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Dallas Center-Grimes claims 2A title, lands at No. 8 in soccer rankings

(Photo courtesy of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union)

Dallas Center-Grimes (Iowa) wasn’t satisfied with a state championship appearance. After losing in the state final last year and the state semifinals three years ago, the Mustangs had what they called “unfinished business.”

This time, Dallas Center finished its season on top, capping off a perfect 22-0 campaign with a 2-0 win over familiar nemesis Waverly-Shell Rock in the Class 2A state championship on Saturday. After losing to Shell Rock in the last two postseasons, it was Dallas Center’s turn to triumph.

Avery Korsching scored the decisive goal, a fitting end for a senior who had 36 goals and 19 assists on the season. With Korsching leading the way, the Mustangs scored 105 goals, and the defense conceded just 10 goals for a plus-95 goal difference.

Thanks to those gaudy numbers, a 22-game winning streak and the sought-after state title, Dallas Center makes its first appearance in the latest JWS high school soccer rankings, vaulting up to No. 8.

Click here to see last week’s rankings.

(Note: These rankings do not include teams from Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Carolina as their seasons have concluded.)

1. South County (Va.), 20-0-1

Following a 4-3 quarterfinal win Tuesday, the Stallions are just two wins away from a second consecutive Class 6A championship and undefeated season.

2. Fort Zumwalt South (Mo.), 26-1

The Bulldogs outscored opponents 25-4 during a postseason run that culminated with a second consecutive Class 3A title.

3. Triad (Ill.), 25-1

Gina Catanzaro’s 26th goal of the season propelled the Knights to their second consecutive state championship, and fourth in the last 11 years. En route to the Class 2A title, the Knights also beat Waterloo, avenging their only loss of the season.

4. Metea Valley (Ill.), 22-2-1

It took regulation, overtime and then nine rounds of penalty kicks, but the Mustangs are state champions for the first time in program history. Metea Valley ended the season on a 14-game winning streak and outscored postseason opponents 15-2 to win the 3A title.

5. St. Dominic (Mo.), 23-3

Perennial contenders, the Crusaders struggled at times during the regular season, suffering two shutout losses and a 4-1 defeat less than a week before postseason play began. But behind seniors Grace Bindbeutel (23 goals, 11 assists), Jessica Larson (13 goals, 12 assists) and Macie Begley (14 goals, 9 assists), St. Dominic rebounded to win their third consecutive state title.

6. Oregon (Wis.), 19-0-1

The Panthers have dominated this spring, outscoring opponents 134-6, and are two wins away from a sectional title.

7. Cardinal Gibbons (N.C.), 16-6-2

The Crusaders won just two of their first eight games. But they got better as the season progressed, ending the season on an 11-game winning streak and knocking off Ardrey Kell in penalty kicks to win the NCHSAA 4A title.

8. Dallas Center (Iowa), 22-0

The Mustangs have plenty of returning talent. Aside from senior Korsching, the team’s four other all-state selections should all be back next season: junior goalkeeper Maya Fritz, junior midfielder Elena Bartak and sophomore midfielders Kylie Knief and Hannah Renz.

9. Hudsonville (Mich.), 18-0-2

The Eagles have outscored opponents 8-1 in three postseason games and allowed just three goals since the start of May.

10. Northville (Mich.), 15-0-5

The Mustangs have ridden a stingy defense, just five goals allowed and 15 shutouts, to an undefeated record.

11. Kellam (Va.), 17-1

After a quarterfinal win over previously-ranked Battlefield, the Knights now face No. 1 South County in the state semifinals.

12. Yorktown (Va.), 19-1-1

South Carolina commit Shay Montgomery was involved in all four of the Patriots’ tallies with two goals and two assists during a 4-0 quarterfinal win.

13. Ankeny Centennial (Iowa), 19-3

The Jaguars avenged their three regular-season losses in the state tournament to win the 3A state championship.

14. Ardrey Kell (N.C.), 25-2-1

The Knights once again fell just short of a first-ever state championship, losing in the state final for the fourth time in program history.

15. Providence Day (N.C.), 18-4

The Chargers tested themselves against top-tier competition during the regular season, and that experience paid off in the postseason with a NCISAA 4A championship. With the win, in a penalty shootout, Providence Day avenged a regular-season defeat to Charlotte Latin.

Phillip Suitts is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. He has worked at a variety of outlets, including The Palm Beach Post and Southeast Missourian, and done a little bit of everything from reporting to editing to running social media accounts. He was born in Atlanta but currently lives in wintry Philadelphia. Follow Phillip on Twitter @PhillipSuitts.

WNBA Preseason Games End as Teams Make Final 2025 Roster Cuts

Atlanta rookie Te-Hina Paopao drives down the court during a 2025 WNBA preseason game.
Atlanta Dream rookie Te-Hina PaoPao scored 14 points against Indiana on Saturday. (Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images)

There's just one WNBA preseason game left on the 2025 calendar, as 12 of the league's 13 teams wrapped exhibition play over the weekend ahead of Friday's regular-season tip-off.

The Chicago Sky became the latest team to lock in their 12-player roster on Sunday, joining the likes of the Indiana Fever in making tough final cuts.

To reach league compliance, Chicago waived Australian guard Alex Wilson, 2024 second-round draft pick Jessika Carter (Mississippi State), and former Mercury forward Morgan Bertsch.

Earning their official spots in the Sky's lineup are 2025 rookies Hailey Van Lith (TCU) and Maddy Westbeld (Notre Dame), the overall No. 11 and No. 16 picks, respectively, in April's draft.

Overall, the class of 2025 is performing well so far, with all first-round picks avoiding early roster cuts — though many teams are still deciding who will suit up on opening day.

Some second-rounders are also showing significant promise, with the Atlanta Dream's 18th overall pick Te-Hina PaoPao (South Carolina) scoring a team-leading 14 points against Indiana on Saturday.

How to watch the final 2025 WNBA preseason game

Capping the 2025 WNBA preseason are the reigning champion New York Liberty, who will take on Japan's Toyota Antelopes on Monday night.

The exhibition will see Liberty stars Sabrina Ionescu and Nyara Sabally — who notably saw her contract extended through 2026 by New York on Monday afternoon — return to their University of Oregon alma mater for the clash.

The Liberty will tip off against the Antelopes at 10 PM ET, with live coverage airing on WNBA League Pass.

FIFA Expands 2031 Women’s World Cup Field, Sanctions Afghan Refugee Team

The attendance of 75,784 is shown above the 2023 World Cup semifinal between Australia and England.
The World Cup field will expand to 48 teams in 2031. (Mark Metcalfe - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

The 2031 Women's World Cup will expand to 48 teams, with the 16-team increase announced among other landmark decisions by the FIFA Council on Friday.

The decision to expand the World Cup aims to "broaden representation, offering more nations and players access to elite competition and accelerating investment in women's football worldwide," according to the FIFA release.

"The FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, the first in which teams from all confederations won at least one game and teams from five confederations reached the knockout stage, among many other records, set a new standard for global competitiveness," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

"This decision ensures we are maintaining the momentum in terms of growing women’s football globally."

The expanded 2031 World Cup, hosted by the US, will adopt a 12-group format, increasing the total number of matches from 64 to 104 while extending the competition for an additional week.

The World Cup expansion announcement comes on the heels of last month's increased Olympic tournament news, with the IOC boosting the women's soccer field to 16 teams at the 2028 LA Games.

The decision also puts the women's competition in line with the men's World Cup, which will feature FIFA's first 48-team tournament in 2026.

Afghan women's soccer team founder and director Khalida Popal speaks at a 2023 event surrounded by the squad in Australia.
FIFA is creating an official refugee team for evacuated Afghan women's players. (Kelly Defina/Getty Images)

FIFA approves Afghan women's refugee team

In the same Friday announcement, the FIFA Council also approved the creation of an Afghanistan women's refugee team, which would provide evacuated Afghan women players the ability to compete on an officially recognized FIFA team.

While FIFA requires that national federations sponsor teams, the Afghan Football Federation ceased acknowledging its women's team once the Taliban-controlled government banned women's sports.

Originally formed by the country's Olympic Committee in 2007, the Afghanistan women's national team has not played a FIFA-recognized match since 2018, and most of its athletes fled the country amidst the Taliban's second takeover in 2021.

Since then, players have petitioned FIFA for the opportunity to compete. Their efforts earned a one-year trial phase from the governing body on Friday, though the success of the program could see it expanded to refugees from other nations in the future.

"We are happy that FIFA has created a pathway for Afghan players to finally return to the field," team founder and former captain Khalida Popal told CNN on Friday, adding that the squad "remain[s] hopeful FIFA can amend its statutes to provide official recognition for our players as the Afghanistan Women's National Team."

Popal — who helped hundreds of Afghans, including the team, escape the Taliban — previously said the team "could show the world that Afghan women and girls belong in sport, in school and everywhere in society — and we will not be defeated."

Unbeaten Chelsea FC Wins 2024/25 WSL Season

Millie Bright raises Chelsea's 2024/25 WSL trophy and celebrates with her teammates.
Chelsea's undefeated 2024/25 season is the winningest in WSL history. (Harriet Lander - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Chelsea FC is the first team in Women's Super League (WSL) history to claim an unbeaten 22-game season, adding the undefeated moniker to their sixth-straight league title with Saturday's 1-0 win over Liverpool.

The Blues' perfect season joins the previous unbeaten campaigns of 2012's Arsenal, 2016's Manchester City, and Chelsea's own 2018 squad — though those three teams did so in 14, 16, and 18 games, respectively.

Chelsea finishes the 2024/25 campaign with an astounding 19 wins and three draws, missing just six possible points on the table en route to their new WSL record of 60 points in a single season.

"As a manager, players, and staff, you only live these moments maybe once in your life," said Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor following Saturday's history-making win. "You need to enjoy it because it is a great achievement."

Trailing Chelsea's impressive winning tally by a full 12 points, Arsenal secured second place with a 4-3 victory over third-place Manchester United in their Saturday season finale.

Arsenal midfielder Mariona Caldentey poses with her 2024/25 WSL Player of the Season award.
The first-ever WSL Player of the Season award went to Arsenal's Mariona Caldentey. (Paul Harding - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

WSL standouts secure individual 2024/25 awards

Though they missed the WSL's team trophy, the Gunners did claim some individual hardware this weekend, as voters selected midfielder Mariona Caldentey as the inaugural winner of the WSL Player of the Season award.

The 29-year-old Spain international led the league in shot creation, and put up nine goals and five assists on the WSL stat sheet this season.

Caldentey's teammate Alessia Russo also walked away with a trophy, sharing the Golden Boot with fourth-place Manchester City's Khadija "Bunny" Shaw after both forwards scored 12 goals each on the season.

Also sharing a stat-sheet title is Chelsea's Hannah Hampton and Manchester United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who claimed the 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove award behind 13 clean sheets apiece.

Meanwhile, the season's WSL Rising Star award went to ninth-place West Ham striker Shekiera Martinez. After spending the first half of the 2024/25 season on loan to Bundesliga side SC Freiburg, the 23-year-old German international notched an astounding 10 goals in her 12 total WSL matches.

Speaking of impressive scoring, Manchester City forward Vivianne Miedema's stellar chip against Aston Villa in January earned the Dutch star the 2024/25 WSL Goal of the Season title.

No. 1 Seed Texas A&M Tops NCAA Softball Tournament Bracket

Texas A&M softball teammates greet KK Dement at the plate after a home run during the 2025 SEC tournament.
No. 1-seed Texas A&M leads a record 14 SEC teams in the 2025 NCAA softball tournament bracket. (David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

For the first time in program history, Texas A&M is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA softball tournament, with the Aggies staving off four-time reigning champion Oklahoma for the honor in Sunday's 2025 bracket drop.

After adverse weather canceled their conference title game on Saturday, the Aggies and No. 2-seed Sooners became 2025 SEC tournament co-champions, leaving the NCAA selection committee to lean heavily on each team's strength of schedule in making their top-seed decision.

"What set apart Texas A&M is they have 19 Top 25 wins, which is number one in the country," said NCAA softball committee chair Kurt McGuffin on Sunday's ESPN2 broadcast, noting the Aggies' tough nonconference schedule.

Taking on a lighter nonconference slate than usual due to massive roster turnover following the 2023/24 season, Oklahoma relied heavily on their record in a stacked SEC, finishing one half-game ahead of A&M in regular-season play.

While the Sooners look to extend their championship streak, the Aggies will be hunting their third national title and first since 1987.

Standing in their way in the 64-team bracket are a record number of familiar foes, as the SEC boasts 14 teams in the 2025 NCAA competition — the most from any single conference in tournament history.

Even more, nine of the bracket's 16 seeded teams hail from the SEC, and a full seven of the Top 8.

Florida State catcher Michaela Edenfield celebrates a home run while rounding second base during a 2023 Women's College World Series game.
Florida State returns to the NCAA tournament as the highest seeded non-SEC team. (SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Conference champs, at-large teams score NCAA bracket spots

SEC squads aren't the only teams looking to topple Texas A&M and Oklahoma, however, as conference champions and other elite squads learned their tournament fates on Selection Sunday.

No. 5 Florida State is the highest seeded non-SEC team, despite falling 2-1 to No. 11-seed Clemson in Saturday's ACC title game. Along with No. 14-seed Duke, the ACC will see nine teams in the 2025 tournament.

Behind 2024 National Player of the Year NiJaree Canady — the nation's top pitcher — Texas Tech leads a five-team contingent from the Big 12 after securing both their conference tournament trophy and the national No. 12-seed this weekend.

In the weekend's most upset-filled conference tournament, unseeded Michigan outlasted both No. 9-seed UCLA and No. 16-seed Oregon to score a second straight Big Ten tournament title on Saturday, becoming one of eight teams repping the conference in Sunday's bracket.

Notably, the Bruins — the winningest program in NCAA softball history with 12 titles — have not entered the tournament lower than a No. 6 seed since 2016.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA softball tournament

The road to the 2025 Women's College World Series begins with Regionals, in which each of the 16 seeded teams will host a four-team double-elimination mini-tournament this weekend.

With a minimum of 96 games — and a possibility of 112 — Regional play begins at 12 PM ET on Friday, with the 64-team field narrowing to 16 by Sunday night.

All games will air live across ESPN's networks.

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