Angel City FC star Christen Press praised the NWSL team Thursday night as she presented an award to the co-founders for their commitment to gender equity in sports.

The 33-year-old forward, who became the first player to sign with the expansion club in 2021, helped to celebrate Angel City FC at Grassroot Soccer’s World AIDS Day Gala in New York.

“In its first year as a professional club, Angel City FC became one of the most successful business models in sports,” Press said. “All of this, because Angel City believes in a diverse, equitable and fair future for women and all people and they built a community that believes the same.”

Angel City FC co-founder and president Julie Uhrman accepted the Grassroot Soccer Game-Changer Award, which recognizes those who have demonstrated “extraordinary leadership in driving real and meaningful social change.” Her fellow co-founders Natalie Portman and Kara Nortman were also honored.

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The presentation came during Grassroot Soccer’s 20th anniversary celebration. Throughout its 20 years in existence, Grassroot Soccer has helped to bring live-saving health information, services and mentorship to more than 18 million young people in over 60 countries. Grassroot Soccer raises over $1 million each year through the gala.

“Winners of the award are equity champions, passionate advocates, movement builders and unifiers who bring different stakeholders together to work toward a common goal,” Press said. “Angel City and Grassroots Soccer have shared values: We leverage soccer for social impact. Angel City is a women’s professional soccer club in Los Angeles that pursues goals that are bigger than soccer.”

In its first year as a club, Angel City FC sold out four home games, as well as 16,000 season tickets. The team also sold out a game against OL Reign on the same day that Juventus played a sold-out game against Real Madrid at the Rose Bowl.

“We have proof that if you lead with purpose, if you lead with your values you can build a community that’s different and will show up for you no matter who else is playing down the street,” Uhrman said during her acceptance speech.

Originally, Uhrman admitted, she and her co-founders didn’t strive to build a soccer club at all. They simply wanted to build something bigger than the game following the USWNT’s 2019 World Cup win.

The three co-founders wanted to drive equity and make an impact on the sport. Ultimately, Angel City FC was formed with a majority-female ownership group with a goal to make women’s soccer more accessible.

“After the women had won the World Cup in 2019 and we felt like there was an incredible wave that we could ride,” Uhrman said. “We could use football as a platform to drive for equity and impact and build an organization where mission and capital could co-exist where we never had to decide whether we wanted to do something good or make money, but recognize the importance of doing both at the same time.”

ACFC has shown up in their community in a number of ways, including creating a first-of-its-kind sponsorship model that drives revenue back into the community. Through that model, ACFC has generated more than $1 million to put back into the community.

They’ve also helped more than 70 different women become coaches and donated food through their partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market.

“This goes beyond just soccer,” Uhrman said. “We want to make sure that we have a positive impact in LA and ultimately grow that beyond. And we do that by building community. We’ve been intentional about building a community that is diverse and inclusive. That is representative of LA and we live our values every single day with our community.”

And ACFC doesn’t want to just make an impact domestically. They want to take their brand across the world.

“If we are global, we can draw more attention and awareness to the impact we are building,” Uhrman said. “We can draw more attention to these incredible women athletes who deserve the same attention, the same dollars, the same sponsorship as men. And we can put women on an even playing field. Because we believe getting to equity is possible and that is something that we focus and work on every single day.

“Our purpose and vision is global and we’re gonna use our platform unapologetically to tell the world that women are as good as men. We’re gonna drive to equity and we’re gonna make a difference every single step of the way.”

Chelsea began Sunday with their WSL title hopes a distant dream... before closing out the weekend right back in the thick of the title chase.

The Blues made a last-ditch effort to claim their fifth consecutive Barclays WSL title on Sunday with an 8-0 win over relegation-bound Bristol City. The victory came after a visiting Arsenal upset current table-toppers Manchester City at Joie Stadium, besting the home side 2-1 on back-to-back goals from Stina Blackstenius. With the win, the third-place Gunners re-opened the door for Chelsea to finish level at the top of the table on points.

Chelsea remains second in the standing, with 49 points to Manchester City's 52. But the barrage of goalscoring over the weekend could be enough to overtake City's potential tiebreak advantage in goal differential, leaving even coach Emma Hayes in awe.

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Chelsea holds a game in hand, but the Blues will need to win their May 15th match against Tottenham to give them a shot at the title. Should they take all three points, the title race will come down to the final weekend, when Chelsea squares off with Manchester United while City faces Aston Villa on Saturday, May 18th. 

Set to take over the USWNT in June, Hayes acknowledged the likelihood of finishing out her time at Chelsea with zero trophies, after losing in both the Conti Cup final and UWCL semifinal last month. But for now, her initial pessimism has subsided.

"Let me be clear, it's not f*****g over," Hayes said after coaching her last home match with Chelsea on Sunday. "There's no time for sentimentality, all work drinks are canceled. There's a title to be won.

"This group of players taught me something so special this week — that you never ever give up."

A WNBA League Pass error left fans scrambling to watch Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso make their preseason debuts for the Chicago Sky in Minneapolis on Friday. 

Despite indicating streaming availability via YouTube before tip-off, the evening’s game was later removed from the league’s platform. With no streaming options — along with no live TV broadcast — WNBA fan Alli Schneider began livestreaming the game on X from her seat inside Target Center. As many as 400,000 people logged on to watch the game live, and by Saturday, the resulting two-hour video had amassed over 2 million total views. 

In the lead-up to the preseason showdown, fans on both sides voiced frustrations over the WNBA's error. The league apologized in response, saying their app was "incorrectly showing that every preseason game (including CHI vs MIN) is available on League Pass."

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"The growth is happening so fast, it’s so accelerated. Business as usual isn’t going to work anymore, you’re going to get left behind," Reeve said of the blunder. "This is an example... We have to capitalize on those things."

Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon echoed Reeve's sentiments, calling it "awesome" that so many fans followed along via Schneider's DIY livestream.

"We would love for us to be on and for everyone to take a look, especially for this team, you have a great group of young women who are exciting to watch play," said Weatherspoon. "Tonight we had an opportunity to kind of get a feel for where we are and what we need to do. It’s awesome to know that a lot of people really tuned in."

On the court, Reese had a near double-double in her first professional outing, notching 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. A viral pass inside to set up fellow rookie Cardoso's bucket served as the icing on the cake. The Sky ultimately lost to the Lynx 92-81, despite Minnesota newcomer Alissa Pili netting just two points and one rebound in 13 minutes of playing time.

Due to overwhelming fan demand, the WNBA confirmed today that it will indeed stream the Sky's next preseason game against the New York Liberty on League Pass. The two teams square off on Tuesday, May 7th at 8 PM ET.

The Caitlin Clark WNBA era has officially begun, with the star-studded rookie making her preseason debut with the Indiana Fever on Friday. 

Clark scored a team-leading 21 points — including five threes — and recorded a game-high 16 points at the half. But it was Arike Ogunbowale who got the last word for Dallas, knocking down a splashy buzzer-beating three-pointer in front of the sold-out crowd to deliver the Wings the 79-76 win.

"I think there's gonna be a lot to go back and look at and learn from, because a lot of it is kind of different from college," Clark said shortly after the Fever's loss. "Just from, you know, a technique standpoint or you know, scheme standpoint, and what we do is not always always going to be the same. So I think those are the biggest things, but I think overall, I just played really hard and that's always something to be proud of."

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For Clark, the biggest transition challenges lie in WNBA's physicality and talent levels. 

"No matter who steps into the game, you can never really relax, because that’s how competitive the league is," she added.

Fever coach Christie Sides also commented on's Clark on-court adjustment in her postgame remarks. Noting that the team will have to take steps to protect their star as she navigates the W's upgraded athleticism, Sides shared that at one point in the game, Clark was "completely gassed" and called for a sub. 

"We have to do better, we can't let her get to that point," Sides said. "She just won't be able to last and the way people are guarding her — I mean, she's seeing a double team, she's seeing hard hedges, they're being real physical with her. That's how it's going to be for her. And so we've got to make sure we're doing what we can to protect her so she's able to go into fourth at the same level she is in the first."

Clark wasn't the only rookie making their pro debut in Dallas that night. Ohio State ace Jacy Sheldon racked up six points and one rebound in her 13 minutes on the court (plus an unfortunate viral moment), but the breakout performance of the night went to Jaelyn Brown, a Cal grad who went undrafted in 2020 and spent the last few years playing overseas. On Friday, she carried the Wings to the finish line with 21 points in 29 minutes on 7-of-15 shooting.

After the game, Brown attested that she's "ready to compete" in an atmosphere that she "belongs in."

"I just try and treat it as any other game," she continued. "The crowd was amazing, it’s a little different from overseas, a little bit, but it’s the same game. I just [came] out there with a calm composure and did what I can do."

Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, at a White House ceremony on Friday afternoon. 

The Team USA standout is the most decorated women’s swimmer in the sport’s history. In addition to her seven Olympic golds, she’s also won a total of 21 gold medals at the World Championships, the most of any swimmer regardless of gender. 

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The esteemed award recognizes those who have "made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors," according to a White House press briefing. 

Ledecky is one of 19 medal recipients chosen by the Biden administration this year. She joins a class that spans the worlds of politics, sports, film, human rights, religion, and science. Her fellow 2024 awardees include Everything Everywhere All at Once actress Michelle Yeoh, pioneering Hispanic astronaut Dr. Ellen Ochoa, and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, plus posthumous winners Jim Thorpe, the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the US, and assassinated civil rights leader Medgar Evers. 

"I'm surrounded by so many extraordinary people in so many different fields," Ledecky told Just Women's Sports on Friday. "I feel like I've made a lot of friends today among that group, and their families and their friends."

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and USWNT legend Megan Rapinoe were among 2022’s class of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients. Biles and Rapinoe were the fifth and sixth women athletes to be given the honor, making Ledecky the seventh.

Ledecky said she was surprised to learn how recent it has been that athletes in women's sports have been considered for the honor. Billie Jean King was the first to receive the award in 2009. "That kind of blew my mind that it was that recent," she said.

"There are so many great female athletes that I've looked up to for so many years," she continued. "And I know we're just going to keep pushing ahead, and doing our best to continue to get a seat at every table."

Like Biles, Ledecky receives the Medal of Freedom while she's still actively competing in her sport, a fact not lost on the 27-year-old. "My goals in the pool are to continue to push forward and swim good times, hopefully win some more medals. And then secondly to continue to do good things out of the pool, whether that's inspiring young kids to learn how to swim, get into the sport, set big goals in whatever pursuits they're interested in."

"I've recognized I've had a long career now, and it's important to reflect every now and then. But at the same time, I'm still competing and still working hard into the future."