GOOD FOLLOW - Darian Jenkins on NWSL Playoffs, + Caitlin Clark Tees Off, & More
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Who is Darian Jenkins and what insights does she offer about the NWSL?
Welcome to Good Follow, presented by DraftKings. I'm Megan Reyes. Joining me is Logan Hackett, and today's guest is former NWSL forward, current soccer analyst, and friend of the show, Darian Jenkins. Darian, it's so great to have you back on Good Follow.
What are the key matchups in the NWSL semifinals?
Yeah, it's great to be back. I was hyped when I heard that you guys wanted me back on today to talk. The final that we thought was going to be the final, but it's actually the semifinal, and all of the things happening at NWSL, it's going to be a good chat.
Well, let's jump right into it. And I'm always excited to learn from you because as we know, the NWSL semifinals are set and taking place this weekend. So on one side of the bracket, we have Orlando taking on Casey Curran and Gotham taking on Washington Spirit. Winners of both meeting next week at the NWSL championship in Kansas City. So you kind of mentioned it, Darian, but did we expect anything different than the top four teams making it to the semis? Slash, as you said, we have what we thought was a final happening in the semifinals.
No, not surprised at all. I think maybe could have been two months ago. People probably could have predicted that these were going to be the semifinal going into the final. Although I do wish we were seeing Orlando and Kansas City meet in the final. I think it's just going to be great getting this much excitement this early on before the NWSL championship is huge. Kansas City hosting it, I think, is massive. But I like these teams matching up. It's been really fun games throughout the season watching both of these, both the brackets match up against each other. And I will say on attacking third, we made brackets. Mine has yet to be busted. So I'm on the right track. I hope, yeah. If everything goes well this weekend, I'll have made it to the final with nothing going wrong. Knock on wood, famous last words. But I like this. I think especially even from the coaching perspective, these are really tactical technicians that almost play chess in the way that they play. So we're in for a good weekend of NWSL matches.
Okay, well, let's start with your former team, Orlando. They lost two of their final three regular season games, but they have looked really unstoppable, especially against Chicago last weekend, winning 4-1. Were those two losses the reset that you think the Pride may have needed heading into the playoffs?
How did Orlando prepare for the playoffs after a rocky finish?
I wouldn't even call it a reset. I think that they won the shield. They clinched a playoff spot, the number one seed. They nearly went undefeated through the season, which is so hard to do. I think that they rested their players that they needed to. They gave them a little bit of time to sit back. These losses didn't mean anything to Orlando, quite frankly. They have nothing to prove to anybody. And I like that when they did lose, they were like, yeah, who cares? Who else is got the shield we do so i think that they did it at the right time they let the star players take a little bit of a break they let other players who are also stars get minutes and look good i think it just added to maybe a little bit more of a chip on their shoulder going into playoffs to be like yeah that's why we let those two games slide but i don't think it reset them maybe it gave them an extra little little something to prove going into the playoffs
I liked on the broadcast how they shared that Seb Hines was like, listen, put the record and everything behind you. Like, we're here now in the moment. Like, we kind of start at zero. I think that says a lot about his coaching and also the players that are on the team. Logan, what stood out to you from Orlando last weekend?
They looked so good. I mean, we were just talking about the break. It did look like they kind of took a break, not so much reset, but they had other players having time. They kind of rested their star players and they look ready for playoffs. I mean, I don't know if the record really has anything to do with it. But I'm really interested now to see how they play against KC because you have to think about Chicago. They came in with no momentum whatsoever. Three losses I think they were coming off of. I mean, it wasn't, it didn't even look like a mid-season Chicago team. It just kind of looked depleted, especially when you take how strong Orlando was playing.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Who is Darian Jenkins and what insights does she offer about the NWSL?
0:13–0:26
2
What are the key matchups in the NWSL semifinals?
0:26–2:30
3
How did Orlando prepare for the playoffs after a rocky finish?
2:30–9:48
4
What should we expect from Washington Spirit in their upcoming game?
9:48–15:00
5
What can Portland learn from their recent playoff experience?
15:00–20:45
6
How did Bay FC's performance shape their playoff journey?
20:45–50:31
Speakers
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