Speaker 1: Casey, can you hear me? Okay, So I'm a technological
Speaker 1: illiterate and I know that you've probably figured that out
Speaker 1: by now. Uh So, literally it was one switch inside
Speaker 1: the settings of this particular thing, and that's how people
Speaker 1: could hear me versus not the reason we have you
Speaker 1: with us. And this is an open invitation we can
Speaker 1: have if you wish. Well. First off, what part of
Speaker 1: the planet are you on?
Speaker 2: I'm home actually, so that's really nice. I've been on
Speaker 2: the road for eleven days, got back Sunday night.
Speaker 1: Okay, So I propose this to you, Comma case uh
Speaker 1: So we can have we could have a case in
Speaker 1: the space, we could have a case D where you
Speaker 1: be or whatever title you want if you want to
Speaker 1: bat lead off because business is picking up for you
Speaker 1: over the next little while, whether it's MLSNWSL and especially
Speaker 1: the college game that's picking in Tuesday can be your day.
Speaker 1: You tell me what time and we can start this
Speaker 1: regular ish segment except for when you're in an airport,
Speaker 1: which might be even funnier.
Speaker 2: That would be interesting, but I appreciate that. I'm looking
Speaker 2: forward to doing it. I'd love to take you up
Speaker 2: on that.
Speaker 1: Off. Good sounds like a deal. All right. So the
Speaker 1: reason we have you here this morning, I don't have
Speaker 1: an end table, and so that's why I dropped out
Speaker 1: a frame with a drink. We got to talk Major
Speaker 1: League Soccer, we got to talk INWSL. And one of
Speaker 1: the big reasons we have you in this time is
Speaker 1: because of the college game, and I wanted to have
Speaker 1: you talk about the first match that you're going to
Speaker 1: be a part of with the new package where the
Speaker 1: four Letter network is blowing up all of their coverage,
Speaker 1: where you are going to be? I think, are you
Speaker 1: going to be at the University of South Georgia Gainesville
Speaker 1: campus or are you going to be in the blessed
Speaker 1: city of Tallahassee well class of nineteen something something, So yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, so that's why I say that the dirty
Speaker 1: line cheating Gators are going up against Florida State and
Speaker 1: that's going to be your first matchup of the season
Speaker 1: on the college side. But I want to build to
Speaker 1: that because you know, as an alum at Florida State
Speaker 1: University and being a legacy, I feel like we have
Speaker 1: to have a build. Okay, in the Major League Soccer
Speaker 1: on the weekend, you and Evan Weston got to catch
Speaker 1: up with Colorado, and I know a lot of folks
Speaker 1: were kind of keeping an eye on our footprint on
Speaker 1: Noah Cobb and his match working out at the back
Speaker 1: line with Colorado. You can't have dms apparently in Colorado anymore,
Speaker 1: with Georgia Mahailovich now being in Toronto, so he has
Speaker 1: slipped out of his own DM in Colorado. The takeaway
Speaker 1: I did not have Darren Yappy on my Bengo card.
Speaker 1: I did not, So the takeaways of Minnesota and Colorado,
Speaker 1: now that you've had a couple of days to digest it.
Speaker 2: Well, it was really interesting to see a lot of
Speaker 2: those individual pieces that you're talking about. Knowing my background
Speaker 2: and from the coaching perspective, I think what excited me
Speaker 2: the most was seeing Chris Armis and how he approached
Speaker 2: the Minnesota United game from a team perspective. They basically
Speaker 2: matched up system for system, you're gonna play with the
Speaker 2: three back, we're gonna have three forwards narrow on you.
Speaker 2: For counter attack, you're gonna play with a three front,
Speaker 2: and transition we're gonna have three center backs. So he
Speaker 2: really switched systems and played for the efficiency piece of
Speaker 2: the final third but I agree with you, YAPPI wasn't
Speaker 2: on my Bingo card either. I had their game versus
Speaker 2: Cruiz Azul, which is technically a little bit off in
Speaker 2: the final third. Things like that. There was nothing off
Speaker 2: about his game in those two moments where he scored
Speaker 2: the goals. It was the right type of runs, beautiful finishes.
Speaker 2: So there was a lot about this matchup that was
Speaker 2: really interesting. And then you had a couple players step
Speaker 2: up really big in.
Speaker 1: It, and it was not some of those I did
Speaker 1: not do that. I've messed up my computer, but I
Speaker 1: didn't send you a note. You have a How surprising
Speaker 1: was this result in the pantheon of the weekend? Considering
Speaker 1: you've got Dane Saint Clair in net for Minnesota, Tony
Speaker 1: Ola was sheey? You know, he doesn't really give you
Speaker 1: a whole lot of scrabble points, but he gives you
Speaker 1: a whole lot of offense. This to me seemed like
Speaker 1: going in the result was going to be flipped with
Speaker 1: the number on the scoreboard. How surprising a result was
Speaker 1: this for you?
Speaker 2: It was surprising. I think we have to say that
Speaker 2: Minnesota United is a team that doesn't need a lot
Speaker 2: of useless possession to be able to be dangerous and
Speaker 2: go forward and score goals. This game was different because
Speaker 2: of the different type of tactic matchup. Minnesota United was
Speaker 2: forced into more possession than they've had in previous games,
Speaker 2: and there wasn't as much space in the wide areas
Speaker 2: behind the back line with their opposition pushing forward, the
Speaker 2: Rapids really depended more on compact defensive shape and trying
Speaker 2: to go in the counter attacking transition. And so Minnesota United,
Speaker 2: in my opinion, did not play poorly, it just was
Speaker 2: a different type of game for them. They had their opportunities,
Speaker 2: just the efficiency in the final third went the Rapids way.
Speaker 2: So that was really interesting from a commentator perspective, from
Speaker 2: a viewer perspective. But one thing I didn't want to
Speaker 2: point out. Navajo gets so much credit for his goal scoring,
Speaker 2: which is great. He defended like there was no tomorrow
Speaker 2: in this game, and that was huge for the Rapids
Speaker 2: in this moment. But you know, it kind of is
Speaker 2: one of those things where you're saying so much about
Speaker 2: the Rapids, and I think rightfully so, but Minnesota United
Speaker 2: still generated so many chances, especially in that first.
Speaker 1: Half, that they just the soccer one oh one in me.
Speaker 1: This is where you take me into freshman level soccer.
Speaker 1: One oh one. This is my freshman level learning class.
Speaker 1: Eric Ramsey doesn't want the ball. He thinks the ball
Speaker 1: has cooties. And it's an odd duck to see someone
Speaker 1: with possession numbers as low as they are be as
Speaker 1: clinical and as successful as they are. What is it
Speaker 1: about Eric Ramsey and the quarters that pull over and
Speaker 1: the white T shirt that has been so successful with
Speaker 1: this philosophy that he's brought out.
Speaker 2: We had a really good conversation actually running up into
Speaker 2: the game, and one of the things he was really
Speaker 2: clear with us was that it's not that they don't
Speaker 2: want the ball or care about the ball. It's that
Speaker 2: they have figured out with personnel that they have that
Speaker 2: giving up five percent possession that another team might have
Speaker 2: to keep it on a set piece, on a throw in,
Speaker 2: whatever those things may be, hasn't been as good for
Speaker 2: them as going for set pieces long throat because of
Speaker 2: the threats that they have going forward. So it was
Speaker 2: a really interesting conversation because it wasn't about an inability
Speaker 2: to do it, it was what's working for them, what
Speaker 2: throws off opposition, And speaking to him, you could tell
Speaker 2: his mind is always going from a tactical perspective and
Speaker 2: how to manipulate things. It was fascinating to have those conversations,
Speaker 2: and I think what's working for them? He continues to go, Right.
Speaker 1: Let's switch to the NWSL. You and Jessica Charman, I
Speaker 1: think are kind of just ruling the roost. It's like
Speaker 1: you're claiming all of the NWSL and everybody else kind
Speaker 1: of gets the pieces. Wrap up the week in review
Speaker 1: from the NWSL for me, and then we'll go talking
Speaker 1: points from there.
Speaker 2: Well, the first part of it was Kansas City Current
Speaker 2: keeps rolling. There's such a gap at the top. We
Speaker 2: have to say that it seems almost repetitive and boring,
Speaker 2: but the reality is they got to get their due.
Speaker 2: They are separating at the top with their one zero
Speaker 2: went over. The Royals gets really tight. Is in that
Speaker 2: third to sixth place and in that seventh to tenth
Speaker 2: place with only eighteams going to the playoffs, only three
Speaker 2: point separates third through six, only four point separate seven
Speaker 2: through tenth, So that middle all the NWSL is really exciting.
Speaker 2: We saw quite a few ties this weekend. It was
Speaker 2: rivalry weekend, but the spirit Gotham was a scoreless draw.
Speaker 2: That was the one Jessica and I were on San
Speaker 2: Diego and Angel City was a late equalizer from Angel
Speaker 2: City on the road at San Diego, which was exciting.
Speaker 2: But the real one was the Cascadia rivalry, which is
Speaker 2: Portland Thorns versus the Seattle rain Six goals, four different
Speaker 2: goal scorers for the Portland Thorns, six different goal scorers
Speaker 2: in general. So that was the one to really end
Speaker 2: the weekend.
Speaker 1: What is everyone missing out on by not watching Tim
Speaker 1: Withshwinga play the.
Speaker 2: Sport excitement, entertainment. It's amazing what she has done, scoring
Speaker 2: and breaking the record in forty games for goal scoring.
Speaker 2: Her efficiency is unbelievable. Yes, they generate a decent amount
Speaker 2: of chances, the Kansas City Current, but they don't have
Speaker 2: to generate too often because she doesn't need much. And
Speaker 2: what's so interesting talking to other players that have played
Speaker 2: against her, they'll think they have her under control a
Speaker 2: little bit, and she'll she'll be that prototypical number nine
Speaker 2: or even play on the wing at times that doesn't
Speaker 2: have to touch the ball all the time, and then
Speaker 2: you give her one second, it's in the back of
Speaker 2: the net and that's what's so exciting about what she
Speaker 2: does at in WSL.
Speaker 1: What it be with CACD hanging out with us on
Speaker 1: a Tuesday bet and lead off here on SDHAM and
Speaker 1: the should we make more of a deal about how
Speaker 1: much better Kansas City is than everybody else and turning
Speaker 1: it into what they call a horizon job basically like
Speaker 1: everybody else is on the shoreline. You see that boat,
Speaker 1: and that boat is just going that way and off
Speaker 1: into the horizon. Or do we make more of a
Speaker 1: bigger deal about everybody in that gaggle that's behind them?
Speaker 1: What's the bigger deal here everyone from two to whatever,
Speaker 1: or that Kansas City is just far and away out there.
Speaker 2: I think we have to speak about Kansas City because
Speaker 2: normally in the NWSL, the top three or four are
Speaker 2: the really tight races and then right around the playoff line.
Speaker 2: So it's great what they are doing. But if I'm
Speaker 2: a player in the NWSL or a coach, I am
Speaker 2: going at this point let them do that. We got
Speaker 2: the playoffs and let's see if we can sneak up
Speaker 2: on them in the playoffs. Right now, for fans watching
Speaker 2: who makes the playoffs down this stretch of the fall
Speaker 2: season is the more exciting one because besides two teams
Speaker 2: at the bottom that are really going to have to
Speaker 2: go on a run if they want to be in
Speaker 2: the conversation, everything else is at play.
Speaker 1: All right, So put your coaches cap on for let's
Speaker 1: do it. You're playing Kansas City. How do you formationally
Speaker 1: attack what they're trying to do? If you're thinking defense
Speaker 1: and you see shawinga and all of this offensive firepower
Speaker 1: coming at you, how do you defend that to slow
Speaker 1: it down? Because I'm not going to say stop, but
Speaker 1: how do you slow Kansas City's attack down to where
Speaker 1: they are mortal? I guess is the best way to describe.
Speaker 2: It's incredibly hard to do. What's really interesting about the
Speaker 2: Kansas City Current were I'm gonna parallel the game we
Speaker 2: just spoke about with MLS, the Minnesota Colorado Rapids game.
Speaker 2: Kansas City Current does not necessarily have to have the ball.
Speaker 2: They are completely fine with suffering a little bit defensively
Speaker 2: looking to counterattack. And that's something that Eric Ramsey said
Speaker 2: himself about the Minnesota United. They're okay with that, even
Speaker 2: though they can possess I'd say the same thing about
Speaker 2: the Current. They are okay with possessing, and they have
Speaker 2: the quality player to do it, but they're also find
Speaker 2: suffering defensively. So if I'm on the opposite side, I'm
Speaker 2: maybe taking a play out of Chris Armis's playbook of
Speaker 2: matchup as much as you can with their system, maybe
Speaker 2: force them to break you down, keep it zero zero
Speaker 2: as long as possible, and then be efficient. I think
Speaker 2: you have to show respect when you go into the
Speaker 2: Kansas City Current and play them, whether they come to
Speaker 2: you on the road or you go to them in
Speaker 2: Kansas City, which is a whole other beast. But I
Speaker 2: think keeping it tight as long as possible as the
Speaker 2: play Utah Royals did it last week, zero zero till
Speaker 2: the very end of the game, but showinga just needed
Speaker 2: that one moment. But that really was a great approach
Speaker 2: from Jimmy Kouros.
Speaker 1: All Right, So you once again you've started to read
Speaker 1: my notes with Kansas City being this entire different animal.
Speaker 1: What has it been like for you, as someone who
Speaker 1: has been at the forefront of women's soccer here in
Speaker 1: the States, to see what Kansas City is doing from
Speaker 1: a facilities idea, We're gonna build our own barn, We're
Speaker 1: gonna be our own person. We're gonna have our own identity.
Speaker 1: What's it been like for you to see Kansas City
Speaker 1: hop on the treadmill and be like George Jetson and
Speaker 1: Astro and just kind of sit there and go nine
Speaker 1: hundred miles an hour. Ever since they hit the ground running, what.
Speaker 2: The Longs have done there has been incredible. And how
Speaker 2: quickly that it's happened, and you see the fans and
Speaker 2: those in Kansas City rally around this team. I don't
Speaker 2: know if I can put into words just how wonderful
Speaker 2: as a former player that is to see that happen
Speaker 2: and the growth that's happened. There's a little bit of jealousy.
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna lie. I wish I had that when
Speaker 2: I played, But that's the game. It should evolve, the
Speaker 2: investment should evolve, and so it's great for these players
Speaker 2: to go to work every day and to see what's
Speaker 2: going on around them, and even the teams that go
Speaker 2: and visit. How nice is that facility. I mean, it's
Speaker 2: unbelievable and it's a really great environment for fans, for players,
Speaker 2: for everyone that's there all.
Speaker 1: Right college and it is one of our big purviews here,
Speaker 1: and you get to help us with with one of
Speaker 1: our gaps. We get to cover a lot of Division two,
Speaker 1: Division three NAIA, We get to do the fund Belt
Speaker 1: Georgia State you know, Conference USA and all that kind
Speaker 1: of stuff. You get to hang your hat in the
Speaker 1: SEC and the ACC And as we mentioned when I
Speaker 1: figured out the audio problem with myself here in the
Speaker 1: workout room with the water. With the water here, you
Speaker 1: get to hang out with those low down dirty cheaters
Speaker 1: at the University of South Georgia Gainesville campus as they
Speaker 1: come to the Blessed the Blessed state capital, the state
Speaker 1: of Florida, Tallahassee for low down dirty cheaters versus Florida
Speaker 1: State seminoles. As your college coverage kicks off, what has
Speaker 1: study hall been like? Getting ready for this one? And
Speaker 1: then we'll go into the individual conferences from there. But
Speaker 1: f SU versus the low down dirty cheaters? What are
Speaker 1: you looking at in this one?
Speaker 2: So I'll bring the unbiased approach. But I appreciate that
Speaker 2: about you because I am sipping out of my North
Speaker 2: Carolina old school. Had to bring that out.
Speaker 1: Absolutely nothing wrong with that weird.
Speaker 2: I love that. I was like, I'm definitely drinking out
Speaker 2: of my North Carolina month. Today we're kicking off college season.
Speaker 2: But no, the unbiased approach to the broadcasting side, for sure.
Speaker 2: I'm excited for this game on paper, obviously, Florida State
Speaker 2: the favorite. Florida's going to come in. They are going
Speaker 2: to do everything they can to slow this team down.
Speaker 2: They've made some changes in the off season. There have
Speaker 2: been some players that have come in. They have a
Speaker 2: really good player in the back, Abby Gemma, who's a
Speaker 2: center back transfer from Notre Dame. She's going to have
Speaker 2: her hands full. I think there's a lot of unknown
Speaker 2: but a very good player that against a Florida State
Speaker 2: attack is going to have to have a good game.
Speaker 2: But I think it's no secret that the University of
Speaker 2: Florida comes in and they're really just testing themselves against
Speaker 2: the cream of the crop.
Speaker 1: Early in this game, oh, you know, it was it
Speaker 1: was great. You know, you started talking about Florida State
Speaker 1: and then when you mentioned the low down, dirty cheeters,
Speaker 1: I don't know what happened in my headphones. Everything just
Speaker 1: kind of went all staticky. And you know, it's just like.
Speaker 2: Let's be the sound problem you have, you know.
Speaker 1: That's exactly Yeah, And so when you look from thirty
Speaker 1: thousand feet, you look at the Southeastern Conference and it
Speaker 1: is that fifteen round heavyweight fight, knockdown, drag out. Okay,
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter where you are twice on Tuesday, don't care.
Speaker 1: From thirty thousand feet. As we start the college season
Speaker 1: looking at the Southeastern Conference, what sticks out in your mind?
Speaker 2: I think they came off a really great twenty twenty
Speaker 2: four year as a conference. So many teams that were
Speaker 2: very successful got into the NCAA Tournament, so it's a
Speaker 2: bit of a toss up to see who actually rises
Speaker 2: to the top. Mississippi State had a great year, so
Speaker 2: that's one team to watch. Nick Zimmerman's taken over as
Speaker 2: head coach there. James Armstrong left there to go to Auburn.
Speaker 2: They they have had great years here recently. Alabama had
Speaker 2: a bit of an off year, but are always a
Speaker 2: team to watch. And then you've got Georgia. So I
Speaker 2: think all of those, all of those teams have players
Speaker 2: that are returning that can be really impactful, and the
Speaker 2: transfer market is huge, a lot of players being brought in,
Speaker 2: so they kind of beat up on each other. But
Speaker 2: I think once you get down the road, then that's
Speaker 2: something that helps them as they go into conference play
Speaker 2: and then into the NCAA tournament.
Speaker 1: Yeah, when Auburn was doing their preseason coaches tour, the
Speaker 1: boss wanted to go and catch up and see what
Speaker 1: was going on. And the new head soccer coach was
Speaker 1: a part of this cavalcade and we got to hear
Speaker 1: him a little bit and find out what it was
Speaker 1: like for him to come from Stark, Vegas to the
Speaker 1: planes and the portal and coming over from and and
Speaker 1: having foreign transfers coming over as a part of NIL
Speaker 1: and all that kind of stuff. These are topics that
Speaker 1: we will continue to break down as we go. So
Speaker 1: you know, as you get your notes together for future weeks,
Speaker 1: it's like, Okay, Nelson, want to talk about this and
Speaker 1: this and this, all right, so since go ahead and
Speaker 1: flash the mug. Go ahead, and one more time.
Speaker 2: I know I can't hit flash it too often because
Speaker 2: I covered the league, but you know I had a
Speaker 2: secret that I went there.
Speaker 1: So but but you're an alumna, You're you're showing support
Speaker 1: for your university by bringing the mug into frame. Early
Speaker 1: hits on the ACC and obviously what about the the alma.
Speaker 1: What's sticking in your mind about the ACC this year.
Speaker 2: Well, I think there's always an opportunity for some teams
Speaker 2: to improve themselves, which I think is interesting. But you're
Speaker 2: looking at your normal teams in my opinion, because of
Speaker 2: the returners that are coming back. Florida State, for sure,
Speaker 2: You've got Gianna Riley, You've got Jordan Dudley. You've got
Speaker 2: Heather Gilchris in the back line who just is a
Speaker 2: stall war back there. So Florida State looks good reigning
Speaker 2: ACC champion. Then you've got North Carolina. You you did
Speaker 2: lose Evelyn Chores to Angel City this year. North Carolina
Speaker 2: did just a month ago, but returning players like Kate Fosse,
Speaker 2: Olivia Tamas who scored in the National Championship Game in
Speaker 2: Testadella Rows, and some newcomers as well. So I think
Speaker 2: obviously those two teams people know about and they realize
Speaker 2: they are going to be good. One team that I know,
Speaker 2: I think we have a fan on here that's a
Speaker 2: Clemson Clemson fan, Eddie Radwansky. At Clemson, they had a
Speaker 2: little bit of a down year last year. They had
Speaker 2: lost McKenna Morris to the NWSL. Hal Hirsch felt all
Speaker 2: these players that have had wonderful NWSL careers and in
Speaker 2: their second years. I think it's a bounce back year
Speaker 2: for Clemson. I think that they're going to be much
Speaker 2: better this year and even more competitive.
Speaker 1: All right, so what is the broadcast week for you, Casey? Date?
Speaker 1: Where are you going to be? What are you doing?
Speaker 2: PASSI Florida State versus and off the season? Which is
Speaker 2: going to be easy. I'm with Jen Hildriff, love working
Speaker 2: with her. She's going to be great. So that'll be
Speaker 2: on ESPN with the ACC Network, and then I fly
Speaker 2: straight to Toronto for MLS regular season. Columbus Crew is
Speaker 2: going to be heading there for a matchup on Saturday night.
Speaker 1: Crew and the DMS. That's going to be really interesting. So,
Speaker 1: like I said, Tuesday morning, batting leadoff is yours. And
Speaker 1: wherever you are on the planet, you can dive in
Speaker 1: nine ten, nine point fifteen if I figure out sound
Speaker 1: issues and computers and things like that. So Casey, you
Speaker 1: can bat lead off on Tuesdays and discuss whatever you
Speaker 1: want when it comes to college and pro and where
Speaker 1: you've been and where you going all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1: This is yours. Let's consider this. Let's consider this whistle
Speaker 1: blowing and the kickoff for you betting lead off on Tuesdays.
Speaker 1: Fantastic to have you with us to cover all the
Speaker 1: stuff that you do. Enjoy your your downtime in quotation
Speaker 1: marks and nay, give Jen our best and we'll catch
Speaker 1: up with you next week.
Speaker 2: So thank you so much, appreciate it.
Speaker 1: There it goes Casey D. And so Casey has survived
Speaker 1: her segment with us.