Today’s lead photo is from when I called in a Coast Guard flyover during the Reign v Sky Blue match in September of 2019. It was my second favorite day in that org, because what we did was honor service in a way that was uniquely Reign. My favorite day was the entire six weeks of Pride Month, because we did events in both Seattle and Tacoma (Tacoma celebrates Pride in July).

MLS

2022 MLS Expansion Draft Eligible Player List | MLSSoccer.com
Major League Soccer released on Thursday the list of players eligible for selection by St. Louis CITY SC in the 2022 MLS Expansion Draft, which will take place this Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 pm ET.

other men’s club soccer

Giovanni van Bronckhorst and the Irresistible Allure of the Long-Range Goal - The Ringer
The audacity, the randomness, the sheer chaos and confusion: These are the things we celebrate when a player decides to put their foot through a ball and take their chances

The new Aston Villa crest isn’t great.
Results of vote which saw a record response for Villa supporters' participation in a Club survey

Paxten Aaronson: The Eintracht Frankfurt signing who could one day replace Daichi Kamada
Paxten Aaronson is set to join Eintracht Frankfurt this winter. Gegenpressing profiles the US talent and projects that he could one day replace Daichi Kamada.

World Cup

Seattle Sounders on USA World Cup team: Why Jordan Morris, Cristian Roldan made the roster? Math and chemistry | Sporting News
Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan are not coming off their best seasons with the Seattle Sounders, but there's a reason they both made the U.S. national team's roster for the upcoming 2022 World Cup.

USMNT World Cup roster: Key takeaways from Gregg Berhalter's picks | MLSSoccer.com
I am burnt out after a full year’s worth of work, and am about to (try to) unplug for the next five days before the quick ramp-up ahead of – good lord, I can’t believe it’s here – the 2022 World Cup. We’ll be doing live watchalong shows with postgame

Wales World Cup roster breakdown | US Soccer Players
Charles Boehm works through the roster for USMNT World Cup group B opponent Wales with the two teams meeting on November 21 at Al Rayyan Stadium.

David Squires on … Qatar 2022 and the invisible man’s World Cup story | World Cup 2022 | The Guardian
Our cartoonist on ‘David’, the migrant worker who goes unseen by tourists and lives in appalling conditions to support his family.

Direct Tel Aviv-Doha flights to operate during World Cup | Reuters
This is a big deal.

Other international soccer

Four USWNT players who impressed Vlatko Andonovski in 2022 | Just Women's Sports
USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski named four players who most surprised him this year, including Sophia Smith, Mallory Pugh and Alex Morgan.

USWNT November Friendlies: USA 1-2 Germany - the visitors take the win in an evenly fought game - Stars and Stripes FC
It would be a game of crossbars and posts

Puget Sound culture

As is now tradition I don’t work on Veterans Day. I think it’s a smart thing for every vet to take the day off and reconnect to their time of service, especially for those who went through the multiple deployments to combat zones.

Vets and active duty service members, even those that do not deploy, live with traumas. It may take them a long time to figure out what those traumas are.

Similar to all people, therapy is good — fellowship is good.

So I don’t work Veterans Day. This is the only thing I’ll write for work, about D&D or about soccer. Because I’m going to spend the time thinking about Matt, Abel, Gian, Dina, Leah, Tim, Andrea, Chad and the others with whom I served. I’ll call some. I’ll text others. Some I cannot, because they’re gone.

I have one small request. Thank a veteran today. If they are willing to talk, listen. If they don’t want to talk about their time, talk to them about something else.

Storytime as Moons Rise – a short story | Full Moon Storytelling
This is a tale of a veteran meeting with his small village’s youth.

Seattle’s Essential Coffee Shops
Vietnamese brews topped with egg foam, old-school espresso, and more high-quality caffeinated drinks

Andor’s epic episode 10 prison break: A mini Star Wars oral history - Polygon
Diego Luna’s Cassian and Andy Serkis’ Kino Loy take center stage in the Disney Plus Star Wars show’s most jaw-dropping episode yet.

What to Watch

Friday

1:00 PM PT — San Jose St. men vs Seattle U on ESPN+

6:00 PM PT — Club América women vs Tigres UANL on ViX

7:45 PM PT — Australia women vs Sweden on ESPN+.

Saturday

Starting at 4:30 AM PT USA Networks has back to back to back to back (if I’m reading this correctly EPL matches).

9:30 AM PT — Schalke 04 men vs Bayern München on ESPN+

9:30 AM PT — Ecuador men vs Iraq in a pre World Cup friendly featuring Xavi Arreaga on FoxSports.com and FOX Deportes.

Noon PT — Santa Amalia men vs Villarreal in the Copa Del Rey on ESPN+

Sunday

2:00 PM PT — USWNT vs Germany on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

5:30 PM PT — San Antonio FC vs Louisville City in the USL Championship Final on ESPN. Watch Sam Adeniran, Justin Dhillon, Jordy Delem, Saad Abdul-Salaam and Ray Serrano (Lou City) try to win a Cup.

Consider this your Open Flavor Friday thread. A place to connect with other Puget Sound soccer fans about things we enjoy. Yes, that means off-topic is allowed.