Gold Cup rosters, NWSL rolls out intraleague loans, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday! I have had a week away from home at a work conference and am turning right around to go visit family out of town today. I had just enough time to get together some Freedom Kicks for you all (and hopefully will find some more for the Spirit game this weekend).
Sergiño Dest not included as USMNT Gold Cup roster announced (SSFC)
The US Gold Cup roster is here! Due to injury, Sergiño Dest was a surprise omission from the roster, which includes a lot of MLS players.
Concacaf Gold Cup rosters: Every MLS call-up by country (MLS)
The full rundown of MLS players in the Gold Cup. The only D.C. United player on the list, Aaron Herrera, will represent Guatemala.
Boris Enow will also be traveling during the international window to represent Cameroon.
Washington Spirit’s Esme Morgan named to England’s 2025 UEFA Women’s Championship Rroster (Washington Spirit)
Esme Morgan is barely back from one international break with England and already named to their Euros roster! She came to Washington (and to train with Jonatan Giraldez) in part to win a regular spot on their squad, and it is really working out for her.
NWSL reveals expansion roster-building rules, announces intra-league loans (Pro Soccer Wire)
Some new ways for NWSL teams to move money and players around, although I’m not really sure why a team would opt to make intra-league loans rather than loaning players to another league, like the Spirit have done successfully this year with the USL Super League.
How Loudoun United went from feeder club to USL trophy threat: “We’ve earned respect” (Backheeled $)
An inside look at Loudoun United’s turnaround this season from Ryan Martin and Tommy McCabe.
Loudoun United announces new ticket pricing to make matchdays more accessible (Loudoun United)
If you need more inducement to make the trip to Segra Field, Loudoun has announced new ticket prices that are pretty appealing.
USL Super League Team of the Month – May (USL Super League)
Two DC Power players — Loza Abera and Katie Duong — made the final Team of the Month in the USL Super League’s first season. Those of you with long memories may also spot two former Washington Spirit players on the list.
Statement from Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Sounds like the Whitecaps may have some trouble fielding a full team this weekend.
Finally, your schedule of events for the weekend. Games start tomorrow night, so if you need something to watch before then, all of the matches in The Soccer Tournament (TST) are showing on YouTube.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loudoun United FC vs. Charleston Battery | Sat., June 7 at 6 p.m. ET | Leesburg, VA | ESPN+ |
| D.C. United vs. Chicago Fire | Sat., June 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Washington, DC | Apple TV |
| Old Glory DC vs. San Diego Legion | Sat., June 7 at 10 p.m. ET | San Diego, CA | ESPN+ |
| Washington Spirit vs. NC Courage | Sun., June 8 at 4 p.m. ET | Washington, DC | MNMT, Paramount+ |
| DC Defenders vs. St. Louis Battlehawks | Sun., June 8 at 6 p.m. ET | St. Louis, MO | Fox |
Have a good weekend!
Tomorrow night is OGDC’s final regular season game. Going into the weekend they sit 3rd in the Eastern Conference, but could finish as low as 4th. Also one of their draft picks from last summer has finally joined the team after taking the spring to complete his degree.
Going into the last round of matches here are the standings. The east is all locked up. Its just a question of who is the 3rd seed and visits New England while the 4 seed visits Chicago in the QF round. The West still has things that can happen in terms of who makes it and seeding. It is a must win game tomorrow night for Old Glory DC’s opponent the San Diego Legion if they want into the playoffs as well as having Miami at Seattle go their way. Old Glory lost 26-10 to the Legion back on March 1st at the Maryland SoccerPlex.
Eastern Conference:
Western Conference:
As for who Old Glory will face in the quarterfinal round. They have beaten New England in both regular season games 28-14 on Mar 22nd a the SoccerPlex and 20-17 at Ft Quincy (aka Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, MA) on May 24th. They lost the one regular season with the Chicago Hounds 30-26 at SeatGeek Stadium (former home of the Chicago Fire) on March 15th.
My main takeaway from the Gold Cup squad is, this won’t mean much to most of the players in terms of earning a World Cup spot. Diego Luna, maybe, but there’s a lot of bubble players who may already be popped.
I will say, the exception is Malik Tillman. If he ever wants to be considered for the roster, he’s gotta stand out in this crowd, both in terms of hunger and prowess. If he underwhelms (yet again), I could see him losing his place
I might add Turner honestly. He’s got to show that he’s ready to play in a tournament setting despite his terrible club situation. He’s pretty lucky that both Schulte and Steffen got hurt.
I’d say Turner is probably making the WC roster on experience and familiarity alone, but whether he starts is up for grabs.
I hope Gabi Pirani is ready to keep carrying this team, because apparently Joao Peglow is a scratch for this game against Chicago. I’m only counting 16-17 available players between the international callups and injuries. Honestly, we should all be pretty pissed if we DON’T see a Gavin Turner debut.
Shout out to our bravest and our allies on this anniversary of D-Day. You will never be forgotten.
Incidentally, did we not get some crazy fun football action in the UEFA Nation’s league semi-finals? Sunday should be an Iberian rock concert.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/45466494/jonatan-giraldez-addresses-coaching-move-spirit-ol-lyonnes
Ok. Whatever, Giraldez. Hope Gonzalez does a great job.
Can the Whitecaps blame illness for their miserable showing in the Champions League? Tbh, I was surprised the announcers never discussed the aititude issue.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6405858/2025/06/05/vancouver-whitecaps-sick-mexico-concacaf-champions-cup/
Yup significant number of players and staff with gi issues.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/dc-united-how-they-became-the-original-mls-dynasty
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/05/sport/finland-women-soccer-apologizes-call-up-spt-intl?Date=20250605&Profile=CNN,CNN+International&utm_content=1749120872&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwQ0xDSwKxxHtjbGNrArHEdWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEeS82ZLJoFpis6IRBZ9p9c39Vl_n_BUD9XdovfenvS4_6jcRVveQ1M9pUcCHA_aem_DC1BhVGh2iiX0aXi7tMOXw