The Thorns are back to their winning ways, defeating Gotham FC 1-0 at Red Bull Arena.

After losing their last two games, Portland needed a win in what was a rematch of the Challenge Cup final, which Portland won in PKs.

The Thorns dictated the majority of possession in the first half, out-shooting Gotham 11-5. They were unable to convert in the final third, however, due in large part to Gotham’s bend-but-don’t-break defense. Going into Sunday’s game, Gotham had yet to concede a goal all season.

Then, in the 56th minute, Crystal Dunn rocketed a shot into the upper 90 from the top of the box to put the Thorns out in front 1-0. The goal was Dunn’s first as a Portland Thorn as well as her first in the league since July 2020.

Gotham FC saw more possession in the second half, but were unable to finish inside the box. Sheridan and the rest of Gotham’s defense came up big several times throughout the match, a bright spot in an otherwise down day for the club.

Following Sunday’s game, the Portland Thorns catapulted to second in the NWSL standings while Gotham slid to fourth. The Thorns will head back home to face Racing Louisville FC on Saturday. Gotham FC will stay in Jersey as they host OL Reign at Red Bull Arena on Saturday.

The Seattle Storm announced on Sunday that Dan Hughes would be retiring from the league.

In his 20-year tenure in the WNBA, Hughes has coached the second-most games in league history and is tied for the third-most wins with 286.

Twice named Coach of the Year, once in 2001 with the Cleveland Rockers and again in 2007 with  San Antonio, Hughes most recently guided the Storm to a championship in 2018. While retiring from the WNBA, Hughes will stay in his position as an assistant coach for USA Basketball ahead of this summer’s Tokyo Olympics.

“The Seattle Storm is in amazing shape, after two championships and a terrific playoff run in 2019, I would like to announce my retirement from the WNBA,” Hughes said in a statement through the team.

Noelle Quinn will be elevated to head coach of the Storm following Hughes’s exit. Quinn joined the Seattle coaching staff in 2019 after winning a championship with the team as a player in 2018.

Boston College won its first-ever lacrosse national championship on Sunday, defeating Syracuse 16-10.

Charlotte North had six goals in Sunday’s game, lifting her to the NCAA DI single-season goals record. With 102 goals, North passed Courtney Murphy of Stony Brook, who previously held the record at 100 goals in 2016.

After creating a slight 9-8 lead at the end of the first half, BC never looked back, pulling away from Syracuse in the game’s final minutes.

The Eagles’ championship trophy is made that much sweeter after losing in the last three title matches.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Osaka’s decision Monday to withdraw from the tournament.

Naomi Osaka is withdrawing from the French Open after the Grand Slams fined her $15,000 for declining to speak to the media after her first-round match.

Osaka announced her decision Monday in a lengthy Twitter post detailing her mental health battles. The 23-year-old tennis star said she’s a natural introvert and feels “huge waves of anxiety” when having to speak to the media after matches.

Osaka added that she apologized to the French Open organizers and offered to speak with them about improving the situation for players, press and fans.

Osaka was fined after skipping her post-match press conference following her straight-set win over Patricia Maria Tin on Sunday.

The move comes after Osaka announced that she would not be doing press at the tournament, citing mental health.

In a statement released by several Grand Slam tournaments, the federations warned of tougher disciplinary actions if Osaka continued her boycott.

“We have advised Naomi Osaka that should she continue to ignore her media obligations during the tournament, she would be exposing herself to possible further Code of Conduct infringement consequences,” the statement read.

Osaka’s withdrawal means her second-round opponent, Ana Bogdan, automatically advances.

Brittney Griner put on a show Saturday night to help power the Mercury past the Wings 89-85.

Scoring 27 points and notching 16 rebounds, Griner recorded her fourth double-double of the season. The center got the better of her matchup against Charli Collier, shooting 75 percent from the field.  A monster dunk in the fourth quarter served as the cherry on top for Griner’s brilliant night.

Skylar Diggins-Smith and Kia Nurse each added 21 points to the Mercury’s tally, helping Phoenix overpower the Wings down the stretch.

Dallas kept the game within reach for most of regulation, with Marina Mabrey and Arike Ogunbowale putting up 24 points each. Saturday marked Mabrey and Ogunbowale’s fourth consecutive game scoring 20 points or more. Despite the dynamic duo’s best efforts, Dallas wasn’t able to overcome the Mercury in the final minutes of the game.

Phoenix is now 3-3 and will next face the Chicago Sky on Tuesday. Dallas falls to 1-4 as they head home to host the Sparks the same night.

Red Stars head coach Rory Dames had some choice words for the officials after Chicago’s game against the Houston Dash on Saturday.

In his post-game comments, Dames pointed to a specific incident with Alyssa Naeher in which the referee incorrectly told the goalkeeper to continue play after Naeher caught the ball and put it at her feet in order to slow down the game.

Dames added that though there were specific problems with Saturday’s game, officiating has been an issue all season long, stating that he felt like the league was back in “year one.”

“The officiating is a big problem right now, and it’s something the league needs to address,” Dames said. “And do I think that we lost the game because of the referees tonight? Absolutely not… But it doesn’t mean that in every game we’ve played the referees have really struggled.”

An altercation between Morgan Weaver and Kristin Edmonds back in April instigated a conversation early in the season about officiating, one that has now persisted well into the year. An influx of late injuries like the one Trinity Rodman incurred in the Spirit’s May 21 game against Racing Louisville has only amplified chatter around the league’s referees.

Whether Dames will be fined or face disciplinary measures for his comments remains to be seen.

The Portland Thorns submitted a discovery claim on Olivia Moultrie, only for the move to be rejected by the NWSL on Friday.

The question over Moultrie’s claim comes days after the 15-year old was granted a temporary restraining order, allowing the teen to compete in the NWSL despite the league’s requirement that players be at least 18.

A discovery claim, like the one Portland submitted for Moultrie, doesn’t ensure a team will sign a player. However, the statute does allow for a team to put out a claim on a player that isn’t yet signed to a club or under contract with the league.

League spokesperson Mark Jones told the Oregonian in response to the claim rejection that clubs needed to establish “new child protective policies that will enable the introduction of minors into their team environments.”

U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut, who ruled on Moultrie’s case, set a call for Wednesday to address the NWSL’s discovery process and why the 15-year-old’s claim was denied.

The Houston Dash broke their winless streak Saturday night, powering past the Red Stars 2-1 at home.

The game was open from the start, with both teams streaking up and down the field for most of the 90 minutes.

The Red Stars struck first with a moment of individual brilliance from Mal Pugh. In the 4th minute, Pugh darted down the flank, cutting inside to rocket the ball into the far post.

In her first season in Chicago, Pugh has been the Red Stars’ most dangerous striker, appearing to be in top form as she tries to work her way back into the national team conversation.

In the 18th minute, Nichelle Prince used some fancy footwork to create space at the edge of the box before looping in a ball over Alyssa Naeher’s gloves. The impeccable finish equalized the game at 1-1.

Splitting possession, the rest of the game felt within reach for both sides. However, it was the Houston Dash that found the go-ahead goal in the 83rd minute.

Kristie Mewis lined up to take the corner for Houston, lobbing the ball into the box where her cross was deflected out to Schmidt. Schmidt gathering the stray ball and sent it back to the far post, where Mewis was waiting to tap in the well-timed service.

The score line stayed at 2-1 for the remaining minutes of the game, earning the Dash their first win of the regular season.

The Dash will look to ride their momentum from Saturday night into the team’s game against Kansas City on June 6. The Red Stars will hope to move out of the bottom third of the league standings when they face the Courage on Saturday.

Saturday’s game between the Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty came down to the final possession. In the end, it was the Dream who prevailed in overtime, defeating the Liberty 90-87.

Courtney Williams came up clutch for Atlanta, recording a near triple-double with 31 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Critical on both sides of the ball, Williams made decisive offensive rebounds down the stretch and drained the game-winning 3-pointer.

Elizabeth Williams contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta, recording her first double-double of the season. Chennedy Carter added 12 points before leaving the game in the third quarter with an injury.

Despite playing from behind for most of the game, the Liberty never lost their grit.

Betnijah Laney notched her seventh consecutive game of 20 points or more. Michaela Onyenwere, New York’s sixth overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft, had a career-high 29 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists. Sami Whitcomb’s defense at the end of regulation pushed the game to overtime, but the Liberty ultimately couldn’t hang on.

Saturday’s defeat was the Liberty’s first home loss of the year.

New York (5-2) will next host the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday. The Dream will look to extend their four-game win streak against the Lynx in Minnesota on Friday.

The Minnesota Lynx haven’t found any answers yet this season.

They picked up their fourth straight loss Friday night as the Seattle Storm cruised to a comfortable 82-72 win at home.

The game was the Lynx’s first with Napheesa Collier back on the court. The forward had to sit out of Minnesota’s first three games due to COVID-19 protocols after she returned from her overseas season in France. Collier contributed 14 points and six assists and Sylvia Fowles continued her strong start to the season with 15 points and six rebounds, but their production wasn’t enough to outlast Seattle.

Breanna Stewart led the way for the Storm with 15 points and eight rebounds. Jewell Loyd added 12 points and five assists.

Despite a scoring drought in the last eight minutes of the game, the Storm stamped a comfortable ten-point victory over the Lynx to improve to 5-1.

Minnesota, at 0-4, is the WNBA’s only winless team remaining. It doesn’t get much easier from here as the Lynx face the 6-1 Sun on Sunday. The Storm next host the Fever in Seattle on Tuesday.