A state championship and unbeaten season on the line, Gretna (Neb.) did Monday what it had done all season: win in dominating fashion.

The Dragons capped a 21-0 season with a 6-1 win in the Class 1A state championship, scoring three goals in the first 20 minutes and dismantling a team that had lost just one of 17 games heading into the final. That performance was in line with what Gretna had produced all year, having outscored their opponents 118-6.

The Dragons won 19 of their 21 games by two goals or more, all while facing the pressure that comes with being defending state champions. Gretna handled those expectations with aplomb and didn’t miss a beat under first-year head coach Chance Hutchison.

Gretna did it with a balanced attack, too. Sophomore Allison Marshall led the team with 15 goals, as one of five players with 10 or more goals. Fittingly, the forward scored the first goal in the state title game, opening the floodgates.

With the emphatic championship victory, and a 42-1 record over the last two years, Gretna solidified its spot as the No. 3 team in the latest JWS high school soccer rankings.

(Note that these rankings do not include teams from Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina.)

🌀 No one is forgetting Allison Marshall 🌀@_allisonmarsh @GRETNAHSGSOCCER#nebpreps #neprepsoccer

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— Nebraska Soccer Talk (@nebraska_talk) May 17, 2022

1. Valor Christian (Colo.), 16-0

The Eagles survived penalty kicks to win their second-round matchup and then cruised to a 4-0 victory Tuesday to advance to the state semifinals.

2. South County (Va.), 13-0-1

The Stallions just keep winning, as their unbeaten streak has now surpassed 30 games.

3. Gretna (Neb.), 21-0

Gretna’s future looks just as bright with plenty of talent returning. Only one of the six goals in the state championship game was scored by a senior.

4. Colonial Forge (Va.), 15-0

The Eagles beat Massaponax last week for the second time this season. Massaponax’s other 15 games have all been wins.

5. Valley (Iowa), 16-0

The reigning Class 3A state champions capped a perfect regular season with a 10-0 victory Tuesday. Next up: a regional semifinal.

6. St. Thomas Aquinas (Kan.), 13-0-2

The Saints opened the postseason with an emphatic 11-0 win to remain undefeated.

7. Liberty North (Mo.), 19-0

The Eagles’ last loss came on May 19, 2021.

8. Wando (S.C.), 18-1

All-state selection Kylie Cino scored the game-winner in overtime as Wando won a second consecutive Class AAAAA state championship Saturday, beating T.L. Hanna 2-1. It’s the Warriors’ 12th state title in program history.

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9. Colgan (Va.), 16-1-1

The Sharks won a district title on Wednesday and now have over a week to prepare for the regional tournament.

10. Yorktown (Va.), 14-1-1

Senior Shay Montgomery, a University of South Carolina commit, scored two goals as the Patriots opened their district tournament with a 3-0 win Wednesday.

11. Fort Zumwalt South (Mo.), 23-1

With Missouri State commit Brooke Cattoor and sophomore Audrey Smith leading the way with 29 goals each, the Bulldogs clinched a district crown and are looking to repeat as Class 3 state champions.

12. James Island (S.C.), 20-1-2

The Trojans have won back-to-back Class AAAA state championships, cruising to a 5-0 win in the title game Saturday.

13. Grandview (Colo.), 15-1-2

The Wolves knocked off Legacy, No. 9 in last week’s rankings, in the Class 5A state quarterfinals thanks to two goals and an assist from Naomi Clark. It doesn’t get any easier from here; next up is a matchup with No. 1 Valor Christian.

14. Triad (Ill.), 18-1

Gina Catanzaro leads the Knights with 19 goals as they aim to repeat as 2A state champions.

15. O’Fallon (Ill.), 19-1

Illinois’ reigning Class 3A state champions opened the postseason with an 8-0 win Tuesday.

16. Broomfield (Colo.), 15-2

The Eagles have rebounded from a poor finish to the regular season, when they lost two of their last four games, to advance to the Class 5A state semifinals.

17. Hudsonville (Mich.), 13-0-2

A pair of 1-1 draws are the only blemishes in an otherwise perfect season.

18. Lyons Township (Ill.), 18-1

The Lions showed no rust coming off a week of rest, winning their playoff opener 9-0.

19. Nerinx Hall (Mo.), 18-2-1

Nina Preusser scored the game-winning goal in overtime, her team-leading 13th goal of the season to go along with 13 assists, as the Markers won a 3-2 thriller Tuesday to keep their state title hopes alive.

20. Metea Valley (Ill.), 16-2-1

Since losing two games in as many days in mid-April, the Mustangs have reeled off eight consecutive victories.

21. Oregon (Wis.), 14-0-1

The Panthers have posted shutouts in 12 of their 15 games.

22. Marshall (Mich.), 17-0

With an 8-0 win Tuesday, Marshall recorded its 11 shutout of the season and enters the rankings for the first time.

23. Deer Creek (Okla.), 15-2

The Antlers claimed their seventh state title in program history, and first since 2015, avenging one of their two regular-season losses in the championship game. Deer Creek defeated Norman North to claim the 6A crown, thanks to three saves from junior Cam Hasselwander in the shootout.

24. Brookfield East (Wis.), 12-0-2

The Spartans have reeled off 12 straight wins after tying their first two games.

25. Fayetteville (Ark.), 17-3-2

Lauren Marge scored two goals and added an assist as the Bulldogs avenged an early-season defeat to Bentonville, No. 13 in last week’s rankings, with a 4-3 win in the state semifinals. Fayetteville now has a chance to win back-to-back Class 6A state championships.

Phillip Suitts is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. He has worked at a variety of outlets, including The Palm Beach Post and Southeast Missourian, and done a little bit of everything from reporting to editing to running social media accounts. He was born in Atlanta but currently lives in wintry Philadelphia. Follow Phillip on Twitter @PhillipSuitts.

Stakes are sky-high for Wednesday night's Cy-Hawk Series clash, as undefeated No. 10 Iowa State welcomes unbeaten No. 11 Iowa to Ames for the highest-ranked NCAA women's basketball matchup in the cross-state rivalry's history.

"[If] you grew up in the state, just there's nothing like it," Iowa head coach Jan Jensen said of the historic series. "You've dreamed, you've watched those big football matchups when you're little, you watched the basketball games when you were little, and to get to be in one — boy, it doesn't get much better."

"[It's] one of those things where it truly is a rivalry, because teams [go] back and forth and have their streaks and wins and losses," echoed Cyclones boss Bill Fennelly.

The red-hot Hawkeyes enter Wednesday's game with the head-to-head advantage having won three straight against the Cyclones — and eight of the last nine in the series.

That said, the Cyclones have the nation's leading scorer on their side, with junior center Audi Crooks's 27.6 points per game showcasing unmatched efficiency in the 2025/26 NCAA season.

"Audi's tough," Jensen said about the Iowa State star. "She's just really, really incredible…. When you let her get it, she's pretty accurate."

How to watch Iowa vs. Iowa State in the 2025 Cy-Hawk Series

The No. 11 Hawkeyes will visit the No. 10 Cyclones in the 2025 edition of the Cy-Hawk Series at 7 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage airing on ESPN.

The Washington Spirit are all in on forward Trinity Rodman, with club GM Nathan Minion telling reporters that the 2025 NWSL runners-up are working "pretty much daily" to re-sign the free agent despite salary cap concerns.

"I think everyone's trying to work together to get a deal in place," said Minion, acknowledging that the NWSL and the Spirit are actively working with each other to retain the 23-year-old star. "[We're] trying to figure this out and trying to get a resolution that can hopefully keep Trinity here with us for a long time."

"The reality is our current salary cap structure — it was built for a different era of women's soccer," said the DC club's recently hired president of soccer operations Haley Carter. "We're going to need mechanisms that allow NWSL clubs to compete for not only players from overseas, but our own players."

The NWSL vetoed the multi-million dollar offer from the Washington Spirit to keep Rodman last week, with the NWSLPA subsequently filing a grievance claiming the league violated the USWNT attacker's free agency rights by blocking the deal.

"These are nuanced conversations, and I would love to just toss the salary cap out the window and pay the players," said Carter. "But we also have to appreciate that, pragmatically, it isn't always payroll that's going to keep our athletes here. It's investment in other things as well."

"We are going to have to start getting creative, I believe, because it's bigger than just one team," continued Carter. "It's bigger than just one player. It's about the league's ability to keep its best players in this league as we continue to grow."

The NWSL transfer and hiring market is ramping up, with both the 14 existing clubs and two incoming expansion teams busy bolstering their 2026 ranks just weeks into the offseason.

Last week, Bay FC announced that England U-23 head coach Emma Coates will become the 2024 expansion club's second-ever manager, with fellow England youth national team and WSL staffer Gemma Davies joining Coates's NWSL crew as an assistant coach.

"I'm truly honored and super excited to build on the strong foundations that have already been established and to implement a clear identity both on and off the pitch," Coates said in Thursday's statement. "[Bay FC] shares my passion for people, performance, and culture, which I believe are fundamental to sustained success."

"Emma is not only an excellent coach, but she also has a proven track record of developing players to compete at the highest levels of both the domestic and international game," remarked Bay Collective CEO Kay Cossington. "Emma has consistently demonstrated an ability to bring players and teams to the next level with clarity, care and purpose. She understands what it takes to build environments where people thrive and perform at their best."

"Bay FC is gaining not only a great coach, but also someone that understands women's football and our athletes inside and out."

While Coates will wrap up her nearly three years at England's U-23 helm to join Bay FC in the coming days, three other NWSL teams are still searching for permanent sideline leaders this offseason, as the Kansas City Current, North Carolina Courage, and Portland Thorns continue to conduct coaching searches.

The Thorns joined the leaderless ranks in late November, parting ways with manager Rob Gale following the team's NWSL semifinals exit.

Reigning WNBA champion A'ja Wilson picked up yet another honor this week, as TIME crowned the four-time league MVP its 2025 Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.

The Las Vegas Aces center became the first player in WNBA history to win a championship, Finals MVP, league MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season, with the 29-year-old sweeping the league's awards this year.

"This year, I collected everything," Wilson said in her TIME interview. "I don't really talk much sh-t — I mean crap. I kind of let my game do it."

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Wilson described the Aces' midseason slump as a focusing agent in her 2025 TIME Athlete of the Year feature, with the skid launching the team on course to their third championship win in four years.

"I think 2025 was a wake-up call that I needed, to let me know that I can't be satisfied with anything," said Wilson. "There's somebody out there that's going to try to take your job. You need to make sure you're great at it, every single day."

Wilson also spoke to the strained relationship between players and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, whose leadership came under fire in October as CBA negotiations kicked into high gear.

"I only know Cathy by when she hands me trophies," Wilson said. "If that's her true self, thank you for showing that. Thank you for saying those things. Because now we see you for who you are, and now we're about to work even harder at this negotiation."

With the latest CBA extension expiring on January 9th, Wilson promised that the players are all-in on negotiations through the holiday season.

“All of us are going to be at the table, and we're not moving until we get exactly what we want."