Minutes from the Committee Meeting

November 7, 2025 — Committee Meeting # 15

Thanks for enjoying Kickback Minutes! We’re in a very special time of the year for fans of soccer in America, and Kickback will be covering and celebrating this most special time of the year! In the next month:

• MLS Playoffs & Final
• NWSL Playoffs & Final
• USL Championship & League One Playoff & Final
• USMNT & USWNT Friendlies
• The start of MLS, NWSL, and USL off-season moves.
• The World Cup 2026 Draw.

It’s never been a better time to be a fan than right now, and we hope you’ll enjoy the journey (and some longer newsletters) with us.

Agenda Items 📋:

• The first round of MLS Playoffs concludes this weekend, with (yet another) Luis Suarez suspension endangering Inter Miami in their do-or-die match against Nashville SC. Philadelphia Union, Vancouver Whitecaps, and LAFC were the only three teams to clinch a quarterfinal berth this past weekend.
• The offseason is in full swing for the rest of MLS, with the coaching carousel in full-swing this week. Atlanta United brought back legendary coach Tata Martino, who oversaw their halcyon days of ‘17 and ‘18. Elsewhere, New England Revolution hired US U20 & U23 coach Marko Mitrovic in an attempt to replicate the type of success San Diego FC enjoyed with former U20 coach Mikey Varas.
• MLS announced its Best XI and Coach of the Year winners. Making headlines is Philadelphia Union’s Bradley Carnell’s win, after a League best year-over-year improvement and Supporter Shield title. Any other year this would be an obvious winner, but the historic successes of Vancouver’s Jesper Sorensen and San Diego’s Mike Varas had most anticipating a win from them.
• NWSL’s Decision Day saw a surprise reordering dropping Gotham FC to last and into a headliner first round matchup with league leaders Kansas City Current. Elsewhere, Racing Louisville continued their hot streak and earned their first ever playoff berth.
• That surprising Racing Louisville stretch run earned their head coach Bev Yanez NWSL Coach of the Year, outpacing Kansas City Current’s Vlatko Andonovski and their historically dominant season

Agenda Items Halftime:

Take a break and check out this move from friend of the Committee Heath Pearce, who took the month off from posting it himself:

Agenda Items, Round Two 📋:

• In USL, you guessed it…chaos!! Across both USL Championship and USL League One only one playoff match featured a win by multiple goals. 
• In the Championship, the two top clubs from the regular season (Louisville City and Charleston Battery) and perennial competitors Sacramento Republic were knocked out. In USL League One, the carnage continued with second place Chattanooga Red Wolves and reigning champions Union Omaha losing in round one.
• The biggest loss of the week in USL is North Carolina FC, as owner Steve Mallik announced he was shutting down the historic franchise at the end of the year. While the women’s team will continue on, and there may be a future down the line for NCFC, we recommend you read our friend Jeff Reuter’s thoughts about how much is lost at a human level here.
• Tired yet? Don’t be! We’ve got a USMNT roster drop! First the highlights: Ricardo Pepi returns after months away due to injury, and we’ve got the Kickback-anointed USMNT “Rizz King” Sergino Dest back and ready to do whatever Rizz Kings do.
• The bad news? Four USMNT stalwarts — Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Weston Mckennie, Chris Richards — miss out with some combination of injury and managerial changes.
• The intrigue? Has to be the return of Gio Reyna despite a stark lack of minutes in Germany. The American soccer back pages will be especially intrigued to see his first camp shared with Sebastian Berhalter, the son of Gregg, especially after Reyna’s comments defending his family’s actions in supposedly blackmailing Gregg Berhalter around the ‘22 World Cup.

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 last leg, the NWSL Playoff Pool! You can fill out your form here.

Matches To Watch This Weekend:

Kansas City Current vs. Gotham FC, NWSL (November 9th, 12:30 PM ET, ESPN):  This is a first round blockbuster, with the historically dominant Current looking vulnerable due to injuries to superstars Temwa Chawinga and Bia Zanerotto. While Gotham FC dropped to eighth on Decision Day, their gamechangers like Rose Lavelle can put any one match on edge.

Inter Miami vs. Nashville SC, MLS Playoffs (November 8th, 8:00 PM ET, Apple TV): A formation change and player rotation saw Nashville take control of the match at home and set-up a rubber match in Miami. The chaser? Luis Suarez is suspended for an aggressive foul missed in the course of action. Miami got knocked out in the first round in 2024, and we don’t think you could find a single soul that doesn’t think this Nashville team is much better than Atlanta was…

North Carolina FC vs. Rhode Island, USL Championship Playoffs (November 8th, 7:00 PM ET, ESPN+): We’ve got a real life “Major League” situation brewing here, folks. North Carlona FC was stunned to learn the men’s team is being shut down at the end of the year, but the club finds itself as the highest seed remaining in the east. Can lift the Cup as a final act of defiance?

US U17’s vs. Czech Republic U17’s, U17 World Cup (November 11th, 9:45 PM ET, Universo): It took some time for the U.S. to get in a groove, but the late addition of Cavan Sullivan to camp and the match turned the tide for a U.S. win in their first match. A historically talented squad is finding its balance, but the up-and-coming game changers like Sullivan, Mathis Albert, Chris Cupps, Julian Hall, and Nimfasha Berchimas make this worth your time.

One Knoxville vs. FC Naples, USL League One Playoffs (November 8th, 7:00 PM ET, ESPN+): Can you believe it? The one and only club to feature in every single Kickback Minutes newsletter has made the USL League One semi-finals. Our Committee Chair Susannah Fuller expects a cagey affair amongst two resolute defenses, but we expect them to Knox On.

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. Carolina Railhawks: That which is never understood (a Railhawk?) may never die. The Railhawks/North Carolina FC are American soccer heritage, and their eternal flame will burn bright in the halls of soccer Valhalla. 
2. Mathis Albert + Cavan Sullivan: Perhaps the most heralded duo in men’s US U17 history connected for the winning goal in the first World Cup match. We can’t wait to see what the next generation’s got, and whether what they have is more goals.
3. Racing Louisville + Emma Sears: Five games unbeaten. A first ever playoff appearance. Coach of the Year Bev Yanez. Red hot star Emma Sears scoring a USWNT hattrick. Send us whatever bourbon Louisville fans are enjoying right now, because you know it’s the good stuff.
4. Tata in Atlanta: Even if you’re not a fan, the vibes in Atlanta in their first few season are unparalleled in MLS history. Combining what happened on and off the pitch, it felt like soccer had taken a leap forward in the U.S. Tata’s back now, and the Dirty South looks to rise again.
5. JuJu Watkins, NWSL Owner: This is a first for celebrity ownership. College basketball star JuJu Watkins is investing in Boston Legacy, thanks to all that NIL money. This is definitely a different vibe, but we’re here for it!

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

The time change is a vibe change, so this week we’re featuring Sooz’s Dark & Stormy!

1. Fill a Highball/Collins glass with ice.
2. 4-6 oz Ginger Beer
3. .25 - .5 oz lime juice.
4. 2 oz dark rum, poured slowly over the back of a spoon.
5. Lime wedge or wheel garnish.

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

Action Items:

Soccerwise: MLS Playoffs! NWSL Playoffs! MLS coaching hires! Oh and Tom and Gass are in Charlotte on site for the playoffs!

Kickback Committee: Kansas City Current owner Chris Long join the Committee for a conversation about their dominant season, and then a segment called “Sugar Dome Disasters.” You just have to listen.

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