Rodman is Player of the Month, new signings at Loudoun United and DC Power, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday!
Washington Spirit Star Trinity Rodman Named NWSL Player of the Month (Washington Spirit)
Five goals and one assist in the month of July is kind of undeniable. What I can’t believe is this is only her second time winning this honor.
Washington Spirit Head Coach Adrián González Named NWSL Coach of the Month (Washington Spirit)
Rodman’s coach joins her, having led the team to five wins out of six matches in July.
Loudoun United FC Sign Midfielder Giorgi Lomtadze for Remainder of 2026 Season
Lomtadze joins Loudoun from Monterey Bay FC.
DC Power announced a pair of signings as well: Hallie Augustyn and Abby Boyan.
USMNT star Malik Tillman says Balogun red card ban should have stood (USA Today)
Not surprising that Tillman would have some feelings about the red card reversal after the match that followed it, but I will personally be happy when this controversy is well behind us.
FIFA’s Top Executives Were Given an Ultimatum to Sell Stake in the World Cup (New York Times $)
Some more details on Infantino’s secretive scheme to privatize the World Cup.
Football comes first. The CONMEBOL Council calls for preserving institutional integrity (Conmebol)
He’s still got plenty of supporters, though. Conmebol has come out against calling an extraordinary congress to vote out the FIFA president.
Racing Louisville ‘forced to do something’ if crowds don’t improve (Sports Business Journal)
Something tells me that the “something” owners will be “forced to do” is not bringing in better players and trying to move out of 15th place…
Finally, your schedule of events for the weekend. Both Washington Spirit and Loudoun United are at home.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Spirit vs. NC Courage | Sat., Aug. 8 at 6:30 p.m. | Washington, DC | ION |
| Loudoun United vs. Charleston Battery | Sat., Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. | Leesburg, VA | ESPN+ |
Have a good weekend!
Yeah, that’s a shocker about Rodman not having gotten this award more often.
And I have to agree with Tillman. Unfortunately, that thing (Trump intervening on the red card) is going to stick around for a while. You have to wonder if the USSF will just ask FIFA to not do the one year probation and say “we’re going to apply the red card to the friendly against Peru” (a match Balo would be unlikely to be called up for anyway given the amount of travel) in an effort to move past it all.
We would have been much more competitive with Pepi and a little sympathy than what happened in that pivotal more than a day before the Belgium match.
In case people are interested, the US U20s are playing against Costa Rica in the CONCACAF semis tonight at 5 Eastern. They look REALLY good, sharp, professional. I’ve really enjoyed this squad under former Chicago Fire great, Gonzalo Segares.
Fun tip if people want to stream the US U20s for the rest of this tournament, starting with the semifinal against Costa Rica tomorrow
If you don’t have FS2 or the Fox One streaming service, they have a three day free trial for the latter. Took advantage of that for the Guatemala quarterfinal, instantly cancelled the subscription when it ended
But, I guess I get to watch this thing tonight free of charge before the trial expires
If anyone wants that for this, you’d get Costa Rica and then the final if they make it
However, if you do utilize this strategy, I do recommend canceling the subscription the second tonight’s match is over, cuz there’s not much of a grace period before you’re locked into the monthly payment, which is absurdly pricey. You’d still get the final if you do this
So, unfortunately, Fox One might just be evil enough that this strategy only works for a single game
I couldn’t access the stream today, they pushed it to a “re-air” status. Monsters.
So, if you want to watch this game, might not be able to access the final for free
Mexican Football Federation has come out in support of Infantino. As has the Argentinian FA.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7498508/2026/08/07/mexico-gianni-infantino-fifa-president/
DC has sent Antley on loan to the Tampa Bay Rowdies through the end of this year.
https://www.dcunited.com/news/d-c-united-loans-defender-conner-antley-to-tampa-bay-rowdies
If we thought we didn’t have any fullback depth before, we really don’t now
Oh, wow. That is where we signed him from.
Nono is in
Antley has been a really clutch depth piece, but he needs to continue to learn his craft
Whether that means he contributes more for DC or goes looking for a bigger role
I just read the press release and Antley is 31 years old. I think this is the end of his career.
He’s an incredibly decent stop gap who hasn’t been overused, he’s have value in that role till 33 if we wanted him
But I do want him to do what he thinks is best with his time
This does make me wonder if this indicates that the discrepancy in Segal’s roster status now leans towards him being a Senior player. If he is in fact on the senior roster, we had no senior spaces left. So, this move would open up a spot to bring someone in
Ryan Keefer just put up an interesting post that mirrors my own thinking in recent weeks. I think for me the tipping point was when the club casually revealed that they’d worked out green cards for Peltola, Peglow, and Rowles. Nobody trusts the ownership farther than they can spit, but we’re seeing consistent competence from the FO since the end of last season, and I think we have enough evidence now to state with confidence that Sogut’s flaky online postings are rather irrelevant to how the club is being run at this time. I’m not optimistic yet, but I’ve come over to the side of being open to limited optimism, for the first time in a couple of years.
It’s the hope that kills you…..
I would love to see a full rebuild reestablish our relevance, and we’ve seen a decent percentage of one
I’d be pleased to see it get to 💯 before the owners are gone, but I’d also be surprised. Because I don’t believe in their character or commitment.
The new regime seems to be doing a pretty good job. Baribo, Munteanu, and Ordaz — none are great athletes or particularly eye-catching players, dribbling through defenses. But, each seems to be pretty effective at goal-scoring or delivering key touches to the others. I like our last Japanese signing and have much higher expectations for the new one. Dozell has been really solid. The front office is certainly not digging where most MLS teams are mining for talent, but they’re still delivering decent results.
Too many ties of course, but maybe just a winger and/or a great CAM from being a team that can win games regularly.
I don’t know how much Johnson has left in him, but he’s a surprisingly good shot-stopper. Not the most athletic, but he seems to anticipate the shots and gets in the way. If we can shore up central defense, I think we’d be really solid defensively, too.
Lacking reliable depth, but Ryan’s piece points out that we’ve got some expiring contracts for players who barely see the pitch. Moving on from them could offer the room the FO will need to fix that.
I see competency from Sorgut and Weiler
I’m talking about Levien and Kaplan getting them to the end of this