Protagonist Podcasts

Founder of theCup.us joins Dan to discuss his entry into soccer, his goals for covering the Open Cup, and how he'd change the competition to make it more viable for the future. 

Damon joins the show to talk about what made USL2 the right spot for his club, along with a wide variety of topics, including the World Cup! Dennis and Dan break down the MANY playoff races going on across the country.

Newly appointed Head Coach of USL Leauge One's 2027 expansion side, Sporting Cascades FC, Darren Sawatzky, joins Josh on this episode of the Soccer Romantics. We discuss his childhood in Seattle, how he impressed the legendary Clive Charles enough to join the Portland Pilots, and the era of journeymen players looking for stability. 

With just three matches left in the USL W League Playoffs, John and Dan sit down to discuss the rapidly approaching end of the 2026 W League season.

Joel Nash, Senior Vice President of Youth & Pre-Professional Soccer at USL joins Josh Duder to talk about his life-long love for the beautiful game. The former player for University of Evansville is now one of the key members of the USL leadership team, growing the pre-professional level of soccer in the United States.

Longtime soccer journalist Charles Boehm sits down with Dan to discuss his entry into soccer, how the game has changed over the years, and how this year's World Cup will impact the future of the game in the United States.

John Morrisey is known throughout the lower league world as USLTactics. His application of analysis to the USL Championship level has been an eye-opening change for the online soccer community. He joins the show to discuss his connection to the sport and the goals of his work. 

Veteran broadcaster Jason Davis joins The Protagonist to discuss his entry to the sport, his goals behind the mic, and how he's managed to stay relavent for almost two decades covering the beautiful game. 

Dennis Crowley, most famous for his work in big tech, including Dodgeball, Foursquare, and Hopscotch Labs, joins The Soccer Romantics to discuss his passion project - soccer. A founder of the now decade-old soccer club Kingston Stockade and one of the primary influencers and cofounders of The League for Clubs, Dennis' passion for the sport is making it more sustainable. 

Dennis and Dan discuss World Cup magic, then transition to soccer warz in Nevada. Finally, the show wraps with a full tour of men's amateur soccer in the United States.

On our brand new show, The Soccer Romantics, Josh Duder welcomes the Country Manager of Hummel USA, former San Diego Nomad, Boston Bolt, Tampa Bay Rowdy, Charlotte Eagle and US National Team player, Jeff Duback. We talk about his work in the soccer apparel industry, playing in an era without a national first division, and how he fell in love with the game. 

One of two voices for the unique and entertaining broadcast team of San Francisco City FC, Jack Lowery, joins Josh on the pod. They discuss his unique format with Mark Federico Moreno, who was unable to join us. We get into Jack's soccer origin story then talk a little about the great season that SF City FC is having. 

Plenty of talk about the success of Yan Diomande in this year's World Cup. Christian Vallejos joins the show to talk about seeing Yan as a 16yo playing in the UPSL. We discuss the rise of soccer in Florida and the role of the UPSL in developing talent.

Halfway through the USL W League season and winners and losers are rapidly falling into place. John and Dan discuss the big results from the weekend and how the tables are being shaped.

Don Harmon of the Mountain Premier League joins the show to talk all things soccer in Colorado, plus a full run down of all the leagues in play across the country!

One last match of the 25/26 USL Super League season to break down. John, Danielle, and Dan discuss the finale of the season and celebrate a fantastic Lexington season.

Without a guest for the show, John and Dan discuss the meaninglessness of league-created power rankings, then dip into the results from another week of the USL W League.

The founder of the RGV Red Crowns, Jamal Fayyad, joins the show to talk about starting a soccer club in the Rio Grande Valley. His lessons on sustainability, thoughtfulness, and loving the game apply universally at the amateur level. Plus a full update of the national amateur scene.

On this show, Josh catches up with the first ever Univision Sueño winner, former Chivas USA, Portland Timber, LA Galaxy, Laguna Santos, and US National Team player, Jorge Villafaña. They discuss the differences in leagues, player development, and his transition from player to coach. Bangers FC are currently top of the USL League Two, PacNW Division, and Coach Villafaña tells us what we can do to help them earn a playoff spot!

The gang breaks down the semifinals and looks forward to the final match of the USL Super League season.

The head coach of Vermont Green's USL W League team stops by to talk about launching the women's program with so many expectations of success. Abby discusses her path to coaching, how she's embraced Vermont, and what to expect from year one.

Bill Marth joins the show to talk about the rise of the APSL and the impact the league is having across the country. Den and Dan discuss "the Hank" and if it should even exist, plus a quick trip across the country checking on all men's amateur leagues, large and small.

In this episode of the Super Show, the final matches have been played and now the playoffs can begin. Our team hands out post-season awards and makes playoff predictions. But WAIT, there's more! John and Danielle are joined by the head coach of the regular season champion Lexington SC, Kosuke Kimura. Kosuke discusses his team's drive to the top-seed heading into the playoffs.

Anthony Sardon, Director of Coaching for Snohomish United, joins the show to talk Northwest Division in the USL W League. From his time winning a NCAA DII Championship to his current position with Snohomish United, Anthony breaks down his approach to developing winning athletes in the Pacific Northwest.

Dennis and Dan are back to cover amateur soccer across the country. The founder of Tulsa Athletic, Sonny Dalesandro joins the show to talk all things Tulsa soccer, the growth of The League For Clubs, and disc golf, of course.

Josh Duder sat down with legendary player and coach, Frank Yallop, to find out what the former Ipswich and Tampa Bay Mutiny Player was doing coaching soccer in McKinney, Texas. After decades of coaching teams like the San Jose Earthquakes, the Canadian National Team, and most recently, Monterey Bay FC, Coach Yallop tells us why the Chupacabras are so special. 

With just a week left in the regular season, Dallas and Spokane are battling for the final playoff spot. John and Danielle discuss results and look forward to the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs.

Former professional goalkeeper Jeff Attinella sits down with Josh Duder to discuss his career, the state of American soccer, and his current work with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL.

Cherry Bomb assistant coach Sienna Higinbotham joins the W Show to discuss the next big thing in the league, the Portland Cherry Bombs! A veteran of the Portland soccer scene, Sienna offers her perspective on building a new team, how media can help things along, and what stands out on the schedule. Plus recaps of week 1 in the USL W League.

The playoff picture is almost set and this week gave us plenty of reasons to think it could be tight till the last day.

John and Dan are joined by Lee Neves and Hannah Diaz of Stockton Cargo to discuss the defending NorCal champions and their goals for 2026.

Spokane Zephyr superstar Hope Hisey joins the show to discuss her dominant run in net in the USL Super League. Then a quick bounce around the league to update the playoff situation.

As we ramp towards the first match of the 2026 USL W League season, we're joined by Mark Davis of the defending champions, Utah United. Mark discusses the offseason, what to expect from the double U in 2026, and how he plans for his club to defend its title.

John and Dan break down all the results of the weekend, then look at the impact on the USL Super League playoff picture. 

With Dan at a kid's soccer match, Danielle and John recap all the action in the USL Super Show. And there's goose updates!

It's all things goose-related on this episode of the show! Plus a load of Super League content, as well.

Delayed due to technical issues, this episode was last week's recap show which Dan didn't appear on.  

Danielle returns and the gang recaps all the soccer from last week. Plus chatter on our picks for who is the favorite to win the golden boot.

With Danielle out, John and Dan break down all the action in the Super League and talk about what happened in Tampa that has us all shaking our heads.

After a quick refreshing week off, the Super Show gang is back to discuss all the happenings in the USL Super League, plus a look forward to the matches this weekend!

We continue our pre-season coverage of USL League One and this week we chat with Brett Mullenix about expansion club, Fort Wayne FC. The club, which counts DeMarcus Beasley in its ownership group, has made the jump up from League Two and opens the season with weeks and weeks of away matches - we ask if they have the resilience to get through the hard part and what he's most looking forward to.

On the cusp of the international window, the Super Show team break down all the action from last weekend, then peak forward to this weekend and the next! It's the perfect pre-weekend snack!

As we get closer and closer to the start of USL League One's season, we continue to look into the new badges, names, and faces in the league. Alex Ashton, League One Updater, joins us to look around the league then focus on the changes implemented at Richmond Kickers ahead of their 2026 campaign.

In Episode 10 of MWPL Insiders, we chat with Shannon Seymour, Manager of Chicago House. We discuss his soccer journey, how he has grown as manager of Chicago House since his appointment in 2024, and his personal goals as a manager as well as his goals for his team for the upcoming season.

In this episode of the Super Show the team breaks down the action from last week, look into movement in the league, and look forward to this weekend's matches!

USL League One is weeks away from kicking off their fresh season. We get our season preview coverage started today with a conversation with Rob Chappell of the 608 Soccer Show. Join OLUTC as we get stuck into some Forward Madison chat and go Full Mingo.

Josh sits down with legendary soccer journalist Kartik Krishnaiyer to discuss the state of the USL, the labor impasse, and what has to be done to make the move to D1 a successful one.

We're back with a full recap of all the USL Super League matches, breaking down trajectories and what's next for the playoff contenders!

Josh and Dan get together to talk about the state of play in USL and its upcoming realigniment. Then on to the USWNT friendlies and the US Open Cup. 

Only one thing could bring Danielle back from her epic Euro travels: Super League action! Dan and John join in to talk about the break, the first week of matches, and all the movement of players between clubs.

Josh kicks off a fresh season of the show with Bill Taylor, part of the leadership team at expansion side Athletic Club Boise. Bill shares his background and all the work going into the launch of their new club.