Quick Hits
- MLS: Unearthing the slowest MLS player in every position
- NWSL: How the OL Reign won the NWSL Shield
- USL: Oakland Roots more than recovered after a bizarre midseason coaching change
We’re back with another edition of the Weekend Recap. Every Monday, we make it easier for you to keep up with the most interesting and important things in American soccer.
Today, we’re taking you through some of the past weekend’s key storylines, including the OL Reign winning the NWSL Shield, the slowest players in MLS, and Oakland’s form in the USL Championship.
If you haven’t already checked out TAKLD.com, what are you waiting for? Our new sister site launches this Tuesday (10/4).
MLS
Lowery: Unearthing the slowest MLS player in every position
I don’t know about you, but even with LAFC’s Supporters’ Shield win, this weekend’s slate of MLS games felt a bit slow to me. Maybe it’s the fact that the league just came back from international break. Or maybe it’s that we’re so close to next weekend’s Decision Day.
Either way, things just moved slowly for me. And you know what? Sometimes things move slowly for MLS players, too. Or more accurately, sometimes MLS players move slowly. Instead of our usual Weekend Recap style, I’m changing things up today. Today, we’re looking at the slowest player in MLS at every position.
Because professional athletes? They’re just like us...[Subscribe]
NWSL
Cascone: How the OL Reign won the NWSL Shield
In her 100th NWSL appearance, all of which have been with the OL Reign, Megan Rapinoe came up huge. Seven minutes into the game, Rapinoe scored the eventual game-winning goal that secured the Reign their first NWSL Shield since 2015.
For the Reign to even have a chance at winning the Shield, though, they needed some help from NJ/NY Gotham FC. The East-coasters delivered.
Gotham battled the Portland Thorns to a 3-3 draw, snapping their league-record 12-game losing streak and tying their first game of the season on the way to playing spoiler for the Thorns. Because the Thorns failed to secure all three points against Gotham, the door opened for Rapinoe and the Reign to claim the shield… and they didn’t let the opportunity slip...[Subscribe]
USL
Morrissey: Oakland Roots more than recovered after a bizarre midseason coaching change
A midseason coaching change is never easy, especially when a rival swoops in during a playoff race to poach your manager.
The Oakland Roots found themselves in that very position in August when Juan Guerra bolted for Phoenix Rising during his first year on the job in California. Assistant Noah Delgado, a former Puerto Rico international and part-time assistant for the Salvadoran national team, was elevated to the head job on an interim basis. He took over a side sitting in ninth place, four points off of the playoffs.
Fast forward to the present and the Roots are up to sixth place in the West and control their postseason destiny. Delgado’s tactical tweaks have improved Guerra’s system and earned 14 points out of a possible 21 since the managerial fiasco...[Subscribe]
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