August 8, 2025 — Committee Meeting # 2

Review of the Previous Week’s Group Chat:

Agenda Items:

Son Heung-min is donning the black and gold! LAFC has made a statement with MLS’s biggest ever transfer fee, signing the iconic South Korean attacker while he still has plenty in the tank. With only a few matches left in 2025, it’s left to be seen if Steve Cherundolo can integrate Son in quick enough to lift silverware this year, but the impact on soccer in L.A. is sure to be massive for years to come.

If you were on Bluesky last Friday you probably let out a “holy s***!” when you saw that reigning USWNT young player of the year Ally Sentnor was transferred to league leaders KC Current from the Utah Royals. With the biggest intraleague transfer in league history reinforcing a double digit lead at the top of the table, are KC Current announcing themselves as NWSL’s super club?

One of the greatest stories in American soccer the past few years is the grassroots success of Vermont Green FC. With David Gass on the call, Vermont lifted their first ever USL League 2 championship trophy in front of 6,000 fans and a legendary Bernie Sanders inspired Tifo. Co-founder Patrick Infurna joined the Kickback Committee and discussed how the community-centered inspiration of the Burlington-based club laid the foundation

Approvals:

Best Bluesky Post: So “best” is a hard word to define. In this week’s case, the “best” Bluesky post is the one we enjoyed the most, but agree with the least.

With Wisconsin featured in our 50 States of Soccer series, Soccerwise asked our community for their picks of top five players from Wisconsin. @djdumars replied with…Rose Lavelle? Rose of course featured for the University of Wisconsin, but grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. For DJ, supposedly the claim is validated through the Big Ten.

We’ve sided with the Ohioans on this one DJ, but fair play, and a doff of the cap to you and Forward Madison’s cow mascot Rose Cowbelle.

Matches To Watch This Weekend:

Louisville City FC vs. Charleston Battery, USL Championship (August 9th, 8:00 pm ET, Paramount+): It’s a top of the table clash between two of USL’s premier clubs. If you don’t normally watch USL…now is the time to tune in.

San Diego Wave vs. Angel City FC, NWSL (August 9th, 10:00 pm ET, ion): A SoCal derby features from the NWSL slate this weekend, as rising USWNT star Alyssa Thompson and Angel City FC face off with Delphinie Cascarino and San Diego Wave.

PSV vs. Sparta Rotterdam, Eredivisie (August 9th, 3:00 pm ET, ESPN+): USMNT striker Ricardo Pepi is crucial to the World Cup hopes, and is now the featured star for the Dutch reigning champions PSV as they embark on their new season. Vamos El Tren!

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami, MLS (August 10th, 8:00 pm ET, AppleTV+): Rodrigo De Paul makes his MLS debut as the Floridian rivals face off with just one point separating them.

Forward Madison FC vs. One Knoxville SC, USL League 1 (August 9th, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN+): Forward Madison co-founder Peter Wilt and Committee chairperson / Knoxville superfan Susannah Fuller seemed friendly in their interview this week. That ends this Saturday.

Quote Of The Week:

Level Up:

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

Trinity Rodman’s goal may have been the highlight, but the Player of the Match for the Washington Spirit last week was Gift Monday. The Nigerian forward stunningly wasn’t called in for WAFCON this summer, but has responded by showing why she’s one of the most dynamic attackers in NWSL. With Trinity Rodman and Hal Hershfelt back in action, Monday may turn out to be the talisman in the attack that helps the Spirit threaten the KC Current juggernaut.

Allocate your points wisely, Gift.

Action Items:

Soccerwise: David Gass and Tom Bogert have all the news about the historic transfers of Son Heung-min and Thomas Muller to LAFC and Vancouver Whitecaps, while Jordan and David review the return of NWSL and an epic Trinity Rodman goal.

Kickback Committee: How to build a soccer club in America? We spoke with Vermont Green FC co-founder Pat Infurna, and the Johnny Appleseed of soccer himself, Peter Wilt. 

Happy Hour: Introducing Kickback Happy Hour, a weekly live, interactive show featuring talent from across the Committee! This week Susannah Fuller, David Gass, Claudia Pagan, and Tom Bogert were joined by USMNT BFF’s Heath Pearce and Jay Demerit. Pull up to the Kickback bar and join our Happy Hour.

Remember folks, Kickback Soccer Media recommends you remind your coach and chief sporting officer to please, Play the Kids. (Shouting out Mikey Varas, Tyler Heaps, and San Diego FC for their commitment to the youth this week!)