Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris are still up for a challenge, even after eight years in the NWSL and two FIFA World Cup titles.

Harris and Krieger’s shared drive has led the couple on their latest adventure, up the coast to NJ/NY Gotham FC for the 2022 season. After playing with the Orlando Pride since 2016, the two were traded to Gotham in early December.

Both Harris, 36, and Krieger, 37, acknowledge how hard it was to leave Orlando after building roots there for six years, but they’re energized by the prospect of a fresh start with Gotham FC.

“I feel like we are going to get a certain excitement that I don’t think we’ve had for a while playing,” Krieger tells Just Women’s Sports.

The Pride finished eighth in the NWSL standings last season, above only expansion clubs Racing Louisville and Kansas City in points with a 7-7-10 record. The team also weathered a mid-season coaching shakeup after Marc Skinner left Orlando to coach Manchester United and was replaced by Becky Burleigh, who departed at the end of the season.

After four losing seasons and just one trip to the NWSL playoffs during their Pride tenure, Harris says she and Krieger needed to make a tough decision for their mental health and happiness.

“I don’t think it was easy to walk away from Orlando, but if you’re not enjoying what you do, you have to make a change even if it’s a little bit hard and drastic,” Harris says. “We were just becoming too resentful, and I think that’s when you know we made the right decision.”

Off the pitch, Krieger and Harris weren’t content to compromise either, looking for a more favorable environment in which to raise their daughter, Sloane.

“I’d be lying if I said if Ali and I don’t think big picture with Sloane,” Harris says. “It’s really hard living in Florida as a gay couple with a Black child who has a really difficult governor (Governor Ron DeSantis) who isn’t progressive and isn’t accepting of our community and every day it’s something new and something harmful.”

Striving to put their child in the “best possible position,” Harris says that New York and New Jersey’s reputation as a “progressive place to live” factored into their move to Gotham.

This isn’t Harris or Krieger’s first trade, and both have seen how teams can wield their power over players during their professional soccer careers. Harris recalls teams making her empty promises to stick around and hearing their dead-end assurances about investing in the women’s game.

This time, Harris and Krieger feel that things different. Gotham’s owners invited the players to dinner after the trade, and Harris and Krieger both left the meeting optimistic about the club’s future.

“They are in the process of building something special, and in doing so, it’s funding, investment, it’s making your players feel wanted, needed, special, all the things that they deserve,” Harris says.

Krieger adds that they both “felt super supported and valued and appreciated right from the get-go.”

Harris, now a seasoned veteran,  says she needs to see “actionable steps” from a team, which means hiring the best of the best. To her, head coach Scott Parkinson, assistant coach Beverly “Bev” Goebel Yanez and general manager Yael Averbuch West fit the bill.

Gotham overhauled their front office and coaching staff last season. After GM Alyse LaHue was fired in July, Averbuch West filled the interim role and was permanently installed as GM in December. Parkinson, a former assistant with the Chicago Red Stars, was named head coach halfway through the 2021 season after Freya Coombe left to take the helm at Angel City FC.

“They get where they are at, but they also get where they need to be, and we are just trying to play a small role in that,” Harris says.

Krieger and Harris are joining a stacked roster that includes MVP nominee Midge Purce, Defender of the Year Caprice Dydasco, second-leading goal scorer Ifeoma Onumonu, among other stars. After Gotham also added U.S. women’s national team midfielder Kristie Mewis in a trade following the expansion draft last week, it would appear the club is in “win-now” mode.

Krieger and Harris are not backing down from the pressure.

“We’re not showing up anywhere to just be average. We want to win games,” says Harris, adding that she is careful not to fixate on the future in a league where every match counts. “We need to make sure we are nailing our short-term goals and that’s having a really good preseason, having a really good preseason tournament.”

Still hungry for success, Harris lights up when talking about her determined mindset, explaining that she approaches almost everything in her life with the same intensity she brings to the pitch.

“I value showing up and giving everything for the people around me, and that’s just who I am,” she says. “I don’t like to sit in complacency. I like to sit in pressure pockets where I am pushed to learn, and I think that’s why I have always loved the position because I am constantly in pressure situations.”

The award-winning goalkeeper says she thrives in uncomfortable situations, knowing those are the times when she will learn and grow the most.

Krieger can relate as a defender, especially coming from a Pride team that gave up the third-most goals in the league in 2021. She relishes the opportunity to join Gotham’s backline, which finished the season second in goals conceded per match and fifth in shutouts.

“I just want to be around players that value defending just as much as me and I know this is a place where that exists,” says Krieger, who started all 23 of her appearances with the Pride last season, notching two assists.

Harris did her part to keep the Pride in games in 2021, surpassing the NWSL career saves record with 469 stops and going on an unprecedented penalty kick-saving streak.

It’s clear that Harris and Krieger will make an impact on the pitch, but the couple also provides value to the club off the field. When announcing the trade, Averbuch West said in a statement, “I know they’ll have a tremendous impact on the field and in the locker room while also helping us cement our presence in this market.”

Their popularity among fans is something Krieger and Harris embrace, especially in a market like New York and New Jersey, where sports, culture, politics and media often converge.

“We want this game to grow in a positive, healthy direction where one day women in our sport can retire at 35 and live out the rest of their life and not have to work again,” Krieger says.

“They (the fans) feel like they are in our lives, they feel like they are connected with us, that we are friends, and I really enjoy that because that keeps bringing them back, that keeps them buying season tickets.”

Harris and Krieger have also not shied away from speaking candidly about social issues, using their platforms to bring attention to matters that are important to them.

“We are activists through and through, and I think that will never change,” Harris says. “For us, we are always going to give everything to our community and for the things we stand for and believe in.”

While Krieger says the couple’s outsized public-facing role can be overwhelming, it’s worth it to her when she sees an NWSL stadium packed with fans. With the growth of the league, Harris sees an opportunity to engage supporters in a way that matches the enthusiasm fans have for the USWNT.

The synergy between the club and its new stars is perhaps best epitomized by Gotham FC’s pre-match runway, a ritual Harris is eager to participate in as one of the most fashionable athletes in sports. While she doesn’t have her looks planned out just yet, Harris can guarantee that fans won’t be disappointed.

“I am going to bring the heat,” she says, “so just get ready.”

Clare Brennan is an Associate Editor at Just Women’s Sports.

The first-ever Unrivaled Basketball playoffs delivered both on and off the court, with Rose BC’s championship victory over Vinyl BC drawing the largest TV audience the offseason league has seen in 3×3 play to date.

An average of 364,000 viewers tuned into Monday’s final, peaking at 385,000 fans and marking a 99% increase over Unrivaled’s record-breaking regular-season average audience of 221,000.

Including the league's postseason success, Unrivaled capped its inaugural season having aired the 10 most-watched women’s basketball broadcasts in the history of broadcast partner TNT Sports.

In total, Unrivaled reached an impressive 11.9 million viewers across its two-month regular-season and postseason run — including the league's first-ever in-season 1v1 tournament.

That head-to-head competition ultimately drew the league's top performing tilt, with the final between runner-up Mist forward Aaliyah Edwards and eventual 1v1 champion and Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier averaging 377,000 viewers with a 398,000-fan peak.

"We’ve built an incredible foundation," Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell told reporters once the season wrapped. "Based on what the viewership is, now it’s our job to [ask] 'how do we grow that a bit?' We’re very proud about where we stand in the women’s sports ecosystem of viewership."

Unrivaled bags more big wins in inaugural season

Outside of TV viewership, Unrivaled also scored high social media engagement numbers, which have been a key metric for the league since its outset.

This season saw the league generate more than 589 million owned and earned social media impressions, and the pool of Unrivaled athletes collectively grew their own personal accounts by nearly one million followers in less than three months.

Perhaps most importantly for the players, the league followed through on its promise to prioritize athlete compensation, shelling out over $8.65 million in player salaries and performance bonuses from both Monday's championship and last month's 1v1 tournament.

With the offseason league designed primarily as a TV product, both Unrivaled and TNT will carry 2025’s wins far into their six-year partnership’s future — all while the WNBA will look to capitalize on the league’s ratings successes as its own May 16th season-opener nears.

As the 2025 NCAA tournament tips off this week, few Women's March Madness teams have had a more remarkable run than No. 1 overall seed UCLA.

The Bruins only lost two regular-season games this year, a streak that led to a Big Ten conference tournament title, and, eventually, top-ranked entry into this weekend’s tournament start. By securing the first No. 1 overall seed in program history, this group of UCLA players has already proven themselves the most successful in school history — with additional hardware firmly on the horizon.

But junior Kiki Rice has preferred to keep things in perspective, as she told Just Women’s Sports in the quiet days between the regular season’s end and the postseason's launch.

“The reality is we lost two games the entire year, and that's a pretty good record: 27-2,” she said matter-of-factly. “I think most people would be pretty happy with that.”

UCLA did, however, launch their Big Ten tournament campaign with unfinished business, having fallen twice to crosstown rival USC to cede the regular-season conference title. While they got their revenge in the Big Ten tournament title game, UCLA head coach Cori Close wasn’t shy about wanting to meet the Trojans one more time — at the NCAA Final Four in Tampa.

A Final Four battle would give UCLA the ability to draw even with JuJu Watkins and the Trojans this season, claiming the biggest bragging rights of all. But Rice knows that once-in-a-lifetime opportunities start with everyday consistency.

“It’s about resetting, and how we can move on, get better, and learn,” she said. “How we individually can be better for our teammates and be better for our coach.”

All eyes on women's basketball — and UCLA

As the profile of women’s basketball rises at an exponential rate year after year, many college programs have benefited from the broader spotlight. But winning remains one of the best promotional tools available, and UCLA doubled down on that prospect, signing star transfer Lauren Betts last season in a move that culminated in back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances. 

This year, though, the Bruins want more. And as the team’s star power continues to emerge, anything seems possible.

Rice has been one of those stars. Literally — she starred in ESPN’s 2024 docuseries Full Court Press, giving fans a chance to see behind the curtain into what makes the 21-year-old tick. And while Betts pulls defensive focus on the court, Rice can make the offense sing. She leads the team in assists and steals per game, carrying a heavy load when games get tough.

As a young player making a name for herself, Rice enjoys the off-court attention. But she’s not immune to the pressure that accompanies greater scrutiny.

“It’s been a lot,” she reflects. “But it's also been something that me, and I think the rest of my teammates, we wanted. It's part of being in women's sports at this time, where it's really growing so much.”

She described the national attention as a welcome change. With attendance, TV viewership, brand deals, and other KPIs on the rise, the Bruins know it’s time to seize the moment. 

“This is what we deserve,” Rice said resolutely. “Let's take advantage of it, and be thankful for it.”

Rice embraces the spotlight on and off the court

But if success on the court fuels exposure off the court, Rice understands the importance of balancing the bigger picture with remaining focused on the task at hand. And that mindset especially rings true in the era of blockbuster NIL deals.

“I want to take advantage of all these opportunities,” she said. “But they take time, and that's time away from school, that's time away from personal relaxation and reset time. That's time away from being in the gym.”

Rice has garnered attention from countless brands over the course of her college career. That includes signing with Jordan Brand as their first-ever NIL contract in 2022. Since that milestone, she’s gone on to work with major players in the women’s sports ad space like Buick, Dove, Neutrogena, and Beats by Dre, among others.

“I've definitely gotten more used to it,” she continued. “But I wouldn't say it's always easy”

March Madness AT&T ad highlights UCLA stars

Today’s student-athletes are expected to keep up with their studies and stay fit on the court, while also participating in the larger sports cultural conversation via brand partnerships and media appearances. That’s why fans will see Rice’s face throughout the tournament — and not just sweating it out in UCLA blue and gold.

When the game cuts to commercial, you might spot Rice starring in a new AT&T TV ad alongside Betts, promoting the sport both Bruins love to play. She even got a chance to flex a few comedy muscles onscreen, saying that her experience in front of the camera was nothing but positive.

“To be part of such a high quality production and film that commercial, I had a great time doing it,” she said, adding that Betts has been a friend she can lean on when the balancing act that is modern-day college sports gets too stressful. 

“I feel like she kind of understands, and is going through something very similar,” Rice says of her teammate and AT&T co-star. 

Getting UCLA tournament ready from the inside-out

She also credits her family as a major source of support, even if they're many miles away on the East Coast, where Rice became one of the country's top high school prospects. And over the years, she’s taken personal responsibility in creating her own stability. She learned from experience the cadence required to not let fatigue set in at the end of a grueling basketball season.

Rice especially prioritizes taking care of her body, as March’s schedule sees games in quick succession. But she also grounds herself in the moment, viewing March Madness as not just a point of pressure, but one of opportunity.

“We've been talking about the NCAA tournament and Big Ten tournament all season long,” said Rice. “It's just like we talk about in practice: We have a new new season ahead of us, two new seasons coming up.”

But for all Rice’s individual and collective achievements so far, when the Bruins tip off against Southern University on Saturday, the pursuit of greatness begins anew. From falling just short of a regular-season title to edging out USC in the Big Ten tournament, Rice is eager to put a winning stamp on an already historic UCLA season.

“At the end of the day, we're just trying to win,” she said. “We don’t have that long, so we’ve got to take advantage of it.”

US women’s rugby stole the spotlight this week, as incoming domestic league Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) prepares for its first-ever season while USA Rugby gears up for a newly announced series of home friendlies.

In the lead-up to the kickoff of the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England this August, the world No. 9-ranked Eagles will be playing a pair of tune-up friendlies, taking on No. 11 Japan in Los Angeles on April 26th before facing No. 2 Canada in Kansas City on May 2nd.

The national team will then play a final send-off match against No. 16 Fiji in Washington, DC, on July 19th before heading to London for the 10th edition of the international tournament.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Momentum continues with new women's rugby league

The Eagles' pre-World Cup tour aims to continue the sport's momentum that the team initially sparked during last summer's Olympic bronze medal-winning run in Paris.

That standout performance prompted increased demand for more consistent women’s rugby programming in the States, with longtime proponents of the sport welcoming fresh fans into the fold with hopes of continuing to grow the game in the US.

Some of the increased demand will be met by WER, as the new league formalized its sanctioning agreement with USA Rugby earlier this week in anticipation of their March 22nd kick-off.

With six teams representing the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York, and the Twin Cities, WER will play a three-month regular season before contesting the league's first playoffs.

"We are confident that the start of WER will be a key moment in the growth of the sport," said WER president Jessica Hammond-Graf in a statement. "We can’t wait for fans to experience the excitement and intensity of high-level, professional women’s rugby in the US."

How to buy tickets to US women's rugby games

Tickets to the Eagles’ World Cup send-off tour go on sale March 28th, while fans hoping to catch WER’s debut season can purchase seats online now.

With the March Madness No. 1 seeds evenly split between the Big Ten and SEC, April’s Final Four becoming a conference tournament championship rematch doubleheader is very much on the table.

The quadrants led by SEC tournament finalists South Carolina and Texas share one side of the bracket, meaning the Gamecocks and Longhorns could meet before the 2024/25 NCAA championship game in an all-conference semifinal.

Similarly, crosstown rivals UCLA and USC top the other two quadrants, putting the LA teams on course for all-Big Ten semifinal.

Both conference pairs have already faced off three times this season, with South Carolina holding a 2-1 2024/25 record over Texas and USC riding into the Big Dance with the same record over UCLA.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Other top teams hunt rematches with NCAA No. 1 seeds

Before the No. 1 seeds lock in on any all-conference semis, however, they must advance past other elite contenders — some of whom have recent beef with the quadrant queens.

No. 3 seed Notre Dame — the only team to fail to snag a No. 1 March Madness spot after reaching the AP Poll's top ranking this season — awaits a possible 2024/25 rematch with Texas in the Elite Eight round, with the Irish eyeing a second season victory over the Longhorns after toppling Texas 80-70 in December.

As for No. 1-seed USC, the Trojans sit on a collision course with No. 2 UConn, setting up what could be a second-straight Elite Eight battle between the pair. The Huskies won last year's encounter 80-73 behind 28 points from superstar Paige Bueckers, before falling to eventual tournament runners-up Iowa in the 2023/24 Final Four.

That said, USC already defeated UConn once this season, with sophomore phenom JuJu Watkins putting up 25 points in the the Trojans' narrow 72-70 December win.

For these potential non-conference games, the rematches are somewhat by design, as top programs try to stack their schedules with the NCAA's best teams each season, both to challenge their rosters and to build their NCAA tournament resumes.

"If you play a good enough schedule, you're always going to run into somebody you've already seen," explained legendary UConn head coach Geno Auriemma earlier this week.

While bracket busters could impede an all No. 1-seed Final Four, no team seeded lower than No. 3 has ever won an NCAA championship, meaning at least a few of these top-tier rematches are likely in the coming weeks.

How to watch the Women's March Madness tournament first round

No. 6-seed Michigan and First Four winner No. 11-seed Iowa State open the tournament, tipping off March Madness at 11:30 AM ET on Friday, with live coverage on ESPN2.

The first top seed to take the court in Friday's 16-game slate is South Carolina, who will face No. 16-seed Tennessee Tech at 4 PM ET before UCLA closes out the night against First Four winner No. 16-seed Southern at 10 PM ET.

Both No. 1-seed games will air live on ESPN.