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Caylee Waters on Joining Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse

Caylee Waters Goalkeeper on field / JWS
Caylee Waters Goalkeeper on field / JWS

Caylee Waters is a lacrosse goalie who will suit up to play for Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse in their inaugural season next summer. The new league will feature a unique, player-focused scoring system, with teams being redrafted each week as players compete for individual prizes. Waters is also a member of the US Women’s National Team and was a two-time National Goalie of the Year as a student-athlete at the University of North Carolina.

What originally sold you on the vision of Athletes Unlimited?

What sold me was the opportunity to continue bringing exposure to the game of lacrosse. Lacrosse is a sport I love, no matter what, and this an opportunity for us to grow the game. Even though the other leagues may not have worked out, we still had fan engagement, and people still refer to those leagues as ways to get to know players. After the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League folded, there weren’t any other options out there to play professional lacrosse apart from the U.S. national team, which only happens every four years. I was excited that there is now an opportunity, and having this league as a resource for the sport is what made me excited to hop on board.

What was the recruiting pitch and have you been recruiting other players since joining the roster? 

It hasn’t been my role necessarily to recruit other players. They had reached out to me about a few months ago and pitched this idea on a deck. It was totally a brand new concept, so I sat on it for a bit. They were great about letting me take my time with the process and ask questions.

I heard from softball player Gwen Svekis about her experience with the softball league, and she shared areas in which it was awesome in addition to what they learned they can work on as a league, and as players, to make it better next year. I was glad to hear it wasn’t all “hey, here’s all the great things that it’s going to be,” but that they were honest.

Lacrosse stats aren’t as clean cut as softball’s. What have you heard about what the point system will look like? And what are your overall thoughts on how it will work? 

I’m not too familiar with how it’s going to work specifically with lacrosse. I think they’re still coordinating and ironing out those details regarding the point system. I think it’s going to be an adjustment. It’s different.

Additionally, coming from a background of four years of college lacrosse, where you hear a lot emphasis on a team, this feels like a big mind shift to now focus on your individual stats. But what’s important to note is that although there are individual stats, these individual stats are dependent on other factors. A goal often depends on multiple players. So there is still that team concept, in addition to the fact you get points based on your team’s win. The game is not entirely individualized, which I like.

Another unique aspect of the AU format is how teams are re-drafted each week of the season by whichever players scored the most the week before. Do you have any initial thoughts on how you think that’ll go?

This is very different, so I’m excited to see how it goes. I’m not sure what it’s going to be like.

It’s similar to being back on the playground where you pick teams, and there’s always someone who has to be last, but no one ever wants to be that person. But at the end of the day, we all get the opportunity to play lacrosse.

We know the play will be fast because of the field size and shot clock — what other impacts are you predicting on play?

The game’s going to be a lot faster and it’s going to require people who usually are defenders or attackers to build their skills on the other side of the field because the ball will be moving back and forth so much. That will be fun to see. The game is going to be a lot more engaging given it has less players and smaller space. Each player is more involved than they would be in a bigger field with more people, where sometimes you could not see the ball for a long period of time. I think there will be a lot more involvement all around the field.

Obviously, there’s been a big push to get lacrosse in the Olympics in the near future. How do you think this league will impact that effort? 

Hopefully this inspires lacrosse players around the world. In the WPLL, they took a couple of trips to Japan and played lacrosse with them, in addition to getting a player from Japan involved in the league. Hopefully lacrosse will grow, and people all over the world can see it, aspire to be part of it, aspire to level up their game. And hopefully there being a lot more representation of the sport across the world leads to it being considered for the Olympics.

I know you have a full-time job, and I’m sure a lot of the other players have full time jobs too, or at least coaching positions that are full time positions. How do you balance that with being a professional athlete? Especially, when this is going to be a six week season. 

I have some confidence, because I have experience working from home while balancing training for the U.S. team. I think it’ll work out, since the games are on the weekend. The AU softball league had people who were able to work full time. They had people with kids and families who had to balance family time with being away. The league is understanding, and I feel it will be balanced. It’s what I’m used to: In college, you have to put academics first and then athletics. When you have a passion for something, you find a way to make it work.

Chelsea Completes Domestic Treble with 2025 FA Cup Win Over Man United

Catarina Macario celebrates her goal during Chelsea's 2025 FA Cup win.
USWNT star Catarina Macario scored Chelsea FC’s second goal to secure the 2025 FA Cup and the treble. (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Adding to their already historic season, 2024/25 WSL champions and 2025 League Cup winners Chelsea FC handed Manchester United a 3-0 defeat in Sunday's 2025 FA Cup final, completing the club's second-ever domestic treble.

Though the Blues first claimed an elusive treble in the 2020/21 season, this year's roster did so without dropping a single match in any of the three domestic competitions.

"I could not have expected this," said first-year Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor about her debut success leading the Blues. "It is almost ideal in terms of domestic dominance."

To clinch that dominance, Chelsea upended the defending FA Cup champs Manchester United at London's iconic Wembley Stadium behind a brace from French fullback Sandy Baltimore and a header from USWNT attacker Catarina Macario.

Baltimore gave Chelsea the lead by slipping a late first-half penalty past 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove winner and USWNT goalkeeper prospect Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and the Blues never relented, with second-half sub Macario doubling their scoreline in the 84th minute before Baltimore tacked on a final goal in stoppage time.

"It's a very emotional day," an emotional Macario told the broadcast after finishing her first season following a long ACL recovery. "It's a trophy we always wanted to win."

"All the credit to my players," said Bompastor. "We showed our mentality and our values in this game so we ended the season in an almost perfect scenario – we won, we were playing at Wembley, the stadium was nearly sold out, and we had a strong performance and result against a strong opponent."

"It is an almost ideal way to finish the season."

A screen shows the 74,412 attendance at Wembley Stadium during the 2025 FA Cup final.
Sunday's FA Cup final was the third straight with a crowd over 74,000 fans. (Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)

FA Cup crowds prove sustained demand for women's soccer

Chelsea FC's undefeated treble-winning season wasn't the only notable victory on Sunday, as the FA Cup final drew a crowd of over 74,000 fans for the third straight year.

Sunday's 74,412 attendance mark was just shy of both last year's crowd of 76,082 and the 77,390 fans who watched Chelsea defeat the Red Devils in 2023 — all well beyond the tournament final's previous record of 49,094 attendees achieved in 2022.

Fueled by the football fervor following England's 2022 Euro victory — the country's first international trophy, men's or women's, since the 1966 men's World Cup — the 2023 FA Cup final still stands as the largest crowd at a domestic women's soccer match across all nations.

With Sunday's match joining the over-74,000 attendance club, it's clear the post-Euros enthusiasm wasn't a blip, but a boost to the continued growth and sustained success of the women's game.

WNBA Injury Report Mounts After Opening-Weekend Slate

LA's Rae Burrell shoots a free throw during a 2025 WNBA preseason game.
LA Sparks guard Rae Burrell is expected to miss six to eight weeks of WNBA play due to a knee injury. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

While most WNBA stars hit the court running this weekend, a few saw their 2025 campaigns already shortened as teams released season-opening injury reports.

Phoenix forward Kahleah Copper will miss four to six weeks of play, the Mercury reported on Saturday, after the 2024 Olympic gold medalist underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on her left knee last week.

Another knee injury has LA's Rae Burrell sidelined for the next six to eight weeks, after the fourth-year guard took a knock to the right leg just 41 seconds into the Sparks' 2025 debut win over Golden State.

On Friday, the Mystics released updates on both second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards and rookie guard Georgia Amoore. While another assessment of the Unrivaled 1v1 runner-up's back injury will occur in two more weeks, Washington confirmed that the Australian standout will miss the entire 2025 WNBA season after undergoing a successful surgery to repair her right ACL.

Seattle's Katie Lou Samuelson is also out for the full 2025 campaign, with the 27-year-old Storm forward recovering from last week's successful surgery after tearing her right ACL in practice on May 1st.

Las Vegas's Elizabeth Kitley shoots a basket during a 2025 WNBA preseason game.
2024 Las Vegas draftee Elizabeth Kitley returned from injury to make her WNBA debut on Saturday. (Louis Grasse/Getty Images)

Kitley makes long-awaited WNBA debut as Brink eyes return

In more uplifting news, LA's Cameron Brink is on track to return to the Sparks sometime next month, one year after her standout rookie season came to a halt in a left ACL tear.

Already celebrating, however, is 2024 second-round draftee Elizabeth Kitley, who battled back from injury to make her WNBA debut and score her first league points in Las Vegas's Saturday loss to New York.

The Aces took a draft chance on Kitley, despite the center suffering an ACL tear in her final NCAA postseason. In response, the former Virginia Tech star successfully translated her year-long delayed shot at a pro career by surviving Las Vegas's brutal 2025 roster cuts.

Notably, Kitley's close friend and collegiate on-court counterpart with the Hokies is the aforementioned Amoore, who will aim for a rookie-season redo of her own next year.

Kansas City Eyes the NWSL Shield as Gotham Skid Continues

Temwa Chawinga celebrates her game-winning goal against Orlando with Kansas City teammates Bia Zaneratto and Debinha.
First-place Kansas City has a four-point lead in the 2025 NWSL Shield race after this weekend's win. (Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images)

The No. 1 Kansas City Current strengthened their grip on the 2025 NWSL Shield race on Friday, taking down now-No. 3 Orlando 1-0 on the road to earn a four-point lead atop of the NWSL table.

Reigning league MVP Temwa Chawinga scored the top-table game's lone goal. With five goals in nine matches, Chawinga now sits in a four-way tie for second place in the 2025 Golden Boot race.

"If you don't come with heart, you have no chance," Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after the match. "And today I think we showed heart."

Kansas City now stands 7-2-0 on the season, putting the NWSL Shield firmly within their grasp.

Kansas City's rise aside, the weekend's biggest drama hovered near the playoff line.

Gotham FC fell to No. 2 San Diego 1-0 on Friday, sending the Bats skidding to No. 8 on a three-game winless streak while boxing No. 9 North Carolina out of playoff contention — despite the rising Courage securing their third win in four games with Saturday's 2-0 victory over last-place Chicago.

"Obviously, we were hot for a little bit, and teams have slumps all the time, so now it's just finding a way," Gotham midfielder Jaelin Howell said of the team's recent struggles.

While some rebuilds soar, last year's postseason contenders are still finding their way as the league moves into the second third of the 2025 season.

WNBA Launches Investigation into Fan Misconduct After Clark-Reese Spat

Indiana's Caitlin Clark commits a hard foul on Chicago's Angel Reese during their 2025 WNBA season opener.
The WNBA is investigating Indiana fan conduct after Caitlin Clark’s Flagrant 1 foul on Angel Reese. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Indiana's 35-point blowout win over Chicago wasn't Saturday's only newsmaker, as a controversial foul on Sky forward Angel Reese by Fever guard Caitlin Clark sparked intense off-court conversations and a WNBA investigation into subsequent fan misconduct.

Clark's third-quarter foul against Reese incited a brief dust-up between the second-year stars, with Clark's offense upgraded to a Flagrant 1 while Reese and Fever center Aliyah Boston picked up a pair of offsetting technicals for their reactions.

"Basketball play. Refs got it right. Move on," Reese said after the game, while Clark told reporters, "It was just a good play on the basketball. I'm not sure what the ref saw to upgrade it, and that's up to their discretion."

Immediately following the flagrant ruling, however, Indiana fans allegedly directed racially charged remarks toward Reese, prompting the league to open an investigation on Sunday.

Officials acknowledged allegations of racist abuse inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, saying the WNBA "strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms," and that they're "looking into the matter."

"We stand firm in our commitment to providing a safe environment for all WNBA players," said Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines, who oversees the Fever, in a statement.

"We will do everything in our power to protect Chicago Sky players, and we encourage the league to continue taking meaningful steps to create a safe environment for all WNBA players," echoed Sky CEO and president Adam Fox.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Fever-related fan misconduct has taken center stage, as last season's storylines start to spill over into the 2025 WNBA campaign.

In anticipation of the issue, the league launched "No Space for Hate" on Thursday, describing the campaign as "a multi-dimensional platform designed to combat hate and promote respect across all WNBA spaces — from online discourse to in-arena behavior."

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