The Mixxed Zone

In episode #285, Jen “The Keeper” Cooper chats about several “Must-Watch WoSo” games and catches up with a former NWSL player now living in Europe.

First, she chats recently retired Bundesliga striker Ella Masar about her final season of professional soccer, her thoughts on European players moving to the NWSL, and the new company she’s launched to help former players find new careers.

Then Jen reviews must-watch woso matches from the last 20 years with Dan Lauletta of Equalizer Soccer: the 2003 WUSA Founders Cup featuring Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach and Briana Scurry; the USA-Brazil 2011 Women’s World Cup quarterfinal that went to extra-time; the August 2014 Washington Spirit-Chicago Red Stars match that ended up being the final tiebreaker in the playoff standings; and the the 2016 semifinal between Portland Thorns and Western NY Flash that produced seven goals, three of them in extra-time.

Links to full match video:

2003 WUSA final

2011 Women’s World Cup quarterfinal (game will be posted Monday 4/20)

2014 NWSL Spirit vs. Red Stars

2016 NWSL semifinal

Also in this episode is another “Jensplaining” segment. This week Jen talks about the “golden goal” era in FIFA matches.

Got a question or comment for the Jensplainer? Or feedback about The Mixxed Zone podcast? Email your question or comments to [email protected].

Check out our sponsors:

* The Beautiful Game Network

* Ruffneck Scarves

* Icarus FC

Founded by Jen Cooper, Keeper Notes has been spreading the love for the beautiful game since 2002, in Houston and beyond. The Mixxed Zone has been covering women’s soccer (primarily NWSL and USWNT) since 2014. Check out more of the Keeper’s great content and “WoSo Nerd” resources at KeeperNotes.com. You can follow Keeper Notes on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Also, follow The Mixxed Zone on Twitter.

And check out the Keeper Notes NWSL Almanac, the 350-page comprehensive guide to the first seven seasons of NWSL (2013-2019). You can’t get this info all in one place anywhere else! The almanac is available in both PDF and print format. Coming soon – a Houston Dash almanac!

In episode #284, Jen “The Keeper” Cooper talks with two soccer reporters to get updates on the USWNT lawsuit and Liga MX Femenil, despite the “pause” on league & international play.

First, she chats freelance soccer writer Charles Boehm, who recently hosted a podcast for SoccerWire.com discussing the historical context, latest filings and possible outcomes of the USWNT lawsuit.

Then Jen catches up with Melissa Hernandez to discuss the Mexico women’s national team performances in 2020 and an update on LigaMX Femenil’s spring season.

Also in this episode is another “Jensplaining” segment. This week Jen explains when an international cap is a cap, when it’s not a cap, and why we use “cap” to refer to international appearances for soccer.

Got a question or comment for the Jensplainer? Or feedback about The Mixxed Zone podcast? Email your question or comments to [email protected].

Check out our sponsors:

* The Beautiful Game Network

* Ruffneck Scarves

* Icarus FC

Founded by Jen Cooper, Keeper Notes has been spreading the love for the beautiful game since 2002, in Houston and beyond. The Mixxed Zone has been covering women’s soccer (primarily NWSL and USWNT) since 2014. Check out more of the Keeper’s great content and “WoSo Nerd” resources at KeeperNotes.com. You can follow Keeper Notes on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Also, follow The Mixxed Zone on Twitter.

And check out the Keeper Notes NWSL Almanac, the 350-page comprehensive guide to the first seven seasons of NWSL (2013-2019). You can’t get this info all in one place anywhere else! The almanac is available in both PDF and print format. Coming soon – a Houston Dash almanac!

In episode #283, Jen “The Keeper” Cooper talks with two NWSL reporters, one on the East coast (North Carolina Courage) and one on the West Coast (OL Reign), to get caught up with the two clubs that faced off in the October 2019 semifinal.

The first segment features a long chat with Neil Morris, who covers the North Carolina Courage for WRALsportsfan.net. Neil recently sat down with the recently-acquired defender Hailie Mace to talk about how she spent her year between playing for UCLA and finally joining the NWSL this spring. Jen and Neil also discuss the status of the USWNT lawsuit.

Then Jen talks with Jacob Cristobal of SounderAtHeart.com to discuss all things Reign — the club’s new name, new logo, new coach and the new faces on the OL Reign roster.

Also in this episode is another “Jensplaining” segment. This week Jen provides an overview of the first women’s Olympic soccer tournament held back in 1996.

Got a question or comment for the Jensplainer? Or feedback about The Mixxed Zone podcast? Email your question or comments to [email protected].

Check out our sponsors:

* The Beautiful Game Network

* Ruffneck Scarves

* Icarus FC

Founded by Jen Cooper, Keeper Notes has been spreading the love for the beautiful game since 2002, in Houston and beyond. The Mixxed Zone has been covering women’s soccer (primarily NWSL and USWNT) since 2014. Check out more of the Keeper’s great content and “WoSo Nerd” resources at KeeperNotes.com. You can follow Keeper Notes on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Also, follow The Mixxed Zone on Twitter.

And check out the Keeper Notes NWSL Almanac, the 350-page comprehensive guide to the first seven seasons of NWSL (2013-2019). You can’t get this info all in one place anywhere else! The almanac is available in both PDF and print format. Coming soon – a Houston Dash almanac

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In episode #282, Jen “The Keeper” Cooper discusses the many madnesses surrounding women’s soccer this March – the USWNT players’ lawsuit, Carlos Cordeiro stepping down as president, SheBelieves Cup and more.

The first chat of this episode features longtime women’s soccer report Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Jen and Jonathan cover US Soccer topics as well as the new NWSL broadcast deal with CBS.

Then Jen enjoys a fun soccer March Madness rant session with Brenda Elsey of the Burn It All Down podcast. Brenda is also co-author of Futbolera: A History of Women and Sports in Latin America.

Also in this episode is another “Jensplaining” segment. This week Jen goes over the US Soccer protocol for celebrating a player’s 100th cap.

Got a question or comment for the Jensplainer? Or feedback about The Mixxed Zone? Email your question to [email protected].

Check out our sponsors:

* The Beautiful Game Network

* Ruffneck Scarves

* Icarus FC

Founded by Jen Cooper, Keeper Notes has been spreading the love for the beautiful game since 2002, in Houston and beyond. The Mixxed Zone has been covering women’s soccer (primarily NWSL and USWNT) since 2014. Check out more of the Keeper’s great content and “WoSo Nerd” resources at KeeperNotes.com. You can follow Keeper Notes on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Also, follow The Mixxed Zone on Twitter.

And check out the Keeper Notes NWSL Almanac, the 350-page comprehensive guide to the first seven seasons of NWSL (2013-2019). You can’t get this info all in one place anywhere else! The almanac is available in both PDF and print format. Coming soon – a Houston Dash almanac and an Olympic women’s soccer almanac!

In episode #281, Jen “The Keeper” Cooper first chats with Tyler Nguyen of the recently launched Rose City Review. Tyler & his colleagues offer regular coverage of the Portland Thorns and the Portland Timbers. Jen and Tyler recap the many player moves that have greatly changed the Thorns roster since the end of the 2019 season and talk about the value of allocation money as a trade piece.

Then Jen catches up with Aussie soccer correspondent Chris Hockman. The two discuss the Matildas’ qualifying path for the Olympics, and then Chris shares his thoughts on the 2019-20 W-League season and playoffs.

Also in this episode is another “Jensplaining” segment. This week Jen reviews the tiebreakers for the 2020 SheBelieves tournament. They are, in order, goal differential, total goals scored, head-to-head result and finally, Fair Play ranking (yellow and red cards).

Got a question or comment for the Jensplainer? Or feedback about The Mixxed Zone? Email your question to [email protected].

Check out our sponsors:

* The Beautiful Game Network

* Ruffneck Scarves

* Icarus FC

Founded by Jen Cooper, The Mixxed Zone and Keeper Notes have been spreading the love for the beautiful game since 2002, in Houston and beyond.  Check out more of the Keeper’s great content and “WoSo Nerd” resources at KeeperNotes.com. You can follow Keeper Notes on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Also, follow The Mixxed Zone on Twitter.

And check out the Keeper Notes NWSL Almanac, the 350-page comprehensive guide to the first seven seasons of NWSL (2013-2019). You can’t get this info all in one place anywhere else! The almanac is available in both PDF and print format. Coming soon – a Houston Dash almanac!

In episode #280, Jen “The Keeper” Cooper has a “doubleheader” chat with longtime woso reporter Dan Lauletta of Equalizer Soccer. To start off, Jen and Dan discuss the NWSL regular-season schedule. And of course they go off on various soccer tangents! Then, in the follow-up chat, they talk about the federation player list, the new NWSL commissioner and finally, the Sauerbrunn trade. And yeah, they’re just happy that the NWSL schedule is finally out!

Also in this episode is another “Jensplaining” segment. This week Jen reviews how jersey numbers are assigned for major soccer tournaments. More importantly, Jen reviews numbers used by the USWNT players for the SheBelieves Cup. She explains why Lynn Williams is wearing Alex Morgan’s number, and why Christen Press gets to wear her #23 again.

Got a question or comment for the Jensplainer? Email your question to [email protected].

Check out our sponsors:

* The Beautiful Game Network

* Ruffneck Scarves

* Icarus FC

Founded by Jen Cooper, The Mixxed Zone and Keeper Notes have been spreading the love for the beautiful game since 2002, in Houston and beyond.  Check out more of the Keeper’s great content and “WoSo Nerd” resources at KeeperNotes.com. You can follow Keeper Notes on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Also, follow The Mixxed Zone on Twitter.

In episode #279, Jen “The Keeper” Cooper checks in with Kieran Theivam, the soccer reporter for The Athletic UK. They talk about England’s roster for the upcoming SheBelieves Cup in the USA, the difference between England’s squad and “Team GB” for the 2020 Olympics in Japan. The pair also discuss the burgeoning “Australia invasion” of the FA WSL.

Then Jen chats with former Stanford and Glasgow Celtic player Haley Rosen about her new business venture, JustWomensSports.com. Rosen shares her expereiences transitioning from college soccer to professional soccer to working in the “real world.”

This episode’s “Jensplaining” segment discusses the history of the English women’s national team NOT participating in the Olympic women’s soccer tournament despite occasionally qualifying (1996, 2008). London hosting the 2012 Olympics changed the landscape somewhat. The 2020 Olympics will be just the second team that a mostly English team (as “Team GB”) will participate in the women’s soccer competitions.

Got a question for the Jensplainer? Email your question to [email protected].

Check out our sponsors:

* The Beautiful Game Network

* Ruffneck Scarves

* Icarus FC

Founded by Jen Cooper, The Mixxed Zone and Keeper Notes have been spreading the love for the beautiful game since 2002 in Houston and beyond.  Check out more of the Keeper’s great content and “WoSo Nerd” resources at KeeperNotes.com. You can follow Keeper Notes on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also follow The Mixxed Zone on Twitter.

In episode #278, Jen “The Keeper” Cooper reviews the recently concluded 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament with Steph Yang of All For XI and the 2 Drunk Fans podcast. They highlight the key performances of the first major tourney of the Vlatko Andonovski USWNT era, in particular those of attackers Lynn Williams and Christen Press. The pair also review Canada’s and Mexico’s performances in the Concacaf tourney, and then look ahead to next month’s She Believes Cup, the next major event for the USWNT.

Then Jen gets a Utah Royals FC update from RSL Soapbox editor Cindy Lara. They discuss Utah’s new head coach Craig Harrington, the Royals’ 2020 college draft picks and the recent retirements of Erika Tymrak and Mandy Laddish.

This episode’s “Jensplaining” segment outlines the final steps of the Olympic qualifying process for the four remaining spots for the 2020 women’s Olympic tournament. A total of 12 teams will participate this summer in Tokyo. Got a question for the Jensplainer? Email your question to [email protected].

Check out our sponsors:

* The Beautiful Game Network

* Ruffneck Scarves

* Icarus FC

The Mixxed Zone and Keeper Notes have been spreading the love for the beautiful game since 2002 in Houston and beyond, bringing the attention to women’s soccer that it deserves!  Check out more of our great shows and written pieces over at KeeperNotes.com and you can follow us on twitter, instagram, and facebook!

As Concacaf Women’s Olympic qualifying kicks off in Texas, Jen chats with tournament broadcaster Jordan Angeli about how she preps for the games and her thoughts after the first few matchdays. Then Jen talks with Beau Dure, author of “Why The US Men Will Never Win The World Cup: A Historical And Cultural Reality Check,” about the developmental obstacles facing the women’s national team long-term and the challenge of switching coaches between a World Cup and an Olympics.

In advance of the 2020 NWSL College Draft, Jen chats with Travis Clark from TopDrawerSoccer.com about his top draft prospects, and then she catches up with Sandra Herrera from Southside Trap Podcast about all the Chicago Red Stars’ off-season and pre-draft moves.

Photo by Jen Cooper