Rose City Red Card

Alan and Marissa
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Soccer

The unfiltered Portland Thorns podcast. Marissa bleeds rose. Alan is from Seattle, which makes things interesting. Match breakdowns, hot takes, and one rant per episode. Adults only. Bring a drink.

Episodes

  1. 8h ago

    August 2, 2026: F*ck a Six, We Need Center Backs

    Utah 5, Portland 1. We recorded two hours after the whistle, Marissa on a mic at her parents' place in Las Vegas, and the argument she has been making for five straight episodes died on air. All season it has been the hole Sam Coffey left at the six. Somewhere in the second half she texted Alan "we need center backs. f**k a 6," and most of this episode is her working out why she changed her mind and then defending the new version for twenty minutes. Portland scored inside the first minute and lost by four. Utah were playing their third game in eight days. Portland had been off for nine. Also in here: the back four that changes almost every week, why Marissa thinks Mackenzie Arnold is carrying blame that isn't hers, what the money is actually for, and why all of it comes back to Sophia Wilson's contract. Adults only. Bring a drink. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:14 Utah 5, Portland 1 — and it wasn't the road 02:47 Their third game in eight days, and we still fell apart 06:00 "F**k a six. We need centerbacks." 08:49 The new coach, and five goals 10:35 The FIFA share sale that got scrapped 11:03 The table: sixth, and it flatters us 12:34 Mackenzie Arnold, and a back line that changes every week 14:31 The money is there 18:00 The window, and Soph 21:51 It isn't Arnold's fault 24:39 Klingenberg honored, and Sonnett's season 27:54 Back at Providence Park on the 15th Takeaways: - Utah Royals 5-1 Portland Thorns, August 2, at America First Field. Sophia Wilson scored inside the first minute. Delzer got two, then Mozingo, Palacios, and a Kate Del Fava header from a corner on 89. Portland had conceded 20 in the previous 17 matches. - All season Marissa has said the problem is the hole Sam Coffey left at the six. Mid-match she texted Alan "we need center backs. f**k a 6." Most of this episode is her taking that apart. - Utah were playing their third match in eight days. Portland had nine days off and scored in the first minute. - The back four changes almost every week. Marissa puts Mackenzie Arnold's dip in form down to that rather than to the goalkeeper. - Portland are sixth on 28 points from 18, goal difference +3. They went into the night two behind Utah and came out five behind. North Carolina, Angel City and Seattle all sit below them with games in hand. - Sophia Wilson is a free agent after this season and still unsigned. The window shuts September 7. - Portland have the same salary cap as Gotham. The money, the facility and the ownership are all there. No center back has been signed. - Emily Sonnett ruptured her patellar tendon and is out for the season. - Meghan Klingenberg is honored at Providence Park on August 15, the first game the two of us watch together in the building. Next week is Boston away, our last remote recording. Then August 15, back in person.

  2. Jul 27

    July 26, 2026: Don't F*ck with Providence Park

    Portland 2, Gotham 2. A point against the league leaders, an eleventh straight home game unbeaten, and a club record — and none of it is the thing you remember. Emily Sonnett went down non-contact in the seventh minute and left Providence Park on a stretcher, and twenty-one thousand people in a building she doesn't play for anymore stood up for her. We open on that and we close on that, and we don't guess at a diagnosis in between. In the middle: Renee Lyles scoring and assisting in her first ever start, Morgan Weaver back on the pitch after a year and a half and three knee surgeries, and the salary-cap deep dive we've been promising for two episodes. Adults only. Bring a drink. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:14 Before anything else: Emily Sonnett 02:59 2-2, and 11 straight unbeaten at home 03:38 The game: Purce at two minutes, Lyles' chip, Kerr, and ten men 10:58 Morgan Weaver is back 14:34 What still needs work 20:36 The table: Utah leapfrog us 22:32 The transfer window: still no center back 24:07 The cap, the HIP rule, and how Gotham did it 29:29 Utah away, and one more for Sonnett Takeaways: - Portland 2, Gotham 2, at Providence Park. Midge Purce scored inside two minutes off a Reiten cross. Renee Lyles equalized on 21 with a chip over Ann-Katrin Berger — her first professional goal, in her first ever start, in her sixth appearance — assisted by Pietra Tordin. Jessie Fleming put Portland ahead on 53, deflected off Purce, assisted by Lyles. Sam Kerr levelled on 62 off a corner. - Emily Sonnett went off on a stretcher in the seventh minute, non-contact. No diagnosis has been published and we don't speculate on one. The whole building stood. - Eleven straight at home without a loss is a club record. Every league defeat this season has come on the road, and the next two are away. - Perry saw red on 72 as the last defender on Kerr. Marissa's read: nobody wants to call it a good foul, but it was the foul you make. - Renee Lyles got a goal and an assist in her first career start. Pietra Tordin leads the entire NWSL in assists with seven, and signed through 2029 last week. - Morgan Weaver is back after eighteen months and three surgeries on the same knee. Two standing ovations in one night — one for a player going off injured, one for a player coming back from it. - What still needs work: the goalkeeper talking to her back line, and a second minute that went missing. The midfield of Moultrie, Tordin and Fleming is not the problem. - Portland sit fifth on 28 points. Utah beat North Carolina and jumped us. Nothing on Sunday's card could move Portland either way — fifth is fifth. - Transfer window still open until September. Nina Nijstad in, Spaanstra sold to Utah, extensions signed, still no center back, and Sophia Wilson still unsigned. No news is treated as good news. - The cap and the HIP rule: Gotham's president of soccer operations has called the salary cap "a competitive weapon." Sam Kerr isn't even eligible for the high-impact-player rule the nickname suggests — what's actually moving is banked allocation money. The players' union filed a grievance in January over the rule being imposed without bargaining, and it hasn't been resolved. Angel City took a $200,000 fine and a three-point deduction for cap violations in 2024 — the points hurt, the money didn't. Both of us land on the same place: raise the cap. Next up: Utah away on August 2, and a proper segment on trans inclusion in women's sports. New episodes weekly. Yell back at us: rosecityredcard@gmail.com

  3. Jul 21

    July 19, 2026: Mile High Clash of the Captains

    Denver 2, Portland 1. Our old MVP came home to Colorado, pulled on the wrong shirt, and assisted the winner, so we gave it a full night before we sat down. That turned out to be the right call for a Lindsey Heaps homecoming. Portland are unbeaten at home and haven't won on the road all year, and this was the away day that dropped them to fourth. We get into the cohesion problem Marissa can't stop diagnosing, the clash of the North American captains at altitude, an air-quality mess at the Queen's Classic, and a transfer window that still hasn't produced a center back. Adults only. Bring a drink. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:14 Cold open: a night to become reasonable 00:50 The game: Denver 2-1, and the cohesion problem 07:29 The homecoming of Lindsey Heaps 12:35 The table and the match week 18:14 Air quality at the Queen's Classic 22:19 What we're drinking 23:59 The transfer window: Fleming, Tordin, still no center back 27:31 Wrap and the tease What we were drinking: - Alan: Lagunitas IPA. California, pointedly not a Seattle beer this week. His second. - Marissa: Rose City well vodka. "Easy peasy." Takeaways: - Denver 2, Portland 1, at Denver's home opener. Janine Sonis equalized in the eighth minute of first-half stoppage; Natalie Means won it at 86'. Portland were out-shot, out-cornered and out-possessed by an expansion side. - Marissa's read: not a defensive failure so much as a cohesion one. Midfield, attack and back line moved as three separate units, and Sophia Wilson spent the game marooned up top against four defenders while the midfield jogged in ten seconds late. - The road is the season. Unbeaten at Providence Park; every league loss this year has come away from home. - Wilson's 25' penalty was her 51st career club goal, which by their count ties Megan Rapinoe on the single-club list. Said as "by my count," not as a published milestone. - Lindsey Heaps gets the respect, not the boos. Captain America started at #10, played all 90, and set up the winner. Clash of the North American captains: Heaps for the USA, Jessie Fleming for Canada. - Portland sit 4th on 27 points from 16. Gotham 30, San Diego 29, Washington level on 27 from two fewer games. - Air quality nearly stole the Queen's Classic. AQI up around 170, a heat index near 100F, oxygen on the sideline, and 42,000 in the seats anyway. The point the hosts land on: the gate money kept a match on the field that maybe shouldn't have been, and the league's thresholds should move. - Transfer window: Jessie Fleming re-signed through 2028, Pietra Tordin through 2029, still no center back. Marissa is claiming credit for the Tordin deal. Next up: Gotham at Portland, July 24, Pride Night at Providence Park, plus the salary-cap deep dive we keep teasing. New episodes weekly. Yell back at us: rosecityredcard@gmail.com

  4. Jul 16

    July 14, 2026: The Coffey-Sized Hole in Our Midfield

    Seattle 2, Portland 0. We watched the derby, stewed for two days, and then sat down at the bar to talk about it. The short version: the Thorns didn't show up. That's four trips to Lumen Field now without a single goal. Marissa's whole thing this week is that Portland has a Coffey-sized hole in the midfield and nobody to fill it. The transfer window opened the morning we recorded, and Portland still hasn't signed the player we've been asking for since day one. Adults only. Bring a drink. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:14 Cold open: the apology 00:51 The Derby: Seattle 2-0 Portland, and the Lumen goal drought 08:51 The Coffey-Sized Hole: the midfield needs a defensive six 11:52 The Nijstad signing: a project, not the fix 14:48 What we're drinking 15:50 The Table: Portland stuck on 27, San Diego lead on 28 19:26 The Window: the six they still need 21:29 Next week at Denver, and the sign-off What we were drinking: - Alan: Space Dust IPA. Elysian, formerly fantastic, now Anheuser-Busch. - Marissa: well vodka. "Rose City vodka, come on." Takeaways: - Seattle won 2-0 at Lumen. Ryanne Brown scored in the 8th, her first league goal, a defender filling in for the injured Madison Curry. Mercado got the second before half. Portland managed nothing. - 26 shots. 10 on target. Zero goals. Seattle did it with their backup keeper. - That's four straight visits to Lumen without a Portland goal. - Marissa's read, and the reason for the title: Portland has no defensive six tying the back line to the attack. The coach basically admitted it after the game. - A win would have put Portland top of the table alone for the first time all year. They took zero instead and sit tied on 27 with Washington. San Diego lead on 28. - The only business so far is Dutch midfielder Nina Nijstad. She'll be great in a couple years. She is not the six they need now. Next up: Portland at Denver on Saturday, on the road. Denver just drew 2-2 at home with Houston. New episodes weekly. Yell back at us: rosecityredcard@gmail.com

  5. Jul 6

    July 5, 2026: 4-0 and Second Place

    Portland 4, Racing Louisville 0. Our first reaction episode: we watched it live, then broke it down with fresh eyes. The Thorns roll the last-place team, jump to 2nd in the NWSL, and we look ahead to a Cascadia derby at Seattle. Adults only — bring a drink. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:14 Cold open — Dank Coast IPA & Midnight Runts 02:51 The Game — Thorns 4-0 Louisville, and how it could've gone sideways 06:22 Emma Sears & "we told you" — the Louisville winger's trade request (Ep 1 callback) 13:02 Around the League — Rodman's brace, KC's turnaround, Utah's streak snapped 18:15 Standings — Portland climbs to 2nd, one point behind San Diego 19:08 The Window & What's Next — transfer window opens in a week; the six they still need 21:35 Next week: Seattle — the Cascadia derby, and the "not my Seattle" of it all What we were drinking: "Dank Coast IPA," a home-brew (the AI named it), the first decent beer in ten years. Plus "Midnight Runts" on the smoke side. Takeaways: - Portland 4-0 Racing Louisville at Providence Park — revenge for the 3-1 loss earlier this season, against the same last-place side. - Perry, a center back, opened the scoring off a Moultrie free kick, three minutes after a yellow — right as the club chases a center back. Started over Reyes and looked the part. - Tordin: a goal and two assists. Wilson capped it in the 82nd; McKenzie Arnold kept the clean sheet — the POTM debate was Tordin vs Arnold. - Portland looked like the best team in the league — clinical in the final third while Louisville lumped long balls in with nothing to show. - The 4-0 plus Utah's first loss in nine pushes Portland to 2nd, 27 pts, one behind San Diego. - Transfer window opens in about a week. The take: keep the core (Wilson, Moultrie, Turner, Tordin, Müller) and buy a real defensive six. - Next up: Seattle Reign, who just lost 3-1 to North Carolina. Jess Fishlock is out injured and retiring this year. Around the league (Round 11): Washington 2-1 Houston, KC 3-0 Denver, Angel City 2-0 Orlando, NC 3-1 Seattle, San Diego 2-0 Gotham, Chicago 3-2 Utah, Boston 2-2 Bay. Next match: Portland at Seattle Reign, Sun Jul 12, Lumen Field, on ESPN. New episodes weekly. Listen wherever you get podcasts.

  6. Jul 5

    Ep 1: NWSL Is Back

    The international break is over and the Thorns are back. Alan and Marissa — with a drop-in from our friend Randi and fact-checks from Brooke on the screen — run down what Portland's players got up to around the world (Marie Müller's Germany debut, the USA's ugly Brazil friendlies, Canada, Australia), then dig into a wild summer trade window headlined by Sam Kerr to Gotham, and preview Sunday's home match against Racing Louisville. Adults only — bring a drink. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:15 Cold open — the NWSL is finally back 01:09 Thorns around the world — Marie Müller's Germany debut 02:05 USA in Brazil — Wilson and Moultrie in the "rugby match" friendlies 07:08 Canada — Alidou and Fleming in the 6-0 over Costa Rica 07:56 Australia vs Mexico — Arnold and Reyes ("thorn-on-thorn crime") 08:50 Cheers — Randi joins for a WSL-vs-NWSL explainer 14:21 The trades — Sam Kerr to Gotham headlines a busy June 18:38 More moves — Sentnor to Angel City, and a coaching mess in LA 21:34 Back to the board — Reale to Boston, Fuller to Bay FC 24:05 Prep for Louisville — Sunday at Providence Park 26:47 Wrap and tease — Emma Sears breaking news, then out New episodes weekly. Listen wherever you get podcasts.

  7. Trailer

    Trailer

    The unfiltered Portland Thorns podcast. Marissa is a lifelong Thorns fan and Providence Park regular. Alan is from Seattle, which makes things interesting. Match breakdowns, NWSL hot takes, and one rant per episode that probably goes too long. Full episodes start during the 2026 NWSL season. Subscribe so episode 1 lands in your feed. Adults only. Bring a drink. — Hosts: Alan & Marissa Recorded in Portland OR Site: rosecityredcard.com

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About

The unfiltered Portland Thorns podcast. Marissa bleeds rose. Alan is from Seattle, which makes things interesting. Match breakdowns, hot takes, and one rant per episode. Adults only. Bring a drink.

Information

  • Creator
    Alan and Marissa
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Rose City Red Card
  • Show Website
    Rose City Red Card

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