The media had a chance to meet new team governors, Lisa Bhathal Merage & Alex Bhathal. NWSL commissioner, Jessica Berman, and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler were there to join in the media day as well.
I was looking for a longer Thorns highlight compilation last week and there aren't really any other than those on the Thorns Youtube (which are mostly game clips), so I made my own- Apologies for the shitty editing, I haven't done this since college lol
Feb 6·edited Feb 6Liked by Phuoc Nguyen (Fook Win)
Thank you Phuoc, this is very hopeful and very exciting from a fan perspective. It's like a great wave of positivity washing away years of indecisiveness and negativity. That the players have such upbeat responses is most important, of course. My prediction: the Good Janet/Bad Janet Thorns editions that presented last season will trend heavily Good Janet this year.
I think when ownership empowers everyone, special things have a chance to happen. For all the players and staff have went through over the years, seems like the light has finally shined upon them.
Players are already comfortable speaking with both LBM and AB who always listen to find solutions asap. This is massive.
Okay, okay, a team in red won the super bowl. But what are the odds Taylor Swift shows up to the season opener against the Current? Witnessing a heartbreaking defeat against the Thorns might be good inspo for her songwriting.
I'm a long time fan of the Timbers and, regrettably, have only attended one Thorns game. I can honestly say that I'm so jealous that the Thorns seems to have such great owners compared to the one the Timbers currently have. Seeing themselves as "stewards" of an important community resource says it all. Compare that to how MP and his previous GM treated their players and seemingly have no regard for what we fans think or want.
Super happy for the Thorns, their players, and their fans!
LBM and AB consistently say they need everyone’s input and values everyone’s opinions. They are using this first year to listen too. It’s very cool to see their approach, it is refreshing.
I think that problem can be solved without a roof, but I see two other possibly major problems:
1) Grass needs time to recover between matches. That means the training facility, at least the field, needs to come first.
2) Peregrine holds the lease on PP. Will Paulson foot the bill for grass? Will the Bathals be willing to pay, given that they're only subletting? Can they work out a cost sharing deal?
I've wondered about that. The PCL Beavers played roughly 15 seasons on the original PP grass, and OSU and the Ducks football teams played their higher profile games there for decades. PP had grass for the first 75 years of its existence, and one would assume that playing surface was adequate, at least.
It’s been awesome to see Sophia grow into this special player. The one thing that really resonates with me is the involvement of parents in many of these young professionals experience. I really enjoyed seeing the parents at the NWSL championship game.
Only wish I could have been there for the presser and/or the shindig. After a decade of being a season ticket owner, having had so mnay points of contact over the years, and going through all the ups and downs, it would have been fun to be there yesterday for the official beginning of Thorns 2.0 and to take in that energy.
I hope so. I think it's a good idea for them, business wise, to rub elbows with folks in the community. They're going to be doing a lot of business here; the Thorns being just one aspect.
I mean, I'd argue that this is a bigger deal than any mid-level signing, and I still think they have one more actual signing in them. They also teased Becky and Sinc re-signing and this might be more important long term than either.
Remember when everyone was convinced that Liv was gonna bail cause Sinc?
At least I can say one of my many comments was saying "watch it's gonna be a Moultrie extension or a Linnehan signing"
To do a full 24 -hr hype for a contract extension is a bit silly, but what do I know....they also teased Sinc lol. I do think this is pretty important, regardless. Seems to indicate Moultrie has been promised a bigger role...which means good news for us Sinc truthers lol.
I'm very happy that they're doing these now. There are many many players out of contract at the end of this season, so it's good they're starting early...I can only hope Soph will be next.
Yeah I'd hope this means they're getting to work on this stuff right away. Soph doesn't necessarily have an incentive to re-sign in the near future, but it's important to start laying the bricks for an extension at the very least.
Lol, I guess in one way I'm glad that players are getting hyped regardless of any deemed "importance." Signing Moultrie to a 3 year deal (who has been here since 13!) is a much bigger deal than Sinc or Brunn though, for sure. And she deserves it. I hope she's really ready to step it up this year, I def wanna see more consistency from her.
A quiet December and January is probably because they want the hype to come just before the season starts. Sure us dedicated fans want some news, but we're not the ones they're worried about selling tickets to.
Rikke Sevecke has disclosed more info regarding her immediate need to retire due to an undiagnosed heart condition. Sounds like the Thorns signed her before the physical that found the abnormalities...hopefully they know better going forward to do the physical first. Very sad for her, but I'm glad she's raising awareness and talking about it!
Yep, in almost every case, it ends sooner than you want and not on your terms. And, it's a lot easier to deal with that when it happens if you have your next move lined up or have something to fall back on. It's hard enough to deal with the psychological and emotional effects without also suddenly having to worry about what you're doing to do with your life and how you're going to support yourself.
Looks like Alana Cook was ruled out of the Gold Cup due to a "minor knee injury sustained in preseason" and Queen Becky has been called in to take her place. I love that for her (I really didn't know if we'd see her in a USWNT jersey again), for the young-uns on the team, and, for me. :)
Good for her to get some good training and maybe some competitive game minutes considering she may take longer to warm into preseason and we only have 1 preseason game on the schedule (multiple teams have already had two.)
Seems a little weird to not bring her in the first place, but then bring her as an injury replacement. That indicates that Hayes/Kilgore just chose not to bring her because they thought other choices were better (false) rather than because there was a decision made that Becky was done internationally or even just that she wasn't going to play at the Gold Cup. I would have thought that someone like Staab or a youngster like Madril would've gotten the injury replacement spot.
Those two are who I would like to see. I really feel bad for Cook. After being one of the ones you could pencil in as a starter, to falling out of favor for the World Cup, to getting a fresh start, to now injured. She was never my favorite and seemed good for one Hubly-esque derp a game but, kinda like Sanchez, I’m rooting for for even more now.
Yeah, I mean I agree. With the amount of CBs initially on the roster it seemed like it was a position they were maybe still evaluating closer. EH knows Becky well, so maybe she was considered for the SB roster (or Olympics roster), if she wasn't convinced with the group she had during the Gold Cup. I think Becky is so valuable to have though, for multiple reasons. Also still think Becky is just better than most of the CB's they brought, so happy to see her not just get tossed because of age/legacy considering they're doing that for other older players. Give her a chance to prove it! Alex Morgan had years lol. I think younger players like Madril will be considered after the Olympics...
A lot of people clamoring for Davidson on the socials. I don’t get it. Never been a fan. I just don’t think she’s that good. Dahlkemper might be ok. Have we seen enough of her now to know the kind of form she’s really in?
Let me rephrase. She’s obviously very good. I would have been very excited if the Thorns signed her this offseason. I just don’t think she’s good enough for the National team
I believe they are looking at younger players, but I’d be stunned if there are enough good young center backs where you don’t take Becky. Unless that player is someone from college, the pros don’t really show that level of stability
I don't think this new signing is her (bc she has dark hair), but after some poking about, I see that the Thorns were at least connected to Portuguese int'l striker Ana Dias. There were rumors about her leaving Zenit in November, and it was announced in January (3 seasons there), and there's still been no announcement of where she's headed...if true, it would indicate they're looking for a Soph backup that'd be a step-up from D'Aquila....which, I like.
"....Still without a club, Ana Dias is one of the Portuguese internationals who will change things; The 26-year-old striker announced her departure from Zenit in January, and we eagerly await the announcement of her next destination. Portland Thorns (United States), Servette (Switzerland), Celtic (Scotland) and Besiktas (Turkey) were some of the destinations mentioned by the national press to the Portuguese international. In the international context Sandra Paños, Barcelona goalkeeper, announced that she will leave the Catalan club at the end of the season, and will therefore be one of the most sought after free agents of the summer. Lauren Hemp, Alexia Putellas, Ada Hegerberg, Vivianne Miedema or Alba Redondo are some of the players from the European elite who end their contract in 2024, and therefore, we can see a game of chess between the various clubs in the summer market."
Yeah, I don't think this is her, but I was looking at her farewell post to Zenit (IG- on Jan 8th), and there's a comment under there with only some emojis: heart/heart/heart/the one with the smiley face and the two little hands/a rose.
Gonna let you read into this as much as possible lol
I thought Bronze played pretty well internationally last year. I was definitely in the she’s declining club before that. But I thought she was good in the World Cup. Or whatever the last international tournament was. My mems ain’t so great anymore. I was kinda impressed by how well I thought she played relative to how she had been playing. Of course my player evaluation skills are about as good as my memory…soooo….yeahhh….
She was linked with SDW within the last year or two because of her connections with Stoney, but I don’t think this article actually links her with the Thorns. It just seems like they suggested all 4 west coast teams because that was the initial rumor a while back (w/ San Diego.)
Seeing how excited the players were, I wonder if I've been underestimating how much the uncertainty surrounding the sale and the new ownership weighed on the team. I'm thinking now that this more buoyant atmosphere might lead to a return to the type of play we expect from the Thorns, which was sadly lacking as the transaction dragged toward the end of the season. Very curious to see how the good feeling translates onto the field.
Yeah, I think the coaching + Soph's injury were major on-field factors, but I was at the Angel City game in person last week of the season and the whole team was just totally checked out in a way I've never really seen from a Thorns squad. That, combined with how emphatic the response to the new ownership has been makes me agree that we may have underestimated the cumulative effect of all the uncertainty.
Norris has some major shit to prove and I'm unconvinced that this team will be able to defend properly so the good vibes alone won't carry them to victory every week, but I wouldn't be surprised if the removal of that particular stressor has a clear and noticeable impact on performance nonetheless.
AND......I haven't been this stoked for a home opener in years. It's going to be jam-packed and playoff-game level loud.
I agree completely about the opener-as opposed to last year. Coming off a title, raising the new banner, a terrific match highlighted by Hina's magic trick, and it only drew approximately 14K, a stark illustration of just how deeply the Peregrine alienation ran.
FSU beat Gotham in a scrimmage today lol. 3-2. And it wasn't no B team! Nighswonger, Esther, Purce. Dunn, Sonnet, Lavelle, and Williams……ect...
FSU also lost a lot of their firepower after several of their graduating seniors were longtime starters up front and in the middle. I keep saying Thorns need to jump on Jordynn Dudley (now only going into her Sophomore year) like ASAP...she is GOOD good.
Edit: LOL because it looks like FSU soccer has now deleted the tweet of the scoreline after it picked up over 100 retweets/QT's quickly. I'd bet Gotham got on the phone lol...
It often takes time for great players to learn how to play together.
That said, many of them have played together on Gotham, or other clubs, or USWNT, and I don't think it's a given that they run away with the shield or the win the championship.
Gotham are filled with players in their late 20s and early-to-mid 30s. It's entirely possible that, despite their technical and tactical savvy, they get run off the field from time to time.
A few days ago was comparing the average age of the different teams present rosters so may change a bit till the season starts, but Gotham was above 29, while the thorns around 27, but removing Sinc, Becky and Kling it dropped to around 25
I agree! She is amazing and only a Sophomore! Fast and 5'11" that is just scary. Normally I think players should stay in school. But Dudley could make enough money to quit school, go pro and then come back to it.
I was looking for a longer Thorns highlight compilation last week and there aren't really any other than those on the Thorns Youtube (which are mostly game clips), so I made my own- Apologies for the shitty editing, I haven't done this since college lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcBXtc_Ah4k
Thanks, that is great!
Awesome!!
Nice job, I loved it!
Hats off to you!!
Ohhh, some gems in there. Bravo!
Thank you Phuoc, this is very hopeful and very exciting from a fan perspective. It's like a great wave of positivity washing away years of indecisiveness and negativity. That the players have such upbeat responses is most important, of course. My prediction: the Good Janet/Bad Janet Thorns editions that presented last season will trend heavily Good Janet this year.
LFG
I think when ownership empowers everyone, special things have a chance to happen. For all the players and staff have went through over the years, seems like the light has finally shined upon them.
Players are already comfortable speaking with both LBM and AB who always listen to find solutions asap. This is massive.
Okay, okay, a team in red won the super bowl. But what are the odds Taylor Swift shows up to the season opener against the Current? Witnessing a heartbreaking defeat against the Thorns might be good inspo for her songwriting.
I'm a long time fan of the Timbers and, regrettably, have only attended one Thorns game. I can honestly say that I'm so jealous that the Thorns seems to have such great owners compared to the one the Timbers currently have. Seeing themselves as "stewards" of an important community resource says it all. Compare that to how MP and his previous GM treated their players and seemingly have no regard for what we fans think or want.
Super happy for the Thorns, their players, and their fans!
LBM and AB consistently say they need everyone’s input and values everyone’s opinions. They are using this first year to listen too. It’s very cool to see their approach, it is refreshing.
Those players deserve it after what they were forced to endure. I’m very hopeful
They absolutely deserve this and more. The fact that LBM and AB have been met expectations and more so far says a lot.
Now if we would only be fortunate enough to have LBM and AB buy the Timbers, also!
A short interview with Soph at the presser a few days ago: https://youtu.be/YV6R4ecoqrE?si=Of7NMiL5HvtCa3jx
Love how genuinely excited she sounds
"Dear Management:
"Please continue ensuring Soph remains happy, content and challenged.
"Yours very truly,
"Ourselves"
That might require putting in grass at PP. Then would you need a retractable roof so it doesn't get torn apart immediately and become a muddy mess?
I think that problem can be solved without a roof, but I see two other possibly major problems:
1) Grass needs time to recover between matches. That means the training facility, at least the field, needs to come first.
2) Peregrine holds the lease on PP. Will Paulson foot the bill for grass? Will the Bathals be willing to pay, given that they're only subletting? Can they work out a cost sharing deal?
How do they finagle it in northern UK & Scandinavia? Soggy and about seventeen minutes of light in winter.
High end draining systems. And then they wheel lights over the pitch.
Make it so, Number One.
Even Chelsea Women had more than a couple of matches postponed due the pitch was frozen in recent years.
I've wondered about that. The PCL Beavers played roughly 15 seasons on the original PP grass, and OSU and the Ducks football teams played their higher profile games there for decades. PP had grass for the first 75 years of its existence, and one would assume that playing surface was adequate, at least.
It’s been awesome to see Sophia grow into this special player. The one thing that really resonates with me is the involvement of parents in many of these young professionals experience. I really enjoyed seeing the parents at the NWSL championship game.
https://x.com/ThornsFC/status/1755707383836483876?s=20
Fleming and Obaze footage!
Only wish I could have been there for the presser and/or the shindig. After a decade of being a season ticket owner, having had so mnay points of contact over the years, and going through all the ups and downs, it would have been fun to be there yesterday for the official beginning of Thorns 2.0 and to take in that energy.
I have a feeling they will be doing a lot of community events throughout the season!
I hope so. I think it's a good idea for them, business wise, to rub elbows with folks in the community. They're going to be doing a lot of business here; the Thorns being just one aspect.
Gah, I wish I didn't like the new Timbers kit so much. I'm just a sucker for trees.
Plus, from a distance, it looks like marijuana rather than pines and firs.
Seriously, they just need to go with a chronic kit. Would be the highest-selling jersey in all sports, ever, for all time.
(He said "highest")
Some tinsel and ornaments and it's a Christmas kit.
Does PP even allow marijuana?
Are you from this area? Since when did "allowing" it matter?
Fair. Fair.
And I think we're gonna find that out this summer with the Foo Fighters/Pretenders and Green Day/Smashing Pumpkins concerts, fo sho.
They'll make you put it out if you are smoking a joint. Low key vape pen, usually goes undetected.
There would of course be the edible options too.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rasta-Leaf-Emblazoned-Pop-Culture-Hockey-Jersey/2164636297
Even better.
INBOX: The Thorns have signed Olivia Moultrie to a contract extension through 2026. #BAONPDX
That's great news! Long Live Liv! God Save Our Teen!
Lmao at all of this hype
I mean, I'd argue that this is a bigger deal than any mid-level signing, and I still think they have one more actual signing in them. They also teased Becky and Sinc re-signing and this might be more important long term than either.
Remember when everyone was convinced that Liv was gonna bail cause Sinc?
It's just funny because the int'l twitter feeds were wild lol, and it's just a contract extension.
Omg almost 100 comments worth of speculation and it was a re-signing
At least I can say one of my many comments was saying "watch it's gonna be a Moultrie extension or a Linnehan signing"
To do a full 24 -hr hype for a contract extension is a bit silly, but what do I know....they also teased Sinc lol. I do think this is pretty important, regardless. Seems to indicate Moultrie has been promised a bigger role...which means good news for us Sinc truthers lol.
I'm very happy that they're doing these now. There are many many players out of contract at the end of this season, so it's good they're starting early...I can only hope Soph will be next.
We are going to have one of these for a goalie coach too :)
Yeah I'd hope this means they're getting to work on this stuff right away. Soph doesn't necessarily have an incentive to re-sign in the near future, but it's important to start laying the bricks for an extension at the very least.
I guess they did it because Sauerbrunn and Sinc got a full 24 hours. Maybe extension hyping is in their contracts
Lol, I guess in one way I'm glad that players are getting hyped regardless of any deemed "importance." Signing Moultrie to a 3 year deal (who has been here since 13!) is a much bigger deal than Sinc or Brunn though, for sure. And she deserves it. I hope she's really ready to step it up this year, I def wanna see more consistency from her.
New ownership might want to build hype too after a pretty quiet December and January
A quiet December and January is probably because they want the hype to come just before the season starts. Sure us dedicated fans want some news, but we're not the ones they're worried about selling tickets to.
Rikke Sevecke has disclosed more info regarding her immediate need to retire due to an undiagnosed heart condition. Sounds like the Thorns signed her before the physical that found the abnormalities...hopefully they know better going forward to do the physical first. Very sad for her, but I'm glad she's raising awareness and talking about it!
https://theathletic.com/5277999/2024/02/15/rikke-sevecke-retirement-portland-thorns/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sccrtw&source=twitterhq
Crushing blow to a young athletic career, but vastly better than dropping dead on the pitch. Here's wishing her a long and happy life.
And this, kids, is why you get that degree.
Yep, in almost every case, it ends sooner than you want and not on your terms. And, it's a lot easier to deal with that when it happens if you have your next move lined up or have something to fall back on. It's hard enough to deal with the psychological and emotional effects without also suddenly having to worry about what you're doing to do with your life and how you're going to support yourself.
Looks like Alana Cook was ruled out of the Gold Cup due to a "minor knee injury sustained in preseason" and Queen Becky has been called in to take her place. I love that for her (I really didn't know if we'd see her in a USWNT jersey again), for the young-uns on the team, and, for me. :)
Good for her to get some good training and maybe some competitive game minutes considering she may take longer to warm into preseason and we only have 1 preseason game on the schedule (multiple teams have already had two.)
Seems a little weird to not bring her in the first place, but then bring her as an injury replacement. That indicates that Hayes/Kilgore just chose not to bring her because they thought other choices were better (false) rather than because there was a decision made that Becky was done internationally or even just that she wasn't going to play at the Gold Cup. I would have thought that someone like Staab or a youngster like Madril would've gotten the injury replacement spot.
Those two are who I would like to see. I really feel bad for Cook. After being one of the ones you could pencil in as a starter, to falling out of favor for the World Cup, to getting a fresh start, to now injured. She was never my favorite and seemed good for one Hubly-esque derp a game but, kinda like Sanchez, I’m rooting for for even more now.
Yeah, I mean I agree. With the amount of CBs initially on the roster it seemed like it was a position they were maybe still evaluating closer. EH knows Becky well, so maybe she was considered for the SB roster (or Olympics roster), if she wasn't convinced with the group she had during the Gold Cup. I think Becky is so valuable to have though, for multiple reasons. Also still think Becky is just better than most of the CB's they brought, so happy to see her not just get tossed because of age/legacy considering they're doing that for other older players. Give her a chance to prove it! Alex Morgan had years lol. I think younger players like Madril will be considered after the Olympics...
A lot of people clamoring for Davidson on the socials. I don’t get it. Never been a fan. I just don’t think she’s that good. Dahlkemper might be ok. Have we seen enough of her now to know the kind of form she’s really in?
Let me rephrase. She’s obviously very good. I would have been very excited if the Thorns signed her this offseason. I just don’t think she’s good enough for the National team
I believe they are looking at younger players, but I’d be stunned if there are enough good young center backs where you don’t take Becky. Unless that player is someone from college, the pros don’t really show that level of stability
Well, that probably answers the question we've been mulling. Glad Becky got the call-up!
Sad for Alana Cook. Seattle went from having like 5 or 6 players on the USWNT last year and now...0. Good thing they have Sam Hiatt to step u...oh.
https://x.com/TimbersFC/status/1757496523037040786?s=20
Solved it, it’s an extension for JDM wearing a blonde wig
I don't think this new signing is her (bc she has dark hair), but after some poking about, I see that the Thorns were at least connected to Portuguese int'l striker Ana Dias. There were rumors about her leaving Zenit in November, and it was announced in January (3 seasons there), and there's still been no announcement of where she's headed...if true, it would indicate they're looking for a Soph backup that'd be a step-up from D'Aquila....which, I like.
From this pub (article was only a few days ago): https://fairplay.pt/futebol/mercado-de-inverno-2024-regressos-recordes-e-crescimento/ (and translated to English)
"....Still without a club, Ana Dias is one of the Portuguese internationals who will change things; The 26-year-old striker announced her departure from Zenit in January, and we eagerly await the announcement of her next destination. Portland Thorns (United States), Servette (Switzerland), Celtic (Scotland) and Besiktas (Turkey) were some of the destinations mentioned by the national press to the Portuguese international. In the international context Sandra Paños, Barcelona goalkeeper, announced that she will leave the Catalan club at the end of the season, and will therefore be one of the most sought after free agents of the summer. Lauren Hemp, Alexia Putellas, Ada Hegerberg, Vivianne Miedema or Alba Redondo are some of the players from the European elite who end their contract in 2024, and therefore, we can see a game of chess between the various clubs in the summer market."
Here's some highlights of hers from this past year (I def don't hate it- she looks fun as hell): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gXU24kdfH4
Yeah I mean it doesn't really look like her, but hair and lighting can change a blur a lot. Good sleuthing!
Upon further sleuthing...
Yeah, I don't think this is her, but I was looking at her farewell post to Zenit (IG- on Jan 8th), and there's a comment under there with only some emojis: heart/heart/heart/the one with the smiley face and the two little hands/a rose.
Gonna let you read into this as much as possible lol
That emoji means everything to me.
I thought Bronze played pretty well internationally last year. I was definitely in the she’s declining club before that. But I thought she was good in the World Cup. Or whatever the last international tournament was. My mems ain’t so great anymore. I was kinda impressed by how well I thought she played relative to how she had been playing. Of course my player evaluation skills are about as good as my memory…soooo….yeahhh….
Anybody have Lucy Bronze? She's been linked with us: https://herfootballhub.com/lucy-bronze-next-club-potential-destinations-for-the-england-star/ I think she would solve most of our fullback issues.
Lucy Bronze would've solved full back issues in 2021, not anymore.
2024 Lucy Bronze would get dogwalked by like 75% of NWSL wingers. Midge Purce would have her in absolute hell
She’s completely toast defensively. Doesn’t have the legs anymore.
She was linked with SDW within the last year or two because of her connections with Stoney, but I don’t think this article actually links her with the Thorns. It just seems like they suggested all 4 west coast teams because that was the initial rumor a while back (w/ San Diego.)
She's going to play for England's men's rugby side?
Wow, strong, fast, aggressive, opportunistic, Geesh she might be hard to keep on the bench.
Seeing how excited the players were, I wonder if I've been underestimating how much the uncertainty surrounding the sale and the new ownership weighed on the team. I'm thinking now that this more buoyant atmosphere might lead to a return to the type of play we expect from the Thorns, which was sadly lacking as the transaction dragged toward the end of the season. Very curious to see how the good feeling translates onto the field.
Yeah, I think the coaching + Soph's injury were major on-field factors, but I was at the Angel City game in person last week of the season and the whole team was just totally checked out in a way I've never really seen from a Thorns squad. That, combined with how emphatic the response to the new ownership has been makes me agree that we may have underestimated the cumulative effect of all the uncertainty.
Norris has some major shit to prove and I'm unconvinced that this team will be able to defend properly so the good vibes alone won't carry them to victory every week, but I wouldn't be surprised if the removal of that particular stressor has a clear and noticeable impact on performance nonetheless.
AND......I haven't been this stoked for a home opener in years. It's going to be jam-packed and playoff-game level loud.
I agree completely about the opener-as opposed to last year. Coming off a title, raising the new banner, a terrific match highlighted by Hina's magic trick, and it only drew approximately 14K, a stark illustration of just how deeply the Peregrine alienation ran.
https://theathletic.com/5273298/2024/02/13/usl-super-league-launch-nwsl/
This is a good discussion.
FSU beat Gotham in a scrimmage today lol. 3-2. And it wasn't no B team! Nighswonger, Esther, Purce. Dunn, Sonnet, Lavelle, and Williams……ect...
FSU also lost a lot of their firepower after several of their graduating seniors were longtime starters up front and in the middle. I keep saying Thorns need to jump on Jordynn Dudley (now only going into her Sophomore year) like ASAP...she is GOOD good.
Edit: LOL because it looks like FSU soccer has now deleted the tweet of the scoreline after it picked up over 100 retweets/QT's quickly. I'd bet Gotham got on the phone lol...
It often takes time for great players to learn how to play together.
That said, many of them have played together on Gotham, or other clubs, or USWNT, and I don't think it's a given that they run away with the shield or the win the championship.
Gotham are filled with players in their late 20s and early-to-mid 30s. It's entirely possible that, despite their technical and tactical savvy, they get run off the field from time to time.
With age comes injuries, and slow recoveries. Look at ACFC in 2022 or KCC in 2023.
A few days ago was comparing the average age of the different teams present rosters so may change a bit till the season starts, but Gotham was above 29, while the thorns around 27, but removing Sinc, Becky and Kling it dropped to around 25
I agree! She is amazing and only a Sophomore! Fast and 5'11" that is just scary. Normally I think players should stay in school. But Dudley could make enough money to quit school, go pro and then come back to it.