American soccer stars arrived at the second annual U.S. women’s national team Players Ball on Dec. 7 dressed to the nines and ready to celebrate. At the ball, the USWNT players association honored Ali Krieger and spotlighted her illustrious career. 

Krieger retired from professional soccer after her former NWSL team — NJ/NY Gotham FC — took home its first NWSL championship on Nov. 11. It was also Krieger’s first NWSL championship victory, and her medal sits among other impressive hardware in her trophy case, including the 2014 CONCACAF women’s championship and two World Cups with the USWNT. 

Krieger dazzled in a light blue, Gotham-esque dress and gave an emotional speech after she was honored by the players association. Much of Krieger’s speech was recorded and posted to X (formerly known as Twitter) by The Athletic’s Meg Linehan. 

“To my former teammates, I don’t know how I would be where I am without you,” Krieger said. “You made me look so damn good on that field, you know who you are. Thank you for, just, carrying me through, this has been such a difficult year, but also a year that I cherish because I learned so much about myself.”

Krieger reminisced on her final season as a player and its challenges. Off the pitch, she went through a divorce with her ex-wife and former USWNT goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, and, two days before her NWSL championship victory, her father went into hospice care. As Krieger thanked her closest friends and teammates, her voice broke and her eyes welled with tears. 

“I’ve been through a lot this year and, thanks to you, Crystal is definitely one of the ones who reached out the most, Pinoe, Syd and all my former [teammates,] Midge. Obviously, I wouldn’t’ve — I’m going to get so emotional — I wouldn’t’ve been able to survive without you,” Krieger said. 

Krieger also shouted out the younger generation of USWNT players and discussed the future of the team. 

“To the younger players who are so effin’ talented, I love watching you play, you are gonna carry this team,” Krieger said. “You’re going to carry this team to championships, we will get on the right path because of you. You guys can do so much more than I ever could have done on this field.”

Krieger expressed her thanks for her past teammates and for the opportunities that professional soccer has given her, while saying she’s excited for what’s coming next. 

“Winning championships has been incredible, but what’s most important is the lifelong friendships that we’ll carry on throughout the rest of our time, and I’m so excited for that. I’m so excited for the next chapter. I’m so excited to share with all of you.” 

WNBA legend Candace Parker plans to return to the court next season if she is healthy.

Parker fractured her foot during the Las Vegas Aces’ second-consecutive WNBA Finals-winning season in 2023. She underwent surgery in July after “playing on the fracture all season” and has not played in a game since. 

The 37-year-old forward was interviewed by TMZ Sports on Dec. 7 and echoed statements that she made on Good Morning America in November. 

“If I’m healthy, I wanna play,” Parker said to TMZ Sports.  

Parker started 18 games with the Aces after singing with them as a free agent in 2023, adding chemistry to their offense as the season went along. Parker hasn’t provided a timeline for how much longer she hopes to play basketball professionally, or if she wishes to play at all. But Parker has nothing left to prove, and she seems to know this. With a 16-year career under her belt and three WNBA Championships to her name, Parker’s return hinges mostly on her comfort and desire to spend time with her family. 

“If I’m healthy I’m going to play, but I’m not gonna play in pain anymore,” Parker told Robin Roberts on Good Morning America in November. “It’s too important — the trick-or-treating, the crossing over my kids — it’s too important.” 

Parker provided no update on the condition of her foot, but in the video interview by TMZ Sports, she was seen walking without a boot and without any assistance. 

While WNBA fans would surely like to see a farewell tour for Parker, she hopes that people focus on the future of the game. 

“The game of basketball is in amazing hands, regardless,” Parker said. “If you see NCAA women, if you see the WNBA, the level that these young ladies are taking the game to is exciting and I’m just happy that now we have the visibility and the platform to do it.”

U.S. women’s national team veteran Rose Lavelle is popular with American soccer fans. Her 11-year-old English bulldog Wilma is, arguably, just as popular. 

USWNT fans have a history of giving Lavelle creative artwork of Wilma. And at the U.S.’s final game of the year, an international friendly against China PR, the fans struck again.

Lavelle was gifted posters of Wilma and herself edited into holiday movie posters and scenes, including the “Jingle Bell Rock” dance scene from Mean Girls and a poster from Elf.

Lavelle did not make an appearance in the Dec. 6 friendly, but fans continued a tradition of gifting her art of her beloved dog. And Lavelle loves the attention that fans give to her pup. 

“I do think she’s, like, dog-famous, as she should be,” Lavelle said to Fox Sports during the 2023 World Cup. 

Wilma had 13.7 thousand followers on Instagram at the time of the matchup with China, and her profile is likely where fans source photos for their many pieces of art. Fans embrace Lavelle’s love for Wilma by loving her themselves. 

“She’s cute, she’s got personality, she’s got spunk,” Lavelle said. “She’s got everything you would want in a dog.”

England handily beat its Great British rival Scotland on Tuesday night, 6-0. But the comfortable victory was not enough for the Lionesses to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. 

England was unable to unseat The Netherlands from the top seat in its Nations League group. The two squads entered their Tuesday matches with the same number of points, but The Netherlands had a superior goal differential. 

The nail in England’s coffin was a late goal scored by Damaris Egurrola in the 91st minute of the Oranje’s match with Belgium on Dec. 5 — the single goal that the Netherlands needed to remove England from contention. 

Belgium didn’t register a single goal on the Oranje, but England’s six goals over Scotland weren’t enough to make up the difference to qualify for the Paris games. 

“I’m very disappointed,” England manager Sarina Wiegman said to ESPN. “I felt we delivered tonight.”

Despite the impressive performance, the Lionesses couldn’t make up for their previous losses to Belgium and Spain. That, combined with an inferior goal differential, will keep this summer’s World Cup runner ups out of next summer’s Olympics. 

“If you don’t get through on goal difference, it’s not enough,” Wiegman said. “I still think what we’ve done, the Euros, getting to the final in the World Cup, having hardly [any] rest, going into the first Nations League campaign and, yes, we had moments we struggled but we had moments where we did really well, but that’s football.”

Twenty-year-old Korbin Albert was welcomed to the pitch for the first time as a member of the U.S. women’s national team with a swift, high cleat to the face.

Albert debuted for the USWNT in the team’s 2-1 win over China PR on Tuesday night in the final friendly of the year. She subbed on in the 69th minute for USWNT veteran Lindsey Horan, and less than 10 minutes later, Albert was kicked in the face just outside the 18-yard box. China’s Huo Yuexin received a yellow card for the infraction.

Albert remained in the game after the collision, and her nose became increasingly purple as time wore on. Postgame, she had a good attitude about the kick.

“I wasn’t as nervous as I thought, but then once I took that step onto the field? I was like ‘Oh my gosh, this is happening,’” Albert told reporters, according to The Athletic’s Meg Linehan. “I was like, calm down, calm my senses. And then when I got hit, it kind of rocked my head back into place.”

Even after being kicked, Albert made some quality contributions to her team. The foul earned the U.S. a free kick that led to the equalizing goal from Sam Coffey, and the midfielder delivered some corner kicks that created chances.

“I thought Korbin [Albert] showed a lot of maturity and poise coming in. She’s trained in multiple positions all week, which is not something we generally ask somebody who is yet to be capped,” USWNT interim head coach Twila Kilgore said. “She’s got a great mind for the game, she’s eager to play and combine with other people and that was very, very encouraging to see.”

Overall, Albert’s debut was a positive look into her future with the USWNT — and her bruised nose is already growing on her.

“I think it’s good,” Albert said after the game. “It’s gonna be a souvenir, it’s gonna be black, but it’s okay. It was worth it and I’m happy I got it to be honest.”

Eighteen-year-old Olivia Moultrie impressed in her debut for the U.S. women’s national team in 3-0 win against China on Dec. 2.

Moultrie came on as a substitute in the 71st minute for Rose Lavelle, becoming the first player born in 2005 to earn a cap. She played the rest of the game in a midfield role behind young forwards Jaedyn Shaw, 19, and Mia Fishel, 22.

“Very, very pleased with Liv,” USWNT interim head coach Twila Kilgore said after the match. “I know I talked to her after the game, she was ecstatic, as you would imagine that she would be, but I think there’ll be greater moments for her to come.”

Moultrie started training with the Portland Thorns at 13 years old, and she officially signed with the NWSL club in 2021 at 15 years old following a legal battle over her right to play. Two years later, she registered one shot on target in her debut for the senior national team.

Kilgore praised Moultrie’s playmaking ability, going so far as to say that she wishes the squad would’ve gotten the ball to her more.

“I think she went in and occupied spaces really well,” Kilgore said. “I felt like we could have found her more and when we did find her I thought she was very good in combination and looking to play forward, tried some things, we asked her to be brave. She was brave. And I thought she was great at looking to regain the ball right away when other people lost the ball.”

And bravery is key when making an appearance for a national team at 18 years old. But as Kilgore said, Moultrie was brave, and she likely has a successful future ahead of her with the USWNT.

“One of the things I was able to get to her right before she went in, she’s obviously already been briefed tactically what we’re looking for, but just reminding her that I would not play her if she wasn’t ready,” Kilgore said. “She’s earned this and she did an incredible job going in and playing on both sides of the ball.”

For the first time in 20 years, Southern Mississippi basketball has opened its season with a 7-0 record. And on Dec. 2, the team collected its first ranked win since 1999 against No. 19 Ole Miss, which remains winless in the Golden Eagles’ arena since 2000.

“I really and truly think it boils down to one thing, and it’s grit,” Southern Miss head coach Joye Lee-McNelis said. “It’s that Southern Miss grit. I thought we just out-hustled in the second half. We got all the loose balls. I think that was the game-changing difference.”

And Lee-McNelis knows a thing or two about grit. The woman leading Southern Miss on its strongest charge in decades is battling something far bigger than basketball — her third brush with lung cancer. 

Lee-McNelis coached Southern Miss through the close matchup with their in-state rivals, which also happened to be the Eagles’ annual lung cancer awareness game. 

And Lee-McNelis’ squad pulled through for her, securing a 61-59 victory against the Rebels to stay undefeated.

With nine-and-a-half minutes left in the game, Southern Miss went on a 10-point run to take the lead from the Rebels — and the Golden Eagles never gave it up. With four seconds left, sophomore guard Nyla Jean drove to the basket and sank a breakaway layup to keep the game just out of reach of Ole Miss.

Southern Miss players donned #McNelisStrong t-shirts during warmups, according to the Clarion-Ledger. The Golden Eagles secured a win for the woman leading them on and off the court. 

“It was McNelis strong,” Lee-McNelis said. “But my team made this happen.”

Almost everywhere Caitlin Clark plays, fans flock to the arena to see her. Clark’s scoring ability and flashy but easy playing style draw crowds to women’s basketball games across the country.

And sometimes, those crowds contain recognizable faces. 

Sitting courtside during Iowa’s game against Bowling Green were WNBA icon Sue Bird and Jason Sudeikis, star of sports TV show “Ted Lasso.” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder called the tandem “the best player and the best coach in America,” referencing Sudeikis’ titular role as a fish-out-of-water Premier League manager.

Bird and Sudeikis stopped in Iowa after attending a men’s basketball game at Kansas together. After the game, Bird and Sudeikis met the Hawkeyes in their locker room, where Sudiekis signed a “Believe” poster, another reference to “Ted Lasso.”

The basketball legend Bird has previously praised Clark’s playing style and her ability to gather an audience. 

“I mean, it’s jaw-dropping. It’s eye-popping,” Bird told the Wall Street Journal. “It makes you take note of those moments.”

Three hundred and sixty six-days after undergoing back surgery and 599 since her last cap, Abby Dahlkemper returned to the pitch for the U.S. women’s national team on Dec. 2 as part of the starting XI.

The 30-year-old defender last appeared in stars and stripes on April 12, 2022, in a friendly against Uzbekistan. And after so much time away, she was thrilled to return to international play.

“Just grateful beyond words and just thankful for this opportunity,” Dahlkemper told TNT following the match. 

Before her long absence from the field, Dahlkemper experienced back spasms and spondylolysis, a stress fracture in the spine. The 30-year-old defender realized she needed back surgery in the middle of a game for the San Diego Wave, her NWSL squad. And then last November, Dahlkemper underwent spinal fusion surgery and spent nearly a year recovering. 

“It was scary once I got the surgery and got it done because I just didn’t know how I was going to heal, like if I was ever going to be able to get like a full rotation and this and that in my back,” Dahlkemper said in September. “But I feel like my body has adjusted well and coming back, I feel like I haven’t really missed a beat.”

Dahlkemper scored in her third game back for the Wave, and she played all 90 minutes for the USWNT against China. So the 2019 World Cup champion seems to be back to her pre-injury form.

“You just trust the process and control what you can,” Dahlkemper said. “And here I am. Just unbelievably grateful and thankful but excited to play with this team again.”

The new-look U.S. women’s national team debuted with a 3-0 win against China on Dec. 2. The December camp roster put together by interim head coach Twila Kilgore and incoming head coach Emma Hayes features younger faces and fewer established American soccer icons.

And the youth of the USWNT are already flashing their chemistry, including connecting on goals.

Mia Fishel and Jaedyn Shaw were subbed into the game at halftime, and their connection was apparent. Shaw assisted on Trinity Rodman’s tap-in goal in the 77th minute, and Fishel was in front of the net with them, keeping pace and itching to add to the play.

“I think they’ve been coached at the youth level from coaches that instill similar concepts just watching from [outside] and it’s been really neat to see their progression,” Kilgore said of the duo, who both debuted for the national team this fall.

Kilgore described perfectly the understanding that Fishel, 22, and Shaw, 19, have together on the attacking line.

“One thing that helps is that Jaedyn is always looking to play forward and Mia is looking to provide a forward option. And Jaedyn is very good at moving off of that.” Kilgore said. “That’s got to be part of it. And I think they’re both hungry for the goals. . . I actually think they’ve done a really good job of finding each other in moments when the other has been open.”

In addition to both players wanting to contribute on the scoresheet, they’ve become fast friends off the pitch. And Kilgore believes that to be another reason Fishel and Shaw click so well together. 

“I actually just had this conversation with them and they’ve both voiced that it has a lot to do with their personal relationship that they’ve started to develop here in camp, which is an interesting thing,” Kilgore said.