Barraza makes Team of the Matchday, MacIver called up to Scotland, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday, everyone! My apologies for missing Tuesday Freedom Kicks this week; it’s been a busy one for me. I’m back today, and I’ll include a couple of things I had pulled for earlier in the week, just in case you missed them.
Team of the Matchday: Baribo takes Golden Boot lead, Ojeda stays red-hot (MLS)
Luis Barraza was named to MLS’s Team of the (midweek) Matchday for his five saves against NYC FC.
On the NWSL side, Tara McKeown won Assist of the Week and Aubrey Kingsbury won Save of the Week for their efforts in Washington Spirit’s win against Chicago Stars. Here’s the save from Aubrey:
USL Team of the Week – Week 10 (Loudoun United)
And after a win like Loudoun United had last weekend, it shouldn’t be a big surprise that they had four players on the Team of the Week: Abdellatif Aboukoura, Zach Ryan, Keegan Tingey, and Florian Valot.
State of the Stars: Analyzing a franchise in flux (The Equalizer)
This interview with Chicago Stars GM Richard Feuz was the talk of the women’s soccer world this week. The Stars are really struggling this year, and this article shows firing the coach is not going to be enough to turn things around. Highlights (or lowlights) include Feuz’s apparent pride in his team not spending money on the transfer market and his use of social media account Soccerdonna to determine his players’ value.
Washington Spirit goalkeeper Sandy MacIver called up to Scotland Women’s National Team (Washington Spirit)
The beginning of what is likely to be another wave of Spirit call-ups, MacIver joins Esme Morgan who was called up to England’s squad for matches later this month.
‘We’re being hunted. That’s how we feel.’ ICE activity puts an MLS fan group on pause (The Athletic $)
A look at how Nashville SC’s largest Latino supporters’ group, La Brigada De Oro, is responding to the political climate and the threat ICE could pose to their community, even at soccer games.
Blood empty: How a beloved team made a deal with the devil (PTFO)
If you’re looking for something to listen/watch, rather than read, I really enjoyed this episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out about Schalke 04’s partnership with a Russian state-owned oil company, one that seemed like a good business deal but stuck them with the politics of Putin (but without the financial resources available to, say, Man City).
ETA: I see UEFA has made a copyright claim on the small amount of game footage in the video, so I’ve added a Spotify link above.
Finally, here’s your schedule of events for the weekend. Have a good one!
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Spirit vs. Utah Royals | Sat., May 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Washington, DC | Ion |
| Loudoun United vs. Miami FC | Sat., May 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Westchester, FL | ESPN+ |
| D.C. United vs. Nashville SC | Sat., May 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Nashville, TN | Apple TV |
| DC Defenders vs. Arlington Renegades | Sun., May 18 at 12 p.m. ET | Washington, DC | ABC |
| Old Glory DC vs. Anthem RC | Sun., May 18 at 6 p.m. ET | Charlotte, NC | ESPN+ |
According to Troy Lesesne, Christian Benteke is going to be out 2-3 weeks with a foot injury. That will cause him to miss four MLS games and the Open Cup game against Charlotte. Thankfully, we have plenty of firepower still at our dispo… what’s that? The only person on the roster with more than three goals in their DC career is Gabriel Pirani? Who is also injured? And the only person with three goals is Jared Stroud?
Well, let’s hope that Luis Barraza is up to pitching a few more blinders.
I’m very much considering the Spirit game, since I’m able to watch it