This week, the Full Time podcast is wondering: Is there such a thing as the biggest game in the NWSL calendar?

And if so, right now, is that marquee matchup between Washington Spirit and Gotham FC?

Well, with the two teams facing off on Saturday at Audi Field – in a rematch of the 2025 NWSL Championship – what better time to debate what it means to see these two go head-to-head and unpack why this week’s regular season match has so much on the line. How are these squads looking heading out of the international break and back into league action? And what will this match mean for the Shield, the playoffs and the MVP race?

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HOST: Theo Lloyd-Hughes

PANEL: Meg Linehan, Melanie Anzidei

PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes

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Get in touch: ⁠⁠fulltime@theathletic.com⁠⁠

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This week marked the finale of the fourth season of ‘Ted Lasso’. This was the first season of the incredibly popular Apple TV show that centered around women’s soccer. So, on this week’s Full Time, the podcast wonders: Did ‘Ted Lasso’ do women’s soccer justice?

Host Theo Lloyd-Hughes is joined by The Athletic’s Meg Linehan and Asli Pelit, as well as writer Steph Yang to unpack what worked and what didn’t about this high-profile televised comedy that broadcast women’s soccer to millions of homes around the world.

PLUS: Theo and Meg give their three things to watch out for in the upcoming U.S.women’s national team vs. Spain friendlies.

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HOST: Theo Lloyd-Hughes

PANEL: Meg Linehan, Asli Pelit, Steph Yang

PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes

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Referenced on the show:

Ted Lasso and what promotion means in the women’s game

‘Ted Lasso’ tackles women’s soccer’s worst nightmare: Knee injuries

Side hustles aren’t just for ‘Ted Lasso’s’ plot, they’re many professional footballers’ reality

What ‘Ted Lasso’ gets right about the lack of resources allocated to women’s soccer

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Get in touch: ⁠⁠fulltime@theathletic.com⁠⁠

Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: here

Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠

Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub ⁠⁠here

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Are Arsenal in crisis? And, what does the future hold for head coach Renée Slegers?

On this episode of Full Time, Theo Lloyd-Hughes and The Athletic’s Megan Feringa break down a testing week for Arsenal and their beleaguered head coach that finished with a 4-2 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday. After another poor start to a WSL season, the Gunners find themselves 10th in the table and 10 points adrift of the league leaders. Yet again, a long-awaited title chase feels over before it ever really began.

PLUS: What is still at stake in the NWSL? The Athletic’s Meg Linehan also joins the show to analyze the league standings in the NWSL with 27 matches played and three more games left to go in the regular season. Who is in the Shield race? Who can host a playoff game? Who is locked into the playoffs? And who is still clinging to faint playoff hopes?

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HOST: Theo Lloyd-Hughes

PANEL: Megan Feringa, Meg Linehan

PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes

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Referenced on the show:

Arsenal have lost their self-belief. Rediscovering it won’t be straightforward

The Lauren Hemp 2027 Ballon d’Or campaign starts here

What are we meant to think of London City Lionesses and their superstars?

Houston Dash eyeing fresh start in 2027 is more exciting than concerning

USWNT calls up Jaelin Howell to replace injured Sam Coffey for Spain friendlies

You can find Alison Gale’s playoff predictor website here

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Get in touch: ⁠⁠fulltime@theathletic.com⁠⁠

Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: here

Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠

Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub ⁠⁠here

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Five years ago, the NWSL was facing a reckoning over systemic abuse within women’s soccer. With play halted and protests from players and fans across the country, no one was sure if the league would survive.

Five years on, the league barely resembles the NWSL of the past. But how did we get here? And how did the NWSL players save their league and shape its future?

On this special episode of Full Time, host Jillian Sakovits is joined by The Athletic’s Meg Linehan to trace the developments in the league since its biggest crisis in the wake of reporting on abuse in the NWSL in 2021. Former NWSL and U.S. women’s national team player Meghan Klingenberg also joins the show to share her insight from being a player with the Portland Thorns back in 2021, and reflect on the legacy that the NWSL Players Association helped to create in the wake of the reckoning.

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HOSTS: Jillian Sakovits, Meg Linehan

GUEST: Meghan Klingenberg

PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes

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Referenced on the show:

Five years ago, the NWSL was in crisis. Thanks to its players, it’s flourishing

‘This guy has a pattern’: Amid institutional failure, former NWSL players accuse prominent coach of sexual coercion

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Get in touch: ⁠⁠fulltime@theathletic.com⁠⁠

Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: here

Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠

Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub ⁠⁠here

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Ashley Sanchez is back with the U.S. women’s national team. The North Carolina Courage star was among 26 players USWNT coach Emma Hayes named to her roster for a crucial pair of friendlies against reigning World Cup champion Spain on Oct. 10 and 13.

On this episode of Full Time, host Jillian Sakovits is joined by The Athletic’s Meg Linehan and Melanie Anzidei to unpack the USA’s roster to face off against Spain, as well as Hayes’s press conference on Tuesday. Where will Sanchez fit into the team? Who are the first-time call-ups, and was it wise for Hayes to bring them in for these friendlies? What does it mean for Jaedyn Shaw and Ally Sentnor to be omitted from the squad?

PLUS: This week, the 2028 NWSL expansion team from Atlanta unveiled its team name, club colors, and crest. The podcast breaks it all down and holds nothing back to give their take on the designs and rollout.

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HOST: Jillian Sakovits

PANEL: Meg Linehan, Melanie Anzidei

PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes

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Referenced on the show:

Ashley Sanchez returns to USWNT roster for Spain friendlies after long absence

Atlanta NWSL team reveals name and crest ahead of 2028 debut

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Get in touch: ⁠⁠fulltime@theathletic.com⁠⁠

Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: here

Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠

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Cloe Lacasse is having one of the best seasons of her career. The Utah Royals forward co-leads the NWSL in assists, with 10, and could break the league record in the same statistic if she sets up one more goal. She also has seven goals, making her one of the league’s top goal contributors. The Canadian’s form has begged the question: Is Lacasse underrated?

On this episode of Full Time, host Jillian Sakovits and The Athletic’s Tamerra Griffin sit down for an interview with Lacasse to learn about her journey to Utah, what she thinks of personal accolades, the tricks of being a good goal creator, and what makes the Royals a team without an ego.

PLUS: Jill, Tamerra, and Producer Theo give their picks of who the most underrated players of the 2026 NWSL season are, while also trying to better understand what makes a player underrated.

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HOSTS: Jillian Sakovits, Tamerra Griffin

GUEST: Cloe Lacasse

PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes

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Get in touch: ⁠⁠fulltime@theathletic.com⁠⁠

Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime

Subscribe to our Youtube channel: here

Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠

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10 days after mutually parting ways with the Kansas City Current, Vlatko Andonovski is back in the NWSL.

In a dramatic turn of events, the former USWNT head coach is now the Chief Soccer Officer for the Chicago Stars. So, on this episode of Full Time, host Jillian Sakovits is joined by The Athletic’s Meg Linehan and Tamerra Griffin to discuss whether Andonovski can make Midwestern magic happen yet again and turn the worst team in the NWSL into a contender. Can Andonovski revive the Chicago Stars?

PLUS: The latest top stories from the NWSL weekend, from Angel City’s surge into the playoff places and Gotham becoming the first team to book their ticket to the postseason. And the pod takes a look at the state of the USWNT U20 group, which was eliminated from the World Cup by Brazil in the Round of 16 last week. What does another early exit from a world competition mean?

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HOST: Jillian Sakovits

PANEL: Meg Linehan, Tamerra Griffin

PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes

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Referenced on the show:

Chicago Stars’ struggles this season were evident. Vlatko Andonovski could revive the team

Ex-Chelsea director Paul Green wants to turn Bay FC into a championship team

The under-20 World Cup has top players ‘caught in between’ club and country

Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn, Marta among players calling for FIFA to move U-20 Women’s World Cup

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Get in touch: ⁠⁠fulltime@theathletic.com⁠⁠

Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: here

Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠

Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub ⁠⁠here

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.