Minutes from the Committee Meeting

September 26, 2025 — Committee Meeting # 9

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 📋:

• KC Current have won the NWSL Shield in historic fashion, clinching the regular season title with a record five games to spare. The Current win their first ever Shield after an unbeaten run of 14 matches, and behind yet another goal from golden-boot leader Temwa Chawinga. The question KC will try to answer by doing the double…are the Current the best ever in the U.S.?
• The Supporter Shield race in MLS is tightening with five teams competing for the title. While Philadelphia Union maintain a two point lead at the top, both Vancouver and Inter Miami have matches in hand, and both clubs have been on a tear. For the first time in recent memory, MLS is likely to have a handful of clubs competing for the title on decision day.
• What the hell is going on at D.C. United? Fan protests have led to a deafening silence at Audi Field, leading to the recent firing of chief soccer officer Ally Mackay. His replacement, “the smartest guy in football” Erkut Sogut, arrived with zero experience at a soccer club and promptly fired his entire scouting department.

Approvals ✅:

Best Bluesky Post: Presented without comment:

Matches To Watch This Weekend:

U.S. Open Cup Final: Austin FC vs. Nashville SC, U.S. Open Cup (October 1st, 8:00 PM ET, Paramount+): Someone’s walking away from this one with their first trophy. Austin FC hosts following a surprise run to the final, but face a Nashville SC side featuring MLS’s top scoring duo (Sam Sturridge and Hany Mukhtar) and an unprecedented attacking verve for the club.

Gotham FC vs. Portland Thorns, NWSL (September 26th, 8:00 PM ET, Amazon Prime Video):

Two of the NWSL’s most revered clubs are locked in a tie in third place in advance of their matchup in New York. With the respective sides featuring three of the USWNT’s premier playmakers (Rose Lavelle, Jaedyn Shaw, and Olivia Moultrie), we will be watching the midfield battle especially closely.

US U20’s vs. France U20’s, Men’s U20 World Cup (October 2nd, 4:00 pm ET, FS2): One of the most fun tournaments on the planet starts in Chile this weekend. The U.S. group features one of the favorites, France, providing the surprisingly strong U.S. squad an early chance to test its mettle.

El Paso Locomotive vs. Rhode Island, USL Championship (September 26th, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN+): Massive playoff implications in this USL cross-country battle. El Paso can finish nearly anywhere in a chaotic Western Conference, while Rhode Island look to hold on to the last playoff spot in the east.

One Knoxville SC vs. Charlotte Independence, USL League One (September 26th, 6:30 pm ET, ESPN+): “America’s Team” One Knox remains in a battle at the top of the table for a top two finish.

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 North Carolina’s Finn Sundstrom. 

The 18-year-old center back has made the astounding transition from attacking midfielder to center back this season, and become the staple of the NCFC backline. The local player joined the club at eleven, and has climbed the ladder at the famed Raleigh-Durham academy to become the centerpiece homegrown product in USL Championship.

Garnering a recent US U-20 call-up and his first professional contract, a big 2025 season for Sundstrom has the promise of a start to a special career. 

Allocate your points wisely, Finn! 

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. Kansas City Current: KC’s on the list pretty much every week but we can’t not put them here. Don’t blame us, put together a team that can beat them if you want them off.
2. New U.S. Open Cup Champ!: We love first time winners, and we’re gonna get one next week. Austin FC battles Nashville SC in the “places your friends moved to during Covid” derby, with both clubs looking to lift their first trophy in club history.
3. Inspire Soccer League: Project Inspire announced a nationwide soccer league for players with intellectual impairments featuring founding partnerships with four USL clubs. Support your local team, and support the project if you can!
4. Messi putting Miami on his Back: After the Leagues Cup final fiasco and a blowout in Charlotte, it seemed like Inter Miami might just give up on 2025. Then Messi racked up five goals and three assists in three successive wins, putting Miami at the center of the Supporter Shield convo.
5. Whatever this is from Indy Eleven: 

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

We’re keeping it classy at Kickback, and we’re saddling up to the bar with a Suz’s Filthy Martini this week.

1. 2.5 oz Gin or Vodka.
2. .5 oz Dry Vermouth.
3. .75 - 1.5 oz Olive Brine (depending on just how filthy you are).
4. Fill cocktail mixing glass with ice.
5. Stir cocktail thoroughly (until mixing glass is cold to the touch).
6. Strain into cocktail glass.
7. Garnish with three castelvetrano olives.

Please prepare to specifications in advance of our weekly Happy Hour episodes, and remember to never, ever, ever, shake a martini.

Action Items:

Soccerwise: We're catching up this week on what's next for all the MLS sides who’ve been knocked out of the playoff race, and have begun casting their attention toward 2026.

Kickback Committee: Brianna Pinto joins Susannah and David to talk women’s and men’s Ballon D’or and KC’s dominance.

Pull up to the Kickback bar and join our Happy Hour, where Susannah Fuller and Claudia Pagan are back together again!

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