The Portland Thorns have achieved what no other NWSL club has in the league’s 10-year history, winning their third NWSL Championship with a 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Current on Saturday night.

Thorns striker and 2022 NWSL MVP Sophia Smith scored in the fourth minute, and Kansas City allowed an own goal right after halftime to complete Portland’s shutout at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

Smith added to her hardware collection after the game, named Championship MVP for her performance in the Thorns’ attack. As the Thorns celebrate on stage at midfield, captain Christine Sinclair received the championship trophy from commissioner Jessica Berman, nine years after winning her first NWSL title with Portland in the league’s inaugural season.

The Thorns added to their lead in the 56th minute and continued to control possession, keeping Kansas City off the scoreboard until the final whistle despite several dangerous chances by the No. 5 seed.

Ten minutes into the second half, Portland’s Raquel Rodriguez passed the ball down the flank to Yazmeen Ryan — who kickstarted much of the Thorn’s offense on Saturday. Ryan sent a low cross into the box as Smith crashed the net. The forward just missed the ball, but Current goalkeeper Adrianna Franch tipped it off defender Addisyn Merrick and into their own goal.

Everything is coming up roses 🌹 pic.twitter.com/bM1B6dBLxj

— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) October 30, 2022

Portland didn’t let up after taking a 2-0 lead. Thorns striker Morgan Weaver tested Franch in the 57th minute with a flicked header to the left post, which Franch dove to tip over the endline. One minute later, Weaver drilled a shot from outside the 18-yard box that hit off the crossbar and over the net.

In the 70th minute, Franch made her best save of the night, blocking Hinan Sugita’s curving shot with a full-extension dive to maintain the 2-0 scoreline.

Portland put Kansas City in an early hole, forcing a turnover in the midfield and pouncing on a mistake by the Current’s backline in the fourth minute. As center back Elizabeth Ball slid to try to recover a misplayed pass, Smith ran onto the ball and beat Adrianna Franch on a breakaway, cutting to the left and slotting it home.

The goal was Smith’s first of the playoffs and 15th of the season.

.@sophsssmith puts @ThornsFC up EARLY early 👀#NWSLChampionship | #BAONPDX pic.twitter.com/AJsIsB9r5S

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 30, 2022

The Thorns dominated possession for most of the half, holding a 56 percent advantage over the Current for the first 45 minutes. Smith had another dangerous chance in the 27th minute, splitting two defenders in the box and firing a shot just wide right of the goal.

From there, Kansas City built momentum going into halftime. Forward Kristen Hamilton sent a cross in toward Kate Del Fava at the back post in the 33rd minute, which Del Fava headed just over the crossbar. Six minutes later, Hamilton nearly split Thorns defenders Becky Sauerbrunn and Meghan Klingenberg in the box off a pass from Hailie Mace, but she slipped on the turn and the Thorns recovered.

Portland now holds the all-time record for the most NWSL Championships after winning the title in 2013 and 2017. The Thorns finished the postseason on top after conceding the NWSL Shield to OL Reign in the final weekend of the regular season, with head coach Rhian Wilkinson earning the trophy in her first season at the helm.

USA Basketball lifted the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup trophy on Sunday, taking down defending champions Brazil 92-84 to top the tournament's podium for the fifth time.

Pitting a roster of NCAA talent against Brazil pros like Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Team USA battled back from a seven-point third-quarter deficit, then dominated the fourth quarter to send Brazil home with silver medals.

"What a performance by our team," said USA head coach Kara Lawson following the title win. "We knew it was going to be just a tough, physical game."

With 27 points in Sunday's championship game, guard Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt) set a USA AmeriCup scoring record en route to earning tournament MVP honors.

"This is my first time playing with USA Basketball, and to be able to cap it off with a win, a gold medal, and to play alongside such great players and great coaches, I couldn't ask for anything better," said Blakes.

After adding 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in her 21 minutes off the bench on Sunday, guard Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) joined Blakes in representing the USA on the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup All-Star roster.

Booking a spot on the tournament's All-Star second team was US guard Olivia Miles (TCU), whose 50 assists throughout the competition shattered the modern era's previous single-event record of 46.

Along with their gold medals, Sunday's win also gives the US automatic entry into the 2026 FIBA World Cup in Germany, where they'll look to snag a 12th overall and fifth consecutive world championship.

Two WNBA championship contenders found their way back into the win column on Monday, when the No. 2 Phoenix Mercury and No. 4 Atlanta Dream each notched emphatic victories following disappointing weekend results.

Phoenix tasted revenge by blasting No. 11 Dallas 102-72, with guard Sami Whitcomb's game-leading 36 points and 2025 All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas's triple-double (15 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds) sending the Wings' rookie core packing.

After last Thursday's surprise upset, Dallas's injury-shortened lineup couldn't keep pace in a rematch with the deeper, more experienced Mercury.

The No. 6 Golden State Valkyries also showed their limits on Monday, dropping their sixth road game of the season in a 90-81 loss to the Dream.

Energized by a 24-point performance from 2025 All-Star starter Allisha Gray, Atlanta capitalized on the Valks' fourth-quarter collapse, outscoring the 2025 expansion side 15-2 to book the win.

"I'm telling the refs, 'This is a hard game for us,'" Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said afterwards. "I get it — home cooking. But to me, I thought for sure that [Valkyries players] were going up just as aggressive as their players, and we just did not get the whistle."

With All-Star Weekend fast approaching, regular-season Cinderella stories are beginning to break away from the true powerhouses, as teams keep chasing Minnesota at the top of the WNBA standings.

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury this week

While Atlanta will be resting until Friday, Phoenix is back in action on Wednesday, when the Mercury will host the league-leading Lynx at 3:30 PM ET.

Live coverage of the game will air on WNBA League Pass.

Eight-time UEFA Champions League winners OL Lyonnes will have even more US flair next season, with the French football titan announcing the signings of USWNT stars Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert over the last week.

Joining the newly rebranded Lyon side from Dutch club Ajax on a reported €450,000 ($527,000) transfer fee, Yohannes's new contract runs through 2028.

Albert also signed a three-year deal on Friday, solidifying her transfer from Première Ligue rivals PSG — the club that the 21-year-old has played for since her early exit from Notre Dame in 2023.

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Yohannes and Albert will join USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps in the OL Lyonnes midfield, with US billionaire and multi-team owner Michele Kang (Washington Spirit, London City Lionesses) overseeing the operation.

Backed by her global women's sports organization Kynisca, Kang reportedly beat WSL giants Chelsea FC to the punch in signing 18-year-old Yohannes on Monday.

OL Lyonnes has been stocking up after failing to make it past the 2024/25 Champions League semifinals, adding PSG striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Chelsea FC fullback Ashley Lawrence, Barcelona defender Ingrid Engen, and Vfl Wolfsburg attacker Jule Brand to a roster now led by former Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez.

While international tournaments play out across the world this summer, the club carousel continues to spin as heavyweight teams vie for the sport's top talent.

The NWSL is already making a splash at this year's Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), with three of the league's top scorers stealing the spotlight following the 2025 tournament's July 5th kick-off.

Zambia forwards Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride) and Racheal Kundananji (Bay FC) both found the back of the net in their national team's group-stage debut against host country Morocco, helping the Copper Queens earn an opening point in the 2-2 Saturday draw.

Banda struck first, notching the tournament's first goal with one of her signature long-range strikes in the first minute of the match, before Kundananji answered Morocco's 12th-minute penalty equalizer with a Banda-assisted 27th minute goal of her own.

Notably, the NWSL is powering Zambia's entire front line, as Banda's Pride teammates, Grace Chanda and Prisca Chilufya, joined the scorers in leading the Copper Queens' Saturday attack.

Then on Sunday, Kundananji's Bay FC teammate Asisat Oshoala wrote her name on the 2025 WAFCON scoresheet, registering Nigeria's first tournament goal by heading the ball past Tunisia goalkeeper Salima Jobrani in the fourth minute of the match.

With Houston Dash defender Michelle Alozie helping hold down their back line, the Super Falcons opened their WAFCON account with a 3-0 win.

How to watch NWSL stars at 2025 WAFCON

WAFCON action revs back up when the second matches of group play kick off on Wednesday, as the 12 2025 tournament teams all chase defending champions South Africa.

Zambia will hunt their first tournament victory against Senegal at 12 PM ET on Wednesday, before Nigeria looks to maintain their winning ways against Botswana at 3 PM ET on Thursday.

All 2025 WAFCON matches will air live on beIN Sports.