By: Mia David

On Monday, October 3rd, 2022, a report was released by former Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates. It showed the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and U.S. Soccer Federation’s (USSF) inability to provide a safe environment for their players.

This report includes 200 interviews that investigators conducted. This investigation started long before this month. About a year ago, NWSL players Sinead Farralley and Mana Shim came forward about inappropriate behavior from former coach Paul Riley.

Paul Riley was let go by the Portland Thorns and was able to get a new coaching position five months later for the team Flash. Riley is not the only coach to be passed around the organization with little to no punishment for their actions.

According to CBS News, the report focuses on Riley, Christy Holly of Racing Louisville, and Rory Dames of the Chicago Red Stars. It goes into depth regarding the coaches’ actions and what their individual teams did in response.

This report talks in depth about how these coaches and other coaches are allowed to move from one team to another. They do this without any repercussions regarding their past behavior on other teams.

“Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women’s soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players,” the report reads.

The report goes on to highlight the steps that U.S. Soccer will take to address the recommendations in the report. These recommendations end up being a total of 172 pages.

According to ESPN, these recommendations include implementing an office of participant safety to oversee the USSF’s conduct policies, publishing soccer records from SafeSport, mandating a background check of all employees, and more.

The NWSL and USSF have had problems with systematic abuse since they were first formed. However, this report coming out is being seen as a turning point. These organizations and abusive coaches are being forced to face the consequences.

By: Aeden Evenson-McDermott

On Decision Day in MLS, the Loons hosted the Vancouver Whitecaps at home at Allianz Field. Coming into this game, there were high expectations and a good amount of pressure on the Loons to finally win a game after not winning a game in the previous six fixtures. If the Loons won they would be into the playoffs! A loss would be the end of the season and a tie would get them over the line but only receiving the seventh spot. As for Vancouver, they would have to win the game outright.

The final game of the season at home would be crucial in order for the Loons to have the home team momentum. The record setting number of fans echoing voices boosted the Loons momentum and would help the team through the match.

Vancouver would be off to the start early with a few beautiful opportunities to score against the Loons, especially in the 6th minute when Vancouver was in front of the goal and almost scored. They would also have a few other chances but none could reach the back net. Loon’s goalkeeper, Dayne St. Clair had glorious saves and made sure the ball stayed out of the net.

After a nerving start, the Loons got composed and in the 17th minute, Argentine midfielder Franco Fragapane rolled the ball into the bottom right corner. 1-0 loons!

Throughout the remaining time of the first half and even into the second half, both the Loons and the Whitecaps showed their progressive attacking chances going forward.

An All Star performance by goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, who also received the Man of the Match, helped the Loons keep a clean sheet (not since July 16) and not concede a goal vs Vancouver.

The end of Vancouver’s season would be when newly arrived midfielder Jonathan González slammed the ball into the back of the net in the 77th minute!

The Loons showed their character after some unfortunate matches in order to book their spot in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. They would receive the 6th spot and would make the playoffs for the 4th straight year!

Looking to Monday October 17th, the Loons will travel to Dallas to take on the 3rd spot team, FC Dallas, at 8:30 pm for the first round of the playoffs. Dallas is a strong team but results have not been the best for them as of late. T

he Loons will have to prove once again how they can play anybody day in day out in order for a victory. It should be a good game and a true test for both teams. The MLS Playoffs should be exciting and best of luck to all teams!

By: Dylan Moore

Group A: Looking at the standings in this group, you would be initially surprised. But anyone who has watched this group knows Napoli’s undefeated record is no fluke. After a 3-0 thrashing of Liverpool, Napoli showed their true intent in this group stage. The Italian team has taken Europe by storm, along with their new star Georgian player, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. 

As for the rest of the group, things are going as expected. Aside from the previously mentioned loss to Napoli, Liverpool has dominated the ties as expected. Meanwhile, Ajax and Rangers have scrambled for the leftover points, Ajax obtaining the lone win in a 4-0 destruction on Rangers. 

Group B: On the note of surprising group standings, here we have group B. Perennial bottom 3rd & 4th place CL group finishers Club Brugge have put in a great shift this UCL season, topping their group with 10 points. 

To the surprise of many, it’s Porto and not Atletico Madrid that are in second place. Not surprising to anyone, is Leverkusen’s last place standing, given their poor form all season. New manager Xabi Alonso hopes to change the seemingly doomed fate of the German side. As things stand, second place is anyone’s game.

Group C:  This year’s group of death has been fascinating yet unsurprising, as these groups always seem to be. The ever unfortunate Viktoria Plzen is yet to even get a point, as European juggernauts Bayern Munchen are yet to drop any. 

The only surprising result thus far is Barcelona’s underperformance. They have been unable to get a win against Inter, regardless of their impressive additions in the recent transfer window. Inter looks to hang on to the 2nd spot as Barcelona faces the daunting task of playing Bayern yet again. 

Group D: This group has been in utter chaos. With the amount of games left, any team could end up in any position. Aside from Tottenham coming out to lead the group after a rocky start, there are yet to be many storylines besides the even-matched teams thus far.

Group E: On the note of close groups, we have group E. The 2020 champions sit atop the group with 7 points, but RB Salzburg are very close behind. This is yet another group where any team could finish anywhere. This is surprising, considering the reputation of both Salzburg and Zagreb to finish in the lower 2 spots of the group regularly. 

Group F: The last UCL group is seemingly set up for reigning champions Real Madrid to easily qualify for the round of 16. Whether or not you believe this, they are certainly taking advantage of their easier group. Although this group is rather bland, Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk had an electric game this last matchday, with a bloodied-up Antonio Rudiger scoring a last minute header. 

Group G: The story from this group has been Erling Haaland playing his old team. His wonder goal against Borussia Dortmund has propelled City to a much-expected first place in the group. Rounding out this rather uneven group is Sevilla and Copenhagen, who have both underwhelmed as expected. 

Group H: This group raises many eyebrows. Initially, you are attracted to fallen giant Juventus with a measly 3 points sitting in 3rd. But the team that really deserves credit is Maccabi Haifa. The Israeli team managed to win 2-0 against Juventus in the most recent match.

All this being said, all credit to Benefica, who have really made this group competitive, due to powerhouse PSG’s mediocre performance.

In the vast majority groups, plenty is still at stake in these last 2 match weeks. Lots to look forward to as a fan of the game, with many surprise teams popping up to take advantage of their group, and many teams looking to surprise us still. Expect an article reviewing the group stage in the weeks to come.  

All images taken from:

• https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/standings/

By: Dylan Moore

The greatest league in the world has done it again. After an unusually long break due to both the untimely death of Queen Elizabeth II and an international break right after, the English Premier League is back in action for the first time since September 18th. To say the weekend’s results made up for time lost would be a drastic understatement. 

Arsenal vs Tottenham: This year’s edition of the North London Derby comes with extra high stakes early in the season. Arsenal comes into the week on top of the league, with Tottenham 1 game back. For the game itself, it was chippy as usual, with Tottenham’s Emerson Royale receiving a red card in minute 62 as the London-based sides combined for 20 total fouls.

For the scoring, Arsenal’s Thomas Partey opened the game up with a 20th minute strike, only for the prolific Harry Kane of Tottenham to even it at 1-1 before halftime. Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka of Arsenal scored (in the 49th and 67th minute respectively), as Arsenal won the game by a final of 3-1.

As exciting as the game was, Arsenal seemed to have a firm grasp on the pace of the game, finishing with a dominant 65% possession. 

Liverpool vs Brighton: Jurgen Klopp and his Liverpool side are off to a very rocky start. Their title challenge seems to already be looking like more and more of a fight for 4th or even 5th as they continue to drop points. With this being said, you can’t take this entertaining 3-3 draw away from Brighton, who some would argue deserved to win.

The Leandro Trossard hat trick showed that even under new management, the Seagulls will still be a very frustrating fixture for any and all Premier League sides. To Liverpool’s credit, Bobby Firmino’s brace and their 54% possession kept them in the game. But we would be talking about a completely different situation if Brighton’s Adam Webster didn’t score an own goal to give Liverpool their 3rd goal of the day. Liverpool fans, be concerned. 

Fulham vs Newcastle: Fulham looked to be in deep waters early on, with a red card on Nathaniel Chalobah and conceding a goal to Newcastle striker Callum Wilson before minute 15. By the halftime whistle, Miguel Almiron picked up his first of 2 goals on the day followed by a Sean Longstaff goal. Almiron picked up his second in minute 57, and Fulham’s Bobby Reid scored a completely irrelevant goal in the 88th to bring the final score to 4-1 Newcastle.

As you would expect, Newcastle dominated the match with 69% possession and well over double of Fulham’s total passes (605 to 281).

Southampton vs Everton: Although this may not have been the most exciting game of the weekend, Everton vs Southampton surprisingly packed a solid punch in the form of a flurry of goals. It remained a bland 0-0 game through the 1st half, although Southampton’s Joe Aribo made sure to change that quickly with a goal in the 49th minute. Frank Lampard’s Everton responded well, with a Connor Coady and Dwight McNeil goal in the 52nd and 54th respectively. Given Everton’s quick response, Southampton couldn’t push back, even though they did hold 55% possession throughout the match. 

Crystal Palace vs Chelsea: The clash between the 2 London sides was quite exciting. Crystal Palace looked to play spoiler to Chelsea’s top 4 push with a quick goal from Odsonne Edouard in the 7th minute. There would be no more goals until Chelsea’s new number 9, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, scored in the 30th minute.

For the remaining 59 minutes, Chelsea’s 64% possession seemed to not be enough to leave Selhurst Park with 3 points. This is until Connor Gallagher, who spent last season on loan at Palace, heroically scored a 90th-minute winner to give Chelsea, and new manager Graham Potter, the 3 points they so desperately were after. 

Bournemouth vs Brentford: I’ll be honest, there isn’t much to report on in this game. A 0-0 draw between Bournemouth and Brentford saw its chances, but nothing went through. Brentford was able to display their superiority over the troubled Bournemouth side with 58% possession throughout the match. Both sides will be looking for a win in the coming weeks as they hope to maintain their mid-table places. 

West Ham vs Wolves: Although the Wolverhampton side did suffer a 2-0 loss in the final game of Saturday, they dominated the ball with 61% possession. With that being said, West Ham was lethal when they had the ball, putting up 5 shots on Wolves’ Jose Sa.

New signing Gianlucca Scamacca scored a brilliant goal in the 29th minute, followed up by a Jared Bowen strike in the 54th to bring us to our 2-0 conclusion. Wolves sacked Bruno Lage following the loss, and a slightly underwhelming 10th place position, given their hot start to their last campaign. 

Manchester City Vs Manchester United: If you know much about soccer, or the current state of it, this is the match you have been waiting for me to cover. The Manchester Derby had all the fireworks in a 9 goal thriller. Man City’s 6-3 victory makes it seem like a much closer match than it actually was.

It was 4-0 City at halftime, with a 2- goal masterclass from both Erling Haaland and Phil Foden. United players came out of the dressing room with their dignity on the line and managed to play a bit better in the second half. They opened the scoring with a wonder goal from $100 million signing Antony in the 56th.

After maintaining most of the possession, United conceded twice, giving both Haaland and Foden hat tricks in the 64th and 73rd minutes respectively.

Given that the score was 6-1, City slightly went on the breaks, although United’s Anthony Martial didn’t relent, scoring 2 late goals in the 84th and the 90th to bring us to our electric 6-3 final score.

Easily the game of the week, and Haaland’s 5 goal contributions easily made him player of the week, as the Norwegian giant continues to show his dominance over world soccer. 

Leeds United vs Aston Villa: To finish out the weekend, we had a rather bland 0-0 draw between 2 middling sides in Leeds and Aston Villa. Aside from Villa’s control in possession (57%) and their absurd 7 shots on target to Leeds’ measly 1, the only thing to report on was a red card. This was picked up in minute 48 by electric new Leeds signing Lewis Sinisterra.

Shoutout to Leeds goalie Islan Meslier, who stopped all 7 shots (as previously mentioned) and saved 2.5 more goals than expected. 

Leicester vs Nottingham Forest: The only game to be played on Monday between Forest and Lecisester was not much of an exciting one, although not for lack of goals. Leicsters 4-0 thrashing of Forest gave them a much-needed first win over the season, especially against a relegation rival like Nottingham.

Although the possession was rather even (at 52% for Leicester and 48% for Nottingham), Leicester’s James Maddison put in a shift, scoring 2 and adding an assist to easily achieve man of the match honors. Well played Leicester. 

Week 9 was yet another amazing week for the Premier League. The exciting Derby matches and absurd hat trick performances made it very entertaining. Look for Man United to bounce back following their terrible performance against City, and Erling Haaland of Manchester City to continue his form.