Expected Own Goals

The Seattle Reign—who take fewer shots than anyone, and whose defense is mediocre at best—are somehow in fourth place in the NWSL standings. How did we get here? How did they? After a quick whiparound (and a check-in on the Hina Sugita and Chloe Ricketts transfers), the guys dive into season that Laura Harvey's squad has had: what they have done right, what they have done wrong, and just how lucky they have been to be in this position. Plus, Evan makes another fateful wager.

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Art by Eli Elbogen

Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs

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Only five games remain in the NWSL regular season, and hardly anything separates those teams on either side of the playoff line, not to mention those hoping to grab a home game in the playoff quarterfinals. Which team's schedule sets them up for success? Who will fall despite recent form, thanks to some tough games in October? The guys move through all 14 teams to try and make sense of the playoff picture.

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Art by Eli Elbogen

Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs

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Savannah DeMelo's collapse on Lumen Field on Sunday quickly became the most important story in the NWSL. DeMelo was responsive and alert before she was stretchered off the field, and thankfully, the league tried to learn from their poor handling of the Savy King incident by suspending the match. The guys offer some quick thoughts on DeMelo as a player, and what has made her special throughout her career.

Then, after the whiparound, the guys dive into Gotham FC's decisive 2-0 road win over the San Diego Wave. Can Gotham continue this rich vein of form, now that most of the attack is healthy and Jaedyn Shaw is among their ranks? What can the Wave do to stop the bleeding, aside from another swing of luck? Who can stake a claim to a top-four place by season's end?

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Art by Eli Elbogen

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Ah, this reminds us of our early days: Gotham FC drops a massive, shocking transfer for a U.S. women's national team player, bolstering their galácticos reputation. This time, Jaedyn Shaw heads north to Harrison, New Jersey for $1.25 million in intra-league transfer funds, the biggest intra-league transfer in NWSL history. Why didn't it work for Shaw in North Carolina? Does this deal set up the Courage for long-term success? Where will Shaw play in a crowded (and now-healthy) Gotham attack? The guys sort through all of it.

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Art by Eli Elbogen

Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs

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Though all three are still firmly planted in the bottom half of the table, the fortunes of the Utah Royals, Chicago Stars, and Houston Dash have changed considerably over the past few weeks. They produced emphatic results over the weekend (including Chicago's best xG performance in three years), and the guys dig into what has changed for each club since the end of the international break. Can Houston possibly even snatch a playoff place? Never say never!

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Art by Eli Elbogen

Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs

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We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to scratch our heads at the $1.3 million (or almost-$1.5 million, or $1.65 million) transfer fee paid by Chelsea F.C.W. to Angel City for Alyssa Thompson's services. How did a 20-year-old U.S. women's national teamer with tremendous upside and more than three years left on her contract move for not even a world-record fee? The guys puzzle over what little we know, and who might have been responsible for this unfolding as it did.

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Art by Eli Elbogen

Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs

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A very intense Labor Day shaped up for the NWSL. After the guys whip around the league, they drill down into Angel City's first-ever results against Bay FC, a 2-1 victory at BMO Stadium. Then, they explore Alyssa Thompson's likely transfer to Chelsea. What do we know right now? How likely was it that Thompson wanted the move? What makes this a good deal for Angel City? And what could make this a disastrous deal for the club?

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Art by Eli Elbogen

Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs

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The NWSL acted semi-normal this week, so we can concentrate on the actual soccer. The guys whip around the league and touch on the Morgan Gautrat loan to Newcastle before examining Racing Louisville's 1-0 squeaker against the San Diego Wave. What have these two teams already accomplished this year, and what more can we expect from them in the weeks to come? Everything's coming up roses for Jonas Eidevall and Bev Yanez!

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Art by Eli Elbogen

Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs

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RECORDED BEFORE THE ALYSSA NAEHER - LIZBETH OVALLE INSANITY

For the second week in a row, we do not have a featured game of the week. That's because external forces have pushed the soccer out of the spotlight. Both Kansas City - Orlando and Gotham - Houston experienced triple-digit heat indexes at kickoff, and for the third straight weekend, the NWSL saw more than half its fixtures end in draws, a first in league history. The guys dig into the league's handling of the CPKC Stadium fiasco, and how climate change could affect games for years to come.

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Art by Eli Elbogen

Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs

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For the first time in over six years, we saw the second straight weekend where more than half the games ended in a draw. Oppressive heat? Weather delays? Who's to say. The guys whip around the league and tease out the storylines from all seven matches.

Then, they get into Sean Nahas's firing from the North Carolina Courage. They lay out the entire timeline beat for beat, and see what conclusions, if any, they can draw from the Courage's disastrous handling of the situation.

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Art by Eli Elbogen

Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs

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