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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.
Welcome listeners to an exciting different episode of Laces Out Loud. I am joined as always by Guruschabad.
Gurushabd:Hey, everyone.
Pamitha:And Allie.
Gurushabd:Hello.
Pamitha:And we are watching this USA Spain friendly live. We kick off about five minutes ago, and we are here to react and respond to this as the game is going on. Spain is taking a corner kick right now with... At the five minute mark, and then we'll... Maybe we'll get some quick thoughts before we keep going.
Alli:I am happy to report we are not down a goal, so I think that's the the first thing. Don't get scored on in the first three minutes or four minutes. So
Pamitha:So we're already doing better than last game. Is that what you're saying?
Alli:Yeah. Yeah. I think so.
Gurushabd:Handball.
Pamitha:Handball? Everyone's hands went up at the same time.
Gurushabd:Yep. Yeah. And what we're seeing, a few different starters this game.
Pamitha:Yeah. What do you think?
Gurushabd:Thompson in for Avery Patterson, Hutton in for Lily Johannes, and Sanchez in for... Who started forward last game?
Alli:It was, Mal, right? Didn't Mal start?
Gurushabd:No. She subbed in. I don't remember who started.
Pamitha:I don't remember either. That game got sideways so fast that I think
Gurushabd:Yeah.
Pamitha:We were all just focused on trying to recover from the early deficit.
Gurushabd:Yeah. But, yeah, Sanchez was
Alli:Oh, it was Alyssa Thompson, sorry.
Gurushabd:Oh, yes, yes.
Pamitha:And, Fallon tells Joyce is in
Gurushabd:goal? Mhmm.
Alli:Emmett Representing the marine biologists.
Gurushabd:Love it. The marine biologists. Emma did say she was inviting some players to camp that may not see minutes during the two games, but she wanted to get them into camp to kind of see if they had a role.
Alli:Yeah. I know I'm biased, but I do like the changes that we saw, particularly in putting a defensive midfielder in Claire Hutton in the match. I like Lilia Yohannes and think she has a lot to offer, but not as a... You know, in more of an attacking role and not as a defensive midfielder. I would have loved to see Tara Redd added to the...
Alli:As one of the center backs, so a little bit bummed about that. But, otherwise, I've been really looking forward to seeing what tactical adjustments they make because I felt like at the second half, the, of the first match, The US had it together a lot more and was kind of wearing Spain down. And, you know, in game adjustments. Now they had a couple of days to train and make additional adjustments, so happy to see what they're doing.
Gurushabd:Yeah. I feel like we were missing a sonnet and coffee last game, kind of their physical presence.
Pamitha:Yeah.
Gurushabd:I feel like we didn't have enough tactical fouls last game. Didn't put enough, like, pressure on Spain. So I'm hoping for slightly more physical US Team this game.
Alli:Yeah. I also very much missed Germa on the back line and her just calm and always being where she needs to be. And I hope whatever problems they're having with getting her healthy can get figured out. I know Emma recently said that US soccer was working with the Chelsea medical team to get her healthy, so they got a few months to make that happen.
Gurushabd:Come on, Sanchez. Cook. Yes.
Pamitha:Like, Sanchez Sanchez is so good at turning into the box. Her her attacking posture is very different to that of the other forwards that we have on the team, and I think that represents a unique challenge for defenders.
Alli:I think it's so interesting Good job. With Sanchez, and I know a lot has been said, not just by us, about her being back on the national team after an immensely disappointing twenty twenty three World Cup. But one of the things that really sticks out to me is also the fact that she's playing in a different position than she was playing two years ago, and then she played for the Spirit and that she played for North Carolina up until this season. And I don't know. So she had been playing more as an attacking midfielder and that now she is playing on the left wing.
Alli:And I don't know enough of her history to know if she previously has played as a winger or if the North Carolina coach, just felt like that was the right fit for her and the team, but it has clearly, you know, been been a good fit for her and exciting to see. You know, sometimes we see players on the national team, like, not playing in their spots that they play on their club team like Crystal Dunn. So I'm happy to see Emma putting her in at left wing where she's been scoring all these goals, even with the abundance of great attackers that she has at hand.
Pamitha:Sides. It is definitely off sides. Raise the flag. Good save, but raise the flag. How did the flag stay down?
Alli:So they're not supposed to raise the flag until... Oh, on side. I think it's barely off. I think she's, like, half a foot off. But, yeah, they're they're not supposed to
Gurushabd:raise the
Alli:flag unless it's obviously offside. They're supposed to let the play go on. And also, I always think, you know, that type of play, that's also a great run by the forward to time that to, you know, look that offside, but to actually be onside and have just timed it just right to get that jump on. Oh, go, Santa. Good.
Gurushabd:Hold up. Good. Hold up.
Alli:Back to the more important topic of snacks. What are your snacks?
Pamitha:Yeah. What are your what are your game day snacks of choice?
Gurushabd:I've currently got a G and T and some pickle chips.
Pamitha:Oh. Oh, now... Okay. So is that... Okay.
Pamitha:So many questions. First, what brand of gin?
Gurushabd:Oh, I just picked up a random bottle at Trader Joe's. I don't know which brand it is.
Pamitha:That's the, the sound of a tonic water opening. And, I don't know if you could pick up the cap... Battle cap. There you go. That's amazing.
Pamitha:So I did not know Trader Joe's had gin.
Gurushabd:They have all the alcohols.
Pamitha:G and T sounds delicious. When you say pickle chips, are you talking about chips, like potato chips that are flavored pickle,
Gurushabd:or are you talking about Exactly.
Pamitha:Oh, sounds so Yeah.
Gurushabd:Potato chips with pickle seasoning.
Pamitha:D fragrance.
Gurushabd:Also from Trader Joe's.
Pamitha:Ugh. We don't have a Trader Joe's near enough to where we live, which is probably a good thing for our wallets because I remember many a lentil chip was eaten.
Alli:Oh, those were so good. I mean, are We still so just can't get them.
Pamitha:Oh, come on, Trinity.
Gurushabd:Oh, no, Trinity.
Alli:You are not hurt.
Pamitha:This is the problem, though. Trinity has... She's she's... What... How do you how do you phrase it?
Alli:I don't know a good way to say it. I feel like her initial reaction to injuries makes us all afraid that she's more hurt than she is. But I am often reminded of a podcast that she'd... Ouch. That does look like that really hurt, especially But if you don't have a good there was a podcast that she did with...
Alli:It was Kelly O'Hara and Andy Sullivan and, Emily Sonnett after the spirit won the championship. And they were telling this story about how they all thought that she was significantly injured and out for the season by how she was reacting to something that happened on the field, and it turned out she had a blister. And so when they found out what it was, they were like, are you kidding? It was a blister. And we, like, thought you were dying.
Alli:So I do remind myself of that story just to feel better when I see her and think, oh my gosh, she's really injured, that maybe it's just a blister. I wanna be very clear that I'm not calling her wimpy because it is far from that. Just the initial reaction is scary. All right.
Gurushabd:You might be one of those players right when you get hit, you don't exactly know what's happened.
Alli:Yeah.
Gurushabd:And so you just kind of lay there like, oh, and then you're like, okay, no, things are okay.
Alli:Right. You gotta sort of, like, feel everything working
Gurushabd:Going through through the checklist, yeah.
Alli:Then to have a camera in your face as that is happening is not great. I know that I made terrible faces while playing soccer and running cross country, so I'm happy not to... I mean, people would be looking at me and think that I was dying when I was just trying to run.
Gurushabd:Yeah. I don't know how some people look really cool doing things. Because anytime I get a picture of me mountain biking, it's horrible. Yeah. And I was trying to look cool for the camera.
Alli:Yeah. I have to say, I do love Ouch. Spain's colors of those
Gurushabd:Oh, did you see their warm up jerseys?
Alli:Yeah. Oh, wait. No. Saw the jackets. I love the jackets.
Alli:I don't remember that I saw the warm ups.
Gurushabd:Their warm up shirts? Oh, that's pretty sick.
Alli:Are they as good as Cabo Verde's shark warm ups?
Gurushabd:Oh, I don't remember seeing those.
Alli:Oh, yeah. I have purchased one. I'll wear it next time.
Pamitha:When are
Gurushabd:we Oh, Emma Hayes has a new jacket.
Alli:Yes. I love her jackets. So do you know... I saw the last one was in reference to 1985. Was that a 1985?
Alli:Somebody referred to it as the 1985 jacket. Do you guys know?
Pamitha:I don't know.
Gurushabd:I don't know what that was in reference to.
Alli:Yeah. Alright. I'm gonna I'm gonna Google it.
Pamitha:Alright. We're twenty two minutes in. What do you both think about the performance, though, thus far? Obviously, a better result than last match.
Gurushabd:I mean, we've been controlling the game for the most part. Oh, is that on? And shutting them down. We we just need to have that final cross. Yeah.
Gurushabd:Offsides. Like, last game, we just couldn't finish. It almost felt like there's a force field around the goal last game.
Pamitha:For sure. Oh, yeah. That was
Gurushabd:Hitting the crossbar, just not going in.
Pamitha:Yeah. This time, the force field seems to be Medina on Spain. She's... She... There's now a couple of times she has stifled our crosses.
Alli:Yeah. I... So I'm trying to think about it not just as the scoreline being better, but it feels to me like our attack... I don't know. I feel like our attack seems pretty similar, but I think at this point in the game, we'd had a few more closer chances than we've had right now.
Alli:Like, I don't feel like we've had any plays right now where I would say, Ah, that should have been a goal. Yeah. And I felt that way several times during the last match. Yeah. I think defensively, they haven't had oh, well, I say now is they're on the attack.
Alli:I think we've been more okay. Sorry. I'm about to say that we're doing better We're
Pamitha:about to say the same thing.
Alli:Position, yeah, Defensively, you know, we had, you know, one stage, Giselle got beat, but she recovered and was able to make the play. So, Yeah, happy to see
Pamitha:I would agree with you. I think that our... I think that we came out with a clear focus to stop Spain from having meaningful success early.
Alli:Oh, that's a dangerous ball. Wow.
Pamitha:Yeah. But it feels like Spain is slowly figuring us out, and I don't know if I feel similarly confident about our offensive pressure. It's a different... I don't know. It's a different field than last game because we were chasing so early Mhmm.
Pamitha:Which also might have contributed to the fact that we were getting so many opportunities on goal because we were down. Right? Maybe we are playing a little too conservatively, offensively right now, trying to find the right opportunity, whereas last match, we were going going going to get that equalizer, almost jump. Spain looking very composed in our half. Oh my goodness.
Alli:Oh no, Oh my goodness.
Pamitha:Oh my goodness. Yeah, just as I say that.
Alli:That was a wide open back post.
Pamitha:Yeah. That was,
Alli:that was That was rough.
Pamitha:Alright, Alexia Putelis, we see you. So she starts it advancing the ball forward, and then right around here, our back line gets set, and then who who Sick.
Alli:I think... I hate to say this, Trent, I think... Well, now she's
Pamitha:got No.
Alli:Who So there needs to be talk, more talk there, I think, between
Pamitha:Was that Kennedy Wesley, who just left her assignment?
Gurushabd:Emily, was between Fox and Rodman, we're just kinda letting her go into the open space.
Alli:I will say as a And a Teerna.
Pamitha:But also, like, if... But also that that initial, like, the pass before the pass... The pass before the assist was the player was left wide open. As was
Alli:the the player who scored. Yeah. I I feel like as a But don't you think
Pamitha:that that's because Wesley and Fox tried to collapse to cover the free player?
Alli:So to me, that is a matter of communication among the defense, because I think Pateus Yeah. Did a good job of finding that opening, and that's where Fox and Rodman need to be saying,
Pamitha:You you
Alli:go, I, you know, watch your back. I've got far post to, like, Ustep, I've got her, you know, things things like that. And it feels... It did did not seem like that was there because she walked that into the goal.
Gurushabd:I mean, Spain's passing is just so on point. Yeah. It's easy for them to just pass right around us, and we're not kind of putting enough pressure on.
Pamitha:So so right here, she is unmarked. Right?
Gurushabd:Yeah. She's right between Fox and Rodman, and neither of them picks her up.
Pamitha:What I'm trying to figure out is, like, whose responsibility was to mark Bateaus at
Alli:the Right. So that's what we were saying, is that she was between Rodman and Fox. And so
Gurushabd:It was up to them to communicate who was picking up the runner.
Pamitha:Okay. Yeah. And we're saying Rodman didn't communicate, or we don't know who can communicate.
Alli:I
Gurushabd:mean, Both of them.
Alli:Yeah, I'd say both of them. Like, as
Gurushabd:And Fallon.
Alli:An outside As outside Yeah. As an outside back, you wanna be checking your shoulder, but it's also nice if someone says, you know, hey, on your back. Oh, shoot. Oh, man. Goodness.
Gurushabd:Come on, girls.
Alli:Oh. Wow. No.
Pamitha:Well... We seem to have We have another fallen spainbowl to diagnose. Oh goodness.
Alli:Off the crossbar and in.
Pamitha:Well, thirty two minutes in, things are suddenly looking very similar. What happened here?
Alli:Oh, bad turnover from
Pamitha:Joyce. Oh, but again, like, how how are we leaving their forwards just unmarked? Like... Alright. So two nothing, 35
Gurushabd:Right. For the end of the
Pamitha:I mean,
Gurushabd:it was hard, because last game in the second half, came out, and we had chances. We just didn't put it in. Like, you have to finish. So I thought they would come out more ready this game, looking at that tape and having those few extra days together to mesh. But I also just feel like our team isn't meshing.
Gurushabd:Is that because we're missing key players? Or we have new players in?
Pamitha:I think it's for sure a result of missing certain people. Right? I think we miss Girma in a big, big way. We miss Sam Coffey probably in an equally big way, and Sona's leadership on the field is unquestioned. Right?
Pamitha:That's three
Gurushabd:give that physical presence. I feel like we didn't have enough Physicality. How many fouls we had last game against us. Like, how many fouls did we commit last game? I felt like Spain kept kind of running us over, and we didn't put a body on them in response.
Gurushabd:And that's usually Sam Coffee and Sonnets. Kinda... What are their main roles?
Pamitha:Alright. So let me ask you this question. Right? So Mhmm. Right there, like, we are five minutes before half.
Pamitha:This was a great counter. Right? Sanchez made a great run and a great pass to Rose, although it looks like she might have been offsides in retrospect. But, like, they didn't connect on that. Like, that...
Pamitha:Like, I don't know how we can look so composed offensively, but then, like, just for some reason not be communicating defensively. Can can you explain why that might be? Do do you do you guys have a sense of why that could happen? Those, like, communication breakdowns on one aspect versus, like, across the board?
Gurushabd:Yeah. I don't know if it's a total breakdown on our... I mean, yeah, there's a breakdown on our communication, but also Spain is just that good. Like, their movement and pass completion, like, they're so clinical. Like, every pass they make goes straight to their player.
Gurushabd:They know where they're all going. I also think they're probably all raised in a similar system of how you play soccer, whereas I see that with us. Who knows how different players were coached in a style, but Spain has their style of soccer. So everyone grows up playing that. It is this triangle little pass, quick little passes, the easy pass.
Gurushabd:You move the ball around, and that's how they end up finishing, I think.
Pamitha:Because they get they get opening Right. Open in space.
Gurushabd:There's open space, but there's not a there's rarely a pass that's out of someone's reach.
Pamitha:So it's re... What you're saying is it's the clinical capability of the Spanish forwards and not some sort of, like, inherent flaw in our defense that is a result? That... That's why we're seeing this result.
Alli:So I think that there is something to be said for, you know, a relatively new back line. You know, you're still learning how people play. You have a different goalkeeper this match than the last match who, you know, skill aside, you know, everybody communicates differently. And so I think it's obviously easier when you're like, okay. I have played with these four people for the last year and, you know, know what to expect before it happens.
Alli:So I certainly think that could be playing into it. And I think even though, you know, the play that I came in on was
Pamitha:Who is that cross to?
Alli:Yeah. Like that... I mean, that is... To me, that's the same type of thing as a defensive breakdown where you end up with an open player and Spain scores, but it's just on the offensive where it's not as... You know, it's a positive outcome that we want rather than a negative outcome.
Alli:So it's easier to just say someone should be there, and if they were there, we would've scored. But on the flip side, it's someone should've marked turn because they didn't, they scored. You know what I mean?
Pamitha:Yeah, I do. I do. That makes sense.
Alli:I remember getting so mad at one of my teammates one year that we had this game where we had all of these chances to score and didn't score. And then at the very end, the other team scored and won. I And remember one of the forwards yelling at the defense. I'm like, come on, defense. And it's like, are you kidding me?
Alli:If you had put in any of those dozen shots, it wouldn't have come down to them putting away one goal. So I just think it's hard to sometimes equate a breakdown on defense with an equivalent breakdown on offense.
Pamitha:With a notable asterisk that you are a defender.
Alli:Exactly. Well, I think that's why I'm particularly sensitive to that, and then when it's like, oh, well, this person messed up, it's like, yes, there is one person, but also the defense works as a unit, and the team plays defense, and it starts with the forwards, and the ball the ball made it from, you know, from the... Our attacking third all the way to our defensive third. So what broke down all along the way that got us to that position where there was an open player at the back of the net? You know, not just an open player, but an incredibly good open player at the back of the net who walked the ball in.
Alli:I mean, sorry, at the back post who walked As the ball
Pamitha:Sanchez completes now the second cross to nobody after Thompson also had a cross to nobody. Let me ask... Gurus Chabad, let me ask you a question, because you had sort of indicated earlier when you were talking about how Spain is just really, really good. I guess what I'm... I guess what I'm saying is two things can be true, right?
Pamitha:We may not be playing very well, but also, Spain is a really good team. And it's not necessarily it's not like we have have failed, therefore, Spain is winning. It's Spain is really good, therefore, they are winning.
Gurushabd:Spain is really good, but I just feel like our players aren't connecting. Like, you just saw Okay. Keeps pass it just right behind Rodman. You don't see Spain passing it right behind a player. You see it passing clinically right to their player.
Gurushabd:They know where they're all gonna be. Like, their passes have a very high completion.
Pamitha:Yeah. So... Then, is that national team coaching? Because the the the players on the Spanish team, they also have club teams. They don't all play for the same team.
Gurushabd:I think that's how they grow up. That's how the Spanish men play. That's how the Spanish women play. They play small, close ball. When you...
Gurushabd:When they get the ball, you're gonna see three or four of them very close to each other. They're passing in a triangle, sometimes just one touch quick, maybe right back to the other player. They're moving the ball, and their passes are pretty precise. I feel like we play a more spread out game.
Alli:Do you think it's easier for them than... And I don't wanna say this. I don't know how else to say this, but is it easier for them to be interchangeable where you say, okay. This player is out and... But I know that we're still playing the same style, and so this other player should be there even though, you know, the starting player is injured.
Alli:Whereas in The US, it's a little more like, well, the starting player is injured, so we need to change our style. I don't watch Spain enough
Gurushabd:to know, so I don't have a preconceived
Alli:idea of what that answer is.
Gurushabd:Right. I don't know either, but my gut is kind of telling me, like, yeah, you're all gonna play...
Pamitha:You're gonna be familiar
Gurushabd:Yeah. With the Yeah.
Pamitha:I think that's a great question. I don't have the answers either. I don't watch enough Spanish football to know. But I will say, well, that was a foul. That was...
Pamitha:My goodness.
Alli:Very...
Pamitha:She flew through the air with the greatest of ease because she got pushed.
Alli:Yeah, so I feel like that would get some high scores on a long jump because she got serious.
Pamitha:Wee. Yeah. But she's okay. So anyway, what was trying to say is, I also don't know the answer to that question. I think that's a really good theory.
Pamitha:I worry because it seems very close to what folks have been talking about the men's team and blaming, like, American soccer culture for having such a disjointed approach to men's soccer. Whereas, the women's team has a much more robust track record of success on the pitch and and even from, like, a talent cultivation standpoint. So I wanna be mindful of, like, that... This idea of, like, oh, well, they all just grew up playing the same type of thing, if only we did the same thing. Because I can't...
Pamitha:I I I don't want to immediately jump to something that I've... That I feel like, oh, this is just like an excuse that the men's team is coming up with. Like, I I don't wanna just jump to that. That might be the truth, it might be real, but I I have a little bit of hesitation I just accepting
Gurushabd:hear you. Yeah. I don't know if that... Yeah. That doesn't always pertain to you wedding all the time.
Gurushabd:I guess I just love watching Spain play, because I like their style of play. That's how I wanna play on the field. Yeah.
Alli:No. It's it's a good
Gurushabd:What does
Alli:Sorry.
Gurushabd:Yeah. One isn't necessarily better than the other if you all grew up in the same system.
Alli:Well... And I guess I wonder because there's also definitely differences between players, but how does that play out on the national team level? Like, I remember before the twenty twenty three World Cup, or maybe it was the Olympics before that. I think... Anyway, Alex Morgan.
Alli:So that was whenever the team was building an offense around Kat Mercario, and then she got injured. And Alex Morgan, in some interview, talked about how... Or maybe... Anyway, it was described as Makario was injured, and so they brought Morgan back into the lineup. And it wasn't like, now Alex Morgan is here, so we need to play to her strength.
Alli:So here's how we should adjust. She was basically told to play like Cat Macario, and her strengths are not Cat Macario's strengths.
Pamitha:Yeah.
Alli:So that didn't work because she was asking, you know, being asked to play differently, and ultimately, you know, she did get it and it worked, like, more. So, you know, I imagine with Spain, there are players that have different strengths like Makari over Morgan. But then what does that mean for them how they come in to the national team level? And do they play more similarly at that level? I...
Alli:Yeah. I do not know.
Gurushabd:Those are... Yeah. Those are good questions.
Pamitha:Well, that's halftime.
Alli:I'd like to make a non soccer comment.
Pamitha:Sure.
Alli:Mhmm. You know you're a marine biologist when you see a player whose last name is Edna on Spain, and you think, Oh, eDNA. Nope. Is Environmental Okay. Like, you can take a sample of water and collect a lot more information than just water.
Alli:Like, take a drop of water and learn about what fish have been there and what's migrating through and not just learn about the water itself. Because you get, you know, scales and little bits of, you know, the equivalent of somebody leaving a hair somewhere now that's in the water, and so you can learn about the life around it. Should I be friends with Fallon? Yes, I should.
Pamitha:I love it. That's fantastic.
Gurushabd:Well, center this clip.
Alli:Yes, I was gonna say, and that's how I got kicked off the No, soccer
Pamitha:that's the wrong way to look at it. That's you you started
Gurushabd:became friends.
Pamitha:Yes, exactly. And that's how you started the marine biology podcast. Mhmm.
Alli:Yeah. Let's talk turtles. Okay,
Pamitha:well, halftime thoughts, everybody? I am not happy with the results. You? You are Emma Hayes. What are you saying to your team at half?
Pamitha:Go.
Gurushabd:I think I'd be a positive coach.
Pamitha:Right. So... Guru should understand positivity. Ali, get prepped.
Gurushabd:Positively. I think I would tell them they need to play happier out there. They need to not look so stiff, and they need to make some fun little overlapping runs and get some shots off and communicate on defense. And I think I'd be putting Tara Rudd in, and I'd be adding Alyssa Thompson to get the sister sister dynamic going.
Alli:Sister sister.
Gurushabd:And I would, take Sonnet out of her booth watching Ingrid Sonnet and just put her in anyways and throw some bodies on Spain, knock them down a little, rough them up. You know, let them know they can't just easily
Pamitha:can't get a come in
Gurushabd:cast harm socks. We're gonna have a body on you, you might get a little kick every now and then. You know, they've had it easy.
Alli:Would give Naomi Girma a new calf. Would Yep.
Gurushabd:You know, I'd get them mad, too. Like, play happy, play a little angry. Like, have some sorta emotion out there.
Pamitha:All right, Allie, you or Emma Hayes?
Alli:So, I don't know that I can compete with that. I will say I got stuck on thinking about how I would motivate my team if I'm down two o. And I don't know that I wouldn't... Because there's what do you do tactically, and what do you tell them to do differently, and how do you motivate them? One of the best halftime talks we ever...
Alli:I ever had from a coach in college was when our coach was so mad, he just walked away. He didn't say anything to us at halftime. And in that case, it worked because we all knew what we had to do. We were playing terribly. It wasn't like we were being, you know, outplayed and had to change a strategy and do anything different.
Alli:We're like, yeah. And we came back and won. When it comes to motivation, I I would not normally have said that's the thing to do, but it worked.
Gurushabd:But I... They need something, like, something to spark them. Right? Like, put some music on at half. Like, feel anger.
Gurushabd:Feel happiness. Like, feel something and get out there. I just hope it doesn't end in a big goose egg again, but I don't think it will.
Alli:See, it's funny. Feel... I felt the first match at halftime. I felt like, okay. This isn't terrible.
Alli:Like, I've seen some things I like offensively. We've had some good chances. We could put some goals away, and this is the chance to see how players respond being down two o, which is what we want them to experience before being in a World Cup. This game, I feel less good about it because we're still down two o. I don't think we've had as good chances on offense, and it...
Alli:Yeah. It it feels worse to me than it did the last match.
Gurushabd:It does feel worse, but I... I don't know. I always stay positive.
Pamitha:Well, you know, I agree with you, Ali. I feel like I don't really have anything to hang my head on after this first half for The US. I think that we've beaten ourselves, which maybe that's a positive. Right? We've beaten ourselves, which means if we stop making mistakes and start communicating good or shabad, like you said, and start playing with a little bit more energy, that we can claw back into this, because they haven't shown anything defensively, and their goaltender really hasn't been tested.
Pamitha:So it's not as if they are some impenetrable, it's it's not something... It's not like they have an impenetrable defense. We're not generating chances because we're not generating chances. They're not taking it away from us. They're not keeping us Mhmm.
Pamitha:From doing it. We're just not playing our game. So I'm gonna hang my hat on that and say, maybe if we stop beating ourselves in the second half, we'll we'll come together. You know, when we made selections last week, and I said I'm going for a draw and a loss, I remember saying that that was partly because I wanted to give people something to talk about. I didn't...
Pamitha:Who who knew that I would be on the high end of Nobody the had two losses, and I don't think anybody had two losses by... Without having scored a goal.
Alli:I was being way too optimistic. But, yeah.
Gurushabd:I mean, even coming into this game, I was like, surely we'll win this one.
Pamitha:Yeah. Yeah.
Gurushabd:Right? I thought we were gonna learn learn from last game. I mean... But also, again, this is a friendly... We're getting prepared for the World Cup.
Gurushabd:We... Again, we are missing key players that hopefully we have for the World Cup. We may not, but maybe we learn more from these games against Spain.
Alli:Well, Sonnet is Than
Pamitha:Sonnet is definitely out for the World Cup, correct?
Alli:I actually don't I'm
Gurushabd:not sure, I think she'll be right on that cutoff.
Alli:Okay, I don't think anybody's definitely ruled out.
Pamitha:Okay, I was going to ask.
Alli:Think Olivia Moultrie is the one, because didn't she do her ACL? And I... So I think that one
Pamitha:Okay.
Alli:May be the closest to definitely out. I think that, it's funny because I totally agree. This is a friendly... The best we can get out of this is learning what we need to do to be successful in the World Cup. So what, you know, ideally I would have liked to see...
Alli:And obviously the game's not over. We're talking about it like it's over. But is, you know, the
Pamitha:That's telling.
Alli:We make make adjustments from the first match and come back and win the second match. But what really will... Really wanna do is make adjustments, make adjustments, get the experience. And in seven months, eight months, whatever it is before the World Cup, we see what we've needed to learn and do and win the World Cup. But we don't really know until then, you know, how it worked.
Alli:Right? Like, two losses to Spain help us grow enough that
Pamitha:that then impacted the World Cup down the road? Maybe. I hear you. Every match is also going to be different, right? When we...
Pamitha:You know, we're not gonna have to play the best team in the world on back to back occasions. But also, we have a really high standard. Right? And so, I think that there will be a little bit of, friction coming out of a back to back loss of this nature. Right?
Pamitha:Conceding four goals total thus far thus far not having scored goals in those matches. I think that there will there will be a lot of questions. I don't know what the answers would be. Right?
Alli:Yeah. I don't know. I feel like I, in general, think that we feel like we should always be winning, and it just doesn't work that way. So I think I'm happy to have losses where it doesn't matter if that gets us where we need to be. So I feel like I I don't know.
Alli:Yeah. Like, I don't know. I'm sorry. I lost my my train of thought. There were fireworks on the TV.
Gurushabd:But that's the thing. Right? Like, it's a friendly. We're using this as practice. We're, you know, using it to explore, explore new players.
Gurushabd:There's a bunch of players with cap... Well, not caps, but called up to camp for the first time. You know, Emma's using this as building. So I think if we look at it like that... And who knows what progress they've made in camp this week.
Gurushabd:We're not
Alli:there. How... I know I did miss a couple of minutes, but I don't think Sofia Wilson has hardly touched the ball this game. That feel right?
Gurushabd:She's gotten some passes, but hasn't really been able to bring it down. Spain's collapsed pretty quickly.
Alli:Yeah. Come on, Rose.
Gurushabd:Yes, Rose, go.
Alli:Oh, nice.
Pamitha:That's not Rose.
Alli:That's
Pamitha:That's your That's your girl, Wilson.
Alli:Yeah. She clearly heard that.
Pamitha:Come on, Ashley. Ashley, do your thing.
Alli:It's beautiful. Yes. Ashley Sanchez. Yes. Yes.
Alli:Oh my gosh. That's amazing. That was awesome. We... Oh
Gurushabd:my gosh.
Alli:That... And Beautiful. It's so funny. Was gonna complain a little bit about Wilson's to her, but that worked. Oh my gosh.
Pamitha:Let's go. Oh, gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. It's okay to complain about Wilson's past. It was it was not it was...
Pamitha:It... I mean, Sanchez did all the work here.
Alli:Yeah. Look at that.
Gurushabd:I was hoping she would shoot it, and she did. Unbelievable.
Alli:I loved Rose watching that. We can't see it on this angle, but Rose was making a run forward and then stopped and moved back to open up passing. And I love that, giving her a trailing option.
Pamitha:Yeah.
Alli:But that was a great shot. I am so, ugh, so happy for Ashley Look St. At her
Gurushabd:chewing that right in. Far post.
Alli:I mean, that left her foot, and there was no doubt that that was going in, and watching that trajectory was like... She I know
Pamitha:put her defender on skates, and as soon as she identified the direction Batley was leaning, she just went the other way. Like, she was gonna score near post, far post. That was a goal,
Alli:That was no beautiful. And way to go, Wilson, on staying on her feet and not just falling to... I mean, she usually could have gone down to, you know, get a... Get the foul call, but
Pamitha:Yeah.
Alli:I don't know what they're watching.
Gurushabd:So that one Spanish player tried to take Wilson down, which would have been a yellow, but she played through it.
Alli:Yeah. That's... Yeah, that's what I was saying. I love that she was... Just say, okay.
Gurushabd:She's like, I'm going. But, yeah, Sanchez was hoping she would carry that ball and shoot it and not pass, and she did.
Pamitha:-That was -Everybody raised so a glass to Vladko Adonofsky in his infinite wisdom. Had he played Ashley Sanchez for one minute of the World Cup, she would have been too tired to play this time. Good job resting her, Vladko.
Alli:Talk about, like, okay, who's gonna step up in these matches, and, you know, who's gonna step up when we're down against the best team in the world and change the outcome of the match? Ashley Ashley Sanchez. Sanchez.
Pamitha:She's the And greatest gal in
Alli:I will give that to Wilson also after saying we hadn't gotten many touches to her.
Pamitha:You manifested this.
Alli:I did, I did. I take all credit for this.
Pamitha:Emmy Hayes turning around to the rest of the team. See, do that.
Gurushabd:Yeah. Yeah. Is this Jalen Howe's first cap on the US team?
Alli:No. She actually... I remember she yeah. Had She had her first cap when Sofia Wilson had her first cap, and it was this thing because they grew up playing together, and they'd been friends since kindergarten. And then she kind of fell out of the, you know, bubble call ups, whatever you wanna call it, before the twenty twenty three World Cup.
Alli:So I don't know the last time she was called up or played, but has at least one cap. I feel like she has a couple.
Gurushabd:Okay.
Alli:But not more than Yeah. Single digits.
Pamitha:All right. So we're we're at the 65 mark. We should talk about... Oh, hold on.
Alli:Oh. Okay.
Gurushabd:We have some subs in. We got Lily Lajanas, Cooper, Jalen Howell, Mal Swanson.
Pamitha:What do you guys what do you guys think of the subs? So Lavelle... The Swanson has come in for Lavelle. The Thompson sisters, they subbed in for each other, so I'm sorry, Gurus, I bet you didn't get what you wanted. Johannes in for heaps and Cooper in for Rodman.
Pamitha:What do you guys think of the subs?
Gurushabd:I like it. Allie,
Pamitha:any thoughts?
Alli:I'm most interested in seeing a little bit more of the midfield with Johannes, Hutton... Oh, no, he took out Lavelle. Mhmm. Don't know why, but I feel like Lavelle and heaps often don't inspire me as much in the midfield together. So I was interested in seeing the same...
Alli:I was interested in seeing the Rose and Lily. Oh, Rose and Lily. Oh, my gosh, their names just sound like they have a good connection.
Pamitha:I hate not but on the field of the same.
Alli:I know, I know.
Pamitha:So what do
Alli:think of the subs?
Gurushabd:Go Cooper!
Alli:Push. I like like it. I'm excited to see more of Cooper here. As a Spirit fan, I'm happy that Trent is getting a little bit of rest. Overall, I think I like these subs.
Alli:Sorry. Oh.
Gurushabd:Johannes is my favorite player on the team right now.
Alli:I
Gurushabd:So I love that she came in.
Alli:So it's interesting. I have liked her, and obviously she is... She was just a baby. She's, what, 18? 19.
Alli:19. I feel like as we've watched her, I've really liked her in less aggressive matches where she has a little bit more time to play these amazing, you know, through balls to the wingers and forwards. And I feel like she struggles a little bit in more aggressive games and when she doesn't have as much time. So I'm the, yes, beautiful Look at that ball. Beautiful ball to mouth.
Alli:Come on, mouth. Put it away.
Pamitha:Oh, great shot. Now, follow-up.
Alli:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Corner.
Alli:Oh.
Gurushabd:Oh, good job. Good job.
Alli:That was so close. And so as, like, as I was saying that, I was about to say I'm excited to see her needing to make faster decisions right now, but with a midfield that is not three offensive minded midfielders trying to take the place of also a defensive midfielder. So I think this is a better area to see how she shines than the last match. And I like leaving Sanchez in because she had a goal. Let's see if she
Gurushabd:Mhmm.
Alli:Gets another one. Keep her out there. I think Cooper subbed in on... As a left or right back last match, and so I like keeping her up top and seeing what that looks like. Oh, that almost got intercepted.
Alli:You got her t. Oh, oh, there we go.
Pamitha:Good job. Okay, so Good
Gurushabd:job, Fallon. Good read.
Pamitha:All right, soccer players, look at it. That was Tyrna Davidson's third time, by my estimation, which means nothing. Tell me what I'm not seeing.
Alli:I mean, she did get beat there.
Pamitha:Okay. If we're grading performance today, what are you guys thinking?
Gurushabd:I still think she's had a good game.
Alli:Yeah. I don't... But I I I wanna go... I need to go back and look at the first two goals more, going one on one against one of the top players in the world. And she did get beat, but she didn't get a shot off, and Fallon stepped up and did what she was supposed to do.
Alli:So Okey dokey. It
Gurushabd:I mean, as a defender, you are kind of also putting them in a position where the keeper can maybe get to the ball. Right. Like, that Spanish player did kinda have a far touch away around Hirna.
Pamitha:Oh, that's a
Gurushabd:great As a defender, I would expect my keeper to read that and come pick it up, and kind of shield them away from the ball, but...
Pamitha:That's a great point, okay. Fifteen
Alli:minutes left.
Gurushabd:You think we'll 15 get another
Pamitha:minutes left.
Gurushabd:Fifteen minutes Yeah. Will we get another goal?
Pamitha:I think so, I think we got it. We'll get a push. I think we get one closer to stoppage time. Do we have any subs left?
Alli:Oh, let's see, Sears? Who is subbing on with Sears?
Pamitha:Oh, there goes Tirna.
Alli:Oh, Captain Dan to Mal. Oh, Emma. Oh, Kate Delfava. Delfava.
Gurushabd:Fava bean.
Alli:Oh, and And who's Torben. Well, good for them.
Gurushabd:Get those caps. We're just getting caps.
Alli:Love it, love it.
Pamitha:Let's go. Let's go. Alright, what do you guys think? Come on, Emma Sears.
Gurushabd:I mean, put in the hungry first cappers. They have something to show, they wanna be invited back. But I wanna see them cook, as the young people say.
Pamitha:You got ten minutes to get an equalizer, let's do it. Okay, I'm optimistic that we are going to get an equalizer. It seems like the substitutions have mattered.
Alli:Lily, know,
Gurushabd:giving Oof. NWSL after dark late
Alli:Yeah.
Gurushabd:Late clock equalizers. Exactly.
Pamitha:Yes, channel the chaos.
Gurushabd:And I like this. You were putting bodies on Spain now. I'm seeing them on the ground.
Pamitha:Yeah. I was gonna say earlier, you were like, that's a way to push her. That's great. You're getting your wish.
Alli:Put Jaylen Howell in a game, there will be bodies on the ground.
Pamitha:Three mambos.
Gurushabd:That's what we need.
Pamitha:That holds true unless you also
Alli:Oh, nice. Yes. Get there. Get there. Get there.
Alli:Coop.
Pamitha:Coop. Get there. Coop. Coop. Drop it.
Pamitha:Drop it right there.
Alli:Oh, why did you... That was beautiful. Oh my gosh.
Pamitha:Yes. That's a pleasure.
Alli:That That was was awesome. Get
Pamitha:the camera off the spouses.
Alli:Put it
Pamitha:back on Mal. Right? That was so good. Gorgeous. Let's get another one.
Pamitha:Let's get another
Alli:one. Was awesome. Great run by Cooper and a great ball from Delfaba. Cooper. Again with that perfect timing, I mean, was two steps ahead, and then a trailing run.
Alli:Oh, gosh. That was
Pamitha:fricking Beautiful. Ability to control that, bring it down, and strike that.
Gurushabd:Dude, he bought it Cooper.
Alli:Was that I think it's Delfava. Was it
Gurushabd:Delfava? Delfava.
Alli:Gorgeous. That was Oh
Gurushabd:my god, finish.
Alli:I love that, I need to watch that over and over in slow motion. That...
Pamitha:Okay. I will be very happy to be wrong with my prediction of a draw and a loss.
Alli:Yeah.
Pamitha:Let's get this win, come on.
Alli:Let's... Yeah. I mean, they should play this...
Pamitha:Also, what did I say? I said we'd equalize closer to stoppage time. Yeah. Did. Eighty six minute.
Alli:I was skeptical. I was skeptical. I felt like I was riding high on the goal, but I wasn't sure that our play was gonna get us get us there.
Pamitha:I am a blind squirrel, and I have found a nut.
Alli:Love it. Oh, Watch, don't do oh, no. Watch the back post. Wide open. Wide set.
Pamitha:There's so much variability. I don't know how to feel about this current group's performance versus the starters, because obviously, it's relative to Spain head on the field. But it has been... Since the subs came into the sixtieth minute, it's felt like we're watching a totally different game of soccer. Am I the only one who feels that way?
Gurushabd:Yeah. Yeah. No. This team feels more fast paced, transitionary.
Alli:And I mean, I think that's what you want from subs. I know they've started calling them game changers, is that, you know, this is the way the game is going. We need you to, you know, Oh, no. Oh, Lilly, that was not good.
Pamitha:She just stood there and watched that.
Gurushabd:But, like, seeing that far ball, right? Like, you're switching fields, you're sending that player against... You're sending Cooper against... Oh. No, no.
Gurushabd:Okay.
Alli:Del... Good. Delfavo went stick with that.
Pamitha:Wow. Yeah. It went from getting absolutely beaten to desperation to a slide tackle for the save. That was great.
Gurushabd:But you see these subs getting into their passing lanes and disrupting Spain. They're reading it and getting that touch on their passes. Yes, Lily.
Pamitha:Yeah. Yeah, I don't know if this is just the... Oh, boy. Uh-oh. On, Get down
Gurushabd:to Fallon.
Pamitha:Good job. Do it for the whales. I, I don't don't know if this is just the super subs have come in and injected energy with fresh legs, like, really does feel like they're playing a different game, like, you know, Guru Shabbat you were talking about. They're getting in the way, they're just it feels like we're playing a different way. Mhmm.
Pamitha:Look at that.
Alli:I don't
Pamitha:What attack?
Gurushabd:Don't think it's that they have more legs right now. I think they are playing differently.
Pamitha:Yeah. Also, I adore Emma Hayes. I love that watching her walk the sideline, she looks like a fan that got lost on the pitch. It's the best.
Gurushabd:I know. She always talks at how she's excited to see her own team play, and that she likes watching Spain play. She's like, I became a coach to have a courtside view of me.
Pamitha:Yes, I love it. I love it. Good job, Emma Hayes.
Gurushabd:She's like, I just wanted to go watch games, so I decided to coach.
Alli:That's so good. It was really good. Somebody's gotta move for her, though. Right? They gotta
Gurushabd:Yeah. Yeah. She... Well, she's gotta beat her defender so she can get a ball off without it being blocked. Woah.
Alli:Lily. My gosh. That would have been amazing.
Pamitha:We would have heard that all the way here. My
Alli:gosh. Oh.
Pamitha:This is what happens when you pass the ball. Here we go. Oh my goodness.
Alli:Oh, that little back.
Gurushabd:What a save.
Alli:Oh. Oh my gosh. Well, that heel that one of the players got on it.
Pamitha:The Spanish player, though. We can't win on this, right?
Gurushabd:Okay.
Alli:I mean, anything is possible, but
Pamitha:Yeah. There we go. That's it.
Gurushabd:Shoot it. Oh.
Pamitha:That's it.
Alli:Oh my god. Wow. That was, that that is a tie that feels like a win.
Pamitha:That... Yeah. Right? Absolutely. What a way...
Pamitha:That's a great way to put it. It's a tie that feels like a win.
Alli:Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think that that also having the confidence to have come back from knowing that they have come back against Spain from being down two o at half, I mean, that is huge going into a World Cup. I mean, that wasn't just anybody. That was Spain.
Alli:So I think that is a great way to end the series after some disappointing goals that were allowed. So I'm I'm happy with that.
Pamitha:Good or Shabbat, what do you think?
Gurushabd:Yeah. I I was happy with our subs that came in at the end there. I think they showed a lot more urgency. I mean, it was the end of the game versus the beginning, but they had a lot more energy of disrupting those passing lanes and getting that little touch on the ball to disrupt Spain. And and I just love that cross field pass to Cooper.
Gurushabd:Like, I love when you change the field, when you pass it over their defensive line and give us a run at it. I think we need to see more of that. But coming back from being down two nil shows a lot of grit.
Pamitha:Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Gurushabd:I'm happy with that.
Pamitha:Oh, yeah. I love it. I'm gonna say something unintentionally, provocative, because I'm not... I don't mean for it to come across as just some, you know, random thought just to stir the pot. I was walking around this weekend thinking about the loss, and I was asking myself if I had to come up with a national team roster without having the pressure of selecting players that are just the most visible players in this country, would that change the way I constructed the roster?
Pamitha:Would I select players that may be unnoticed or not getting the recognition they deserve because there... There's another player that is just more prominently marketed or getting, you know, getting more time in the domestic league? And I didn't go down that exercise for too too long, but I had this thought in the back of my head about how in other sports, and we can talk about it later, that has been a problem. That stars get the calls up to the national team, but that isn't necessarily the best way to construct the roster. Now, I am not saying that is what is happening here, but what I am saying is I am so thrilled that after the sixtieth minute when the subs came in, it felt like we were watching an entirely different game of soccer, and those subs are not household names, and they made all the difference in the world.
Pamitha:So anyway, future is bright, way to go, in MMAs I trust.
Alli:Yeah. Yeah. They were they were game changers, and they did exactly what they were supposed to do, so I love Mhmm.
Pamitha:Well, this was a lot of fun, you guys.
Alli:Yeah.
Pamitha:I don't... If if you all liked listening to this, please let us know, and maybe we'll do more of these. But our regularly scheduled podcasting will resume next week after we head into the NWSL week twenty five, I believe. Big Washington spirit matchup coming up on Saturday. I fully expect to have very little voice left for when we get to record, but it should be a lot of fun.
Pamitha:So anyway, with that, Guru Shabad, where can folks find us on socials?
Gurushabd:We are now on Instagram, blue sky, and TikTok at Laces Out Loud.
Pamitha:And you can always email the show at LacesOutLoudpod@Gmail.com. That is LacesOutLoudpod@Gmail.com. We will see you all next week. Gurus Shabad, take us out.
Gurushabd:Yeah. 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.
Alli:And one final word, two final words, Ashley Sanchez.
Gurushabd:Ashley MF Sanchez.