Podcast
Expected Own Goals
EVERYONE ANALYZES WOMEN'S SPORTS
Evan Davis and Eric Morgan are best friends who love each other. But they love women's soccer more. Every week, the guys sit down to explore the tactical and analytical sides of the women's game, covering the NWSL, USWNT, WSL, Women's Champions Leauge, Liga MX Femenil, and beyond. No stone is left unturned as they seek to learn more and more about how women's soccer is played, who's good, who's not, and who is going to win it all.
- Episodes
- 202
- Releases
- Weekly
- Typical length
- 57 min
- On air since
- 2024
- Latest episode
- 4 days ago
Episodes
202 episodes, newest first
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49 min
The Big NWSL Decision Day Preview!
Show notes
Only a few more days to lock in your Patreon annual membership and get exclusive bonus content for only $60/year before prices go up Nov 2nd!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Decision Day is upon us, and many races are yet to be settled: The Shield battle (Gotham FC vs. San Diego Wave), home field throughout the playoffs (Wave vs. Washington Spirit), home field for the first round (Kansas City Current vs. Angel City), and a ticket to the playoffs, full stop (Seattle Reign vs. North Carolina Courage vs. Denver Summit)! The guys break apart the projections for every seeding, and decide who the final playoff pool will look like at 7:00pm ET on Sunday.
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Want to play Road to 75? Click here!
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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54 min
Big NWSL News from Louisville, plus Columbus and Atlanta Expansion Sides Hire GMs
Show notes
Lock in your Patreon annual membership and get exclusive bonus content for only $60/year before prices go up Nov 2nd!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Racing Louisville is a franchise running on fumes. Chatter about a potential sale and relocation to FC Cincinnati have been brewing for weeks. Commissioner Jessica Berman even chimed in. What fate awaits Big Purp in the coming months?
The guys also weigh in on Atlanta City and the Columbus franchise announcing their respective GM hires of Rich Gunney and Lucy Rushton. What do these moves tell us about the ambitions of the NWSL's latest expansion clubs?
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Want to play Road to 75? Click here!
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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54 min
USWNT vs Spain Recap, with Bridie O'Toole!
Show notes
Lock in your Patreon annual membership for only $60/year before Nov 2nd to get exclusive bonus content!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
The U.S. women's national team dropped a result they maybe should have won against Spain in Washington DC, followed by a clawback 2-2 draw that they maybe should have lost. Or do we have it the other way around? Bridie O'Toole of Busy Watching Women's Soccer returns to the show to sort out what the U.S. messed up, what they did well, and these two games taughts us about the USWNT's chances to challenge for a World Cup title.
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Want to play Road to 75? Click here!
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 8 min
Diagnosing the Washington Spirit, with Jason Anderson
Show notes
Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
The Washington Spirit nabbed a crucial win on the road to the Houston Dash over the weekend, but it was only their fourth win in their last 10, and only their fifth result in that span, period. What is going on, and how can it be corrected by the time the playoffs roll around? Jason Anderson of Green Line Soccer joins the guys to uncover every possible thing that may have shifted beyond Leicy Santos's injury.
NOTE: RECORDED BEFORE GIFT MONDAY'S TRANSFER TO BOSTON.
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Want to play Road to 75? Click here!
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 6 min
Are Angel City and the San Diego Wave the Two Best Teams in the NWSL Right Now?
Show notes
Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
It's a Southern California cavalcade on xOG this week! The San Diego Wave put away another opponent with panache and efficiency this week, while Angel City continue their best run of form in club history. Are these two I-5-connected clubs the most dangerous in the league as we round into the final sprint to the playoffs?
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Want to play Road to 75? Click here!
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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35 min
xOG Extra Time: The USWNT Roster is Primed to Take on Spain
Show notes
Enjoy this unlocked bonus episode on us, and join our Patreon for only $6/month to get more exclusive bonus content!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
Emma Hayes announced the latest roster for the U.S. Women's National Team's upcoming friendlies against Spain. This may be the most consequential games of Emma Hayes's tenure barring the Olympics. Did she pick the right players? Are her philosophies on player selection and developmental environment the kind that will help the USWNT win the World Cup next year? DID ASHLEY SANCHEZ MAKE IT???? The guys chat it all through.
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Want to play Road to 75? Click here!
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 9 min
Vlatko Andonovski HIRED!! Is THIS How to Rebuild the Chicao Stars? With Lesley Ryder!
Show notes
Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
It didn't take long for Vlatko Andonovski to find a new job. As the new Chief Soccer Officer of the Chicago Stars, he has a massive task ahead to make the club competitive again. Lesley Ryder of Gal Pal Sports and Defector returns to the show to explain how Andonovski arrived in the Windy City, and what he has to do first.
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Want to play Road to 75? Click here!
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 13 min
When Should You Fire Your NWSL Head Coach? It's More Complicated Than You Think.
Show notes
Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
Fabrice Gautrat's dismissal from the Houston Dash marks the fourth head coach to be fired this year. It feels like a lot. Is it, though? The guys put the NWSL head coach firings in context, and when is appropriate to fire a coach when they may not have as much impact on the field as we've always thought.
Plus, it sucks that Trinity Rodman's presence or absence at Ben Shelton's U.S. Open final became a story. Like, a lot.
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Want to play Road to 75? Click here!
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 12 min
Vlatko Andonovski FIRED?! Plus, How to Rebuild the Chicago Stars
Show notes
Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
The Chicago Stars are comfortably on track to be the worst team in NWSL history. They just sold Jameese Joseph to the Utah Royals, too. What's the plan, here? How can they get back to winning ways in a few years when the roster, front office, and coaching staff are either broken or in flux? The guys try to figure it out.
Plus, why on earth did the Kansas City Current fire Vlatko Andonovski???
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Want to play Road to 75? Click here!
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 33 min
xOG UNLOCKED: The Big WSL Preview, with Jessy Parker Humphreys! Bonus
Show notes
Want more great bonus content like this? Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get four exclusive bonus episodes every month and much more!
The leaves are turning, and Eric and Evan both have birthdays next week, which can only mean one thing: the Women's Super League is back! Observer columnist and Counter Pressed co-host Jessy Parker Humphreys makes their triumphant return to the show to talk about the state of English women's football's top tier, and where all 14 teams stand to win titles, qualify for Champions League places, and battle against relegation. Lock n load!
0:50 The state of the WSL: New promotion/relegation structure, new payroll restrictions
17:25 Manchester City
23:57 Arsenal
31:28 Chelsea
44:18 London City Lionesses
56:02 Manchester United
1:02:38 Tottenham Hotspur
1:08:50 Brighton & Hove Albion
1:12:53 Liverpool, West Ham, Everton, Aston Villa
1:17:35 Promoted Sides: Birmingham City, Crystal Palace, Charlton Athletic
1:23:03 League PredictionsLearn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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57 min
What Esther González's Shock Departure from Gotham FC Means for the NWSL
Show notes
Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
Esther González's mutual contract termination with Gotham FC back in July "for personal reasons" wasn't that unusual. Her quick signing with Al Qadsiah in Saudia Arabia did throw people for a loop. Guardian and Defector columnist Abigail Segel returns to the show to unpack why Esther may have done what she did, how aggrieved Gotham should feel, and what it says about the NWSL's place in the broader women's soccer ecosystem.
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Want to play Road to 75? Click here!
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
-
53 min
Can You Build a Champion?! xOG's Road to 75 Deathmatch!
Show notes
Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
Evan is out this week but have no fear — we have a very special episode for y'all. Eric is joined by friends of the pod Kieran Doyle-Davis (ASA, creator of Road to 75) and Arianna Cascone (ESPN, EQZ) as they go head-to-head-to-head in a deathmatch of Meg Linehan's favorite viral WoSo game: Road to 75. Who will reign victorious? Who will crash out?
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Want to play Road to 75? Click here!
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 14 min
What Are the Kansas City Current, Exactly?
Show notes
Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
The guys burn through the rest of the weekend's action to get to their main story this week: the Kansas City Current. They're good, but they're also bad? But maybe not? But maybe yes when they don't have Temwa Chawinga? Or maybe they're unlucky? And what about the terrible away record? The guys parse all of it.
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 9 min
The Chaotic Resurgence of the NWSL's North Carolina Courage
Show notes
Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
A quick roundup of the weekend's action lands the guys at the feet of one of the wildest and most entertaining games you'll ever see: North Carolina Courage 4, Washington Spirit 3. Since the return from summer break, the Courage have looked like the most dominant team in the NWSL, and the most vulnerable. How have they moved on from Manaka Matsukubo, and is Ashely Sanchez making her MVP and USWNT cases undeniable?
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 17 min
Toggling the NWSL Playoff Line
Show notes
Join our Patreon for only $6/month to get exclusive bonus content!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
The guys wonder how all the weekend's games were either demolitions or squeakers. Then, they dig into the status of teams around the playoff line. What will it take to get to the dance in a 30-game season, and which team on the outside looking in has the best chance of breaking through come November?
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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47 min
Over- and Underperformers in the First Half of the NWSL Season
Show notes
Use the code "UPGRADE" to get a discount on a new or upgraded Patreon membership!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
After a quick run through last weekend's action, the guys muse on who has been playing way over their heads, and who is due for a boost in the second half of the season. Don't buy some players' goal totals!Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Art by Eli Elbogen
Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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42 min
xOG UNLOCKED: Diving into Data with Boston Legacy's Jordyn Kaplan Bonus
Show notes
Enjoy this free Patreon episode on us! Use the code "UPGRADE" to get a discount on a new or upgraded Patreon membership today!
Get our limited-edition xOG scarves and much more at the xOG store!
The Patreon companion to our chat with Edward Gallagher on main feed finds us talking to Boston Legacy director of data analytics Jordyn Kaplan. Jordyn lays out what her role is with the club, how she helps not only the recruitment process but also the coaching and performance staffs. Boston's "data informed, not data driven" philosophy is one Jordyn has implemented all across the front office. How has that paid off through the first half of the 2026 season, and what is yet to come? The guys learn a great deal from Jordyn's insights.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 27 min
How to Build an NWSL Roster from Scratch, with Boston Legacy's Edward Gallagher
Show notes
Use the code "UPGRADE" to get a discount on a new or upgraded Patreon membership!!! Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now! The Boston Legacy set out to do something no NWSL club had ever done: build an entire roster without any drafts, and with only a small group of players with previous league experience. How did they do it? What did they value? Has it worked? The guys spoked with the club's director of recruitment, Edward Gallagher, to gain insight on how he and general manager Domènec Guasch envisioned the squad both for their inaugural season and for years to come. Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series! Follow us on TikTok and Instagram Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com Art by Eli Elbogen Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 16 min
Why Age Curves Matter in the NWSL
Show notes
Use the code "UPGRADE" to get a discount on a new or upgraded Patreon membership!!! Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now! With Guro Reiten, Sam Kerr and Denise O'Sullivan coming to Gotham this year, the club's plan seems clear: load up on stars over the age of 30. Lindsey Heaps is Denver's newest contribution to their aging lineup. But these are all stars, right? Why does it matter how old they are? The guys explain why age very much matters in high performance athletics, and not always in the ways you think . Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series! Follow us on TikTok and Instagram Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com Art by Eli Elbogen Music by Devin Drobka's Bell Dance Songs
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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1 hr 29 min
NWSL's Big Summer Transactions: What's Angel City Doing?!?
Show notes
Use the code "UPGRADE" to get a discount on a new or upgraded Patreon membership!!!
Get our limited-edition scarves and more merch at the xOG store now!
The NWSL's summer transfer window is in full swing, and we've already seen some massive moves. Sam Kerr is coming to Gotham! Manaka Matsukubo is going to Chelsea! Most importantly, Angel City shipped Kennedy Fuller, brought in Ally Sentnor, and fired their coach. What exactly are Willow Bay's and Mark Parsons's plans for the club right now???
Like & subscribe to our YouTube page and watch the second season of our Anatomy of series!
Follow us on TikTok and Instagram
Did we make an own goal? E-mail us at xog@xowngoals.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://megaphone.fm/adchoices
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