As the U.S. women’s national team prepares for the 2023 World Cup, the NWSL is more important than ever before, star Alex Morgan said.

After the April friendlies against Ireland, USWNT players returned to their club teams for three months of action in the lead-up to the summer tournament. And with coach Vlatko Andonovski emphasizing the importance of club play in his roster selection, players’ NWSL form could “make or break” their World Cup chances, Morgan revealed on the latest episode of Snacks.

“It’s kind of a different mindset and approach, because with any other previous World Cup or Olympics, you basically have a couple camps leading up. We never had two months uninterrupted [in the] NWSL,” she said. “Forget about even leading into a World Cup, just in general. We’ve never had two months of uninterrupted time.”

Snacks co-host Lynn Williams affirmed that two months is “a long time.” And with club play dictating Andonovski’s decision-making, Williams admitted to some nerves about what could be her first World Cup — even though she has three goals in four games for Gotham FC.

“For me, instead of looking forward and saying, I gotta do all these things to make the roster, I’m just trying to focus on the present and be like, I’m just gonna try to improve and get better every single day and take every game like it’s your last game,” she said.

Andonovski’s outlook on club play hasn’t gone unnoticed by players.

“I feel like Vlatko has said something which no coach has ever really come out and said, which is like, your club play really dictates right now if you’re gonna make this team and what kind of time you’re looking at,” Morgan said. “Obviously players can come into form before the World Cup and during the World Cup, but he’s like, ‘I’m coming to games.’

“He was at the Seattle-San Diego game that we just played. He’s going to games every weekend, looking at players. I feel like that’s the first time that we’ve had a coach come out and just be like, ‘Yeah, your club play is important and that’s what’s going to make or break a spot for you.’”

Even with the World Cup pressure, the added time with her club has been a welcome change, at least for Morgan.

“I actually think having this time is kind of nice in a way to like focus just on one team,” she said. “I feel like I’m always in two mindsets, especially in a major tournament year. And I feel like you almost have to just be like, ‘Yes, World Cup is coming up, but I need to perform on this team so I need to focus on this.’”

The WNBA starts a new chapter on Tuesday, as the Golden State Valkyries — the league's first expansion team since 2008 — take the court in a preseason showdown against fellow California side Los Angeles.

"It'll be our franchise's first game," Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton told the media from training camp. "I'm just excited to get to the court."

Drawing from both April's college draft and an earlier expansion draft within the league, the Valkyries' roster is still a work in progress as they attempt to form a distinct playing style under first-year head coach Natalie Nakase.

Backed by an inaugural training camp lineup that appears to prioritize international talent, the team already waived Maryland standout Shyanne Sellers after drafting the guard 17th overall last month.

Cinderella selection Kaitlyn Chen — taken No. 30 overall from 2025 national champion UConn's roster — is now Golden State's only NCAA draftee.

"It's just that I have to choose the best 12 that are going to fit. Doesn't mean it's the most talented, it means it's the best 12," Nakase said of the Saturday decision to waive Sellers.

Along with the pains of refining a 2025 roster and building team culture, the WNBA's 13th team — the league's first new addition since the Atlanta Dream joined — is also experiencing the natural growing pains of expansion.

Golden State Warriors Sports — the ownership group behind both the Valkyries and the NBA's Golden State Warriors — recently rebranded to simply "Golden State" to indicate equity among its properties.

How to watch the Golden State Valkyries in WNBA preseason

The Valkyries will make their WNBA debut in a preseason exhibition game against the LA Sparks at 10 PM ET on Tuesday.

The game will stream live on WNBA League Pass.
 
 

The NWSL Disciplinary Committee issued new rulings on Monday, extending existing suspensions after further reviewing violations of the league's rulebook.

Racing Louisville midfielder Ary Borges earned an additional three-game suspension to her original April 27th red card offense for postgame dissent, with the committee finding that Borges "pushed the center official," per an NWSL release.

The league also handed Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez an extra one-game suspension for his April 26th red card incident, determining that Giráldez "failed to exit the field as required by the NWSL following ejection from a match."

While the members of the NWSL Disciplinary Committee are anonymous, they're responsible for monitoring conduct that warrants review beyond punishments given on the pitch.

Borges previously apologized for her behavior during the Louisville's chippy draw against Portland, saying she let the "the emotional side of the moment" get to her amid officiating concerns.

"I'm not much of talking about referees because they are things that are beyond our control but what happened today in the match was a shame," she added.

Originally penalized for entering the opposing side's technical area in the final minutes of the Spirit's 3-0 loss to Gotham, Giráldez did not comment on his suspension.

At the time, assistant coach Adrián González told reporters, "Sometimes you have a lot of things that you cannot control… He was just trying to protect our players or coaching staff, but nothing else."

Due to the extended NWSL suspensions, Borges will sit out Louisville's next three regular-season matches — May 9th's game against Gotham, May 16th's clash with Seattle, and May 24th's visit to Angel City — while Giráldez will miss Washington's May 10th match against Chicago.

The USA Rugby women's 15s shattered the sport's US attendance record on Friday, welcoming 10,518 fans to Kansas City's CPKC Stadium for the Eagles' matchup against Canada.

Though the world No. 9 ranked US fell short in their come-from-behind push, falling 26-14 to No. 2 Canada in the opening game of the 2025 Pacific Four Series, Friday's crowd gave the players a massive off-field victory.

"To see the crowd be over 10,500 like that was absolutely fantastic in this women's purposely built stadium, and to debut rugby here in that stadium as well," said USA captain Kate Zackary after the game.

Even Canada's athletes lauded the significance of the record-setting crowd, despite the overwhelmingly US cheers from the home fans.

"Being here in North America and having 10,000 people coming to watch women's sports was so amazing," remarked Canada's Sarah-Maude Lachance.

Rugby's rise spurs exponential growth

After the Eagles secured Olympic bronze in rugby sevens last summer, the sport gained significant momentum.

The national attention captured by 2024 Olympians like superstar Ilona Maher earned USA Rugby a multimillion-dollar investment, helped fuel a new domestic league, and minted fresh fans en route to Friday's attendance record.

In the long-term, that growth could turn the US-hosted 2033 Rugby World Cup into a marquee national event.

For the rugby faithful, however, the biggest win is seeing those new to the sport become lifelong fans.

"Everyone I talked to after [Friday's] game who didn't know what rugby was, [I hope] has fallen in love with it," said Zachary.

How to attend the next USA Rugby game

The Eagles will take aim at breaking Friday's attendance record in Washington, DC, on July 19th, when they'll face No. 16 Fiji in a send-off game before August's 2025 Rugby World Cup in England.

Tickets to the Audi Field doubleheader, which also includes the US men's side against England, are available online now.

Three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson officially joined the signature shoe ranks on Tuesday, when the first edition of the Las Vegas Aces star's Nike sneaker hit shelves — only to sell out within minutes.

Wilson is now the 14th WNBA athlete across all brands to receive her own signature shoe, joining current players like Sabrina Ionescu and retired legends including Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Candace Parker.

With more colors already in the works, the 28-year-old's debut "A'One" shoe arrived in a bright "Pink A'ura" colorway — a hue also heavily used across Wilson's Nike apparel collection, which dropped at the same time as the sneakers.

The eight-piece collection includes foam slides, T-shirts, shorts, cropped tops, and a single-legged "A'Symmetric" compression tight — a nod to Wilson's on-court uniform.

"My first A'One Collection reflects both my vision for the future of the game and the inspirations that fuel my performance and style every day," said Wilson in the February announcement detailing her Nike collaboration.

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Wilson honors family in A'One Nike ads

Both the design details in the A'One shoes and Nike's series of commercials celebrating the collection boast nods to those inspirations.

The sneakers include symbols representing Wilson's parents, plus a quote from her grandmother: "As a matter of fact, the best is yet to come."

Photos of Wilson's paternal grandparents, which hang in her childhood church, make an appearance in director Jenn Nkiru's Nike ad, which also featured cameos from her parents and former college coach, South Carolina boss Dawn Staley.

The WNBA icon herself took a star turn in a second Nike ad, collaborating with Malia Obama in a vignette directed by the 26-year-old former US First Daughter.

How to buy A'ja Wilson's signature Nike A'One shoe

While Nike has temporarily removed Wilson's "Pink A'ura" A'One sneaker from the sportswear giant's online store, more inventory will be released in the coming days.

In the meantime, Wilson's apparel collection is now available directly from Nike, with purchase options both online and at select retail locations.

Her sneaker's second colorway, entitled "Blue Fury," will drop in the same locations on May 15th.