In the top left corner of the CBS Sports Network channel last Wednesday night, the score was 1-0 for the Portland Thorns in front of a packed stadium in San Diego on Pride Night.

In the 46th minute, Canadian national team star and Thorns captain Christine Sinclair brought a lobbed ball down to her feet at the top of the Wave’s 6-yard box and blasted it past Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan to double Portland’s score.

The thrilling play resulted in Sinclair’s 58th goal, making her the NWSL’s second all-time leading goal scorer in her 150th appearance. Previously, she was tied with U.S. national team forward Lynn Williams at 57.

The best part was that Canadians were able to see the milestone unfold in real time, because just over two weeks ago, most wouldn’t have been able to.

To watch live NWSL games, Canadians and other international viewers use Twitch. Previously, Canadians were geo-blocked from the platform during CBSSN matches. The expectation was that they watch on CBSSN, an American pay channel that most Canadian viewers can only access with a VPN connection, which can get detected and therefore shut down. Other international viewers have never been blocked from Twitch during CBSSN games.

But last Wednesday, for the second time in two weeks, Canadians could watch the CBSSN match on Twitch. The Washington Spirit vs. Orlando Pride match on May 27 was the first time ever that Canadians had access to Twitch for an NWSL game on CBSSN.

.@sincy12 said:

"Hold on, let me score a goal to celebrate my 150 NWSL Regular Season appearances." ⚽👑 @ThornsFC | #BAONPDX pic.twitter.com/k1nWzPo0u6

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 9, 2022

The resolution comes just over a month after first-year NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman took office on April 20.

“Whereas it seemed always before it was an afterthought, it appears that it’s been an issue that was elevated enough to bring about a resolution,” said Ontario’s Raquel Kerr, the mother of Spirit goalkeeper Devon Kerr. “That is so positive that what the old administration could not resolve, nor even address, has been remedied.”

Before it was revealed that Canadians would obtain better access to NWSL broadcasts, Just Women’s Sports spoke with Canadian viewers at the beginning of May about their experiences with Twitch.

Vanessa Gilles’ mother, Josie Castelli-Gilles of Ottawa, Ont., didn’t miss a beat when asked about her viewing experience in Canada.

“Oh god, with the Twitch, eh?” she said. “AGH!”

With various NWSL channels on Twitch, games on CBSSN were always shown on Channel 3 to international viewers outside of Canada. Before May 27, the channel was set up specifically to create a geo-block for CBSSN games in Canada, and then remained geo-blocked even for games that weren’t televised. CBS and the NWSL did not respond to multiple requests for comment about why this was the case.

Canada’s Vanessa Gilles went undrafted out of college and took the scenic route to the NWSL. On March 19, the Angel City FC defender played in her first NWSL game. Seeing that it was geo-blocked on Twitch, Gilles’ parents scrambled through their Twitter timeline as kickoff began, determined to watch their daughter and the 2022 expansion team make their league debuts.

“Oh, it’s terrible,” Castelli-Gilles said at the time. “It is terrible.”

Castelli-Gilles’ in-laws in France, meanwhile, were able watch every single one of Gilles’ games.

Nichelle Prince’s mother, Robin, who lives in Ajax, Ont., said she started getting streams ready an hour before kickoff because she couldn’t predict whether Twitch would work and where they would be able to find the game.

Robin missed Nichelle’s first goal of the season in the Houston Dash’s 2-1 win over Racing Louisville FC in their last match of the Challenge Cup because the game was on CBSSN. Raquel Kerr subscribed to CBSSN this year just to be able to watch the 11 matches scheduled on that channel and watch Devon play for the Spirit.

“I was just so tired of not being able to [watch],” she said, also at the beginning of May. “It was hit or miss.”

It was still hit or miss with the VPN viewers needed for CBSSN, which could get shut down. That’s what happened to Raquel during the Spirit’s thrilling shootout win over OL Reign in the Challenge Cup semifinal. She had to find a grainy YouTube feed to watch instead.

In desperate situations, Canadians turned to SpankysPlace. The Twitch channel became familiar ever since it streamed Angel City and San Diego Wave FC’s NWSL debut. Castelli-Gilles ended up watching Vanessa’s first-ever NWSL match after she discovered the channel on Twitter in her last-minute hunt for streams.

Spankysplace is run by Richard Welsh, also known as Spanky. During games, he can be seen in a small screen in the top corner of the stream, eating his Cool Ranch Doritos, adding humorous commentary and occasionally leaving the room to let out his two Miniature Yorkshire Terriers.

“The broadcast was great,” Castelli-Gilles laughed. “He’s one of my favorites on Twitch.”

A Gotham FC fan from Pennsylvania, Welsh became interested in the NWSL after hearing other soccer broadcasts mention the league. Instead of speaking anonymously to avoid risk of his channel getting banned, Welsh said he has other priorities.

“I try to go by the law,” he said. “Everybody tries to go by the law, but if everybody wants to watch the soccer game and we’re trying to grow the NWSL, then I’ll take the chance to get a ban. And if it costs me court or jail time, I’m up for it I guess.”

As the NWSL and CBS begin to improve broadcast accessibility for Canadians, they’ve started including Radio-Canada Sports in their social media promotion. The broadcast platform with French-only commentary was previously discovered only by viewers who went digging into the depths of the internet for streams when they were geo-blocked from Twitch. Now, the league advertises it for viewers who might not yet know it’s an option.

“We should be the leaders in this,” Robin said in May, noting that North America is at the forefront of women’s soccer after the U.S. dominated the 2015 and 2019 World Cups and Canada won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer. “You have to tell people, ‘Listen, this game is going to be on CBS,’ or ‘This is what’s happening on this day. Sign up, subscribe.’ Whatever you need to do to watch those games.’”

Canadian viewers have made their concerns clear over the past couple of months, and the league, under new leadership this season, seems to be listening.

“It paints a picture that this swift action on matters of importance will be a transferable process to other matters that will see the league develop and evolve exponentially,” Raquel said on Thursday. “[It’s] exciting.”

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

NWSL veteran Sofia Huerta is expanding her investment portfolio, with the Seattle Reign defender joining the ownership group of incoming USL Super League side Athletic Club Boise this week.

"I wasn't sure something like this would ever happen in Boise — so when the opportunity came, it was an easy decision," the Idaho product said in Tuesday's USL press release. "This community is how I got where I am today."

"Soccer has given me so much, and this club is building something that will give those opportunities to others," the 32-year-old continued. "The foundation Athletic Club Boise is laying — with the men's team in 2026 and the women's Gainbridge Super League team in 2027 — makes me proud to invest in the future of soccer here at home."

"Sofia represents exactly what we want this club to be — talented, ambitious, and deeply connected to the Northwest," added the incoming club's fellow co-owner Kasey Keller.

Huerta is now the first NWSL player to directly invest in the growing USL Super League, which serves as a top-flight US pro league alongside the NWSL.

That said, some of Huerta's Reign teammates have already crossed league lines, with Lauren Barnes, Jess Fishlock, and Olivia Van der Jagt buying into the semi-pro USL W League's Seattle-based team, Salmon Bay FC, last year.

Notre Dame basketball star Hannah Hidalgo took the mic this week, telling reporters at Tuesday's ACC Media Day that she's eager to erase the memory of last season's March Madness crash-out.

"Knowing how much talent we had last year and underachieving like we did was something that was heartbreaking," the junior guard said, explaining that the one-time No. 1 Fighting Irish lost focus ahead of their Sweet 16 tournament exit.

Hidalgo, whose 23.8 points per game made her the fifth most prolific scorer in the NCAA last season, also vowed to step up as a leader this year in light of Notre Dame losing standouts Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld to the WNBA and fellow star guard Olivia Miles in a transfer to TCU.

"I know how to get the best out of my teammates, I know the steps that I need to take and the things that I need to do," said Hidalgo, dismissing questions about her rumored rift with Miles. "One of the most important things is building that relationship and that connection with my teammates off the court. It's bigger than basketball."

"I know the weight of [the spotlight] is heavy," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said of Hidalgo's role. "But I feel like she has done a great job of surrounding herself with the right network."

OL Lyonnes scored some UEFA Champions League revenge on Tuesday, upending reigning UWCL champs Arsenal 2-1 in the powerhouse pair's 2025/26 league phase opener in London.

In a rematch of last season's Champions League semifinal, Haiti international Melchie Dumornay sealed the OL Lyonnes result with a first-half brace for the French titans, quickly countering Arsenal forward Alessia Russo's seventh-minute strike.

"Errors happen from time to time, but if they happen too often, of course, there's something there," noted Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers, referencing the defensive mistakes that led to both OL Lyonnes goals. "Sometimes it's intangible or hard to put your finger on because it's a mixture of things."

"We won't get too high [or] too low in this situation," the Gunners manager continued, adding "the team went through hard times last year as well, and then we ended the season on a high with an amazing achievement in the Champions League."

OL Lyonnes weren't the only opening-day league phase victors, as Juventus took down Benfica 2-1 while 2024/25 runners-up Barcelona demolished Bundesliga side Bayern Munich 7-1 behind a pair of braces from attackers Ewa Pajor and Clàudia Pina.

Unlike previous iterations, the 2025/26 Champions League format does not include first-round rematches, with each team facing six different opponents before advancing to the knockouts.

How to watch 2025/26 Champions League games

UWCL league phase opening matches conclude with five games on Wednesday, with WSL winners Chelsea FC kicking off the action against Dutch side FC Twente at 12:45 PM ET.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will air live on Paramount+.

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier was back on stage this week, opening up about her viral exit interview blasting WNBA leadership to former US Vice President Kamala Harris at the "A Day of Unreasonable Conversation" summit in LA on Monday.

"For so long, we tried to have these conversations and move the needle," she said. "And I saw nothing was changing."

"I think I just got to the point where I was fed up [with WNBA leadership]," Collier told Harris. "Whether I was going to get annihilated for this, or people were gonna support me, I felt like what I was doing was right."

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Collier also doubled down on her position, publicly cancelling a meeting with Cathy Engelbert after the WNBA commissioner denied Collier's account of a past conversation regarding Caitlin Clark and rookie compensation.

"For [Engelbert] to start her speech saying she has the utmost respect for me and for the players, and then to turn around and call me a liar three minutes later... I think it just speaks to that lack of accountability and so I really have nothing further to say [to her]," Collier told Axios on Monday, confirming the meeting's cancellation.

While both Engelbert and NBA commissioner Adam Silver have committed to repairing relationships between players and league leadership, Collier's recent outspokenness shows just how much ground there is to cover.