Minutes from the Committee Meeting

September 5, 2025 — Committee Meeting # 6

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

Agenda Items 📋:

• The transfer of Angel City FC’s local star Alyssa Thompson to Chelsea has sent shockwaves throughout the NWSL. The 20-year-old American, who features with her younger sister Gisele for both club and country, may be the young star of the NWSL, and was definitively the centerpiece for Angel City FC. The obvious question now is, what’s Angel City’s plan? Can a potential centerpiece NWSL franchise find new star power and relevancy?
• It’s happening again! Following Seattle’s 3-0 Leagues Cup final win over Inter Miami in front of a sold out Lumen Field, Luis Suárez’s shenanigans stole the show. A series of tussles led to the legendary striker spitting on a Seattle staff member. Was it gross? Of course. Are Inter Miami the new bad boys of MLS (and is that good)? We say yes.
• Speaking of Seattle, the Sounders made waves with one of the fan promotions of the year. Before the match, the Sounders offered a trade for a new jersey of their hometown hero, Paul Rothrock, for any Lionel Messi jersey. The result? The Sounders ran out of stock, and Rothrock scored the final goal.

Approvals:

Best Bluesky Post: Courtesy @ellabrockway from the Hey Spirits! podcast:

Matches To Watch This Weekend:

International Matches! We’re referring you to this week’s First Touch ‘26 edition for our list of matches to watch this weekend from the men’s international calendar.

Racing Louisville vs. Portland Thorns, NWSL (September 5th, 8:00 pm ET, Amazon Prime Video): We’re handing this one to Committee Producer Douglas Reyes-Ceron, “The last game between those two ended 3-3 in PDX with it being a total rockfight and a red card at the end for Ary Borges…I imagine the return leg in Louisville is going to have some fight to it, maybe literally.”

Detroit City FC vs. Orange County SC, USL (September 6th, 7:00 pm ET, CBS Sports Golazo Network): The contrasts in style couldn’t be bigger as the young stars from the beaches of California travel to one of the champions of American grassroots soccer, Detroit City FC, in a crucial match for two clubs looking to firm up playoff positioning. 

South Georgia Tormenta FC vs. One Knoxville SC, USL League One (September 5th, 7:00 pm ET, ESPN+): A HUGE win for One Knox over Spokane has them just three points out of first. Yes, we know, the Kickback bump is very real.

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 the Utah Royals’ KK Ream.

The youngest starter in NWSL history just became the youngest goalscorer in NWSL history. At 16 years and 52 days, Ream subbed on for the Royals and finished a rebound that ensured a surprise victory over the Portland Thorns. The Utah native, who has a highly touted brother in the Real Salt Lake youth system, has arrived on the scene at a crucial time, following the Royals’ transfer of star young striker Ally Sentnor. Ream promises a potential homegrown star of the future for the Royals, and for NWSL as a whole.

Allocate your points wisely, KK!

Vibes Power Ranking:

A new addition to the Kickback Minutes! Each week we will power rank the clubs, people, or whatever the hell we feel like for top five vibes in American soccer.

1. Paul “Hollywood” Rothrock: The Seattle native who came from nowhere is the face of a Sounders side who are super vibe-y right now. Vibes are so strong right now, he’s leaving friend of the Committee Heath Pearce’s texts on “Read.”
2. Riley Tiernan: The rookie Angel City FC forward has eight goals and the highlight of the week, stepping up as teammate Alyssa Thompson makes her big move. 
3. Twerking: We reject MLS’s fine of Charlotte FC’s Idan Toklomati following his epic fake-hamstring-injury-turned-twerking celebration, which of course honors the original and ICONIC Lo’eau Labonta version. More twerking cellies, less fun police please.
4. Sergiño Dest: The Committee declared Sergino the USMNTer with the most “rizz,” and his return to the USMNT following an electric USMNT start has him here.
5. Hartford Athletic: Yes they lost Wednesday, but after an unforgettable unbeaten run capped by a dramatic comeback win against NCFC. Next week Hartford hosts perhaps their biggest match ever, a USL Jagermeister Cup semifinal.

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

This week, Susannah recommends a Bees Knees, inspired by nationally renowned Knoxville bar Brother Wolf!

1. 2 oz. gin.
2. 1 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice.
3. .75 oz. honey syrup.
4. Shake cocktail.
5. Strain
6. Garnish with bee pollen if available, otherwise lemon peel.

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

Action Items:

Soccerwise: Jordan and David are back talking the massive Alyssa Thompson transfer, while David and Tom launch a new series discussing what’s next for MLS clubs out of the playoffs, starting with D.C. United and Montreal.

Kickback Committee: An epic episode featuring Matt Doyle, Jillian Sakovits, and Tom Bogert dive into the upcoming USMNT matches and Tom Bogert's take on his home state of New Jersey.

Pull up to the Kickback bar and join our Happy Hour, where Susannah Fuller and David Gass are joined by Tom Bogert, Heath Pearce, and…some ghosts?

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