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Laces Out Loud is an NWSL and women’s soccer podcast about the game on the field and the forces shaping it off the field. The show blends match analysis, supporter passion, and bigger-picture conversations about player welfare, league growth, media coverage, business, technology, and soccer culture. We are here for the goals, the tactics, and the chaos - but also for the questions that determine whether the women’s game can grow with the ambition, care, and investment it deserves.
Well, I wanted to ask a serious question for you too.
Alli:What do you mean this isn't serious?
Pamitha:I mean, it's not naked cycling, but Fair. You know. Welcome back listeners to another episode of Laces Out Loud. I am Pammatha, and as always, I'm joined by my cohosts, Gurshabad.
Gurushabd:Hello, everyone.
Pamitha:And Ali. Hello. Happy international break, guys.
Alli:Feelings.
Pamitha:This is a real roller coaster
Alli:for Yeah, is.
Pamitha:I was not expecting this.
Alli:Yeah, no, I think you were expecting that we'd gloss right over that and keep on going. Yeah.
Gurushabd:I'm pure excitement watching our international team, see what they got.
Pamitha:Yeah. I agree. I agree. Well, speaking of excitement, how were our weekends?
Gurushabd:Mine was a hoot.
Pamitha:Yeah?
Gurushabd:The single speed cyclocross championship was in our town this weekend.
Pamitha:That sounds
Gurushabd:And let me tell you.
Alli:Wait. Hold on. As a non cyclist, what does that mean?
Gurushabd:So single speed, you don't have any gears. So you're in the one gear forever, so it's harder to go uphill.
Pamitha:Okay.
Gurushabd:Cyclocross. Was thinking about this. Yeah. Cyclocross, it's not just any race. You have obstacles you have to get through.
Gurushabd:There's costumes involved. It's a whole party weekend.
Pamitha:Wait. Wait a second. You can't just drop that. Costumes involved?
Gurushabd:Costumes? Everyone shows up, you know, different costume. They might be in a onesie. They might be half naked. They might be fully naked.
Gurushabd:They have decorations on their helmets.
Pamitha:Point of order. Naked is not a costume, it is the absence of a costume. It is a choice...
Alli:So they're either in costume or they're naked? Yes. No in between.
Pamitha:So this this feels like the X rated version of, like, the Red Bull soapbox derbies. Yes. Yeah.
Gurushabd:Yeah. You know, there are a few people that take it more seriously, and they were just in a roadies outfit, which is boring.
Pamitha:Awesome. But also, wait a second, are the people who take it more seriously the ones who are naked or not naked?
Gurushabd:Not naked. They're in a roadie outfit, meaning that tight spandex you see road cyclists wear. Awesome. I definitely And they're not in a costume at all.
Alli:Not what I thought you meant
Gurushabd:by Red. And they're taking it seriously.
Pamitha:Oh, man. What do they
Gurushabd:think about the call naked road cyclists, roadies. I'm not sure these people are, I think, just there to win, and everyone else is there for the fun, the camaraderie, the costumes, or lack thereof.
Alli:We are now a cycling podcast.
Pamitha:Not just a cycling podcast, a nude cycling podcast.
Gurushabd:And, Yeah. You know, one of the obstacles was a slide into the core... Quarry. So
Alli:They had to go down a slide? Wait.
Pamitha:They had
Gurushabd:to go down the bike? Down a... No. They gave their bike. That was passed down.
Gurushabd:They had to go down the slide, so they were soaking wet. They had to get their bike back, run up some stairs with their bike, get back on the course.
Pamitha:Is there a YouTube channel with this stuff that we could see highlights?
Gurushabd:You... Yes. You can YouTube this, and there will be, you know, people that have filmed throughout the weekends of different years past. I'm sure some from this year will be up there too. So, yeah, if you Google, single speed cyclocross championship, you'll be able to see some video.
Alli:Wait. Is is there anything else, though, that we should know about from the weekend?
Gurushabd:Yeah. There was That's a lot. Oil wrestling. Is that some feats of strength? And some of the people decided to do that naked as well.
Gurushabd:Some people just had underwear on, but, yeah, there was oil wrestling.
Pamitha:Is it possible to off the rails before we've even been on them?
Alli:I think we started off.
Gurushabd:Holy It's a fun group. It's a fun group.
Alli:We've gone down the slide without our bike, and we need to get the bike, get back on. Get the bike. Yeah, don't know.
Pamitha:Yeah. Also,
Gurushabd:I think They're a fun group.
Pamitha:Our weekend was so lame by comparison.
Alli:Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. We I went to Costco.
Pamitha:We got the chicken bake.
Gurushabd:Did you get some new cleaning supplies?
Pamitha:Did we?
Alli:Mostly band aids, thank you. New kittens.
Pamitha:We ordered some cleaning stuff from Amazon Yeah. If that counts.
Gurushabd:Yeah. Know, that's kinda wild too, yeah.
Pamitha:It was... That's... I mean, just because I used the word Amazon doesn't mean it's it's... Oh, god. I think maybe originally that was the purpose, right?
Pamitha:It's like, where are going? Oh, I'm gonna buy something from the Amazon. Oh, dude, that's incredible. It's a long trip. No.
Pamitha:No. No. It's just this company on Seattle that's gonna ship me a box.
Alli:Yeah. How far we have come.
Pamitha:Wow. Hey, should we talk saga? Speaking of slippery, those elusive playoff spots in the NWSL, only two teams have clinched. That is Gotham and San Diego, we'll get to Washington, we'll get to the rest of the stuff.
Alli:It was so painful to watch the wave do their locker room dance with their clinched shirts. Was like...
Pamitha:It's all good. That's all good. We'll get there. So here's where we stand in the NWSL coming out of week 24. At the top, Gotham, followed by San Diego at number two.
Pamitha:Washington at three, Utah at four, Kansas City up two spots to number five, Angel City holding at six, Portland dropping two spots to number seven, so we'll talk about Portland in a moment as well. North Carolina jumped back into the playoffs with number eight because Seattle dropped a spot to number nine. Denver and Orlando are holding a ten and eleven. Unfortunately, for our friends in Houston, Boston, the Bay Area, Louisville, and Chicago, you guys have been eliminated from the twenty twenty six NWSL playoffs. We'll see you next year.
Pamitha:And also I mean, there's
Alli:no gonna keep playing. We'll we'll see you in a
Pamitha:That's that's
Alli:after the international break.
Pamitha:That that sounded far more foreboding.
Alli:Yeah. That'll
Pamitha:Come on. That's it. Be gone. You're done. Still thought he...
Gurushabd:Just don't even show up.
Pamitha:Yeah. Yeah. So, anyway, it was it was an interesting week of action. There's three games we definitely wanna talk about, but we'll just sort of go through stuff. Orlando dropped to San Diego, or I should say San Diego triumphed over Orlando two one on the road.
Pamitha:Utah ended up with a one one tie with racing after racing does what racing does, snatching a tie from the jaws of victory. Kansas City at home, they put a hurt on Bay, winning five to one. Gotham and Angel City ended up in a one one draw. Chicago, continuing to Chicago, dropping a three o game to Denver. And then, unfortunately,, I'm so sorry, North Carolina took you guys out one nothing.
Pamitha:Seattle dropping that at home. It was a very competitive game. Portland dropping two to four against Boston, who is a giant killer this season in their first year in the NWSL. And Washington, the Washington Spirit, because they weren't playing at home, managed to win against Houston three to two. Home is where the heart is, apparently, for the Spirit this year.
Pamitha:The heart does not exist at Audi Field.
Alli:Yeah, or home is where the heart is, but not the winds.
Pamitha:Yeah, there you go. Oh, I love that, that's great. So what stood out to you guys from these matches? Allie, you had an aggressive thought.
Alli:I did. I had I had a thought, which was, an exciting, re signing and return to play for Savannah D'Mello, who has, been out for the last year after experiencing a cardiac arrest on the field and, during the game last September. So it felt like there was no news up until the last week or so about how she was doing, and then news came out that she is suing the team's outgoing medical partner, for not diagnosing her heart condition that led to the cardiac arrest. And then a couple days later it was announced that she was re signing and was available for selection this weekend, and she got on the field for, like, five or ten minutes, something like that. So I can't can't imagine coming back from something like that, and the fact that we have two players in the NWSL, her and Savvy King, who have come back from that type of cardiac...
Alli:Some type of cardiac event is amazing.
Pamitha:Yeah, it almost makes the actual results seem trivial by comparison when you're talking about that kind of life and death thing, and so good for Savannah and good for racing. Hopefully it is the harbinger of better things in the future for that team. Going into a very uncertain off season. But... Yeah.
Pamitha:Well, I will just say that, Guru Shabad, I know that Seattle did not live up to their standards for you, but Ashley Sanchez also did not break the scoring record, so we're still on Sanchez Watch 2026.
Alli:She almost did.
Pamitha:You almost did.
Gurushabd:She almost did. So at the end of the game, Dicky kept coming to the other team's box.
Pamitha:It was the
Gurushabd:next field, trying to help the attack, and on a counter
Pamitha:Claudia Dickey
Gurushabd:Sanchez almost scored, but our defender got back and stopped it.
Pamitha:Dickey. The Reign Reign goaltender was playing midfield at the end of that match.
Gurushabd:I loved it.
Pamitha:I did too. It was fantastic. I actually turned to Ali, and I was like, is this a workable strategy? Like... Yeah.
Pamitha:It seems challenging. Not everybody can Carly Lloyd it from midfield, so, like, maybe this I is a
Gurushabd:mean, Mayer has scored before going up into the box.
Alli:Mhmm. Yeah.
Gurushabd:So it can happen.
Pamitha:Sandy McEaver wants to. We could tell, like, every time the ball comes her way, so... This This is is the revolutionary new football strategy, right? This is the forward pass of
Gurushabd:Mhmm.
Pamitha:Soccer, right? That's what we've just discovered.
Gurushabd:I mean, that's what a keeper has to be now.
Alli:Would not like my name attached to this discovery, just...
Pamitha:Listen, guys, this worked in FIFA, I know it a I'm just kidding.
Gurushabd:I mean, a k b the burginator, she plays as a field player a lot.
Alli:She does.
Gurushabd:So it's a good strategy.
Pamitha:Yeah. I'm just saying. Anyway. Yeah. Anything else from that game stick out at you?
Gurushabd:I mean, Seattle had their shots. We, you know, we're really close to putting it in, so I'm not discouraged that we won't make the playoffs yet. We do have a... I don't wanna jinx anything, but I should... We should have a win against Chicago coming up.
Gurushabd:Utah and Orlando will be a little harder, but I'm hoping we can get our points. But I wasn't discouraged by what I saw versus the Courage.
Pamitha:That's good. That's good. But I think, for us and Washington Spirit fans, it's been a couple of weeks of discouraging play or discouraging results with maybe inconsistent play? Is that a polite way of saying it? Yeah.
Pamitha:Yeah. And a win is a win. Yeah. And, you know, know, Ali, you've discovered that there's plenty of people who would speak to you for four hours
Alli:Yeah.
Pamitha:About the spirit.
Alli:Great. Love it. Thank you everyone.
Pamitha:Yeah, absolutely. What what did you feel about the match?
Alli:So I felt like this was one of those matches that at the... When the final whistle blows, it's just relief, as opposed to celebration. Like, oh yes, good that we made that work. But, you know, Houston didn't give up, but I liked a lot of what I was seeing from the spirit that we felt like we were more energetic. I loved having Andy Sullivan and Ashley Hatch on the field at the same time.
Alli:I thought there was a lot more movement. I thought, Bethy was making some great runs up in the attacking third, Hatch, Livonga, like, was... Yeah. I was... That looked a lot better to me, and I hope that we can also see that when we play, say, Gotham in a couple of weeks.
Alli:And I do think the spirit need to figure out this defensive hole that they're getting at the top of the box and letting players have time to hit some bangers that either go in or barely miss. So that was my, thing to fix for the next match.
Pamitha:I'm just glad we got a win.
Alli:Yes. I will take those three points
Pamitha:Yeah. With A couple of historic moments. Jane Campbell's broken her season... Single season save record, three matches left to go. Good for you, Jane.
Pamitha:We also saw Houston, Miljana Ivanovic, the first Serbian player, Serbian born... Serbian Serbian... I'm just gonna say Serbian player in the end of ASL, scored her first goal, and not just her first goal, a brace also. So, congratulations, Miliana, and Pilar Pilar Lavonga. Clara Lavonga, the first Tanzanian in the NWSL, also got on the board with her first goal, and it just happened to be the game winner.
Pamitha:Yeah.
Alli:Love it. That's a Yeah. Way to make your
Pamitha:also, I would be remiss if I didn't say that, there was rain in Houston, and, the Roku Channel seemed to have no problem showing the match.
Alli:Wait, are you saying there is a way to keep rain off the camera lens? Yeah. You wouldn't think so. Or let ESPN know.
Pamitha:Like Houston, Houston never gets any rain.
Alli:Yeah.
Pamitha:Like, I'm amazed that they were able to handle it. Sure. It's not like Chicago. There's another meaningful event on field in the Portland game. We referenced Portland going
Alli:down Different type of meaningful than the ones that you just highlighted there. Impactful. There we go.
Pamitha:That's the word. Portland going down to Boston, four to two, and and I think there a lot of people believe their playoff hopes have taken a hit because Sofia Wilson just could not keep her hands to herself, and there was no Jordan Angeli to exclude explain it away. What happened?
Gurushabd:Oh, yeah. So Phil Wilson had a very obvious, hair pull against Boston, and got a straight red card, which will give her at least one game suspension, but most people for hair pulls have gotten two game suspensions, and nothing's been announced yet. So we should hear soon, if she'll play because their second game is against North Carolina Courage, I believe.
Alli:Are right behind them in the standings,
Gurushabd:so... Exactly.
Alli:They're in a tough spot. I I have to say with the hair pulling, I feel like at the beginning of the season, there were a bunch of red cards for hair pulling, and we were all like, what's going on? Mhmm. And then it kind of seemed like it settled down, and there weren't all of these red cards. And now, just in the last two weeks, we've had another handful of cards for hair pulling, and, it is it's back.
Alli:And I know I saw... I think it was their coach who basically said, you know, Boston got in her head. You know, the other player had been pulling her jersey, and she went to pull her jersey and missed and got her hair, and that's the rules, and it's a red card, and she apologized and blah blah blah. I mean, that it... Yeah.
Alli:So I I think that's the right... To me, that's the right red card. It doesn't... I don't care about intent. You pulled the hair, that's a red card, but it's just kind of a little wild to me that we are seeing this again after not for a period of time.
Pamitha:It's easy for me to say as a non player, but also just don't go pull for the collar. I also found her reaction to the official after being called for the foul was also like, come on, you know what you did. Yes.
Alli:I hate the what meme. Yeah.
Gurushabd:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you know, just walk off.
Pamitha:Mhmm, yes. Who took the cookies from the cookies? My gosh. Sofia pulled the hair on there.
Gurushabd:Yeah. I think it's just keeping your head in those times. People tried to blame the refs for that, saying, oh, they should have been calling more fouls in the beginning of the game against Boston. But you're still responsible for keeping your head and making the smart play.
Alli:Yeah. And if you're... Yeah. Yeah. And and if you're gonna...
Alli:If you're going to go for a jersey pole, then that's a risk that you're taking, and you should know you should know that that's what could happen. And I feel like when I played... If I was gonna pull a jersey, it's when you're, like, in close quarters, elbowing and pushing each other and stuff, and not like, oh, she's ahead of me. I'm gonna obviously grab her jersey and pull her back. So Especially when you're
Gurushabd:on offense.
Alli:Yeah. Exactly.
Gurushabd:You're not a... You're not defending her. You have the ball. Yeah. Your team has the ball.
Gurushabd:You're going forward. You don't need to take a defender down.
Alli:Yep. Yeah. Totally. Totally. Yeah.
Gurushabd:Just a weird lapse in judgment, maybe? I don't know.
Pamitha:Well, that's gonna cost the team, for sure. She's going to be missed.
Alli:Yeah. You said they went down two points this weekend? Yes. Or I mean, two two places. So they were at fifth
Gurushabd:Two out of places they
Alli:were at?
Gurushabd:Yeah. Yeah.
Pamitha:It's a... It is it is a tight race to get into that top eight. Yeah. Yeah. Well, speaking of which, there were three games to go.
Pamitha:Any any matches that jump out at you? Obviously, you will be watching Portland to see how they perform, Sans, Sofia Wilson. Knowing the rest of the calendar, when we get back from the international break...
Alli:I personally cannot frickin' wait to host Gotham.
Pamitha:Dun dun. Dun dun.
Alli:Oh. Also, little nervous, but think that we will have a good showing. We got this.
Pamitha:I hope so. Mathematically, we still can get the top seed. Yeah. Yeah. We have 49 points, they have 55.
Alli:And we've got... Yeah.
Pamitha:So I guess the math math
Alli:math we could.
Pamitha:The math math.
Alli:Math has to.
Pamitha:But we would need to win in order for the tiebreaker to come to play, and then like so. Either way, it's the game of the week next, when we get back from break, for sure. I'm excited. We haven't been playing well at home, and so it really is kind of like a a hope and a prayer. I admittedly caught myself watching the game thinking, maybe we're just not that good.
Pamitha:Like, maybe it's because we're fans that we think all of our supporting players are like the best supporting players in the league. But like, watching Gotham play, oh, man. Like, also across the board, like, every every level they've got talent and they're deep. Oh. Right?
Pamitha:And, like, same thing with San Diego. And I don't... I would love to take a giant step back in the off season and sort of examine the spirit roster construction and how it has evolved over the last couple of years, because it feels like we went from having a very deep team to a team that is, like, one or two injuries away from basic... Basically totally collapsing. That's just how I feel.
Pamitha:So... And and I don't know what it is, but I wanna go back and I wanna take a look at it because for for whatever reason, it just it just hasn't been translating into wins, the the the roster. So, anyway.
Alli:Yeah. I will... Would love to dive into that as well, but I will say to your point of maybe we aren't that good, we have finished in second place and gone to the finals the last two seasons Yeah. And are currently in third place.
Pamitha:No. No.
Alli:I feel like we are good. I think that shouldn't be in question. Yes. But I will leave the digging into the details for our deep dive into that.
Gurushabd:Yeah. Yeah.
Alli:That's right.
Gurushabd:I'm hopeful. So looking at teams and who they have to play coming up, like North Carolina Courage, they have to play San Diego Wave, Portland Thorns, and Denver Summit. So those are all gonna be really tough games for them. Whereas Seattle, yeah, we play Chicago. Hopefully, we win.
Gurushabd:We better win. Mhmm. And then we play Utah and Orlando, which we could win against. They're gonna be difficult games, but Courage, I'm looking at their schedule, that's tough for your last three games when you're right at that bubble.
Alli:And if you look right now, the fifth place team has 44 points, and the ninth place team has 40. So, I mean, it is it is tight, and it's anybody's game. You know? Yeah. I mean,
Gurushabd:anybody's so close this year.
Alli:What do you think about how they do that decision day with the final matches all the same day, same time. Is that done in other places?
Pamitha:Yes.
Alli:Okay.
Gurushabd:Mhmm.
Pamitha:Yeah. So famously, like, the English Premier League has it in, I I think in some ways it's to detract betting.
Alli:Oh, really? Because... Oh, because the outcomes all happen at the same time.
Pamitha:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So people... Yeah.
Pamitha:Not to take it to a cynical place.
Gurushabd:But that also happened in the World Cup. So you would see play... Teams play at the same time, on the same day, because if you already knew that another team maybe had so many goals that you needed, you know, to surpass or you did need to get that win, there could potentially be either
Pamitha:Match for you.
Gurushabd:Rest taking bribes, players not doing well, like, yeah, betting.
Alli:I did not even think about that side of it. Yeah. Nope. Yeah. Makes sense.
Pamitha:Yeah.
Gurushabd:There were... There was an instance... It was Argentina, since everyone talked about how the Argentina men's team was cheating the last World Cup. They have a history of that. And there was a year where they played after another team.
Gurushabd:They got their game delayed and somehow racked up the scoring, to get that goal differential. Oh. I think they may have bribed the other team to let them get, like, more goals
Alli:Oh my gosh.
Gurushabd:And win that game. There was something fishy going on. Yeah, stuff like that does happen, so they all have to play at the same time.
Pamitha:Wow. That's... ESPN and the other broadcast partners of the leagues are now also partners with sports books, and so they're not gonna tell you that's the reason why. Right. They're gonna say, oh, it's all about the excitement of who gets into the playoffs.
Pamitha:Well, yes, and also.
Alli:Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. Well, I am also looking forward to, post break, the Ashley Sanchez goal watch. I would love to see her keep going and keep setting new records.
Pamitha:Yes. And they're gonna... She's gonna And have if
Gurushabd:she can get to 26.
Alli:Would be insane.
Gurushabd:Two hat tricks?
Pamitha:Twenty six and twenty six? Mhmm.
Alli:Oh, nice. Yeah. Well,
Pamitha:of Ashley Sanchez, we noted that she has finally gotten her well deserved call up to the women's national team
Alli:roster. You, Hayes.
Pamitha:Yeah, so actually we... Allie, you weren't here for that.
Alli:Oh, yes, I know, I had lots of thoughts and was like...
Pamitha:Now's your We're gonna talk about other women's national team call ups. Why don't you kick us off? Tell us. What do
Alli:you think? Like, my anger? Why I'm angry?
Pamitha:No. Why you're happy that she's on the team. Oh. Let's turn this in a productive direction.
Alli:I think that Sanchez is an amazing player and has been for a long time, And for whatever reason, I don't know why, but she was on the World Cup roster for '23, which I... Great decision. But she was told before they even started the matches that she wasn't going to play according to what she has said, on another podcast. She was told that she wasn't getting any playing time during the tournament, which, like, I don't understand why a coach tells a player that. From a coaching perspective, how do you know her skill set isn't going to be needed?
Alli:How do you know somebody's not gonna get injured? Like, how do you make that decision before the matches start that this player is not gonna see the field? And how you do that, like, to a player who is a person, but also you want to be mentally prepared if five people get injured and they have to go on the field. Like, I... Yeah.
Alli:I feel But like he's back. Yes. Yeah. So I just felt like I can't imagine the mental gymnastics that she has had to go through to, you know, be so close to this, like, career high, and then not get to be on the field and go through that experience, and then being traded from the spirit, which was not something she wanted to do, and something she was surprised about. So anyway, I just think that shows such strength of her to be able to just keep excelling and find her footing, and be basically playing so well that everyone was like, you can't ignore how good she is right now.
Alli:You have to call her up. And so I just think that's great.
Gurushabd:Yeah. And as Lindsay Heaps was talking to Sam Muis, it wasn't just that she was, you know, scoring at least 20 goals this season. They're looking at her whole game on the field. Mhmm. How she gets back on defense, her attitude, everything, her hustle.
Gurushabd:So it's not just that she scored 20 goals. She's just a good player.
Alli:Yeah. Yep. So love that for her. We also have another player who just got called in who hasn't been called in for a while. Jalen Howell.
Gurushabd:Yeah. She's, stepping in for Sam Coffee who just got injured. I guess she might have a boot on her foot, I heard.
Alli:Yeah. I saw on Instagram. I don't I don't know what the injury is. Have you heard
Gurushabd:what They haven't it said. They haven't said, which is... Yeah. It's for her. But, Jalen Howsback.
Gurushabd:And then we have a brand new starter on the US team filling in for Naomi Girma because she's also injured, and Kate Delfava of Utah Royals.
Alli:Yeah. So I think that is... I think that's good to have players who are, you know, returning or new at this stage because... And I know we talked about this a little bit before as well, but, you know, you have your core set of the World Cup roster that I'm sure is set, but finding all of the right pieces and still players knowing that there's still the opportunity for them to be doing doing that and making the roster, I think, is is good all around. So excited to see who we see on the field in these upcoming matches.
Gurushabd:Yeah. And Emma Hayes has said she has to develop these young players, or she's gonna be in a position where, you know, one or two injuries and you have no one to bring in for them. Mhmm. So she's really setting up, you know, as players retire, if anyone gets injured, their spot can be filled, with a stellar player who knows the system.
Alli:Yeah.
Gurushabd:So we love Emma Hayes.
Pamitha:Yes. It's a reach... It's it's a really responsible approach to infrastructure and pipeline development. I think we look back at the past iterations of the women's national team, and we think about the superstars, the Wombax, the Rupinos, the Morgans, and I feel like at some point, we've all sort of looked around and said, they're here, they're great, but they're also here at the expense of maybe another younger player that was showing promise and isn't getting the reps and isn't getting the call up, and then we see what happens when we underperform on the national stage. So I think this is a very responsible approach from Emma Hayes to ensure the longevity of the US women's national team's prominence on the global stage.
Pamitha:And I also think it says a lot about the players of this generation who are... Understand that they they succeed individually when they succeed collectively. And this is not to say anything against anyone or group of former players, on the women's national team, but the table that they set, with all of their, hard work for equal pay or, setting precedents with, marketing deals and promotional deals. It's allowing this generation of players to, reap those rewards and then evolve it in a way that is going to continue to grow dividends for all young players, and not just like a select group. Yeah.
Pamitha:At least that's the way I think about it.
Alli:Yeah. I think it's great, and I think it seems like there is discussion about the pipeline and how to improve that at multiple levels. We talked about what the NWSL and... Is doing and some changes that they're making regarding the underage players and their development. And, yeah, I hope we kind of see this robust growth of the pipeline and starting at the top.
Pamitha:So do you think we're gonna beat Spain?
Gurushabd:I don't know. I... Well, Emma Hayes has had a few different approaches in these friendlies. Sometimes she'll have a pretty standard starting lineup and then bring subs in, or she'll have kind of two different teams that she'll start for each game. I I think it's gonna be weird, though, not having Naomi Girma, Emily Sonnett, and Sam Coffey.
Alli:Yeah.
Gurushabd:Those are three pretty crucial players for us usually.
Alli:Mhmm.
Gurushabd:So if we can see these other players step in and fill those roles just, you know, as good as they do, I think that'll be really promising for us Yeah. Come next year.
Alli:Yeah. I mean, talk about having all your injuries in, like, the same spot, your two center backs and your defensive midfielder, that's, yeah, that's a little scary.
Gurushabd:Yeah, All I three of those provide a lot of muscle and, yeah, holding power for us in that midfield and defense. So we'll see.
Alli:Which makes sense. You know, Jalen Howell is a pretty physical player. So Yeah. I can see that being an interesting... You know, a good
Gurushabd:Do do you think she'll tuck her shirt in in honor
Alli:of Sam
Gurushabd:Sam Coffey shirt tuck?
Pamitha:Now I want Oh her
Alli:my gosh. I saw the funniest video of Sam Coffey talking about her shirt tuck, and she basically said, like, you know, she was coming out of the bathroom and her shirt had gotten tucked a little, and she was like, I think I think this is who I've always been. And she was like, was so funny. Oh, yeah.
Pamitha:That's amazing.
Alli:Yep. Yep. It was it was so good.
Pamitha:I wanted to ask a serious question for you too.
Alli:What do you mean this isn't serious?
Pamitha:Well, you... I mean, it's not naked cycling, Fair. You know. For Emma Hayes, thinking about these types of friendlies,
Alli:do you
Pamitha:think there's a difference in approach when... Based on the level of competition? This, like, the... This is arguably the best women's team in the world in Spain, and so, obviously, she's going to use these matches for evaluatory purposes. But, you know, we're talking to a team b team, we're talking about, you know, what she wants to do.
Pamitha:But I'm curious, like, do... Like, is this is this, strategy informed not just by the delta between where we are in the start of the World Cup, or is it also informed by the quality of the opponent that they're going to be playing?
Gurushabd:Yeah. That's a good question. I'm... I would guess that they're looking more at looking at the players than necessarily, like, we're just keeping this one team on to try and win. Like, I think she's gonna try and get in a lot of players, see how they work together, and kind of use this as tape from going to the World Cup and footage to look at and review, and see how everyone fits in more than, okay, our goal is to definitely just win both games and not use a lot of subs.
Gurushabd:I think she's gonna wanna play players, and see how they're fitting in.
Alli:So I think that she would want to be finessing a roster, I think. So, like, okay, if the... You know, if this is... If we have these core group of players who are going to be, you know, the World Cup roster, how does this other player... You know, who has the right chemistry here?
Alli:Who do we need to add more depth in this position? How does this player work with this player? And so I would think that she would be going at it to win. And I I I do think, like, the rosters will be mostly, like, the Rose Lavells and, you know, the people we know are starters, but giving some serious minutes to people who are in those positions where she's looking for people or looking for more from somebody to see if she can get it. I don't know if that makes sense.
Pamitha:No, that makes sense. And I think the both of you are sort of hitting on, like, what I'm curious about, because, like, the level of competition that they're going to be facing from Spain is so much higher than they would with potentially any other friendly. And so on the one hand, I wonder, does she care about seeing how well certain players are going to put, like, like, hold up Mhmm. In that situation just as much as that she's interested in figuring out chemistry? And, like...
Pamitha:Yeah. Go ahead.
Gurushabd:Yeah. I'm looking at these similar as when we played Japan. And so we saw different starters in each game. So I think these two games, we are gonna not see the same starting team both games.
Pamitha:Okay.
Gurushabd:I think she's gonna maybe add in... Change out a few players. Yes. Ali was saying keep kind of our core. Like Okay.
Gurushabd:Rose might start both games, but in other positions, she might start someone else and then bring in subs. Okay. And I'm also wondering kind of if the NWSL games... And not just NWSL, their club teams play a role for Emma if she's like, okay. You playing two games this week is gonna be too much for you.
Gurushabd:So we have to limit your minutes because you have more games coming up. You played last weekend. You're coming up this game. So I'm wondering if she'll kind of limit that too so they're not worn out.
Alli:That's such a good point, and I forgot that... I mean, I I knew the NWSL would be back. But as I said at the beginning, I have a lot of mixed emotions right now. Yeah. I don't...
Alli:Oh. I don't know because I I mean, it feels like this campus and this... These performances are so crucial to the World Cup that,
Pamitha:that would be... That would take that would take priority.
Alli:Yeah. I think that would take priority, but then also, you don't want players to get injured because of over your... You know?
Pamitha:Overuse.
Alli:Overuse and all the travel and everything. So I feel like it's probably gonna fall more on the clubs to say, okay. You played two matches, so now I need to rescue you. But, yeah, I don't know. That's a really good point.
Alli:I guess I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Gurushabd:I think our bench is so deep that she'll use a lot of players. Yeah. She'll manage.
Pamitha:Well, alright. So time to go on the record. Gurus Chabad, you... Your... What is your win loss?
Gurushabd:Oh, I think we'll win one of them and lose one.
Alli:Ali? I'm gonna go the first match a draw, and the second match a win.
Pamitha:I'm going to say one draw, one loss.
Alli:Yes.
Pamitha:Well, we may not be going to the game here in DC, but what we're going to do for all of our wonderful listeners is we will be watching this game, and we will be doing a live recording of the podcast during the national team game on Tuesday, October 13. We will gather around, we'll talk... We'll record pregame thoughts, we'll talk about the first half, halftime, give her closing thoughts, and then we will send this out into the Internet as we do normally, first thing in the morning on Wednesday, so you can hear our unfiltered perspectives. We're not scared.
Gurushabd:Buckle in. It'll be a hoot. Oh, god. Like, my weekend.
Alli:What's your weekend?
Gurushabd:Yeah. We'll be clothed, though. Even though there's no video, we'll be clothed.
Pamitha:Bringing this full circle, do the naked cyclists also wear bicycle helmets?
Gurushabd:Yes. You have to wear a helmet. That's become very frowned upon in the biking community to not wear a helmet, like, safety, head safety is everything these Okay, not the '90s anymore.
Pamitha:Okay, but nudity fine.
Gurushabd:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Pamitha:Anyway, well, guys, this has been a fun show. Any any closing thoughts Thanks before we wrap
Gurushabd:for the chat today, and I'm glad to have Ali back again.
Alli:Yes, thank you. Very happy to be here.
Pamitha:Yes. We all love Ali.
Alli:He says as our cat sits next to me gnawing on my elbow.
Gurushabd:Oh, little love bites.
Pamitha:Yep. And she's like, it's time to go to sleep. It's time to feed me treats.
Alli:If you heard me a few minutes ago go, oh, that was
Pamitha:Yeah. Well, speaking of treats, Gurus Chabad, where can folks find us on social media?
Gurushabd:You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and blue sky at Laces Out Loud.
Pamitha:And as as always, you can email us at LacesOutLoudPod@Gmail.com. That is lacesoutloudpodgmail dot com. Alright. Gurusaba, take us out.
Gurushabd:Everyone be kind, be good to each other, and from the fans for the game, we'll see you next time on Laces Out Loud.