The NWSL Challenge Cup is officially heading to the knockout stage. Before the quarterfinals begin this Friday, take a look at the Top 10 plays of the opening round.

 

10. WE WANT WHATEVER LYNN WILLIAMS IS EATING

"It's not IF Lynn Williams will punish you, but WHEN."@lynnraenie with a solo masterpiece ????

0-1 | #WASvNC

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/rcCmik93p9

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) July 2, 2020

We’re not sure if the defenders were standing still or if Williams is just that fast. Even after getting tripped up on the right flank at half field, Williams relentlessly pushes onto goal, cutting across her defender and finishing the ball front post with spectacular poise and composure. Coach Andonovski, are you taking notes?

 

9. CASEY SHORT HITS THE BUZZER BEATER

C L U T C H from @CaseyShort3 pic.twitter.com/yYcdbktsiD

— Chicago Red Stars (@chicagoredstars) July 13, 2020

Short may be a defender, but she knows how to get forward and find the back of the net. McCaskill drops a bomb into the box and Short does the rest, heading it home to give Chicago a 1-0 lead in the 85th minute. The Red Stars would hold on to win their first game of the tournament against Utah.

 

8. SHERIDAN ONLY HAS ONE MODE: BEAST MODE

So nice, we chose it twice ????@Kailen_Sheridan also earned tonight's @Verizon Save of the Match!#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/zWabDDmXIp

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) July 1, 2020

Kailen Sheridan is an absolute animal. Here, the Sky Blue goalkeeper blocks a rip from point-blank range on a breakaway in order to preserve a shutout against OL Reign. If Sheridan was our keeper, we might get a little too comfortable having her back there.

 

7. WARNING: HIGH VOLUME OF TIKI-TAKA INBOUND

For your halftime enjoyment ????#HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/a9R5S4fqVL

— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) July 5, 2020

Plays like these remind us why it’s called the beautiful game. A quick slip ball in from the flank and an outside of the foot flick by Groom sets Kristie Mewis up to perfectly knock the ball home. We could watch this play on repeat. Forever.

 

6. DUNN GETS IT DONE

Done & Dunn ✔️

@crysdunn_19 with her first goal of the #NWSLChallengeCup! pic.twitter.com/XdPj7nyagB

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) July 14, 2020

Crystal Dunn is known as one of the most versatile players in all of soccer. Typically positioned as a left-back, Dunn has recently stepped into a new role as an attacking central midfielder, earning her first goal of the tournament off a diagonal ball from Williams. We’re secretly convinced Dunn could step in goal and still be a star.

5. MEET OUR NEW SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, AUBREY BLEDSOE

???????????? ????????????????@AubreyBledsoe's one-handed stop from close range earns tonight's @Verizon Save of the Match! ????#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/jDkVPStsst

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) June 28, 2020

You can get as close as you want to the goal before you shoot, but frankly, it doesn’t matter, because the Washington Spirits’ goalkeeper is an absolute brick wall. Bledsoe makes an incredible reactionary save against the Chicago Red Stars here, blocking the shot with just her left fist. Bledsoe’s heroics helped her team pick up up their first win of the tournament.

 

4. THREE WORDS: THE. GREAT. HORAN.

Few bigger guarantees in life than a @LindseyHoran goal in the box. ????

1-0 | #PORvWAS

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/C2TYMgSPHS

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) July 6, 2020

Coach Andonovskis’ notes: ‘Horan is a total stud.’ The Portland Thorns’ Meghan Klingenberg chips a dinker into the box, setting up Horan, who scores a powerful diving header. Her extra effort gave Portland an advantage over Washington Spirit that resulted in a 1:1 tie for the clubs. For Horan, it’s not a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘when.’ #facts

 

3. KAWASUMI’S HAIL MARY

???? @NahoKawasumi_9 catches Campbell from more than 40 yards out for her first goal in a @SkyBlueFC jersey!
pic.twitter.com/UKzF51slSK

— Sky Blue FC (@SkyBlueFC) July 9, 2020

Remember that epic goal Carli Lloyd hit in the Women’s World Cup final game in 2015, catching the Japanese goalkeeper off her line? Well, Nahomi Kawasumi, a Sky Blue FC forward and member of Japan’s national team, said ‘watch this’ against the Houston Dash. Kawasumi picks her head up, sees Jane Campbell far out of her goal, and cleverly chips the ball into the back of the net, helping her team to a 2-0 win.

 

2. NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES. SOME WEAR LAUREN BARNES’ JERSEY

Keeping the defense ???? through the full 9️⃣0️⃣.@OLReign's Lauren Barnes earns tonight's @budweiserusa Woman of the Match ????#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/Vyiu7gmfvy

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) July 1, 2020

Defenders don’t always get enough credit, but when they do, they certainly deserve it. Barnes does a full 180 here, shifting from her mark to pick up an open opposing forward in the box. Her perfectly timed slide tackle blocks Kawasumi’s rocket shot, preserving OL Reign’s 0-0 draw with Sky Blue FC.

 

1. IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE, IT’S SHEA GROOM

???? @sheabayy2 WITH AUTHORITY ????@HoustonDash double their lead.

2-0 | #HOUvRGN

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/UqCoJGOOXC

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) July 5, 2020

Groom took flight on this play, heading the ball back post off a brilliant cross delivered from teammate Rachel Daly. Groom’s goal doubled Houston’s lead en route to a 2-0 win against OL Reign. Meanwhile, we’re still crunching the numbers in trying to calculate just how Groom was able to stay up for so long.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

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According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.