Minutes from the Committee Meeting

October 31, 2025 — Committee Meeting # 14

Thanks for enjoying Kickback Minutes! This is Kickback’s weekly quick hits on all things soccer in the U.S. Our World Cup newsletter, First Touch ‘26, is issued every Wednesday!

Agenda Items 📋:

• MLS playoffs have kicked off and it is almost all chalk. The home team won every opening match with the exception of New York City FC, setting up a ton of do-or-die matches in front of home teams next week. 
• Those matches are no longer behind a paywall, because Apple and MLS have removed the second paywall for MLS Playoff matches. Fingers crossed that the recent F1 addition without a second paywall has Apple and MLS slated to remove the additional paywall for 2026.
• New York Red Bulls made drastic changes following their first season missing the playoffs in fifteen years, firing head coach Sandro Schwarz and appointing Julian De Guzman as the chief soccer officer. The glory days of the Jesse Marsch era Red Bulls has clearly passed, but will the era of ultimate energy drink soccer pass as well?
• It’s NWSL Decision Day! Kansas City Current (1st) and Washington Spirit (2nd) can enjoy a lazy day on the pitch Sunday, but everyone else has something to play for. Not only is there a battle for the last spot in the playoffs, but only three points separate third and seventh.
• One of those decisive 3rd - 7th matches will be coached by the Seattle Reign’s Laura Harvey, who this week admitted she used ChatGPT to set her tactics for multiple matches. We don’t have an anti-vibe power rankings, but this would definitely be number one.
• Better vibes with the U.S. Women, who turned things around and finished with 3-1 and 6-0 wins against Portugal and New Zealand, respectively. The catalysts of the turnaround? The up-and-coming cohort including Olivia Moultrie* (two goals), Emma Sears* (hat trick), and Lily Yohannes. 
• *The Kickback Minutes has awarded Level Up to both Moultrie and Sears in the past two months. We’re accepting our flowers.
• USL Championship and USL League One wrapped up their regular seasons. The big news? One Knoxville USL League One regular season champs!! For those who don’t know, our Committee Chairperson Susannah Fuller has a notable HAB (Husbands and Boyfriends), One Knox Head Coach Ian Fuller. We’re taking the flowers we accepted, and giving them to Sooz and Ian.

Approvals ✅:

Our BRACKTOBER Challenge is live, and free to play! You knew we’d go full sicko mode, and we’ve assuredly done it.

Did you sign up for the MLS challenge last week? Good news! You can track your results here. 

Even if you didn’t, you can participate in the next leg, a USL Playoff Pool! You can fill out your form here.

Matches To Watch This Weekend:

New York City FC vs. Charlotte FC, MLS Playoffs (November 1st, 3:30 PM ET, Apple TV):

New York City FC is the only team to win their away leg on Matchday One, and have a chance to clinch a berth in the Eastern Conference Semi’s with a win. Charlotte get Wilfried Zaha back from red card suspension, however, and hope he will offer the chance creation missing in leg one.

North Carolina FC vs. Loudoun United, USL Championship Playoffs (November 1st, 7:30 PM ET, ESPN+): It’s a rematch of last week’s match, now with Loudoun traveling to North Carolina. While Loudoun lost on the final day of the season, they’ll look to repeat their success on the road in North Carolina from prior this season. 

One Knoxville vs. Charlotte Independence, USL League One Playoffs (November 2nd, 4:00 PM ET, ESPN+): One Knoxville, USL League One Player’s Shield winners! Going for the double, perhaps as the first ever all mustachioed titleists.  

Orlando Pride vs. Seattle Reign, NWSL (November 2nd, 5:00 PM ET, NWSL+):

Level Up:

Each week the Committee approves the leveling up of a player who has taken that leap with their game. This week, it’s USWNT’s Lily Yohannes. 

It almost feels like cheating to award this to the 18-year-old Yohannes, who was the electric force in the center of the pitch for the USWNT in their two friendly wins after her introduction to the starting lineup. 

The Dutch-American Yohannes is a dream of a technically skilled central midfielder, epitomized by her range of passing and her silky backheeled assist on the USWNT’s first goal against New Zealand.

Yohannes recently moved to American-owned Women’s soccer powerhouse OL Lyonnes where the American wonderkid will continue to hone her craft in advance of the 2027 World Cup, where she very well may be the difference between the U.S. lifting the Cup.

Allocate your points wisely, Lily! 

American Soccer Vibes Power Ranking:

Each week we will power rank the clubs, people, or whatever the hell we feel like for top five vibes in American soccer.

1. U.S. Women Young Stars: This is the second week on top of the vibe rankings! Lily Yohannes. Olivia Moultrie. Emma Sears. These are big winners coming out of camp, and create a lot of intrigue about the team around “Triple Espresso” come 2027.
2. Free Agent MLS Coaches: This is the second week iin second in the vibe rankings! We surprisingly added the New York Red Bulls following the firing of manager Sandro Schwarz, and perhaps less surprisingly Colorado Rapids. That’s now seven positions open in MLS, including premier openings in Atlanta, LA, and New York.
3. Tata-to-Atlanta: Our Tom Bogert reports that former Atlanta United (and Inter Miami) manager Tata Martino is the clear frontrunner to fill the coveted Atlanta United managerial position. The vibes in Tata’s two years in Atlanta were epic, and his Inter Miami stint did nothing but bolster credentials. We’re here for it.
4. New Mexico Honoring Daniel Bruce: This is how you honor a club original and legend. On top of an honorary start and special poster giveaway, Albuquerque’s Mayor was on hand to declare the day officially “Daniel Bruce Day.” What Daniel Bruce means to his community is why we support local soccer, folks.
5. Coach Ian Fuller’s Mustache: Even Tom Bogert is jealous.

Susannah “Cup Should Always Be” Fuller’s Cocktail Recipe of the Week:

It’s Halloween, and who said your cocktail can’t be spooky too? “Sooz” has your booze for the celebration, a Black Widow Smash!

1. 8 Blueberries.
2. 1.5 tsp rosemary (retain sprig).
3. .5 oz honey.
4. .5 oz lemon.
5. Add to cocktail shaker. Muddle.
6. 1.5 oz tequila/mezcal.
7. 2 dashes orange bitters.
8. Fill shaker with ice, shake for 30 seconds.
9. Strain over glass with ice.
10. Top with seltzer.
11. Gently stir.
12. Top with fresh blueberries and rosemary sprig.

Please prepare to specifications in advance of our weekly Happy Hour episodes.

Action Items:

Soccerwise: We're previewing NWSL Decision Day and Tom and Gass roundup the first MLS Playoff Matchday.

Kickback Committee: We've got USL content creator extraordinaire Matt Sheldon on, favorite World Cup memories, and of course…our expert takes on Great British Bake Off.

When you’ve done that, remind your local coach and chief sporting officer to please, Play the Kids.