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Kelley O’Hara brings NWSL trophy home in first season with Spirit

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – NOVEMBER 20: Kelley O’Hara #5 of Washington Spirit celebrates after scoring during extra time against Chicago Red Stars during the NWSL Championship held at Lynn Family Stadium on November 20, 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Chicago fans everywhere were hoping for a two-trophy summer after the city’s WNBA team won their first-ever championship earlier in October. With the Red Stars battling in the NWSL championship less than a month later, it was looking like the Windy City might become the temporary center of the women’s sports world.

But the Washington Spirit had other plans. After Candace Parker went home to Chicago to lead the Sky to the title, it was Washington’s Kelley O’Hara who did the same thing Saturday, bringing a title to her adopted hometown of D.C. in her first season with the Spirit.

Not only that, she even scored the winning goal, heading home the game-winner in extra time to propel the Spirit to a 2-1 win.

O’Hara, who grew up in Georgia and attended Stanford University, moved to Washington, D.C. while playing for the Utah Royals (now the Kansas City Current) in order to be with her partner. The nation’s capital has since become the city she calls “home.”

“Since moving here, I’ve loved every second of it,” O’Hara said in December. “I love the city. Love the energy it brings. Love what it has to offer.”

If the 33-year-old didn’t appreciate the city as much as she did, she says she never would made the move from the Royals to the Spirit — a trade that happened in December 2020 in which Utah received $75,000 in allocation money and a first-round draft pick if O’Hara played in half the Spirit’s games in 2021 (she played 17 of 24 during the regular season).

Almost a year later, after a season in which her leadership played a major role in her young team’s success, O’Hara’s headed home the golden goal in the 97th minute to win Washington their first-ever NWSL title.

The perfectly placed assist came from Rookie of the Year Trinity Rodman, who created numerous scoring chances for Washington throughout the second half of the game.

The 19-year-old would normally be dribbling further towards the goal, but the Red Stars had covered behind in those 1-v-1 situations. Instead, she looked for the cross.

“I saw runners near post were marked and I saw Kelly popping off the back, so she got her head on it. That recognition was amazing and her getting there was insane,” Rodman said after the game.

Sitting beside her at the podium, O’Hara laughed. Scoring goals isn’t something the right fullback does very often. This one, in fact, was her first of the season.

Usually, the script is flipped, with O’Hara sending the ball into the box and Rodman getting the final touch on it. But it’s hardly a surprise that O’Hara buried the difficult goal. At Stanford, she won the MAC Hermann Trophy as the best player in the country while playing forward — scoring 26 goals with 13 assists her senior year. Professionally and for the USWNT, she spends a large chunk of her time contributing to the attack by making deep runs up the wing.

Outside of her play, O’Hara’s unmatched energy has brought a winning mentality that the young Spirit team needed this year, especially after they forfeited two games late in the season due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

“That fired up Kelley O’Hara in a way that I’ve not seen before,” acting Spirit coach Kris Ward said after the team’s semifinal win over OL Reign. “Her entire mentality from that point was like, ‘All right’ — how do I phrase this politely? ‘Forget you guys. We’re going and we’re going to win anyways.’”

Through O’Hara’s first season with Washington, Ward has repeatedly praised her leadership with the team, her competitiveness on the field and her ability to motivate teammates to persevere through the off-field turmoil, which included former coach Richie Burke being dismissed for verbal abuse, the aforemention COVID outbreak, and an ongoing ownership struggle between Steve Baldwin and Michele Kang.

The Spirit had the NWSL’s youngest team this year, making O’Hara’s veteran leadership crucial. Despite the club’s behind-the-scenes mayhem, the Spirit went undefeated since mid-August outside their two forfeits.

Much of the credit for that went to O’Hara’s infectious “never-say-die” mentality, even if she deflects credit elsewhere.

“I don’t think it was just me. I think it was the whole group,” she said after the championship. “I think it was our ability to persevere, to be like, ‘This is what’s happened.’ We can’t change what the league chose to do, how [the outbreak] was handled, which a lot of it seems suspect in some areas, but there’s nothing we can do. You can’t control that…

“We’ve been in playoff mode since the end the September and we controlled what we could control and that was winning. And here we are.”

As a two-time FIFA World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist with the USWNT, O’Hara provided championship experience to a group of young players who have the potential to follow in her footsteps, with Rodman in particular seeming like a lock to be a future USWNT star.

“We do have a very young team, which is awesome. And they’re really good and really excited by the win and put on amazing performances,” said O’Hara. “I think it’s just the beginning for this club.”

USC’s Aaliyah Gayles Opens Up About Her Journey Back to Basketball

USC Basketball - Aaliyah Gayles

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate Aaliyah Gayles. Here are five things to know from our conversation with the redshirt freshman guard from Las Vegas.

#1 Aaliyah suffered from a near-death act of violence in 2022.

The incident taught her a lot about herself and the support around her. “[USC] Coach Lindsay [Gottlieb] was one of the first people to fly out there and come see me. That means a lot to me off the court.” 

#2 Her favorite USC memory is when she surprised her teammates after getting out of the hospital.

She left her walker at the door to show she was on the road to returning to the court. “That was my favorite memory because it was family. It was my first time being able to walk to you guys and see you practice.”

#3 There's a reason she wears #3.

#3 was her grandpa’s favorite number and a golden number in her life. Plus, AG3 has a nice ring to it. 

#4 She has a list of basketball GOAT’s:

Candace Parker, Magic Johnson, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and Cason Wallace.

#5 There have been many celebrity appearances at USC’s games over the years, especially this season.

Aaliyah’s favorites include Will Ferrell, Kehlani, and Saweetie. And she hopes Lil Durk will come to watch a game soon.

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Gotham, USWNT forward Midge Purce out with ACL tear

(Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)

Midge Purce announced on Wednesday that she has torn her ACL. 

The Gotham FC and USWNT forward went down with the injury on Sunday during Gotham’s 1-0 win after tweaking it earlier in the game. Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amorós did not have any immediate updates following the match, with further evaluation revealing the tear. 

“It’s a reality I’m still struggling with and has left me with not too much to say,” Purce wrote in a statement on social media. “I’m heartbroken to no longer be available for my season with Gotham FC or for Olympic selection with the USWNT – know I’m rooting for you both all year long. 

“Though you may not see it, I’ll be doing everything I can to get back on the field.”

Purce is just the latest women's soccer star to tear her ACL, and joins USWNT teammate Mia Fishel in having torn her ACL in the last couple of months. Other notable players include Catarina Macario and Christen Press, with Macario only just returning to the USWNT lineup after tearing hers in 2022. 

International stars such as Alexia Putellas, Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema and Leah Williamson have also suffered ACL tears. 

Purce’s injury caused Amorós to call out the international schedule, which has been a growing point of concern as more players fall victim to injuries and the playing schedule becomes more packed. Kansas City’s Debinha suffered a hamstring injury in the team’s opening game, while both Lynn Williams and Rose Lavelle have yet to play for Gotham due to injuries picked up during the W Gold Cup. 

“We lost Midge during the game which for me is a bittersweet flavor,” Amorós told reporters after Sunday’s game. “By the way, it’s another player that came from the Gold Cup. Last week, it was Debinha. We are paying the consequences of a tournament that shouldn’t have happened.”

“We’re talking about protecting the players, [who shouldn’t] go to play an international competition after one week of preseason,” Amorós continued. “We’ve seen the consequences now. We’ve got Rose, Lynn, last week it was Debinha in Kansas [City] and now we have Midge. From my experience, the clubs are going to keep paying for that competition."

In her statement, Purce said that “so many friends, teammates and even players I’ve only ever competed against” reached out to offer support. 

“I am so blessed,” she wrote. “Your messages have meant so much to me throughout this process, you have consoled what, for a moment, felt inconsolable. Thank you for reminding me that our football world is not only full with incredibly talent but also, incredible kindness.”

Lauren Jackson included on Australia Olympics roster

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 01: Lauren Jackson of Australia celebrates with team mates after playing her final Opals game during the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 3rd place match between Canada and Australia at Sydney Superdome, on October 01, 2022, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

Lauren Jackson has come out of retirement once again to compete for a spot on Australia’s Olympic roster. 

Jackson was included on the 26-player roster named by coach Sandy Brondello on Tuesday that will take part in training camps, tours and games in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics. The roster will eventually be whittled down to just 12 players selected from the 26 named on Tuesday.

Jackson helped Australia qualify for the Olympics with a win over Germany in February. After that, she announced her retirement, revealing that she struggled to spend so much time away from her two young children. 

The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported that Jackson and the basketball federation had come to an agreement in which they would help cover costs for her children to travel with the team for training camps and the Olympics. 

She’s largely expected to make the Opals’ Olympic roster. 

"It's always an exciting time to announce an Olympic squad and I congratulate all the athletes," Opals coach Sandy Brondello said. "They all know what it means to play for Australia and they all want the opportunity to represent their country at an Olympics. Our squad is full of exceptional talent and they will make the decision to pick a final 12 very difficult."

At the 2022 FIBA World Cup, Jackson helped Australia win a bronze medal with 30 points against Canada. She had previously retired in 2016 due to knee injuries, but slowly made a return in a domestic Australian league the last few years.

Jackson has won four Olympic medals, including three consecutive silver medals starting with Sydney in 2000 when she was a teenager. 

First two rounds of NCAA tournament boast record attendance, viewership

(David K Purdy/Getty Images)

The first two rounds of the women’s NCAA tournament broke attendance and viewership records set just last year – and it wasn’t even close. 

The NCAA announced on Tuesday that attendance for the first two rounds of the tournament was more than 292,000 – up from last year’s record, when almost 232,000 fans attended the first two rounds.

Among the host sites, Iowa had the biggest crowds with nearly 29,000 fans packing Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the first and second rounds. 

"We expected the historic success and quality of play and high level of competition from the regular season would carry through into March Madness. Our championship is again delivering," NCAA vice president of women's basketball Lynn Holzman said in a statement. "Record crowds, ratings, incredible performances and evolving storylines will continue to make the next two weeks a must-see for fans across the world."

And for those that couldn’t attend the sold-out Iowa games, they watched on television. Monday’s matchup between Iowa and West Virginia drew 4.9 million viewers, setting a record for a women’s D-I tournament game prior to the Final Four. 

It is also the third most watched tournament game in the last 20 years, behind last year’s national championship between LSU and Iowa (9.92 million) and Iowa’s Final Four win over South Carolina (5.6 million).

Iowa’s game against Holy Cross in the first round drew 3.23 million viewers. 

But it wasn’t just Iowa drawing big viewership. ESPN’s five games on Monday averaged 2.25 million viewers. UConn and Syracuse drew 2.05 million viewers while LSU and Middle Tennessee on ABC drew 2.01 million viewers on Sunday. 

The full, 16-game slate for the second round averaged 1.4 million viewers – a 121% increase from last year and the highest average ever for the second round.

The full tournament so far is averaging 812,000 viewers per game, a 108% increase from last year.

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