Welcome back to Fast Friends with Kelley O’Hara and Lisa Leslie!
In today’s episode, our hosts kick things off by chatting through last weekend’s NWSL quarterfinals, with the top four teams proving their dominance in four heated battles. O’Hara then shouts out the two center backs who notched their first goals of the year this postseason: Washington’s Tara McKeown and Gotham’s Tierna Davidson.
Later turning to the NWSL semifinals, Leslie zeroes in on this weekend’s bout between No. 1 Orlando and No. 4 Kansas City — a game that pits leading goalscorers Temwa Chawinga and Barbra Banda against one another. “Is the matchup that we’ve been waiting for?” she asks.
O’Hara agrees with her co-host. While she dubs the semifinal between No. 2 Washington and No. 3 Gotham more of a “chess match,” O’Hara predicts the Current and Pride’s clash to be “end line to end line soccer.”
“Orlando was able to stay top of the table [while] Kansas City is fourth, so in reality you would think Orlando should walk into this game feeling very confident and know what you need to do to be successful,” says O’Hara. “But it’s playoffs, so anything can happen.”
“I’m just gonna be sat on the couch, locked in,” she adds. “Get the popcorn out, get ready.”
Fast Friends discusses NWSL awards
Before moving on from the pitch, Leslie and O’Hara discuss the NWSL’s end-of-season awards frontrunners. The hosts gamble that Chawinga will take MVP honors while Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune will walk away as the 2024 Rookie of the Year — despite only playing 17 matches before a post-Olympics knee injury limited her to the sidelines.
Then, the legendary athletes turn to the tennis courts to celebrate Coco Gauff’s recent WTA Finals win before chatting through the top teams and players headlining NCAA basketball’s early season action.
And last but not least, O’Hara and Leslie reveal a few of the special guests joining them onstage at their upcoming NWSL Championship Weekend Live Show.
About Fast Friends with Kelley O’Hara and Lisa Leslie
Coming off the success of JWS’s Olympic commentary show The Gold Standard, Fast Friends features two legendary athletes serving up insider insights and unique takes on the biggest stories in women’s sports every week.
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