All Scores

Carli Lloyd returns to Gotham FC as minority owner

(Howard Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Former player Carli Lloyd is returning to NJ/NY Gotham FC as a minority owner, the NWSL club announced Wednesday.

The USWNT icon ended her professional soccer career with Gotham FC in 2021 after playing with her home New Jersey club since 2018.

“As my home club, Gotham FC has always been close to my heart,” Lloyd said in a team statement. “It’s an honor to begin this new chapter of my soccer career surrounded by people who are committed to making this the best club and league in the world.”

Lloyd joins a group of existing Gotham FC minority owners, which includes Ed Nalbandian, Kristin Bernert and Karen Bryant, plus the team’s majority owners, Tammy Murphy and Phil Murphy.

“When Carli retired last season, we always envisioned her remaining a part of Gotham FC and we are thrilled to make that vision a reality,” Tammy Murphy said. “Her unique perspective as a former player and world champion will be a tremendous asset as we continue to push this club forward.”

In addition to her role as a minority owner, Lloyd will take on an advising position to help boost the club’s profile in local, national and international markets. She will also work will the club to help with initiatives created to promote the club and support its players.

Gotham FC will kick off their 2022 regular season on Sunday against the Orlando Pride.

Explosive Offense Powers Las Vegas Aces to 2-0 2025 WNBA Finals Lead

Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson high-fives guard Jackie Young during Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA Finals.
Las Vegas Aces star and reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson is averaging 24.5 points through the first two games of the 2025 Finals. (Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images)

The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces raced to a 2-0 series lead in the 2025 WNBA Finals over the weekend, opening with a close 89-86 Game 1 victory over the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury on Friday before pulling off a more dominant 91-78 Game 2 win on Sunday.

The Aces' offense ruled the court, with guards Dana Evans and Jewell Loyd putting up a momentum-shifting combined 39 points off the bench in Game 1 before Game 2 saw guard Jackie Young post 32 points — setting a WNBA Finals record with the most points by a player in a single quarter (21).

Young and 2025 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson — who is averaging 24.5 points per game through the first two Finals matchups — also became the second-most prolific duo in a single Finals game in WNBA history by combining for 60 of Las Vegas's 91 points on Sunday.

"I am so proud of Jackie," Wilson said after Sunday's win. "I'm a pain in the ass sometimes when she's not doing her job, because I know that [potential] is there."

Hunting their third title in four years, Las Vegas veterans Wilson, Young, and guard Chelsea Gray are combining with new signings Evans and Loyd to make things difficult for the new-look Mercury.

"We have weapons," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon said. "We want to use them all, because we're harder to guard that way."

"What gives me confidence is we've been down before," countered Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts. "We've been overlooked."

While no WNBA Finals team has ever bounced back from a 0-2 start, the league's new best-of-seven format gives the Mercury a little extra cushioning as the series travels to Phoenix for Game 3 on Wednesday.

How to watch Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Finals

The No. 4 Phoenix Mercury will hunt their first victory in the 2025 WNBA Finals on home court when they host the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces for Game 3 at 8 PM ET on Wednesday.

Live coverage will air on ESPN.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert Denies Caitlin Clark Comments

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks to media before Game 1 of the 2025 Finals.
League commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed recent player criticisms ahead of Friday's Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Finals. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert faced the media in a pre-Finals press conference on Friday, addressing last week's viral leadership take-down by Minnesota star Napheesa Collier — and calling out some of the Lynx forward's more controversial claims.

Engelbert said Collier's account of their past conversations "had a lot of inaccuracies," with the commissioner specifically denying that she said rookie stars like Caitlin Clark "should be on their knees thanking their lucky stars" for the exposure the WNBA provides.

"Obviously, I did not make those comments," Engelbert said. "There is a lot of inaccuracy out there through social media and all of this reporting."

With more players speaking out and CBA negotiations heating up, Engelbert took some responsibility for the state of the league — one Collier said has "the worst leadership in the world."

"I was disheartened to hear that some players feel the league — and me, personally — don't care about them or listen to them," she said. "If the players in the W don't feel appreciated and valued by the league, then we have to do better, and I have to do better."

Engelbert also told reporters she set up a meeting with Collier for this week, though ESPN later reported that Collier canceled the meeting after hearing the commissioner's Friday remarks.

Despite growing unrest throughout the WNBA, Engelbert also denied the recent rumors she'd be resigning from her post as commissioner anytime soon.

"I've never been a quitter," she stated.

NFL to Launch Women’s Professional Flag Football League Ahead of 2028 LA Olympics

Team USA wide receiver Isabella Geraci runs around a Team China defender during a preliminary round flag football game at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China.
The 2028 LA Olympics will feature women's flag football for the first time in history. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

The NFL is putting women on the gridiron, with commissioner Roger Goodell announcing plans to launch both a men's and women's professional flag football league at Thursday's Leaders in Sport conference in London.

Looking to have both new ventures up and running in "the next couple of years," the NFL's goal is to introduce the leagues prior to the 2028 Summer Games in LA, where flag football will make its Olympic debut.

"The demand is there. We're seeing colleges in the States and universities internationally also that want to make it a part of their program," Goodell said. "If you set that structure up where there's youth leagues, going into high school, into college, and then professional, I think you can develop a system of scale. That's an important infrastructure that we need to create."

Building that infrastructure also feeds the ongoing NFL goal of growing flag football in order to construct a young fanbase for the gridiron sport at-large, with the league investing in a fan pipeline to support the NFL's future.

In part due to past NFL investments, women's flag football has seen significant growth across the US over the last 25 years, with over 30 states now offering competitive opportunities for high school girls — and at least half of those states fielding it as a full-fledged varsity championship sport.

Even the NCAA is getting in on the action, taking initial steps earlier this year to introduce flag football across all three of the governing body's divisions in the near future.

Though the LA Olympics are three years away, flag football is already charging ahead on the international stage, featuring in the 2022 and 2025 World Games — where the same US talent that the NFL is eyeing for its new league snagged a pair of silver medals.

Lauren Betts, UCLA Tops Big Ten Basketball Polls Ahead of 2025/26 NCAA Season

UCLA basketball center Lauren Betts yells in triumph after a play during a 2025 Elite Eight game.
UCLA center Lauren Betts topped two Big Ten preseason player of the year lists this week. (Tyler McFarland/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The 2025/26 NCAA basketball season is just around the corner, and the Big Ten is celebrating by shouting out the conference's top predicted performers in both the coaches and media preseason polls on Thursday.

The UCLA Bruins — the Big Ten's singular 2025 Final Four participant — took the top team spot in both surveys, with the Maryland Terrapins trailing just behind as the conference's No. 2 ranked squad.

Rounding out the Top 5 in both polls were the USC Trojans, Michigan Wolverines, and Ohio State Buckeyes.

As for individual athletes, UCLA senior and the reigning Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Betts clocked in as the polls' unanimous favorite for Big Ten Player of the Year, with the standout center unsurprisingly capturing the top spot in the absence of injured USC star and 2025 Naismith Player of the Year JuJu Watkins.

Also picking up preseason All-Big Ten Team honors in both surveys were fellow UCLA standout Kiki Rice plus four other seniors: Iowa's Hannah Stuelke, Maryland's Yarden Garzon and Kaylene Smikle, and Michigan State's Grace VanSlooten.

A trio of underclassmen also made the cut in both 2025/26 preseason polls, with Ohio State's Jaloni Cambridge — last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year — joined by a pair of fellow sophomores from archrival Michigan, Olivia Olson and Syla Swords.

The final spot on the All-Big Ten Team lists went to one of the Washington Huskies, with the 18 conference head coaches tapping junior Sayvia Sellers while the media honored senior Elle Ladine.

The 2025/26 NCAA basketball season tips off on November 3rd.

Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.