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.

The 2025 WNBA season is finally here, with Friday's official tip-off leading an opening weekend full of tough competition and simmering storylines.

The reigning champion New York Liberty enter as odds-on favorites, but results are nearly impossible to predict after a very active offseason across the league.

This weekend's slate features new builds, regional rivalries, and plenty of fresh faces as top 2025 draft picks log their first pro minutes.

• Minnesota Lynx vs. Dallas Wings, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): This year's No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers makes her official WNBA debut as revamped Dallas tests itself against a Minnesota team still stinging over last year's title loss.

• Los Angeles Sparks vs. Golden State Valkyries, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): The Valkyries play their first-ever regular-season game, looking to form an identity against downstate rivals LA, led by new Sparks addition Kelsey Plum.

• Las Vegas Aces vs. New York Liberty, Saturday at 1 PM ET (ABC): The 2023 champs meet the 2024 title-winners in a heavyweight clash that sees 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson take on a confident New York team led by guard Sabrina Ionescu.

• Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever, Saturday at 3 PM ET (ABC): Last year's rookie headliners Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese meet again in Indiana, with the regional rivals relying on both incoming vets and young cores to write their next chapters.

Packed with great matchups, this weekend is the ideal tip-off for a 2025 season that promises to be a wild ride — no matter which WNBA team you follow.

The NWSL is back in action this weekend with a top-table match, a bicoastal battle, and some middle-of-the-pack clashes as the 2025 season enters its ninth matchday.

Parity is riding high these days, with just three points dividing the No. 1 Kansas City Current and No. 3 Washington Spirit in the NWSL standings — while only three more separate the No. 4 San Diego Wave from the No. 8 Seattle Reign.

With competition remaining tough as nails, don't expect much more daylight between teams following this weekend's tense lineup:

• No. 7 Gotham FC vs. No. 4 San Diego Wave, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): Coming off a two-game winless streak, Gotham is still searching for consistency as they take on a confident San Diego side that hasn't lost in four games.

• No. 9 Racing Louisville vs. No. 8 Seattle Reign, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): All tied up with 11 points each, Seattle will look to hold off Louisville as Racing continues to hunt the club's first-ever playoff berth.

• No. 2 Orlando Pride vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): There's little love lost between these NWSL titans, as the reigning champion Pride takes on hosting duties in an attempt to leapfrog current top-dog Kansas City in Friday's marquee match.

In a season dominated by topsy-turvy results, the pressure to secure points week-over-week weighs heaviest on the teams who know they have the talent to rise above the rest.

This season's NWSL Golden Boot leader Esther González is sticking with Gotham, with the Spanish international extending her contract with the NJ/NY club through 2027.

After helping Gotham to a first-ever NWSL championship in 2023, González earned the league's Best XI Second Team honors last year before launching a red-hot campaign this season.

The 2023 World Cup winner has tallied seven goals in nine games for Gotham in 2025, showcasing a blistering rush of form that has her sitting two goals ahead of the next Golden Boot race contender.

"Above all, it's about how I've felt during these two and a half years with Gotham FC," González said in Thursday's team announcement. "Continuing to be happy both on and off the field is really important. To keep enjoying myself and representing Gotham's colors, which I truly identify with, is something really incredible."

Gotham's continued investment underlines the 32-year-old's case for 2025 MVP candidacy, as award frontrunners start to emerge one-third of the way through the 2025 NWSL season.

González leads the NWSL in shots on target while sitting fourth in expected goals per 90 minutes, with her scoring outpacing many of her peers.

Other players crafting strong 2025 NWSL MVP resumes include Kansas City's 2024 MVP Temwa Chawinga and comeback star Debinha, Angel City wunderkind Alyssa Thompson, and Orlando sharpshooter Barbra Banda.

Following a dominant 2024/25 campaign, Chelsea FC will look to cap their historic run by completing a domestic treble on Sunday, when they'll battle Manchester United for a third season trophy in the 2025 FA Cup final.

After securing the 2024/25 League Cup in March amidst an unbeaten run to a sixth-straight WSL title, the Blues will close out their season against the league's third-place finishers, the Red Devils, in London's iconic Wembley Stadium.

Should Chelsea secure the 2025 FA Cup, they will add a second domestic treble to their resume after clinching their first trio of trophies in the 2020/21 season. This time, however, they could do so in undefeated fashion.

"We are in a really good place, just the fact that we won the league being unbeaten," said first-year Blues manager Sonia Bompastor. "To end the season with an FA Cup final at Wembley against Man United is maybe the perfect way to end the season."

Manchester United hunts second straight FA Cup trophy

Standing between Chelsea and the treble are 2024 FA Cup champions Manchester United, who will take aim at their only trophy of the season partly behind the play of 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove winner and USWNT goalkeeper prospect Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

Man United enter as the game's undisputed underdogs, having dropped both their WSL regular-season matches against Chelsea in narrow 1-0 defeats.

Even more, the Red Devils must overcome a particular tough stretch of play, facing more than a month without a victory on their schedule.

Man United's last win was their 2-0 FA Cup semifinal victory over Manchester City on April 13th, with the Red Devils suffering a pair of losses and recording two draws to close out WSL play.

That said, United has experience downing the Blues on the FA Cup stage, ousting Chelsea from last year's semifinals en route to a club-first FA title.

Remarking that Manchester United "are a really strong team," Bompastor pointed out that the Red Devils "don't concede a lot of goals, and we need to remember that."

"You only get the trophy if you win, so we need to make sure going into the game we have the best preparation and we perform on the day."

How to watch Chelsea play Manchester United at the FA Cup final

The 2025 FA Cup final between Chelsea FC and Manchester United will kick off at 8:30 AM ET on Sunday.

Live coverage of the match will begin at 8:20 AM ET on ESPN+.