Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're celebrating our one hundredth show and reminiscing fondly about the good old days when we were making episode number one. Uh you know it was only a couple months ago, right, Oh shit, Yeah, it was like mid July. No whatever. We're so grateful for one hundred either way, and especially
for all of youse slices. It's Wednesday, December fourth, and on today's show you'll hear from Angel City FC center back Sarah Gordon, who sat down with us to talk about being a true soccer mom, growing up fast when she got pregnant with her son in college, and finding herself during a big move to Los Angeles. Plus, we got to kill a review from a certified slice and a Good Game Good Game Fact you featuring some US Women's national team powerhouses to celebrate our one hundredth episode.
It's all coming up right after this Welcome Back Slices. Here's what you need to know today. In NWSL news, Jill Ellis has stepped down as the president of San
Diego WAVEFC. She's making a move over to FIFA as its Chief Football Officer, a newly created position the job is full time, and FIFA said in a statement that quote the creation of the Chief Football Officer position underscores FIFA's commitment to fostering a diverse, inclusive and accessible global football community, ensuring that football remains a sport for all
end quote. Ellis leaves the Wave under fire after former Wave employee Brittany Alvarado accused the ex US women's national team coach of fostering an abusive environment at the club. Back in July, Ellis filed a defamation lawsuit against Alvarado for her claims, and three months later, five former Wave employees, including Alvarado, sued the team and the NWSL alleging multiple forms of discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and wrongful termination. Ellis
is not named as a defendant in that suit. New wavefc C co owner Lauren Leichman said the club is now in the final phase of hiring a head coach. No word on replacing Elis as president. Rugby News Rugby Superstar alone Omar, fresh off a runner up finish on Dancing with the Stars and an Olympic bronze medal over at the summer with Team USA, is headed to England. The USA Eagles star will join the Bristol Bears rugby
team on a three month deal. The Bears have competed in the Premiership Women's Rugby League since it started in twenty seventeen and finished as runner ups to Gloucester last year, losing thirty six twenty four in the Championship final. Mar talked to The Guardian about joining Bristol, saying quote, I want to put myself in the best position to hopefully be selected for the World Cup end quote. The US already qualified for the World Cup tournament, which will be
held in England in twenty twenty five. By the way, if you didn't watch any of alonamar on Dancing with the Stars, I highly recommend googling her femininomenon dance at the finale. So freakin' good. College hoops news new AP rankings came out on Monday, with UCLA and Yukon holding
study at number one and number two respectively. There was movement a little further down though, TCU is securing its first ever top ten spot, now being the number nine ranking after their big win over Notre Dame, who dropped to number seven with their back to back losses. Duke slid in at number eight. That's their best ranking in a decade. You can catch a couple of those squads and a handful of other games in the ACC SEC
Challenge on ESPN and ESPN two. Tomorrow. At five pm Eastern, the number fourteen Kentucky Wildcats take on the number sixteen UNC on ESPN two. At seven pm Eastern on ESPN, you've got number ten Notre Dame looking to bounce back when they face number four Texas. Also at seven pm Eastern tomorrow, Number eighteen Ole Miss meets unranked NC State. Then at nine pm Eastern tomorrow on ESPN two, number
five LSU meet the unranked Stanford Cardinal. Same time. Over on ESPN, you've got number three South Carolina taken on number eight Duke now Don Staley squad bounced back after their streak ending loss to UCLA with a huge blowout win against unranked Purdue on SaaS. They'll try to do the same against a tough Duke team tomorrow, and they maybe feel an extra swaggy after the arrival of some
new bling. On Monday, the team celebrated last year's title win by receiving their National Championship and SEC title rings during a ceremony at their arena in front of fans. More college hoops news. Nike has named Paige Beckers as the first name, image and likeness athlete to design and launch a player edition sneaker, The Nike GT Hustle three, will debut on Saturday. The sneaker features the area codes for stores Connecticut and Becker's hometown in Minnesota, intersecting on
the left tongue. BU be Great is printed on the left heel as a nod to the message she gets from her dad before every game, and Beckers is printed on the right heel. We got to take a quick break. When we come back, we chat with my fellow Chicago gal, Sarah Gordon about life and work in sunny California. Stick around and now. She's a center back for Angel City of the NWSL. Previously played for the Chicago Red Stars.
She's been named to the NWSL Best eleven twice. Was a twenty twenty one and twenty twenty three Iron Woman. That means she played every minute of those seasons. Ahead of this year, she was named vice captain of Angel City and often served as a captain with Ali Riley's sideline Dude injury. In April of this year, she made her one hundredth NWSL regular season appearance, and here's where her bio gets hijacked by friend and teammate Merrett Matthias. Quote.
Sarah is a walking goddess in every essence of the word. She is a matcha making queen and a lover of a farmer's market. She will guide you through a meditation practice whenever Aston is committed to her grounding practices. She is my favorite locker buddy who will forever ask for face lotion. She has a fearsome, loving bomb to her two boys, Kayden and Micah. I don't know how she does it, but she is truly something special on and off the field. It's Sarah Gordon. Oh my gosh, hi wow,
that was a lovely intro. Nice right, matcha making queen. Let's get you. Let's get you some milk and get your cooking for us. That sounds delightful. It's macho hard to make. What do you do?
You just next it with you nolk, so you it's like grounded up and you mix it with water and then you like there's like a method to it, and then you add it to milk.
Okay, it's delicious. I can't wait to try. As I mentioned, you were voted captain, you were voted the player's player on the team, you're a community fave. Like it feels like you really got embraced pretty quickly in LA. How was that transition for you.
Yeah, well, the first season I was there, I tore my ACL so I was out for the whole season. So it was kind of easy to be in a way, to be sitting on the sidelines and just thinking about who I want to be when I come back and what I want to be to the team. And so my first season back twenty twenty three, I was voted the player's Player and all of those wonderful things, and it was obviously such an honor. And then this year
that we just ended was much more difficult. We had a much more difficult season, and you know, being captain was hard, and I learned a lot.
About myself in this leadership position.
But I mean, it's just been amazing to be embraced by the girls in the community and everybody.
I want to talk about Cayden because he is the cutest kid, and also based on some video footage, he kind of looks like he's going to be a little future soccer star. Is he into it? He loves soccer.
It's all he's known because I obviously had him in college and so he just got thrown into the soccer mix right away. It took him a few years. At first he didn't want to play, but now he loves it and he's getting really good, which makes me very proud to be on the sidelines cheering for him and kind of giving him all the sport he's given me over the years.
He's eleven, twelve, ten, ten, Okay, yes, he's already got your legs, so like that's a start. Oh, my soccer greatness.
His legs are so he's so long and skinny. He's a stick, so everyone thinks he's like thirteen, but no, he's only ten.
You mentioned de Paul. You're a Chicago gow you grew up there, you went to college at DePaul, you played for the Red Stars, but you headed west with Caiden in twenty twenty one. And I want to know how he's enjoying life in la Like did he get used to the Chicago vibes and now is having to adjust.
So he currently loves his life. I can confirm. It's really funny. I actually just read an essay that he wrote. We had like parent teacher conferences, and the teacher gave me the essay and.
It was like his journey.
The whole essay ended up being about my soccer career, but like his journey on the sideline of it, and in it he was like, Yeah, one day, my mom just told me we're leaving Chicago and moving to LA And I asked her why and she ignored me, and it said this in the essay, and I'm like, Okay, am I a good mom? Am I not? But no, he loves he loves living in LA he loves the team. He has his own team now and he's just doing really well.
Did you have to grow up pretty fast having him in college?
Yeah, I would say I was probably as immature as immature gets up until I got pregnant at twenty, and then it was like the total opposite.
I really had to grow up.
I feel like I was kind of sheltered, and then after that it was I was just exposed to life and you know, had to make adult decision and be an adult and take care of my baby. And I mean, at the time it was scary. But now I'm like, just I don't know where I would be if you know, that wasn't my journey.
So you figured it out, and you had to figure out motherhood in soccer at a couple different levels, right, first in college, how do you do that? Then with the Red Stars trying to make a name for yourself as a professional athlete, and now with Angel City. How do you think the NWSL does in supporting players who are moms. It's come up a lot this topic lately, particularly on ACFC, and I think it sounds like the
conversations might actually be making things better. I know, at the time for Angel City not great, taking the points lost in the fines, but it sounds like we're going to start having smart conversations about how hiring practices will be affected if teams have to spend out of their own money for others. Yeah.
I mean, I feel like I'm probably a broken record talking about this, But in twenty sixteen when I was drafted, like there was no help for moms and I was making under ten thousand dollars for the whole season, and so I was on government aid to get my son in daycare and to and honestly, like food stamps to help pay for things, like it is so crazy how far we've come.
Obviously, with free.
Agency, you can negotiate things into your contract that you need.
We got into.
That's actually I mean, obviously, losing three points was disastrous and terrible, and there's a lot of things that go into that that made that so wrong. You know, following the rules is important, but the conversations around helping moms continues to grow, and like I said before, like being able to have my son travel with me and be at the games and you know, be at the Championship in twenty twenty one and you know, fly to Louisville
with me this year. It's just amazing. And it's affected him so much, like he loves to be there, like he is so bought in, and so you know, if that wasn't the case, I would just be kind of an absent mom at time. So to be able to bring him with on this journey is so important.
And also to be able to play your best, Like you're not gonna be your best self with your team in at games if you know that you're sacrificing in a way that's not There's always sacrifice, right, You can't. You can't have it all. I hate to break it to everyone who're still trying to figure that out. You have to choose some things, but you can be supported in a way that allows you to choose yourself in your career and also be a great mom. And that didn't seem like it was really an option before or
even in ways that just make you feel guilty. I know, you know, hearing from Sid LaRue talking about having a roommate with her kid in the room. Yeah, that's untenable.
Yes, yes, I mean like at one point we weren't even allowed to bring our kids on trips at all, and then also did the roommate thing.
That was fun. Shout out Stantin. Oh my gosh. I hope she rubbed off on him though, because she's the best and that would be the best auntie for a little kid. Yes, she definitely robbed off on him. He loves her forever.
But I mean, yeah, I feel like with being a mom, like you said, you can't have it all, Like I'm always gonna feel guilty, like I'm always giving a little bit more to my career unless my son or vice versa in the moment. But there's a balance, and a lot of times that balance means my kid being with me when he can be.
You are engaged. Now you're getting married next year. Congratulations. That was part of the move to LA was making sure you and your fiance had you know, a place to be together, pursue your different work. He has a son as well. How's the blended family? Micah is his name. So Mica and Cayden are they BFFs? Okay?
So Micah is fifteen, So he just started way too cool for Cayden.
Oh my god, he's too Sometimes I find myself being like.
Am I cool enough for Mecca? Like I just need to make sure that I hope he doesn't ever hear this. That embarrassing, But I mean it's going amazing. There's a lot of bumps and like things that we're learning.
It's obviously.
I mean, I can't imagine how difficult it's been for him. He lived in Tallahassee his whole life. He's moved to LA in the past year. He started high school. He has a million things going on. He's away from his mom and I'm away a lot, so it's like we're always figuring things out. But he's an incredible kid, and you know, we make it work.
That's all we can do. I feel like, also, he's about to be at that age where all of his friends are like, dude, your step mom is hot, like you are about to your step mom is hot and cool and a professional athlete, and can she introduce us to this person? And can she take us to this party? And like you're about to go through it? Girl, Oh god, that sounds horrible. I'm just saying honest facts, like you.
Want them to think I'm cool, Like I just want to be the cool step mom.
Trust me, You're gonna be fine, Okay, Like you're to steal merit. You're objectively a goddess. And I'm going to enjoy the stories of what goes on with those sons and all their friends wanting let's stop buy your mom's house. What's she up to? Weird? Not touching that? Yeah yeah, yeah, that's just me being weird. You're not involved, you're not
affected by that combo. How has the reinvention been for you in LA, Because based on some of our mutual friends and just what I see on instant does feel like it's not just a new team in a new place. But like a place for you to really find yourself and discover yourself at this point in your life.
Yeah. I mean I feel like I'm someone who's crazy about self discovery and like self reinvention and figuring out who am I really And a lot of that is about stripping away all the things that I thought I know about myself and figuring out who I am. And that's an ongoing process and LA is a perfect place for that because it's a very woo woo town.
Uh huh. So there's lots of like yoga spots and meditation and crystal journeys with merrit Ooh yes, yes, yes, so it really is.
I mean it's a perfect place to find yourself, but it's also a place that you can get lost in all of the bullshit if you don't have a clear head, which I feel like. I don't want to say I started that way, but I started in a way where I thought I was one person, you know, tore my acl and then really went on this self discovery journey because I had the time to do it. But I
mean it's home now. I'm here in Kansas City, freezing my butt off because it's thirty two degrees out and I can't anywhere else.
We lost her Chicago. She's not one of us.
And even though I'm still Chicago girl, I swear I.
Lived in LA for six years, so I get it. Yeah. Yeah, And I love the I When I was younger, I didn't as much. But I think women, especially as we get older, a lot of us end up really liking the jew the kind of judu hippie, dippy vibes, eat it, and yeah, I think LA is a good place for that. What do you miss most about Chicago though? The community?
You know, like having my my friends who had become my family there and it's just like it's an energy of Chicago that you they don't have that in La. You know, it's the community and the energy of the city, and it's not the same in La. Everything is spread out. It's a little bit harder to find like your click and your people there. But with that being said, there's more space to devote to finding yourself and you know what you love.
Yeah, And there's something about nature that's very healing for me, just like being able to go hiking in Pacific Palisades and then walk the strand in Hermosa Manhattan, or go find a mountain somewhere, go to tow in a day. You know, like that is hard in the city. You do feel like the speed and how compact it is does create that community, but it also means that you always can have a distraction from yourself and when you have the space, it's almost like an offering to stop
and like figure shit out. Wow, that was really beautiful. Thank you.
And also the hikes are so true because I would never consider myself a hiking girl. I had some things to say about hiking that I'm not gonna.
Say right now. I'm like, that is not for me.
And now I'm like, I love a morning hike with my dog, Like, who am I?
That's the thing I missed the most about LA was three to four times a week, Like that was how I would start. And it's like clears your head. You can listen to music or a podcast or take a friend and talk whatever it is. But like you're moving and you're around like nature. So I love that for you. I love that you're becoming a hiking girl. NICKI would be so proud. Nicky Stanton is the queen of hikes.
She's the queen of hikes and she's really proud of me for that and that I have a dog.
She's like, who is this woman? Tell us about the dog.
His name is seven and he's the love of my life.
Okay, tell us more what kind of dog is. He's a Doberman.
We just adopted him and he's an angel.
Well, I look forward to the Instagram being taken over by it. Please and thank you it hasn Okay, good. Before we let you go, I want to talk ACFC really quick. Great ownership, great stadium, incredible fans, incredible vibes, incredible publicity, incredible energy. Like everything is great except for maybe not the results on the field. How do you fix that? What makes that allows that to change?
The vision for this club is great, and really like implementing that in all avenues is going to be important. I feel like this last season the league improved, Like the rosters are incredible, the staffs are the staff members are incredible, and so you know, everything needs to be
stepped up. It's obviously like an honor to play for a club that you know stands for more than just soccer and has incredible fans and you know you go to a game and they're almost always sold out, Like that is incredible, But putting performances together is what's most important, Like, it's what we're here to do. And if I'm not winning, you know, if I'm not succeeding, then I feel like I'm failing. And so I don't necessarily have all the answers.
But I think that, you know, everyone who's who's going to be their next year is really focused and really committed to the growth of our team, and I'm excited to see like where that takes us.
I'm no expert, but I feel like, can you can you go out and get a Barbara Banda or a Temwa.
That feels like that worked out well for those teams this year that is going well.
I mean, they're incredible players going well. Rachel Kundananji, Like, I feel like that's truly going to be the secret
moving forward. You look at those players that are so incredibly talented, and they're playing in systems that aren't yet supported and invested in enough, and to watch them come here and thrive the way they have, Yeah, just imagine the possibilities for so many countries that are not investing in their women's sport if they start to see those players and use them as examples of what could be exactly.
We bring them to the NWSL and it truly becomes an even more incredible league than what we're already seeing across like multiple teams.
Yeah, for sure.
Well I want ACFC to succeed because the model is one that is making everybody else step up their game. And so as long as the play on the field does, that'll be sustainable and that pressure will be put on the rest of the league. And also just because I want to see you win.
Thank you, I would also love to win.
Thanks for sitting down with us, Thank you for having me. Thanks again to Sarah for sitting down with us. We got to take another break when we come back. Our centennial celebration continues. Stay tuned Welcome back slices. In honor of our one hundredth episode, Let's do a little century themed Good game. Good Game fact you here it is. There are seven US women's national team members with at
least one hundred goals in international play. Aby Wambach on top of one hundred and eighty four, Mia Ham with the one hundred and fifty eight car Lee Lloyd one hundred and thirty four Christine Lilly netted one hundred and thirty goals, Alex Morgan put in one hundred and twenty three, Michelle Acres had one hundred and seven goals, and Tiffany Milbritt hit one hundred. On the dot. With Alex Morgan retired, male Swanson now has the most of any active US
women's national team player. She's at thirty eight. Shout out to all those greats. We know how you feel. Get into one hundred sure is sweet, and it's sweet because all of you. As far as we know, we are at the first and only daily women's sports show, and we wouldn't be here without you, your energy, your feedback, your emails and voicemails, your excitement, and your support. This has somehow become a community in just a matter of months,
and we could not be more grateful. I know a lot of all have been clamoring for some merch, and I promise you were working on it. I want to rock an I'm a slice tea as much as you do, so that's something we can all look forward to in the new year. Save a little of that Christmas money from Grandma, We're gonna have some good merch for you. In the meantime, I do have some leftover. I'm a
slice stickers that I made for the NWSL Championship. So if you want DIBs on the hastily designed by me and definitely going to be upgraded by actual designers and therefore probably future collector's items, then shoot us an email. First twenty five I get with a name and address included, we'll get a little slice in the mail. Why twenty five, Well, I don't know. It's a slice of one hundred, and I still got to get my Christmas cards out. You' also, I don't have time for all that sending out one
hundred of them, So twenty five it is. You could send the email to good Game at wondermedianetwork dot com, and you know, we always love that you're listening, but we want you to get in the game every day too. So here's our actual good gameplay of the day. We're celebrating one hundred. What are you celebrating. What's a milestone that you reach recently that you want to brag about. Maybe celebrating an anniversary, big accomplishment in the gym, taught
yourself how to do something new? God promotion? Tell us all about it. We want to share in your joy, and we want to share the stories of some Slice success. Hit us up on that email or you can leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two oh four fifty seventy. And you can always hit me up on social too, at Sarah Spain on x at Sarahspain dot com, on Blue Sky at Spain twenty three to twenty three on Instagram, and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review.
It's easy. In fact, it's so easy. Certified Slice Andrea Vie sent in her own review, she wrote us quote no injured reserve list toggle on my running or fitness apps, rating zero out of one hundred stars review. I'm a runner with a stress fracture. There's no way for me to alert my running and fitness apps, not a toggle or an option to be found. Then, as I sit sidelined yearning to run, I begin to be bombarded by notifications and reminders to be more active, check rings and
new ways to get motivated to run. I don't need motivation, bitch, I'm injured. End quote. First of all, great call, Andrea. It's not enough to just put the app on pause while you're injured, because that inactivity looks no different than a lengthy lazy spell. You should be able to see which of your long stretches of inactivity were because of injury and which were due to vacations, week long hangovers, or just general malaise. Any fitness app execs that are
out there listening, take note. Let's get that upgrade. Now it's your turn. Rate and review. Go to Apple Podcasts, scroll down to the stars, leave us five and say something nice. It really helps us out and helps the show. Oh and don't forget to join the Good Game with Sarah Spain group in the ESPN Volleyball Bracket Challenge and fill out your bracket. We'll put the link to our group in today's show notes. Good game, Sarah Gordon, Good game,
you are loyal, amazing listener slices you. Anyone who doesn't gas up their friends the way Merrett Matthias did Sarah Gordon. No room for secret haters over here. Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network. Our producers are
Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutter, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch and Lindsay Craterwell. Production assistant from Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain