All Scores

Ashlyn Harris finds lessons in adversity: ‘I want people to know me’

Gotham FC goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris won two World Cups with the USWNT in 2015 and 2019. (Photo courtesy of Versus)

Ashlyn Harris won’t lie: It’s been a tough year.

Before the 2022 NWSL season began, she and her family moved from the familiar confines of Florida to the fast-paced lifestyle of New York City. After growing up in Florida and playing for the Orlando Pride since 2016, Harris was traded to NJ/NY Gotham FC in December alongside wife and teammate Ali Krieger. All of a sudden, they needed to find a new school for daughter Sloane (some of the schools had two-year waiting lists) and hire new nannies. Their lives got even busier in August with the adoption of their second child, Ocean.

Meanwhile, in life outside their home, emotions were running high as multiple parties conducted investigations into abuse, harassment and discrimination in the NWSL. On Oct. 1, U.S. Soccer released the Sally Yates report, which revealed new details of “systemic” sexual and emotional abuse by former NWSL coaches and attempts by club and league officials to cover it up. The NWSL and NWSLPA are expected to release their own joint investigation by the end of the year.

“I just feel like it’s been a really, really tough NWSL year for a lot of people with all of the stuff going on,” Harris recently told Just Women’s Sports. “I’m happy that we now can move forward. I’m happy that we’re building a culture where safety is the priority of the players, and I feel like a lot of players in the NSWL are just tired. So I’m happy to start anew and start a new culture moving forward where the players’ health and safety come first.

“Soccer is just the game we play. I just want to make sure that everyone’s safe and mentally OK.”

On top of all of those moving parts, Gotham FC finished dead-last in the 2022 NWSL standings with four wins, 17 losses and one draw despite making numerous high-profile additions in the offseason. Harris and Krieger have since demanded change from the franchise, knowing there’s vast potential with the new ownership group, including sports celebrities Eli Manning, Sue Bird and Kevin Durant.

“It’s definitely been tough because I love winning,” Harris said of the season. “I love competing, but also I understand that there can only be one winner. That’s why I love this sport. That’s why it’s so challenging at the highest level.

“The air is very thin at the top, and I think that’s what drives me every day to continue doing what I do and continue being the best at my craft and dedicating time and energy and effort into being the best player and person I can possibly be every day.”

Harris has never been one to let material success define her. In her home office, there aren’t medals or award plaques, or any trace of the two decades that the two-time World Cup champion has played at various levels of the U.S. women’s national team.

“That stuff collects dust,” the goalkeeper said.

Being a soccer star is only a small part of Harris’ identity. She hopes her legacy will be about much more than success on the field.

“I want people to know me, like genuinely know me, feel me, see me,” Harris said. “That I, in some small way, have changed their life on a personal level. I’ve impacted them. That when I am no longer here, people know me for the way I made them feel.”

She has 36 years of experience in life and soccer that she’s ready to share with others.

To Harris, there’s no better way to achieve that than to become a mentor to young athletes. This month, Harris launched a partnership with Versus, a sports edtech platform that trains kids on the physical and mental skills needed to succeed in sports and life. Originally offering courses in baseball and softball, Versus added a soccer vertical that Harris joined alongside Krieger and USWNT teammate Kelley O’Hara.

Known for her candidness, Harris is giving aspiring athletes the chance to get to know her and ask her personal questions about how she’s handled adversity, such as in the past year. She hopes to provide them with the tools to understand themselves off the field in a way that will help them overcome their own challenges.

One of Harris’ key points in her mentorship is the power of what happens when no one is watching. Those decisions, she says, are what separate the good from the great because, while everyone at the top is technically gifted, their mindsets aren’t always the same.

img
(Photo courtesy of Versus)

The toughest challenges Harris has faced are injuries. Over the course of her soccer career, she’s torn her ACL and lateral meniscus, and in September she underwent knee surgery as Gotham stumbled to last place in the standings. Recovery periods, she says, are when she makes the tough, off-field choices that shape her the most.

“It’s a really, really tough mental place to be in because you have to get fit again. You have to get played in again. You don’t just hop back in where you left off … you can’t slip or someone else will take your job,” she said. “When you get to those points in your career, where you’re at a crossroads, like, ‘Man, can I even do this? Am I going to be able to come back from this?’ That’s when you build character and that’s when you learn the most about yourself, is when you’re in the trenches.”

Harris commits to the same decision every time: She never quits.

“I think a lot of people throw the towel in when it gets too hard and I just don’t have that in me. I just have never quit at anything in my life,” she said. “Ask my wife. We compete like crazy. It’s hilarious in our household, but that’s the way we tick. That’s the difference between people who are good and people who are excellent.”

Harris spent hours filming episodes for the Versus soccer launch, which give users the ability to ask questions and receive responses through conversational video A.I. technology. She doesn’t want to “snow plow” or move obstacles for the athletes she’s mentoring, but she hopes to give them the tools to do it on their own.

“Life is tough. It’s hard, and I don’t like to sugarcoat that for people,” she said.

“I just try to continue every day to improve and be the best version of myself. I can only control my mental, physical, emotional state.”

Through the trials of the past year, Harris is finally starting to see the life that she imagined for herself and her family in New York coming together.

“It’s definitely been really great,” she said of the city. “I love the diversity. I love the culture. I love the acceptance. I love feeling safe in New York. It seems like overall, being a biracial, queer family, it’s an easier landing for us.”

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

2025 NCAA Softball Kicks Off as Oklahoma Hunts 5th-Straight World Series Win

Oklahoma and Texas line up on the softball field before the second game of the 2024 Women's College World Series.
Oklahoma will pursue their fifth-straight NCAA softball title this season. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

College softball is back, with a new-look Oklahoma team kicking off the 2025 NCAA season in pursuit of a fifth-straight Women's College World Series win.

Despite Oklahoma's ongoing dominance, 2025's lineup does promise significantly higher parity than seasons past.

Having graduated a number of last year's stars — including a senior class that snagged four straight national titles — the Sooners enter the season ranked third.

Instead, 2024 runner-up Texas takes the top spot, followed by perennial contenders Florida at No. 2. Both teams enter 2025 with the majority of their rosters from last season intact, earning them an edge over the revamped Sooners.

Texas star catcher Reese Atwood blasts a double during a 2024 NCAA Softball Regional game against Northwestern.
Star slugger Reese Atwood is back to lead the Texas softball offense. (David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Texas on top as SEC looms

Still hunting a first national championship, Texas returns with six starters and four of their five 2024 pitchers — including then-freshman phenom Teagan Kavan, who led the team with 20 wins last year.

Meanwhile, last season's Big 12 Player of the Year, junior catcher Reese Atwood, is back to lead the Longhorn offense.

After joining rival Oklahoma in flipping to the SEC this year, Texas is gearing up to meet their new conference foes with the No. 1 target on their backs.

"It's a great honor, to tell you the truth," Texas head coach Mike White said about the preseason ranking. "And now we got to back it up. We’ve had a team that's been called young in the years past, and now we're a little more mature."

"We have a tough slate of games ahead of us, and then, of course, the gauntlet of the SEC is ahead of us," White noted. "We’ve really just got to go play good softball now."

The impact of conference realignment will extend beyond the SEC this season. The sport's historic dynasty No. 6 UCLA is now competing in the Big Ten while No. 4 Oklahoma State is taking over the top spot in the Big 12 rankings.

Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady winds up from the circle during a 2024 NCAA Softball Super Regionals game against LSU.
A $1 million NIL deal convinced 2024 National Player of the Year NiJaree Canady to transfer to Texas Tech. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

2025 NCAA softball season takes the field

As multiple teams travel to warm-weather destinations to start the season, the first week of competition showcases a slate of top-ranked matchups.

With a top-tier win already in the books, No. 4 Oklahoma State opened their 2025 campaign with a bang at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on Thursday. Buoyed by a trio of home runs, the Cowgirls handed No. 12 Florida State a 9-6 loss.

Waiting on deck at this week's NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida, are two ranked games featuring superstar pitchers.

First, No. 16 Nebraska ace Jordy Bahl — a two-time NCAA champion with Oklahoma — will likely take the circle against No. 5 Tennessee on Thursday. If she gets the start, it will mark her first game in nearly a year, as the Cornhusker transfer suffered a season-ending ACL injury in last year's opener.

Then on Friday, a revamped No. 10 Texas Tech side will face No. 25 Mississippi State, with former Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady likely leading the charge.

The 2024 National Player of the Year transferred after her sophomore season with the Cardinal, as Texas Tech sealed the deal via a record-shattering $1 million NIL contract.

Oklahoma softball pitcher Jordy Bahl winds up during the 2023 Women's College World Series against Florida State.
Star transfer Jordy Bahl is back with Nebraska softball after missing 2024 play with an ACL tear. (Grace Bradley/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's Top 25 NCAA softball games

Look for Bahl to lead No. 16 Nebraska against No. 5 Tennessee at 7 PM ET on Thursday, before No. 25 Mississippi State will contend with Canady and No. 10 Texas Tech at 5 PM ET on Friday.

Both games will stream live on the GameChanger app.

Unrivaled Basketball Drops 1v1 Tournament Bracket

Napheesa Collier and Stefanie Dolson tip off an Unrivaled basketball game.
The winner of the Unrivaled 1v1 tournament will earn $200,000 in prize money. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball's 1v1 tournament is fast approaching,​ with the offseason league dropping the competition's official bracket on Wednesday.

The head-to-head showdown tips off on Monday, February 10th, with the semifinals and three-game final series all tipping off on Friday, February 14th. 

Fan votes determined the seeding for the debut league's first-ever in-season tournament. Those ballots gave the Mist's Jewell Loyd and Vinyl's Arike Ogunbowale first-round byes, moving them straight into Tuesday's quarterfinal round.

Meanwhile, the other 28 competitors have four rounds to overcome to claim the trophy — not to mention $200,000 in prize money.

Breaking down the Unrivaled 1v1 bracket

Some early battles will be tougher than others, as Unrivaled co-founder and current scoring leader Napheesa Collier takes on fellow UConn alum Katie Lou Samuelson. The winner of that matchup then faces either Jackie Young or Rickea Jackson.

Collier's fellow co-founder Breanna Stewart — also a UConn product — drew 2024 UConn standout Aaliyah Edwards in Monday's first round. The winner subsequently earns a second-round date against either Marina Mabrey or Kate Martin.

Despite her first-round bye, Ogunbowale's bracket quadrant appears to be a gauntlet.

The guard will first battle either fellow Notre Dame alum Skylar Diggins-Smith, who has four game-winners under her belt so far this season, or Vinyl teammate Dearica Hamby.

The Olympic 3×3 bronze medalist trails only Collier and Laces star Kayla McBride on Unrivaled's score sheet, averaging 21.2 points per game. Additionally, Hamby's 10.4 rebounding average has her sitting fourth in the league.

Should they advance, either McBride or Satou Sabally will await Ogunbowale in the quarterfinals.

Ultimately, every matchup is stacked considering the star-studded league's depth.

"I just want the top dawgs to knock each other out," joked Courtney Williams ahead of her own first-round clash with Tiffany Hayes, with the winner set to square off against either Rhyne Howard or Lexie Hull.

"[If] your shot's falling, really anyone can win 1v1," she continued. "It's all about who figured it out in that moment."

An official game ball rests on the Unrivaled basketball court in Miami, Florida.
The three-day 1v1 tournament will tip off on Monday. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

How to watch next week's Unrivaled 1v1 tournament

The inaugural contest's first round tips off at 2 PM ET on Monday, with live coverage on truTV. The evening session begins at 7 PM ET on TNT.

Both the second round and quarterfinals will air on truTV starting at 7 PM ET on Tuesday, with the semifinals and finals taking over both truTV and TNT on Friday beginning at 7:30 PM ET.

No. 1 UCLA Downs No. 8 OSU in Top 10 NCAA Basketball Action

UCLA center Lauren Betts lifts a shot over Ohio State during Wednesday's Big Ten basketball game.
UCLA center Lauren Betts registered 19 points and 14 rebounds in Wednesday's win. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

No. 1 UCLA added another Top 10 NCAA basketball win to their 2024/25 resume on Wednesday, tallying their second of the season after holding off Big Ten foe No. 8 Ohio State 65-52.

Despite Buckeye freshman Jaloni Cambridge's game-leading 21 points, Ohio State fell to a tough UCLA defense. The Bruins clamped down in the second and fourth quarters, relinquishing just 18 points to the Buckeyes across those two periods.

Meanwhile, UCLA junior Lauren Betts continued her National Player of the Year campaign, scoring a team-high 19 points plus 14 rebounds after clinching the double-double before the first-half buzzer.

Star junior guard Gabriela Jaquez narrowly trailed Betts, posting 17 points to help push UCLA over the line.

The victory marks a program-record 22nd consecutive win for the still-undefeated Bruins — their longest winning streak since 1978.

"I told the team after the game that these games are fun when they're close," Jaquez said afterwards. "This might have been one of the first games where it got close."

Top 10 NCAA upset rattles the Big 12

Wednesday didn't pan out as smoothly in the Big 12, where No. 12 Kansas State upset No. 9 TCU 59-50 in the Wildcats' first Top 10 win of the season. The victory broke the pair's tie atop the conference standings, putting Kansas State firmly in control of the Big 12.

While the Wildcat defense stifled TCU top scorers Sedona Prince and Hailey Van Lith, holding them to a respective 14 and 10 points, Kansas State senior Serena Sundell showed out on offense. The guard scored a season-high 27 points — 15 of which came during the Wildcats' third-quarter surge.

"[Sundell] lived at the rim," TCU head coach Mark Campbell told reporters after the game. "She absolutely destroyed us in the post. She just shot layups and layups and layups. That's what makes her unique is she's a 6-foot-2 versatile playmaker.... We didn't have an answer for that one."

UConn guard Azzi Fudd controls the ball against Tennessee during the rivals' 2022 basketball game.
Tennessee hosts historic rival UConn in a Top 20 matchup tonight. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

How to watch Top 20 NCAA basketball on Thursday

The NCAA action continues with historic rivals No. 5 UConn taking on No. 19 Tennessee at 6:30 PM ET tonight. That's when Paige Bueckers and the Huskies will take aim at Jewel Spear and the Vols, with live coverage on ESPN.

USWNT Star Midge Purce Signs One-Year NWSL Contract Extension with Gotham

Gotham winger Midge Purce holds the ball before a set piece during a March 2024 NWSL match.
Purce earned NWSL Championship MVP with Gotham in 2023. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

USWNT attacker Midge Purce re-signed with Gotham FC on a one-year deal Wednesday. The move quieted speculation about the star's future with the club.

The 29-year-old announced her return in classic fashion. She simply adding a two-word quote to Gotham's press release on Wednesday: "I'm back."

Purce played a major role in Gotham's 2023 title-winning run. She earned NWSL Championship MVP honors after assisting on both goals in NJ/NY's trophy-clinching match. However, she was sidelined for much of the subsequent season — her fifth at Gotham — after a late March 2024 ACL tear.

"Midge brings a number of great qualities to our team, and her dynamism and experience are great additions to our talented attacking group," Gotham GM Yael Averbuch West said in a statement. "We are very excited to welcome her back into the mix."

Purce signing helps ease Gotham's 2025 concerns

Securing the striker eases some fears about Gotham's plans for 2025. This offseason saw a number of high-profile exits including USWNT stars Lynn Biyendolo (née Williams), Crystal Dunn, Jenna Nighswonger, among others.

"We fully understand our journey won't always follow a straight path, and we are realistic about the time, fortitude, and effort required to achieve our goals," Averbuch West recently told fans in an open letter.

"I know this offseason has been a time of uncertainty for our fans, and I want you to know we've worked tirelessly to build a team you’ll be excited to stand behind in 2025 and every season after."

Ultimately, Purce's return rounds out a still-solid Gotham squad. Of course, the roster remains punctuated by USWNT mainstays Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett, and Tierna Davidson.

The team is currently in Spain for preseason training. They'll play a pair of closed-door scrimmages before returning to New Jersey to kick off the 2025 NWSL season.

Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.