USWNT thumps Paraguay, Spirit forfeit, D.C. United & NWSL news, and more: Freedom Kicks for 9/17/2021

Good morn...uh, afternoon! I fell asleep before getting to these Freedom Kicks, but there’s plenty to talk about, so we’re going to just go now, about seven hours or so behind schedule. Don’t get cozy listening to podcasts at midnight if you still have work to do.

Thanks to doing the thing on Wednesday, Ola Kamara and Bill Hamid are on the MLS dot com team of the week:

Kamara also got the North American Soccer Reporters player of the week nod, which is cool considering that there were two hat tricks in MLS on the night:

United held their pre-game media availability yesterday afternoon, here’s a brief thread of notable quotes from Hernán Losada:

This video from the team on the move to officially name the supporters end the Chico Stand came out on Wednesday, but I wanted to make sure people saw it. So glad that DCU history is being honored like this:

Woodbridge resident Jeremy Garay invited to compete again with El Salvador’s National Soccer Team | Inside Nova
Jeremy Garay will get some big games with DCU at Audi Field in the future, but he’ll get one with El Salvador in one week.

NWSL declares Washington Spirit’s postponed game at Portland Thorns a forfeit | Black and Red United
It felt like this has been coming for a little while now, and yesterday NWSL made the move official: the Spirit now have two forfeit losses. From USWNT camp, Andi Sullivan (who scored her first two goals for the national team last night) said she hopes this is the end of this kind of bad news. I couldn’t agree more.

September 2021 USWNT Friendly: USA 9-0 Paraguay - Carli Lloyd puts on a show | Stars and Stripes FC
Sullivan scored those goals in a 9-0 rout of Paraguay, cleaning up a loose ball on a corner for the first, and glancing a header from a free kick for the second. The same teams face off again on Tuesday.

NWSL Players Association becomes AFL-CIO affiliate | ESPN
The latest from the NWSLPA is that they’re an AFL-CIO affiliate, which means more access to a wealth of knowledge gleaned from so many other unions pushing for more.

‘It is a very draconian system’: The NWSL Players Association’s fight for its first CBA | Just Women’s Sports
Great piece here on what the NWSLPA is looking for as they negotiate what would be the first-ever collective bargaining agreement between them and NWSL. It’s not just about better salaries, either, thanks to the myriad issues around the league right now.

In some news that is very good and cool, DCU announcer Moises Linares, among his many roles, is adding “author” to the list:

Interview: Diaspora United Podcast Hosts Courtney Stith and André Carlisle | Burn It All Down
In more good and cool news, B&RU’s own André Carlisle is a guest on Burn It All Down to talk NWSL. Eventually André will be on every single podcast that there is.

Justin Morrow announces retirement at end of 2021 season | TorontoFC.ca
Justin Morrow has had arguably the best career of any left back in MLS history, and is a driving force behind Black Players for Change, so we’re talking about an all-time great.

‘A truly abstract, different type of player’: Gerd Müller, the NASL’s quietest superstar | The Athletic
Pablo Maurer is writing about the NASL, which makes this a must-read.

Alright, that’s what I had set aside before I dozed off last night, so let’s call it a post. Have a nice evening!