WEBVTT - Group Chat: Mailing Suitcases with Emily Sams & Kylie Strom 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:02.840 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're sending 0:00:02.880 --> 0:00:06.560 subliminal mind signals to WNBA Award voters warning them of 0:00:06.640 --> 0:00:09.120 slow death by hemorrhoids if they so much as think 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:13.119 about giving Asia Wilson a fourth place vote. On today's show, 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:15.920 we'll be talking to Orlando Pride defenders Emily Samson Kylie 0:00:15.960 --> 0:00:18.439 Strum about the team's twenty one game unbeaten streak and 0:00:18.520 --> 0:00:23.400 their impenetrable backline, plus a wild statistical anomaly, your postseason picks, 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:26.279 and look good, Feel good, play good. It's all coming 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:40.879 up right after this. Welcome back, my little slices. Happy Friday. 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:45.520 Here's what you need to know today in the WNBA. 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:48.800 The regular season has officially concluded and the playoff matches 0:00:48.840 --> 0:00:52.120 are set, but we're recording this before all the games 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:54.040 are over, So this is now a choose your own 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:58.680 adventure podcast. Select the sentence that most accurately matches reality. 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:03.320 Thet won the battle for the eighth seed. The Washington 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:06.959 Mystics won the Battle for the eighth seed. The Chicago 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:10.160 Sky won the Battle for the eighth seed. So the 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:12.800 playoffs begins Sunday. The first round is best of three, 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:14.680 and as a reminder, the first two games of each 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:17.760 series will be played on the higher seeds home court. Also, 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:20.840 technical foul counts are now reset to zero. The first 0:01:20.920 --> 0:01:23.840 round matchups are the number one Liberty versus the number 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:26.560 eight team. I just told you that, were you not listening? 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:29.920 The number two Links versus the number seven Mercury, and 0:01:30.160 --> 0:01:33.920 three verses six and four versus five? Which teams are those? 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:37.319 That's what Google's for. Okay, get your popcorn ready and 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:40.399 hold on to your butts. It's playoff time. Oh and 0:01:40.520 --> 0:01:43.360 since we recorded this episode before all the games were locked, 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:47.640 that Mercury Storm contest, a freaking ten pm Eastern start, 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:51.080 wasn't yet over. So we're just gonna guess at what 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:54.640 might have happened in what might have been Diana Tarassi's 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:57.680 last regular season game ever and potentially her last home 0:01:57.720 --> 0:01:59.800 game ever if Minnie sweeps him the first round of 0:01:59.800 --> 0:01:59.960 the PLA. 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:01.920 So here's what we do know. 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:05.240 The Mercury came prepared before the game. The team released 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:08.240 a video that honestly made us feel some things. It 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:11.200 featured a handful of folks, including her wife, agent, and sister, 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:14.240 along with teammate Britney Griner, reading a letter titled Dear 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:15.800 d here's a snippet. 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:22.400 If this is it, thank you will never be enough, 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:24.960 but it's a start. 0:02:26.240 --> 0:02:29.560 Hello all of us. And before the game, every fan 0:02:29.639 --> 0:02:32.080 received a commemorative T that said, quote the greatest of 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:37.560 all time period P E. R Io d T. And 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:40.240 on the back text from that aforementioned letter to DT. 0:02:40.960 --> 0:02:44.640 The Mercury have been hinting if this is it, but 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:47.520 y'all the video and the shirt that really made it 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:51.640 feel like this is actually it Now what we don't know, 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:56.240 but we're guessing at after the game in which the 0:02:56.280 --> 0:03:01.280 White Mamba scored let's say a points one more than 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:08.760 Kobe's best Yeah, yep, okay, and grabbed thirty boards yep, 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:12.520 that's correct. Yeah, all in fewer minutes, shorter games, and 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:17.799 got am I reading this right? Four technicals? She was 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:20.480 asked if she's retiring after the playoffs, and here's my 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:24.119 dramatic reenactment of Diana's response, not telling you shit. 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:26.680 You'll find out when I figure it out, gocox. 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:29.720 We'll see how close I am to reality to soccer. 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:32.040 There are a couple of NWSL games tonight, and three 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:34.079 of the top four squads are in action. First it's 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.320 the number two Washington Spirit and number four k C 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:39.640 Current at eight pm Eastern, then number one Orlando Pride 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:42.760 at number eight BFC at ten thirty pm Eastern. There 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:44.400 are four more games this weekend, so we'll link to 0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:47.560 the schedule in our show notes. More NWSL news New York, 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:50.440 New Jersey Gotham FC announced yesterday former team captain in 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:53.760 twenty twenty three NWSL champ Ali Krieger will serve as 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:56.840 its first ever club ambassador. No, that doesn't mean she's 0:03:56.880 --> 0:04:00.280 responsible for scheduling all the team's nightlife activities or will 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:02.400 should be tasked with leading the diplomats and staff serving 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:05.520 at a Gotham embassy or mission. Per Gotham's x account, 0:04:05.600 --> 0:04:08.680 Kreeger's mission as ambassador is quote to elevate the club 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:11.600 women's sports and act as a connection to media on 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:14.080 and off the pitch end quote. A press release from 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:15.600 the team also states that the move is part of 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:18.040 the team's effort to keep collaborating with players after their 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:20.719 careers end and give them flowers for their leadership and 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:24.440 legacy and its breaking NWSL news. So Sportico is the 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:27.400 first report that Milwaukee Bucks owner Mark Lazry is nearing 0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:30.320 a deal to buy a control stake in the NWSL's 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:33.760 NC Courage from Steve Mallick at a roughly one hundred 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:36.960 and eight million dollar valuation. The offer is for sixty 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:40.640 percent of the team, per the Sportico Report, quote Lazri, 0:04:40.720 --> 0:04:42.960 who expressed interest in the Seattle reign and was in 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:45.440 the running to buy Angel City FC before will Obey 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.480 and Bob Eiger secured a control stake in the NWSL's 0:04:48.480 --> 0:04:50.640 most valuable club at a two hundred and fifty million 0:04:50.600 --> 0:04:53.160 dollars valuation. The Courage sit on the other end of 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:56.200 the NWSL's financial table, with one of the lowest revenues 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:58.280 in the league. The club has often been mentioned as 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:02.080 a potential seller given that near every other NWSL team 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:04.800 is either a new franchise or has a new principal 0:05:04.839 --> 0:05:07.160 governor over the past four years, and most of those 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:10.440 ownership groups want to invest heavily to propel the league forward. 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:13.200 End quote. We'll keep you updated on that story as 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:16.000 we get more more soccer. The other day, we told 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.599 you about Team USA under twenty playing in the U 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:21.280 twenty World Cup. While they lost to North Korea one 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:23.560 nil on Wednesday in the semi finals, which makes this 0:05:23.640 --> 0:05:26.039 the best showing for Team USA since their fourth place 0:05:26.040 --> 0:05:28.919 finish in twenty sixteen. But they won't be grabbing gold. 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:31.600 They'll take on the Netherlands for the bronze on Saturday, 0:05:31.640 --> 0:05:33.920 and it'll be North Korea versus Japan for the title 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:37.760 on Sunday. We're going to take a quick break. When 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:39.760 we come back, we step onto the pitch with Emily 0:05:39.839 --> 0:05:47.800 Sam's and Kylie Strum. It's time for group chat, where 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:49.719 we take the tea from the text and bring it 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:52.240 onto the airwaves and joining us today, we've got a 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:54.640 defender for the top of the table, Orlando Pride of 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:57.520 the NWSL. She won gold with Team USA in Paris 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:00.360 and was a national champion with her Florida Seminoles. She's 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:03.279 a twin. She loves Dakota, a guy, not a state. 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:05.960 She's got cat's name Linguini and Rigatoni, and she got 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.800 married in February, but her wedding's in December. It's Emily 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:11.440 Sam's what's up, Emily, what's up? 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:12.080 Thank you? 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:16.400 That was crazy? Also joining her a defender for the 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:19.520 Orlando Pride. She's played in Germany, the Czech Republic and Spain. 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:21.400 And she's a proud b u alum. She was on 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:24.240 the most recent NWSL Best eleven for the month of August. 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:26.400 She's just a quiet gal who likes to read books 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:28.560 and watch Jeopardy, but says she turns into a monster 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:33.080 on the field. It's Kylie Strom. Hey, guys, ladies, it 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:35.000 is great to have you, and we are really excited 0:06:35.000 --> 0:06:37.919 to shine a spotlight on this defense for the Pride. 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:40.800 I get why we have so many conversations about the 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.920 goal scorers like Barbara Banda and Marta, but we got 0:06:43.920 --> 0:06:46.599 to talk about the lockdown that's been happening with the 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:49.279 Pride of late. You shut out your opponents in four 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:52.200 straight matches. You set a new club record for longest 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:54.799 clean sheet streak. You've also set a new club record 0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:57.840 for regular season minutes played without conceding four hundred and 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.560 eleven consecutive minutes without giving up a goal. So let's 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:03.840 just start there. Emily, what's the secret, Like, what's been 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:05.719 the secret to this incredible defensive stretch? 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:09.840 Oh gosh, I would say, although we're talking to two 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:14.840 defenders right now, it's definitely a team effort. Yeah, even 0:07:14.880 --> 0:07:17.840 just like the midfielders from to the forwards. Everyone's included 0:07:17.880 --> 0:07:21.320 in our defending and I think that's what helps make 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:24.320 it so successful. And of course, having players like Marta 0:07:24.320 --> 0:07:28.880 and Barbara on offense, I think changes teams to their 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:32.680 behaviors and makes them play maybe a little bit more defensively, 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:34.440 which makes them makes our job easier. 0:07:35.000 --> 0:07:39.080 That's such a defensive player's answer to just defer. That's 0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:41.000 why I never could have played defense. I'm way too 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:43.720 much about myself. I'm like, give me the goals. Meanwhile, 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:46.960 you're just spreading the love. But it's true. It's incredibly 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:51.040 complete team and that's what's made it so impressive to watch. 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:52.840 And that goes back to the goalkeeping. 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:56.520 To Emily, Anna Moorhouse tied in NWSL single season record 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:58.400 the other day in your nil nil draw with Case. 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:00.840 That was her eleventh clean she of the season. So 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:01.440 tell me. 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:03.560 About playing with Anna and your communication back there. 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:05.880 Yeah, we're trying to get twelve for her so she 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:07.600 can set the NWSL record. 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:09.400 Uh. 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:12.160 Yeah, Anna's great. I mean, she's obviously has a big 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:15.000 presence and like, for example, end of the game, we 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:17.760 have a corner, like we have full confidence that she's 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:19.960 gonna come out grab the ball and just like secure 0:08:20.280 --> 0:08:22.320 the win for us, or you know, get the shut 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:26.200 out for us. So it's been great, and yeah, I 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:28.480 think too. Part of what makes it so great is 0:08:28.480 --> 0:08:31.320 that we can communicate in practice, like get it all 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:33.400 out there, like we can just she says her opinion. 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:36.280 She's a very strong opinion, which is good. And I 0:08:36.280 --> 0:08:38.200 think I'm strong opinion too, So we can just like 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:40.240 swear it all out there on the field and not 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:43.640 you know, dance around what's going on. We'll just get 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:45.520 it all out there and come to a common ground. 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:48.640 Yeah, Kylie, is there something in particular that the defense 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:51.000 has worked on or prioritized of late or is this 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:53.079 just a team clicking in the final stretch. 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:56.160 Honestly, I think it's just kind of like a mentality, 0:08:57.080 --> 0:08:59.480 you know. I think our coach, Sam Hines, he was 0:08:59.559 --> 0:09:03.400 a defense in his career, and yeah, we just take 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:05.760 a lot of pride in our defending. I think we 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:09.000 have like such good camaraderie from front to back, and 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:13.120 I think like the defensive unit is super tight and 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:16.040 like we all have a common goal. So yeah, hopefully 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:17.600 we can keep it going well. 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:21.120 Twenty one games unbeaten. That's the most in league history. 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:23.880 There's only a few weeks left in the regular season, 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:25.960 so how much pressure is there to try to go 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:27.920 an entire season without a loss? 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:33.199 Kiley honestly, like, like it's not a main goal for us, 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:36.360 Like we've broken a lot of records and all that stuff, 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:39.160 but it's never once been a goal for us. I mean, 0:09:39.640 --> 0:09:41.400 we want to win the Shield, we want to win 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:43.920 a championship, I mean, we want to go to playoffs, 0:09:43.920 --> 0:09:48.079 which we've accomplished already, but we just want to keep 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:52.679 playing like our best games ever game. So that's kind 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:55.600 of the motivation here. No pressure with any of like 0:09:56.400 --> 0:09:59.560 going undefeated and stuff. So we're just we're just going 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:00.319 with it. 0:10:00.360 --> 0:10:02.840 Is it like a jinx mentality, like you don't even 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:03.559 talk about it? 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:06.360 Or is it like mentioned we. 0:10:06.320 --> 0:10:07.959 Don't even talk about it on it Like I think 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:10.559 sometimes we look at each other, like we tell this 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:12.720 story a lot, Like in the beginning of the year, 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:16.679 but like preseason times, we were going through our schedule 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:19.040 and kind of like predicting, like you know, how many 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:21.200 points we would have and which games we would win 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:25.400 maybe like draw, lose, whatever, and we gave ourselves like 0:10:25.440 --> 0:10:28.640 a ridiculous amount of points, like crazy and we're like 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:31.560 afterwards we went through We're like, guys, this probably is 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:34.360 a little unrealistic, you know, like let's be real and 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:39.760 like now we're like even out performing on me. So yeah, 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:42.360 I think sometimes we're just like, wow, this is crazy. 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:44.000 And we call that manifesting. 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:45.720 Right, you just put it out there, like here's all 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:47.640 the points that we want and then you just made 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:48.080 it happen. 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:49.760 That's awesome. 0:10:50.080 --> 0:10:52.520 Let's talk about Marta FIFA World Player of the Year 0:10:52.559 --> 0:10:55.120 six times, first football or of any gender to score 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:57.839 five different World Cups, first of any gender to score 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:02.360 five straight Olympic games, Like, Kylie, what's it like playing 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:04.000 with an all time great like that. You've had a 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:05.120 couple of years with her. 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:07.720 It's unbelievable. 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:12.440 Like I think every single day we step out on 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:14.599 the field with her is like such a privilege and 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:18.800 an honor. She is hands down the greatest of all time, 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:22.640 Like no debate, and the fact that she's like still 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:26.480 doing these things that she's doing like at her age, 0:11:26.520 --> 0:11:31.839 like she's like getting better if that's even possible. Yeah, 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:33.439 it's it's just like such. 0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:34.920 An honor and a privilege to be her teammate. 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:37.640 I remember talking to some of my Chicago Red Stars 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:40.800 players at an end of season event, and I ask 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:43.760 the question, like, is there a player that you got 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:45.720 out in the field and you have trouble just playing 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:47.720 with or against because a little bit of you is 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:49.920 like kind of freaking out a little And I feel 0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:51.400 like that would be the case with Marta. Did you 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:53.160 feel that way when you were in your first couple 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:54.320 of practices together. 0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:59.800 The coolest thing about Marta is like she'll never make 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:03.120 you feel like she's, you know, the greatest of all 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:05.559 the time, Like she doesn't act like it or anything. 0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:09.719 Like she's so humble. She's just like another person, and 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:12.800 it's like, you know, like you you meet her, she's 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:14.920 I'm like, oh, I'm kind of like, oh Marta, Like. 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:15.920 Yeah, I know. 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:20.920 That's like oh Madonna, Okay, yeah one. 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:22.040 Yeah. 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:24.640 Has she taught you anything or is there anything that 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:26.840 stands out from your years playing with her that that 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:28.560 she's taught you? Oh? 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:32.360 I mean I've learned so much from her, you know, 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:35.319 just her like being a captain and the way she 0:12:35.440 --> 0:12:38.360 leads is one of the most inspiring things. 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:38.800 Uh. 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:45.600 She's so passionate about everything that she does, like every 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:48.760 single training, like she's she's not there to just like 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:51.000 show up and you know, do her job, like she 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.080 wants to win. So I think she just showed me, 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:56.320 like what it what it takes to be a winner. 0:12:56.840 --> 0:12:59.600 Yeah, Emily, it's just her first year, but it feels 0:12:59.600 --> 0:13:02.000 like Barbara Abanda is a legend in the making in 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:02.720 the same way. 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:04.079 What makes her so special? 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:08.679 Yeah, I think she's a world class player. She's so 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:11.680 hard to defend. You know, there's times where I go 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:14.040 against your own practice and she's making me better, and 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:17.480 I hope I'm making her better. But she's obviously she 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:20.720 has her speed, and but she's good to you know 0:13:21.400 --> 0:13:24.520 with like back to goalplay and like to connect with 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:27.480 as the nine. So she's got like both of those 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:29.920 aspects she's so good at like just a little flick 0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:32.080 ons and to get behind the back line, and of 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:34.360 course her speed, Like she's just so good. 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:40.679 Yeah, it feels like you have this incredible torch passing happening. 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:43.000 And I'm certainly not pushing Marda out, but like to 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:45.480 have the greatest of all time and then have this 0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:47.480 player that in such a short amount of time has 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:50.640 sort of taken this league by storm. It feels very 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:53.640 promising for the future of this team, and that's really 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:56.400 nice to see. I think I don't mean this in 0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:58.640 a condescending way, but there are certain teams that go 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:02.160 through such struggles that it's hard not to root for 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:04.280 them when they start to find success, and the Pride 0:14:04.320 --> 0:14:06.440 are kind of one of those teams, like best in 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:09.760 the league right now. But things haven't always been so 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:12.320 sunny in Orlando. The team has missed the postseason for 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:13.840 the last five regular seasons. 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:14.360 They've missed the. 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:16.960 Postseason and all but one of the seasons that the 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:19.840 team has existed. You've already clinched a playoff, Berth. You're 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:22.160 playing so while, like Kylie, you've been on this team 0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:25.000 since twenty twenty one, why is this year so different? 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:30.320 Yeah, it's it's been a roller coaster to say the least. 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:35.680 So to kind of finally see everything coming together is 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:39.760 like the best feeling in the world. I think like 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:42.720 one of the strengths of this team and something that 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:46.200 makes us really special is just the bond and like 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:50.800 the culture that we have amongst the girls. It's something 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:53.400 that I've never experienced on any other team. And I've 0:14:53.400 --> 0:14:57.080 been a part of some really good teams but something 0:14:57.120 --> 0:15:01.479 that we have is just really special, kind of unexplainable. 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.080 Yeah, how did you deal with it when the team 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:05.840 was sort of the butt of jokes? I mean we 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:08.320 had Ali Riley and said LaRue and I was talking 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:10.280 to sid about her time there and how literally people 0:15:10.320 --> 0:15:12.080 would be like, oh, if you play too badly, you're 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:14.480 gonna end up with the Pride. Like being a team 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:16.360 that's sort of the butt of the joke is hard. 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:17.240 How did you handle that? 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:21.320 Oh? Yeah, like nobody wanted to come to the Pride. 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:24.240 Like I remember there was like before one of the seasons, 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:26.000 there was like this meme I wonder if I could 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:28.480 find it, and it was literally like like you know, 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:31.440 Pride potential starting eleven and it was like Marta and 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:33.400 then like the rest was like a rock and. 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:38.000 Yeah. 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:41.400 Like but like we're like, oh wow, yeah, so we 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:46.120 were down bad, but we climbed our way. 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:46.440 Out of it. 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:50.760 You know. I think we made a lot of good 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:55.120 changes from you know, like front office standpoints and stuff, 0:15:55.200 --> 0:15:59.360 and people have just really invested in the culture of 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:03.600 this team and took it really seriously. So it's pretty 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:08.040 incredible how drastic of a turnaround it took. In a 0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:09.240 rather short amount of time. 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:11.880 Yeah, Emily, it's just your second season with the team. 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:14.000 It's the only NWSL squad you've been a part of. 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:17.200 But I wonder how much the team staff, coaches, anybody 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:20.080 talks about those past seasons or previous struggles this year. 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:22.880 Yeah, I was just thinking. I feel like one of 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.880 the main messages from Seb last year was just like 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:29.120 changing the narrative of Orlando. So yeah, people would come 0:16:29.480 --> 0:16:32.200 to Orlando and be like, Okay, easy three points. Like 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.720 SEB would always just hammer that message into us and 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:36.840 he's like, we have to change the narrative. We have 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:38.880 to make it a nightmare for teams to come here 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:40.960 and play. And I think we just had that chip 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:44.120 on our shoulder last year of like, no, you're not 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:46.920 gonna come here and just get an easy three points 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:48.720 and go back home. Like it's we're trying to make 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:51.640 it a nightmare to come here. And same thing with Away. 0:16:51.680 --> 0:16:55.680 You know, obviously it's a different like shot at you 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:58.440 when you go to another person stadium, but you know, 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:00.520 same thing, like we're not gonna this isn't going to 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:02.840 be an easy game for anybody. And I think even 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:05.960 from like two years ago to last year, like, although 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:07.680 I wasn't part of the team two years ago, we 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:11.040 did better and we were so close to making playoffs, 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:15.200 and I think even almost making playoffs was again more 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:17.119 fuel for us this year to be like, Okay, we 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:19.480 could have done it last year, and now we've added 0:17:19.480 --> 0:17:21.720 more players and now we definitely know we can do 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:24.000 it this year. And I mean it's worked, it's been 0:17:24.680 --> 0:17:27.280 I don't think it's any team has walked away thinking 0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:28.320 it's been easy to play. 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:30.800 Us, certainly not since nobody's beaten you. 0:17:31.040 --> 0:17:31.960 Yeah, I can't imagine. 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:33.960 I think it's easy to take a drawer or loss. 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:37.480 Speaking of going from struggling to the top of the game, 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:39.720 the US women's national team had its worst World Cup 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:42.280 finish last year, bounced back to win gold this summer 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:44.760 in Paris. You know, I've heard players like Glenn Williams 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:48.000 rave about the vibes, the energy, the camaraderie just felt 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:51.520 different to her from that World Cup teamer previous iterations. 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:53.840 What was your experience like in Paris? Did it feel 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:55.560 like the team was carrying the weight of that World 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:59.680 Cup failure or had moved on to this new vibe. 0:18:00.480 --> 0:18:03.760 Yeah, I definitely don't have the experience from previous years 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:05.560 and under different coaches and stuff like that with the 0:18:05.640 --> 0:18:08.680 national team. But I think that was like one of 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:10.800 the first things that the team talked about and that 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:14.200 Emma talked about. Like she came in and just had 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:17.480 her what she wanted from the team, her expectations, and 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:20.719 we would have like meetings that weren't even anything about soccer, 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:23.520 but just how can we build the togetherness and the 0:18:23.560 --> 0:18:27.760 cohesion within the team and like forget all the distractions, 0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:30.920 forget all like you know, previous results, Like let's forget 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:33.399 all of that, Like we're here for a reason. We're 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:35.560 a really good team. And she just did such a 0:18:35.560 --> 0:18:39.439 good job of, like I said, building that cohesion between us, 0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:41.720 and then I think the players kind of like caught 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:44.000 that vibe too, Like so when we would have our 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:47.240 team meetings with no staff, we would echo some of 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:50.120 the same things that she was saying. And I think 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.520 the players, of course recognize how hard it's been in 0:18:53.560 --> 0:18:55.400 previous years, and so I'd hear a lot of them 0:18:55.440 --> 0:18:58.240 tell stories about like, oh, you know, like stay off 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:01.040 the media and like stuff. They have all that experience, 0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:04.400 and so I think just hearing them talk about previous 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:07.280 years to this tournament. I think, I'm like I can 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:09.800 kind of get the picture and could definitely tell that 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:10.879 the vibes were way different. 0:19:11.359 --> 0:19:13.560 You started out as an alternate. How did you approach 0:19:13.640 --> 0:19:14.960 your role in what you could bring. 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:15.520 To the team. 0:19:16.160 --> 0:19:20.560 Yeah, I was honestly like forgot or I didn't know 0:19:20.600 --> 0:19:22.800 the rules for the Olympics. So when Emma sits me 0:19:22.840 --> 0:19:25.520 down and tells me you're going to the Olympics, I 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:28.719