Alex Morgan has played in the NWSL since its inception in 2013 and won multiple Olympic medals and World Cups with the U.S. women’s national team since 2010. With that resume, it would be fair to think the star forward has seen it all.

But Morgan says the “most exciting thing” in her career didn’t happen until she saw the San Diego Wave’s brand new Snapdragon Stadium, a home she’ll be able to share with 32,000 others, located on the campus of San Diego State University at Mission Valley.

As of Tuesday morning, the Wave had sold over 27,000 tickets to their opening match at the new stadium on Sept. 17, breaking the NWSL single-game attendance record. One of the first players to sign with the Wave, Morgan knows how hard the expansion club has worked on and off the field to make this milestone possible.

“I’m so proud to be a part of that,” she said. “I just feel fortunate to be able to experience things like breaking records still in my career and being wowed and impressed, and this is one of those moments that I’ll look back and see as one of those ‘wow’ moments for me in my career. Just seeing the growth of women’s sports in general.”

The previous NWSL single-game attendance record was 25,218, set by the Portland Thorns at Providence Park in 2019. The league drew outsized attention that year following the USWNT’s run to the World Cup title in France.

With less than a month until their home opener against Angel City FC, @sandiegowavefc announced that they’ve eclipsed the 27K mark as they set their sights on selling out Snapdragon Stadium.

The current @NWSL single-game attendance record of 25,218 was set in 2019 by @ThornsFC. pic.twitter.com/6QRNcdaRgA

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) August 23, 2022

San Diego will host fellow 2022 expansion team Angel City FC at the Snapdragon opener. Morgan scored her first goals with the Wave against Angel City in the group stage of the 2022 Challenge Cup, launching her on a torrid goal-scoring pace.

After notching four goals in the preseason tournament, Morgan now leads the NWSL Golden Boot Race with 12 regular season goals, helping the Wave stay near the top of league standings. On Saturday against the Houston Dash at the Wave’s temporary field, Torero Stadium, she became the fifth player to score 50 NWSL goals in her career.

Morgan’s impressive club campaign earned her a call-up to the national team in June for the Concacaf W Championship. Before then, she hadn’t appeared for the team since October. Referencing her eight-month hiatus from the USWNT as an opportunity to “reset,” Morgan went on to lead the team to the Concacaf title in July and win the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.

Morgan credits her success this year to the support she’s received from the Wave and the positive locker room culture her teammates have fostered. It helps that San Diego is where she calls home and where she looks forward to settling down when her playing days are over. To play for the city is something she couldn’t have imagined even just one year ago.

“Now, having this opportunity, it just feels like I’m very settled, happy,” she said. “I want to represent the city proudly, and I think that that’s just translating to my on-field success.”

An absolute beauty of a goal for @alexmorgan13’s 5️⃣0️⃣th 🤩

🎥» @NWSL pic.twitter.com/L97LnlgUAS

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) August 21, 2022

When Morgan initially heard there was going to be a team starting in San Diego, she remembers being intrigued but unsure of the club’s short- and long-term goals.

It was the same when the Wave staff told Morgan six weeks ago that they were hoping to sell out the Sept. 17 match against Angel City. She was “cautiously excited,” wondering how they would make it happen.

Every step of the way, the team has lived up to its promises of helping grow the women’s game. And Morgan, 33, has held up her end of the bargain on the field, leading the Wave’s unprecedented charge to second place in the standings at 8-5-4 and ambitions for more in the playoffs.

“I’m just extremely impressed with their execution of this and seeing how the city has rallied behind this team in only the six months of our existence that we’ve been here in San Diego, representing this city and this club,” she said. “It’s just been really fun for me and it’s almost created some youthful energy for me all over again. I think that’s helped with our success on the field.”

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

Reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson had herself a weekend, adding 2025 All-WNBA First Team honors to her stacked resume mere hours before winning her third league title on Friday.

Joining the Las Vegas Aces star was fellow unanimous First Team selectee Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), as the pair logged their fourth and third straight years, respectively, on the list.

Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray, and Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell also earned spots on the elite roster.

Headlining the 2025 Second Team is Seattle Storm forward and eight-time All-WNBA selectee Nneka Ogwumike alongside Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and a trio of standout guards: the Aces' Jackie Young, the New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu, and the Dallas Wings' Paige Bueckers.

The 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year isn't the only All-WNBA debutant, with Gray, Mitchell, and Boston joining Bueckers in earning their first-ever league-wide nods.

All WNBA athletes, regardless of their position, are eligible for All-WNBA selection, and voting media members determine the honorary squads.

Players earn five points for each First Team vote and three for every Second Team tally, with the league's top five players via points snagging the First roster and the next five featuring as the Second squad.

Along with the All-WNBA titles, this year's honorees are also cashing in, with each member of the 2025 First Team snagging a $10,300 bonus while the Second Team players take home checks for $5,150 each.

Seattle Reign captain Lauren Barnes is calling it a career, as one of the last remaining original members of the NWSL announced plans to retire from professional soccer at the end of the 2025 season.

"From day one, Seattle has been home," the 13-year Reign alum said in Monday's club statement. "I've grown up here — as a player, a leader, and a person. I'm incredibly proud of what we've built and the culture we've created.... This chapter of my life has been a dream."

"Lu has been the heartbeat of this club since the very beginning," added Reign head coach Laura Harvey. "She has been the glue that has held us together through the ups and the downs. Everything about who we are, whether it's our standards, our values or our resilience, Lu has her fingerprints on it all."

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Barnes exits the pitch with more caps and minutes played than any other athlete in league history, with the standout defender also helping to anchor the Reign's backline to the tune of three NWSL Shields (2014, 2015, and 2022).

Those accolades, however, are the least of what makes Barnes exceptional, according to Seattle GM Lesle Gallimore.

"What makes Lu so rare isn't just her longevity or her records, it's her humanity," said Gallimore. "She's been a leader, a role model, and a constant source of strength for this club and the community. You simply don't see players spend their entire career in one city anymore, and that loyalty speaks volumes about who she is and what Seattle means to her."

The 36-year-old isn't the only league veteran hanging up her NWSL boots this year, with Kansas City Current forward Kristen Hamilton, Angel City defender Ali Riley, Orlando Pride midfielder Morgan Gautrat, and Barnes' Seattle teammate Veronica Latsko also set to retire.

World No. 3 Coco Gauff won her 11th career WTA title over the weekend, taking down fellow US star No. 5 Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 to become the 2025 Wuhan Open champion on Sunday.

With the victory, Gauff also is the first US player to lift the Wuhan Open trophy since Venus Williams in 2015.

Gauff now holds a perfect 9-0 record in hardcourt tournament finals, lifting her first WTA 1000 trophy of 2025 and claiming her second title of the year alongside her French Open victory in June — all without needing a single third set throughout her five-match run in Wuhan.

"Winning every match in straight sets, I don't know if I've done that before on a title run," the 21-year-old said afterwards. "I just felt like I was really proud of what I accomplished this week, regardless of the result today."

Despite the Sunday stumble, Pegula also saw significant success at the tournament, handing world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — who won the last three editions of the competition — her first-ever loss in Wuhan on Saturday.

Even more, Pegula clinched the three-set semifinal by snapping Sabalenka's dominant streak of winning 19 straight tiebreaks.

Overall, the weekend furthered a dominant 2025 WTA campaign for US tennis stars, with a US-based athlete featuring in every Grand Slam final this year.

US women also top the current WTA rankings, with Gauff and Pegula joined by No. 4 Amanda Anisimova and No. 7 Madison Keys in the sport's Top 10.

Additionally, those four contenders have all booked spots in the 2025 WTA Finals, guaranteeing that half of the eight-player field will hail from the States when the tennis season's finale kicks off next month.

The South Carolina Gamecocks are officially without their star Chloe Kitts, with the university announcing Monday that the forward will miss the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season after sustaining an ACL tear to her right knee.

"We hate this for Chloe, who has worked incredibly hard to become the best version of herself on the court this season," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a team statement.

"While this isn't how I hoped my senior season would go, I'm trusting God's timing and purpose," Kitts wrote in a social media post on Monday. "I'll continue to lead, support, and push my team from the sidelines. We have big things ahead!"

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A starter for the the Gamecocks since the 2023/24 NCAA season, Kitts helped South Carolina bring home a national championship in 2024.

Last season, the then-junior earned an All-America honorable mention for a season in which she averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game — both career highs.

Kitts was particularly potent in the 2025 postseason, snagging the MVP title at both the SEC tournament and in South Carolina's NCAA regional en route to a national runner-up finish for the Gamecocks.

Though South Carolina is now gearing up for the 2025/26 NCAA season without their leader in the paint, the Gamecocks are perhaps uniquely capable of overcoming a big-name loss like Kitts, with the team boasting a full 10-player rotation and one of the deepest collegiate benches in recent years.

"[Kitts's] teammates are capable of stepping up, and I know that her competitive fire and tenacity will be felt from the sidelines as she pours what she can into them to ensure our team's success," said Staley.