COUNTERATTACK Part 6: The Comeback
Telling their stories opens the door for Sinead Farelly and Mana Shim — and the NWSL itself — to undergo radical transformations.
ROS Presents: Counterattack
From the team at Religion of Sports and PRX, ROS Presents: Counterattack is a season-long audio documentary that digs into a pivotal, personal story within the wider world of sports. This season focuses on the life of professional soccer player Sinead Farrelly, tracing her path from a celebrated young talent to a central figure in a movement that changed the game. The podcast chronicles her complex journey, detailing her rise as a hometown star, the difficult decision to become a whistleblower regarding conditions in her league, and her subsequent path toward an unlikely return to the field. It’s a narrative about resilience and the personal cost of speaking truth to power, set against the backdrop of a revolution in professional women’s soccer. Through intimate storytelling and layered sound design, this series explores how individual courage can collide with systemic issues, creating ripples that transform an entire sport. Listeners will hear a nuanced portrait of an athlete’s struggle and triumph, framed within the larger societal conversations about accountability, justice, and the true meaning of a comeback. This is ambitious audio journalism that treats sports as the deeply human endeavor it is, offering more than just game highlights-it provides a front-row seat to a story that reshaped a league.
Episodes
COUNTERATTACK Part 5: The Reckoning
Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim go public with their stories of abuse and coverup in the NWSL and, in doing so, inspire a reckoning across women’s soccer.
COUNTERATTACK Part 4: The Awakening
The creation of Angel City FC, a new NWSL team owned and operated by women, promises the kind of culture players have long envisioned for the league. But Sinead Farelly is deeply concerned that the league and its players…
COUNTERATTACK Part 3: The Whistleblower
The National Women’s Soccer league launches, creating new opportunities for elite female soccer players, including Sinead Farrelly, Michelle Betos and newcomer Mana Shim. But the imbalance of power and lack of oversight…
COUNTERATTACK Part 2: The Reality
Sinead Farrelly leaves college early to go pro. But when she arrives, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Abysmal pay, poor conditions, and league instability create a culture in which players have little protection or p…
COUNTERATTACK Part 1: The Dream
The US Women’s National Team’s historic World Cup win in 1999 changed the narrative for female athletes everywhere and inspired a generation of soccer-loving kids like Sinead Farrelly, a little girl in small-town Pennsyl…
COUNTERATTACK: Trailer
World Cup champion goalkeeper Briana Scurry follows the journey of Sinead Farrelly from young soccer phenom to league whistleblower to comeback kid in Counterattack, launching May 11. Sinead’s experiences in professional…
ROS Presents: Elena Delle Donne on In The Moment with David Greene
Two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne is considered one of the best to ever play in the WNBA. In 2019, she led the Washington Mystics to their first WNBA championship in franchise history. Playing through three herniated discs,…
ROS Presents: Carli Lloyd on In The Moment with David Greene
In the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup final, the USWNT suffered a devastating loss to Japan after the 2-2 match went to penalty kicks. In 2015, the two teams faced each other again in the final and this time, Carli Lloyd an…
ROUGHHOUSING Part 6: F*ck Closure
The trauma from violent hazing can lodge itself inside the victim, metastasizing in the years that follow. In our final episode, we’ll find out how Rodney, as well as other people who have more distance from their hazing…
