

put it down onto one player, but

43:33

they lost Caroline and it doesn't look

43:36

and or feel like they have quite

43:38

found that kind of um,

43:40

lethal threat for, for the courage yet.

43:42

You know, there's plenty of talent

43:44

on the roster, but that's not a

43:46

piece that you could just easily

43:48

replace, nor do I think they're looking

43:50

to do that necessarily with some

43:52

of the signings that they made in

43:54

the off season, but it

43:57

is at this point trying to build

43:59

off of what is working. And they have

44:01

approximately one win that they can maybe

44:03

try to continue to do that. And the

44:05

fact that it was against the best

44:07

team in the league, and now they're looking

44:09

ahead at arguably the other very struggling

44:11

team in the league, that Utah down the

44:13

line, you have to build off of

44:16

this momentum. You have to build a small

44:18

streak here for yourself. I

44:20

think there's always the argument of, right,

44:22

how long does it take until it

44:24

clicks, right? How long do we wait?

44:26

you can make little adjustments and see

44:28

what works and see what doesn't. But

44:30

I think Lisa, what you said was

44:32

cool about the formation. I think maybe

44:34

Casey didn't expect that. So it's kind

44:36

of that unpredictability going into a game

44:38

when you think you're about to play

44:40

against one formation that changes and that

44:42

clearly worked. But and I think, you

44:44

know, having the bubble map and people

44:46

close together, you want close connections because

44:48

that's that's how they want to play.

44:50

But You have to have alternate movements

44:52

and drawing people out of position. And

44:54

I love Monaca's goal. The assist was

44:56

unbelievable. The weight of passing that final

44:58

third is just exactly what she wants

45:00

to be doing week in, week out.

45:03

But no, for me, that's a huge

45:05

win, especially against a team that we

45:07

all speak so highly of. That

45:09

must have been such a boost for them as

45:11

a team to go into next week. You

45:13

mentioned Kansas City not perhaps

45:15

being ready for the 343 that

45:17

North Carolina rolled out, Jen. Kansas

45:20

City is the best team in the

45:22

league right now. They have scored multiple goals

45:24

in every single game. They're coming off

45:26

multiple shutouts aside from this North Carolina team.

45:29

They have to know going into every

45:31

single match that teams are going to adjust

45:33

to them. They have to prepare for

45:35

that. Yeah, for sure. I think

45:37

a lot of teams on in my experience, you

45:39

focus on yourself and then do a little

45:41

bit of tactical top up towards the end of

45:43

the week based on and correct me if

45:45

I'm wrong. I but I think a lot of

45:47

people are used to this possession based team

45:49

from You know playing against them

45:51

all the time and I just don't think

45:53

they would have expected it They would have

45:55

focused on themselves knowing it if they bring

45:58

their best game They had the belief to

46:00

go in and win that game no matter

46:02

what and I think that's a very much

46:04

a narrative within the changing room and within

46:06

Tactical meetings that we will focus on ourselves

46:08

and do a little bit on what we

46:10

think they they're gonna set up You're not

46:12

gonna train to play against three four different

46:14

formations You're gonna practice what you're gonna do

46:16

going into that weekend and hopefully try

46:18

and problem solve on the day. But I

46:20

think it was just a scrappy game for,

46:22

for case they just couldn't get a hold

46:24

of it. They couldn't, there was obviously a

46:26

high scoring, relatively high scoring game and defensively

46:28

just slip really late on as well, which

46:30

I think they'll be frustrated at when you're

46:32

conceding that late in the game. It's kind

46:35

of a concentration thing. But no, I think

46:37

they definitely would have focused on themselves going

46:39

into that game and done a little bit

46:41

of tactical, but still just couldn't problem solve

46:43

it within the match, which we all say

46:45

is the hardest thing to do as players.

46:48

Of all the games this weekend, I

46:50

mean, there was so much chaos

46:52

and everything across the NWSL, but this

46:54

game, the final 10 minutes, it

46:56

came down to between the years. It

46:58

was mental for both Kansas City

47:01

falling a little bit and stumbling and

47:03

thinking that they were going to

47:05

be able to close out and for

47:07

North Carolina to know that, hey,

47:09

game's not over until that final whistle.

47:11

blows. Yeah, Rhonda, Lisha, Parker with

47:14

us live on YouTube saying courage wanted

47:16

it more and Kansas City got

47:18

cocky. I understand where you're saying Kansas

47:20

City got cocky. I don't think

47:22

they actually did. I just think that

47:24

they kind of slowed down at

47:27

the end, which we don't see Kansas

47:29

City do. Especially this year

47:31

is so uncharacteristic. They're not a they're

47:33

not a bunker in kind of team

47:35

by any means it's kind of be

47:37

put in that situation and presented a

47:39

challenge for them that they like. Jen

47:41

said we're a little bit unprepared for

47:43

not only on the pitch but on

47:46

the sideline as well I think if

47:48

you're the coaching staff sometimes the best

47:50

thing to do an interview in WSL

47:52

if you are a Predictable team that

47:54

is struggling is to make things Unpredictable,

47:56

and I think that's what the courage

47:58

did out of week six Speaking

48:01

of unpredictability, we made predictions, Sandra. You

48:03

made a lot of them as well.

48:05

It's not just me over here. Jen's

48:07

the one that's like, I'm sitting pretty.

48:09

Are there any predictions that you made

48:12

prior to the season starting that you're

48:14

like, might want to rethink this one

48:16

now six weeks in? Alright, I

48:18

think maybe the biggest one might

48:20

be the rookie of the year conversation

48:22

because I think that is the

48:24

one that that was the prediction that

48:26

so many of us had such

48:28

limited kind of You know research or

48:30

info to go off of I

48:32

mean you can never predict what that

48:34

gap is actually going to look

48:36

like or feel like as players go

48:38

from the collegiate level amateur levels

48:40

into the pro level. And

48:42

I had Brooklyn Cortnell as a player

48:44

to watch who was on the courage

48:46

because again, I felt like the courage

48:48

this year was going to be a

48:50

team that we saw a lot of

48:52

rotation happening because they needed to figure

48:54

out who their ideal starting 11 was

48:56

going to be. But I'm still high

48:58

on that player and Raider pretty highly

49:00

as far as her ability. But I

49:02

think without question, Looking back at my

49:04

other kind of predictive piece about rookies

49:06

to watch out for not only did

49:09

I have Brooklyn coordinates on there But

49:11

I also had Lily real on there

49:13

as well. So I'm a hundred percent

49:15

Swapping and and saying keep it keep

49:17

that keep those eyes locked in on

49:19

Lily real because she's doing some really

49:21

good things for Gotham this season Jen,

49:23

you're nodding your head. You didn't get

49:25

to do a preseason rookie of the

49:27

year prediction, but now six weeks in, who

49:29

has bubbled to the top of your

49:31

rookie conversation that you want to give

49:34

a little nod to? I was

49:36

nodding because Lily real for me, some

49:38

stuff she's doing for Gotham, I think

49:40

stepping up, delivering what she knows she

49:42

can do. I've been loving

49:44

watching her and kind of building and growing

49:46

into that role for Gotham and getting consistent

49:48

minutes. And yeah, I love it when you

49:50

see young players coming into this league and

49:52

just absolutely smashing it and kind of knowing,

49:54

yeah, you've got an unreal career ahead of

49:56

you. A long one as well. Lily

49:59

Reel really took an opportunity in

50:01

a moment. Sad injuries happen to

50:03

players, but it creates a moment

50:05

for other players if they take

50:07

it. And Lily Reel has definitely

50:09

done that. I mean, there are

50:11

so many fun and good rookies

50:14

already in this league. Riley Tiernan

50:16

at Angel City has done fantastic.

50:18

I think also at Gotham, Shepansky

50:20

has stepped into a midfield that

50:22

needed her. But I'm sticking with

50:24

mine. My preseason prediction for rookie

50:26

of the year, I am fully

50:28

on board with Maddie Dallin. I

50:30

had watched her at the college

50:32

level and just knew that she

50:34

provides something a little different and

50:37

that the jump wasn't going to

50:39

be too much for her, especially

50:41

under Laura Harvey at Seattle. And

50:43

she has done just that, her quick

50:45

trigger. I think Darian called

50:47

her Lynn Biendolo -esque the other

50:49

day, which is so, such a

50:51

high compliment and high praise. So

50:54

I am, I'm sticking with Maddie

50:56

Dahlien and what she's done so

50:58

far. Is there anyone you're changing though?

51:01

No, I'm not changing. No, is

51:03

there anything else or anyone else

51:05

that you're changing? Oh, yeah. I

51:07

mentioned earlier, I had San Diego

51:09

in 12th. I'm definitely jumping them

51:11

up. I also had Utah finishing

51:13

sixth and currently in 13th, they

51:15

just have one win and one

51:17

draw for losses. I want so

51:19

much more for Utah. My want

51:21

for the Royals is so high

51:23

and I think that they have

51:25

it. the capacity to get

51:27

there, but they just like can't get

51:29

traction at all. And then they deal

51:31

with a lot of injuries. So mind

51:34

more so in like the rankings that

51:36

I've done, Sandra, and then the predictions

51:38

for the full standings, which it is

51:40

hard to predict 14 standings. at the

51:42

start of the season without seeing any

51:44

of these teams play. But

51:46

my individual players and my teams to win, I'm

51:48

sticking with them. I got to go with my

51:50

gut, Sandra. You know me. respect you. I

51:52

respect you. I'm sticking with most of mine too.

51:54

I'm keeping Emily Sands as the defender of

51:56

the year. I think she's been together good things.

51:58

Lacey Santos, I'm also still keeping her from midfielder

52:00

of the year. I think she's doing good

52:02

stuff right now for the spirit. And

52:05

I mean, I could swap from Casey Murphy,

52:08

but it's a long season. We'll see

52:10

what happens. It's a long season. We're

52:12

only at the quarter check -in here, six

52:14

weeks into the NWSL, but we do

52:16

turn the calendar page. So

52:18

we are going to take a quick break and

52:20

then give you our April team of the month

52:22

in the NWSL. Stick with us. Roll

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in stores and at Nordstrom .com. Welcome

53:35

back to Attacking Third, April. Adios.

53:37

We are saying hello to May. And

53:39

with that, we're giving you our

53:41

A3NWSL team of the month. We get

53:43

to do this every single Sunday

53:45

following the NWSL weekend. We give you

53:47

our team of the week. So

53:49

we said, Hey, why not? Let's have

53:51

a little fun. Look back at

53:53

April and give you 11 players plus

53:55

a coach that stood out to

53:57

us this month. Shall we

53:59

start with the front, the forwards? Because

54:02

I think this was a really fun month

54:04

for some players. And I'm

54:06

just going to write in Black Sharpie

54:08

the first name. The other ones

54:10

will be in pencil, and we can

54:12

talk about. But Esther, she's going

54:14

in Black Sharpie. Seven goals in her

54:17

last four games. She's hands down

54:19

forward of the month in April. So

54:21

that one's in Sharpie. No ifs,

54:23

ands, and buts about it. But Sandra

54:25

Jen, what other forwards do you

54:28

want to nominate for the April team

54:30

of the month? Do you put

54:32

anyone else in? At this point, we

54:34

can put Esther Week 4, Esther

54:36

Week 5, and then the Week 6

54:38

version of Esther. Just Esther three

54:40

times. No, I'm going to go and

54:42

continue to nominate white players. I

54:44

did this with... just McDonald

54:47

on Sunday night. There happened to be a

54:49

lot of way players and for good reason.

54:51

They had a really good month. I've got

54:53

Cascarino up top as well. Alongside said, I

54:55

love what she's doing in her year two

54:57

of NWSL. You could see how much she

54:59

is frustrating the oppositions and she is delivering

55:01

on the score sheet as well. So I've

55:03

got her up top. You have a third

55:05

forward, Jen? I went Banda.

55:08

I had asked there, Cascarino and Banda.

55:10

I'm like. She just performs week in,

55:12

week out for me. She's consistent with

55:14

what she brings. And yeah,

55:16

you know what? I want to pick

55:18

up Esther again, because I think, you

55:20

know, the narrative, we talk a lot

55:22

about Twenga and Banda, but Esther's comments

55:24

this season and actually crushed it, like

55:26

seven goals in seven games. For a

55:28

striker, her confidence must be through the

55:30

roof, but they were my three guys

55:32

for sure. I wish I could disagree,

55:34

but I cannot. Esther Casarino Banda were

55:37

my top three. Diddo

55:39

literally had Cascarino and Vanda

55:41

as well in there. I

55:43

weirdly had a lot of San Diego players that

55:45

I wrote down for some reason, but I think

55:47

it's just because I'm so impressed with them. Let's

55:50

talk the midfield core, Jen. Who

55:52

are some players you want to

55:54

nominate for A3, April, midfield? So

55:57

I'm getting my gal Kiki Pickett in

55:59

here because the goals, come on. You can't

56:01

come away from the goals that she

56:03

scored. So for me, I feel

56:05

like, again, she stepped into that role last

56:07

season, obviously, in their first season, but

56:09

not naturally a center mid. And I think

56:12

she's just grown into the role so

56:14

much. And like, even in the tightest of

56:16

games, for any midfielder striker

56:18

forward to be scoring goals like

56:20

that, unbelievable. So she was my first

56:22

one in there. I can

56:24

never leave Dabinia out of a midfield. I'm not

56:26

sure what you guys are thinking. I just

56:28

can't. She just, in terms of quality

56:30

in a midfield, I'm never leaving her out.

56:32

Watch, watch your thoughts. I'm seeing smiles. What

56:34

we think. I mean, you

56:36

and I are already two for

56:38

two, but so I'm, I'm all smiles

56:40

because I'm like, I love to

56:42

feel validated. Like, I'm just like,

56:45

I'm just here like, yeah, like

56:47

Jen, I've got Kiki pick it in

56:49

this midfield. I've got the beanie

56:51

in this midfield and to round out

56:53

a midfield trio. I've got Kendra

56:55

Dali. as well. Yes. Okay. I have

56:57

Kenza Dolly too. I have Kenza

56:59

Dolly and I also have Dabina in

57:01

this midfield. Kenza Dolly

57:04

has been absolutely fantastic. I

57:06

didn't have Kiki pick it. I

57:09

could be convinced. I could be

57:11

convinced. I had Hina

57:13

Sugita because she has just been

57:15

the glue of Portland to

57:17

get the rookies on the same

57:19

page. And perhaps the results

57:21

for the thorns isn't reflective of

57:23

maybe team of the month

57:25

honors. But for me, Hina Sugita

57:27

has just done a really good job

57:29

of keeping things together at Portland and a

57:31

team where they haven't had a lot

57:34

of consistency and a lot of things together.

57:36

And Sugita has done that for me. Yeah,

57:39

I think a fair show. I think you

57:41

can make an argument for her. I think

57:43

you can make an argument for Lacey Santos.

57:45

There's a lot of midfielder to her ball

57:47

in this season to start. So

57:50

Jalen Howell was one that just missed

57:52

out for me. She's made something like

57:54

11 interceptions this season so far. And

57:56

their kind of numbers you see from

57:58

centre backs. That shows me her

58:00

positioning is always good. Unsung heroes.

58:02

So she just missed out for me. Okay,

58:05

that's a good one. I like

58:07

that because I like adding a little

58:09

defensive flair in there, right? Breaking

58:12

down play. That's what they're there. Yeah.

58:15

But Dabinia hands down. Sandra, you asked me earlier

58:17

if I wanted to change it in my predictions.

58:20

Dabinia for MVP. I'm changing that one.

58:22

Well, because I had Trinity Rodman and

58:24

now she's, you know. Well, we accept

58:26

it. We take it. You're allowed. Okay.

58:29

So who are our midfielders that

58:31

we're going with? Dabinia, Kenzadali, and you

58:33

guys want Kiki Pickett? Ah, we're

58:35

two to one mate. Yeah, we're going, we're going. I

58:38

think if we both had cakey, we

58:40

got to go with cakey. I'm validated.

58:43

I'm validating. Let's

58:47

move to the back line

58:49

defensive core for April. For

58:52

attacking third, I'm adding in Rebecca

58:54

Bernal. I want her in that back

58:56

line. She has been so electric

58:58

for Washington Spirit and doing such a

59:00

good job of bringing everyone along

59:02

speed and keeping them at the top

59:04

of the table, mitigating a lot

59:06

of the threats that come by any

59:08

of their competition. And Washington has

59:11

played top, top teams in the NWSL

59:13

and they took down Orlin. a

59:15

lot having to do with that center

59:17

back pairing of Mickey on and

59:19

Bernal. So Rebecca Bernal in there for

59:21

me. Lily Reel, just

59:24

according to the A3 stats,

59:26

she's been in our team of

59:28

the week, three straight weeks. So

59:31

we've got to have Lily Reel in

59:33

there. Sandra, who else are you looking at

59:35

defensively? Shocking to no one. You and

59:37

I are two for two on our back

59:39

line in Reel and Bernal. I have

59:41

been so impressed with their play for their

59:43

individual clubs so far this season. We

59:46

have to have Emily Sams, I

59:48

think, on this back line. I

59:50

think this player is doing so

59:52

much consistent work across the back

59:54

line for Orlando that it's almost

59:56

maybe a hindrance to what she

59:59

is doing. I think everyone is,

1:00:01

like, really taking note of how

1:00:03

much responsibility that, you know, maybe

1:00:05

Lily Real is taking on as

1:00:07

a rookie or maybe even Emily

1:00:09

Sonnet forgot them as well with

1:00:11

the injuries that are taking place

1:00:14

along their back line. So you're

1:00:16

taking note of those performances a

1:00:18

little bit more as maybe there's

1:00:20

more pressure. on them. But

1:00:22

I think there's nothing wrong with being

1:00:24

that top tier, consistent defender weekend and

1:00:26

week out. And I've got Emily Sams

1:00:28

on this back line as well. I'm

1:00:31

also going to put Kayla Sharples on

1:00:33

this back line for Kansas City current

1:00:35

as well. I want to make an

1:00:37

argue for a current player on this

1:00:39

back line because with the exception of

1:00:41

this one game that they're coming out

1:00:43

of week six, they have made some

1:00:46

incredible defensive adjustments for this Kansas City

1:00:48

current side. They were a team at

1:00:50

this point last year, believing and believing

1:00:52

and believing goals. They are not that

1:00:54

team this year. And I think a

1:00:56

huge reason is because of the comfortability

1:00:58

and leadership of Sharples on the back

1:01:00

line. Have we put sauna in

1:01:03

there yet? No, but

1:01:05

I have her. I have sonnet

1:01:07

on my list. Yeah, I'm I'm big

1:01:09

enough sauna again. I think just

1:01:11

for her leadership. Yeah, passing accuracy,

1:01:13

I think is massive from a centre -back

1:01:15

perspective. She does not give the ball

1:01:17

away a lot. And I think when you're

1:01:19

a centre -back starting to play, she's up

1:01:21

there with the number of passes she

1:01:23

makes, leadership, played every minute for Gotham, Stonewall

1:01:26

at the back. So for me, Emily

1:01:28

saw it was in there. And

1:01:30

I want to pick up

1:01:32

Tara McKeown. I think anyone who

1:01:34

transitions from a striker to

1:01:36

a centre -back, unbelievable. I think

1:01:38

what she's done She's one of the

1:01:40

league's top defenders for me, especially coming

1:01:42

into a new position. Those

1:01:45

two for me. And I think it

1:01:47

says, oh, when you're getting called into the

1:01:49

national team, having made that change, I

1:01:51

think shows that, you know, the kind of

1:01:53

job she's doing. And again,

1:01:55

distribution going forward, those two for me,

1:01:57

they're first two on the list

1:01:59

for me. All right, Jen, welcome to

1:02:01

the club. I'll send you your

1:02:03

t -shirt and your placard. It's the

1:02:05

Tara McKeown. Is it great defender club?

1:02:07

And I am the chairperson of

1:02:09

it. All right. Thanks for having

1:02:11

me. Happy to be you. Welcome

1:02:13

aboard. We have meetings every

1:02:15

11 a .m. on YouTube. Yeah,

1:02:18

Tara McKeown is such a good

1:02:20

shout. I actually didn't have her in

1:02:22

mind, but I'm always here for it. I

1:02:26

had Sam's at Emily Sam's,

1:02:28

Emily Sonnet, Real and Bernal. So

1:02:31

I, I like it. I

1:02:33

think that Tara McEon has had

1:02:35

some inconsistencies at times in

1:02:37

that center back role. And, but

1:02:39

I'm going to take Kayla

1:02:41

Sharples out. Sorry, Sandra. That's fair.

1:02:45

So between Sam's and Tara McEon, who

1:02:47

do we want to go with?

1:02:49

I'm still going Sam's in this one

1:02:51

if it's if you're talking if

1:02:53

you're bringing up consistency or inconsistency How

1:02:55

do you go with the inconsistent

1:02:57

over the consistent? That's a great point.

1:02:59

I think on that It's fair.

1:03:01

Yeah, okay, so we're gonna go Emily

1:03:03

Sam's so we've got Bernal real

1:03:05

sonnet and Sam's goalkeeper of the month

1:03:08

I Have mine Sandra. Do you

1:03:10

have one? I have one too. I

1:03:12

hope we all have one. I

1:03:14

okay look I'm gonna go with Lorena

1:03:16

on this one for Kansas City

1:03:18

current double down Put her in.

1:03:20

Double down four shutouts and absolutely

1:03:22

electric, not even speaking English to come

1:03:24

into this league and then be

1:03:27

able to do that. Plus Kansas City

1:03:29

defensively has been so good this

1:03:31

year and we took out Sharples on

1:03:33

the back line. So

1:03:36

we're giving, I'm giving it to Lorena

1:03:38

as well. She's my nominee. Jen, who did

1:03:41

you have? Well, can we talk about

1:03:43

Kingsbury for a second though? I think for

1:03:45

the amount of saves she's had to

1:03:47

make, I think she's up there with the

1:03:49

most amount of saves. And I think,

1:03:51

you know, of course, you

1:03:53

rely on a lot on your backlines

1:03:55

kind of when it comes to shutouts

1:03:57

and reducing chances. But when your goalkeeper

1:03:59

is making 22 saves already this season,

1:04:02

she's kept you in it. And I

1:04:04

think they're third in the ladder she's

1:04:06

performing she's making those big saves that's

1:04:08

when you need your goalkeeper to step

1:04:10

up step step up and she has

1:04:12

so I'm gonna counteract that with Kingsbury. She

1:04:16

did she did make our teams

1:04:18

of the week over this early phase

1:04:20

so I don't know I mean

1:04:22

I think it's tough I'm still sticking

1:04:24

with Lorena. Yeah I'm too

1:04:26

strong on this so I

1:04:28

feel like I'm gonna lose out.

1:04:30

I like the shout for

1:04:32

Aubrey Kingsbury. I think that she

1:04:34

is put in more precarious

1:04:36

positions than Lorena is put in.

1:04:38

So she is forced to

1:04:40

keep Washington a little bit more

1:04:42

involved in the game, and

1:04:44

she's forced to make these insane,

1:04:46

athletic saves. Kingsbury's positioning is

1:04:48

also very good too. I

1:04:51

think you're high on Washington, Jen.

1:04:53

You had Mickey Ohn, Bernal, and

1:04:55

Kingsbury. Look at my cards here

1:04:58

a little bit. Am I? You

1:05:00

are. I'm

1:05:04

reading between the lines a little

1:05:06

bit. Come on over to the

1:05:08

Washington side. I'm like a part

1:05:10

of that fan club, too. I

1:05:13

have been very impressed with Lorena

1:05:15

as a new player in this

1:05:17

league and not and having to

1:05:19

adjust to everything that Is being

1:05:21

thrown at you when you're new

1:05:24

in the end of us held

1:05:26

the travel the language barrier that

1:05:28

she has the front line in

1:05:30

front of her. It's

1:05:33

a lot different challenge

1:05:35

defensively this year as well.

1:05:38

I think that's massive as a

1:05:40

you know. Centerback was my

1:05:42

business. I heard used to always hear

1:05:44

so much from from my goalkeeper. The

1:05:46

amount of information you're getting for 90

1:05:48

minutes from your goalkeeper is constant. So

1:05:50

if English isn't your first language, that's

1:05:53

hard. So I totally agree with you

1:05:55

that one on the sub when you're

1:05:57

not, you know, English isn't your first

1:05:59

language and communication is absolutely massive between

1:06:01

that little triangle goalkeeper and two centerbacks.

1:06:03

So I agree on that one. So

1:06:05

we are taking a poll on YouTube.

1:06:08

And this really contradicts what we're talking

1:06:10

about, but people are saying 80 %

1:06:12

Kingsbury should be. Oh, come on. That's

1:06:18

disrespectful. Come on.

1:06:21

That's high. I thought I was

1:06:23

going to be a little closer than that. That's

1:06:25

a blow. I thought I was going

1:06:27

to be closer, too. We didn't do a

1:06:29

good enough job, Sandra, convincing them. But

1:06:31

convince us now, Sandra, coach of the month.

1:06:34

I love that we're doing this

1:06:36

quarter check -in as everyone can look

1:06:38

at their first six weeks of

1:06:40

this season and say, we have

1:06:42

been handed a loss in some

1:06:45

capacity. So there is no. for

1:06:47

super perfection, you know, as

1:06:49

far as just record or things

1:06:51

like that. But I have been so,

1:06:53

I was so impressed. I was

1:06:55

moved. Let me say by this most

1:06:57

recent game with Orlando and Angel

1:06:59

City, I think Seb Heinz

1:07:01

is going to be my coach

1:07:03

of the month indeed. It is

1:07:06

tough to run it back and

1:07:08

they are doing everything in their

1:07:10

power to make sure that Orlando

1:07:12

still stays in the headlines on

1:07:14

the lips of analyst and the

1:07:16

chatter online, all of it. And

1:07:18

I think a huge part of

1:07:20

it comes from that sideline as

1:07:22

well, along with the talent across

1:07:24

the roster. But Seb Heinz for me

1:07:26

for sure. Same. Yeah,

1:07:31

I was completely the same. I think the

1:07:33

biggest compliment you can give a quote

1:07:35

is just problem solving. And I think he

1:07:37

did that in that game. The changes

1:07:39

that you saw going into the second half.

1:07:42

Two goes down. I think, you know, you

1:07:44

need your sideline. You need your support

1:07:46

from a coach in those moments to be

1:07:48

like, what can we do? If you

1:07:50

can't solve it yourself on the pitch, you

1:07:52

need the help. And I think to,

1:07:54

I can agree more with Sandra on that

1:07:56

one. He's, you know, got to prove

1:07:59

it all over again this season. And you're

1:08:01

right. Leagues getting harder. People are kind

1:08:03

of figuring out maybe how to play against

1:08:05

the pride a little bit, shall we

1:08:07

say, making it more competitive, but. He's made

1:08:09

big decisions at key points. So he's

1:08:11

he's been a standout and he's been my

1:08:13

quarter mark coach of the month coach

1:08:15

so far. One of my

1:08:17

honorary mentions for coach of the

1:08:19

month was Sam Lady with how

1:08:21

he's done at Angel City. I

1:08:23

mean, even though they've picked up

1:08:25

losses in their last couple of

1:08:27

matches, they put in two goals

1:08:29

on Orlando Pride and with a

1:08:31

head coaching announcement coming out with

1:08:33

that team, he's still been able

1:08:35

to be an incredible interim

1:08:37

in an incredibly difficult position that

1:08:39

Lady is in with Angel

1:08:41

City. But yes, I agree with

1:08:44

you both on Subhine's doing a tremendous

1:08:46

job. But that was my honor. I

1:08:48

mentioned Sam Lady and also Jonas Ateval,

1:08:50

who we gave a lot of love

1:08:52

to earlier in the show. Yeah.

1:08:54

I think we can give all the love

1:08:56

to San Diego also without giving love to

1:08:58

Jonas Ateval. Like what he's done with this

1:09:00

team and a relatively short space of time,

1:09:02

right? And I think we can kind of

1:09:04

change it. see it. So yeah, what he's

1:09:06

done, I have to give him a bit

1:09:08

of love as well for sure. Let

1:09:10

us know if you agree, if you

1:09:12

disagree what you thought of our April team

1:09:15

of the month for A3 in the

1:09:17

NWSL. Are there any changes you would have

1:09:19

made for what we picked? Let

1:09:21

us know in the comments on social

1:09:23

at attacking third. Hit us up because

1:09:25

of course we always love hearing from

1:09:27

you guys A3. heard. That does it

1:09:29

for us, guys. Fun, fun show today

1:09:31

as a reminder, we'll be back Thursday,

1:09:34

May 1st, 11am Eastern Live on YouTube.

1:09:36

We're going to preview NWSL week seven,

1:09:38

including a huge matchup of Gotham FC

1:09:40

against the Chicago Stars that is on

1:09:43

CBS. We're doing a little stock up,

1:09:45

stock down of players. We'll have all

1:09:47

the action and chatting with you about

1:09:49

it. Don't forget, you can listen to

1:09:51

us anywhere you get your podcasts. And

1:09:53

of course, watch us on the Golazo

1:09:55

Network. For Sandra, Jen and Mark,

1:09:57

I'm Lisa So this was attacking birds.

1:09:59

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