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EXPECTED OWN GOALS: NWSL Week 2 — Portland Thorns Go Spelunking on the Seattle Reign
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Wait, WHAT?!? The Portland Thorns beat the Seattle Reign 2-0 in their Cascadia Rivalry home opener, but did it playing with only nine players for 40 whole minutes. This is unprecedented for a number of reasons. After whipping around the rest of the league (where wind, red cards, and a host of other silliness drove results), the guys try to figure out what signal can be pulled from the noise of a raucous derby that saw the shorthanded squad take home all three points.
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Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
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EXPECTED OWN GOALS: Are Angel City and the San Diego Wave the Two Best Teams in the NWSL Right Now?
01:03:27|Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!! Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!It's a Southern California cavalcade on xOG this week! The San Diego Wave put away another opponent with panache and efficiency this week, while Angel City continue their best run of form in club history. Are these two I-5-connected clubs the most dangerous in the league as we round into the final sprint to the playoffs? Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!Follow us on TikTok and InstagramDid we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.comWant to play Road to 75? Click here!Art by Eli ElbogenMusic by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
EXPECTED OWN GOALS: xOG Extra Time — The USWNT Roster is Primed to Take On Spain
32:58|Enjoy this unlocked bonus episode on us, and join our Patreon for only $6/month to get more exclusive bonus content!!! Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!Emma Hayes announced the latest roster for the U.S. Women's National Team's upcoming friendlies against Spain. This may be the most consequential games of Emma Hayes's tenure barring the Olympics. Did she pick the right players? Are her philosophies on player selection and developmental environment the kind that will help the USWNT win the World Cup next year? DID ASHLEY SANCHEZ MAKE IT???? The guys chat it all through.Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!Follow us on TikTok and InstagramDid we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.comWant to play Road to 75? Click here!Art by Eli ElbogenMusic by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
EXPECTED OWN GOALS: Vlatko Andonovski HIRED!! Is THIS How the Chicago Stars Rebuild? With Lesley Ryder!
01:06:12|Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!! Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!It didn't take long for Vlatko Andonovski to find a new job. As the new Chief Soccer Officer of the Chicago Stars, he has a massive task ahead to make the club competitive again. Lesley Ryder of Gal Pal Sports and Defector returns to the show to explain how Andonovski arrived in the Windy City, and what he has to do first. Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!Follow us on TikTok and InstagramDid we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.comWant to play Road to 75? Click here!Art by Eli ElbogenMusic by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
EXPECTED OWN GOALS: When Should You Fire Your Head Coach? It's More Complicated Than You Think.
01:09:46|Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!! Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now! Fabrice Gautrat's dismissal from the Houston Dash marks the fourth head coach to be fired this year. It feels like a lot. Is it, though? The guys put the NWSL head coach firings in context, and when is appropriate to fire a coach when they may not have as much impact on the field as we've always thought.Plus, it sucks that Trinity Rodman's presence or absence at Ben Shelton's U.S. Open final became a story. Like, a lot. Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!Follow us on TikTok and InstagramDid we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.comWant to play Road to 75? Click here!Art by Eli ElbogenMusic by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
EXPECTED OWN GOALS: Vlatko Andonovski FIRED?! Plus, How to Rebuild the Chicago Stars
01:09:01|Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!! Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now! The Chicago Stars are comfortably on track to be the worst team in NWSL history. They just sold Jameese Joseph to the Utah Royals, too. What's the plan, here? How can they get back to winning ways in a few years when the roster, front office, and coaching staff are either broken or in flux? The guys try to figure it out. Plus, why on earth did the Kansas City Current fire Vlatko Andonovski??? Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!Follow us on TikTok and InstagramDid we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.comWant to play Road to 75? Click here!Art by Eli ElbogenMusic by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
EXPECTED OWN GOALS: What Esther González's Departure from Gotham FC Means for the NWSL
54:27|Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!! Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!Esther González's mutual contract termination with Gotham FC back in July "for personal reasons" wasn't that unusual. Her quick signing with Al Qadsiah in Saudia Arabia did throw people for a loop. Guardian and Defector columnist Abigail Segel returns to the show to unpack why Esther may have done what she did, how aggrieved Gotham should feel, and what it says about the NWSL's place in the broader women's soccer ecosystem. Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!Follow us on TikTok and InstagramDid we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.comWant to play Road to 75? Click here!Art by Eli ElbogenMusic by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Can You Build a Champion?! xOG's Road to 75 Deathmatch!
50:31|Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!! Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!Evan is out this week but have no fear — we have a very special episode for y'all. Eric is joined by friends of the pod Kieran Doyle-Davis (ASA, creator of Road to 75) and Arianna Cascone (ESPN, EQZ) as they go head-to-head-to-head in a deathmatch of Meg Linehan's favorite viral WoSo game: Road to 75. Who will reign victorious? Who will crash out?Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!Follow us on TikTok and InstagramDid we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.comWant to play Road to 75? Click here!Art by Eli ElbogenMusic by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs

EXPECTED OWN GOALS: What Are the Kansas City Current, Exactly?
01:11:05|Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!! Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now! The guys burn through the rest of the weekend's action to get to their main story this week: the Kansas City Current. They're good, but they're also bad? But maybe not? But maybe yes when they don't have Temwa Chawinga? Or maybe they're unlucky? And what about the terrible away record? The guys parse all of it. Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series! Follow us on TikTok and Instagram Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com Art by Eli Elbogen Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs