NWSL half season check-in, Becky's Book Talk, and UP THE GREEN! | Good Vibes FC Ep. 16

Eating Good! okay great let's do [Music] it record us oh it's recording Good Start hi everybody and welcome to Good Vibes FC I'm Sam muis coming to you from the women's game world headquarters in Vermont and also it's kind of the thunderstorm World Headquarters lately as well you know I I miss a really good thunderstorm I'm Becky Saran coming to you from Portland Oregon where we don't get them and it makes me sad that is sad for you reub it is pretty rainy out there right now what's going on Becky it's been a few weeks since we've had you on here update us I know it's been sad I've been really sad kind of the same old same old I had my birthday dinner a few days after our podcast aired the last time and it was a fantastic birthday dinner we went to a place called aati okay and it's West African food which I'd never had before and it was so good and the dessert cuz it was my birthday they came out with like this like kind of beignet with powdered sugar on it and the people I was at dinner with like I felt really seen the gifts that they gave me were like pretty perfect it was like wine and then wine Stoppers because I never finish a bottle of wine cuz I can't cuz of soccer and so it like helps keep it fresh and then someone else gave me like a a cat massager like it just massages their head and I was like you guys like you know so well thank you so much that is so cute did you get a little birthday drink I I mean I did because I waited a few days after we played cuz we played like close to my birthday I did have a few cocktails cuz I do love me a good cocktail did you get a Mojito I didn't I didn't I wanted to go more like what was on their cocktail list cuz I wanted to try like yeah something a little bit more suited to the cuisine which was West African and so had a few of those you know when you have a friend and you just like clock certain things about them like certain drinks they like like I know that you like MO and I know that you like whole milk ice lattes oh my gosh yeah I feel seen Again Sam I I mean I didn't that's not a gift at all but I do remember a few things about yba speaking of restaurants I wanted to tell everybody my husband Pat is having a sandwich popup again he used to do those like about a year ago when we were living in Boston and he's doing it again here in Vermont at this place called Vivid coffee on Saturday and he's going to do burgers and he's doing like a veggie burger and homemade potato chips and I'm really excited about it it's going to be fun go Pat I really feel like I've missed out like I know Lynn has gotten to eat a lot of Pat's food I've never experienced it and I heard it's like a whole thing we've never lived in the same area for you two but yeah my gosh during Co we would just like come up with some like complicated recipe for Pat to make because we were so bored and he he made us like french onion soup one time Lynn has gotten to eat a lot of Pat's food it's so good and I'm so excited for him it's going to be really fun to see him in his element didn't you say that Pat was like the most messy chef ever like by the end of the meal like everything was just everywhere yeah in the home kitchen all of his like professionalism kind of goes out the window but I do have to say in a professional setting he has his [ __ ] together but like at home he's like at home you know yep totally I'm sad I missed out on that too yeah I know it Lynn is not sad about it I mean Lynn is Lynn wishes she missed out on the messiness that was a complicated way for me to say that Hollywood Style! anyways okay today on the podcast let's get to it we are going to talk about the debut of me as coach muws with the Vermont Green we're going to go through all of the endell standings as we just crossed the halfway point of the Season we're breaking down where each team is with less than half the season left to play plus we have the debut of a brand new segment called book talk with Becky sabrun do you need some summer reading well our girl Becky is here to help with that and we're going to take a email from Jenna s to discuss how national team players approach playing Club games so close to an Olympic tournament but before we get to all of that Becky and I are the self-anointed it takes two of women's soccer because we're like kind of twins but we're not actually related there are two of us it's a Mary Kate Ashley movie you're going to get it in a few minutes I promise it's very very fun so let's get into the soccer there were a ton of nwl games this weekend but I do want to start off with a nonell game that was very near and dear to my heart the Vermont Green up the green oh I love Coaching for Vermont Green that I coached this team in their first ever game Becky and it was so much fun okay how how did this all come about I know so this is what I think happens in Vermont is like basically we moved here in February and I had like reached out to the UVM women's soccer coach kind of like wanting to come out to a training and meet some people like we moved here really with like no friends so I was kind of like what's the best way to make friends is to reach out to the soccer community and then she introduced me to the coach of the men's Vermont Green Team and we had coffee and we talked about the club and then eventually I got introduced to the founders of the club who are these three guys they're so awesome they're like I feel like we have so much in common that's something I've really found about living here in Vermont is like everybody who's doing cool stuff like just kind of like meets and like does cool stuff together so these three guys Sam Matt and Patrick founded this club it's in USL 2 so it's basically like a summer league for college players but the community is so invested in the team and they sell out almost every game everybody knows what it is it's like this really fun summer thing that happens here in Vermont and so I just got to meet them and got to talking and they told me their plans about wanting to start a women's team and how it was going to start with just this oneoff exhibition game against this other other team from Canada 3 days of training a 4-day commitment do you want to be involved and I was like I mean yeah obviously like it sounds so fun so it honestly just kind of came together out of a few connections and like it just kind of like happened did you like have you thought about coaching before like have you coached before I guess not like I guess I've only coached I think as much as anybody has like I've coached like kids at a camp and like done a couple of clinics but I've never really coached at all I think I took like the online e coaching license years ago so I'm not really like qualified but I've thought about coaching I think that getting right back into the same kind of Lifestyle as I was doing when I was playing which is like traveling a lot and just being like really 24/7 like you're at home watching film late into the night I kind of intimidated me and I wanted to do this and try podcasting and try this is more remote than I think coaching would be so I kind of was excited to get into this side of it but I haven't really ruled it out either so I guess it's like something I've thought about a little bit okay have you thought about coaching I have I am with you where I feel like being a head coach or an assistant coach almost seems like it's more effort in time than just being a player CU I know I've talked to my coaches and they're like when we have one off day it's not an off day for us because we're in there clipping film prepping for the next game and I'm like dang and then the player management aspect of it I'm just like wow being a coach seems so difficult especially I'm thinking for you like you're going to a training you don't know any of the players were you like hey um if you're a forward lineup here and then just like start a a practice being like okay let's get two midfielders there like how did that go yeah so well first and foremost I had a lot of help so Brad Aus and Lee William son helped coach and Brad who has a lot of coaching experience he really like ran the sessions but honestly none of us knew or had ever met more than a couple of the girls so going into day one I had met a few of the UVM girls we had some players from UVM from middleberry like local Vermont players but a few girls flew in a girl from BC who's transferring to Miami a girl from Indiana University like a few girls really like traveled to come and be here for these 4 days and we really didn't even know anybody's name Brad had kind of put together positionally who he thought might go where but that was before we had ever seen anybody play so day one was really just like trying to learn names and identify who might be able to play well together in what formation don't know how what's the opponent going to be doing don't know so we like really didn't know anything but I have a hilarious story like that day us coaches were like huddled around this little table after practice like frantically being like who was this playing this position who was this playing this position who should be starting who should Sub in Off the Bench and we were trying to like start creating a team with very little information and it gave me this flashback Becky to 2019 like seeing Jill Ellis and Tony gustavson and Graham Abel huddled together at the field frantically and us all kind of looking over there at them like what are they talking about are they talking about us are they talking about like who should start and like they 100% were like it just gave me so much Clarity to what the coaches are talking about when they're all huddled up panicking and it's like they don't really know what to do either yeah I would always look over and be like oh they totally thought I had a terrible training session now I'm not starting anymore you could just feel The Vibes that definitely could have been it like I always I used to feel the same way that you know what else it was though Becky it's like when I would mess up a long ball with my left foot I doubt that they were really like oh yeah we were just waiting for Sam to mess up that long ball with her left foot like we've been paying attention to that specific thing like they have so much to think about they have 23 other players hanging around doing good and bad balls with their left and right foot like it gave me this sense that as a play player you're so invested in your own performance but that as a coach there are so many other factors that you have to consider before you like pull someone so it was really eye openening like just how big the scope is as a coach does that make sense it does and that also just adds into my thought that being a coach is incredibly difficult all the things that you have to take into account oh well I was just going to say I think that every like frustration I've ever had with the coach I kind of like forgave on Saturday because I was like I wouldn't want these girls to hold this over my head because I'm really trying my absolute hardest like we did TR we we really tried to do the best we could for the team and when I think about anytime I've been mad at a coach or frustrated at a coach for missing something or not making the right decision in a given moment like obviously those coaches probably had a lot more experience than me but I almost like have a soft spot now for like mistakes that coaches make because they want to do what's best for the team and they want to win too but like it's hard yeah it sounds like this experience as you're playing like still an active player would be very beneficial just for like giving grace to the coaching staff but also like having a better understanding of what they have to go through I think would give you yourself as a player just like okay I'm going to give myself a little bit of Grace that I miss that left footed long ball yeah I completely agree it was so so eye opening and I did love it but like I said just the scope of being a coach is bigger because it's not about you it's about everybody and I think as a player you try to control your performance and of course positively impact the team but it's the scope is just so individual it's like all I can really do is play the best I can but as a coach you're like there's so many factors okay so going going into game day were you as nervous as a coach as you were as a player like were you on the toilet three times before your debut as a coach no but I was nervous but it was less physically nervous like I think before a game I was physically nervous like I felt it in my whole body and like yes would be on the toilet like nervous as a coach it was like it wasn't as physical it was like more Al that was just kind of like I didn't tell the girls this and I like I don't know if they're going to ever listen to this but I think because I had such little information about the other team so the buildup to the game was like huge Vermont is obviously a smaller Community everybody knows this club the game was sold out really quickly so we had 2500 or 3,000 people coming to the stadium to watch like it felt like a really big deal and I had noide idea the level of the other team so I think going into it I was like and this is no reflection on our players who were so great what is this team like do they have what level of players do they have have they been playing together for years I don't know we could win this game six to nothing we could lose this game six to nothing we could tie and go into penalty kicks like I genuinely just didn't know what to expect all I knew was everybody's name I learned everybody's name I'm really really proud of that it took me like about 40 hours but I got it and all I knew was the information that we had gathered over the 3 days so I don't think I realized that there was still a lot in my control as a coach like the timing of subs and the messages delivered before the game and at halftime any tactical adjustments there was still a lot that the coaches could do like I think sometimes you hear a coach from the sidelines is like I've done my job and H honly that didn't really feel true at all I I actually felt like I still had a lot of important decisions to make especially with subbing but was I nervous yes mostly because I didn't have a lot of information yeah which also in a way could be like a blessing you're like you I just don't know what I don't know and I have to deal with what I have and like you said it's in your own the things that you can do you felt in control of totally and I that was helpful like at a certain point me and Brad the other coach just looked at each other and we were like we we genuinely did the best we could and this will be what it will be but I was like a little bit like I kept going up to all the staff and being like what do you think is going to happen and I think the fact that I was nervous like rattled them a little bit and they were like what do you mean like we're going to be fine okay walk us walk us through the game okay so it's so cool it's great the stadium is full um we're wearing green uniforms like it was awesome it was like good weather it has been really rainy here so it was good weather the first half was like so interesting we learned a lot I felt like R9 her name was Neeve she was really isolated but she was getting some chances kind of in transition on a Counterattack but she was pretty much alone and it's not like they were getting a ton of chances the other team was called FC Laval they weren't getting a ton of chances but I definitely wasn't like chill like I was kind of like what should we change needs more support around her but we didn't change much we asked the Wingers I'm getting into the tactics here we as the Wingers to pinch in a little bit narrower to try and give some support around our nine a little bit more and then Neeve ended up scoring in the 63rd minute and I literally jumped up and down Becky like a little kid like I like topped on two feet in place I hugged my both my other coaches like we were so psyched NE had like such an incredible celebration if you haven't seen it you need to go look it up it's like probably on the Vermont Green social media she like got this great pass she dribbled in she scored with her right foot she like bent at far post like kind of Upper 90 it was pretty sick and then she like did a slide into the cameras and then ran and high-fived the stadium the fans like it was so baller of her it was like the coolest thing I've ever seen I know so that was amazing we're up one to nothing and then naturally our team was getting a little bit tired and we kept being like should we make Subs should we make Subs but we just didn't know what to do and then the other team scored like literally in the 90th minute Becky and I swear to God my soul left my body and of course the match goes into PKS because you can't end an exhibition match on a tie no no so we go straight into PK's and I am you know what I was thinking about Becky was the 2021 Olympics I watched rpks against the Netherlands from the sidelines and that's how I felt like that's how much I cared about this game like I was standing there like kind of praying like kind of like please don't let us lose this game we missed our first pk which was tough I felt terrible for her because she had actually just subbed off so she kind of went back in cold and we felt in retrospect maybe we shouldn't have put her in that position but then they ended up missing one one two so then we make it all the way through five kicks and we only told five people like this is another thing with coaching Becky it's like we had 3 days to prepare we went over everything we went over the wall we went over Corner kicks we went over the kickoff we went over tactics we like but of course we didn't go over PKS 6 through 10 like sorry oh Sammy but did you go through PK's 1 through five no but I was going to leave that information out but you just called me out so no PKS were talked about got it no PKS were talked about I genuinely feel like we just didn't have time which is fine it worked out so anyway so we go through one through five it's tied and then our goalkeeper saves number six holy moly but we hadn't assigned a sixth kicker and so this girl Roshan she goes to Middlebury she like self selected and said I'll do it a hero baller she goes up there and she scores it and like I was so happy and relieved Becky it was like it felt so good like it felt like winning a game a big game as a player it felt just as good it was so awesome and I have just missed that feeling so much like I miss the pure joy of winning it's like the best feeling ever and I haven't felt it in so long well I that makes me really happy that you got to experience that again and hopefully you can find some way if it's through through coaching or something else where you get that feeling I know I might just start have to start hosting more game nights like Monopoly game nights yeah okay so winning feels amazing as it always does yeah what was like the crowd like afterwards like were you going around signing autographs like did you have some Media stuff yes to all of the above so after every Vermont greine game they like open the gates and they let all the fans and kids like run onto the field and it was like crazy like it was so it's like it was like 2500 3,000 people were there obviously not everybody came down onto the field but it did feel like there was really a lot of people down on the field so I was kind of like in this little circle of kids who like wanted an autograph or a picture it was so cute and I was like spinning in a circle like signing as fast as I could it was really really sweet the whole Community was so thankful to the club for putting this on I think it was like such an incredible representation of women's soccer in our area and everybody was really like thankful to me too which was nice for being a part of it but I honestly felt so thankful to them for letting me be a part of it for coming out to support the game it was such a great experience and I think very reflective of like the Vermont Community as a whole just super supportive and very connected if that makes sense that's super lovely so it sounds like if given the opportunity you would do it again I would totally do it again I feel like I learned a lot I would definitely talk about PKS before the PKS happen probably my main lesson but I think the best part about it was that feeling of being a part of the team like I got to kind of give like a little pregame speech and I basically just said to them like this is so awesome to be a part of and don't like don't take for granted that this even though we've only been together for 4 days like this is a team and you're a part of it and you get to go play a soccer game like none of us get to do that forever so whether you play or not just try to enjoy this and like be as much a part of it as you can because this could be such an awesome experience and memory for everybody here and then it ended up being exactly that like I genuinely think even the girls who didn't get to play really bought in and appreciated that we won in this dramatic fashion and the community was so supportive so I had this feeling like I was a part of the team and that was like really the coolest part what is the future for the Vermont Green what are the next steps yeah I hope so the men's team still has some games left this season which is really cool the founders have like kind of made a commitment that they're going to have a women's team but they've done so actually very thoughtfully they don't just want to throw it together and have it be less than the men's team just because it's newer or there's less teams for them to play so I think that they're actually doing it in this really thoughtful way where they want to create two equal teams that are both Vermont Green and they are working on that I don't necessarily have a timeline but there will definitely be more exhibition games at least next year next summer is what I've been told I have no idea yet what my role will be but I really enjoyed being part of it and like had the best time that's awesome Sammy up the green oh thank you Becky up the green we have a lot of nbsl to get to so let's go we Midpoint NWSL Standings just passed the halfway point of the nbsl season I really can't believe that it's so crazy there are 26 total match weeks and this was week 14 so everybody's even on 14 games nobody has a game in hand right now everybody's even so let's check in on how everybody's doing with 12 matches left to play before the shield winner is announced we are going to start unfortunately at the bottom with Utah who movie this week is 1492 everybody 14th Place 1492 you get it now it's a movie about discovering America and Utah are on their own journey of Discovery this year they have two wins they have one draw they have 11 losses they did get that second win last weekend over Bay FC they won one to nothing super exciting but then unfortunately they had a really tough bump in the road losing six to nothing at the hands of Orlando this weekend that game definitely had some bangers from Barbara Banda from Summer Yates from Marta who were all out there quite literally scoring for fun but 11 losses for Utah is a tough journey of Discovery Becky is there a time in the season where a team might kind of lose hope and start thinking about next year oh I mean I think that definitely can happen and I think you see that in a lot of other professional sports I think like when it comes down to it it's really about how strong is your team culture like even as bad as it can get if your team culture is strong you know you can still get something out of the Season even if it's just like hey let's figure out what we're made of and every game is like a test of like how much do we want it where's the effort let's it's a journey let's learn on this journey so we're better prepared for next year but it's really like it comes down to culture and just like an individuals like am I willing through this feeling to still try and like control the things that I can control I mean I've been a part of Seasons where the coach has literally been like hey guys like this is where we need to decide are we just going to like mess around and have fun or are we going to do something about this season and luckily the team was like no we're going to do something about this season yeah for sure I I even think in Utah's case like look I I'm not making any calls that they will not make playoffs or you know what I mean like who knows they could turn it around they're it's not like they're that far down points wise but there are 12 games left and these players are still like they'll still be on this team next year I think building that Foundation and like you said Becky making sure that the culture is something that you want to continue with moving forward into next season this it's not like the offseason is six months long anymore like the offseason is a few months like everything they do now is building towards next year so I think it's definitely not time to lose hope and definitely not time to pack it in like they still have so much to play for and so much to build towards yeah and like like you said there's still half a season to play so much can happen in that amount of time yeah what's 12 games 12 if you won all 12 of your games 12 time three is 36 that's a lot of freaking points that that's a huge amount of points especially when you think about the middle of this table being as tight as it is I know all right Utah next we have 13 which is Seattle movie is Friday the 13th it's a horror movie where you think you've killed Jason but then he just keeps popping up in every single Sequel and I feel like with Seattle they like find a way to tie or win a game and then it's the next game where they just they give up some goals we are just like Oh I thought they they had that I thought they you know box defending was going to be better because of what they learned in this game and it just seems like they get a few steps ahead kill Jason and then they're like ah Manny popped up again I know I know it's been tough for Seattle I they did lose Ros level Emily Sonet to Gotham and then Megan rapino obviously retired so three huge players starters like definitely holes in their team but 13 Place Friday the 13th is not what I would have guessed for Seattle so it's been tough to watch that in 12th we have 12 Angry Men Houston 12 Angry Men not the perfect movie we needed to use the number 12 it's this is more like 11 people who are not having that good of a time yet their defense was the big issue at the start and then their star player Maria Sanchez requested a trade away she ended up going to San Diego they're one two and two in their last five games so it's not going awful they've been getting some draws but but just not the wins that they need to start clawing their way back into it their defense has been there been better Jane Campbell coming up making some huge saves I think she's leading the league in saves they just need to find a way to get some goals but I did want to add here Houston and 12th Place are only separated from Seventh Place Chicago by three points so that middle of the table there Becky like you just said that's really that group that's fighting for one of the eight playoff spots it's so tight in a one game swing either way could totally Shuffle that whole thing up yeah and when you think about last year when like everybody was just beating everybody and everything was so so tight by the end of the season like yeah it's wild there's going to be so much movement in the next few weeks okay next in 11th Oceans 11 baby we got ba it's like a star started Heist movie this expansion team is flashy but at the end of the day no one steals Terry Benedict's money and can get away with it I think we have to wait for the sequel because I do think that this team is on the up and up they're an expansion team of course that that takes a little bit of time to gel but they've got three wins two losses in their last five which is really good and this weekend they beat Angel City one0 on a test body goal that was like it a banger yeah ba is a good one to watch I'm looking at 10th Place Angel City How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days obviously this is core Millennial movie Classic Hollywood Story Matthew mccon Kate Hudson Glitz glamour sold out crowds I think they even go to a Knicks game will they have a happy ending we don't know Angel City had a difficult three game week they picked up a win a draw and a loss the trifecta of a three- game week if you will they beat Louisville at midweek in a 3 to2 Thriller that saw goals from 17-year-old Kennedy Fuller Rocky Rodriguez and cydney Laro we also have been seeing Kristen press around the team more and more she traveled with them this past weekend and her impact certainly has the potential to bolster this Angel City squad yeah it's it's really great to see CP back training traveling with a squad it's been I can't even imagine a journey for her but it's really good to see her back I know I'm happy for her I Lyn and I talked about this a little bit last week but I just hope that she continues training at whatever rate is right for her oh yeah and you know that she will for sure in ninth this is this is a little bit of a stretch guys but here we go District nine a movie where an alien species finds itself stuck on Earth and then proceeds to spend decades trying to escape from the terrible situation that the humans have placed on them we did not mean this at San Diego we just needed a movie with the number nine in it cuz they're in ninth place no shade oh absolutely yeah I mean it's basically like how how have we found ourselves in ninth position let's get out of here that's what I'm putting together with the movie exactly we love you San Diego okay this is another little bit of a stretch but how could we go through this without using Eight Mile as as the eighth place movie so this is the connection that we've made 8th Place 8 Mile Louisville we know 8 Mile is in Detroit everybody but is Louisville kind of like the Detroit of Kentucky I don't want to get in trouble for saying that but 8 Mile kind of feels right for Louisville they were able to scrap back in their game against Seattle with 10 players and pull back a draw at the very last minute thanks to railan Turner Louisville is actually leading the league in draws with seven seven draws brings us to the movie Seven and Chicago in seventh place so this horror movie SL thurler goes through each of the dead sins and Chicago can be deadly we all know that but sometimes at the end of the day your wife's head still ends up in a box and that I'm sorry was a spoiler I actually have seen seven and that's an incredible movie it's fantastic it's messed up but it's fantastic it's very messed up but incredible movie Chicago also I mean Mal Swanson in incredible as incredible as the movie 7 I just feel she keeps pulling off these incredible Feats she's scored some amazing goals since she's been back the team team has scored some amazing goals but they've been letting up some goals I think their defense has had some holes in it they actually haven't won since May 12th against Utah so that's five games in a row without a win for Chicago they lost this weekend to the courage 3 to one which leads very nicely into sixth place NC Courage the six sense they really do see dead people at least at home and if they can figure out how to win on the road Sammy which we've talked about earlier this season they are going to be extremely dangerous yeah for sure I mean as we said they beat Chicago 3 to1 my girl Mary Beck fresh back from her ACL she scored a goal and Ashley Sanchez a Friendly's guest scored a brace the courage are nothing if not consistent that brings us to Portland Becky's Squad Fifth Place The Fifth Element they just need an ordinary cab driver to save the world even though the odds sometimes seem stacked against them but at the end of the day it is possible you guys are in fifth place Becky so talk to how's your team feeling in general you had a tough loss this weekend but what's going on over there I think if you take into account where we were at the beginning of the season when we were having conversations and we didn't have a win to our name we are in fifth place so we had a really great run of form really climbed our way up the table I think if you take like a full view so far like we're doing okay and then the weekend happened and we lost to Kansas City and that was the second time we had played we had played them the opening day lost 5 to two so still a minus three goal differential between the games but I feel like as a team we've come really far and I think we have to clean up a lot of things against a team like Kansas City but I think if we can do that and like learn from the mistakes and we gave up some setpiece goals you know things that are in your control so I think if we Shore those things up like I would love to see them again in the playoffs oh I love that Becky I don't want to rehash old news but we had a lot of questions swirling around about Sophia Smith red card situation I know she got that that second yellow I know it was like kind of silly in whatever way and then the whole thing with the appeal and it got denied what was your team feeling about all of that while that was going on like how was sof I mean sof was like upset obviously like you don't want to get a red card like a second yellow from the sideline so she was upset about it like understandably slow like that really sucks to not be able to play in the next game and then randomly I'm like watching TV and Zola sends me a screenshot of a Twitter message saying that the appeal was denied and in fact sof has a two- game suspension and a double fine and then the Portland Thorns can't appeal anything for two years which is which is madness I was like two full years of not being able to appeal something like that's harsh and then luckily we heard so that like caused a huge uproar within the team our group chat was like going wild like what's happening sof can't play against Kansas City like all this and then luckily sof was like no the PA like appealed the appeal and so she got to play she doesn't have to do the double find but the Thorns still can't appeal a ban or anything for two full years which is still to me like so so harsh wow okay yeah that was wild but it's going to be wild out here brings to Fourth Place the Fantastic 4 the old gothams obviously if you ask me about the Fantastic 4 connection it's Rose Sonet Lyn and Kelly Gotham saw two incredible goals in their midweek game last week from Macy Bell that was that one where she like reached her leg around the defender and like trapped herself the ball and then scored and then Rose LEL scored a banger so Gotham had won at midweek but then they lost their way just briefly against the spirit on Sunday and they lost two to nothing they saw a red card for yasine Ryan who was trying to come back on the field after a head injury and the ref gave her a second yellow and then they played down a player they also missed a penalty right at the end but Gotham's injury list is also nearly the length of an entire roster there's 10 players on there so I'm hoping for Gotham and all of my Fantastic Four friends sakes that this what's crazy to me there's about to be an 8-week break from regular nwl play for the Olympics how will that affect this team of super talents maybe those 10 some of those 10 players who are right now on the injury list we'll find their way back on the field for sure I feel like 8 weeks is a very long time for like injury for loading so I feel like that 10 player roster of injured players will definitely be diminished yeah but can you like eight I did not realize that this break was eight weeks long did you kind of but like I know that we have other matches yeah like other events that are happening and so it doesn't feel like eight weeks in third place we have the Three Musketeers the spirit I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say that the Three Musketeers are maybe Trinity Rodman Croy bethon and new head coach yonan heraldez we just saw yonatan arrive in DC from Barcelona where he just had an undefeated season and won the Champions League with Barcelona we will hope to see him coaching From the Bench this weekend for the first time the spirit actually leapfrogged Gotham with their win over them this weekend and I'm so interested in having a coaching change when this team has been doing so well they actually have more wins than anybody else in the league their interim head coach has done an incredible job with the team and now they're getting this like really Incredible World Class Champions League winning coach Jonathan heraldez so I'm so interested in seeing how that change affects the team yeah that is really fascinating because it's like you're kind of throwing in this like bomb that yeah can do good or can do bad I think it's awesome you're having a coach come in with such pedigree like such a winner cuz winning is a behavior and so I think you add that on to an already very successful group like do you just take them to the next level so I'm excited to see how that works for them excited but also like not tooed yeah going into second with Orlando you got Too Fast Too Furious it's just too much fun you can barely contain yourself in second Orlando had themselves a day against Utah and one of those games were like you really can do no wrong and they couldn't stop scoring you got Barbara Banda of course you got Marta with that six goals they are down only won in Gold differential with Kansas City which as we know in the nwsl gold differential matters at the end of the day yeah for sure by the way Marta has scored an incredible goal in that game and she is our guest on friendlies this week Becky can you believe that oh baller one of the best to ever do it I know I kind of was like a little bit Star Struck on the call and actually something so silly happened I've already said this last week in a teaser before the Jaden Shaw interview but I want to tell you in case you haven't heard of Becky I was sitting here at this desk interviewing Marta and somebody knocked on my door and my dog started barking so I like kind of had to go deal with it because the whole my dog had been barking for like minutes while Marta was speaking and I was like I'm really sorry but like I'm going to have to go like manage this and there was like some issue and like I had to deal with it and I probably left her here for like two 2 and a half minutes and I was like so embarrassed that of course I had to go deal with like a home and dog issue when I was interviewing Marta that probably endeared you to her that like just another interview for you even if it's Marta even if it's one of the best yeah I'm like oh sorry I have to go chitchat with the neighbor for a sec it was just like oh my God I was so mortified but the interview is incredible I'm really excited for everybody to hear it it's coming out on Thursday and that leaves us with first place One Fine Day for Kansas City seems to be smooth for freaking sailing for the Kansas City current who just cannot stop scoring endless goals sorry Becky we did see a banger and a brace from LOL laon the ninth goal of the season from Taminga and a 17th player score for the club this season which is a new record with stin Ballas Sager I'm trying not to rub salt in the wound Becky but how does this Kansas City current team compare with League leading teams from the past oh that's fascinating that's a good question well I think having 17 players different players scoring goals is like such a huge asset going into the remaining half of this season because this is kind of where teams start picking up some knocks there's some injuries there's a couple dips in form for players and so to be able to rely on so much of the roster for goals like I think that's a huge benefit that I don't think I've seen from leading teams in the past where you have maybe two or three that are really like dominating the score statline yeah that's fair I think that you're right that's so dangerous to know that even if you can for example stop T watchingo which who knows who can that there are other players out there LOL laon is scoring Vanessa de Bernardo had been scoring uh and now to have a center back scoring off of a like it's just an incredible depth of talent and of like dangerousness that is really hard I imagine to defend against so we have Kansas City current topping the charts Olipop Gut Check: Top 8 Teams?? and it brings us to our ollipop gut check of the week brought to you by the fabulous Folks at ollipop I Reba I'm actually trying a very special ollipop today a peachu and cream bar as am I Samy God we get to try it together oh my gosh speaking of freaking movies today am I right oh what an excellent movie I tried it without you I was too excited it's fine I was having trouble opening it I've been wearing these like uh Nails trying out a new thing it's like hard for me to open things reeba the new Nails love I know rare o Sammy this is really good pretty delish it's like kind of the perfect balance of fruity creamy peaches and cream baby mhm well pretty delicious ollip thank you so much we still have to do a gut check we just went through all the standings we know who's 1 through 14 who were are the top eight teams in the nwl going to be at the end of the season that's the eight that will go into playoffs do you see much changing Reba I just think they're so they're so tight in that middle that I would have to go with so I think in no particular order because I think there's going to be a lot of change you got current Pride Spirit Gotham the thorny I think North Carolina Chicago and I think San Diego is going to work their way into that okay so you're sorry to call you up but you are dropping Louisville I am dropping Louisville because I too many ties it's it's a lot of ties but I do I do think the wave like they they have something about them where I think they they can turn this season around I think they've got the players to be able to do that yeah I agree I think that the top six seem pretty set to me that they're going to make playoffs and then I think the next 7 through 12 are really really close in points and I can imagine any of them but I think that I agree about San Diego and I would probably stick with Chicago at 7 I hope Seattle rain get some momentum going just cuz I I just feel for them I guess and I just kind of like them I don't know what that's about but anyways you heard it here first that's kind of who we think maybe is going to make playoffs and that's our ollipop gut chick of the week so thank you ollipop thanks ollipop okay so we wanted to do something very special today we want to talk about books so this is a new segment it's First Ever Book Talk w/ Becky called book talk with Becky sabrun Becky you know it's the summertime everyone is headed to the beach besides you who is hoping for a balmy 55° in a cloud covered Forest but we want to give these beachgoers what they want we're giving you all three book recommendations from the greatest Center back of all time and an avid Avid Reader so Becky what books do you have for us today okay so the first book that I have is right here one dark window by Rachel gillig this is the type of book when you're on vacation where you're like I'm going to escape reality like do not talk to me do not bother me I am entering a different world with like a magical system and a lovely romance and it's a duy so if you like the first one you can just like get your way back into the second one and really just Escape everything but it's like so beautifully written and so immersive and just like love these characters you're like I have found a new family okay so this is for Magical beachgoer who needs to escape the world that they live in and become one with this fantasy world yeah precisely and it's I guess classified as young adult but I think some of the best books I've ever read have been like young adult and I think that it just transcends any age group group like as a grown woman like I read this and I'm like this is a beautiful beautiful story oh my gosh one dark window yes one dark window I'm going to get that and fold it right under my arm and walk down to the beach and give it a read what do you have for us for book number two okay so book number two is the gone World by Tom swelter and this is more like a thriller psychological Thriller also with like science fiction like elements to it so she's a detective but she can travel into the future to help try to solve crimes that are happening in the present time and this is for somebody who's like I want to feel things like I want to be like my mind blown like this isn't like a pleasant readed kind of like one dark window this is like this is so messed up but so awesome and like do I want to become a time traveling detective as well I wonder if this is a good book for somebody who's going camping in their own backyard because it's like I want to be a little bit like spooked you know like a little bit like H but I can go inside if I need to do you know what I mean is that sound like the right kind of for sure yeah I would agree this it's like one of those where like you end a chapter and you kind of just close the book and like you think for a second and you're like dang that's wild oh my God Reba this is like the best book salesmanship I've ever witnessed like I'm going to get all these books and you haven't even told us the third one yet well Sammy I think you'll recognize the author of this one this the author Adam Grant worked with us on the national team this is one of many books that he has but this is give and take and so this is for like the the beachgoer who's like kind of already looking ahead to getting back to work and being like you know what I kind of want to change the entire culture of my business and I'm going to do that by like kind of understanding the people that I work with are you a giver a taker a matcher who is more successful in the short term over the long term and Sammy I don't know if you remember Adam Grant amazing guy like when he came to speak with us on the national team my mind was kind of blown I was like oh my God you are explaining things that I didn't know you could explain and this book really changed the way that I look at myself and I look at my relationships with people and how people conduct themselves wow REO what a glowing recommendation I feel like this is maybe for somebody who's traveling back from vacation it's like I need a good book to get me from my vacation World starting to think back into the real world of like work or school or whatever I'm going back to and I'm going to read it as I make my transition back into into that yeah it's like the opposite of the Sunday scaries oh my God what's the opposite of the Sunday scar is because I like need to know is it like the Friday freak what's an alliteration with with s like the Sunday but you're looking forward to something oh I was assuming I was thinking that the opposite of the Sunday scary is would have to be on Friday because it's like I'm so excited about the weekend so I'm like going to go be a freak on Friday do you know what I mean but like you're saying that you've had like a restful great weekend you're like not hung over and you're actually looking forward to Monday yeah you're like I this is going to be a great freaking work week wow I don't know if I've ever felt that way what is that elusive feeling did we just create the thought of something it's like the Sunday calmness I don't know everybody let us know send us an email I mean we clearly can't come up with it on the spot but that's what that book makes you feel like Becky is like excited to get back into it yeah excited to like change a culture or environment like if you know something's not going well like having the power to do that by understanding yourself and the people that you work with and meeting them at where they are at that's incredible that's really incredible okay that's give and take by Adam Grant um book talk I'm going to go ahead and say was a success Reba so make sure you read three more books in the next seven days so that you can tell us three more books next week oh I got you I got you if anybody is going to actually read three books in the next seven days it's Becky I'm out here reading all your emails though so let's give me a little round of applause for that let's go to the Mental Health During Olympics inbox we got an email from Jenna s that asks one thing I am curious about as we are heading into the Olympics is how the US Women's National team players manage the mental load of wanting to compete and be the best they can for their clubs play a full 90 minutes while also being cautious of injuries playing time overworking themselves Etc ahead of a major International Tournament it's very easy for us fans to say that players should come out early and be more cautious during club play ahead of these tournaments but I'm sure it's not that easy for the players it seems like it's a tricky mental balance and one I haven't heard players talk about often Jenna asks what a great question and you've come to the right place Becky what do you think I think it's it is a very fine balance when you look at the Cadence of the Olympics which we've talked about it is an incredibly packed very difficult physically emotionally psychologically schedule of these games I mean you play the next day you travel and then the day following is already Match Day minus one and so like you have to have tolerance with that amount of load and you do that I think through the nwsl and so these players that are going to the Olympics you want them playing significant minutes because it's you know toning them and getting them ready to handle that at the Olympics and so I do think though like player for player if you look at kind of history of injuries I think there are some games where you're like all right we're up two let's take this player off it looks like you know she's getting ankle bitten by a bunch of the Defenders let's not risk it so I think there is kind of an individual you know like you have to take into account the individual but there's just like the science behind the loading the GPS monitoring the communication between the national team medical staff and high performance staff with the nwsl clubs I think it's getting to a point where it's so good that these players are being well taken care of and there are eyes on them like all the time yeah I definitely agree with that I think as a player the balance of it is really tricky because you I remember I always used to say when I played for the courage I have two number one priorities and like that and that would be the courage in the national team this was right around the 2019 World Cup so it felt like that's what I should be saying like both teams are of equal importance to me and I think that like while I did really feel that way in a lot of ways of course that's kind of impossible like and I think that as a play you never you you're with your club team so much more than you're with the national team and you would never ever ever want your Club teammates to feel like you're holding out to go and play in a world cup or an Olympics or Holding Out for the national team as if it's more important I think that years ago when the money was so different there was maybe a little bit of a different approach to that like if I'm dealing with a little bit of a sore hamstring am I going to be able to play in a game a week before Camp I don't know I think now it's a lot easier to imagine that they are much closer of equal importance because the nwsl has just grown so much but the Olympics is possibly a once- in a-lifetime thing as well so I imagine that the players are like I was will be stressed about injury until the Olympics are honestly over like the stress of injury never really goes away but the idea that you could get a call and make a roster and then get hurt in your Club game and then not get to go I think has crossed everybody's mind and so I think just having some Grace and understanding that these players are dealing with these stressors on top of trying to perform at the highest level trying to make the roster trying to plan their personal lives around their soccer schedules like it is a lot to consider and definitely right now the next couple of weekends are times of I think heightened physical awareness where you want to make sure you don't like misstep or roll an ankle or go into an unsafe tackle I think is kind of something that is in the back of players heads which is really difficult yeah I agree and I think you're so right Sammy about all of that about like earlier on in our careers how the national team was basically how you got your livelihood like yeah you could play soccer as your main job because of the money you got from the national team so I think it's great that that is now like you said becoming more even and yeah I I totally get that with injury I always feel like if you're always it's it is a hard not to think about it but like if you're always like thinking you're one roll away from missing a roster like is that kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy like are you actually like manifesting it I don't so to try to keep it out of your head yeah like that's what I would try to do as I was getting you know hopefully prepared for some of these World tournaments is like of course that thought crosses my mind but I'm like you got to stop thinking that like when you go half ass into a tackle that's when you're probably going to get hurt yeah so it it is tough I I totally get all of that and it is a fine balance and what these players are going through these next few weeks like it is it is stressful I know for sure I've said this publicly before but I think the reason that I was I've spoken about this moment at the World Cup when I was starting in the first game and the national anthem was playing in 2019 and that that was the moment that I was like oh I did it and it wasn't really when Jill called me or when we flew there or when I put my jersey on it was the moment that I couldn't get hurt before I played in my first World Cup game because we had already warmed up so there was no way I was going to roll my ankle there was no way anything was going to happen like and that was when I felt a sense of like oh I'm actually here and it speaks to my mindset about it that like I have thought through a million ways in which this could get taken away from me up until the moment that it was impossible so anyways I'm sure not everybody is as stressed as I am but it's definitely a stressful time and players are weighing these things all the time Jenna what an awesome question that was a really good discussion thank you so much if anybody else has questions don't forget you can send us an email at women's game miib menand blazers.com that brings us to the end of the episode Reba I'm really sad to leave you I'm really sad to leave our listeners here but we get to leave them with a good vibe okay my my good Vibe this week okay so my mom for her entire Good Vibes: Happy Mom and Maple Lattes (again?) career was a middle school American history teacher so wherever I was playing like she'd be like oh hey I I think George Washington's like second summer home is here like let's go check it out so she's just like nerding out on this kind of stuff she like it's been a tough few years with for my family she just left to go to England to do like this estate tour of all these like fancy Estates across England and I'm just like so proud of her for cuz she doesn't really like to travel it like makes her a little anxious she's with my aunt and uncle which is great they travel great together and she's just doing something that she really loves and she's nerding out and it's just so great to see her kind of just thriving so that's my good vibe that is so cool Becky I am so happy for your mom I have a good vibe that I plan to share and now I'm like did I already say this last week and am I just that obsessed with iced Maple lattes that I'm going to share it again as my good vibe I don't really know but basically Bria you would love this a little special treat just make your normal ice latte as normal oh my God I said this last week we'll keep going anyways I do realize I already said this but you guys I am even more obsessed with these now than I was two weeks ago you make your normal ice latte a shot of espresso whole milk ice and then you just put like a teaspoon tablespoon of freaking maple syrup in there Shake It Up in a little jar Reba oh it's so good can I ask you a question about those ingredients you said a shot of espresso did you mean like three shots of espresso like what ice lattes are you drinking for you probably yeah an old quad shot for Reba um I think my espresso machine makes like a double so yeah it's like a double shot and milk and ice and maple syrup okay and and the shaking does that I feel like that actually will make a big differ yeah this is what I do I put it in this jar ice blah blah blah milk and then I put a little Maple STP in the night and it gets all frothy and it gets all frothy and the maple gets all shaking up in there if you just heard that weird sound don't forget you can always watch me shake up my maple latte on YouTube if you're interested highly recommend so that's my good vibe anyway I'll try to think of a new one for next week because I can't just keep saying Maple lattes all year but that's it that's it for this week's episode of Good Vibes FC I really really hope that you're subscribe to this podcast feed if not please subscribe right now you little cranberry crumble it's available wherever you listen to podcasts you can also watch these episodes on YouTube you can follow along with us on Instagram Twitter and Tik Tok at women's game miib we're also on threads now anybody out there on threads we are later this week on Thursday we're dropping our interview with Marta which you guys already know I left her hanging it was an incredible interview though we talked about what it was like growing up in Brazil and playing soccer we talked about how great the Orlando Pride season is going we talked about Brazil at the Olympics this summer Mara was incredible I was so excited and honored that I got to speak with her so make sure that you listen to that and all right everybody that's it goodbye I'm Becky and I'm samis and this is Good Vibes FC the podcast that's like Paddington 2 because it's the highest rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes and we know that we are the highest rated podcast in your heart okay love you bye