Spirit and DCU draw, Loudoun wins wild one, and more: Monday Freedom Kicks
Happy Monday, y’all. This is getting out later than I normally have them because I am on vacation in the Outer Banks and spent yesterday driving and settling in. So, while I look forward to a fun, peaceful week with friends, here a quick recap of the weekend.
Washington Spirit score late against Racing Louisville to rescue a point, draw 2-2 (DP)
What a wild one at Audi Field on Friday night. Sofia Cantore gets her first NWSL goal and it was a beauty. Then, Rose Kouassi levels it late as the Spirit get a 2-2 draw.
DC United had their first match with new head coach René Weiler at the helm. They split the points up in Montreal.
Takeaways from Loudoun’s wild win over Indy (DP)
Ryan has the recap of Loudoun United’s win in wild fashion over Indy Eleven.
‘Too hot to play’ – Kansas City Current vs. Orlando Pride ends 0-0 after heat delay (PSW)
This was absolutely a black eye on the league and particularly the front office, trying to get a game in the blazing heat just to fit into a network TV time slot. There will surely be more fallout from this.
Pulisic scores as Milan safely advance past Bari in Coppa Italia (ESPN)
Christian Pulisic has centered himself in controversy lately, but he opened his 2025-26 account for Milan yesterday with a goal in Coppa Italia action.
Stadium ban for man bailed in Semenyo racism probe (BBC)
The EPL started this past weekend, and it was marred by Antoine Semenyo receiving racist abuse from a Liverpool fan in the opening match. That fan has been arrested, charged with a crime, and now banned from every stadium in the UK. Semenyo was able to pull his team level with a brace in the second half after that incident occurred, but Bournemouth eventually fell to the defending champs, 4-2.
Enjoy the week, everyone.
I missed watching the DCU game live as I was at the NASCAR race, but I went back and watched it yesterday. Its a small sample size, of course, and Montreal is a bad team, but things under Weiler seemed to be marginally better? The team took 15 shots (when was the last time that happened?) and had the better of the expected goal total. They’ve gotta get better at finishing, but you can’t score if you don’t at least shoot the ball, and that’s been a problem for the team recently.
Some of the personnel decisions were also interesting. Using Herrera as a winger and having Antley cover behind him seemed to work out decently. It also says to me that Weiler realizes that we actually need a good right winger so Herrera doesn’t have to both attack and defend constantly (likewise, Schnegg is better when Peglow is actually playing as a left winger). Good to see Hopkins and Peltola starting over Enow. Peltola, while not perfect, has been much better since coming back from playing with Finland, and Hopkins has done well when healthy.
I don’t expect much out of DC against Miami, but it will be interesting to see what they can do moving forward, and if we see any continued improvement.
We need a talented right winger, you say? Perhaps even one of DP quality perhaps? Who could have seen that coming?!
Signed- Cassandraesque 😭
Yeah, I’ve been on the “get a good winger” train for a while too. Not saying it’ll fix everything, but I think that is one specific change that would go a long way. And playing Herrera there seems to indicate that Wieler feels the same
“Get the ball into Benteke more” seems to be a no-brainer of a strategy, and yet this team started off the whole Benteke era by getting rid of Julian Gressel and haven’t gotten much better from there. Herrera is fine at it, and Stroud was good at it last year. But Stroud has cratered this year, and so moving Herrera further up seems like a fine enough idea. The only other winger they signed was Peglow, and he’s hurt half the time.
DC definitely did look better, but I put that mostly down to Montreal being close to them on quality, so that’s what it looks like when two teams on a similar level play each other. A good game!
Getting 15 shots off is definitely noteworthy, especially because it seemed like a very defensive-minded setup. Maybe not in the deployment of the players, but the players themselves were largely defensive players.
We’ve also lost to Toronto, LAG, and Chicago, so playing decently against teams at or near our level isn’t always a given. If anything, we tend to play better against better teams (like winning against Cincy)
Seeing as the EPL started this weekend, FISCHY, if you see this, what’s your impression of Frank so far?
I personally think he’s about to prove that any EPL team with a major coaching vacancy was dumb for not giving him a shot all these years, and that he’s better than Arteta (who seems to really only truly great at getting buy in).
But curious what you think
I’m not sure why anyone would want my opinion on this, but I do think Frank is a very good coach/manager. Tottenham turned Kudus into a very impactful player — not just a fun to watch good dribbler but an extremely productive attacker/crosser of the ball. There were more coveted signings, but did anyone on that first weekend have more impact? And Richarlison had himself a day! Getting into dangerous spaces farther from the goal than he usually is when he plays up top. Imagine what Spurs could do with Eze?
But, on the other hand, it was against Burnley. Just as it’s hard to glean any great insight into Weiler’s potential when DCU are playing Montreal, it is too much to read a whole lot into a tidy win over Burnley.
I thought you identified previously as a Spurs fan, so I thought I’d ask. I was silly and watched Brighton vs Fulham instead, but clearly competency doesn’t always lead to fireworks. Excited to watch my Everton side get to play, hopefully Leeds away is a good springboard, as a hungry Brighton at home is going to be a tough nut to crack.
Well, so much for taking advantage of a newly promoted side. Everton need more recruitment late in the window, but with a showing like that, who’s gonna come?
I guess I kind of naively hoped that once Weiler was formally ensconced, we’d start seeing some rumors of signings. So far, nothing. Apparently Benja Cremaschi is feeling a little out of sorts in Miami and would like to play in central midfield. I’d be looking to land a DP for our central midfield role, but Cremaschi wouldn’t be a terrible Plan B.
Except, from what I can tell, Cremaschi’s #1 quality of note is “enjoys playing with Messi.” I don’t think he’s a bad midfielder, but I also wonder how much better Hopkins would be if he played with Messi…
Likely true. He is a talented young player with American roots. He wouldn’t be THE answer, but having players like him in the fold is never a bad thing.
According to Twitter, DC might have acquired Caden Clark from Montreal. Its…something? Not a bad move: Young, American, attacking player. Hopefully there’s a little more coming though
Report has DC paying around $1 Million (not sure if cash or GAM), which seems like a lot for him
Think it’s a decent deal for both sides. Clark is an instantly much better starting winger than Stroud has been this season, at least in terms of talent.
It’s a gross overpay for someone who hasn’t produced in years. This could be the move that costs Mackay his job unless Clark turns into an all-star next season.
The RFK Refugees guys shared a stats breakdown showing that Clark is largely comparable with Ted Ku-DiPietro. Clark is a little bit younger and a little bit cheaper. If the $1 million figure is accurate, that’s what we got from Colorado for KDP.
So, we have essentially swapped out the gains from moving Ted Ku-DiPietro on for a player that is largely like.. Ted Ku-DiPietro. Only he isn’t a built in fan favorite. And we spent the vast bulk of this season without either player.
The magical mystery tour just keeps on going……
I’m surprisingly bullish on the idea. He was a stock up player as a USMNT prospect earlier this year. “In years” discounts the fact he’s only 22. Seems like this has the potential to be a player ready for a breakout year who will certainly be motivated to make that happen with us.
He’s passed the eye test for me when I’ve seen him. This is not to say he’s a substitute for a DP- most certainly still need 3 new ones- but I really like the idea at this point.
On paper, definitely overpaying, but grossly is hyperbolic for where this could go.
I want to he wrong, there’s just so much evidence that we don’t unlock any hidden talent. Weiler being far and away the most experienced coach we’ve had since Arena is about the only thing in our favor right now.
Kind of a Tuesday morning thing: Do you feel that Bruce was experienced when he coached us? (UVA resume?)
Granted, Bruce is experienced now.
You are absolutely correct that Weiler is our most experienced coach on entry. How that translates? Who knows?
Clarification just now from Bogert: Deal is done, fee around $700k, Cash trade. He will be a U22 player. So, he is essentially the new KDP
Yeah. Clark is a fine player. But DC isn’t shedding its reputation for overpaying for talent.
This has now been reported by Bogert, making it a bit more concrete. He reports that the sides are close, but nothing is actually done yet