Queens Pitch Episode 1

The Queens Pitch Podcast is a new podcast by two moms who are passionate about soccer and the Charlotte FC team. They want to provide a female perspective on the sport and highlight women's contributions. They also discuss the team's preseason, including player injuries and the competition for the starting goalkeeper position. They express excitement for the upcoming season and hope to engage with listeners for feedback and ideas. Welcome to the first episode of the Queens Pitch Podcast on a beautiful sunny day in Charlotte, North Carolina. I'm here with Kara, and I'm Bridget, and we are some moms of the Charlotte FC community. So this first episode, we would like to tell you a little bit about ourselves to get us going. My name's Bridget. I am a single mom to a 10-year-old daughter who loves soccer. She's been playing since she was four years old, and last year we decided to go to our first Charlotte FC game, and since then we've been completely hooked, and now I think she's addicted to soccer completely, totally. And Charlotte FC is number one on our radar, of course. Kara, would you like to tell us a little bit about you? Sure. I'm Kara. I am a parent to two children, a girl who's nine and a boy who's five, and both of them love soccer. And I've loved soccer since I was in middle school, and it's always been something I really, really enjoyed. But, you know, being a woman in sports, like, they don't have opportunities, and they didn't at the time, so it kind of fell off the radar because there's a lot of, you know, men's teams. We call the women's national team, so we have a big love of that. But there wasn't much around here locally that we could do other than get the kids and have them play. So when Charlotte FC came around, my husband and I, we were like, this is a no-brainer. We're getting tickets. We're going. And what was really awesome about Charlotte FC is that they made us love them. They really wanted to be out there and play, and so that's why I really care. We all really care about the team. That's how we feel, too. I think that the first game we went to, Lillian was like, Mama, can we come back to every game? And it's a little bit pricey, especially if you're trying to sit in some of the good seats and don't get to sit in the supporter section. But after you go to one or two, you do get addicted to it, and you start loving the players. You start getting the feel for the team and the community, and you just want to be a part of it. That's how we feel. And there's so many podcasts out there. There's a lot of wonderful, wonderful podcasts that are ran by men that have a lot of the male perspective, but there's none out there with the female perspective. Right. We listen to a lot of them, and we've had a lot of women guests on them, and they're awesome. But we didn't hear a whole lot of women talking regularly on podcasts. Right. And so we thought, well, let's come out with one by the women, for the women, but also include other family members, too. We always love the men. We love because, you know, they are a male team, so we have to love our men. We also have sons and daughters. So we want to make this a family-friendly format, but we also want to have a little bit of the statistic side of it but also a little bit more of the personal side as well. We're going to bring the female perspective a little bit more so than those other ones, those other great podcasts that are already out there. Yeah. So it would be awesome if anyone has a, you know, person who wants to talk, a female, whether Charlotte FC employed or not, you know, we'd love to talk to you. Right. If you're in the field of soccer and you're a female, this podcast definitely wants to highlight you, highlight the female and what the females do bring to this game, especially the women's sport but also the MLS. I honestly don't think that the MLS team, any of the MLS teams, much less the Charlotte FC could run without the women. That's my opinion. For women in sports, you know, at times it's been unfriendly among many areas and groups and things like that. But what's been really awesome about Charlotte FC is that they have a lot of women employed and they love women voices. Hearing Jessica Charman talk on the radio is one of my favorite things each week. I'll watch the game and I'll put her in my ear at the same time so I can hear them, her and Willie P. And so it's been really awesome to hear women's voices. And so it's been really great to also see women included. And so that's why I think this is an important thing to do. Right. So we can highlight that. But like I said, we can also, we're definitely going to talk about Charlotte FC. That's our main goal. We'll talk about the players, about what's going on. And if you have any ideas or anything that you see missing from some of the other podcasts that you'd like us to do, just send us a message, let us know. We're definitely open to anything out there. So now that we've got a little bit of our background, a little bit of what we want to do, so now let's just get to the guts of it. Let's start talking about Charlotte FC in the preseason. I don't know about you, but all winter long in the offseason I was following their Instagrams or Twitter. I just wanted to keep up with them and see what was going on. I know I saw Veronica out there grinding every day. And Marks and Armour, I think, were with them a lot. Shinsuke was enjoying his time off. Nuno as well. I really did enjoy seeing them. So I was super excited about preseason and them coming back. And then all of a sudden I'll be after them after the World Cup. So preseason come back, they're back started. And then they went to Florida to train. And had brought some of their younger team members down there and got them all together, which was really awesome, especially the new draftees. Yes, exactly. Went all down there. Yes, new signings. So all that's been very exciting, like adding Enzo Capetti and Ashley Westwood. Exactly. So we were on edge of our seats because we hadn't got the Enzo back yet. We didn't know the Enzo was coming. We knew he was coming, but we hadn't got the formal announcement. So we were just waiting on him to join the preseason. Everything exciting. Then we started noticing in the photos there was no Kalina. Yes, we did. Yes. We were like, you're missing a key person. Well, we also noticed, of course, no Sliderski. Yes. So we knew something was up. Where's Kalina? Where's Sliderski? Right. Because those are, you know, some iconic players, faces of the team in many ways. Definitely ones that you want to see out there practicing. So we knew something was up. And then we heard Sliderski was with the MLS side. So we were like, okay, that's cool. Maybe. Yep, media day. You can go watch it on MLS season pass on Apple Plus. Yes, especially that new jacket that's coming out. It's pretty tight. Going to have to get one of those. But then the word came out that Kalina had an injury. So we start off the season. We were super excited. And then we hear, oh, no, our starting volley has been injured and will be out for a couple months, I think, at least. So that was a little, probably like I would say like a punch in the gut a little bit. Yeah, you want to make sure you were like, okay, is he still with the team? What's up? Why haven't we seen him? But with this injury, you're like, okay, back injury, that sounds serious. So you're also going, okay, wait a minute, wait a minute. If it's a back injury, that means he's going to be out for a while, right? Right. But when Letoncio talked about him in a presser, you know, he talked about that he doesn't seem like it's going to be too, too long. That it was just something that needed to be fixed beforehand. And that now was a great time to get it fixed. You know, he'd come back to the States, get it fixed, and be here in Charlotte. And so they could watch him, you know, and monitor his training, monitor his fitness and health, which is all good things. And then, so we're all wondering, is he going to be ready for the opening day, 25th? Yeah, I don't think he'll be on opening day. I don't think he's even, he's not even in practice with the team. Right. But I know that that worried a lot of us. I know that we have two goalies that we both like a lot, but neither one of them are our starting goalies. So that's a big thing. And now coming to play your first week of preseason, you start out with no goalie. Yeah. Or with one that you're not really sure who it's going to be. And I think for a new defense, especially with Karuha being out, that was just something to shake up the team from the get-go that first week. It's like, oh, guess what? Now we're going to have to start over our whole new defense with a new goalie. Because no matter, I'm not the best on, have the best knowledge as far as defense and MLS, but I assume that if you switch out a goalie, that's going to shake up your back line a little bit. Right. Because the leadership from the goalie is that that's who communicates with you. That's who tells you to fill holes. That's who is typically being a leader because they have to cover their goal. Right. So that, you know, you were expecting, okay, well, we also had Suzniaga at the end of last season. Mark Scott sometimes during, you know, the Open Cup last year, and he was also, you know, second for the longest time, always on the bench for a lot of the games, you know, if something did happen to Kalina, which, you know, we're always studying there. Yeah. We've got two great, two great awesome goalies stepping up here. So we've got Suzniaga and, and Mark's here. So the question is who gets it, right? Who gets it. Yes. And, you know, we both have our own opinions on that. And some of them are very biased. But I think it's also just great that we have two goalies that really want this. They want this opportunity. They want it to happen so they're out there. They're doing what they've got to do to make it happen. And I think that with him, with Kalina being out, this doesn't give them that much more drive to do. And I actually like that because I think, I mean, I think we can see some good things out of it, whoever starts, you know. And maybe both of them get to start and we can, you know, have a three-roster goalie team. That's what I want. I think that would be great. Okay. Well, then, so we get through this first week. We have the news about Kalina. And then the second week of preseason, tragedy strikes. I know I was at work and then all of a sudden I'm excited about the day. I'm refreshing Twitter, all the news feeds to see what's going on at camp. And then you get the news that Anton Watts has passed away. Yeah. Completely devastating. It was completely devastating. It was to the point where I think for a couple days I didn't even want to talk about soccer. I didn't want to have anything to do with it. I was like, how in the world can we even think about going on with the season? What do we do for the guys? Yeah. The moment instinct kicks in and you're like, just bring them home and let's just hug them all. Let's just hug them all. Yeah. We cared a lot about them and how they must have been hurting and feeling at the time. And just, you know, you can't even fathom this type of tragedy when it strikes. And they were all there in Florida and had to come home without one of them, one of your Charlottesville family. So it was really nice that they were able to come back and be together as a team. Right. And the team was there for each other. Yeah. And was helping them out. And I think it actually bonds them a little bit. I mean, obviously a tragedy is going to bond you and make you closer, but I actually think it changes some of the attitudes in the players. I think that it's gotten them a way closer, especially with Enzo when he showed up that day that he just got off the plane and then comes straight there. Right. And I know when I was sitting there and I saw him walk out, I was like, you know, that's just right there shows me what a great person Enzo is on the inside. Because you hear all the rumors about all the play and his past, but then you see this and you're like, well, then maybe there's a little bit of a different side of it that you don't see. So I think that although it's a tragedy, I think it could build our team together. It was really a great show of support for Enzo to come and just getting off the plane, you know, there's a lot of details to coordinate and, you know, family and, I mean, I've moved. It's a lot of things to do. And his wife is pregnant. Yes. And so then to come and show support, to be there for his teammates, which is really great to see. Yeah, I think that just shows how tight our team is. It's more of like a family atmosphere, and I like that. I really, really like that. I think that's one of the hardest things about being a fan of the team is, is I get so attached to these players. I don't want anything to happen to them. I don't want them to be transferred. I don't want anything to go. Right. You really care about them. Yeah. It was like this was like a family, you know, like part of the family, and it's just sad. And then I was eerie going to the stadium for the celebration of life. It was great that we got that opportunity to do that. Yeah. It's just a different atmosphere. So I'm ready to get back into the match on the 25th and have just, you know, we're going to win the season, I think, for Anton. I think that the boys are going to pull together. I think that's what we're going to do for him. Yeah. We definitely want to keep him in our memories and let you know that we will keep him present in everything that we talk about with Charlotte FC. Okay. So now we've got past the first two weeks of preseason. Let's talk a little bit about, before we talk about the games that we were not able to watch because they were behind closed doors, which is, you know, that's. We're crushed, but it's fine. That's another discussion we'll have to get on that next year, maybe do a little stream and project. But let's talk about the new signings that we have now with Westwood and Enzo and what impact we think that they will make on our team. Especially let's start with, we've talked a little bit about Enzo already. Let's talk about Westwood a little bit. Okay. So, yeah, he came from Burnley and, you know, so he's got a whole lot of talent that we have yet to see. And what's really awesome is that he is all over the pitch. You know, he's a hard worker from what we've heard. He, and that's the one thing that really stuck out about our team this past year is that you saw the people out on the pitch. They wanted to be there. They were all over everywhere. Especially anyone. If anyone watches for their ski through the entire game, let me tell you that man does not stop. He is all over that pitch. I don't understand how people can say he doesn't work hard. Cause he is all the time, a hundred percent working hard. And that's one of the things I just recently rewatched the very first game we had last year, DC. And you could tell at the beginning that our style, of course, you know, we were just out of preseason, just learning things like that coming together. But if you watch that and know what you have seen this past season, you can see the difference in, in the press, especially and the work rate is the most important. And I think Ashley Westwood is going to fit right into that really awesomely. He is a shot taker. You know, he's a, he's a specialist. Yes. And so we know that that was a, a need, especially with Alcibar you know, gone on to a different team. So can't wait to see what he, he will bring, but he also seems like he's fitting in really well with the entire team. He said, it feels like home to him and one of his pressers. So I think it brings the experience to the table, whereas we have coaches that just, you know, that is now a captain, but he's not on the field. And we did get to keep a full, thank goodness. I really think that's great, but we have, we get a little bit more experience out there for, for definitely for your midfielders, you know, for your strikers area where you have the benders, you know, and the Broncos that are just trying to continue and the Derrick Jones is trying to grow at that spot. So I think that that helps having him here and, you know, he said that to me, it's like a fatherly figure kind of, you know, like, Hey, I'll take you under my wing and mentor. Yeah. What has he seen from the Premier League? So yeah, he'll bring that experience. He'll bring that calm. You know, he's, he's probably not going to be phased on the pitch, right. If things are tense, if things are tight, you know, it's not going to bother him. He's going to help calm down with the rest of the players. It'll be interesting to see whether he and how he and Jones kind of work in this, because doesn't he play DM, right. So can we have them both on the field at the same time? Right. Right. That's what we're wondering is, is obviously what's going to be out there. He's really important. Exactly. But how does this affect Jones? I think we're, I think that's a good problem to have. We have so many good players that we don't know how to build a team because we have too many players. We can probably put two of them. That's how I think. The depth is excellent this season. I'm really excited about that. Okay. And now on to Enzo. Obviously everybody's been talking about Enzo for a while. We know him. We've been talking about Enzo since back in late October when it was Conzio. Yeah, just a rumor. Went down there to see him and we were hoping and everybody was like, there's no way, but there is a way. And then we, he's here. He's here. He's playing with the team. He got to start. Exactly. He looks like a beast just in the outfit. I mean, he's got the tattoos with the crowns on his arms already. I think he's ready just to fit in with the Queen City. I'm excited to see as far as what he brings. I think he pushes the other guys. Yeah. He has that alpha, in my mind, he has that alpha attitude. Like, you know, yeah, he knows he's good. I mean, he's going to come in and he's bringing it. So keep up with me or I'll leave you in the dust. And I think if he can reign that in, and I think sadly, you know, with the tragedy of Anton, I think that actually did help end zone away because it knocked him down a little bit when he first came and humbled him to the point where he wasn't coming in with that attitude where I'm the top dog. I mean, he knows he's still got that, but I think he's got more of a – He came in with the mentality to be a teammate. Right. He came in with that teammate. Support a teammate. Yeah. And I think that's one of the things he was lacking in Argentina. And I think that I've seen that change in him. It's really excited me because if we can get that and get that – We want him to feel like he belongs. Exactly. And then once he feels like he belongs and then he can start scoring and then we have that. And for Darcy, I just think that it's going to be unstoppable. To me, I think we're going to be unstoppable. Yeah. I hope so. I certainly hope that comes true. I really, really do, too. Yeah. So it'll be interesting to see, you know, where LaFontaine really decides to shake up the front line here because, you know, we had Swiderski at the very beginning of the year. He was up top, right? But they weren't getting balls to him and he likes to go deep in the mid. So, like, the balls weren't getting there to him and he needs to be able to get those there. Right. And so that wasn't happening. So when Letonzio moved him to the 10 and he got to be the one to move balls around the pitch, you saw a lot more flexibility and that's when you saw scoring opportunities and connections happen because he is just so intelligent with the ball and where it's going and where it needs to go that he saw opportunities. So we're hoping that Capetti is this other end of the pivot, you know? So they're going to operate in kind of opposites to each other and be able to connect really, really well. And so that's going to be really, really exciting. And then you have Vargas out there that put crosses in. He's had those crosses and then Josiak's crosses were, from what I hear, you know, since we didn't get to see it again, a little, you know, a little sticky about that one. I heard his crosses were really great in preseason as well. So I'm just excited. I think that our entire team has like a motivation in these preseason games to not only win but to be the best team that they can be and win because, you know, in the end, I like to win it. That's my thing. Yeah. Especially this year. We're ready. We're ready. I'm sure we definitely go. Okay. So let's talk a little bit about the preseason games. We've had three of them all behind closed – well, one behind closed doors and then two that they did not stream. Yeah. Out at Coachella Invitational. So the first one was against LA Galaxy. That one was behind closed doors, so we didn't get to see any of that. Yep. But Vinny Melo scored. So, you know, he's got some magic that we can't wait to see this season. I'm really excited to see him and where he fits in because he's up there too. You have, you know, Petty and Vargas and Swiderski, and now we have Melo too. So it's just like, I mean. Right. Team in action. Yes. Let's see what he can do. We heard a lot about him last year, but, yeah. Right. Right. Let's see if he can do more than just dance around in the Cerminty costume this year. Okay. That's not confirmed. That's not confirmed. Okay. So we had the two at Coachella this week, the D.C. United and the Vancouver one game. Both of those, I don't really understand the invitational thing. I feel like I understand a preseason, but to me you just go to win. You try to play to win, but I guess. Yeah, just try to get your match ready with some, you know, challenging teams, which is so they must have liked the competition, you know, to get out there, get a little more visibility, play some teams they don't often get to play, especially in beautiful California. Right, with that glue that they had from their private facility. Way better than over here. It's been cold. Exactly. So the first, the D.C. United game, we came out with a win in that game. So I think it was Vargas scored in that one. Vargas scored, yes. We also had Swiderski scored in that one. Yep. It was Vargas games and then Swiderski. Yeah. So right there. Oh, and we forgot about games in that area, too. So you've got games up there with the Swiderski and Capetti. Yep. And Mello and Josiak. I know I say his name wrong. I try to do the best that I can with that and Vargas. So, I mean, we really just, I just, I'm just really excited about that. For this group, you can't tell. I'm excited. And then we had the Vancouver game where they played three periods, like a hockey tournament. Yeah, which is really interesting. We're like, is that for real? Yes, yes. Well, we didn't know because they posted it, and then they took the tweet down, and then we weren't really sure. We didn't know. But I think that the guys got a lot of play, at least from being able to see what they put on the Vancouver Twitter site. We got to see a lot of the shots that were made on us. Yeah. We got to see Pablo make a good save, a couple good saves, and then we got to see Marks make a couple good saves as well. So I think overall the preseason has looked good for everybody involved. Yeah, and that was a great idea for Vancouver to do three periods because, you know, they got to give essentially both strings enough match readiness time, right? Right. So that was really cool. I hadn't heard of that before, but I'm new to this. So it was really exciting to see that they were really being thoughtful about that. And not only that, but shaking up those lineups. The lineup we saw for DC United was not the same one that went out against Vancouver. They had kind of split things up with some youth and experience, I felt like, more about this Vancouver lineup. Right. Whereas DC United, they went out there with a lot of the younger players. To see what they had. I felt like they wanted to see what can y'all add to the table. Yeah. Yeah. Give the other guys a little bit to see what they have to be worried about in the youth because you're coming for them. Yeah. A little bit of that action. So I think it's exciting and I think it was good for our two goalies that are trying to vie for that spot as well because that got them some extra time in the goal yesterday. Yeah. It was a 50 mark start. Exactly. For Vancouver. Super excited about that. And then I think he finished it off. I think he did two periods yesterday. Yeah. So that was exciting to get to see him get a little bit more in his belt. And then, like I said, Pablo as well, especially after his performance last year against Philly. Yeah. You can't fault that guy at all. Yeah. So I'm really excited after three seasons. Exactly. And then that leads us into this week when they're coming back home. I like it when our guys are around here. I'm sure I was super jealous of them being in California and watching them play out there. But they will be back this weekend and they're going to play in Charleston. So I did not go to the Charleston game last year. Did you go see that one? Nope. I did not. Charlotte FC was not on my radar at the time. I mean, we knew we had tickets. But, again, I don't get invested into a team until I can see that they care about what we're playing. Exactly. You know, last year when we went, March, it was an unforgettable first match with so many people, of course, but also just the sheer excitement level in Charlotte. The experience. It was about an experience as well. Yes. Yes. And so with that, I was excited to be there, but I was also like, this is an experience that's good. But then once you saw them play, by three games in, I was hooked. Right. So by April, I was just a rabid fan. Yeah, same here. But, I mean, if you asked me about the preseason last year, I don't really know. I don't really know a lot about it. But I think my understanding was they did play Charleston before. This is a really good little place. Yeah, we lost last year. I mean, not that anyone really expected a whole, whole lot, because it was a branding season. We had new people coming in. And I think a lot of people are saying, no, don't make a big deal out of whether we lose or not preseason. Yeah, exactly. But, you know, my motto is I like to win. But I also – It was a different team than last year. Right. Quite a bit. Right. I'm proud of Coachella with no injuries. Yeah. I don't want us to go out here and do anything in these next two weeks that are going to jeopardize that for our fans or for our team, because it just looks so good right now. I'm going to be so excited. And the last thing we need is another hiccup, you know, to come up. Yeah, we want all of our guys to have, you know, especially with the guys who got injured and are on their way back, making their way back on the pitch this year, and have good recovery continued and to be able to come back out and show us what they've got. But I am excited to actually get to see a game face-to-face. I don't know if they'll stream it, but hopefully with it being close to Charleston that we'll get a little stream action. If not, I'm sure there's enough fans down there that you'll get to see more of it than you have when it was on the West Coast. Yeah, absolutely. A little closer to Charleston. I want to say that I would stream it for people, but I'm not really sure if my hands will be steady enough to do that, because I'm really feeling like it's a regular match, even though it is preseason. But I am excited, like you said, to see Mello actually play. I'm not sure if they'll let Armour out there. I think he's going to have a couple more weeks. I'm not really sure. Did you read the piece about him that was recently in the Charlotte Ledger? It was really excellently written, by the way. Oh, yes, yes. I think it was—was it by Carol? Yes, I think by Carol. Another one of our females in the sport. Shout out to her, too. Yeah, so that was really interesting to get to see that piece. So go look that up if you haven't read it yet, because it's really sounding like he's wanting to be on that field, you know, on that pitch when— When it starts. When it starts, right, February 26th. So we're rooting for you, Armour. Yeah. We are. We're rooting. We're going to see Adam play again. Exactly. Score that goal. We know that you have a lot more coming. So with that matter, I think we're going to wrap it up for today. Just to give you all a heads up, if there's anything you all want to hear, like we said, just let us know. Give us a shout out. Let us know what you like, what you think we can do a little bit better. Be nice. Give us a little grace. This is our first time. But we would like to possibly air one about once a week. Especially when the season starts, we'll have a little bit more information. We'd like to offer up some gifts, a lot of the female gifts, females from around the community. Well, Kathy, we're going to wrap it up for this episode. And we appreciate all of you listening to us and giving us a shot. We'd like to do one of these about once a week, probably when the MLS season starts, which is only 20 days away. Woo-hoo! We'd like to do one maybe once or twice a week. It just depends on our schedule. We are moms, so we do have jobs. Lives and families. Exactly. Things to do. But we do know that we get excited about the Charlotte FC, so we hope that you get as excited about it as well. We also would like to let you know we do want to have guests. So if there's any guests you would like to hear on here, just let us know. Obviously we want to interview some of the players, but we also want to spend a majority of our time interviewing the women in the community. Especially, you know, like Ashley Mahoney and Carol. A lot of those women, Brittany, you know, the people, Jessica, that we've come to rely on this past year. Yes. Like I said, there's a lot of wonderful work. Yes, wonderful women out there that help this community go, and we just want to make sure that we spotlight you and get your voices heard out there as well. But we also have man guests. We do want to give a little shout-out to some of the local podcasts that have kept us going this last few months. Last year. Yes, this last few months. Last year, the Mint City Collective won. Definitely the Charlotte Soccer Show. Danny has been there, and he pushed me to get this going, so there was definitely a need out there. And so we definitely appreciate those. There's the Crowncast. There's a lot of the podcasts out there that we definitely love to hear, and we urge you to go listen to those as well. I think that's about it from me. Is there anything you want to add in there? So if you've got any questions, or, you know, if you're a female member of this and you're a big fan, you know, we'd love to hear from you. Come share your thoughts. As a fan with us, you might have not felt invited and welcomed, but we want to purposely right now invite you and welcome your voice. Come sit down with us at a park or have a tea, as Ashley likes to do. I'm a coffee person. Actually, I'm a sun drop person. But, you know, just come and join us, and we'd like to have you come in and tell it too. Yeah, and tell us what your favorite thing is about Charlotte FC and why you love this team and why you're here. And so we want to hear from you. Definitely. And then on the next episode, just to give you all a little heads up, I think we're going to go into a little bit more about the players, a little bit more into what we want to see coming up before the season starts. Maybe we can give you our two starting lineups. I think that if you hear people's starting lineups, I can tell you a lot about how they see the team, how they do it, which players they like. Again, none of our players are bad at all. No, we have tons of them that we love. Some just have the personalities that we like. We gravitate to a little bit more than others. And either way, I'll be excited with whoever Latonjo, as I call him Lattie Daddy, puts out on the field. So we hope that you all have a great week, and we hope that you give us a like and give us some feedback and listen to us again next time.