The Ardrey Kell (N.C.) girls’ soccer program had appeared in the state championship game three times prior to Kim Montgomery’s arrival as head coach in 2013, all of which came up short.

And now Montgomery has the program vying for a title once again.

Led by a goal and an assist from sophomore Taylor Suarez, who missed several matches during the regular season while playing with the U.S. women’s national U-17 team, Ardrey Kell won a thrilling 3-2 decision over Page to advance to Saturday’s state championship game, pushing the team to No. 7 in the latest JWS high school soccer rankings.

The Knights will take on East Region champion Cardinal Gibbons for the title.

More than 2,000 fans were on hand to watch Ardrey Kell, according to the Charlotte Observer. In front of the crowd, Suarez dazzled, repeatedly beating her defenders and leading breaks toward the net.

Despite an apparent ankle injury to Suarez with less than 13 minutes to play, the Knights locked down defensively and were able to hang on for the victory. They enter the state championship game on a 13-game winning streak and are 25-1-1 on the year.

Click here to see last week’s rankings.

(Note: These rankings do not include teams from Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina as their seasons have concluded.)

1. South County (Va.), 19-0-1

The top-seeded Stallions, winners of 13 straight, advanced to the Class 6 Region C tournament championship with Wednesday night’s 3-0 win over Lake Braddock. They’ll face Alexandria City in Friday’s region final.

2. Liberty North (Mo.), 21-0

Liberty North continues its undefeated campaign as it heads to the state semifinals to take on St. Dominic on Friday night. The Eagles knocked off St. Teresa’s Academy 2-0 in the quarterfinals to advance.

3. Valley (Iowa), 19-0

After blanking Ames 5-0 to claim the Region 2 title, Valley defeated Muscatine 3-1 on Tuesday to move on to the state semifinals. Anna Van Wyngarden, Allyson Hoffa and Grace Olson each found the back of the net to propel the Tigers to victory. They’ll square off against Ankeny Centennial in Thursday’s semifinal.

Here’s a look at those Tiger goals vs Muscatine! ⁦@graceolson22⁩ ⁦@_annavw⁩ (assist ⁦@mallorydg1⁩) ⁦@AllyHoffa⁩ pic.twitter.com/0kwuFDGDI5

— VHS Girls Soccer (@ValleyWDMsoccer) June 2, 2022

4. Saint Thomas Aquinas (Kan.), 16-0-2

Sydney Watts scored twice to lead the Saints to their second straight Class 5A title. After allowing their only goal of the postseason to fall behind 1-0, Watts turned things around for Aquinas to clinch a 2-1 win in the final. The Saints outscored their opponents a combined 32-1 in the postseason.

5. Fort Zumwalt South (Mo.), 24-1

The Bulldogs continue their pursuit of a second consecutive state title after claiming a 4-0 victory over Webster Groves in the Class 3 quarterfinals. In the postseason, they’ve scored 16 times and have yet to allow a goal. They’ll face Smithville to open the state tournament.

6. Lincoln-Way Central (Ill.), 24-1

The Knights are riding a 14-game winning streak into the Class 3A state semifinals, where they’ll square off against Metea Valley on Friday. Emma Vogler and Madi Watt each scored for LWC, which is back in the state tournament for the first time in 15 years.

7. Ardrey Kell (N.C.), 25-1-1

The Knights held on despite allowing Page to pull within a goal two times in the second half of Tuesday’s Class 4A West Regional final.

8. Triad (Ill.), 23-1

The Knights continue to roll through Class 2A with back-to-back wins to open the Super Sixteen. It’s been a little longer than a month since a team has scored on Triad, which will take on Oak Park (Fenwick) on Friday in the state semifinals.

9. Metea Valley (Ill.), 20-2-1

Tyra King and Lucy Burk each had a goal, and Julia Stroub earned a shutout in net to lead the Mustangs to a 2-0 win over Edwardsville. It’s the 12th win in a row for Metea Valley and its first-ever sectional title.

10. Hudsonville (Mich.), 16-0-2

The Eagles scored three goals in the first half to defeat West Ottawa 4-0 in a Division 1 district semifinal Wednesday night. They’ll take on Byron Center in the district final on Friday.

11. Nerinx Hall (Mo.), 20-2-1

The Markers picked up their 15th straight win in resounding fashion, defeating Jackson 5-0 in the state quarterfinals. The win sends them to the final four against Rock Bridge.

12. Evanston (Ill.), 21-2-1

Jocelyn Leigh scored twice in double overtime to lift the Wildkits to a 2-0 win over Libertyville on Tuesday, earning the Class 3A program its second-ever trip to the final four.

13. O’Fallon (Ill.), 20-2

The Panthers’ season is over after they were held scoreless against Edwardsville in a Class 3A sectional semifinal.

14. Oregon (Wis.), 18-0-1

The Panthers continue to dominate after opening sectional play with a 15-0 win. Their quest for an eighth straight appearance in the state tournament resumes Saturday against Burlington.

15. Battlefield (Va.), 15-3

Isabel Kelly’s overtime goal with 12 seconds remaining sent the Bobcats to the Class 6 Region B championship game on Wednesday. Prior to Battlefield’s semifinal matchup against Colonial Forge, Kelly was announced as the Cedar Run District Girls Soccer Player of the Year and followed up her accolade with a pair of goals to deliver a 2-0 win.

16. Colonial Forge (Va.), 15-2-1

A pair of second-half goals ousted the Eagles in the region quarterfinals.

17. Colgan (Va.), 18-2-1

Colgan’s season came to a close with a 1-0 loss to Freedom (South Riding) in the opening round of the Class 6 Region B tournament.

18. Ankeny (Iowa), 18-1

Avery Matthews scored the game’s only goal in the 76th minute Tuesday to send the Hawks past Pleasant Valley and into the state semifinals. They’ve allowed just one goal all season.

Ankeny's @Hawkette_Soccer advances to the Class 3A state soccer semifinal with a win over Pleasant Valley. See the photos here --> https://t.co/AaStM7X2Yz pic.twitter.com/MtjOUdITsX

— Kelsey Kremer (@kelsey_kremer) May 31, 2022

19. Marshall (Mich.), 19-0-1

The Redhawks defeated Coldwater on Wednesday to move on to the Division 2 District 19 championship game.

20. Barrington (Ill.), 22-2

The Fillies clinched their 12th trip to the state tournament in program history, defeating St. Charles East 3-0 in Tuesday’s Class 3A supersectional round.

21. Lyons Township (Ill.), 20-2

The Lions’ season concluded in the sectional finals, where they fell to Glenbard West in overtime.

22. Yorktown (Va.), 17-1-1

South Carolina commit Shay Montgomery scored the lone goal to guide the Patriots to a win over Oakton on Wednesday in the Class 6 Region D final.

23. Marian (Mich.), 10-1

The Mustangs defeated Madison Heights Lamphere 8-0 in a Division 2 District 27 semifinal on Tuesday and will take on Cranbrook Kingswood in the district final on Thursday.

24. Naperville North (Ill.), 19-3-3

The Huskies were unable to overcome a second-half goal as their season came to an end.

25. Hough (N.C.), 22-2-1

The Huskies were undone after Ardrey Kell rallied to win last week’s state quarterfinal, 2-1.

Trent Singer is the High School Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @trentsinger.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

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According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.