Welcome to the first edition of Land of the Free Kick! This one-man operation aims to cover professional soccer in the US, from the national teams, MLS, and NWLS down to USL League 1 and MLS Next Pro. Check your inbox every week for scores, news, and thoughts on recent soccer action in the United States.
Forward Pass - Recent Headlines
USMNT survives Costa Rica thriller, advances to Gold Cup semifinals via Matt Freese’s penalty shootout heroics - Henry Bushnell, Yahoo! Sports
United States beats Ireland again as Biyendolo, Ryan strike - ESPN News Services
U.S. Soccer Launches Committee to Provide Recommendations for the Future Success of Men’s and Women’s College Soccer - U.S. Soccer Official Website
Matches to Watch This Week
USA vs Guatemala | CONCACAF Gold Cup Semi-final
Wednesday, July 2, 2025, 7:00 PM ET
After last night’s penalty shootout drama, the US looks to continue its journey to the Gold Cup Finals in a matchup against Guatemala, who find themselves in the semi-finals after they also triumphed in a penalty shootout versus Canada.
USA vs Canada | Women’s International Friendly
Wednesday, July 2, 2025, 7:30 PM ET
The USWNT has won its last 4 friendlies in a row, all with clean sheets. Next up is a Canadian side that the US last played in the 2024 SheBelieves Cup final, a 2-2 draw that ended with the US on top after a 5-4 penalty shootout.
Colorado Springs vs Louisville City FC | USL Championship
Friday, July 4, 2025, 9:00 PM ET
It’s hot outside and fireworks are loud, so stay inside this year and catch some USL Championship action. Louisville City will try to extend its 3-point lead over Charleston Battery in the Eastern table as they take on a Colorado Springs team that is winless in its last 3.
International
USMNT
What a roller coaster.
The USMNT certainly didn’t make getting into the semi-finals easy for themselves. Their troubles started early as Max Arfsten made an ill-advised tackle in the box to give away a penalty in the 12th minute. Franciso Calvo converted it to give Costa Rica the lead. Later in the half, the US was awarded a penalty after a VAR review determined that Malik Tillman was fouled. Tillman’s kick ricocheted off the left post, leaving the US scoreless.
From there, however, the USMNT seemed to lock in despite the deflating circumstances. Max Arfsten made up for his earlier mistake by assisting Diego Luna in the 43rd minute and then scoring in the 47th from a Tillman pass to open up the second half. The US remained aggressive in pursuing a 3rd goal but ultimately fell short as Alonso Martínez equalized in the 71st minute. With the score knotted 2-2 when the final whistle blew, it was on to penalty kicks.
Insert joke here about Matt Freese having ice in his veins - that performance was nothing short of stellar.
The US won the penalty shootout 4-3 thanks in large part to Freese’s 3 saves. He was clearly in the zone as he even got a hand on the shots that went through.
“Penalties are my thing,” Freese said in a huge understatement. He also mentioned studying penalties all week leading up to the match.
His preparation and performance helped propel the US into their semi-final matchup against Guatemala this Wednesday (July 2).
USWNT
Unlike the men’s Gold Cup matchup, the USWNT’s friendly against Ireland yesterday was never really in doubt.
After defeating Ireland 4-0 on June 26th, manager Emma Hayes fielded an entirely different starting 11 for the follow-up match. Replacing Ally Sentnor up top, Lynn Biyendolo opened up the scoring in the 11th minute. The US continued to look dangerous on the right side thanks to Emma Sears, but it wasn’t until her deflected strike fell to defender Izzy Rodriguez that the US went up 2-0 in the 42nd minute. The goal was Rodriguez’s first in international competition.
Not to be outdone, Yazmeen Ryan scored her own first international goal off an assist from Olivia Moultrie. Alyssa Thompson found the back of the net in the 86th minute to make it 4-0 at the end of the match. Thompson also scored the final goal in the USWNT’s previous meeting with Ireland.
Next up for the US women is Canada, which is currently ranked 8th in the world rankings. The last time these two teams met, the US won 5-4 in penalties after a 2-2 draw. You can catch the USWNT in action this Wednesday (July 2) at 7:30 PM ET.
That’s it for the first edition of Land of the Free Kick! I’m slowly figuring out what I want this thing to be, ideally a weekly newsletter with an accompanying podcast. More content will be added as the weeks go on, including a full match list for all professional soccer leagues in the US and short recaps of matches as time allows. My love of soccer is a recent affliction, so I’m still very much learning about the game, but I hope my enthusiasm is helping to create something people want to read regularly to stay up-to-date with soccer in the US.
Thank you very much for reading!