What The Heart Wants

NWSL Season Preview (Part II)

The season preview show on Lifetime returned with Dalen and Karina interviewing Vancouver Legacy forward and captain Christine Sinclair on returning to lead her hometown's team in its first season in the NWSL and how she saw her role changing from when she started with Portland in 2013. Following that, a rundown of the Western Conference teams was done, with Portland's quest for back-to-back titles and Chicago's Title-Or-Bust off-season highlighted. After a commercial break, the show moved into a segment called "Hot Topics", a rapid-fire series of questions for the panelists on trends in the league or supposition as to things that will happen during the season.

Dalen: With the move to two conferences, is this year's championship game a foregone conclusion to be the Red Stars and Courage?

Aly: Not necessarily. The gap between those two and their closest competitors in the league isn't as wide as some might think and it's possible the two best teams in the league are housed in the same conference.

Jenn: I'm going to say no. The Pride have most of their offense from last year back and got a solid replacement for Alex Morgan in Sydney Leroux, while Seattle and Kansas City both are capable of stopping Chicago's run to the title.

Karina: Not foregone, but a pretty good bet given that no other team in the league can say they have all the pieces in place to top their conference.

Lori: I think so. Despite small holes in both teams' rosters, they have the strongest first XIs and are deep enough to nab points late and secure the top seeds for the playoffs.

Kate: The Courage are definitely odds-on to be one half of the final, and unless Kansas City can upgrade their goalkeeping to match the rest of their starters, Chicago should be penciled-in for the other half.

Dalen: Coach most likely to be fired first this season, if any.

Karina: Jim Gabarra. His roster purge in Washington has cost him some good talent for little in return, and if the results on the field don't come, he should be bounced.

Lori: Omar Morales. He'll end up being the fall guy for Brian Ching's mismanagement of the team's assets in the off-season.

Aly: With so many coaches in their first full seasons with their clubs, unless one of them gets off to a disastrous start, I can't see any of them failing to finish it.

Jenn: I'm going with Gabarra. To see how far the team has fallen since playing for the NWSL title eighteen months ago, I don't know how long ownership there lets him continue if they don't show improvement over the first trip around the conference.

Kate: My money is on Ching being gone before Morales, as he was the one who pulled the plug on Randy Waldrum last year and installed Morales.

Dalen: Most likely player to be traded to a contender after their team falls out of playoff contention.

Kate: Sam Kerr. I think she will be the last piece to the puzzle for a team like Portland if they want to chase down the Red Stars juggernaut.

Lori: Shelina Zadorsky. Defense wins championships, and a team in need of some additional back line help will call the Spirit and try to acquire her.

Aly: I'm going to say AD Franch. If Portland is fifth or sixth in the West at the All-Star break, one of the Wild Card contenders might see her as a viable short-term upgrade to get them into the playoffs.

Jenn: Carli Lloyd. The Dash are as the Dash have always been, a team that props up the rest of the league. She will insist to move to a playoff team if Houston can't keep up with Vancouver or Portland come mid-July.