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Bethany Balcer: From Open Tryout to Roty

Balcer took issue with the officiating in OL Reign’s match against Racing Louisville. (Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images).

Bethany Balcer plays as a forward for OL Reign of the NWSL. Balcer played collegiately for Spring Arbor University, winning two NAIA national championships and and three NAIA National Player of the Year Awards. After being invited into training camp prior to last season, Balcer became the first NAIA player to ever sign a contract with an NWSL club. She went on to be named the 2019 NWSL Rookie of the Year. Balcer spoke with Just Women’s Sports about her unorthodox path to the NWSL, the impact of coronavirus on the upcoming season, and how she’s managed to keep a consistent mindset throughout her meteoric rise. 

Can you walk me through what your mindset was like when you went in to try out for Reign? 

We had meetings the day before our first day of training, and I remember just walking into the room, not even saying hi to anybody, and just slipping into the back. I was just so nervous not knowing anybody. There were other girls in the same position, but they’d all played each other in college, so I definitely felt pretty isolated. On the field, though, I had a good mindset. I wasn’t letting nerves get the best of me. I was just like, if this is meant to be, then it’ll happen. I tried to not see it as being as big of a mountain as it actually was, and that allowed me to play freely.

It’s a big mental battle because you don’t really know where you stand or what the coach thinks of you. But I just took it day by day, and over time I got more comfortable. And once I got the hang of the pace and the physicality, it just became really fun.

I think confidence is still really undervalued in terms of how it affects performance. Would you say it was a big part of your own success at that trial? 

I think what gave me confidence is that I knew I had nothing to lose. Like, if I made a mistake, it wasn’t a big deal, because they all were probably expecting me to. I mean, they were literally expecting nothing out of me, so everything I did was a surprise. They’d seen a lot of the other girls play before, but I was just a shot in the dark. And I think that helped a lot. Everyone loves a good underdog story, and that’s what it was.

That seems like a really healthy mindset. How do you keep that perspective in a competitive professional environment? 

For me, my identity has never been in soccer. I’m a go with the flow type of person, and even when I’ve had season-ending injuries, I feel like I haven’t been completely shocked. It’s kind of like, if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. And I know soccer is temporary. I’m not going to play for forever. I just want to play for as long as I can, and when it’s time to hang the boots up, I’ll hang them up.

So you go into tryouts with nothing to lose. You make the team, you become a regular start. You start scoring goals. You’re named rookie of the year. You’re getting called up to the national team. You’re seeing this amazing progression in a short amount of time. Have you been able to keep that relaxed attitude as the stakes have gotten bigger? 

I’ve definitely been trying to because that’s what got me here. And I still think in baby steps. I’m like, okay, now that I’m on the team, how I can I start getting minutes? Now I’m getting minutes, how can I start being impactful? After that, it’s how do I become a starter? Even now, when I’ve “made it” in a sense and am getting national team call ups, I’m still thinking about the details of my game that I can work on that will help me stand out at the next level. I think I’ve done a good job proving I belong in this league and can compete at this level, and now it’s about honing my skills and figuring out the little things.

What was the biggest jump from college to the professional league?

It sounds so basic, but the speed of play. I remember the first week of training when I was here, I was sprinting all the time, going as fast as I could, and still falling behind. But that’s what’s required of every play, every minute. It takes a whole other level of energy and physical capacity. I mean, I feel sick after games now because I’m exerting so much to keep up. That’s not something I was used to. I’m way more fit now than I’ve ever been. And the fact that I was on cloud nine all last season, just from being on a team, meant I could go, go, go without ever thinking about how tired I was.

What was it like to win rookie of the year? 

That was crazy. I’m still super humbled by the fact I won that. I mean, there were people telling me throughout the year that I was going to get in, but I still wasn’t thinking about it. I was just focused on trying to win a championship. I just wanted to play the best for my team. But it was definitely special to have something to show for all the hard work over the last few years, both on and off the field. Like I said, I hope it proves to people that the draft isn’t the end-all, be-all, and that there are just so many different paths to get here.

I know there’s some uncertainty surrounding this season, but what are some goals for your second year in the league? 

I want to be a more clinical attacker. Definitely in college, I had so much freedom to just shoot whenever and kind of do my own thing. You don’t get as many opportunities in a game at this level, so now it’s back making the most of when I do get in front of the goal. Instead of just blasting it as hard as I can, I want to work on getting that finessed shot down. I got away with a lot in college just because of the level I was playing at, but now I have to watch for mistakes. So I’m working on cleaning up my touch on the ball and making sure my passes are precise. Little technical things like that. Ultimately, I really want to prove that I can be consistent, and that last season wasn’t a one-year thing.

How has coronavirus impacted your training going into the season?

Obviously corona has shifted our normal day of living. My heart breaks for those who are dealing with the illness. I still train individually, but we have ceased getting together as a whole team for obvious reasons.

How has the delay impacted your mindset?

Offseason is just a little longer this year. That’s my approach to it. The things we do now and the upcoming weeks can determine if we will be great or not. I think a lot of us players are looking at it as an opportunity to work a little extra and push ourselves even further. I hope everyone is taking proper precautions and limiting their interactions with others, because the sooner we can grasp just how serious this is, the better off we’ll be.

Even though the team isn’t training together, have you talked about what your collective goals are? 

As a team, we’re just trying to get our feet under us, because last year with so many injuries, players were coming in and out. We were signing new people like every week. It seemed like our locker room was never the same. Our starting lineup was never the same. And so I think this year Rob is hoping to not have any injuries so we can form a good team cohesion and learn how to take advantage of everyone’s strength.

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

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