Thanks to everyone who showed up to the fantastic night before party at Blackhart to celebrate the USWNT coming to town. Any party that involves Lori Lindsey (shown above with monthly supporter Brynn Sias) is a success. 

If you want to watch our chats with Jen Larrick, Stefanie Golan, and Kassey Kallman about expanding access to soccer, representation, the Gophers, NWSL expansion, and more, it's embedded in the tweet below (albeit with some pretty hot lighting. I'll place the phone better next time). Or you can listen to it as a podcast both below and on iTunes,Google Play, or Stitcher. ​

We sat down with two of the founders of Monarch FC, which expands opportunities and access to soccer, with a particular focus on girls of color who are underrepresented in the traditional club system. We asked them:

- When was it founded and who are the communities you’re looking to serve? (1 min)
- Talk about your soccer experience and what led you to want to do this work? (10 min)
- Talk a little bit about the actual programming you do. How much of it is structured games against other teams vs open play on a random weekday and stuff like that? (18 min)
- What are some of the biggest obstacles to doing this kind of work? (23:30 min)
- What impact does that lack of access have on the growth and development of soccer in the US overall? (30 min)
- Women still don’t have anywhere near fair representation in coaching. Talk a little bit about what we need to change to give women more of a shot in the coaching ranks? (36:30)
- What role do the structured school soccer environments play in your work? Do you hope to get girls exposed to high school and college options or is the youth experience in and of itself part of the goal? (46:45 min)
- How can average soccer fans, who maybe haven’t heard of Monarch, support your work? (53:45 min)

You can listen to the full podcast in the embedded Soundcloud player below, or find it on iTunes,Google Play, or Stitcher. ​​

We caught up with former Bundesliga and US Mens National Team star Tony Sanneh and Gopher Soccer Head Coach Stefanie Golan following their diplomatic trip to Kenya. We talk about connecting with kids across the world, Tony's recently awarded Bush Fellowship, the Gophers spring season, and how the game is growing in Minnesota.

You can watch the whole chat in the video embedded below or download it as a podcast in iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher. ​