On Tuesday evening, at a Men in Blazers event in New York City, the axis of the NWSL world shifted slightly, forever changed. In announcing the first-ever free-agency signing in the league’s history, U.S. women’s national team defender Kelley O’Hara trailed off, saying “NWSL free agency opened today and…,” before donning a NJ/NY Gotham FC sweatshirt and as a special graphic appeared behind her.

O’Hara didn’t need to say much because the intent was clear: With her destiny in her own hands, she made a splash, signing a multi-year contract with the New Jersey club. In Gotham, she finds both an eager and a familiar partner — she spent some of the prime years of her career on Sky Blue FC’s backline, before moving on to the Utah Royals in 2018.

The rebranded Gotham FC club that O’Hara returns to couldn’t look more different than the Sky Blue team she left, but they similarly need to take steps toward being competitive. In 2021, despite losing head coach Freya Coombe to Angel City FC mid-season, Gotham made the playoffs for the first time since 2013. After a quarterfinal loss, Carli Lloyd retired, and the club made a number of moves last offseason to try to capitalize on the early signs of progress.

WELL FREE AGENCY JUST OPENED pic.twitter.com/6h50gdnzy8

— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) November 16, 2022

The 2022 season, however, didn’t go as planned. Despite picking up Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger, and retaining key parts of a dynamic frontline that features Ifeoma Onumonu and Margaret Purce, Gotham fell to the bottom of the NWSL standings. The club parted ways with head coach Scott Parkinson halfway through the season as the team sputtered to last place with a 4-17-1 record. They finished the season with a minus-30 goal differential, scoring only 16 goals while conceding 46. After Harris’ season ended early due to an injury, the goalkeeper announced her retirement at the USWNT Players’ Ball on Monday.

O’Hara can help solve some of Gotham’s issues right away. She’s a proven winner at both the club and international level, and she brings a level of intensity that NWSL teams rely on to grind out results. She also played some of the best soccer of her club career with the Washington Spirit in 2021, capped by scoring the game-winning goal in that year’s NWSL Championship. If Gotham is looking for a little grit and determination, and a lot of experience, O’Hara is the perfect free-agent signing.

The 34-year-old will also bring stability to the right-back position after 2021 Defender of the Year Caprice Dydasco was traded to the Houston Dash in August. O’Hara adds competition for 20-year-old Brazilian Bruninha, who also plays right back and was brought in as one of Gotham’s players of the future.

Within all of this lies Gotham’s great contradiction: The club’s results indicate a need to rebuild, and yet O’Hara’s signing, among others, suggest they’re a team in win-now mode. In constructing the roster they currently have, Gotham let go of young talent like Brianna Pinto (North Carolina Courage) and Evelyne Viens (Sweden). The club also had the opportunity to give minutes to rookie goalkeeper Hensley Hancuff in the wake of Harris’ injury but chose to play veteran Michelle Betos long after the playoffs fell out of reach.

And while on paper it seems like Gotham’s defense needs to be the main focus of free agency, the ebbs and flow of games in 2022 put the backline under undue amounts of pressure that resulted in goals conceded. The club chose not to retain midfielders Jennifer Cudjoe and Domi Richardson and is still negotiating with McCall Zerboni, after the midfield struggled immensely last season to control matches.

O’Hara’s resurgence in 2021 coincided with excellent seasons from Sam Staab and Emily Sonnett in the Spirit’s central defense. Gotham’s center-back pairing, meanwhile, remains unsettled, with Estelle Johnson’s return to the club up in the air. Allie Long should help shore up the defensive midfield in her return to the team alongside Victoria Pickett, whom Gotham acquired in a trade with the Kansas City Current in exchange for a hefty package (a 2023 first-round draft pick and $200,000 in allocation money). Those changes could have a positive effect on the attack, which spent too many games in 2022 on an island, without the ability to influence games.

Gotham has the No. 1 pick in the 2023 College Draft and new head coach Juan Carlos Amorós signed to a three-year contract. They have developed a recognizable brand that fans and players are drawn to, with the hope that the team will eventually find its identity on the pitch.

What happens in 2023 is too much to place on any one player, even Kelley O’Hara. But the fact that when presented with the most agency she’s ever had in her career, the World Cup and NWSL champion chose Gotham FC as home speaks volumes about her belief in the club’s future.

Notes on the Washington Spirit

• Mark Krikorian’s early tenure as general manager has the makings of a huge project, shaped in his own vision. He ousted Kris Ward (with player support), brought in assistants who worked with him at Florida State and let one of the team’s leaders walk in free agency. Now, he’s on the hunt for a new head coach.
• Even in the afterglow of their championship win, the Spirit looked like a group in need of a reset during a challenging 2022 season. Fans’ faith in ownership will continue to be tested, as what was hailed as a potential dynasty appears to be moving in another direction.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

The No. 6 Indiana Fever are laughing in the face of adversity, pulling off the biggest comeback win in team history on Sunday despite guard Sophie Cunningham exiting with a right knee injury following a second-quarter collision.

As Cunningham joined fellow guards Caitlin Clark (right groin), Aari McDonald (broken foot), and Sydney Colson (ACL tear) on the injured list, the Fever overcame a 21-point deficit to down the No. 13 Connecticut Sun 99-93 in overtime behind guard Kelsey Mitchell's 38-point performance.

"We came in at halftime, we talked about chipping away, being resilient," said Indiana forward Aliyah Boston, who notched 14 points and 13 rebounds for her 15th double-double of the year in Sunday's win, setting a new single-season Fever record. "That's kind of been our story this entire season."

Amid the myriad injuries causing the beleaguered Fever to lose steam in the WNBA standings, Cunningham's knock — which will reportedly undergo an MRI assessment on Monday — is just the latest blow in an expected banner year for the 25-year-old franchise.

Seeing increased playing time since Clark's mid-July injury, Cunningham is averaging 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 46.9% from the field this season.

Looking to bolster their backcourt with Clark's return timeline still in question, Indiana signed veteran guard Odyssey Sims and rookie Kyra Lambert to hardship contracts last week.

"This group is tight.... They stay together," Fever coach Stephanie White told reporters following Sunday's game. "I think, for us, reiterating we've got to be where our feet are. We can't look too far behind us. We can't look too far in front of us. We've got to make sure that we're focused on one day at a time."

How to watch the Indiana Fever in this week's WNBA slate

Indiana will be thankful for a few days off this week, taking time to recover before hosting the seemingly unstoppable No. 1 Minnesota Lynx on Friday.

The Fever's clash with the league leaders will tip off at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage airing on ION.

The WNBA's first-ever regular-season Canada Game was a hit, as the No. 8 Seattle Storm upset the No. 2 Atlanta Dream 80-78 in front of a sold-out crowd inside Vancouver's Rogers Arena on Friday.

Storm star Skylar Diggins registered 21 points and 11 assists in the matchup, combining with Nneka Ogwumike's 16 points to help end Seattle's six-game losing streak — and snap the Dream's six-game winning streak.

Seattle's 2025 No. 2 overall draft pick Dominique Malonga also showed out, with the 19-year-old tallying 12 points and eight rebounds over her 19 minutes of play.

"It was an incredible crowd tonight," Diggins said afterwards. "First time in Vancouver, they showed a lot of love. We just love coming out here, playing in front of this electric [crowd]... We really leaned on them tonight to help us lock in that victory."

As for Atlanta, the Dream's offense stuttered after losing guard Jordin Canada to a hamstring injury last week, with the team netting just two of 13 three-point shots despite entering the clash averaging 9.6 shots from behind the arc per game.

Canada will miss at least two weeks of action, with newly healthy Atlanta heavy-hitters Rhyne Howard and Brittney Griner expected to pick up the slack in her absence — and it appears they're already righting the ship: The Dream overcame the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries 79-63 on Sunday with a team victory that saw five players reach double-digit scoring.

How to watch the WNBA this week

After falling 85-82 to the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury on Sunday night, the No. 8 Seattle Storm will look to bounce back against the No. 12 Chicago Sky on Tuesday. The game will tip off at 8 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.

Later on Tuesday night, the No. 2 Atlanta Dream will battle the No. 5 Las Vegas Aces at 10 PM ET, airing live on NBA TV.

The No. 5 Portland Thorns snagged another result over the weekend, grabbing a point off a 1-1 Saturday draw with the No. 9 North Carolina Courage to further solidify their spot on the NWSL table.

Midfielder Olivia Moultrie opened scoring with a first-half bullet to put Portland up 1-0, before Courage forward Tyler Lussi equalized with a 70th-minute strike.

With her 13th career goal on Saturday, 19-year-old Moultrie became the NWSL's joint-leader in regular-season goals scored by a teenager — sharing the all-time record with North Carolina attacker Jaedyn Shaw.

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The Portland Thorns are currently making a case for the league's "best of the rest," after Saturday NWSL action saw the San Diego Wave rocket up the table to No. 2 with a 2-1 win over No. 11 Bay FC while the No. 1 Kansas City Current and now-No. 3 Orlando Pride ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Despite losing veteran anchors Christine Sinclair, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Meghan Klingenberg to retirement and USWNT star Sophia Wilson to maternity leave, Portland has figured out how to generate new offensive opportunities via young talent like forwards Reilyn Turner and Pietra Tordin.

More experienced midfielders like Moultrie and Sam Coffey are also contributing, with Coffey scoring her second season goal on August 10th to match her entire 2024 total.

As for North Carolina, the questions continue for the Courage as they struggle to stack results amid the abrupt sacking of head coach Sean Nahas earlier this month.

According to a statement released after the Courage's August 8th loss to the then-No. 12 Houston Dash, Nahas was removed due to "confounding performance issues, culture issues, and a perceived lack of fit that created an environment that club leadership felt was untenable to the point that change was necessary at the head coaching position."

How to watch Monday's NWSL match

In a rare Monday matchup, the NWSL's 16th matchday will wrap with the No. 6 Seattle Reign hosting the No. 13 Chicago Stars — with a Reign win sending Seattle above Portland to No. 5 on the NWSL table.

Live coverage of the 10 PM ET match will air on CBS Sports Network.

Tennis star Iga Świątek can cross another item off her bucket list, with the world No. 3 downing No. 10 Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to clinch a spot in the 2025 Cincinnati Open final — Świątek's first-ever championship appearance at the US Open tune-up tournament.

"At the beginning, the level was pretty crazy," the six-time Grand Slam winner told reporters after Sunday's match, commending Rybakina. "But I was there to play with intensity, good quality, and I'm happy with the performance."

One of only two WTA 1000 events without a Świątek finals appearance, the annual Cincinnati Open has seen the Polish tennis star advance to the semifinals in both 2023 and 2024 — falling both times to the eventual tournament champion.

With No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Coco Gauff both making quarterfinal exits, Świątek will next face No. 9 Jasmine Paolini in Monday's final, after the Italian contender fought past No. 36 Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3 in their Sunday afternoon semifinal.

Świątek last shared a finals court with Paolini at the 2024 French Open, with Świątek going on to lift her fourth Roland Garros trophy following a straight-set victory in the clash.

How to watch the 2025 Cincinnati Open final

The 2025 Cincinnati Open final between Świątek and Paolini kicks off at 6 PM ET on Monday, with live coverage airing on the Tennis Channel.