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From causal and seasoned fans to fresh new fans to the game, Casual FC is your Angel City FC podcast previewing all upcoming matches, highlighting what to look for as the casual football fan.
Angela: Welcome to Casual FC,
an Angel City preview pod.
I'm your host, Angel Morales,
with my favorite co host in the
whole wide world, Mario Salazar.
Mario: Ba pow!
Angela: also, we have a special,
special guest from the Sirens supporter
group of Mortal Enemy, San Diego Wave.
Sean, welcome to the show.
I hope you, don't.
I feel like there's too much animosity.
We come here in peace get some inside
details from, a real life Wave fan.
Sean: thanks for having me.
Yeah, I'm friends and acquaintances
with, people in the supporters
groups and with Angel City, so
we're friendly until, you know, we
got some banter going for the games
Mario: Yeah.
Sean: right?
Mario: like we like to say, we're
friendly up until the whistle.
From whistle to whistle, I don't know you.
Sean: We can drink in the parking lot.
Mario: Yeah.
Angela: Exactly.
Sean: away from me during the game.
Angela: Alright, so this is our
match preview episode of our
upcoming match on Thursday, the
23rd, against the San Diego Wave.
We'll be playing at home, at BMO,
with a kickoff time of 7pm, obviously
Pacific, because we're playing in LA.
The game will be streamed on our
other mortal enemy, CBS Sports
Network, and Bally Sports.
com.
locally, if it still exists come Thursday.
Mario: Yeah.
Angela: TV rights are weird,
nothing makes sense right now,
but crossed you can watch it.
And if you can't, you can always
tune in to iHeartRadio to listen
to Isaac and Tracy on the Angel
City FC network, or on the radio in
Spanish at 1330 AM Tu Liga Radio.
And We're doing a giveaway!
You
Mario: It's cute.
we're not doing a giveaway.
The team is doing a giveaway.
Angela: team.
Yeah, I don't think Mario
and I have enough to invest,
twenty thousand beach towel.
we're not that level
Mario: yeah.
Sean, will you be coming up?
You just made the trip to San Jose.
Are you making the trip to L.
A.
for the midweek match?
Sean: we got a couple, got a
couple buses coming up, there's
a bunch of sirens coming.
We'll be in section 217, so stay
away from us, just like you said.
I don't know if we'll get
the beach towels, though.
Maybe they should be for us.
isn't it supposed to be like a blackout,
but the beach towel is pink, right?
Mario: Yeah,
Sean: how's that supposed to work?
Mario: marketing
Angela: nothing makes sense
Mario: nothing makes sense, Sponsors
want to pay for stuff whenever
they want to pay for stuff, so
Sean: yeah, I know how that goes.
Angela: Yeah, and like Sean mentioned,
it is a blackout game, so make sure
you wear your Dawn jerseys, your,
what is it, the Grit jerseys from this
season, black shirts, black on black.
It's a blackout at BMO.
Mario: yes.
Angela: This makes me really
excited because we had very
successful blackouts of the pyramid
at Long Beach when I was there.
And it was always a good time.
It somehow adds this level of, animosity
that, you can't, what's the word I'm
looking like, you can't make it happen
unless there's, something like this.
black.
in on the thing.
Mario: yeah.
It's gonna be fun.
Although, I'm also excited to the
fact that, I could be wrong, but I
think this is our second night game.
There was one game down in San Diego
that was at night, but everything
else has been like during the day.
Angela: Freaking 2pm at Snapdragon?
Sean: It'll be at one at
Snapdragon later this year.
I
Mario: of the summer.
Angela: in August or something ridiculous.
Yeah.
Sean: year, but I guess that was like a 4.
30 start or something like that.
Mario: Yeah, so last
year we had a lot of 4.
30 starts, like that was our main start
time and we mainly had Sunday matches.
This year it's been a mix of
some Saturday, some Sunday.
this will be our first Thursday match.
we have, some Friday matches.
Sean: is our only Thursday match.
Mario: yeah, so it, yeah, it's weird.
Those, I feel bad for everybody that,
it's nothing compared to what you guys
get at Snapdragon for a midday game,
because there's no shade whatsoever.
But for those 40, unfortunately, because
the 430 matches are the norm, the east
side of the stadium gets blasted with
sun for pretty much the entire game.
So I feel bad because like they're baking,
especially as it's just gonna get hotter.
Angela: yeah, we, Mario and I sit
on the west side of the stadium
where we are always in the shade.
So we're spoiled in that sense.
Mario: Yeah.
Sean: think I was on the east side,
Mario: Yeah,
Sean: it was an April game, so not
quite as bad as later on in the season.
Angela: Yeah,
Mario: yeah, middle of the
summer ones get brutal.
I remember sitting at BMO, it, for
a rare, one, one o'clock, MLS game,
and my seats are closer to the front,
and the shade, and I'm still on the
west side, but the shade did not
come to me until, the 75th minute.
It was so hot, it was so bad.
Angela: in general, Outdoor stadiums
need to have more shade than they
think, because everybody is just baking
the whole time, players included.
Mario: yeah.
At least the good thing we have
is that the concourse is shaded,
Angela: Yes.
Mario: whereas, I've only sat in one
section going down to Snapdragon,
but the rest of the concourse
around it is on the outside, right?
is there any, Sean, are there
any under shade areas on
the concourse at Snapdragon?
Oh,
Sean: yeah,
Mario: when you,
Sean: taller tower side is, it's not
really like a concourse though, so
it's housed in, but it, there are areas
where there would shade, would be shade,
but you can't really, enough people
under there for it to matter, and.
There's not like TVs or anything there.
Mario: yeah, it is what it is, but
it's going to be a Thursday match,
so plan for traffic, plan for leaving
work early, do all that stuff, get
yourself there, wear your black, get
your towel, it's going to be fun.
Angela: So who made our lives
crazy this weekend, Mario?
Mario: Yes,
Angela: award?
Mario: Chaos Award.
Sean, we'd like to give a Chaos Award
to just, team or player or fan base
or weather or whatever that's causing
shenanigans in the league or causes
shenanigans for us but this time
i'm not taking the chaos award in a
negative light i'm going more on the
kind of chaotic good of it all and go
with record setting this weekend had
Just records being set and broken and
tied and just everything all around.
Orlando ties the record for
most consecutive wins at seven.
So if they win next, they, they
have, they hold the record.
Lynn Williams
Angela: Woo!
Mario: has broke,
Angela: I'm a big Lynn Williams fan.
Mario: she has broken the all time
leading score record for the NWSL.
Angela: yeah, so she beat Sam Kerr's
record, and Sam Kerr hasn't played
in the league for quite a few years.
she currently is out within, she's one
of the victims of the ACL this season,
but she normally plays for Chelsea.
she is engaged to Chrissy Mewes.
I'm giving just a little bit
of background of Sam Kerr.
She is a prolific goal scorer.
She's known for backflips.
She's just freaking cool.
but yeah, she's held that record
for, I want to say closer to a
decade than not because she was
playing in when it first came up.
And I need to check to see what year,
she came over or she went over to
Mario: To the UK.
Angela: Lynn very sneakily did that,
I want to say, because People do not
respect Lynn Williams the way she needs
to be outwardly respected and both on
the national team level and in the NWSL.
So, uh, Team Lynn Williams.
Mario: We also had Sam Staab being
the first player in NWSL history
to start 100 consecutive matches.
Those are some strong ass knees.
Angela: Yeah, and she's
played on different teams.
She recently was traded, so to have, to
go from a starting spot on one team for
a few seasons to then get traded and just
pick up where you left off is insanely
difficult because you have to transition.
game transition, sometimes
positions, offensive schemes,
all kinds of things, but
Mario: Yeah.
And then we have two records.
That were set by Angel City, the
first one being, the Thompson sisters.
The first time in NWSL history that
two sisters start for the same club.
They both finally got their start.
I want to say it was.
mainly influenced by us by
releasing our Thompson Time t shirt.
check out shop.
casualfc.
com, quick plug, to check out our
Power Rangers inspired Thompson Time
t shirt, that came out this week
and they got the start this week.
So great job on us.
and then unfortunately, the
other record that was set was the
fastest six goals were scored.
36 minutes in our match that we.
Ended up losing four to two.
So we'll talk about that in a little bit.
But
there's some things that happened.
Angela: there's some things.
Mario: yeah.
And so quick roundabout for the other
scores in the league this weekend, we
Portland beat the dash two to zero, The
North Carolina Courage beat out Utah 1 0.
Bay FC beat out the Wave 2 1.
We have Sean here who
was actually at the game.
Tell us about the game real quick.
Sean: I watch a lot of baseball,
and I would, and I watch the Padres
as well, and sometimes the bullpen
blows the game, and this felt like
one where the bullpen blew the game.
It's just, Wave had that lead, and it
was just, it was an injury that gave
up one goal, and it was a defensive
mistake to give up the other, and it
just didn't feel like a game they should
have lost, but it got out of hand.
Mario: Yeah, there's been plenty of
those for us this season that we failed.
Angela: fan, I can't relate.
Mario: there's,
Angela: an Angel City fan, I can.
Man, I
Mario: multiple, San Diego,
LA, rivalry references.
but how was playing at the stadium with
Bay FC and the, Bridge Brigade supporters
and just like the vibe in general?
Sean: the vibes are pretty good.
they invited us to the tailgate
beforehand, so we were there.
We've got like a flip cup challenge.
they've already come to Snapdragon, and
we've gone up there, so we did, they beat
us twice in flip cup as well, which is
embarrassing, but, I didn't play, but
the, that seems to be a big thing that,
that the bridge brigade likes to do.
Angela: haven't played flip cup.
In a very long time.
Sean: Me neither.
I think that's true of a lot of the
sirens that were playing in it and,
we, they had some ringers on the
bridge side, but that's okay, they're
an expansion team, they can have it
for now, we were there at one point,
Mario: we get to go up to Bay later on
this season just trying to try to get the
lay of the land before we head up there.
Sean: yeah, it was nice, if you do, if
you are able to do, a tailgate with them
and then they want you in, they want the
supporters in, an hour before, you could
do a little march, it's pretty close,
you're not gonna, you're not gonna have
to go too far to get over there and,
they let us bring in a drum, Angel City's
being nicer, we were supposed to have
five drums for the game on Thursday, and
flags, but they weren't allowing flags,
so maybe they have some, growing pains,
or maybe we just need a bigger group going
up there for them to give us a little
more, but, yeah, good for an expansion
team starting off, and they beat us, so
that part of the vibes wasn't so good.
Angela: for an expansion team, I would
love to know the strategy they had for
drafting, transfers, internationals,
that team is stacked for, just fresh
out of the gate, brand new team.
Sean: it feels like their
attack is, two players.
and definitely they're fast.
you, it's not like they're super fast,
like they're just worrying by, but
you can see like them picking up a
step where you're like, your defender
looks like they're going to get the
ball and they're being closed down
on, that definitely was a part of the
second goal that, that Wave gave up.
And I think they've got
experience on their backline
along with a talented rookie.
And then, they're missing their,
I think her name is Alex Lora, the
center defensive mid, their sixth,
they had Loera, I think that's
messing what they want to do.
But Pickett did an okay job,
filling in there, so they've, yeah,
they've got, they definitely built
out a system of sort of starters.
I don't know how deep they are,
but they haven't needed, they
haven't been tested there the way
that some of the other teams have.
Angela: They've been lucky, injury wise.
somebody might have a knock for a game
or two, but that's about it, aside
from Alex Loera falling to the curse.
Sean: too.
they've,
Angela: Yeah,
right!
Yeah, their keepers are struggling.
Mario: yeah.
But it feels like they're doing
okay for the, for an expansion.
They are pretty good.
we can say it gladly here.
They're below both of us.
No, wait.
Yes, they are.
They're below both of us.
at least we're both at Diego and
Angel City are ahead of them.
But, It feels like they're very much
the expansion team, but like we're not.
Either watch out the rest of this second
half of the season or watch out next
year, and they're gonna be like a tear.
getting, just getting that experience
for some of their like younger players
or some of their newer, newer to the
league players, things like that,
and they're just gonna dominate.
So that could be a tricky one coming up.
yeah.
Angela: definitely keep your
eye out for whatever the heck
Bay FC has up their sleeve.
Mario: Yeah.
alright, so just to finish off the scores,
we have, the current end racing tied at 3.
Gotham beat Chicago 2 1.
Seattle lost to the Pride 3 2.
Which brings us to our game.
Which
Angela: Yup.
Mario: we yeah, that happened.
Sean, I don't know if you saw it, but
we will take you through what happened.
Sean: I saw some highlights, I
definitely noticed something that
we've been struggling with, too,
is that, clearing the ball is,
sometimes can be an adventure.
Angela: Yeah, clearing the ball
is, it is difficult in general.
more difficult than it has been in
the last two seasons for us, for sure.
over the weekend, we played the
Spirit, we lost 4 2, it was insane,
and of the best and worst and weirdest
soccer I've seen in a very long time.
So to just go through the goals, I'm
gonna do it in order, chronological
order of when they were scored, not
Mario: Okay.
Angela: because it's so fast.
So the Spirit kicked off the scoring
avalanche with Trinity Rodman, and the
back of the net in the ninth minute.
Then, ten minutes later, Clarice
had a shot towards the box?
she's in the box, she's to get like an,
just set up Syd or something like that.
Ends up being an own goal off the
Spirit's Boutelle at the 20th minute.
We equalized faster than I
think we've ever equalized.
Or there was one game I
think we equalized faster.
And then, like, okay, cool, take a deep
breath, awesome, great, Syd scores.
In the 23rd minute, I blinked and missed
it, or I went to get, a cup of water
or something at Eva's, and then, seven
minutes later, Trinity finds the back of
the net again, in the 30th minute, that's
why I said Trinity Rodman is so damn good.
you can't track her.
She's just everywhere.
then minutes later in the 34th
minute, Casey Kruger scored, who
is someone I'm going to talk about
the next time we match up against
them because she's just fantastic.
That goal was one of those where there
was so much movement in the box Didi
couldn't see where the ball was like
I watched that one a few times because
I was really curious how it happened
and she just found it that's all it was
just boom and then it just happened.
After Casey scored, Ouleymata
Sarr in at the 36th minute and
just knocked another one in.
And okay, it's 4 2 and we're not
even at the end of ha or, the first
half is not even close to being
over because we end up having,
frickin 10 minutes of stoppage time.
Mario: Yeah.
The stoppage time was insane.
And, okay, granted this was one of,
Angela: a reason for the stoppage
time in the first half that I don't
even want to talk about, here we are,
Mario: here,
Angela: Gorden got hurt,
Mario: Yeah, so
Angela: it.
Mario: I will admit and this
weekend was one of the craziest
weekends I've had in a long time.
I did not catch the game, but for the
second half, so like I was getting updates
from Angela, text updates about what was
going on because I kept getting buzzes
on my watch being like, score, score.
And I'm like, what?
I'm like, yes, we tied.
Yes, we're winning.
And then what the hell is happening?
and then I.
Angela: that's about how it
Mario: yeah.
And then I listened to the second
half on the radio and, on our,
on my way to, a show with the
Magic Castle, which was great.
But, that's a story for another time.
But, yeah, like it sounded like the second
half sounded like we were doing good.
We were doing good.
And then, at the end too,
we're like, yes, we got it.
And then it gets called back.
And then Isaac mentions that there
was another one that got called back.
And I was like, what the hell is going on?
Angela: Yeah, we had two goals called
back, Sarah Gorden got hurt, M.
A.
came back, so that's
Mario: Yes.
Angela: We got to see our girl M.
A.
I just don't like this situation we're
in right now with no real healthy center.
oh, we have Megan, my bad.
We've got Megan Reid, but we don't have
another healthy center back at the moment.
We all know why.
Mario: Yeah.
Angela: None of us want
to talk about it anymore.
Sean: Oh, you sure?
Oh, okay.
so who came in at?
So who came in at center back?
Because I saw Spencer came
in, she's not a center back.
Mario: Yeah.
No, she is not.
She's not at all, but she did come in.
Angela: she did come
in and fill that role,
Sean: Okay, because Thompson and Curry
were the other outside, were the outside,
Angela: yeah.
Sean: okay,
Angela: Yeah, Thompson and Curry were
on the wings, and Jasmyne Spencer
came in and held it down, honestly.
I feel like she has the Crystal Dunn
gene of I can play anywhere, and if
you don't believe that I can, bet.
And that was one of those.
she did fantastic.
We, it was weird because then A.
came in and was playing in the
midfield, which we found out she
hasn't done since like school.
we had people playing in really
weird positions because our
subsystem all sorts of jacked up
Mario: Yeah.
It's,
Angela: game was just, yeah,
I'm really curious what our
lineup is gonna be on Thursday.
really curious.
Mario: it feels like every week there's
a new reason to triage the, the lineup.
it just sucks.
She's,
Angela: many reasons.
Emotionally, fans are
hurting, teams are hurting.
physically, injuries are just
getting taken out right now.
But overall, showed a lot more
spirit, a lot more grit, and a lot
of the energy we were hoping to see.
Because had we not been offsides, this
game would have been a draw, and it
would have been, I would have walked away
okay, cool, we live to see another day.
but I feel like that anyway.
But yeah, Mario posted up after the game
in our normal, post game therapy Instagram
story of, instead of two truths and a
lie, give us two things and one thing.
So two good, two bad, two bad, two
good, two of something, one of another.
Kay said that the bad One was Sarah
and two was Gordon, which I have since
talked to Kay and yes, we both agree
The good it is that it feels like
Alyssa is this close to hidden and
getting in the back of the net, and
it does, it feels like this game
was a big turning point for her.
She was, she had a shot.
I, or she almost had an assist, like
she's in the scoring motion again.
So she's like, cleansed, whatever
Mario: she's getting the oil, the
gears oiled up and everything.
Like every time she's just inching
closer and closer to that goal.
And like we said, like there's just,
the yips are a little real here,
but I think once she gets that goal
and once she gets over it, hopefully
it's just floodgates from there.
it's just a matter of getting
that little bit of confidence of
Angela: And
Mario: Finally burying that, that goal.
Angela: so
Mario: Okay, so the, okay, so the
J'Anthony one, I was telling you,
I'm, I don't know what this means,
so I'm gonna let you try to decipher.
Angela: Yeah.
Sean, we encourage people to like,
give us emojis as their answers to
these, because then it's okay, we
either have to figure out what they're
trying to say, or we just get to
Sean: make it up.
Boutel
Angela: single emoji.
John Anthony, who we lovingly call
J'Anthony, gives us a French flag.
tiger, colon, so those are the two things,
and then the one thing is a goal, so
the French thing is Clarisse, the tiger,
Mario: is it Clarisse, though?
Is it Clarisse?
Because isn't, Ouley is French.
Angela: yeah, but, not on our team.
Mario: that could be the negative.
Angela: Oh, that's true, it
could be Ouley and Casey Kruger?
Or Trinity Rodman?
I don't know.
Mario: Who's the tiger?
Who's,
Sean: scorer.
Boutel, goal scorer,
Mario: oh.
Angela: Okay, so two French own goals.
I don't know what a tiger is, though.
That's the thing.
Mario: J'Anthony, you have stumped us.
Angela: Yeah.
please send us a DM with what this meant.
Mario PS: Okay, um,
Angela PS: this is like the, the
first PS from, the pod where we
stopped recording and decided we
needed to add something in post haste.
Mario PS: in the same episode.
Angela PS: yeah, in the same
episode, when we were talking about
everybody's Instagram responses, I
messaged J'Anthony about what his
response was because I was perplexed.
None of us could figure it out.
And came through.
So it was Frenchie, Tiger, and Goals.
He said, I said Goals were bad because
I couldn't find an emoji for the pitch.
That pitch was so bad.
Mario PS: It was.
Angela PS: I don't understand, if you're
gonna be a multi event, uh, stadium,
Mario PS: Yeah.
Angela PS: get your shit together
Mario PS: Well, I mean, they have, they,
they host the Spirit and they also host,
uh, DC United, but they now host an
American football team, like one of, yeah.
So, yeah.
Yeah.
Apparently Isaac pointed out that
there were some markings on the ground,
faint markings, but they were there.
Um.
Angela PS: could see them.
Mario PS: Yeah.
Angela PS: And I am upset.
Mario PS: Okay.
Was it as bad?
Was it as bad as the, the San Diego ones?
Okay.
Um, and then,
Angela PS: raining.
So it was, it was bad.
It was so bad.
It was embarrassing.
so he said the Tiger was Madison
Curry because she went to Princeton
and the French flag was Clarice.
So I was
Mario PS: you were right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And yeah, that pitch was terrible.
Yes, J'Anthony.
So thank you for giving us this
clarification and now back to
the regular recorded podcast.
Angela PS: Bye.
Mario PS: Bye.
Angela: Aaron said that the good
was that no one really gave up.
We've seen it in past games where
you just see the defeat take over.
and that didn't happen,
which was really nice to see.
bad was that Gordon and
Thompson, I'm not sure which one.
I also
Mario: Gisele.
Angela: watch the last 15 minutes
of the game because my migraine came
back, and I've had a migraine on
and off since Friday, and it sucks.
I didn't catch the last few
game, the last few minutes of
the game, but it was Gisele that
Mario: I believe it was Gisele.
yeah.
Angela: yeah, I did see that part, yeah.
And then Del said Didi
again worked her butt off.
We saw the back of the net with
like exclamation points like hooray!
Sarah Gordon had me in tears.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sarah Gorden's ankle injury, to be very
honest, made me nauseous, because it was
a no contact injury, I know what that
feels like, and it is not a good feeling.
and then Wes said, not enough
Messiah Bright, which I think
we all agree on at this point.
is Sarah okay crying two crying
emojis, and then Syd Leroux headers.
I think we all collectively
love when Syd scores.
Also, one thing I forgot in earlier
for the record setting, Syd is
now top ten all time goal scorers.
She has knocked Carly
Lloyd out of the top ten,
Mario: There we go.
So
Angela: about that.
Mario: another record to
the, to the Chaos Award.
There you go.
Angela: Yeah.
Sean: gotta say, especially
about the Emslie's, service on
that, the, where she put that
Angela: yeah.
Sean: head is, was great.
And I think there was at least
another corner Emslie had, I mean.
Angela: She,
Sean: the one I'm watching.
she's dangerous and she was last year too.
Angela: she's on a
different level this season.
It's really fun to see her play.
I, we joke that.
A lot of it is because she's no
longer planning a wedding in another
country and can, really just focus in.
Her life's calmed down a little bit.
But either way, she's on a
different level this season.
Mario: it was also really fun to see
how, Because we left it open ended and
be like, give us two good and a bad, or
give us the good and the bad, you choose
which one, it it really sets the mood
when people are like, here's two bads.
And here's the good, or I saw
more good than, it's the kind of
optimism, pessimism type thing.
I felt after our last episode, I was
looking for a clip to put on social and I
was like, okay, I gotta at least put the,
optimistic view before this game because
we were so down on the whole, on the whole
Houston, match that, we needed a little
bit of, There might be some hope going
forward, so I did find that one piece
that I was like, that we were, optimistic
about and, it is what it is, but, so that
leads us into our standings, we're still
in 9th place with 10 points, the good
news is we did not lose, we Any position?
Bad news is we didn't gain any position.
Overall though, there hasn't been much
movement in the standings this past week.
The current and Orlando
basically just swap spots.
and so they just swap spots basically.
They're just tangoing and playing
no you go first, no you go first.
and then positions 3 through 9
All stayed in the same place.
Nobody moved whatsoever.
And then,
Sean: but all picked up
points on except for Chicago.
Mario: oh, okay, yeah.
There were there, everybody,
we didn't pick up points, but
Angela: didn't pick up points.
Sean: Yeah, we didn't
pick up points either.
So
Mario: Oh, you're saying Chicago,
Sean: 1 through
Mario: okay,
Sean: farther away from
both of our teams except for
Angela: that's,
Sean: And by three
Mario: okay,
Sean: weren't any draws, right?
Mario: geez.
Angela: there was one,
Sean: Oh, Kansas City and Racing.
Okay,
Mario: Kansas City and racing.
Sean: City only
Mario: And that's why Kansas City flipped.
And then, speaking of racing, 10 through
13, they all leapfrogged each other.
like Racing Bay, Houston, and Seattle,
all kind of flip flopped switch places,
and then Utah has been steadily.
Holding the bottom for us, on the table,
so again, if you want to see a really
cool version of this, go visit, Alison
Gayle's Twitter, amazing infographic
stats, Sean, I don't know if you're in our
script right now, but I have the graphic
laid out down there, and it's really fun,
color spaghetti of the way the standings
have moved, over the last couple weeks.
and I just love actually
seeing the standings this way.
And,
Angela: it's fun to track like much
movement there is some weeks and how
much movement there is not others.
Like even just a couple weeks ago, were
flying all up and down the standings,
and this week it was like, okay.
Mario: yeah.
Angela: three teams moved.
Sean: Yeah, I'm sure a graphic like
Mario: Yep.
Sean: better at the end of last
season for both of us, where Wave to
Mario: Yeah.
Sean: and Angel City
to the playoffs, right?
Mario: Yeah.
Sean: surge at the end.
Angela: Yeah.
Thankfully this season is not over
and we can still figure our stuff out
Mario: Yeah.
our chance to like, still write
the ship are getting smaller and
smaller, but we still have time.
Angela: You never know what can happen.
A lot of, we have an Olympic break.
Mario: True.
Angela: can happen.
Mario: Yeah, that's true.
all So previewing the next
match versus San Diego.
We've got Sean here, our special guests
from the Sirens supporters groups.
First, I want to learn more
about Sean and about the Sirens.
So Sean, are you from
San Diego originally?
Sean: yeah, pretty much.
I was born in Sacramento, but my
parents were living in San Diego,
were in Sacramento for a very brief
time, and then came back to San Diego.
yeah,
Mario: You
Sean: time, since like I was like
Mario: basically just grew up.
Yeah.
Nice.
And then, did you When was it
that you joined the Sirens?
Sean: Pretty much immediately, as soon
as San Diego formed a team, I was hunting
around to see if there'd be a supporters
group, not to jump to your next question,
but I was in American Outlaws already,
Mario: Okay.
Sean: I was in San Diego, or in the locals
for the San Diego Loyal already, and, I
like that supporters group culture, I like
the community that it brings, I like it.
finding new friends and having something
that when the team wins or when they lose
that there's camaraderie involved in there
and it's not just about your sports team
and, throwing something at your TV or
whatever when they lose, that you have
people to, to banter about and cry over
it with or when they win to celebrate
with and buy shots with and, sing
songs with and all that sort of stuff.
I love that supporters culture.
So I was pretty much there from day one.
I wasn't leading.
I wasn't in leadership, but I was, I
wanted to be a part of that, and find new
Mario: Nice.
Nice.
Yeah.
that's always great to, to Be able to
come from this, to, or be able to come
to this from, knowing what all of this
is and being able to be part of that,
beginning, supporter structure and, just
making the culture of the, the sirens
and the wave, what it's going to be.
Being there from day one is always,
a really, fun, exciting thing.
we've, we're part of, Some
supporters groups or a supporter
group here with Angel City also.
And so we were there day one.
We've been season ticket
holders since day one.
And, same kind of
feeling of we were there.
We were there at the games in Fullerton.
We were there right when
we started playing at BMO.
and it was just.
It's been an exciting thing.
so what has your favorite moment been?
It's a two parter with the sirens.
So it could be, cause I know, as we
all know, or as some of our listeners
have been learning about SGs also,
we did a whole interview series,
all the six SGs, for Angel City.
and it's a lot more than just banging
the drum and chanting in the stadium,
there's a lot of community involvement.
There's a lot of helping
your neighbor type thing.
And, and every group has their own
focus and their own little twist to it.
So what has your favorite moment
been with the sirens, either with
the in the stadium or outside?
And then what has your favorite
moment been just as like
a wave supporter, so far?
Sean: so I got a couple
with the supporters group.
I mean, making TIFOs and
doing celebrations like in
the section is incredible.
I wasn't a part of that, the first time
we did that, but I have been as the, I'm
the spirit coordinator for the Sirens,
so I try to do the logistics for that,
even though I'm not an art person.
And, and,
Angela: you're the person, or
I was gonna say, you're the
person that the art folks need.
Sean: Because the, sometimes the art
folks, they need a schedule, or they
need to have things purchased for them,
and they're at a certain time, and,
Make sure that things are set up and
create a signup sheet and all that sort
of stuff so they can focus on the art,
because, there's a lot of different
art things that can go on there.
and the one I think was the, the coolest
moment for me in that regard was when we
did our pride celebration last year and
we did a bunch of color streamers that
went up the section in the progress plus
the standard old school pride colors.
And, just organizing that and, I think.
you guys have a similar thing on game
days, not everyone's in their seat,
right at the time of the game starts or
standing in their place, making sure that
things were going through the section and
making sure that people were there and
they knew what to do and to raise it over
their head and just the feeling when it
all went up and it was there and every
single color was there and straight, and
just high fiving the other Sirens that
had helped us organize the end was pretty
cool moment of just felt like something
had been accomplished, and we were able
to do something, for that community.
and then I think also, just outside of
the actual Wave stuff with Sirens, even
though it is still NWSL, we hosted the
final, and doing some of the events for
that, for the NWSL final, either the
night before, Or the tailgate we did
the day of and just seeing all these
fans come together and just be able to
hang out all together and not be like,
not have any animosity going on there.
Everybody was having a good time and it
was fun and it was a nice social event
and becoming part of communities that are
outside of even, our team was pretty cool.
Mario: Yeah.
Sean: and then my favorite moment
for Wave is when we won the Shield.
just, it was just incredible.
smiles everywhere, people were super
excited, just, going into the playoff
about to host the semifinal, that
didn't go so well, but at least
that was on the horizon, it just, it
felt like the wind was at our sails,
and it was a pretty cool moment.
Mario: Nice.
Yeah,
Sean: doesn't win a lot of trophies,
that's pretty cool to win that one.
Mario: Yeah, having that first
piece of silverware in the trophy
cabinet is, it's a big feat.
And congratulations to the team
and, we'll get there one day.
yeah, but it's, I'm excited
to, to hear about what you've,
what you guys have done.
and like I said, it's always being
a part of SGs and things like that.
And knowing the work that
kind of goes into it.
I will say one of my favorite.
Things about, just visually as,
the spectator, is the bubbles.
I just love the fact that there's like
bubbles in the, on your supported section.
I, it just makes me happy.
Oh, gritty?
Yeah.
Angela: Yeah.
I'm a big gritty fan.
Sean: Have you met him?
Angela: No, I haven't
been down to Snappy yet.
Sean: He did come up, he
did come up last year.
I was on the bus next to him, I'll have
to check if he's coming on Thursday.
Maybe not.
He does have two small kids, so.
yeah, I
Mario: Yeah.
Sean: I've always been
encouraging the Bubbles.
Even before I was on leadership, I want
everything Bubbles, and, that was also,
to welcome Bay into the league when
they came, and we beat them at home.
we wanted, we did, a Bubble bash
to, extra Bubbles and make it feel
like it was something a little
bit special, and just to help get
enthusiasm for the season, because
that was our, third game of the season.
yeah,
Mario: Nice.
Nice.
Welcome to the beautiful BMO later on
Thursday and you guys will be making the
trip up on a couple buses and hopefully
everything turns out, the drive goes
well, not a lot of traffic, we get to
party together, have fun together, like
I said, whistle to whistle, you guys
go to your corner, we'll stay in ours.
But we're both coming into this
next matchup with some lost trauma.
We're both coming into this
thing with losses, so nobody's
riding a high right now.
Angela: Yeah, it's going to be a super
interesting game because, partially
because it's San Diego versus Angel
City and it always an interesting game.
It's one of those where matter
how good or how bad either
team is, everybody plays up.
we always want to win, you guys always
want to win, so it's always fun because
everyone shows out for the wave.
And for Angel City matches, it's just so
good, because the table is so close right
now, this is going to be what we have
called, what is called a six point match.
as it stands right now, the Wave
are at 11 points in 8th place.
have 10 points in 9th place.
So because we're so close, a win
for us and a loss from them does
more damage than normally would.
And I'm not going to give
the alternative because
Mario: Because it's our podcast.
Angela: because it's my podcast.
But
Mario: Yes, yeah.
And, like we mentioned earlier, we need
answers about what happened to Sarah.
That, I, as the Game was ending, Isaac
started talking about how, what the
conditions were on the pitch, and how
awful they were, and it was causing some
issues on both sides, but, hopefully,
Sarah, we are sending our love and,
support, and hopefully, the, it was
more of a in the moment type thing and
it's like something you can walk off.
hopefully that's where it is.
Please,
Angela: Mario's just trying to
stay hopeful and I'm sitting
here and just shaking my head
like, no, I know I've done that.
Mario: Yeah.
Angela: And it's not, I'm
just like, I need someone to.
Have intel and let me know, grade, what
grade this is, where we're at, what
the treatment plan is, ankle injury.
Angela is tapping in to this conversation
big time because I really want to
know prognosis and what's going on.
But obviously we don't
get that information.
Sean: And it's,
Angela: the pitch was so bad.
Sean: also hard for a center back
because if they're gonna have to come
back for 90 minutes, like you're not
going to be, we'll get into some of the
wave players, but, you can play the 45
and 45, but it causes a big problem.
And then if you have to come off
early, it's even a bigger problem.
it's not just a matter of getting back
and being like and trying to push yourself
it you really need that 90 minutes
Angela: Yeah.
Mario: backline is so important.
there is, truth to the saying, strikers
are forwards, score goals, but defenders
win games, you need a solid backline, and
that's something that is slipping away
from us, little by little, game by game.
Decision by freaking decision.
Angela: we have prided ourselves
in having is slowly but surely
finding its way through the cracks.
But we are going to stay
optimistic, regardless of how
bonkers everything feels right now.
just really be hopeful that Even though
we're in a precarious situation right
now, that one, whatever the FO is working
towards is going to be worth it, and
two, that Sarah back quickly and is
able to, heal, I don't know, give her
whatever they give Patrick Mahomes.
Call the Kansas City Chiefs, please.
I
Mario: we have, as we do for our match
previews, Sean, we like to highlight
for everyone the players that we
think would be just good to watch.
Usually we do our homework and kind of
You know, look at the roster and Angela
being the wealth of sports knowledge that
she is, sets all of these up for us and
we get to learn, but we've got you here
with our insider knowledge, our knowledge
from behind the supporters groups.
So give us your players to watch
or the players that you are
always keeping an eye out on.
And I already see your first bullet point.
So I'm like, all right.
Sean: that's there just for you guys the
yeah the first one's savannah mccaskill
i mean coming back to play against
angel city that's that's got to mean
something to her it means something to
the fans i don't know it's, it's gonna
be an interesting, spectacle to, to see
what's going on there, she's also been
someone that, maybe a little surprising
to us was, is just almost nailed on
into the team because it seemed like
there was a lot of competition for the
spots that she would play and whether
she'd fit the style and so far, I
don't know, there's some mixed things.
She's yeah.
the most impressive, unimpressive
player, the most player that you could
see, she's a lot of hustle, she's a
lot of hustle, but sometimes you wonder
if she's in the right spot after she's
been hustling, and, and, Yeah, it's
disruptive to the opponent and maybe
disruptive to the offense as well.
what that chaos could bring against
playing against her former team, who
I guess she still has some love for.
It's not like it was left on bad terms.
That's just interesting
to see where that's going.
Mario: yeah, we'll see because of the fact
that, our current track record against
former ACFC players has not been so hot.
Angela: We're split, because we beat Utah,
Mario: okay,
Angela: beat up by Utah,
Mario: beat up by Utah, but
Angela: we had our hearts broken by
Mario: yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Angela: we deserved.
It wasn't even by
Mario: Oh no, but we also
lost against Bay, and
Angela: Oh, and
Mario: Scarlett, yeah,
so yeah, track record.
Angela: see what
Sean: She just
Mario: We'll see what happens.
Angela: I feel like Scarlett Kambrous
is like really finding her groove up
there, which I'm so happy for her.
She had so much.
outside of soccer happening at
Angel City while she was with us
at Angel City and like established
and moving and feeling safe and
all the things that were going on.
I'm glad she's finding her group up
there, even though it's detrimental
to the collective California
Mario: Yeah.
So I
Sean: Bay was here.
yeah, so it's cool to
see all their family.
It wasn't as cool to see the goal,
especially because that was an injury,
that was an injury on way of, Kristen
Westfall got hurt on that play and just
couldn't cover that side of the field.
and so she was wide open for the shot.
Camaras was wide open for the shot.
So that was unfortunate.
Angela: the worst.
When you're like, cool,
Sean: Yeah, there's nothing you can do.
Angela: Yeah.
Mario: have a question.
Sean: she got her pick
of both sides of the net.
Mario: so Sean, I have a question
for you as a, a Wave fan.
when the McCaskill trade was announced,
there was a TikTok that came out and it
was the joy for the Angel City fan base.
where we were laughing
because, because it.
She was running on the beach and
it was like, oh, I'm running to
San Diego or whatever it was.
And then everybody had fun pointing out
the fact that she's running the wrong way.
She was running towards LA.
She was running north on the beach.
was that, and of course,
everybody has their fan base.
So of course it was a big thing for us.
was it talked about at all
from the San Diego side?
Sean: there was a lot of chatter
just about trying to figure out
that move and was this the big move
that, that, Wade was promising.
we went to an event and we're the
offseason, it seemed like it was
promised that there'd be big moves.
And I think maybe, Maria Sanchez was
the planned big move that they wanted to
do and couldn't get through and Houston
blocked that, but, so at the time it just
seemed okay, is McCaskill the big move?
Because, I don't know, she was very,
she scored a lot of and assists
for Angel City, but it wasn't
necessarily something we needed,
what we were looking forward to add.
So there were a lot of different
feelings just about her as the player
and yeah, the sort of, their attempt
at a little ad campaign thing to,
to show it off that was like, I
don't know, but, yeah, there's been
Mario: Yeah.
Sean: since then so that it cleared out
some space for her to play, but it's,
I earn something special if something
happens on Thursday, because that'll
be fun, especially the way things have
been going with, Nielsen scoring against
Angel City or even like against us.
It was called back, but like Taylor
Flint, formerly Corniac, right?
scored against us.
That was called back and
was really celebrating hard.
And it's
Mario: Oh.
Sean: about?
there's some animosity going
on in NWSL right now of players
that have left teams, so
Angela: trade for agency, I don't remember
if it was for agency or a trade, but like
when that happened, I was just like, what?
it was so confusing because, yeah, she got
married in the offseason, but, her husband
plays in Canada, outside of Toronto, on
the Tiger Cats, he's a football player,
American football player in Canada, so
I didn't understand location wise, that
Sean: I don't think it's location.
I think she wanted to start.
I think, she could have
potentially started at Wave,
but she'd have to earn it.
it would have to be more of a competition.
There was a little more risk there.
I think that's, this is something
that comes with expansion, right?
With more teams, there's
more starting spots.
So it might be harder, especially
with a salary cap, to keep a deeper
roster, because players know they can
go somewhere and ask to go, or ask
to go somewhere and go play there.
And Wave's really accommodating
of the players that want to stay
here, we want to keep them here.
And the players that say
they want to stay here.
Play elsewhere or have a reason
to play elsewhere, they're gonna
try to find some way to do that.
and I think not only, I think she wanna
start, I think maybe she thinks her way
back to the national team is to play the
six to play that center defensive mid.
And that's what she's been
playing for Louisville.
And I don't think that's
what Wave would want to play.
Want to play her.
I think she was good as like a center
attacking mid or sometimes the eight.
and, sometimes in the game, at the
end of the game float forward and
almost become a nine and let Morgan or
somebody like that float back or float
to the side so that she can be that
target in the middle, whereas now it's
more, she uses her height to win those
aerial duels, when on goal kicks and
other free, other, long kicks from the
long crosses from the defensive line.
which she was very effective doing
that against Wave, I would say, like
Sheridan's and Germa and Dahlkemper are
all very good at kicking those long balls
and finding people, but when Flint's
head's in the way, it was difficult.
Angela: Definitely.
And speaking of, Naomi Girma is
next on your list of players.
And during the World
Cup, I was hyping her up.
during every time we've talked about the
Wave, I'm like, don't forget, Naomi Girma
Mario: yeah,
Angela: just, that's it.
That's it.
She's just so freaking good.
Sean: Yeah, to bring it back to
what I was saying earlier about
two things I brought up earlier.
So one, the clearances, if we have
GERMA back there, and especially
GERMA playing with Dahlkemper, then,
Angela: Yeah.
Sean: you're getting better clearances,
you're not having as much loose traffic
in there, We like to say in the sports,
Girma says no, because Girma will say
no, and the ball is no longer in, the
attacking third for the opposing team.
having her being able to play a
90, would be really important.
I don't know if that's possible.
She just played 45, and then
Dahl Kemper played the second 45.
And like I said, the second half
is when Some balls went in that
we, that, seemed like a better
defense could have taken care of.
hopeful she's going to play 90.
I think it's one to watch.
She's always a player to watch,
like you said, could be one of
the best centerbacks in the world.
Angela: Oh,
Sean: is one of the best,
could be the best in the world.
Angela: Yeah,
Sean: just the way that she anticipates
things, her speed too, which, as we,
with Bay, we were talking about speed.
And so then the other thing.
Yeah, to bring back is, yeah, when
you come, when you're help, when, for
centerbacks, you need them to play that
full 90, and it makes a big difference
if they don't, it changes things up.
Angela: sets a standard on the
back line for any team, really.
when you know who you have behind,
like, when you know you have this
defensive force, it settles the mind of
like your midfielders, your offensive
players, if anything gets past me, I
know, our next layer of defense is fine.
And then, Obviously, for us, it's oh,
yeah, obviously, it's Sarah, it's M.
A., it's Megan Reid, for you guys,
it's, Abby D., it's Girma, I don't even
know who else is on defense right now
because I haven't been paying attention.
Sean: The
Angela: been
Sean: backs have been
shifting around, yeah.
Angela: That's what I thought, you
guys have had very, and then Girma
was hurt at the beginning of the
season after the CONCACAF games.
There's been transitions and changes,
but still, your back line is so solid.
Sean: Yeah, and it's
not just defense, too.
Germa turns defense to offense
a lot of the times, too.
She's I said the long balls earlier,
but she's also good at distribution.
Her pass is to, to find, a fullback
that's moving forward, or to find,
the eight, or find, You know, put the,
put it in a spot where the six can
turn around and make the pass forward.
She's much better at that
than any of the replacements.
Kennedy Wesley, who's filled in at times,
she definitely has the instincts to play.
She has the athleticism to play.
She has the tenacity to play, but she's
not the passer that Germer is, and
she's not the anticipator that Germer
is, and so you lose all this little
extra stuff that can help the team,
Be more than, pray for a clean sheet
and pray for a last minute goal, so,
Angela: Definitely.
And so much of that, Germa especially,
so much of it is experience, but it's,
even more of it this, intangible soccer
IQ that she just has mountains of over
everyone else in the league right now.
Sean: and it's still growing, she's
learning from Stoney all the time,
I think that's why she's still,
she's stayed with WAVE, she's
not going to become a free agent.
anytime in the next few years, we
Angela: I don't
Sean: just played San Jose, a lot of
the fear was she would go to a team
like that, where she, that's her
hometown, but I think she's, she likes
the coach that's here, she's, and
learning all the time from that system.
Angela: learning from
amazing defenders as well.
just the fact that Abby Dahlkemper
is, back on the pitch is a miracle.
But then to have, allow players like Irma
to learn from her, learn from that World
Cup experience and that international
experience, she's just, it's so cool.
so cool.
Because Dahlkemper has
a freaking boot on her.
Sean: Yeah, I didn't realize how,
important that was to, I watched,
You know, Dahlkemper's games with
the national team, and obviously was
impressed with their defense and whatnot.
I don't think I quite understood the
long balls that she was able to put out
there until we lost them for Wave, and
then I was listening to, Tobin Heath
and Kristen Press just talk about how
important that was, and how they missed
that, and how they loved having those
balls to help them, them get service,
and that sort of transitions us into
the, to the next part, because even,
those players are wingers, right?
And I have Sophia Jakobsson as
the third player, as a troll job
against you guys, because she,
it was a great moment last year
Mario: Nice, so
Sean: going and all that sort of stuff,
and, and then also just as a stand
in for, our play from those forward
wings, it's going to be, It's so
important, Doniak missed the last game.
She scored a couple goals for us.
We're looking for Maria Sanchez to
start, really helping with that attack.
Maya Jones looked good at times
for, she's a great dribbler and
setting up play, from the right side.
Amir Ali can come in and
change games at the end.
So but Jakobsson was, before she got
hurt, again, there's so many injuries,
I know you guys are talking about
injuries on our side, your side, we've
had a lot of players going in and out,
Angela: so
Sean: we're a very deep team, so it's
you can still, they can still get points
while they have key injuries, but yeah,
Jakobsson was playing pretty well and
getting a lot of the attack, lot of
the run, a lot of the shots on goal
that were, we're forcing great saves.
And so we'd like to see that, again from
her or from whichever wingers end up
starting that game or trying to finish
that game and become game changers.
yeah, that's a third player for me.
Angela: Awesome.
it is an ultimate troll,
but I appreciate it.
And
Mario: good, fair play.
Angela: yeah, exactly.
It's one of those where it's I'm never,
she's a Swedish national team player.
she's so decorated.
She's so good.
It's one of those where yeah.
She's on my team.
What'd you expect?
Sean: Yeah, that was one of
my favorite moments last year.
especially earlier in last year, yeah.
I'll never forget that Singing Happy
Birthday to her from 2017 up there in BMO,
Angela: That's awesome.
if you, I'm in 227, Mario, you're in 228?
Mario: No, I'm 128.
Angela: 126.
Mario: 20.
Angela: Something like that.
He's in the 100 levels, I'm in the
200s, but, if you end up running
into either of us, let us know.
We'll make sure, we'll pass some stickers
along to you guys and, spread the love.
Mario: Yeah.
Angela: When it comes to just supporting
each other, and I talk about this
a lot across sport in general, but
there's such a camaraderie within
fanbases of women's sports, soccer,
basketball, like whatever sport, there's
such camaraderie between fanbases
because that's all we had for so long.
We didn't have like casual fans that
would check out games here and there.
We didn't have.
access, easy access to watching games.
So it's if you knew somebody who
had, season tickets to another team
or had a cable package, you shared
information, that kind of thing.
And it's so cool that now we're able
to do this with other supporter groups
to then connect us even further.
And it just, it makes me and my little,
female athlete heart real happy.
I'm not going to cry, Mario.
Mario: okay.
we still got a little bit more of
the episode left, so let's see.
Angela: I know.
I'll keep it together.
Mario: All right, and for every,
Angela: for crying, Sean.
Mario: for
Angela: About sports.
Sean: I'll work on that
next time you bring me on,
Mario: And for everybody who is
new to keeping an eye on these Wave
players, we have Jakobsson at forward
number 10, we have Girma being a
defender number 4, and of course,
you might be familiar with McCaskill,
midfielder number 21 on the Wave.
So let's turn the tables and let's
talk about our ACFC players to watch.
And, Yeah, in honor of this record setting
weekend, let's talk about the sisters.
Oh,
Angela: trying to stay positive
and look for the good things, even
though I'm stressed about this team.
but I wanted to talk about Alyssa
and Gisele because they accomplished
something that is incredibly difficult
to do in sports in general, is one,
to have your sibling play at the same
level as you, to play on the same team.
We never got a muous crossover.
They never played on the
same team in the NWSL.
so we got, we got it.
we hold that crown now at Angel
City with Alyssa and Gisele.
And it's so cool having met their dad,
having gotten more access to Knowing,
like, where they're from, what they
do, they went to the same high school
as our captain, Ali Riley, they are L.
A.
born and bred in the Valley,
which if you're from L.
A., you know it's like a
different land up there.
If live south of one freeway, you don't
go north up another, it's a whole thing.
but Alyssa came in as the number one
draft pick last season, she's number
21 of forward, She's just fantastic.
She was a Gatorade player
of the year in 2021.
She was the only player in the MLS
development league playing against
male players around the country.
A lot of that happened pre COVID
when everything shut down, that's
when everything shifted a little
bit and they just stayed local.
She will run through a defense
seemingly with no fear.
We've seen a little bit
trepidation After the games with the
national team and the World Cup and some
of the stuff that happened last season
with Angel City, but she's starting to get
that confidence back and she's starting
to like better, faster decision decisions.
She's not as apprehensive with
when she's on the ball, so
it just, it was so good and.
She, I'm so glad we're seeing
her back to herself again.
we're seeing this craftiness
when she gets the ball.
She's not afraid to put herself
and her body in the position
to have penalty called.
just so many things that she does
that I don't think people really
understand are really difficult.
dribbling and running is also hard.
I cannot do it.
That's why I didn't play soccer.
But You have at least two defenders
on you at all time, and you're doing
this, and you're trying to get the
ball to someone else, all these things.
She had consecutive assists prior to, the
last game, which was absolutely fantastic.
She's the first, or the
youngest player to do that.
And it's just, it's so cool
to watch her grow and to watch
her develop with this team.
And What's insane is that her sister,
Gisele, plays a completely different
position, which I think is fantastic
for their relationship, she started
training with Angel City early last year.
So after Alyssa had already been
with the team for a few months, she
started training with the team, which
is why she didn't have to go through
draft and all the things because
we had been basically scouting her
before she became a legal adult.
So the rules were different.
Mario: Yeah, we snuck
in there to sign her.
Yes, thanks, Olivia.
Angela: but because we signed
Gisele before she turned 18, were
different, contract rules and
drafting rules and things like that.
played alongside her sister the majority
of their careers in high school and
club and all that kind of stuff.
she's just different.
She comes onto the pitch
and the energy she brings.
brings the rest of the team up with her.
So when she started this last
week, I think there was a
different level of confidence
that was reinstilled in the team.
Because they've they've gone
through it the last three weeks.
Mario: Yeah,
Angela: So I think having another jolt
helps them, one, because she's barely
18 and um, we joke that she's got
fresh knees, she's got fresh legs, and
Mario: still works.
Angela: yeah, she's able to do a lot
more at a lot, with a lot more speed
and a lot more, 18 year old energy that
comes with that, and it's so cool to
see she's played on the wing, she's
played in the midfield when we tried
to down on defense for a couple games.
going to be a very
versatile player for us.
And then whichever team she ends
up on around the league in years to
come, I hope she stays with Angel
City, but given the chance at some
point, I'm sure she'll move around.
but she is on the U 20 national team.
And, working her way up through the
system there, so I wouldn't be surprised
if we get another sister crossover
national level in a couple years.
Mario: Dude, to have Thompson
connection on the national team.
That'd be awesome.
Angela: Ugh, I want the Thompson to
Thompson connection at Angel City, I want
it at the national level, just, they're
so fun to watch, and part of it is because
they're so young, so they're, there's
not that same fear, players don't have
the scouting reports on them as well,
you play, Sarah Gordon has played against
Paige They played together for a couple,
and now they're playing against each
other again, so that matchup is different,
because they have that experience, or,
and, they play similar positions, they
know each other's tendencies, and all
of that, but at the same time, Sarah's
played against Alex Morgan, Sarah's
played against all of the better strikers
in the league, it's it's so different
when you come in as this fresh body.
Yeah, you can be scouted, but
it's a little bit different when
you don't have, seven years of
experience in the league to watch.
But, with that said, go
buy a Thompson Time shirt!
Thanks to Ethan, who got one last weekend,
and I was at Home Depot and made my day.
Mario: yeah, that was awesome.
Getting that email that
said, Hey, you made a sale.
And we're like, yes.
and then also something interesting that
Tracy mentioned on the broadcast was
that Saturday was Gisele's, prom night.
And last year.
And of course she missed it, right?
She was starting.
Last year was Alyssa's prom night for
the home match against the Spirit.
So just overall Spirit
just ruins everything.
The Spirit just, they're
big party poopers.
Angela: Yeah, that, that sucks.
Mario: all and then we have our little
history between the teams and because
the NWSL tried to do this forced,
Challenge cup, injury cup, that they
wanted to do for Granted it, it did
what it needed to do when it started,
but they kept it going for a little too
long and didn't really quite make sense.
But we have a lot of
matches against the Wave.
We have three wins.
Two draws and three
losses against the Wave.
So we're pretty much dead even,
Angela: Yeah.
Mario: history wise.
So,
Sean: I think if you
Mario: let's,
Sean: the Challenge Cup,
too, it's dead even.
Angela: Yeah.
Sean: two, two wins, one,
two wins and two losses each.
Mario: yeah.
anything can happen.
It's gonna be an exciting game.
you know, it's just gonna be real fun.
So again, just a reminder of
where to watch and listen.
Match is gonna be this Thursday at 7 p.
m.
at BMO, so leave work early, make sure
you get there with enough time, you're
driving through traffic near USC, USC,
the school's done now, but near downtown,
all of that stuff, it's crowded, it's
gonna be hard, we're playing the Wave,
Thursday, May 23rd, TV will be CBS
Sports Network, which we've already,
we've said our piece about them.
Bally Sports, hopefully they are
on your TV package because they've
been having some issues too.
Or just listen to the radio,
iHeartRadio, listen to Isaac and Tracy.
Or in Spanish, you can
listen to 1330 Tuliga Radio.
And remember, there is a beach
towel giveaway, a bright ass pink
beach towel on our blackout match.
Angela: I will say, because I know
people are going to be, them around and
Mario: I was asking my wife, I was like,
do you think it's like beach towel?
Or is it like mini beach towel?
is it like doll sized beach towel?
Angela: Yeah, is it Barbie Beach
Towel or Adult Beach Towel?
Mario: if you like what you hear,
hit subscribe button wherever you're
listening, check out casualfc.
com for all the pod links.
check out the Sirens, social media.
stuff.
They have really cool things going on.
If you're ever down in the San Diego area
to catch a match, I highly recommend it.
their matches are fun.
just like we, both of us coming into
this league, we brought a lot of
energy, a lot of fans and a lot of
support, to their teams and to our
respective teams and to the league.
And it's been, when it
comes to the support.
The atmosphere and the fans, the West
Coast is by far leading the charge.
Sean, where can people find, more out,
more about the Sirens supporter group?
Sean: Yeah, I mean Our socials
are always SD Sirens, so the
letters SD and Sirens, and we've
got a webpage too, sandiegosirens.
com.
if you happen to be a Wave fan and you're
listening to this and you want to join
up, we've got a way to be a member there.
Or you just like our scarf
and you want our cool scarf,
you can be a member as well.
but yeah, I love our socials.
Tanya does a great job with those.
and, Instagram
Mario: Yes.
Sean: X are good spots for it.
Mario: Yeah.
the scarf are beautiful, but I think the
logo is really cool for the Sirens too.
And I think the whole.
The whole, nautical theme, just,
everything just works out really well.
It was done really well,
so kudos to all of you.
Yeah, go check them out.
And best ways to support the pod,
share, comment on any one of our
posts on social media, or leave
us a review on wherever you're
listening because it helps engagement.
That's the best way to do it.
And it's free.
It's gonna take you like
two minutes, maybe less.
If it takes you less, Send us a
DM and be like, look, record time.
Or go grab some merch at our store, shop.
casualfc.
com.
Like we said, we always
have fun and silly ideas.
We just dropped the Thompson Time Power
Rangers t shirt and it's been really fun.
It was really fun to finally get that
out and actually make the idea work.
We went through a couple of revisions,
but we were both happy with it.
And if you feel so inclined, the other way
to support us is by buying us a coffee.
Check out our link on our
socials or go to buymeacoffee.
com slash casualfcpod and follow us on
all our socials, casualfcpod on Instagram,
Twitter, Threads, TikTok and Facebook.
And, as always, tell a
friend about the pod.
It brings us good luck.
We bank all that good luck and
send it off right to the team.
sometimes good luck is gonna
give us that little extra boost.
Sometimes good luck doesn't always
do that, it never hurts to send it.
Angela: send it to Sarah Gordon's ankle.
I've made that executive decision any good
luck, any Everything that is sent that
is good towards this team us is going to
be like funneled and like cortisone shot
into Sarah's ankle for a speedy recovery.
Mario: And with that,
everyone, we'll see you at BMO.
Remember, Blackout.
Bye.
Angela: Awesome.
Bye guys.
Thanks for coming, Sean.
Sean: Thank you.