The quarterfinals of the NCAA college soccer tournament kick off on Friday, featuring some of the most consistent programs in the sport. Duke, Notre Dame, Florida State, Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, Virginia and UCLA will battle it out for spots in the College Cup, and fans won’t want to miss the opportunity to see the stars of tomorrow.

While four-year seniors still have an extra year of NCAA availability available to them due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a few standouts are still worth watching for when they make the jump overseas or to the NWSL Draft in January. Likewise, we also listed a few underclassmen who look about ready to turn pro themselves.

Seniors to watch

Sophie Jones, senior, Duke

Jones joined the Blue Devils as a five-star recruit in 2019 and has been a remarkably consistent player in their midfield throughout her college career. Jones received All-ACC Second Team honors in 2021 and has become an even more composed distributor in her senior year, notching two goals and three assists. Jones is a tempo-setter, and her presence in the middle of the field causes problems for opponents.

Jenna Nighswonger, senior, Florida State

Nighswonger has been a player since joining FSU as a freshman. She’s played as both a starter and off the bench, contributing alongside former star teammates like Yujie Zhao and Jaelin Howell. More attacking-oriented in 2022, Nighswonger tallied 16 assists, won ACC tournament MVP and made the All-ACC First Team. Nighswonger has had the senior year everyone expected of her, providing stability for an FSU roster that made big changes in the offseason.

Alexa Spaanstra, fifth-year senior, Virginia

Becoming synonymous with this era of Virginia soccer, Spaanstra can shift roles based on the players she has around her. She’s played more pass-first soccer in previous years, but she helped carry the goal-scoring load in 2022, with eight goals and five assists. Another fifth-year senior to watch for the Hoos is Haley Hopkins, the team’s leading scorer in 2022 with 13 goals.

Sunshine Fontes, senior, UCLA

A resurgent contributor in 2022, Fontes is coming off a career-best season at UCLA. She leads the Bruins in scoring with 10 goals along with seven assists, making huge strides under new head coach Margueritte Aozasa. Fontes notched a goal in UCLA’s first-round win over Northern Arizona but has stayed relatively quiet in the second and third rounds. Asserting herself in later rounds could render the comeback complete.

.@sunshinefontes with the hat trick ‼️

#NCAASoccer x 🎥 @UCLAWSoccer pic.twitter.com/8eNC1EodFA

— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) August 26, 2022

Anna Podojil, senior, Arkansas

Podojil became Arkansas’s all-time points leader and leading scorer this season, registering eight goals and six assists to reach 45 goals for her career. She’s combined well with the program’s top scorer in 2022, Jessica de Filippo, and found herself (alongside a number of other names here) on the United Soccer Coaches Mac Hermann watch list this year. Arkansas made it to the Elite Eight in 2021 and will be looking to go even farther with their senior core in charge.

Reyna Reyes, senior, Alabama

With experience at both the collegiate and international level, Reyes has been a big part of Alabama’s impressive season. She’s made four appearances already with the Mexican women’s national team and has been rock solid in both the backline and defensive midfield for the Crimson Tide in 2022. She can also carry the scoring load, scoring a career-high seven goals this season along with one assist.

Underclassmen making waves

Michelle Cooper, sophomore, Duke

It’s Michelle’s Cooper’s world, and we’re all just living in it. The USWNT U-20 captain didn’t miss a beat rolling into her sophomore year with the Blue Devils, recording 17 goals and 11 assists as one of the top performers in the country. She most recently scored a brace against South Carolina to send Duke into the quarterfinals, and her performance this weekend could be the difference-maker against Alabama.

83' | JUST WATCH 🥵

We take the 2-0 lead!#GoDuke pic.twitter.com/sNMdWmbyKf

— Duke Women's Soccer (@DukeWSOC) November 21, 2022

Korbin Albert, sophomore, Notre Dame

The sophomore midfielder has scored 16 goals this season with five assists, leading the Irish in scoring as the No. 1 seed has rolled through the tournament. Albert has been a remarkably consistent scorer in both of her college seasons, scoring 14 as a freshman in 2021. She scored a brace in Notre Dame’s second-round win over Santa Clara and will be difficult to stop as the Irish aim to return to the College Cup.

Avery Patterson, junior, North Carolina

Like Cooper, Patterson has had a year full of international competition and success at the college level. Patterson joined the USWNT U-20s for World Cup qualifying and has led the Tar Heels in scoring this season with 11 goals and eight assists — a huge step forward from her sophomore season. With a number of other top prospects dealing with injuries, Patterson has stepped up, notching three assists in the third round against BYU.

Lia Godfrey, junior, Virginia

There’s something about underclassmen scoring braces this year. Godfrey scored twice against Xavier in the second round to propel the Cavaliers into Round 3. Comfortable on the ball and not afraid to shoot, Godfrey has become an attacking generator in Virginia’s midfield, peaking at just the right time to help the team battle through a tough third-round matchup against Penn State.

6' | UVA 1, XU

Lia Godfrey gets the Hoos on the board with her strike that deflects in off the left post! pic.twitter.com/Xw1kxwae0E

— Virginia Women's Soccer (@UVAWomenSoccer) November 18, 2022

Lilly Reale, sophomore, UCLA

Reale is an interesting player to watch not only because of her pro-level abilities, but also because of her position. Coming up through the college and U.S. youth-level ranks as an outside back makes her a positional expert to watch. She’s played almost every minute of the NCAA Tournament so far for the Bruins and was named Pac-12 Defender of the Year in 2022.

Reilyn Turner, junior, UCLA

Turner is perhaps best known for becoming Nike’s first-ever NIL signing, but her play on the field has backed up all of the hype. She’s scored nine goals on the season, good for second on the team only to Fontes, and she forced the game-opening goal against Northwestern with savvy defensive pressure. She also played her most minutes of the year (85) in the second round against UCF, finishing with three shots on target.

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

Longtime England goalkeeper Mary Earps announced her retirement from international play on Tuesday, immediately ending her run just five weeks before the Lionesses begin their 2022 Euro title defense.

"My journey has never been the simplest, so in true Mary fashion, this isn't a simple goodbye — right before a major tournament," Earps said in a retirement post on Instagram. "Nonetheless, I know this is the right decision."

Despite the seemingly snap choice, Earps later clarified that she "spent a long time making this decision and it's not one I've made lightly. For me, ultimately this is the right time for me to step aside and give the younger generation an opportunity to thrive."

Earps led England to their first-ever European Championship plus the 2023 World Cup final in her 53 international caps.

However, Lioness manager Sarina Wiegman told media earlier this year that the 32-year-old Earps would likely take a backseat to Chelsea keeper Hannah Hampton at July's 2025 Euro.

"I had hoped that Mary would play an important role within the squad this summer, so of course I am disappointed," Wiegman said after Earps's retirement news broke.

Hampton to lead new-look England goalkeeping core

Hampton, who shared the 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove with Manchester United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce — a top USWNT keeper prospect — will now take over as England's No. 1 net-minder, though the 24-year-old still lacks experience in a major tournament.

Playing behind Hampton will be 20-year-old Manchester City goalie Khiara Keating and 30-year-old Orlando Pride keeper Anna Moorhouse — who owns the NWSL's single-season shutouts record. Both have been club standouts, though neither has logged a cap for England.

As for Earps, her football journey will continue at the club level with PSG, with the now-former Lioness promising that "There's so much to still look forward to, and I have so much energy to continue to strive for greatness, to continue to learn and push myself to maximise every last ounce of potential I have."

Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun!

Every week on Sports Are Fun! presented by Amazon Business, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist Greydy Diaz, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes on the biggest women's sports headlines.

This week, the Sports Are Fun! crew is joined on the couch by retired NWSL star and frequent co-host Merritt Mathias. And to get things started, the sports fans in residence looked back on what was a blockbuster WNBA weekend.

The question on everyone's mind? Whether or not the league-leading Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty can run back their red-hot 2024 WNBA postseason run.

"Teams that are not having declines are the Lynx and the Liberty," O'Hara introduces, coming off a brief chat about the early-season shakeups over at the Indiana Fever. "Both are undefeated. Phee is off to an incredible start. Continuing her monster year from Unrivaled into the league, she's leading in points."

"Do y'all think that we're going to see Lynx-Liberty again in the finals this year?" she asks. "Do you think it's too early to make that assumption? Or are we're like, 'No this is what we're going to do.'"

"It's too early. But I I am hopeful that it happens again," says Mathias. "I thought it was an incredible matchup. When you watched in person, it was incredibly intense. There was competition to the very end of games. It was what you want from a championship series."

"And I think Phee deserves all the time in those moments," she adds. "So does Breanna Stewart. The players on those teams are just really fun to watch."

Along with predicting this year's WNBA finals matchup, the Sports Are Fun! hosts break down Caitlin Clark’s injury, the latest USWNT roster, and so much more!

'Sports Are Fun!' congrats Lo’eau LaBonta on her first USWNT roster call-up

Next up, the team subsequently hashes out the latest USWNT roster. More specifically, the surprise call-ups. And that includes a first-ever camp invitation for KC Current star — and celly queen — Lo’eau LaBonta.

"Moving from the court to the pitch, this past week the US women's national team announced their next camp's roster," O'Hara starts. "I want to shout out Lo’eau [LaBonta] — I'm super stoked about her call-up."

"I think this is just awesome, from a perspective of how your play in the NWSL matters," she continues. "And she's maybe the oldest player to ever get called in to a camp for the first time."

"She's 32," adds Diaz.

"I definitely did see on social media that she's the oldest," agrees BJ.

"I think Lo’eau should have been called in awhile ago," says O'Hara. "But I really like that it's happening now. And she's not getting looked over because she is 32, because she's never been called in before. This shows Emma [Hayes] is watching the NWSL."

"Emma came out with a quote saying that they were agonizing over trying to decide if she should have called in Lo’eau for the Olympics last summer," says BJ. "But she ended up ultimately not going with it because they wanted more experience."

"I really think that she is a special player," says O'Hara. "How she's led Kansas City — I'm really excited to see her take that to the national team."

About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara

'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.

Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.

From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"

Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.

The LPGA Tour's largest purse is back on the line, as the 2025 US Women's Open hits the links at Wisconsin's Erin Hills Golf Course on Thursday.

The oldest of the Tour's five major championships, the US Women's Open is now in its 80th year.

In partnership with tournament sponsor Ally, the event's $12 million overall prize money makes it the most lucrative competition in women's golf, with a $2.4 million check going to the eventual winner.

World No. 35 Yuka Saso of Japan, the 2021 and 2024 US Women's Open champion, is back to defend her title alongside eight other former tournament winners, including 2023 victor and current No. 38 Allisen Corpuz (USA) and 2022 champ No. 22 Minjee Lee (Australia).

Also vying for this year's trophy are all 12 2025 LPGA Tour victors, headlined by world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand) and No. 3 Lydia Ko (New Zealand), as well as the two title-winners from the US — No. 11 Angel Yin and No. 18 Yealimi Noh.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda leads 24 of the sport's Top 25 players on the 2025 US Women's Open course, as the US star still searches for her first victory of the season.

How to watch the US Women's Open

The US Women's Open tees off at 6:45 AM ET on Thursday, with coverage of the LPGA major kicking off at 12 PM ET across USA Network and Peacock.

Sunday's championship-winning final round will air live beginnning at 2 PM ET on NBC.

The 2024 WNBA Finals set the stage for this season in more ways than one, as last year's title contenders — the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty — carry their winning ways into 2025.

The undefeated Lynx cruised to a 5-0 record on Tuesday, downing a surging Seattle Storm 82-77 behind 23 points from guard Courtney Williams.

The reigning champion Liberty are keeping pace at 4-0, earning their fourth win with a 95-67 Tuesday night takedown of 2025 expansion side Golden State. Forward Breanna Stewart's 24 points led New York past the Valkyries.

Liberty, Lynx standouts race up the 2025 WNBA stat sheet

While many WNBA teams spent the offseason instituting major coaching and roster shakeups, the Lynx and Liberty kept last year's lineups mostly intact.

Minnesota star forward Napheesa Collier currently dominates scoring on the WNBA stat sheet with 26.8 points per game, and her block and steal rates are in the league's Top-5.

Meanwhile, teammate Alanna Smith also tops the leaderboard thanks to a 62.5% field goal percentage, and sits in fourth for both block and three-point rates.

The Liberty's Kennedy Burke has also been lights-out, leading the league in three-point percentage at 63.6% while shooting 60.9% from the field — good for fourth on the stat sheet.

Proving New York's few offseason moves were effective is 2025 Liberty addition Natasha Cloud, who sits in second with 8.3 assists per game. At the same time, the team as a whole is outpacing the rest of the league in field goal percentage (49.8%), as well as points (94), assists (25.3), and blocks (6.0) per game.

The league's top dogs won't clash on the court until July 30th — but early odds of a 2024 WNBA Finals rematch closing out the 2025 season grow stronger by the day.