The NWSL is heading into its final week of action before an international break during the last week of June.

In Week 8, some teams are beginning to find a rhythm and others are still figuring things out. While top playoff contenders are in the early stages of making their case, match results remain unpredictable and, as always in the NWSL, anything can happen.

Below are this week’s power rankings, determined by teams’ recent performances and their cumulative results so far this season. (Click here for the last edition of the power rankings.)

12. Orlando Pride (2-4-2) -2

The Pride score a lot of goals (nine). They also allow a lot of goals (18). Orlando has work to do in shutting down dangerous attackers and coming into the first half of games with higher energy. Too often the Pride are playing catch-up, and in a league as competitive as the NWSL, that’s not a good habit to get into.

11. Racing Louisville FC (2-4-2) -4

For some time, it looked like Racing Louisville might be able to work their way up the standings throughout the season. They’ll still have that chance considering that a lot of the goals they’ve given up recently were the result of small mistakes in the box. After losses to the Kansas City Current and North Carolina Courage, Louisville has fallen and joined the Pride, Current and Spirit with eight points this season. Head coach Kim Björkegren will be tasked with implementing a better strategy when the team’s high press isn’t working. Playing forward Ebony Salmon more often could help.

10. Washington Spirit (1-3-5) -6

Sitting quietly in eighth place with eight points, the Spirit are coming off two losses and three draws in recent weeks. They haven’t won since their regular season opener. At least, most of their results since then have been draws and not losses, as the Spirit have logged the most ties (five) of any team in the league. They’ve dealt with injuries and the most compact schedule, having played five games in the span of two and a half weeks. Once they get healthier and back on a more normal schedule, Washington has the tools to rebound. One sign pointing in that direction is that the Spirit have registered the most shots in the NWSL this season at 96.

Coach Ward was impressed with how the team ramped up in the second half.

Hear his thoughts and more below ⬇️

Press Pass 🎙️
▪️ @KWardSpirit
▪️ @ash_hatch33
▪️ @harding1818 pic.twitter.com/gec6Fi24AC

— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) June 12, 2022

9. Kansas City Current (2-4-2) +3

A heavily talented squad featuring Elyse Bennett, Kristen Hamilton and Desiree Scott, the Current have a lot of potential and have been proving it recently, holding first-place San Diego to a 2-2 draw and defeating Racing Louisville 1-0. Forward Cece Kizer, acquired in a trade with Racing Louisville, might be just the game-changer Kansas City needs in close matches. She made an immediate difference in the team’s 1-0 win over Gotham on Saturday.

8. NJ/NY Gotham FC (3-3-0) +3

Two wins and two goals in these last three weeks give Gotham a little bit of hope, especially since their 1-0 loss to the Current could have easily been a tie as they registered four dangerous shots on goal. To turn their better play into wins, the midfielders and forwards will have to level up. Currently, Gotham is one of the worst teams in the league at creating scoring chances.

7. North Carolina Courage (2-3-1) -1

The Courage’s No. 7 ranking might be the most controversial part of this list. While they’re at the bottom of the NWSL standings, they’ve played only six games. Catching up in points won’t be a problem if they keep up their current pace, notching two wins and a draw during the most recent stretch. Since starting the season with three losses, North Carolina has rebounded from its mid-May COVID-19 issues and star forward Kerolin has returned for the first time since the season opener. And when Kerolin is on the field and the Courage’s foot is on the gas, the 2022 Challenge Cup champions are as dangerous as any team in the league.

KK comes in cluuutch 👏

Second game-winner in a row for @KaleighKurtz! pic.twitter.com/3E6VxTn77R

— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) June 13, 2022

6. Angel City FC (4-3-1) -1

Angel City has fallen into a bit of a rough patch, recording two losses, a draw and a win in the past three weeks. They’ve now lost Christen Press, who’s been a force in creating chances, for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. It’s up to other stars like Jun Endo, Simone Charley and Savannah McCaskill to lead the team’s attack. Angel City is more than capable of meeting the challenge, but the remaining players will have to double their shots on goal to get anywhere close to Press’ 10 this season.

5. OL Reign (2-2-4) -2

The Reign just can’t seem to score. They have some of the league’s best creative playmakers in the attacking third, and although they’re second in the league with 93 shots and 42 shots on goal, they have only six goals to show for it — the second-worst mark in the NWSL. Otherwise, the squad has weapons up and down the park and will be even more dangerous when recent signings — USWNT star Tobin Heath and Kim Little, once the league’s leading goal scorer — join them on the pitch.

4. Houston Dash (3-2-3) +5

With a draw, a 5-0 win, another draw and a 4-0 loss, the Dash have been to the highest of highs, the lowest of lows and everywhere in between in the last couple of weeks. They’ve gotten the job done so far by capitalizing on the counterattack. In the 4-0 loss to the Thorns, an early own goal quickly derailed their game plan. More than half their goals conceded across eight matches came in that game, a performance that was out of character and shouldn’t define their otherwise dominant season so far.

3. San Diego Wave FC (4-2-3) -2

Dominant at the beginning of the season, the Wave now haven’t won a game since May 22. Their 2-2 draw with the Portland Thorns last Wednesday was nearly a 3-2 victory, but a ball that appeared to cross Portland’s goal line on the broadcast was not seen by the referees. Regardless, the Wave’s loss to the Reign and draw with the 10th-place Current have them ranked lower than the Thorns in these power rankings.

2. Portland Thorns (3-1-4) —

Following a 2-0 loss to the Houston Dash, the Thorns woke up to record two draws and two (very dominant) shutout wins, most recently getting vengeance on the Dash with a 4-0 victory. Portland would seem to create more chances by getting numbers get up the field to support an often isolated Sophia Smith, but there’s also an advantage in having an attacker so fast that no one can catch them. Even scarier for their opponents, the Thorns are still in the process of realizing their full potential.

1. Chicago Red Stars (4-1-3) +7

Making the biggest jump in these power rankings, the Red Stars are starting to look like they could be finals contenders. Having lost just once to the first-place Wave, the club appears to be getting stronger every week. After notching their first shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over OL Reign on June 4, the Red Stars proceeded to go on a three-game shutout streak. They are one of the best teams at creating dangerous chances, and they are able to capitalize on them with the highest shot conversion rate in the league at 11.3 percent.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

Football Manager is expanding its virtual horizons, with the popular soccer video game's latest release — FM26 — featuring women's teams for the first time in history.

The FM26 lineup spans some 40,000 players across 14 leagues, including the NWSL, the UK's WSL and WSL2, Germany's Frauen-Bundesliga, Italy's Serie A, and Japan's WE League as well as the UEFA Women's Champions League.

Football Manager's new women's soccer offering follows similar moves from other video game entities, with EA Sports also expanding its integration of women's teams and players across its NHL, FC, and NBA2K games in recent years.

Launched in 2004 by British developer Sports Interactive and gaming giant Sega, Football Manager puts users in the driver's seat of their favorite teams, navigating club finances, player transfers, tactics, and even training plans in the hunt for success.

To mimic the manager role most realistically, FM amasses extensive data on players and clubs — with that information bank now so deep on the men's side that clubs have employed it for scouting purposes for over 10 years.

The road to launching a similarly real-world women's game required similar stat-gathering, a project which began in 2021.

"An army of people from the women's game helped us, who wanted us to ensure that women's football was properly represented," said Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson.

Football Manager also recreated their motion capture models using former WSL and WSL2 professional players, twins Mollie and Rosie Kmita, to accurately portray women's movement and body structure in FM26.

"Growing up, I would never have imagined playing Football Manager because it wasn't a space for us," Mollie told BBC Sport. "I think we're about to engage a whole new audience and I'm excited to see how this community continues to grow."

How to play Football Manager 26

FM26 is currently available for download across multiple gaming platforms.

With the 2026 Winter Olympics only a few months away, hockey giants Canada and the USA are hitting the ice, tuning up for February's global showdown with the pair's annual Rivalry Series.

The four-game slate kicks off in Cleveland, Ohio, on Thursday before the titans clash again in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, with the 2025 Rivalry Series finishing up with two games in Edmonton, Alberta, next month.

This sixth edition of the series will serve as both teams' final international face-offs before heading to Milan, Italy, where five-time Olympic champions Canada will aim to repeat their 2022 gold-medal run while the two-time winning US will hunt a return to the top of the podium.

No other nation has ever won Olympic gold in the seven editions of the women's hockey competition.

The last time the pair met was in April's IIHF World Championship final, in which the US topped Canada 4-3 to lift the 2025 trophy — though Canada holds the all-time head-to-head advantage with a 106-82 record.

Four-time Olympian Hilary Knight and three-time Olympian Kendall Coyne Schofield headline Team USA's Rivalry Series squad, backed by 11 additional US Olympians.

Longtime Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin leads her side, alongside 20 of her fellow 2025 IIHF Worlds silver medalists.

How to watch the 2025 Canada vs. USA Rivalry Series

The puck drops on the four-game docket in Cleveland at 7 PM ET on Thursday before the teams take the ice in Buffalo at 6 PM ET on Saturday.

Both games will air live on the NHL Network.

After crashing out of their first-ever Final Four last season, No. 3 UCLA enters their 2025/26 campaign with heightened promise and added depth as the new-look Bruins take aim at another deep NCAA basketball tournament run.

"This is probably the most complete team I've ever coached, and I think if we can stay healthy and stay focused, we're going to have big things ahead," head coach Cori Close told JWS ahead of this week's season tip-off.

"We have an abundance of opportunities to invest in each other," she continued. "We have an abundance of ways in which we can improve week by week, and we're going to stay focused on those."

The Bruins' success could hinge on next year's projected No. 1 WNBA draft pick Lauren Betts, though Close indicated that teamwork would be key to unlocking the senior center's full potential.

"We both agreed she needs to have less minutes than in the past, and honestly, maybe even less shots, but more efficiency," said Close. "Everybody wins that way, including Lauren."

Recent transfers like former Utah forward Gianna Kneepkins and ex-Washington State guard Charlisse Leger-Walker should balance the 2025/26 UCLA basketball lineup alongside top freshman recruit — and Betts's little sister — Sienna.

How to watch UCLA basketball this week

While forward Sienna's NCAA debut has been postponed due to a lower leg injury, UCLA fans can catch the elder Betts and the rest of the No. 3 Bruins in action against unranked UC Santa Barbara at 2:30 PM ET on Thursday, streaming live on B1G+.

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball is gearing up for its 2026 return to the court, dropping all six-player team rosters plus a six-athlete development pool ahead of its expanded eight-squad second season on Wednesday.

Reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers was the distribution draft's first pick, with the Dallas Wings star joining expansion side Breeze BC under recently dismissed Seattle Storm head coach Noelle Quinn.

Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell went second, set to lead fellow expansion team Hive BC under head coach Rena Wakama.

Not every Unrivaled lineup saw significant changes, however, with reigning champion Rose BC returning four of their six original players while all inaugural teams opted to protect at least one top performer.

Napheesa Collier and Skylar Diggins are back on the Lunar Owls, Kahleah Copper and Chelsea Gray remained with Rose BC, and Alyssa Thomas and Jackie Young will encore for the Laces while the Vinyl protected Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard.

Even non-playoff teams held onto key talent, with Satou Sabally returning to the Phantom and Breanna Stewart staying with the Mist.

A trio of 2025 WNBA rookies also headline Unrivaled's new development group, with Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith, Indiana Fever forward Makayla Timpson, and Dallas Wings guard Aziaha James part of the six-player group that will fill in across the league to offset any injuries during the season.

How to buy 2026 Unrivaled player jerseys

While Bueckers's Breeze BC replica jersey sold out just minutes after Wednesday's roster reveal and subsequent merchandise drop, fans can gear up for the 2026 Unrivaled season by snagging other player's jerseys from the Unrivaled shop.

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The 2026 Unrivaled team rosters