Leagues Cup: Two Times Lucky with Necaxa. Season 1 Episode 32
Kara
0:13
Welcome to this week's episode of The Queen's Pitch. I'm Kara. And I'm Bridget and Charlote FC finally got a little bit of luck. Last night we played against Club Nakaxa in the League's Cup and I say the result was a surprising and, 1s I don't know, astonishing win after so long without a win. What did you think, Bridget?
Bridget
0:37
Yay, we won. We haven't won in a month, two months. We've had all the ties of the ties and last tie we thought was a win, but it wasn't really a win. But it was a win. But it wasn't really a win. So this time it was a real win. Even if you wouldn't have taken back the goal goals that were taken back, we still would have won. So I'm saying it's a win. W
Kara
0:55
all around. It's surprising. I hadn't quite remembered what a win in the bank, in the Fortress felt like,
Bridget
1:02
especially with more goals than that. And then the fact that we didn't have to play extra minutes at the end was even better and I was just like, this is the greatest thing ever. I guess they figured they couldn't score three goals in whatever, three minutes. However much minutes they were going to add on, I don't
Kara
1:15
know, that was shocking. Well, we didn't have as much stoppage time for injury in the second half and like, he was like, I'm tired of messing around with stuff. You had the red card, we're going to move on, he said we're done. Yeah, but no, it was great.
Bridget
1:29
I don't mind it. I like the refs, so I'm not mad
Kara
1:32
at them. Yeah, I feel similarly in that I do think fans of Club Nakaxa is probably mad about the results from the ref. However, I don't think he was playing favorites. I mean, I do think we got a little bit of luck in those circumstances, which 1s had gone against us in some previous games, because we just had a goal get called off for having someone in front of the keeper and the other one was a foul in the box. That kind of happens as it plays out. So he wouldn't have got the goal if he hadn't have held on to two of our defenders, so they couldn't go defend that header. So, I mean. 2s If you're holding down two defenders, you kind of like if they hadn't caught that, it would have been Egregious. So I think some luck just went our way and boy, was it amazing. And, you know, there were some fouls that happened during the night that were pretty dangerous that still didn't get called that happened to us. So I think he was trying like he really was trying to play a fair game. It just looked really wild in those two goals happened. But I got to give it to Nakaksa. I mean, they kept trying. They never
Bridget
2:51
gave know. Granted, I thought he was going to shut down the whole game when they wouldn't leave him alone after that one goal that he called back, the one that Westwood had actually jump in, he ran in there and was like, stop. Leave the guy know. And I thought he was going to make the whole team just freaking forfeit the game and I was going to be mad as heck. But he didn't. We kept going and I think he did a good job. And Nicox, I feel bad for y'all, but I have one word uncle. Now you know how it feels. No, I'm just kidding. That's kind of rude. But anyway, that's how we feel
Kara
3:21
sometimes. Yeah. 2s No, it had to be hard. And technically, charlote FC audience was the home crowd. This time, if you notice that, that's when the smoke went off. The blue smoke went off. No, we were the away team. Right? That's what I'm saying. The smoke went off for them when they scored. Oh, yeah. So we weren't even supposed to be the home side. And that's why it wasn't like a home game that we didn't do the things the same. All also because league's cup is organizing this, so they're also putting on the show. They dictate how the show goes. It's not our home crowd, home team. And I'm just going
Bridget
3:57
to go ahead and to interrupt you and say that this leagues cup is ridiculous in the fact that that national anthem and the way that they had that going at the really, it just tore me up. I know we were the visiting team, but we didn't even get to do the national anthem. Right.
Kara
4:14
That's crap. I think it's more the standard that they set across their games for this period of their jurisdiction. They set the gamesmanship, the ceremony. I keep wanting to say like, master of ceremonies, something
Bridget
4:31
like that. They had no ceremony.
Kara
4:34
They do that. That's why we didn't get our video. We didn't get our fun graphics the same way. We didn't get our lineup announced the same way. So it was like very different because we weren't supposed to be the home side because this is the league's cup. So I actually missed almost all the way up until I think I got there right at the national anthem ended. So I wasn't mad because I was like, oh, okay, they're doing it things differently. So I don't feel like I've missed the thing that brings us all together because the poznan wasn't even done right. So we're all like, oh, well, this is really strange.
Bridget
5:13
You know how I am about the national anthem. I'm all like, we need to do it right and proper. We didn't even have a flag to look at. I was like, what the heck are we? You know, we did start singing it towards the end, so at least we got that much.
Kara
5:27
So, bridget, let's get into the game. Do you have a favor?
Bridget
5:32
No, not kidding. We won. So I have a couple this week. I'm going to go with BB. But it's a different BB. It's not ben bender, even though little bender did his little ten minutes worth of what he did in score. But this week my favorite is going to go to the other BB, brant bronco. I know that I've been a harsh critic of his last few weeks, too, because I haven't seen him do what I thought he could do. And then last night he had some assist. He was calling plays, he was running around. He was a little madman. We need him to keep on doing that because he's going to have to cover Messi, probably. And if Brent Bronco plays like, you know, he does his thing. He scored a goal, right? He contributed his part. And so at first, when I was like, Broncos is in for DJ. This is great. 1s But then Bronnico came out there and did Bronco. It was good times. So I'm going to give Bronco my favor. Plus after I was very privileged. We got to have access this week. So we got to see Bronco after. And he was super, super duper excited. And he said, they let me free. They let me free this week. They let me free to do what I wanted, you know, whatever I wanted to do. So I think that had a lot to do with it. He was just able to just run and cover. And that made big difference and built his confidence up.
Kara
6:45
Yeah, that was the absolute best attacking game we have seen from Brant Bronco. Definitely this season, but possibly ever. Would you agree?
Bridget
6:55
He was definitely on it last night. I don't seen I didn't know he could pass and cross like that. Like, where's that been all year? Where Bro? Where have you
Kara
7:04
been? It must be just because he was playing a different spot. I mean, in this one, I felt like we really saw him get that forward, attacking creativity and go into space and just play with different attitudes than just being back, being in the midfield. Here, he was like, sometimes I'll play forward, sometimes I'll go up, sometimes I'll switch around with Carol, with Camille. He went all over the place.
Bridget
7:35
He was very aggressive too. He's very aggressive. Double teaming on my side. You could see it. There was a couple of times he was just nailing he was all over those players for the Nakoxa and he didn't back down. There was a fire under him last night. I like it. I wish you just have it every week. Come
Kara
7:52
on, man. Yeah, he had a very good game. And just the attitude that he played with was just uplifting and so great to see because I feel like in the last few games, we haven't really gotten to see. 1s The Brant Bronco were used to the quality, the appreciating know, and what he brings to this 1s mean, you know, with this, he he really like when he says he was set free, you can tell. And we're all like, okay, if this is Brant Bronco set free, what we've been doing, let the man do it again.
Bridget
8:29
Yeah, we didn't play him left back, we let him play midfield. We blame the center back, we let him play midfield. He did a good job. He did a really good job. And he played the whole game. He played the whole 90, right?
Kara
8:41
He did, yeah.
Bridget
8:42
He hasn't done that in a while, and especially when they put DJ in with him and Ben Bender. Maybe that's a look at the future. Maybe,
Kara
8:53
I don't know. It
Bridget
8:54
worked. So anyway, who's your favorite this week, your first
Kara
8:57
one? Mine is going to be Scott Arfield, and he's Bronco's counterpart up in this forward 1s mid position. And I feel like this was Arfield's best game for us. Not only just because he got a goal and he didn't get called off this time, but I really felt like the connections with him, the connections with usviak on that side, he wasn't really settling in in earlier games. But this one, you saw that, you saw him having connections, you saw him moving around, you saw him attacking, and we know that's what he came to bring, but this time you could see that actually playing out in results.
Bridget
9:41
He did really well. I think it takes him a while to get I mean, obviously it takes a while to get chemistry. We were just like, where's the guy at? What was he doing? And then all of a sudden, it's like, there he is. Oh, he's trying to make it happen. And he's very excited. He was very excitable after the game. He's so excited that he's got a goal, that he's got that under his belt. He really wants the team to win. And like my daughter said, he's got the thickest accent, too.
Kara
10:08
He's so cute. And he does a little salute when he in, so you got to do his little salute. He's just an all around good guy, and I see promises with him. If he can play like he was playing last night and keep it up, I think we could actually have a really good midfield. Stay there, do your thing, get a couple more scores for us. I mean, he's only played like two games, right? And he's already scored three games. Okay, three games and he scored. So that's 33%. 2s Right.
Bridget
10:36
If I can do the math, it's like 33.33%. That's good. I like it. Let's keep on moving up.
Kara
10:42
Yeah. And that's what he said he was coming here to Charlote to do, is score goals. And here he tried. He got one called off, but this time he made it. And not only that, but he got two shots on target, and one of them turned out to be a goal. And that's one of the things I wanted to make a note about this game in particular was we had a whole lot more shots on target than we have before, like the offense, this game. And I think he's part of it. I was just amazed at how many we had. It looked so much better from that perspective. And I think this creativity here in this midfield was one of the things that made that possible, because we know that that's been a struggle in the past.
Bridget
11:31
Yeah. Him and Westwood do well. They pass it well together. 1s It's like they can read each other's mind, kind know or seeing it from their level. That's what I was kind of noticing last night. Between Westwood and Maram and Arfield, you can see us experience they can kind of play. They know what's going. And then Carol he threw Carol in there. So you can see that they can kind of figure each other out once they get in a groove. So
Kara
11:55
Bridget. 1s Do you have a second favor? I
Bridget
11:58
might. I don't really know. Did I even have one? Nah, I was just talking about him. Carol Swadarski. I love the way I say his last name, Swadarski. He played his little heart out last night. He really likes our team, I really think. I remember last year when he was struggle busting it and he would get super mad and we all were like, what's your problem? Get off the ground. Do something in life. And he was really just, I think, taking it to heart. And then all of a sudden, he's become like a big time. I know Westwood's our captain, but Carol still is a really big I mean, he's the DP. He's an integral part of our like, I like how he puts his little hands behind his ears. Well, he thinks that's a messy move. I don't even know. I think it's just Carol wanting to hear people cheer for him. But he puts his little hands behind his ears and he's trying to get the crowd riled up. Carol didn't do that last year, so I like it. I like Carol doing that. I like Carol when he's confident and he's got his people around him that he feels like. And he loves having Camille. So if we don't keep playing him and Camille together, we're just dumb because those two know how to do it. They have it going on. They're buddies. They're like, Here, kick it to me, Camille. Let's do this. And then he kicked it in. There was one time where he headed it that I thought maybe he needed to do better. But
Kara
13:15
he did a great job. Yeah. Carol Swadarsky. This game, I felt like embodied heart. And when Carol plays with heart, I'm going to scream all 90 minutes or the whole time he's on there. Because 1s when you just see that level of passion, that level of give, you can't help but respond to it. And I feel like that's one of the things when we saw him like that at the end of last year and this year, it's been much harder for him to feel that way and to show that out to the crowd, to the fans, in his level of play, consistently, every game. But Carol at the nine. You cannot deny that it gives him a certain 1s quality that makes results. And when we have a good game, when Carol has a good game. 1s The team does as well. He had one goal, two assists. He had three shots on target, only one off, so he at least made another attempt. Two big chances of those were missed, but you know what I mean. He just gave a lot up there. He did some hold up play. Sure, he lost possession a few times. I really enjoy when he gets caught in a pincher trap and sometimes can't get the ball through, but then the times he does, because that's how he got the ball to our field for his goal was that kind of happened to him. And he does like, some sort of acrobatic leap over the defenders and manages to get the ball to him, and it results in a
Bridget
14:41
goal. I think that if we had to get rid of a DP, he's definitely not the one to
Kara
14:44
get rid of. No. And we're referring to the rumor that if Charlote FC goes after I want to say Jaime, but somebody might need to correct me on that, so I'll just say apologies on the young Spanish player that they're talking about for midfield. That is a rumor that Charlote FC is going after in this transfer window, and that if that happens, he would be another DP. And of course, we can't have one of those without one of ours leaving is the rumor anyway. The
Bridget
15:17
rumor mean I don't think it's happening, but I'm just saying, if it was and there were some polls on the Twitterverse this week, who would you want to go? I would not say carol
Kara
15:28
sworderski. And that's one of the things that I was kind of looking for in this game last night, honestly, was that if we lost, I could see something happening, because Carol said at the beginning of the season he was here to help Charlote FC win some sort of hardware. And with this performance, you can't deny that's kind of what he was looking for with this win. It's amazing. And so I think that increases our chances of keeping him. And I don't see us getting rid of usviak either. I think their chemistry is just really, 1s you know, speaking of usviak, he did not have a bad game last night, so but Carol really stole the show with just how much he brought out there, how much he connected and his hold up play. One of my favorite things that happened yesterday was when Westwood, he was captain, he keeps getting in these spats. 2s Gritty arguments, whatever, with either the other team or the official or what happens. And I understand he's being that style of captain. I think he's a nice guy, but when he's out there, like, he's gonna make an argument if he sees one that needs to be made. But then when he comes off, who does he hand it to? Who gets captain after him? Carol and I love that. I love when that happens. 1s In all of those disagreements that were happening with either the ref or the Nakaxa players, and some of them turned out to be pretty exciting from our perspective. Carol doesn't really get involved in any of those. He actually tries to diffuse them. He helps an Nakaxa player up. And not only that, but he got taken out on one of those plays. Isn't that the one that results in Mendez getting a red card? Oh,
Bridget
17:17
getting that. Yeah. Red. Surprisingly, he didn't break his nailed. He nailed him right there, I think, in the calf and shin. One of the
Kara
17:26
two. Right. So it's that foul on Swedersky that gets Edgar Mendez out of the you know, he gets right back up and plays, and I was like, oh, my gosh, is he okay? Because how many bruises does this man have after all these fouls? I mean, I think collectively, our team probably had quite a few, but I just love that even though this happened to him, he is playing his heart out. He doesn't get involved in the drama. He's more like, all right, let's continue playing. He continues to uplift it, cool headed, and try to keep playing soccer.
Bridget
18:01
So who's your second favorite?
Kara
18:03
So you know what, Bridget? 1s My second favor kind of goes to the whole team. And I'll tell you why. I know that might be a little controversial, mostly because I couldn't see anyone else really rising above the rest in this way, but I really feel like this needs to be said. My second favor is going to team chemistry this match. And we haven't had much of this, you know, these connections. We've had tons of miss ones, things were going crazy and sure things do. Ball possession, passing this game that was elevated. We were making connections, we were finishing chances, we were shooting, we were switching the ball from either side of the pitch, we were bringing it backward when we needed to, and not every single time. The midfield didn't completely lose it every time. Him I was just so impressed by the team chemistry this match. And we've had, of course, our back line is different again. We have Milanda back. Yay. But also really scary because he took a pretty hard knock again and he didn't get called out of the match, but. I really thought he was going to with that hard tackle. And we have Privet out there who's still pretty much a rookie on the front team. You know, the first team. But he played really excellently. He's a
Bridget
19:25
rookie on the front team and he's a midfielder.
Kara
19:28
Right? That's what I'm saying. Like, you keep thinking that this young guy who he might be a risk, but he just pulls it out so well this game. He's just quality. He does a great job filling that spot. And then we have Lindsay and the as the fullbacks this round. And we know that sometimes we just never know what's going to happen with these fullbacks and where the holes are going to be. But overall, the chemistry, this match, everyone who scored, nobody does a double. Almost everyone has a different person feeding them. We have Yuzuiak giving the goal to Carol. We have Carol giving the goal to Brant and Arfield. We have Jalen Lindsay getting the goal to Patrick. Ajimong. It was just amazing. And there were other points where we had people attacking. We had Derek Jones try a just I love this because you never knew who was going to and you were really feeling like everyone was together and making the whole win happen.
Bridget
20:31
I think you're right. I'll go with the team. Laddie didn't stop the didn't he didn't park that bus. Did you notice that? And I was waiting on him parking the bus. I was really waiting because I was like, dude's, going to park this bus. We're up two, we're up three, we're parking this bus. And then he puts the subs in and you're like, Whoa. He's not parking the bus. He's literally putting in. So I'm like, Wait, what's up with that? We've parked a bus before. No matter what, we've parked a bus being down. He parks the bus every game. Pretty much.
Kara
21:02
Well, you can't park the bus when they get a red card. No, but the momentum was for like that was the point, for them to try and have fun.
Bridget
21:10
Oh, and I love the fact that he went with it. Like you said, the chemistry was even. I was talking to
Kara
21:16
he's the president of Charlote FC.
Bridget
21:18
Yes, that one. And I was talking to him last night about it. And I talked to him prior to the game starting about some things and about what was going on with the team. And then he was like, let's just hope they win. And then after it was over with, I saw him again and I was like, look, if this is what we have. 1s This is, this is what we've been wanting. Like, we want this, we want this more, you know, we want more of this, and I can see it happening, but this is what we want. They can play. So that's why we get so frustrated when they don't, because we know they can. This is not like Laddie went out there and put out some hero lineup. He did not. He just put a lineup out there and we're like, oh god, here's another new line, back line, let's go with this. What are we gonna do? We don't have enzo, what was the difference between last Friday or two friday or however many weeks ago and now it's the same team,
Kara
22:08
right? Well, I would say, I mean, there are some differences here. First of all, it depends on how leaky our defense is, and that's been kind of upsetting. People keep getting injured. Second of all, we've been saying that the midfield has had some issues with connection and then moving forward, some connection. While we know those are weaknesses, I think here they finally pull it all together.
Bridget
22:31
So if the midfield is working, then we work well in the defense
Kara
22:35
midfield and the forward attacking. Yes. As long as the defense doesn't let things through. And that could have gone very differently against us with the two goals called off. If
Bridget
22:48
those two goals would have made it in, it would have been a totally different game. Right,
Kara
22:51
but I mean, still we were up and so that helped, that worked in our favor. We didn't go down first. That's
Bridget
22:59
where we get I don't know.
Kara
23:00
Right. Mentality, it's a mentality thing. If you're behind, you're going to act more defensively, and if you act more defensively, then your offense suffers. And so I think that's what's happened last game, which is why we didn't go further hitting Dallas, 1s because that happened the first time. And so here we see a very different because we're like, oh, we'll just keep on the offensive, we're doing well. 2s We just got lucky in that those two got called off and then so, Bridget, we've talked about a lot of really great things that have happened. We might still touch on a few more. However, let's kind of go into some of the things that we saw that might need improvement. Do you have any wraths this game? Because, you know, we can't just leave it hanging. We can't only say just good things.
Bridget
23:49
Well, it was really hot outside. The heat harass the heat. No, I'm going to ask. I guess I don't really have one because I think the team did really well. But if I have to give one, it's going to be Kalina, because he didn't get a clean sheet. We just wanted him to have a clean sheet. I felt like one of the goals 1s that we were lucky enough to get taken back, that he could have stopped it easily, and then we were lucky that they took it back because he didn't stop it. And the last one I think he could have stopped. Mean, granted, he did good, so I can't really wrest him, but if I had to wrest anybody, it's going to be Christian Kalina, because I wanted to have a clean sheet and he didn't get one.
Kara
24:25
I did want a clean sheet just as much as you did. My wrath is going to come on the end of yours. It's not going to be for Kalina specifically. However, it is related to that last goal, and when that goal happens, there's a foul that happens on Derrick Jones. He goes down. First of all, shocking. Who takes down Derrick Jones? It's this very small Nakaksa player, and you're going he's 2ft lower than Joe. How does he take him down anyway? And it surprises the team, and the only ones going after the Nakaksa players with the ball are defenders. And that's it. The rest of the team leaves them out to dry. They just don't come because they think a foul is going to come on Jones or something. They just all stop.
Bridget
25:21
That's soccer one on one. You don't stop. I guess that's what the difference between defenders and Fords and midfielders are. You teach the defenders. You got to keep on keeping on what you're supposed to teach all your strikers that, too, but whatever. Yeah, 1s sometimes we give our backline a really hard time, and a lot of times they deserve it. Okay? But they played their little hearts out yesterday, and if they're going to play and they're going to be smart, then we have to help them out, too. 1s They're young, and we can't just leave it all on. Well, not burn, but the rest of them are young, and so we can't just leave it all on their shoulders. Okay. Byrne's not old, either. He's just younger than me. He's older than half
Kara
26:00
the I mean, that's your point, is that even the defense gets caught flat footed because they're expecting the thing too, and they don't get any help. 1s And I think that's what really catches them off guard, and 1s that was key. However, it didn't cost us the game. It is something to look at, to improve. I don't like it. It shouldn't have happened that way, but 1s it does. So hopefully,
Bridget
26:27
is that what Latanzio means when he's talking about offensive defense?
Kara
26:30
I would say this is what Latonzio means when he's talking about mentality. And you have to play for the full 90. And Westwood has harped on this I don't know how many times after the match. Right here. You can see it as evidence. And now whether they're just worried about Derek Jones, I understand it, because he just came out from an injury. And here he is rolling on the ground again, and we're all like, Please, God, no. The whistle didn't get blown. You got to keep moving forward. And we do that when it's us with the ball, but you can't do that when they have
Bridget
27:01
the ball. Just say, Nathan Byrne headbutt that dude. Did he really headbutt him or just tap him on the head?
Kara
27:07
He did not really head butt him. They both come like this together. And the other player falls down. 1s It was dramatics, I know, but the way that dude dropped, like,
Bridget
27:18
you could see it from where I was, and I was like, literally all the way across the field, like diagonally. I mean, we were as far away as you could probably get, but dude, you could tell that he didn't touch the dude. It was just like and dude fell and we were like, oh, my god, that dude just straight up fell out. Dude just fell out. And I was like, oh my god, that's the most hilarious thank god the ref didn't fall for that
Kara
27:38
crap. I
Bridget
27:40
was like, dude, seriously, 2s dude, nakoxa, they were some rough people. They didn't care. They were like, we're going to come out here and we're going to throw caution to the we're going to do whatever we want to do and play as hard as we possibly can. And they did, but our players didn't bow down to them. So I
Kara
28:01
like that they did. One of the things about nakaksa that I was really impressed by was some of their speed was just incredibly fast. And I have to hand it to them, they did keep trying. They did not fall down and think, you know, that's the difference for us in liga MX versus MLS play. I feel like and I was telling you after, if we'd have had enzo out there, how much different would this have been? Because I feel like the central american or this mexican league is a little bit different and like the south american leagues in that the physicality is very different. And we saw that in play. And nakaksa had that unfortunately happen to them in their last game against dallas as but and they had more dangerous challenges. Some of them dangerous challenges didn't even get called against us or to help us in some cases. We were still that was that looked like a hard challenge. I don't really think any of our guys were faking quite as bad in dramatics and getting an oscar as the nakaksa players, but they also made a lot more dangerous tackles and I think that's just because that's what their league is used to. And we're like, whoa, 1s we were caught off guard. But you got to hand it to him, like the grit that the team showed from those hard know, nobody comes off for any of those. And I really thought Melonda was going to come off after his because I was very scared, but he didn't. And jones comes in for 2s scary and jones was running afterwards. He had to do like, you know how if you don't play long enough, you got to do the little run around. And he was doing he was I think if he was hurt, he wouldn't done the run around, right? So he must have been
Bridget
29:50
okay. And he was the last guy actually last player off the field running around. So I think he's okay.
Kara
29:57
There's a few more things I want to say about the game. I don't think Justin Miram had the best game. I wouldn't say I'm not going to rack him. I think he honestly was trying. 1s I just think we're used to him getting better chances and better results, and he just didn't get them yesterday. But he was trying. He the effort was still a plus.
Bridget
30:18
He looked off. He looked off at the beginning and like I was standing with his wife, who is a doll, and his son, who is a doll, and his wife is actually suspecting in September. So recent. Very close. But he just didn't look happy. He wasn't like cheery Smiley Maram down there on the field. It was like 1s he wasn't himself. And it could have been the heat, too, because it was super duper
Kara
30:41
hot. He took some hard challenges. I mean, he didn't get the results positively that he wanted, probably. But he also took some very hard challenges with just major respect. 1s And he got that yellow card that was also kind of a wimpy yellow card, but we've had some worse ones like that. It's like nothing. I don't
Bridget
31:07
really count these yellow cards because as long as we don't get two and get a rig because they don't count in the MLS. So do what you got to. Yeah. Yeah. But I would say not very many of them were really deserved here. Right. Maybe Melonda's, I think, was, unfortunately, but the rest of them, it's more for just craziness on the pitch. But the other one I wanted to say make a recognition of was I loved Jalen Lindsay yesterday, his forward and attacking. We've seen that. We keep seeing him. I think he's got seven assists on the season this year.
Kara
31:46
And, man, he does do some mistakes. 1s But, God, does he bring a lot in creativity and moving forward, and I'll take it. I'll take the mistakes he might make in favor of the chances he might create.
Bridget
32:03
Okay, I'm not going to go that far. I mean, I like the kid, and he's a good guy. I'm not going to go as far as I want his mistakes, because his mistakes are the ones that are costing goals, and I'm not going to go that far. But yesterday, I do think that he learns from his mistake. Th so that's where I'm going with it, is he had a really rough night on Friday night, and, I mean, I wrapped him, but he came back, and he did a good job last night. But his mistakes that he was making or he made very few weren't game. You know what I mean? They weren't game, controversial ones. They weren't going to change the path of the game. So I think that was great. And he learns from his mistakes, and if you're learning, then I can't fault you for it, because you're learning. You're not just going out there doing the same dumb crap every
Kara
32:46
week.
Bridget
32:48
And obviously he's doing something right because Latonza continues to put him in, and we know that lady hasn't always favored putting in Jalen, and he is continuing to put Jalen in. Even when Jalen has made those errors in a couple of games, he's still starting them. So there's something there, I
Kara
33:04
feel like, in that what she said right there called out poor Joseph Mora, who we have not seen hide nor hair of, because, again, we think he's looking for something different out there than what said. He's there. He was
Bridget
33:17
there. I kept giving him trying to high five him, but he was there.
Kara
33:20
So there's one more player who I think we need to say kudos to, and maybe you think differently, but. 2s I think we have to say congratulations to Patrick. Ajimong. He played 13 minutes, got a goal, had another shot off target, but, you know, like, had a great hold up play. I just I love it. I love to see it. I'm just so happy for him. He does a little dancy dance when he scores. I like that. We don't have a lot of players that do a little dancy dances. Okay, I guess that's more popular in the NFL, but what whatever. Or college football, I don't know. But he does a little dancy dance after he scores. And when he goes in, you know he's going to score. I mean, it's like oh, patrick's in. Here comes the goal. He does it for the Legacy days. He does it for us. It's like, just put Patrick in. I don't think he's ready to play a whole 90 minutes, obviously, 1s nor does Laddie, but when he comes in, he brings a little fire to it. It's insane because he's so tall and you're not used to seeing that tall. I'm not used to seeing that tall of a person as a Ford or striker. So it's like seeing DJ up, oh, what's DJ doing
Bridget
34:28
on the front line? You're like that's crazy.
Kara
34:32
Somebody really was shouting at him, saying it was Jones yesterday. And we had to be like, you need to sit down, sir. That's Ajimong.
Bridget
34:40
Well, we can see when they were trying to put people in to sub them in, we thought it was DJ because they do have the same height. So I was like, oh, DJ's coming in. They were like, no, it's not as 1s Patrick. But you can't be mad because when Patrick comes, know there's going to be a goal. So that kid is like, I like
Kara
34:57
him. He just makes me smile to see him come. So I think he
Bridget
35:01
makes everybody smile and he's so friendly. He's what we want on the team. I have to give a shout out to my boy Private. Okay. It's going to be given probably him every game, too. The kid is going out there doing what lady says, and he does it. And he's got a smile, too. That's infectious. He came off yesterday afterwards and I was like, it's so good to see how you're there. You did such a great job. I was like, It's so fun. We thought you were a midfielder, but look, you're becoming one of the best CBS on the team. And he just gets tickled and he laughs because he knows it, too. Not that he's not cocky. Like, he's become one of the best ones, but he knows that he's doing his job and he's getting out there and he's getting time. And I look at it like this. 1s I mean, yeah, there's not a lot because I think bill's hurt and crew has hurt and whatever's hurt. But laddie didn't start DJ as CB and he's done that before and he didn't start SoBo and SoBo is a CB. So he's got to think a lot of privet to continue to put private in that position and privet's holding his own. Does he make mistakes? Yes. But him and Milanda work really well together. For them to be so young and I think that I keep saying this but I really think if we keep these players and we don't trade them that we'd have a really promising future because these guys are learning how to play. I think at
Kara
36:23
this stage,
Bridget
36:24
just think about when they actually get to play and have that chemistry together. It'll be great. Can we get them all perfect before messi?
Kara
36:33
Well, we'll just have to see how this leagues cup plays out. And so speaking of that, we do have a game coming up. It will be played in dallas and I know we're not very excited about that. Let's just cheer on our team this week as they go on to play cruz azul. I'm excited for this game. I think it's congratulations that they got to this round of 32. That's pretty great because we're all kind of on shaky owned and we have been and to have this result for the guys, I just really hope reinvigorates them to continue this run in the way they've been going. Four to one. That was a high scoring game. 2s It's just so exciting to see. They
Bridget
37:14
played really well. So we see that they can do it. They can. They can do
Kara
37:19
it. So, Bridget, as we're wrapping up, you know this we're in the middle of the transfer window and you know it's going to end coming up this week. So there's kind of a few things that are on the line. And that also means well, if we don't get people, we're also looking at preseason. And Bridget, Charlote C. Will be getting something in the preseason. I think we know we're going to be gaining a new little fan. Oh, no. Congratulations.
Bridget
37:47
Yay. We have us 11th player. Well, twelveTH player, 2s if you all can't see it. Yeah, you all can't see it because she's holding it up. But Kara is expecting another one. So we will have another Charlote FC fan. Yay. When are we
Kara
38:04
expecting? So coming in February.
Bridget
38:08
February. Oh, Valentine's baby. Wait, you cannot have that baby. Right. A preseason, literally, you can't have that baby before the first game of the season. Then you won't be able to come and then that won't be cool.
Kara
38:23
The window hopefully will 100% mean I can make it that first 2s game. However, I don't think I'll be bringing the baby to that game. That's kind of young. But yeah, I'll have to figure out how to get all those little baby ear muffs because I don't think I can leave three kids with the grandparents would be kind of not fair. It's going to be cool. We need to start like a babies club because like, Maryam's got the babies and then you're going to have a baby like you just wanted to fit in. I'm not having a child anyone. Just so y'all know, I will not have anymore, but I will live vicariously through all the people that do.
Bridget
39:05
Oh, I'm so excited for you. That's so
Kara
39:07
exciting. And that's one of the reasons, if you've noticed. I've been pretty quiet, pretty tired, pretty sick every day. I am a miserable pregnant woman, and this is no exception. And so there's times where I'm like, I can't do things today because I feel very sick. So I'm really hoping that I'm kind of out of that, that I'll be ending really soon. And here, in six months, we will have a nice, healthy baby.
Bridget
39:37
Yay. I'm pulling for a girl.
Kara
39:40
I do know what it is. Bridget,
Bridget
39:42
what if we have twins? That would be even
Kara
39:44
better. That I don't think will be happening.
Bridget
39:48
Can we have twins? Can you make the twins happen for me?
Kara
39:53
You're going to have to come take care of one because I need to sleep. 2s No.
Bridget
40:00
Well, congratulations. I'm excited about that. I thought she was going to put me on the hot spot and ask me if I should fire a laddie, which
Kara
40:05
I don't think so. No, it was happy news. Happy news.
Bridget
40:10
Yay. We're super excited. Yay. It's a good thing you have club seats so you can be in the air conditioning, because let me tell you, it's a hot mess down there.
Kara
40:18
Right? And right at the time that I'm going to intern in, my third trimester will be just when the season is ending. So fingers crossed because I am going to be very large. I carry way out like a big house. So no offense to any other pregnant woman who's I'm sure beautiful and amazing, but I carry very in front and it's often not the comfortablest thing. I'm very grateful to have another child. 1s But again, the being pregnant part is really miserable for me. So we'll just have to see how that survives 1s while I go to the games. But I did not jump yesterday because I was like, oh, can't do this. The pregnant lady needs to excuse me, can't
Bridget
41:00
argue with the pregnant lady. Put in Carol swadarsky. No, I'm just kidding.
Kara
41:04
Yeah. This baby favors Carol.
Bridget
41:09
Carol Swadarsky. Hey, and on that note, she does have Carol Swadarski on the back of her purple kit now.
Kara
41:15
Yay. I did. And I wore it yesterday and I was hollering like a loonie bin because I was out there and people kept looking at me and I'm like, listen, if Carol's out there, my man's on the back of my and Jason's like, what about me? And I'm like, you're not on
Bridget
41:28
the back of my shirt. No more drinking at the games for you.
Kara
41:31
I haven't for a
Bridget
41:32
oh, OK. You were just
Kara
41:34
sick. I thought you were sick because
Bridget
41:36
you drank too
Kara
41:37
much. 1s You're just really sick. No.
Bridget
41:41
Well, on that note, we have another game. When? Thursday. Well, hopefully we'll win that game
Kara
41:49
and see how far this takes us.
Bridget
41:51
And you know what? Bender's wife has a baby, too. And then you all can all have the babies together.
Kara
41:57
You're very excited.
Bridget
41:58
Okay, I need to stop before I get ahead of myself a little bit. I can't have I could, but I'm not having kids anymore, so I like living vicariously with other people. Mine turns eleven this week, by the way. And all the players were really nice to her last night at the vault. We want to say thank you to the CFO fan officer for allowing us to do that. It was really a good time. We got to spend some time down there with with the Tame.
Kara
42:27
With Danny and John, with Shocker Show and with Matt Swift, with Mint City and with Chico. So we got a lot of good time. Oh, and we gotta see Jolla blue. We gotta see Zorin cretinet. Well, I can't say his freaking name. We saw him. Whatever. Cornetta. Cornetta is that? It like a 1s cornette. Like the anyway, we saw him. But the thing I think, like you said, with this week being transfer, that's what I was going to say. She didn't cut all the crap out. But this week, with it being transfer week, I think that the word is that we might get somebody. We might not. Well, fingers crossed. 1s I think that the team is at a point where they don't want to just get some random person. So I think they're being very particular about what they're doing.
Bridget
43:14
We'd like to have the best person that we can, and so I think they're working on it. I think we give them a hard time because we just want it to happen. But we have to remember there's a lot of moving parts to it, and it's not just, oh, let's go sign this player and put him on team. The players have to want to come here. We have to do our part to get their pricing right. We have to do what we want. And I think it's better that 1s I hate saying this, I think it's better that they take their time too, so that we don't get some players that mess us up again. I'd rather have somebody that is here for a long term than to get a player. We have to shift out again next
Kara
43:48
year, so that'll be exciting to talk about later this week, see how that, you know, here in two weeks, if we're still playing in the League's Cup, hopefully our new signee, Brecht brecht can come and we will all have fun tripping over his last name when he starts yay. We hope
Bridget
44:05
everybody has a great week. We hope everybody stays well. We hope Kara gets over her sicknesses. We're super excited now that we know that it's a real sickness. It's not no illness. Well, it's not something that's going to last forever, but yes, it is. Anyway, we're excited about it. So on that note, we hope everybody has a good
Kara
44:22
week. Thank you for joining us. Thanks for listening. Bye.