In the same game U.S. legend Carli Lloyd concluded her final NWSL regular season, young Racing Louisville FC attacker Cece Kizer put the finishing touches on a breakout year.

Both scored in Sunday’s 1-1 draw between Racing Louisville and NJ/NY Gotham FC. Lloyd buried a header to give Gotham the lead in the 53rd minute, only to be matched by Kizer’s penalty kick 16 minutes later for her seventh career goal in lavender.

Kizer, a 2019 second-round draft pick of the Houston Dash, joined Racing Louisville last year through the NWSL Expansion Draft. The 24-year-old has been a bright spot in the club’s first year, finishing the regular season tied for sixth on the NWSL scoring list with five goals.

“I look to Cece as a potential national team player and I’ve told her that, hands down, so I’m looking forward to her future,” said Louisville interim coach Mario Sanchez.

Kizer hears the praise and is channeling it into her play.

“I’ve heard it from a variety of the coaching staff, and it’s just a pleasure to know that they have that confidence in me and that they can see that for me in my career,” she said.

“Obviously it’s a goal to make the national team and be in the pool, in the talks and all that. I’m going to keep working, take a couple weeks off here and then get ready and get back at it in the offseason and get ready to come out here and keep my name in the loop next year.”

Kizer has been in the mix for the United States women’s national team. In August 2019, she was named to the U23 team for the Nordic Cup; prior to that, she attended a U23 training camp in 2017 and again in 2018.

She’s only helped her case by showcasing her versatility for Louisville this season. After playing as the high nine earlier in the year, she moved out wide and later shifted back to the center as an attacking midfielder. Taking on a variety of roles has helped the former Ole Miss star develop different sides of her game. Ultimately, she prefers her current central midfield position.

“I like to find those pockets and get assists, finding people through and also to keep working on finishing,” she said.

With her penalty-kick goal on Sunday, Kizer passed Ebony Salmon as Racing Louisville’s leading scorer through its first season.

“I wasn’t surprised as she stepped up and buried it,” Sanchez said of Sunday’s goal. “I mean, there’s no question you know that that ball is going in.”

.@cecekizer from the spot 🎯#NJNYvLOU | https://t.co/bONPZnnmCJ | #NWSL21 pic.twitter.com/OyMhvIbvVl

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 31, 2021

Even with Kizer’s success in front of net this season, the Louisville coaching staff thinks she can become a more polished finisher.

“It’s good to know that the coaching staff and Mario see potential in me,” Kizer said. “I’m just going to keep working and improve different areas of my game.”

Kizer has taken major steps in the last month, not only because she’s had the opportunity to settle into the central midfield but also because the expansion team has finally clicked. Louisville, despite missing the playoffs as the second-to-last team in the league, went unbeaten in their final three matches — a record streak for the new franchise.

If Kizer and the team can maintain that rate of improvement through the offseason, she will be one of the top attackers to watch in 2022.

Jessa Braun is an editorial intern for Just Women’s Sports. She is also the Head of North American Content for the Women’s Sports Alliance. You can find her on Twitter @jessabraun.

The 2025 NCAA volleyball championship game is officially on lock, as No. 3-seed Texas A&M and No. 1-seed Kentucky survived Thursday's semifinals to punch their tickets to Sunday's season finale.

After snapping overall top-seed Nebraska's undefeated season in last weekend's Elite Eight round, The Aggies kept their history-making hot streak alive, blowing past No. 1 Pitt as the first team to sweep the Panthers all year.

Leading the charge for A&M were sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers and senior opposite Logan Lednicky, who registered 16 and 14 kills, respectively, on the Final Four court in Kansas City.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

As for the last No. 1 seed standing, Kentucky survived No. 3 Wisconsin in a five-set thriller on Thursday, following the example of senior outside hitter Eva Hudson, whose 29 kills trailed only the semifinals-leading 32 posted by Badger senior outside hitter — and fellow AVCA Player of the Year finalist — Mimi Colyer.

With Kentucky hoping to add to their 2020 Division I title — the only NCAA volleyball championship in SEC history — the conference already owns the 2025 trophy, as Thursday set up the sport's first-ever all-SEC national final.

Though the 2025 SEC champion Wildcats seemingly have the edge over the conference's runners-up — Kentucky took down Texas A&M 3-1 in October — A&M's current momentum is undeniable, with the Aggies riding into Sunday's clash having ousted two No. 1 seeds and one No. 2 seed en route to a program-first national final.

"We are considered the underdog in a lot of these moments just [because] we haven't been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces," said Lednicky. "So why not us?"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship

No. 3 Texas A&M will battle No. 1 Kentucky for the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship at 3:30 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ABC.

Retired WNBA icon Sylvia Fowles is returning to the court, with ESPN reporting on Wednesday that the former Minnesota Lynx star center will join the staff of the Portland Fire, becoming an assistant coach for the 2026 expansion team.

After reportedly fielding multiple offers of WNBA coaching opportunities, the 40-year-old will back up recently announced Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama during the team's debut season, with the opportunity to help mold a fresh league roster and create culture from day one serving as a deciding factor in Fowles choosing the expansion franchise.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

The 2025 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee's resume underlines her ability to make an impact from the sideline, as the beloved WNBA alum packs both championship experience and a defensive mindset to aid a team still forming its identity.

In a 14-year playing career split between the Chicago Sky and Minnesota, the 2017 WNBA MVP won two league titles, earning Finals MVP honors alongside each of those Lynx championships.

A four-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Fowles exited her pro career as the league's all-time rebounds leader with 4,007 boards — a stat that held until current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles passed the Hall of Famer in September 2024.

The eight-time All-Star also shined on the international stage, as Fowles snagged four Olympic gold medals during her time with Team USA.

With the 18-team UWCL league phase now done and dusted, the 12 clubs still standing discovered their paths to the Final in the 2025/26 Champions League knockouts draw on Thursday.

While the top four clubs — No. 1 Barcelona, No. 2 OL Lyonnes, No. 3 Chelsea FC, and No. 4 Bayern Munich — punched their way into March's quarterfinals behind elite league-phase performances, the remaining eight teams must battle in February's playoffs in order to advance.

Thursday's draw has reigning champs No. 5 Arsenal facing Belgian side No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the playoffs, but the Gunners then face a difficult road in the UWCL knockouts, staring down a potential quarterfinal clash with WSL rivals Chelsea as eight-time UWCL winners OL Lyonnes looms on the same side of the semifinal bracket.

Elsewhere, No. 7 Real Madrid have an opportunity to make UWCL history should they win their playoff tie against No. 10 Paris FC, setting up the tournament's first-ever El Clásico with a possible quarterfinal match against perennial winners Barcelona.

How to watch the 2025/26 Champions League Playoffs

The first-leg of the 2025/26 UWCL playoffs kick off with No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven hosting No. 5 Arsenal at 12:45 PM ET on February 11th, with No. 7 Real Madrid visiting No. 10 Paris FC at 3 PM ET.

The following day, No. 8 Juventus will take on hosts No. 9 Wolfsburg at 12:45 PM ET before No. 11
Atlético de Madrid faces the visiting No. 6 Manchester United at 3 PM ET.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.

The NWSL Players Association is not on board with the league's latest proposal, rejecting the NWSL's new "High Impact Player" rule allowing teams to exceed the salary cap by up to $1 million to retain star athletes.

According to the current CBA, the union — rather than the league — has the final sign-off on all changes regarding compensation.

"The league is trying to control and interfere by trying to dictate which players [benefit from] this pot of funds," NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told ESPN. "How you measure a player's value, both in terms of sporting merit and business criteria, is nuanced. It is more complicated than a handful of bullet points."

The NWSLPA has instead suggested that the league simply raise the 2026 salary cap by $1 million, giving clubs the same spending discretion without the star player mechanism.

Citing concerns about the rule's potential long-term implications on the market, roster structures, and locker-room culture, Burke noted that "We just don't feel that it delivers anything of value that simply increasing the team salary cap wouldn't, without having negative consequences."

"Our position is that teams — GMs, soccer ops, business folks at the team level — are uniquely positioned to make judgment calls about how to structure their rosters, how to negotiate deals," Burke continued. "It is within the purview of the teams to make those judgement calls, and in a system of free agency like we all agreed to, that's how it works. It's a free market."

"We are actively reviewing feedback from the NWSLPA as part of the consultation process outlined in the CBA," an NWSL spokesperson said in response.

"The league remains committed to being the home of the world's best talent, and this path gives our clubs the opportunity to pursue that goal while raising overall player investment."