Madeline Fox
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maddycfox.bsky.social
Madeline Fox
@maddycfox.bsky.social
2.9K followers 540 following 36 posts
making or editing public radio, now at kcur | aunt | library stan | Kansas booster | alis volat propriis | usually wish i were on a train | always watching women’s soccer | madeline@kcur.org
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maddycfox.bsky.social
I continually abuse my platform in KCUR’s daily budget email to spread my women’s soccer hot takes™️
Good morning! I have usurped Lisa’s Bachelor analysis to give you my U.S. Women’s National Team hot takes after their match against Colombia last night to open the SheBelieves Cup. Buckle up, it’s long! First, Current fans got to see forward Michelle Cooper get her first senior national team minutes. Claire Hutton warmed up, but ultimately didn’t play last night – I would expect to see her first cap soon, though. As mentioned in my budget email after the roster was announced, this USWNT is missing the “Triple Espresso” forwards who led the U.S. to Olympic victory, as well as the people’s princess, defender Naomi Girma. We saw some new starters instead. Utah’s Ally Sentnor stunned with an absolute rocket into Colombia’s goal, set up beautifully by a smart pass from young phenom Lily Yohannes and a brilliant cross by Gotham’s Yazmeen Ryan. Midfielder Sam Coffey got a ball directly to the face, and yet still had a decent shot on goal minutes later. She’s a tank! But I hope they put her through concussion protocols this week. Cat Utah’s Ally Sentnor stunned with an absolute rocket into Colombia’s goal, set up beautifully by a smart pass from young phenom Lily Yohannes and a brilliant cross by Gotham’s Yazmeen Ryan. Midfielder Sam Coffey got a ball directly to the face, and yet still had a decent shot on goal minutes later. She’s a tank! But I hope they put her through concussion protocols this week. Cat Macario, who missed the World Cup and the Olympics because of injury, sunk a neat first-half goal. I believe I’ve complained about Emma Hayes continuing to play Lindsey Heaps (nee Horan) for pretty much full minutes, and I stand by that – her shots aren’t on target, and her passes have been sloppy – but last night’s game reminded me that one reason to play her is, basically, to get beat up. She got tripped and tugged and knocked down several times, yielding several free kicks for the USWNT. Colombia plays a very physical game, so you kinda need a punching bag player to draw fouls. I’d recommend they bench Heaps for the Japan game, though – Japan plays with a finesse that requires more precision than I’ve seen from her in years. Justice for Lynn Biyendolo (nee Williams), who should always get more minutes than she does. Finally, this is the start of the post-Alyssa Naeher era. Replacing her as a goalkeeper feels as unfathomable as it felt to replace Hope Solo before her, but I have faith that, like with the Solo-Naeher transition, we’ll end up with someone stellar. The U.S. has a deep bench of excellent goalies, and Jane Campbell, who played last night, is certainly one of them. What made Naeher stand out to me is the way she was a true eleventh player on the team . She made unbelievable saves, absolutely, but she also had a knack for coming out of goal to contribute at exactly the right moment, and judging when she needed to stay back in the box. It takes time to build that soccer IQ and confidence, but I expect we will eventually see that from her replacement.
February 21, 2025 at 5:52 PM
maddycfox.bsky.social
Happy Sinc Day to you and yours — I first saw Christine Sinclair play during her Portland Pilots tenure so you best believe I was making her last regular season home game
November 2, 2024 at 1:50 AM