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Concacaf: What should USWNT learn from Olympic loss to Canada?

Jessie Fleming of Team Canada celebrates after scoring against the USWNT at the Tokyo Olympics. (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

The U.S. women’s national team would like to forget its heartbreaking semifinal loss to Canada during the Tokyo Olympics. That, however, won’t be an option for the USWNT, as the squad gets set to face the Canadian national team for the first time since last August’s defeat.

The North American rivals will clash Monday in the Concacaf W Championship final with an Olympic berth on the line.

What should the USWNT learn from its Olympic loss to Canada?

The starting 11 that lined up for the USWNT’s Olympic semifinal in Tokyo featured very different faces compared to the United States’ regulars at the Concacaf W Championship.

In Tokyo, Alyssa Naeher started in goal, while Kelley O’Hara, Becky Sauerbrunn, Tierna Davidson and Crystal Dunn rounded out the backline. Julie Ertz, Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Horan made up the midfield, and Alex Morgan, Lynn Williams and Tobin Heath started up top.

Davidson, Dunn, Ertz, Williams and Health are not even in Mexico for this go-round with the USWNT due to a combination of pregnancies and injuries.

With so many new roster additions, s including Naomi Girma, Sofia Huerta, Ashley Sanchez and Sophia Smith, it’s hard to draw a throughline from the USWNT of the Tokyo Olympics to the USWNT of the Concacaf W Championship.

That doesn’t mean, though, that the squad can’t learn from the bronze-medal run at the Summer Games.

Like at this year’s Concacaf tournament, the USWNT relied on heavy rotation for the 2021 Olympics but failed to establish robust chemistry, producing a sputtering, disjointed offense.

“It’s hard to have a great performance when you have so much change,” commentator and former USWNT goalkeeper Briana Scurry said on CBS after the USWNT’s Thursday win. “That’s part of the continuity that is not there right now because there are so many players coming in and out based on minutes and what not.”

To overcome the lack of cohesion, the USWNT will need to deploy more creative and unexpected runs behind Canada’s backline to break down its opponent’s defensive structure.

The USWNT’s offense has grown into the tournament, but the team’s timing still looks slightly off, with balls not making it into the attacking third on time.

On the other side of the ball, USWNT players will also have their work cut out for them.

Canadian forward Janine Beckie has created the most chances of the Concacaf tournament, with the 27-year-old lethal on the flanks. The USWNT likes to get its outside backs up the pitch and involved in the attack, but Beckie could complicate things. Neutralizing Beckie will be key if the USWNT wants to continue its dominance on the flanks.

In the center of the pitch sits another danger in Jessie Flemming, with the Chelsea star able to dribble out of trouble in the midfield. Her distribution at center midfield is essential to spurring Canada’s attack, with Flemming expert at finding passes in compact space.

The USWNT will need a defensive counter to Flemming as the United States continues to find its depth in the No. 6 position.

Mentality also was a major talking point following the USWNT’s Olympic loss to Canada, and the USWNT will be eager to show that any locker room woes were left in Tokyo.

“I think at the end of the day, at some point, you got to, there’s all the preparation that you can do and there’s all the analyzing and there’s all the tactics and everything, and then there’s everything else,” Megan Rapinoe said of the team’s Olympic performance.  “And I think that’s what we’re missing, and you can’t put a name on ‘everything else.’ But it’s just the getting it done from players, from all of us.”

Coach Vlatko Andonovski has spoken extensively about the importance of testing his younger player during the Concacaf W Championship. Canada will be the USWNT’s most telling test yet.

The Concacaf W Championship final between the United States and Canada will kick off at 10 p.m. ET Monday on Paramount+.

Aryna Sabalenka Wins US Open Final, Becomes 1st Repeat Champion in 11 Years

World No. 1 tennis player Aryna Sabalenka poses with her 2025 US Open trophy.
World No. 1 tennis star Aryna Sabalenka won her first 2025 Grand Slam with her US Open championship win on Saturday. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Aryna Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam of the 2025 WTA season on Saturday, with the world No. 1 defeating then-No. 9 Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6(3) to claim the US Open trophy — the final Slam of the year.

"To bring the fight and be able to handle my emotions the way I did in this final, it means a lot," Sabalenka said following the match. "I'm super proud right now of myself."

After successfully defending her 2024 US Open title — and claiming tennis's top 2025 paycheck in the process — Sabalenka is now the tournament's first repeat champion since 2014, when Serena Williams claimed a third straight trophy at the New York Slam.

The 27-year-old narrowly avoided a Slam-less year, going without a trophy despite reaching both the Australian Open and French Open finals as well as the Wimbledon semifinals.

"I think because of the finals earlier this season, this one felt different," Sabalenka said. "All of those lessons are making me tougher, tougher, and tougher."

As for Anisimova, the US rising star added a new career-high WTA ranking alongside her second straight Grand Slam final appearance on her 2025 resume, rising to world No. 4 in Monday's update.

Also earning a noticeable bump on Monday was Japanese star Naomi Osaka, who clocked in at No. 14 after a stellar Grand Slam comeback run to the 2025 US Open semifinals.

2025 Expansion Team Golden State Valkyries Break WNBA Attendance Record

Golden State Valkyries mascot Violet the Raven sits in the splits on the court while firing a T-shirt gun into a sellout Chase Center crowd during a 2025 WNBA game.
The Golden State Valkyries have sold out every home game in the WNBA team's inaugural 2025 season. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Golden State Valkyries have made WNBA history yet again, setting a new league attendance record by selling out all 22 of the 2025 expansion team's home games this year — and doing so in their debut season.

Even more, the WNBA surpassed the 3 million-fan mark over the weekend, an historic first for the 29-year-old league.

A hit from the very first tip-off, the Valkyries have seen unprecedented support while becoming the first-ever expansion team to make the WNBA playoffs in their inaugural year.

Making the announcement in their final 2025 regular-season home stand against the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday, the Valkyries have officially seen fans fill every one of the Chase Center's maximum 18,064 seats all season — claiming a WNBA all-time record for any team's per-game average along the way.

With those season-long record crowds, Golden State also now owns the WNBA total attendance mark at 397,408 fans on the year.

Just behind Golden State are the Indiana Fever and New York Liberty — the only other WNBA teams that will close out the 2025 regular-season with average crowds over 16,000 and totals breaking the 300,000-fan mark.

With one home game still left to play for each team, Indiana has welcomed 349,313 total fans so far, while New York currently sits at a 341,575 total attendance for the 2025 WNBA season.

Attendance has skyrocketed across the WNBA year, thanks in part to the league adding both a 13th franchise as well as two more home games to each team's 2025 schedule.

As a result, the league demolished the previous season-high attendance of 2.36 million set in 2002 and, with 11 games still on the 2025 regular-season schedule, the WNBA is currently on track to push past the 3.1 million mark before the postseason tips off.

WNBA Titans Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore, and Sue Bird Inducted into Hall of Fame

Retired WNBA legends Sylvia Fowles, Sue Bird, and Maya Moore hold their induction trophies at the 2025 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony.
2025 inductees Sylvia Fowles, Sue Bird, and Maya Moore entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

Three retired WNBA icons received their flowers over the weekend, as Minnesota Lynx legends Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore and Seattle Storm great Sue Bird took their places in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday — making the 2025 WNBA class arguably the most dominant in HOF history.

"Now that I'm in the Hall, I believe I have become Auntie Maya," Moore said in her enshrinement speech. "I want to challenge you up-and-comers to learn to love and seek out joy and connection as your biggest motivator."

With 11 Olympic gold medals — more than any other HOF group — and 10 league championships between them, plus countless individual honors, Fowles, Bird, and Moore comprise the strongest women's basketball Hall of Fame class in history.

Even more, this is the first year that the Naismith has added a full trio of WNBA players to its hallowed halls — a testament to the unmatched careers of Bird, Moore, and Fowles.

"Put us on a 3×3 team, you'd have some problems — we'd be pretty good," Bird joked. "It is pretty special to go in with people who aren't just amazing players, having impact on and off the court, but these are players that I got to experience life with."

"I think that would be fair to say that they would have the title of best class ever," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve said.

Orlando Pride Falls to Chicago Stars as NWSL Skid Continues

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse watches from the ground as Chicago Stars forwards Ludmila and Ally Schlegel celebrate a goal during a 2025 NWSL match.
The No. 5 Orlando Pride fell 5-2 to the No. 13 Chicago Stars on Sunday. (Daniel Bartel/NWSL via Getty Images)

The 2025 NWSL season for the No. 5 Orlando Pride has taken a sharp downturn, as the reigning league champions are now winless in their last seven games following Sunday's 5-2 loss to the No. 13 Chicago Stars at Northwestern University's Martin Stadium.

While left back Carson Pickett and defensive midfielder Haley McCutcheon each managed to take a goal back for the Pride, a leaky Orlando back line saw five different Stars players hit the back of the net — including a 10th goal on the season for Chicago star striker Ludmila.

"I apologize to the fans that were watching at home, and I apologize to the fans that were here with their support. That was not us today and we have to get it right," Pride head coach Seb Hines said following the match.

Orlando have continued to slide down the NWSL standings since their last win on June 13th, most recently logging three straight losses as the team struggles to find their form following MVP candidate Barbra Banda's season-ending injury on August 16th.

One of the Pride's rare bright spots on Sunday was record-breaking signee Lizbeth Ovalle, with the Mexican international subbing in at the half to make her NWSL debut.

Chicago, on the other hand, hasn't dropped a match since returning from the midseason summer break, with the surging Stars putting on a Sunday show in their impending lakefront home.

"I feel like it's just a really cool atmosphere, a lot more people can come now, and it's really good vibes," midfielder Julia Grosso said after the match.

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