NWSL Matchday 14 Recap, Sandra Herrera's Power Rankings | Attacking Third

Intro hey everyone happy Monday welcome into attacking third brought to you by CarMax the way car buying should be alongside Darien Jenkins and Aaron West I'm Lisa Carlin nwsl match day 14 was chaos across the board there's a lot to talk about um because I want to hear all of your thoughts because I've missed you all it's so good to be back with you how how's it been irand it's been good we missed you how was Ireland oh it was wonderful come back with a little accent you going to break that out accent accent that's all I have with me today you both have really good Irish accents I'm not going to attempt this you were sorely Miss I loved your cameo though in our show about the Olympic rosters oh thank you yeah I know I had to get my two cents in there about Alex Morgan I also did one I think about Lily johanes but you didn't play it I watched of course I couldn't not be here and not watch the shows I was doing it live on YouTube I was downloading and following because you can also listen to the show as a podcast anywhere you get your podcast subtle plug listen to attacking third and tell a friend but the nwsl weekend was chaos across the board a lot of action happening as we take a look at the weekend fixtures for match day 14 Orlando Pride stay undefeated with a 6-n win over the Utah Royals Houston and San Diego play to a scoreless draw uh on Sunday there was a lot of matches Portland Thorns taking on Kansas City current the current getting another win staying at the top of the table Gotham fell 2-n to Washington Spirit North Carol Ina courage pick up a 3-1 win over Chicago red stars and the Seattle rain draw with racing Louisville second half of the season is here so we take a look at the top half of the standings Kansas City and Orlando they stay at the top of the table Washington with that win over Gotham they stay in third place picking up three more points ahead of Gotham in fourth place and with the win for the courage over the Chicago Red Stars North Carolina jumps to the sixth spot dropping Chicago to the seventh spot at the top of the table Kansas City current Kansas City vs Portland traveled to Portland Thorns um this match happening in Providence Park Sophia Smith available thanks to the appeal by The Players Association Daren but in the 30th minute Kansas City they just cannot be stopped it all happened within 10 minutes for Kansas City Ball whipped in by Michelle Cooper and chwinga backs up reserves it over to labont in between the Defenders she just flicks it her back facing the goal 38th minute Kansas City this ball whipped in from a corner a little bit of a ping ball actually moment I don't know how many attempts at goal they get but at the end basaga gets on the end of this puts it away and this is Kansas City's 17th different goal scorer I mean at this point if you're watching the nwsl and you want to score a goal go join Kansas City see if you can get on that team but in the 40th minute it's the captain laon again top of the d y puts it up 90 Z love to see this from her she is such a great finish her first brace in her career little little high step over to celebrate with her teammates 47th minute CH winga this is one of my favorite goals of the weekend because bully pushes everyone on Portland off of her dribbles herself puts it to her left she could have slipped beia but you're a forward you're going to shoot your shot and get a goal luckily for Portland they had Sophia Smith back she was by far the most dangerous attacker she gets to the top of the 18 and how many times have we seen her do that whip this ball far post around ad French good to see her back and playing I know she's extra motivated to get a goal But ultimately Kansas City dominated this game three points for Kansas City current and a lot of that having to do with black wowski in his first year with Kansas City uh in this new iteration take a look at this incredible stats because last season to this season for Kansas City five wins nine losses um in 2023 right now nine wins five draws zero losses they've overd doubled their points on the season uh more than doubled their goal total this year it it feels like it is an entirely new team and there are new players and there are a new coach so is that what you accredit Aaron Kansas City Kansas Citys success success this season when you compare it to 2023 yeah I I think it's a lot of different factors you can't just attribute it to to just a new players just a new coach but all these things coming together V andonovski he is he is a Kansas City fixture his family is there he's been there for years he knows that club in and out so he's well set up to for Success there he knows the setup the players love him if if you've ever talked to anyone who's played for vco his players love him so much it's a really really great atmosphere and then you add in a banat you add in a Tima chinga to a core that already had a lot of quality I think it just elevated them to the place where they are now everyone's comfortable they know their roles they're happy and it's good football all around this score line similar to the first time Kansas City played Portland the first match of the season but Portland is entirely different at this point in the season however Kansas City still scores three first half goals and Lil laon a huge factor in this match for Kansas City with a brace in this match is is that the difference I mean what have you noticed from LOL laon Darion the biggest difference for me is she was able to get a little higher up the pitch in this match I don't know if that's because dein stayed out a little bit or de Bernardo was out with a head injury but she was able to get closer to the 18 she was more influential in the attack which I love that low is naturally a 10 She's Crafty on the ball she's really clean technically Savvy she's Vision great finisher as we finally get to see um I think she has like one Banger a year that usually that we're talking about yeah but it was fun to see I like that she's getting up into the attack a little bit more I think she is not just a leader in her playing ability but her all around presence when she's there really sets the tone for Kansas City and that's been a really big factor for me this season why they've been able to flip it around for Kansas City you mentioned stina basaga getting a goal this weekend for Kansas City she becomes the 17th goal scorer with which means that there are only five players that have seen the field for Kansas City that have not scored a goal of course tamas shinga at the top of that L with n goals no field players five field players that haven't seen the the field uh defensively when you're going up against Kansas City how does that change your Scouting Report knowing that essentially every player has found the back of the net I don't go ahead ER it's they they're just a holistic way of playing they they spread the ball around it's very very unselfish they have stuers that want to score goals but you see chawing aition the ball off you see B banat's unselfishness they're just as a team I think they they play the way vco wants them to play they're they're very un they're they're happy to share the load and it's very difficult to defend against for uh this Kansas City side they continue to stay at the top of the standings but another team that is right on the current heels Orlando Pride they traveled to Utah Royals uh Barbara Banda of course stealing the show but it was Orlando Pride against Utah Royals in the 27th minute an opportunity erron for Orlando it's a it's a good cross from Cara B it's poor marking there but baranda her movement in the box is so Shifty so good and then we see Mara with a good first touch laces that one into the near post we fast forward to the 86 minute we don't have enough time to show on the all the goals but here's a poor mistake from Utah and Barbara bendo will make you pay every time the the such a a lethal Striker and then another goal from Marta this time on her right foot shifts it onto her right tucks that into the top corner it's a fantastic strike once again from the veteran and Barbara Banda has been absolutely on fire since arriving in Orlando Barbara Banda just her 10th game she's got 10 goals she scored her fourth brace in this match she's only second in the Golden Boot race though uh only behind Sophia Smith in assists at this point but Darion when you look at this Orlando Pride side all of it is coming together this is a team that can go all the way but how do they take it to the next level and make sure that they stay undefeated that they get to the postseason that they make it all the way to the shield and the championship how do sein keep building How do they keep building on the squad they need to just keep enjoying the game I think we're seeing teams that are really successful this season they're having fun while they're playing they're sharing the load of who's scoring goals who's assisting um they're defending really well I mean for me Orlando is playing better than Kansas City because how defensive they are they're very solid in the back uh but I think they really just need to keep enjoying it share the wealth have these really solid team wins and just be consistent and they've really proven I mean for the first half of the season to be this good is pretty difficult to do so my opinion they're they're going all the way actually putting it out there I I don't disagree with you they look like between them and Kansas City they look like the clear favorites but they defend like you said they defend so so well to have that platform when you're scoring that many goals it's a it's a really good platform well Orlando had 249 passes in Utah's attacking half or in Orlando's attacking half through this match Utah had 209 passes total throughout this match so if you're Utah Darien what are the small incremental steps that you can take as a team to make this season worth it you need to focus on the small wins as much as that sucks to do the results aren't coming Focus on how you can build I mean from game to game K are we focusing on defensively did we do what we came out to do in our defensive half and that's you know what let's have a shutout let's lock out some some pieces that we're consistently getting scored on transitions um set pieces these are very simple things that you can really set to work on throughout the week to try to lock in and then the attacking part comes I think you gain a lot of confidence focus on the the defense um individually when your play is wrong or you're not vibing you're not jelling you're not feeling good on the ball you focus on your defensive work rate because that's really what you can control the technical part is going to come later for Utah it's it's such a struggle I I want them to do better I want them to do well I feel for the players because when you're in a season like this where you can't get wins and then you have a beating against Orlando it's tough to have confidence going into the next game yeah it it's really difficult too because I don't disagree with a single thing you said but in the four previous matches before that they did defend decently they only conceded one goal they just have no attacking throw us there's no confidence within the team they don't really feel like they have a go-to player so when you're in a situation like this and the rest of the league is so good it's just a really really tough way to ride out thison we're almost grasping at straws every time we talk about Utah like what can we trying to find one little positive here and this doesn't vote well for them confidence-wise heading into their next match against the Portland Thorns because this Utah side they said at the bottom of the nwsl standings just two wins one draw and 11 losses so far in the season plenty more nwsl action occurred across lost the weekend and we're going to recap it all next when we get back don't go [Music] anywhere welcome back to attacking third the long awaited arrival of Jonathan New Spirit manager heraldez as he arrives in Washington DC to coach the Washington Spirit after leading Barcelona to a historic quadruple in his first season at the helm heraldez is now set to take over as the team the spirit did make an announcement saying that um at the current moment Adrien Gonzalez who has been the interim head coach will say in the head coaching role as uh her aldes makes that transition and then once the transition is made Adrian Gonzalez will remain on the coaching staff as a first assistant but he was on the ground in the Press Box for this first match for Washington Spirit Aaron but once he does get into place Jonathan heraldez how might this change the way Washington looks and plays I'm I'm really actually interested to see this from a footballing perspective because we know what a good manager is what an impact he's had on this Barcelona side but Washington Spirit are playing very very well right now obviously he's going to have had some talks with the managers he's probably had talks with the team before coming in but they're playing well right now and there's a new Factor coming in whether his expectations are different whether he wants to change little things within the team it may affect them so I'm interested to see whether they they have another a bump a new manager bump or whether it kind of destabilizes a little bit because you come in there's there's new new manager new expectations there there are some young players who haven't had this this manager so I'm it could go one of two ways Pros or cons what do you think de it's I think it's going to be a really big Pro I mean coming from Barcelona and you look at how that team plays and all of the superstars that he has been able to help develop their games uh and win literally every single thing he possibly can in Europe I think it's just going to be a huge asset I mean I would be so excited if I were a younger player older player wherever I was in my career knowing a coach that's decorated and has the resume and all of the players who adore him to back it up because really good coaches are a few and far in between sadly so for him to come to the nwsl and go to a team that's already thriving has really really good players that are jelling well together I think we're going to see their chemistry build especially in possession in their Midfield I think this is going to be a huge asset for them I kind of just wish that they would just switch him over though I I don't like the yeah the slowly doing it because I feel like that almost creates a little bit more confusion of I don't know this passing of the torch between the coaches who's really taking lead who do you go to if you have questions I I would rather just be quick exchange Gonzalez is now the assistant let's even if even if the new coach has only had one or two days of training with the team he's for sure been I think much more present than we are given privy to that we know of uh and I know that heraldez and um Gonzalez Gonzalez have talked Gonzalez was saying that they've spoken a lot and exchanged a lot about the play players Etc so I would just prefer if they just made the switch let's see let's see what he's got well we'll see we don't have an exact timeline as to when that official switch will happen but over the weekend it was heraldez at the helm and he kept Washington winning as they took on Washington vs Gotham Gotham FC ju Carlos Amo pumping up his Gotham Squad ahead of the match in Trinity Rodman it would be another Fire game for Rodman at this match Aaron yeah there was this one was a a a fiery competition a mistake here at the back for Gotham lets in Croy bethon she squares it to Courtney Brown a really really good finish here to make it one nil kind of against the run a play but this one led to more more drama for Gotham in the 40 45 plus 9th minute set piece comes out this ball will go across and Yasmine Ryan is is a penalty shout there she's clattered she is then sent off for for treatment and would eventually be sent off for a second yellow card after coming back on the pitch a little bit too soon I been told that that uh decision will be reviewed they're appealing that one to see if Yasmine Ryan will be available for the next match it was a big confusion on the sideline you can see it in her face as well confusion and disappointment and then in the 47th minute just after halftime down a player Gotham and Trinity Rodman needs no introduction and absolute laser into the top corner I was really really impressed with Rodman she took a a couple tough tackles in the first half was a bit out of it but a real real gamer came back and had a couple bright opportunities and was really really bright overall in the second half for Washington spear Washington's attack has been really consistent they've scored in their last 13 games 29 goals what is the biggest factor in all the consistent offense they looked confident they looked dangerous I think we're seeing players I mean Courtney Brown coming in and she had some really good opportunities she looked good a rookie out of Utah she look pretty good hey shout out to Utah love you Mom shout out uh yeah they look good confident and I think that they're taking chances that only come when you feel positive in training when you have the free freedom and the flexibility and honestly investment from your coach that trusts you to do these things I mean how many times have we seen Rodman try to take that shot in a go Upper 90 and keepers have had amazing saves for her to have the confidence to keep doing it keep trying it and that have such an influence on everybody I think is why they've been so successful this year because when someone's confident it's very infectious to the rest of the team and they again are another team that's like balling out having a good time yeah I I think this team is really really well set up they their base is very good they've got two really really class Center midfielders and herfel and Andy Sullivan they provide so much stability and then you've got Croy bethon just floating in and out and then their their reference point ulam matasar is is a fantastic Target Striker she holds the ball up well she can run in behind she can win it in the air and when you have those kind of pieces that you can focus on and then triny Rodman can kind of float around and do her thing they they're just very well balanced all around the pitch the foundation that Washington has laid already in these first matches it proves that it's really stable and that they are a team that is going to be hard to take down ultimately yeah they have a lot of holes that are a lot of pieces that can fill different holes and just rotate throughout uh big thing for me watching the spirit they have so many really good players that are racking up stats how do you defend against them so you even saw Gotham like questionable defending they're all rushing to Cory Bon because she's dangerous on the ball who knows what she's going to do leave somebody wide open Trinity Rodman gets fouled how many times every single game well who else does that leave open now teams are doubling down on uar it they have such a strong front line and so many options to score goals and attack they are really Unstoppable yeah another team that uh is looking to try to get out of this Unstoppable race that they're in right now Seattle rain they took on racing Louisville vs Seattle Louisville this weekend um a a tough matchup for Seattle they have been winless since May 3rd that is seven matches and they split points with racing Louisville but in the sixth minute and opportunity Darion yeah ball over the top to hide thema she has a really good touch Aaron right using her speed to try to get back but ultimately fouls her as Lisa and I were watching this before she pointed out Aaron Wright's arm just goes over the top of Haida referee goes to check the monitor first time over the weekend the ref did that some some other questionable decisions that needed a check ref goes back ultimately pulls out the red because of dogo wght has to go off Louisville plays the me rest of the match with only 10 players that's an Baler steps up puts this away her fifth goal of the Season leading the team good to see her back on the score sheet that does a lot for your confidence as a forward but in added time go Bruins the rookie raen Turner gets on the end of this this gritty finish off of a free kick the ball is redirected and she is just hungry on the end of it gets it around Claudia dicki and evens the score but I mean this Seattle let this win slip between their fingers it helps when have uh goalkeeper Katy La who can take that set piece meanwhile North Carolina North Carolina vs Chicago courage hosting the Chicago Red Stars the courage at wakan they're always good you can never count North Carolina out but Chicago in the 12th minute mallerie Swanson is who you cannot count out yeah first of all shout out to the crib shout out to North Carolina but mallerie Swanson against the runup play takes in herself little back heel off the throw in yeah what little touch to herself gets on to it the pace the dribbling ability the finishing on her quote unquote weaker left foot it's a really really good finish from Al Swanson but it was all downhill from there North Carolina just four minutes later Banna Pinto with a beautiful little slipped ball to Tyler Lucy who finished this one this one with a plum it's a really really good pass a good goal from Lucy who's pumped up fast forward to the second half we're going to have us a nice little golaso from Ashley Sanchez Ryan Williams holds it up and look at this strike from Sanchez La absolutely brilliant hit there oh I love that angle shot post it's a a wonderful hit from Sanchez makes it 2-1 and in the 81st minute Carolina would close it out Bianca St georgees makes a run down the right side a great ball across a face of goal to Meredith Speck who would finish it eventually this one's going to go across the line it does indeed go across the line even though it's clear cleared out but it's 3-1 to North Carolina and they get a very very important three points those highlights showed all the incredible goals that happened throughout this match but the keepers they had good game Alysa four saves Casey Murphy from North Carolina with three saves Olympic Duo right there exactly exactly Daren how impressive were the keepers uh they were fun to watch it's good to see Keepers don't get a lot of love they don't and give give them some yeah they don't get a lot of love sorry Keepers we should we should do better uh but it was really good game I mean both of these teams attacked a lot and for a keeper to stay in tune stay focused throughout a whole game and be able to come up with those massive saves that keep their teams in the game it could have changed the momentum of it entirely if they let one slip in um but yeah shout out to the keepers they're what a season because the attack in the nfb cell has gotten so good I think the keeper level has had to we we've we have some world class Keepers in this league and Katherine Burger coming in has been really really good for Gotham obviously the olymp I mean every every time I get a chance it's going to happen I'm the biggest Homer you will see all St also North Carolina too at the start of the highlights he was like yeah well we like it Aon it's all right bring the personality up here why not oh that's fine we have plenty of those here at least we point them out we show the spotlight on us plenty more nwsl recap to come we're taking a look out west to the California sides and breaking down those matches that happened over the weekend we'll be right back [Music] Bay FC vs Angel City nwsl's newest California rivalry Bay FC against Angel City took place this past weekend at PayPal Park 29th minute a chance for Angel City yeah and a chance for the down sou CL Clarice Leon a fantastic dummy there Rocky Rodriguez smashes that one against the post the connection between crossbar and post right there just tries to sneak it in cannot turn it home just a couple minutes later though B Emily mingue with a nice little piece of work there onew a great little ball through and a fantastic finish from Tess bod a wonderfully worked goal from Bay and they would take this one 1 nil three points for Bay FC Angel City got caught ball watching uh in that last or in that goal ultimately for Bay as we take a look at the season series between these two sides ba takes the sweep two wins over Angel City both by a score of 1 n the first matchup coming in The Opening match week in early March of this season with asisat toalla getting the lone goal for Bay FC um but testb two goal contributions against this Angel City side but when we look at Bay FC Daren uh they're coming off a one-nil loss to Utah last weekend and they get a one-nil win over Angel City what changed in just a week's time I love bod up at the nine there was a little bit of a rotation C dios came in Dorian Bailey came in just managing minutes but she has been so effective for this team and we're finally seeing every team kind of has a player that floats around a little bit that has free reign to kind of do what they want and bod is that player for Bay I think she's become a staple in the league actually because she has been so dominant no matter what team she's faced but we spoke to albertine Montoya last week and he talked a lot about how they create so many opportunities especially between kinagi and oshala it's just a matter of that mental confidence because there's some sitters that they're missing quite frankly and as a forward that sucks because you've done it hundreds of times in training repeatedly so at this point I think once these two forwards get one or two away they're going to be unstoppable in the attack like some of the other teams that we're seeing the ability for Tess B to float around and play a six a 10 up in the front line is because Bae has someone like Kiki picket that can slot into the six role and she's developed herself Aaron into this midfield for albertine Montoya yeah and you can tell she's got the confidence of her her manager she she feels comfortable she she's starting to really really understand this role and and players like that are are really really important to build a team around especially when you know you can move people around you know how you have versatility in the squad it makes it really easy for team building especially in a league where you get so many injuries because of the high pace and the high intensity of the nwsl this road match for Angel City as they traveled North to the Bay Area featured a very very special player climbing off the bus forward Kristen press for Angel City made the trip with the team I mean that smile says it all she is so excited to be back on the road with this group the first time that press has traveled coming back from her ACL injury in over two years as we take a look at the lengthy resume for Kristen press D how much of a lift does it give the side for Angel City even just having press on this road trip with them it's massive I think her Pres and seeing I mean look at these career notes this is insanity but seeing how influential she is in this league uh she brings a standard that I think Angel city's been missing they have a lot of young players yes they have some veterans but as decorated as this and for her to be so hungry to come back from injury and just be enjoying the daytoday I think is very infectious for people to watch to be in her presence and not only that the fact that she's coming in and is going to be playing soon knock on wood I really hope so but that brings a lot of competition to this roster laugh at me I I got to I got to uh but it brings a lot of competition so I think now these players are thinking I mean I would be thinking this I need to step my game up I need to finish my opportunities where can I be better where can I be more professional ultimately I think it's going to be great for Angel City and I'm so happy for her it's been a long time coming even not a full press is sometimes better than a player that is at full strength would you argue that we'll see depends on the personel depends on depends on the personel think it's going to depend on her confidence when she's back I know she's profal it's been a long time but she's a true professional I think everybody wants to see her on the field so they're going to take their time integrating her however that means whether it's 11s in training before a full 90 before she's able to get into a game but I think it'll be really really good to have her back on the pitch this was the next step in the progression for press to travel be on a road trip with the team Houston Dash they didn't have to travel far they stayed at home as they welcomed in San Diego wave Houston Dash vs Seattle Reign um to Shell Energy stadium Darian this was a big matchup and in the 10th minute Diana Ordon a huge opportunity gets this volley off of a deflection olivary delivers this ball in but kayn Sheridan I mean such a solid goalkeeper has to be a bit better but great save from her Houston's best chance until about the 89th minute sadly 36 minute Taran on the ball in the back a little bit too casual a little too obvious colapro steps up hits it with her left going to do need to do more than that to get past Jane Campbell calm cool and collected the tides turned a bit the momentum in the last 15 minutes of the match switched over to Houston a couple set pieces couple corners ordonia pops up tries to redirect this on frame but too high and the game ends 0 for Houston Dash this is the first time they've ever had three straight clean sheets at home incredibly impressive for a dash side that typically does much better on the road in their last several seasons Aaron a lot of the change in Houston has to do with Fran Alonzo's defensive structure that he's finally brought in Paige neelsen Natalie Jacobs in this that backline and now the Brazilian International Taran what has impressed you about Taran she is you can tell she has the total package she's still very very young but she's incredibly athletic she's tall she's strong she has that little nasty streak she wants to hurt you sometimes and that in a center back that is the best possible thing you can say as a compliment she has that nasty streak but she reads the game well she's still a little bit immature you can see in that giveaway she still will make some mistakes but that's what you live with when you have a young Center back cuz it takes time to grow into the position but she has all the tools to be world class well imagine when she has a few more games on her belt and she's adjusted to I think the speed of this league and how players can anticipate where passes are going a little bit quicker I think she's going to be really really good for this Houston backline they they've needed this they she's a leader too you can see it when she plays with Brazil the way that she directs the backline and even as young as she is she has that confidence and the reading of the game and the confidence in herself to to direct and to take like a 50 yard shot she did that came yes I'm love Brazilian in the NW having three center backs in three Center back positions for Houston gives so much confidence to the other players higher up the field knowing that they actually have Defenders back there and it's no longer Center mids playing Center back I mean proper Defenders they trusted the process win it they trusted the process with Fran Alonzo and ultimately it paid off no more accents no more accents we'll see what Sandra one on air we'll see if Sandra has any accents uh for us cuz she's coming up next in attacking th we welcome her on to the show don't go Sandras Power Rankings anywhere hey welcome back to attacking third we are pleased to welcome in our good friend Sandra Herrera Sandra welcome in um and happy birthday thanks y'all appreciating it feeling feeling good feeling great taking those uh next steps towards my fullon Senora era it's h it's going it's going really well for me no no big partying over the weekend like I was like you know let's just get like Manny Petty keep it simple I like it well you deserve it all Sandra so thanks for joining us um yeah it is a beled birthday not today but uh we haven't talked to you in a while about your power ranking you put those out for.com CBS sports.com everyone can read those and you should but what has changed take us through your latest Power Rankings and let us know the biggest changes in your teams you know it's it's we're hitting this stretch of the the season Lisa where I think we're going to see power rankings in the table be somewhat reflective of each other I like how narrow things are getting right now for teams that we could consider real contenders and and while maybe the middle middle of the table and kind of sort of mid-table teams will kind of maybe you know kind of jocky for position a little bit as well so well maybe early on in these power rankings there were maybe big jumps anywhere from two to three I think week to week now moving forward to the final end of the season and we're just going to see these really small narrow margins one jumping up one or jumping or jumping below one it was really tough this week for me to kind of balance out Kansas City and Orlando and I think that's been part of the fun in this season in particular you know we have not just but really kind of two possibly even three kind of best teams that we're looking at in terms of a of a shield race but I think when it came to putting a number one in this week I had to go with Kansas City because even though we saw the pride and the current put up some lopsided score lines I think it's a little bit different to go ahead and put up a lopsided score line against another Contender and doing that on the road and that's exactly what Kansas City did against Portland I mean they were up by four goals really for almost 75 minutes before Sophia Smith had her say so I had to keep them number one this week in the power rankings for sure Sandra I like that I was going to ask uh how did you decide Kansas City above Orlando because I kind of feel we are at that point Chicago Fire where it's going to be one of those to make it obviously the both teams are going to make it to playoffs but they're having such a good season how do you pick who's best I don't know uh but I want to jump over to your team Chicago staying at the same place how do they move up what what's going on with them I feel everything's kind of relying through Mouse Swanson at the moment yeah you're not you're not wrong shocking I agree with you 100% I I think at this point they're not giving too much to to move up or down in the power rankings but I think if you look at the regular season table they're also not doing enough to kind of climb that regular season table either they're taking a little bit of a dive into this second half of the season and that's not great for them because this is where a lot of teams find themselves sort of making that push right and for Chicago they now find themselves on a winless streak that's stretched to five games now and I think it's not unfair to say that M Swanson is officially living on an island at this point it's great to have Alyssa ner back and see her coming up with some big saves for this team but outside of of of those two kind of putting up performances week to week it's not enough to kind of get them winning results and that's going to be tough I think for them to kind of dig out of this hole a little bit that they' put themselves in to start this second half of the season I think you're going to start to see teams rising and teams fall a little bit and I would put Chicago in the category of teams that are falling in your power rankings the middle of the park teams are the ones that really interest me we just talked about Chicago they're at Ninth in your power rankings but racing Louisville they St in seventh they salvaged a point this past weekend against Seattle but what does Louisville need to do to stay in the top half of the table Yeah they keep fluctuating for my rankings anywhere between like s and nine you know it's tough I I think they've kind of buil this identity for themselves a little bit under uh first year head coach Bev yanz and they're a scrappy team they're going to scrape and fight for every point they can get but at the same time you want to see them be able to kind of convert wins to be able to really kind of separate themselves from some of those middle of the table pack type teams and so I think with this particular result coming off of uh this kind of come from behind draw against Seattle is is great but I think if you're one of those mid-table teams you want to take a look at the opportunities that are in front of you and Seattle is a team that has struggled this season I mean it's it's all out there in the open for us to to see so it's great to know that they've got players and theyve got a bit of an identity that they've established here they're a team that can be threatening on a set piece they're no strangers to that with the mow we got to see it with uh Turner kind of getting that equalizer in this one so I think they're just maybe in a or two away when specifically from maybe finally saying yes we are going to maintain this position as a playoff contending team now SRA the other side of that Louisville late rescue and love the goal is the disappointment from Seattle they are next to the basement in your power rankings they're next to the basement in the league uh I know they've got some good news coming in can you talk to me about their performance and then that news that we're we have for them yeah it's it's tough right cuz I think for me especially I had Seattle as this team is potentially like running it back to as close as they could have done last season and I think we are just like Acres away from that at this point I I mentioned in my power rankings if a you know if a Bad season could potentially get worse for for Seattle and I think the answer for now might be maybe question mark I mean it's like really kind of a way andc approach I mean you hate to see you know dropping points the way that they did it didn't just kind of happen in you know in the regular sort of culture of nwsl where it's like everything is chaotic and everything's so competitive and look at the parody I mean we're talking about conceding a late stoppage time free kick opportunity that is not how you want to go out and I think if you take a look at maybe some of missed opportunities along the way I think that's really tough too their only goal coming against the Run of play by way of penalty it's it's tough for for this team it's tough to watch and maybe that's why they're they're looking to to maybe try to shake things up a little bit over the weekend while I was celebrating birthday Vibes I was also you know taking a look at maybe breaking uh some news and we've got some transfer news that we reported on CBS sports.com nilia Monir is going to eventually make her way to nwsl a transfer has been agreed upon between player and mon peler her current side she is going to depart eventually and join Seattle rain sources have confirmed to CBS Sports that it's going to be for a threeyear plus one deal this is is a very exciting attacker hades's Captain she's one of these players who have really been part of this national team side that has kind of helped kind of raise the profile of Haiti over the last cycle or so I think they get a lot of fans out of that 20123 world cup they were drawn into a little bit of a tough group alongside England and Denmark and and China but they put together some incredible performances we're talking narrow one goal losses and they really won a lot of Hearts over I think with their resilient play and all of their efforts so I think maybe getting a player of this caliber into the mix can help kind of maybe provide a boost for Seattle moving forward in this second half of the Season Sandra I sure hope so cuz they let that game slip through their fingers they should have won absolutely I want to know from the bottom half of your list who do you think is a dark horse that can maybe make a really good playoff run o my gosh I think bottom half so we're going upper half through eight so that would be what nine through through 14 look I I I like what uh what Houston Dash and and bay FC have been putting together I think there's a lot to be said about Jane Campbell kind of you know obviously riding this sort of reigning goalkeeper of the Year performance week in and week out I think we are constantly saying incredible things about Jane Campbell but at the same time that's why they're getting results and they're not necessarily getting uh those wins so they're scoreless in their last three games I think is the other side of that coin while Jen Campbell's putting up these incredible performances they're not getting the ball at the back of the net and for Bay FC I think they've got a lot of attacking talent I think too much good attacking talent for them to have just kind of put together some of the results that they have so far so they're getting wins but it's a little bit in a streaky manner and if they can get a little bit more consistent maybe they can at the very least play spoiler along the way oh I like that shout for Bay and for Houston uh in your standings Bay at 11th and Houston in 12th so they just have to make it to the top eight in order to get to the postseason too far off there's time plenty of time left to come Sandra thank you so much for joining us always appreciate it thanks gang appreciate it thanks for birthday wishes yeah happy bed from everyone at attacking third don't go anywhere we've got plenty more to come on the show uh we'll be right back stay with Vermont Green FC us a Saturday night to remember for Vermont Green FC and former United States Women's National Team midfielder manager for this match on the sidelines Sam ussh you can see her there as Vermont Green win their inaugural women's exhibition match 54 on penalties over the Quebec side FC Laval this this match ended one after regulation they went into penalties after five pens the Vermont keeper makes a save and then Defender Roshan purcel from middleberry college converts her penalty for Vermont to get the big dub Samu huge celebrations for her we talked about her being on the sidelines as a manager for this match and look at the win with the crowd and the player celebrations um she deserves it she does uh Sammy mes is a great person she does deserves all the good things I'm happy to see her finding a path after playing and and just having fun it just seems like Good Vibes shout out Vermont green one of my former co-workers Pat and ferma co-founded that club and just I love the entire energy around the club so it's really cool to see everything they're doing yeah it's good to see Sam staying close to the game um she obviously has a pod she works on she does a lot of media work talking about the game um bringing more visibility to it which is incredible uh and I've had the honor of playing with her at UCLA and then at the courage and playing against her so many times which has sucked but I I love it she even quote said I think this is something I've been missing in my life really caring about this moment how it would affect the team totally that gave me chills when I read it because retiring especially the way that she to retire it was due to injury her body just telling her she needed to stop knowing that she can come back and still kind of get that same that same fullness in your heart that close to the game is really really important when you are no longer a player collegiately professionally it doesn't matter you miss being part of a team whether it's like the workouts or the camaraderie the winning the losing together just being part of a group and having that and you could clearly see how much it meant to M to get that first Performances inaugural win for Vermont FC um before we go and end the show I I want to talk about some big wins of the weekend and performances of the weekend Daran I'll start with you what's your performance of the weekend I want to give a big old shout out to my girl Tima chinga she has been oh my God such a force since she joined the league but I think this week in particular we're seeing all of the skills that she has come into a game I mean we've talked about how fast she is she is so clean and can dribble so quickly on the ball that she's really Unstoppable I think this is my favorite goal that she scored because watch how she's able to separate read where the space is and then put this on frame she creates so many chances every game and she's Unstoppable her and Banda just kind of flicking Defenders off of them is so C she starts with three Defenders on her and they just fall around everyone just kind of like takes three steps back somebody Falls like it she's Unstoppable so I think seeing her how comfortable and confident she is in this league and just seeing her Thrive at Kansas City has been really really fun so she has been my favorite part of Aaron who's your performance of the weekend uh mine's kind of a two-parter but to start I'm going to take my Homer hat off and it's going to be Trinity Robin because she was absolutely fantastic against Gotham she was kicked up and down the pitch she attracts so much attention uh she's the most well-known quantity on this team but this strike was absolutely brilliant she reacted so well to the adversity against her she probably should have gone out the way that she got kicked it looked like she was going to have to come off with an injury but she fought through it she was fantastic she got her goal she was just good overall and even stronger in the second half so a wonderful overall performance and then my second performance of the weekend is my daughter I don't know if we get it on the screen but it's on my phone yes this is my daughter's painting I'm a I am my daughter's number one fan she she said she made this one for Daddy but she's got a lot of painting she made a whole uh Art Exhibit um on a basketball hoop in our living room it's a j position of Art and Sport but I'm a I'm a massive fan of my my daughter's artwork and and uh number one F talent I mean how old is she she is three and a half Talent that's I mean I'm not start to start Sig I hang this up in my house I like L legitimately I'm going to get it framed so I can put it up you should you should see if she can sign give her a Sharpie see she she can sign her she can write her name now so I got just got to get her to write her name and then we'll we'll frame it that's sweet a handprint would be pretty cute too Dad oh that's cute okay so that's a good honorable mention D any honorable mentions from you yes I am going to go G from Seattle because although Seattle's been on The Struggle Bus this season she's been such a bright spot for me uh she's been able to orchestrate play she stays calm cool and collected on the ball she helps break lines she creates scoring opportunities and ultimately just looks like the heartbeat of this team when she's on the ball I think her and Jess fishlock have kind of held this team together I know it's been a struggle but I think once they bring in a couple more assets they start to get some wins it's going to be because those two have really really LED this team during this low part of their season and the rumors that Sandra was talking about with mesier potentially coming to Seattle soon well about to break officially um the the play between d g and mesier could be really fun to watch and then throw fish lock into the mix o I like that I do too I like that Lis uh I my shout out is to Casey Murphy for this weekend she has done such a good job with North Carolina courage and with the Olympics coming up to be the second to have a really good performance this weekend for the courage uh just solidifies herself and gives her that confidence heading into International break before rosters are named in a big summer ahead oh yeah like a good show I like that thank you well that's it for our show today for attacking third thanks so much for joining us everyone uh on Wednesday Sandra and I will be live on YouTube and we'll be back in studio on Thursday have a great day [Music]