It wasn’t long after arriving in Texas at the end of June that Ebony Salmon learned her new team, the Houston Dash, had never made the NWSL playoffs.

Two and a half months later, with two weeks left in the regular season, Houston is on track to make club history. Currently fourth in the NWSL standings, they need just one win in their two remaining games against OL Reign on Saturday and the Washington Spirit on Oct. 1 to clinch a playoff berth.

Salmon has been a catalyst for the Dash’s success, putting together a standout season that seemed unlikely for her halfway through the season. With Racing Louisville for the first nine games, Salmon played a total of 70 minutes under head coach Kim Björkegren despite leading the team with six goals last season.

Since joining the Dash via a trade on June 27, the 21-year-old has scored nine goals — over a quarter of Houston’s total — in 909 minutes across through 11 matches. She’s also made back-to-back NWSL Teams of the Month in July and August, and as of July 16 she’s outscored two teams and every player in the league to skyrocket to fifth in the Golden Boot race.

One of the teams she’s outscored is Louisville.

“I’ve obviously had to prove people wrong, and having that weight on my shoulders makes me perform,” Salmon told Just Women’s Sports.

What a strike from Salmon 🤩@ebony_salmon | @HoustonDash pic.twitter.com/zRdvVSrOtX

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 18, 2022

What she’s learned about herself this year, as she’s balanced spending full games on Louisville’s bench to scoring at will with Houston, is that walking away isn’t an option. Her love of soccer will always motivate her to find a way back onto the field, even if at certain points this year she didn’t know when that time would come.

“If I wasn’t ready, I don’t think I would have had the start I did and scored the goals that I have, and the performances that I had,” Salmon said.

With the Dash, she’s also found confidence in playing with coaches and teammates who believe in her.

“Don’t let that one person make you think that you’re not good enough or you can’t do it because, as you’ve seen in my case, the next opportunity could be right around the corner,” she said. “One person might not think you’re the best player, and then the next person might think you’re the best in the world.”

.@ebony_salmon has outscored seven teams since July 16... we'll leave this one here 🚀#SDvHOU | #HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/M5ZGLsj2yT

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 21, 2022

Salmon’s success with the Dash has improved her case with the English women’s national team, for which she has one cap from February 2021. After being excluded from the 2022 Euro champions’ roster, she earned a call-up for friendlies against Austria and Luxembourg in early September.

At the end of a national team camp last September, England head coach Sarina Wiegman advised Salmon to work on her consistency. That became hard to do earlier this season when she wasn’t getting much playing time with Racing Louisville.

It didn’t take long into the 2022 season for Salmon to start considering a trade request. Before she could voice those thoughts, Louisville general manager James O’Connor, recognizing that Salmon wouldn’t be a part of their future plans, approached her with the same idea. On June 27, Louisville sent $150,000 in allocation money to Houston, with promises for more in 2023 as well as a performance-based incentive, in exchange for Salmon. That same day, Salmon signed a contract extension that will keep her in Houston through 2023.

With the Dash, Salmon not only exploded onto the scene, scoring a hat trick in just her third game, but she’s also maintained that level of play into the final stretch. In an open conversation at national team camp this month, Wiegman told Salmon she’s noticed improvements over the past year and gave her things to work on through the remainder of the season.

“The main thing was consistency,” Salmon said. “And I think I’m starting to find that now.”

Thinking about the Lionesses and the upcoming 2023 FIFA World Cup, however, will have to wait a few weeks.

“Within the next month and a half, I think my focus is completely on Houston and making playoffs, and then kind of going all the way in playoffs,” she said. “That’s what we want to do, that’s what everyone on the team wants to do, and I think we’ve seen that we’re capable of doing that.”

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

World No. 18 Colombia secured their spot in the 2025 Copa América final on Monday night, when Las Cafeteras bested No. 32 Argentina in a penalty shootout to take the first of the continental tournament's two semifinals.

Despite dominating in both possession and attacking opportunities, Colombia failed to break through in regulation time, ending the Copa semifinal in a 0-0 stalemate.

However, the 2022 runners-up showed confidence from the spot, securing the victory with a narrow 5-4 penalty differential after six shootout rounds.

"We are finalists and we qualified for the Olympics in Los Angeles, that was our objective," said Colombia goalkeeper Katherine Tapia after the win. "We are prepared for the Final."

With Colombia hunting a first-ever Copa title in their fourth trip to the tournament's finale, they will either face underdog No. 63 Uruguay or reigning champions No. 4 Brazil in Saturday's 2025 title match.

Should Brazil soccer legend Marta and the rest of her team continue their run to a fifth straight — and ninth overall — Conmebol trophy, Colombia would find themselves facing As Canarinhas for a competition record-tying fourth time in the Copa América final.

On the other hand, a Uruguay semifinal victory over Brazil would set up the first-ever Copa América finale to not feature the continental powerhouse.

How to watch Brazil vs. Uruguay in the Copa América semifinal

Defending champ Brazil will take on Uruguay in the second Copa América semifinal at 8 PM ET on Tuesday, as each team aims for a spot against Colombia in Saturday's 5 PM ET tournament final.

Tuesday's semifinal will air live on FS1.

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) crowned its inaugural champion on Sunday, with the No. 1-seed Talons lifting the first-ever AUSL trophy after sweeping the No. 2-seed Bandits in the weekend's 2025 Championship Series.

Battling inclement weather all weekend, the Talons finished out Saturday's rain-delayed Game 1 to a 3-1 win early Sunday morning, before avoiding a winner-take-all Game 3 by claiming the AUSL title in a narrow 1-0 second victory on Sunday afternoon.

AUSL Pitcher of the Year Georgina Corrick and former Alabama ace Montana Fouts held the powerful Bandits offense at bay throughout the two wins, while infielder Sydney Romero — a former two-time NCAA champion at Oklahoma — secured the Talons' title with a Game 2 sixth-inning home run.

"I wouldn't have wanted to do this anywhere else, with anybody else," Fouts said after the championship win. "I feel like we really are family. That's what makes this so special. Obviously, winning is awesome, but I just feel like whenever you step on the field with people like this, you've already won." 

In addition to the Talons' 2025 championship trophy, AUSL at-large garnered plenty of success throughout its debut season, selling out 14 of the first 29 games while averaging 117,000 viewers per game on ESPN2 — a 65% increase over the 2024 Athletes Unlimited format.

That boost saw the broadcaster upgrade the final series from ESPN2 to ESPN.

"It's really been, in some ways, eye-opening," AUSL commissioner Kim Ng told Sports Business Journal earlier this month. "I don't think that any of us thought that we would get this type of reception. But everyone here is so incredibly excited."

The No. 11 Dallas Wings put on a show on Monday, handing the No. 2 New York Liberty their second straight loss behind a combined 40 points from star guards Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale.

Rocketing to a season-best 63-36 first-half lead, Dallas held off the reigning WNBA champions' fourth-quarter surge to secure the 92-82 upset win — the Wings' eighth victory of the year.

Ogunbowale tallied 14 assists in the win, becoming to first WNBA player to ever record 20+ points and 14+ assists in a single game while committing less than two turnovers.

While the WNBA standings remained relatively stable, Dallas's upswing brought further frustration for the Liberty, as they continue to struggle to keep all five starters healthy at the same time.

While previously injured center Jonquel Jones is back in the mix, New York missed 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart on Monday, with the star forward sidelined after suffering a blow to the leg during Saturday play.

"Just understanding the urgency we need to play with, understanding nobody feels bad for us down some people, we have to come out with a little more purpose," guard Sabrina Ionescu told reporters after Monday's loss.

How to watch the Dallas Wings and New York Liberty this week

New York's next trek is significantly steeper, as the Liberty take on the league-leading Minnesota Lynx at 8 PM ET on Wednesday. A rematch of the 2024 WNBA Finals, the clash will air live on ESPN.

Dallas will be in action at the exact same time, when the Wings will hunt a ninth season win against the No. 4 Atlanta Dream, airing live on ESPN3.

Second-year LA Sparks forward Cameron Brink is gearing up to make her long-awaited return on Tuesday night, stepping back on the WNBA court after missing more than a year of action due to a June 2024 ACL tear.

Brink's return couldn't come at a better time for LA, as the Sparks continue to take serious aim at a postseason run after rattling off five wins in a row.

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The 2024 No. 2 overall draftee will likely be on a minutes restriction as she works her way back into full-game fitness, with the Sparks easing her in during their Tuesday matchup against Las Vegas.

"It means the world," Brink told the Long Beach Press Telegram about her WNBA return earlier this week. "I'm just very excited, very humbled by this experience. It's no easy thing to come back from."

Brink's comeback will close out a trio of WNBA games on Tuesday:

• No. 9 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): After a hot start, the Valkyries slid into a free-fall, leaving Golden State hoping to improve on their 2-6 July record against a gelling Dream side.

• No. 12 Chicago Sky vs. No. 8 Washington Mystics, 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The young Mystics are currently clinging onto the final playoff spot, with a chance to push ahead against the injury-ridden Sky.

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 10 Los Angeles Sparks, 10 PM ET (NBA TV): The Sparks are the shiniest team in the WNBA right now, but they'll have their work cut out against an Aces team desperate to bust out of the mid-table doldrums.