NJ/NY Gotham FC ended their trying 2022 campaign on a high, playing to a 3-3 draw against the Portland Thorns Saturday at Red Bull Arena.

The tie halted Gotham FC’s 12-game losing streak and five-game scoreless streak, with the club logging its first draw of the regular season.

The Portland Thorns entered Saturday’s matchup needing a win to lock up the NWSL Shield as masters of their own destiny. Instead, the 3-3 tie opened the door for OL Reign to clinch the league title, with the Seattle club registering a 3-0 shutout over the Orlando Pride to steal the NWSL Shield away from the Thorns.

“It’s definitely a painful one right now,” Portland Thorns head coach Rhian Wilkinson told reporters after the game. “I think Gotham came out to deliver a performance to put a full stop on a very challenging season. I thought it was really one of our weaker games all season, which is the frustration. I’ve asked the team to stick together through this. We got a tie and we secured a semifinal spot.”

Sophia Smith served as a bright spot in an otherwise frustrating Portland result, with the star forward notching a brace to secure a club record for the most goals in the season at 14, one shy of Golden Boot leader Alex Morgan.

“It’s an honor,” Smith said of the feat. “I couldn’t do it without an amazing team and amazing coach behind me. This season has been a lot of fun, honestly. I haven’t been thinking too much about any awards or records or anything.”

In the last 2 minutes of the 1st half: @sophsssmith scores a brace and sets a @ThornsFC club record for goals scored in a single season‼️ pic.twitter.com/ykYQ2jAIcJ

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) October 2, 2022

Despite going down 2-1 at the break, Gotham FC was resilient, with Midge Purce leading the charge for her team’s attack, assisting on Ifeoma Onumonu’s goal in the 56th minute.

Purce’s dominant outing comes after being left off Vlatko Andonovski’s latest U.S. Women’s National Team roster due to a perceived “dip in form.”

“Midge Purce had a great game and caused a lot of problems. The whole team just did really well,” Portland’s Becky Sauerbrunn said. “We tried to match and we knew the Shield was potentially in our hands. Go up 3-1 and you give up two goals, you tie 3-3, it’s a bummer. It’s a tough game and feeling not so great about it right now.”

.@ify_on22 gets one back for @GothamFC pic.twitter.com/5M9nY9JgJh

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) October 2, 2022

Nahomi Kawasumi and McCall Zerboni rounded out scoring for Gotham FC, with Saturday marking the first three-goal game from the club since their May 1 opener against Orlando.

“No one celebrates on our field except for us,” Onumonu said of denying Portland the NWSL Shield. “That would have been honestly embarrassing, didn’t want that for us.”

The Thorns, while narrowly missing out on the Shield, clinched a No. 2 ranking and a first-round bye for the NWSL playoffs, which will be critical as players head out on international duty next week.

Portland will host their semifinal matchup at Providence Park on Oct. 23.

The 2026 LPGA Tour officially teed off on Thursday, when 39 top-ranked golfers began competing for a piece of this year's $2.1 million HGV Tournament of Champions purse.

Following Thursday's first round, No. 17 Nasa Hataoka (Japan) led the field with a 6-under 66 performance, with world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand), No. 11 Lottie Woad (England), No. 24 Linn Grant (Sweden), and No. 53 Chanettee Wannasaen (Thailand) chasing her just one shot behind.

Defending Tournament of Champions winner No. 27 A Lim Kim (South Korea) enters Friday's second round three strokes back.

Leading a US contingent that includes No. 13 Angel Yin, No. 25 Lauren Coughlin, and No. 49 Lilia Vu is 2025 Tournament of Champions runner-up No. 2 Nelly Korda, who capped Thursday trailing Hataoka by two shots.

"Overall, I'm happy with my round. [It's only] Thursday, so hopefully, I can continue building momentum going into the next three days," said the 27-year-old US star. "But [I] can't complain."

Featuring 16 of the Top 25 golfers, including 2024 champion No. 6 Lydia Ko (New Zealand) and 2023 winner No. 23 Brooke Henderson (Canada), the 2026 LPGA season-opening tournament pairs pros with amateur celebrities including USWNT legend Brandi Chastain and golf icon Annika Sörenstam.

How to watch the 2026 HGV Tournament of Champions

Live coverage of the 2026 HGV Tournament of Champions airs at 11:30 AM ET on Friday and 3 PM ET on Saturday on the Golf Channel, before NBC broadcasts the LPGA season opener's final round at 2 PM ET on Sunday.

Aryna Sabalenka is one match away from her third Australian Open title after the world No. 1 tennis star took down Ukraine's No. 12 Elina Svitolina in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) in the 2026 tournament's semifinals on Thursday.

Entering her fourth straight Australian Open final, the 27-year-old Belarusian initially won the Melbourne Grand Slam in 2023 and 2024 before dropping the 2025 final to US star No. 9 Madison Keys.

"The job is not done yet," Sabalenka said following her Thursday semifinal win.

Now hunting a fifth career Grand Slam victory after claiming a second consecutive US Open title last September, Sabalenka will face Kazakhstan's No. 5 Elena Rybakina in Saturday's final, after the 2022 Wimbledon champ downed No. 6 Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6(7) in Thursday's first match.

"It got very tight. I stayed there," the 26-year-old said after defeating the last-standing US star. "I was fighting for each point."

Notably, Saturday's final will also be a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open championship clash in which Sabalenka staged a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory.

Even more, though Sabalenka holds the all-time edge with an 8-6 career record against Rybakina, the Kazakhstani star has won six of the pair's last 10 meetings — including a dominant 6-3, 7-6(0) upset victory to take the 2025 WTA Finals title in November.

How to watch the 2026 Australian Open final

The 2026 Australian Open final between No. 1 Sabalenka and No. 5 Rybakina kicks off at 3:30 AM ET on Saturday, airing live on ESPN.

Unrivaled 3×3 is taking over Philadelphia on Friday, when the Miami-based league brings pro women's basketball back to the City of Brotherly Love the first time since 1998.

As the league's its first-ever tour stop, Friday's one-off doubleheader — dubbed "Philly is Unrivaled" — is already shaping up to be a success, with Unrivaled selling out the 21,000-seat Xfinity Mobile Arena with tickets averaging $165 each on the secondary market — nearly double the price to see the NBA's Sixers at the same venue.

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"I'm just excited for the love from the city. People can really see this as a basketball city. One of the best cities in the world," said Philadelphia product and Rose BC star Kahleah Copper, as her hometown gears up to launch its own WNBA expansion team in 2030.

Friday's Unrivaled event promises a star-studded bill, with Paige Bueckers's Breeze BC first taking on Philly's own Natasha Cloud and the Phantom before Copper and the Rose square off against Marina Mabrey's Lunar Owls.

How to watch the "Philly is Unrivaled" doubleheader

Unrivaled tips off from Philadelphia on Friday when Breeze BC takes on Phantom BC at 7:30 PM ET, before Rose BC faces the Lunar Owls at 8:45 PM ET.

Both "Philly is Unrivaled" clashes will air live on TNT.

Riding high near the top of the SEC standings, No. 15 Tennessee will face an age-old rival on Sunday, when the Lady Vols visit the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season's last-standing undefeated Division I team, No. 1 UConn.

Tennessee previously led the SEC title race with a 6-0 conference record until a 77-62 upset loss to unranked Mississippi State on Thursday sent the Vols' tumbling to third on the conference table.

While claiming nearly double the rebounds as Tennessee, the Bulldog defense kept Tennessee's field goal rate under 32%, paving the way for senior forward Kharyssa Richardson to lead the charge to the Mississippi State victory with 21 points on the night.

"They outworked us, they out-toughed us, start to finish," Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell said postgame.

For Big East basketball leaders UConn, Sunday's matchup against Tennessee likely stands as the Huskies' final ranked test before kicking off the postseason — and their national title defense.

However, UConn is currently managing a lengthy injury report, with six players sidelined from their dominant Wednesday win over unranked Xavier.

Even so, the Huskies' depth never wavered, as sophomore guard Allie Ziebell sunk a program record-tying 10 three-pointers to secure the 97-39 victory on a career-high 34 points.

How to watch Tennessee vs. UConn this weekend

The top-ranked Huskies will host the No. 15 Vols at 12 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on FOX.