Take Care of Yo' Mentals, Yo' Body, Yo' Chicken, and Yo' Group Chat

What’s up squad. I’ll keep it brief this week because we are living through the absurd. Update for me, I am now the new Typo Queen, and I’m glad that my failing my brilliant and dedicated English teachers and my mother has brought joy to the WOSO community. I do what I can in these dark times. I feel like I laugh a lot these days, but I don’t feel like I am personally funny right now. Truthfully, so much of what is around the beautiful game is awful and tries its best to take away the joy I have for it. It hasn’t happened yet, which probably means we’re stuck for life. But between the abuses screamed at Barbra Banda, the quickly dismissed assault of Daniela Caracas, and the reinstatement of gender testing by the World Athletics, it is a bleak time for our trans siblings, and for Black women who will never fit the standard of femininity set by this country and much of society. The ability of these players, these women, to play and play well despite of their circumstances is a testament to the perseverance they shouldn’t have to possess. But I’m tired, and I imagine everyone else who is “othered” is as well. It’s a familiar refrain readers, but now, more than ever, make sure the Black women in your life are celebrated.

We have merch!

What’s up y’all! We still have our new HBCU merch for sale. Rep your favorite HBCU or organization while supporting SBFC and a good cause. Below is a blurb about why we chose this line. Thank you for your support and we hope you love your new gear!

Elevate, Celebrate, Educate. These are three words that get to the heart of why Shea Butter FC was created. We elevate and celebrate Black women in the game through education and community building. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have lived these principles in support of Black people in America since Reconstruction. It felt right to throw our support behind these institutions that elevate Black intelligence and talent, celebrate our many accomplishments and leaders, and educate Black people in a country that continues to fight against it. Furthermore, HBCUs have men’s and women’s soccer programs that are rarely amplified, despite their success. We want to change that. You can join the movement to Elevate HBCU Soccer with this merch. Tell your family, tell your friends, and support your favorite HBCU by choosing from our many color combinations. HBCUs and young Black people need us now more than ever!

Grab your gear here!

*A portion of sales for this line will be donated to the United Negro College Fund. To find out more about UNCF, pleases read their mission here

Match Recaps and Notable Goal Scorers

*_{note, all names listed in italics are players that scored, the number beside their name indicates the minute they scored their goal. (P) = goal scored was a penalty kick}

It’s been another busy week for our Black ballers. We had action in the WSL, the UWCL, and the NWSL this week, and we have one more weekend of action before the international break. Tap in and make sure the Black women in your life are celebrated!

UEFA Women’s Champions League

Lyon 4, Bayern Munich 1 - Melchie Dumornay 46, Kadidiatou Diani 54, Tabitha Chawinga 60

Barcelona 6, Wolfsburg 1 - Salma Paralluelo 10, 20, Esmee Brugts 41, Lineth Beerensteyn 72

Chelsea 3, Manchester City 0 - Sandy Baltimore 14

Barclays Women’s Super League

Leicester City 3, Brighton 2 - Madison Haley 73

Chelsea 2, Manchester City 1 - Kerolin 32

West Ham United 2, Tottenham 0 - Viviane Asseyi 90

Everton 3, Crystal Palace 0 - Kelly Gago 90+5

National Women’s Soccer League

Angel City FC 1, Portland Thorns 1 - Reilyn Turner 30

Seattle Reign FC 2, North Carolina Courage 1 - Jordyn Bugg 56, Aline Gomes 59

Kansas City Current 2, Washington Spirit 0 - Temwa Chawinga 90+8

Houston Dash 2, Chicago (Red) Stars 1 - Jameese Joseph 17

Bay FC 2, Racing Louisville 0 - Karlie Lema 45+2

San Diego Wave 3, Utah Royals 2 - Gia Corley 74

Notable Goals

Jordyn Bugg and Karlie Lema scored their first NWSL goals last weekend, and both of them were beauties. Jordyn Bugg is an early contender for Goal of the Year with her game winning hit. Gia Corley also scored the game winner for surprising San Diego. Two goals in two games isn’t bad for the German international, who may earn herself a callup soon.

Black In Action: Madison Haley

Madison Haley has spent the last several seasons betting on herself. She first bypassed the NWSL Draft, where she was selected by Chicago, and went to Sydney to grow her game. She excelled in the A-League and it landed her a move to the WSL, with Brighton & Hove Albion last season. She has had inconsistent minutes as she’s learned first one coach, then another, on a team with a sneaky good roster. This season, Brighton has had injuries to key players, and that has led to Madison getting more starts, including starting Brighton’s last five matches. A Stanford alum, she gave her former teammate Naomi Girma grief in her Chelsea debut, and this week, she scored her first goal of the season on a lovely shot. Haley has put in work and covered a lot of ground on both sides of the ball for a Brighton side that has fallen short of expectations. She has performed when it seems very few are watching, and has become an integral part of Brighton’s team. She is a wonderful example of an American player making it in one of the most competitive leagues in women’s soccer without all the noise or hype. She is proof that if you trust in your talents and know what you can bring to a team, you can push yourself and have a long and rewarding professional career abroad. Ball out Madison, we see you!

Anatomy of a Goal: Kerolin

Hello brother, sisters, and siblings. Have you heard the good news of the Gospel of Kerolin? Well, if you haven’t, that’s okay, I’m here to preach the word. Full disclosure, Kerolin is one of my favorite players to watch and has been for a few years. I love few things more than a saucy winger who isn’t scared to run at defenders. Does it require a massive amount of confidence and a little bit of arrogance to play this way, absolutely. That’s the best part though. Goals like this happen when we let players like Kerolin be themselves and create on the ball. These moments don’t always come off, but when they do you get this magic.

This goal is a Kerolin goal, and I don’t know a more detailed way to explain that. Kerolin had been making a similar run, albeit a bit wider, most of the match to this point. The beauty of this run is you can tell she finally figured out how to manipulate the space in closer to goal. She starts her run just right of the center, forcing Millie Bright to commit to the chase. She stays on the ball but slows it down to allow for the help defense to come. Once Niamh Charles comes up, Kerolin shields the ball with her right foot while angling her body slightly left. This invites two extra defenders to help shield the far post, while Hannah Hampton holds the central area of the goal, while leaning slighting right to cover the near post, in case she pokes it with the outside of her right boot. After all, Kero is right foot dominant and prefers a cut shot if possible, so she would have to angle it past those defenders to hit the far corner. Or, she hits the shorter shot and Hampton makes the easy save near post. Those are the only two options, correct? Wrong! She forces Millie Bright to plant, which leaves enough space at the 6 hole, and she megs Millie while freezing Hampton, who did not think there was a third option for how she’d take that shot. It’s a brilliant game of chess from Kero that she won pretty easily. I love her mind, I love her art, I hate that she plays for a rival, but I will always be here to celebrate a Kerolin goal. I hope you’ll join me next time. Amen.

Cultural Cuts: The Current Moment

What’s up everyone. We are excited to share with you all a brand new podcast that is a part of the Shea Butter Network. Thom is now the host of The Current Moment, a podcast about the Kansas City Current. For the first episode, Thom speaks with our other new team member Riss about the Washington Spirit vs Kansas City Current match last weekend. This one is gonna be fun. Make sure you like and subscribe on your favorite platform!

Quick Musings on a Roster: April Showers Bring More Questions

Everything about this April window is a little bit chaotic. Whether it is the chaotic good, neutral, or bad, is yet to be determined. In addition to the senior national team playing two matches against Brazil in California, the youth teams are all booked and busy. The U23 is training alongside the senior team in Los Angeles, the U20 team will train in Kansas City, the U19 and U18 squads will train together in Fayetteville, GA, the new of of U.S. Soccer, and the U17 squad will be a part of the U17 World Cup qualifiers. Emma Hayes has spoken about wanting to look at as many players as possible, and this is one way to do it. We have so much young talent, I understand trying to see it in order to narrow down who is “worth” investing in for development for 2027 vs 2031. Hayes is also new to the World Cup process. She has never been a national team coach, and certainly has not been one for the most successful national team in women’s football. I think we’ve hit the part of the program where we realize she’s still working from theory because theory is what she has. The Olympics aren’t the World Cup. There is no pain cave great enough to win a month long tournament. Teams that win the World Cup do so because they are one of the best teams, because they are good at the football, whatever style that may be. This period is to see who is good at the football, and that isn’t a bad thing. I’m glad we get to take a look at a player like Avery Patterson, but I am concerned that we feel like we don’t have depth at the FB, particularly the LB position. Do we not have depth or do we not have the player profile Hayes desires? And if we don’t, is it not on the coach to adapt to the talent we do have at the ready? I do not know the answer to all of this, but these are questions we, and likely Hayes, are asking in a year with no major tournament for the team. Let’s do chaos, for now. I’ll go along for the ride for a few more windows.

Final Thoughts: And Some of Us Are Brave: When Black Folks Lead

What’s up y’all. I’ve been ruminating on leadership, particularly in the soccer space, for the past few weeks. And I had a lovely six paragraph scree in the exact section, and then none of it saved. None of it. It also didn’t save my first musings on the WNT roster above this, so that piece is as chaotic as the roster itself. So, after taking a deep breath, I’ve decided that I will space out my thoughts on the matter over several editions of the newsletter. One of my famous refrains is that soccer is a microcosm for society. It is the perfect vessel to be so, as it is one of the only true universal languages. The game touches every part of the globe, and the rules are uniform across the board, which helps it translate to so completely. When I speak on soccer as a microcosm, particularly from the U.S. lens, I’m concerned that our federation, and all the other parts of the system, believe in the leadership styles so closely tied to white supremacy. We see the failings, or successes if you recognize the wanton destruction of society, of leadership based in this ideology on our society in the present moment. The need to cling to something false that centers white feelings over every other lived reality, and statements of fact, is a tenant of the supremacy ideology, and it closes us off from other leaderships styles. Moreover, we are following this same model of leadership despite our national teams, men’s and women’s, senior and youth, rostering more Black players and players of color than ever before. This proves that the soccer structure in this country understands, on some level, that diversity makes us better, more competitive, and harder to defeat.

Unfortunately, they seem to only understand this when we are the labor, never when we are posited to lead. It often comes with a litany of excuses. “She’s too loud, but you can’t be too shy. She’s too aggressive. Oh no, why isn’t she being more aggressive. These players are some of the most intelligent players I’ve ever met. Wait, your intelligence in limited to what you can do on the ball, we can’t actually follow you.” These are attributes that are cultivated in white players, even if they do not want that, as Thierry Henry pointed out with Christian Pulisic after the men lost both of their matches over the break. The team had a Black captain in Tyler Adams. While the style of play was rightfully criticized at times, he led a well structed team on the pitch in a major tournament. The women’s national team has never had a selected captain. All captaincies have been ceremonial or temporary. For all of the talk of Naomi Girma’s inevitable ascent to the captaincy, there has been little talk of nurturing her leadership skills specifically. With the limited number of Black players on the national team in prior generations, any attempts to lead differently, because Black women lead VERY differently, were chalked up to bad leadership skills and locker room problems. It was the outright rejection of leadership styles that may very well be more suited to this generation. Additionally, not only do these players not get access to older Black players, they don’t get access to Black coaches. There was study done several years back around student learning in higher education. In summation, it stated that any student of color that had any instructor of color teaching their course, performed better and was more attentive than they were in courses taught by white instructors. A coach is just an instructor, and players are students. Representation is not the only thing, but it absolutely matters. As long as players are unable to see themselves in leadership roles, the possibility of becoming a leader is lacking. A pathway to leadership is harder to pave. Emma Hayes does not believe in the singular leader, despite only having one captain of her team. That is part of Black feminist thought. She is echoing Black woman leadership. I’m excited for her to put actions behind it.

Okay, that’s it for this part of it. More to come, but until then, take care of yourselves, and each other.