Women’s soccer remains in good hands. And good feet. Both nationally and locally.
Watching the U.S. National team blitz the Republic of Ireland 4-0 on Thursday night it provided a soothing balm on concerns. Several top Americans were missing, including Coloradans Mallory Swanson (pregnancy), Lindsey Heaps (rest after European schedule) and Sophia Wilson (pregnancy). Swanson, Wilson and Trinity Rodman, out with a back issue, form the Triple Espresso of USWNT.
But the team remains caffeinated with an infusion of youth. Credit coach Emma Hayes for building out age classes in the federation and debuting 21 players over the last year — creating a bright future.
“Honestly our biggest strength could be our depth. The Ireland coach was saying it the other day, that you could make 15 to 20 changes on the U.S. team and be fine,” Julie Foudy, legendary U.S. player and current analyst for TNT Sports, told The Post. “I would have said a year ago, I don’t know if that’s true. Now, she is actually right.”
There is something charming about the women’s team. While we have been told for five decades how the U.S. men would take over the world, the women continue to do it. They are in a transition period after moving on from high-profile players, yet they should be favored to win the FIFA World Cup in 2027 in Brazil.
“Our standard is always the same. That is what has made this team so good over so many years even with so many new faces coming in,” USWNT standout defender Naomi Girma said. “When you wear this crest, you understand that is your responsibility and you always want to live up to that.”
It is clear women’s sports are a movement not a moment. And it goes beyond USWNT. Denver’s pro team begins play in the NWSL next March. The franchise, whose ownership group includes Peyton Manning, has secured more than 10,000 season tickets, setting a new league record.
“It’s been fantastic. This is such a good soccer community. They are crushing it. I am an owner with Angel City, so I love it,” Foudy said. “It’s just buzzing from the go. It’s a really good time.”
Nuggets’ nuggets: The Nuggets press conference for co-executives Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer was underwhelming. Nickelback would blush at the amount of clichés spewed. This tandem could work, with Wallace excelling at player relationships and Tenzer crunching numbers. But here is what is important: Teams need to know who to call to get business done. If there is confusion on who is in charge and opposing GMs decide to phone Josh Kroenke instead, then this risky arrangement will backfire.
On the Rox: After advising Walker Monfort to push for the firing of GM Bill Schmidt, a flurry of texts came in, panning the Rockies’ business model. The front office is like a hot dog. The more fans know, the tougher it is to swallow. One call I would make is to Dodgers vice president and assistant GM Alex Slater. He is known for his high baseball IQ, while operating with toughness and honesty. He is the type of executive the Rockies need to change their future.
That’s not His Name: Mets reliever Richard Lovelady requested to be called by his nickname, Dicky. He later flip-flopped, saying he preferred Richard. Then, the Mets cut him. Time to go back to his first choice, and if the big leagues don’t work, join the Savannah Bananas.
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