The most surprising trade of NWSL Draft night saw Washington Spirit midfielder Ashley Sanchez get sent to the North Carolina Courage in exchange for the No. 5 pick and $250,000 in allocation money.

The trade came less than three hours after the Spirit swapped defender Sam Staab for the third overall pick from the Chicago Red Stars.

Sanchez had been with the Spirit ever since they drafted her in 2020. This past summer, she was named to the USWNT’s 2023 World Cup roster.

The Spirit drafted defensive midfielder Hal Hershfelt from Clemson with the 5th pick, and midfielder Croix Bethune from Georgia with the third.

In a post on social media, Sanchez wrote that she was “shocked and heartbroken” to be leaving the Spirit.

“Shocked and heartbroken to be leaving such a special place,” she wrote. “D.C. will always feel like home to me. Thank you to the fans and my teammates for the best years of my life. Truly don’t have the words to describe the gratitude I have, thank you a million.

“@thenccourage thank you for this opportunity, excited to get started”

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Sanchez was especially close with Spirit and USWNT teammate Trinity Rodman, who took to social media to say that the trade “hits the soul.”

“Me and u became friends so quick it was the easiest friendship of my life,” Rodman wrote. “Together and separately we’ve gone thru the ups and downs of family, friends, and soccer. Don’t get me started on us both going thru our ‘depressed wrecks’ faze while using each others shoulder to cry on and climb on to still perform everyday for club, country, and ourselves.

“Anyway this probably seems very dramatic but when u spend every second of everyday w one human u realize how much they’ve changed ur life. … I’m gonna miss u like crazy, but i know god has set u up for the best thing he has instore.”

In response, Sanchez wrote “there is no me without you.”

“This is going to hurt for a long time,” she continued. “I love you forever best friend, wouldn’t change our friendship for the world.”

The 2024 Solheim Cup tees off on Friday, with US golf stars looking to topple three-time defending champs Europe in the team tournament's 19th iteration.

Alternating between European and US host courses each edition, teams compete in three days of match play, collecting one point for every win and a half-point for every tie. The US needs a total of 14.5 points to take this year's Cup outright, while Europe needs just 14 to retain it. 

Team USA spans 12 of the sport's top-ranked and most decorated athletes, including Nelly Korda, Allisen Corpuz, Lauren Coughlin, Megan Khang, Ally Ewing, Lilia Vu, Rose Zhang, and the soon-to-retire Lexi Thompson.

US golfers on a mission to reclaim Solheim Cup dominance

Team Europe​ has held the Cup since 2019, but the margins have been razor thin. The 2023 event actually ended in a 14-14 tie, but as reigning champions, Europe retained the title in what the team considers their eighth victory over the US.

While the US holds the advantage over Europe in overall Solheim Cup wins, they haven't raised the trophy in seven years. And unlike other competitions with continuously swelling prize purses, only international bragging rights are on the line here.

Neither team has ever won four consecutive titles, and the US will aim to keep Europe from claiming that historic victory on home soil in Gainesville, Virginia, this weekend.

Star US golfer Nelly Korda sees Solheim Cup as "unfinished business"

All eyes are now on Team USA's Korda, who's coming off a banner 2024 after winning six different LPGA Tour events, including her second major.

"Whenever you get to wear the red, white, and blue and stars and stripes, there's a different meaning to it," the world No. 1 golfer told the BBC earlier this week. "You're playing not just for yourself, but for your captains, for your teammates, and your country, and there's just nothing like it. We have got some unfinished business."

How to watch the 2024 Solheim Cup women's golf tournament

The Solheim Cup starts Friday, September 13th, at 7:05 AM, with live coverage across NBC, the Golf Channel, and Peacock.

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, Claire takes a moment to talk about the final few days of Alex Morgan’s professional career, how the soccer world has changed since Morgan’s debut, and how the star herself spoke about what’s next.

Then, she discusses what Angel Reese’s season-ending injury means for the WNBA playoff race, salutes the US Open, reflects on the 2024 Paralympic Games, and more.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

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The USYNT cruised to the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup knockout round in historic fashion on Saturday, routing Paraguay 7-0 in Bogotá, Colombia, thanks to stellar showings from young NCAA and NWSL standouts.

Armed with the most pros to ever feature on a US U-20 World Cup roster with eight NWSL rookies, the USYNT pulled off the largest U-20 WWC win in team history.

The US hasn't won a U-20 WWC in 12 years​, with 2024 marking the first time they've made it out of the tournament's group stage since 2016.

Young NWSL and NCAA players level up the U-20 game

Though long viewed as inferior to Europe and its club-based academy system, US players opting to turn pro at younger ages are making the USYNT increasingly competitive — a trend that's also pushing college programs to new heights.

In Saturday's win, Angel City defender Gisele Thompson​ and Utah Royals rookie Ally Sentnor both found the back of the net, while the youngest goal-scorer in Seattle Reign history, winger Emeri Adames, tied Heather O'Reilly's 2002 national record for most assists in a single U-20 World Cup game with three in the first half. 

Representing the NCAA, Princeton junior Pietra Tordin made her U-20 World Cup scoring debut count with a hat trick — the first US player to do so since Savannah DeMelo in 2018.

USYNT to face Mexico in U-20 knockout clash

Unlike previous editions, this year's expanded U-20 World Cup​ includes a Round of 16 for the first time. 

The USYNT will face regional rival Mexico tomorrow, a team they lost to in the 2023 Concacaf Championship​ final before settling two July friendlies with a draw and a win.

How to watch the US vs. Mexico at the U-20 World Cup

Catch the US women's youth national team take on Mexico in U-20 World Cup action at 9 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage on FS2.

Already one of the most popular women’s spectator sports in the US, the 2024 NCAA volleyball season is off to the races this month as the shifting lines of modern college sports plays out in real time​.

Thanks to major conference realignments, regional rivalries turned national storylines will drive the narrative all the way to December's NCAA tournament.

The Big Ten's big changes

At the forefront of these shifts is longtime volleyball powerhouse the Big Ten, which welcomed USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington from the Pac-12 this summer to bring the conference total to 18 teams​.

Added travel, raucous home crowds, and even fiercer competition will play into the conference's season storyline as Midwest heavyweights Wisconsin and Nebraska meet West Coast specialists in a quest to bring the Big Ten its first NCAA title since 2021.

"We knew the venues, everything was comfortable," Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer, speaking with JWS at last month's Big Ten Media Day​ in Chicago, said of his team’s former Pac-12 home. "I think we're going to [see] a lot of uncomfortableness this year, just with new change."

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Surprises and upsets already define the 2024 season

Mirroring that uncertainty, several 2023 heavy-hitters​ have already produced surprising results this season. Two-time defending champion Texas fell to Minnesota in early non-conference play and again to unranked Miami last weekend, while Wisconsin went 0-3 before picking up a pair of weekend wins.

Then last week, 2023 runners-up Nebraska suffered a historic upset loss to unranked SMU, though they also bounced back with weekend victories.

With Power 10 rankings already a rollercoaster, expect even more impressive performances, greater parity, and larger crowds as college volleyball rides its meteoric rise through 2024.