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Jess Fishlock welcomes Cascadia rivalry passion: ‘We just hate Portland’

Jess Fishlock has been a part of OL Reign’s rivalry with the Portland Thorns since its inception in 2013. (John Froschauer/USA TODAY Sports)

OL Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock, in her 11th year in the NWSL, has seen the Cascadia rivalry between Seattle and Portland naturally evolve, with every individual result adding to a larger arc of history. Some of the biggest personalities in the NWSL have filled in the lineups on both sides, with Fishlock as one of the rivalry’s original members.

Speaking to Just Women’s Sports, the 36-year-old rattles off a quick list of players who have graced the matchup in the past: Herself, Megan Rapinoe, Lauren Barnes, Sydney Leroux and Hope Solo on one side, and Lindsey Horan, Tobin Heath, Emily Sonnet and Allie Long (the latter three have now played for both teams) on the other. Over the years, tackles came in a little bit harder, and competition felt a little more personal.

“It was definitely more of like, we were at each other’s throats more,” Fishlock says. “I definitely think that the rivalry itself has evolved more to which team is performing better in that moment, as opposed to us wanting to just rip each other’s eyes out.”

Outside of brief loans to other clubs, the Welsh star has been with the Reign since 2013 and has played in many Cascadia battles since the original one. Fishlock remembers both wins and losses, pointing out notable game-winning goals scored by Reign legends Kim Little and Rumi Utsugi. But even the losses carry significance, as reminders of how special the game of soccer can be regardless of result.

“We’ve also lost some games against them that — the games have been incredible. Which you just come off and you just think wow, what a game,” she says

The 2023 Reign aren’t resting on their past laurels. They want to both defend their 2022 Shield-winning campaign and win the club’s first-ever NWSL championship. They currently sit in fourth in the league standings, just two points behind their fierce regional rival and three behind league leaders San Diego. The Reign travel to Providence Park on Saturday with hopes of leapfrogging Portland and contending for the top of the table.

Immediate goals are in sight, but as a veteran player who has stayed at one club for her whole NWSL career, Fishlock can also take a moment to appreciate the impact of the Cascadia rivalry on women’s soccer in the U.S.

“I think it just has so much history for one,” she says. “I feel like this league, the franchises and the teams and the way that league works probably lacks a little bit of history.”

It’s an intense history informed by a regional dislike between Portland and Seattle, as with so many other American sports rivalries. But the Reign try not to let the larger storylines get in the way of playing like themselves.

“It’s more like, we just hate Portland,” Fishlock says. “And so we just really remember that. We don’t do anything different, we don’t have any kind of rituals. It’s just more methodical. It’s still football, but also, let’s not forget how much we hate Portland.”

In a league that’s in its 10th regular season, the ingrained passions of the Cascadia rivalry have been slow to develop elsewhere in the NWSL. Rivalries have to grow organically, instigated by regional proximity but frequently made real by the play on the field. Fishlock scored the Reign’s first-ever goal against the Thorns in their inaugural clash at Providence Park in 2013, setting the emotional tone for the battles to come.

Ten years later, Fishlock is ready to walk into Providence Park once again and silence the Thorns fans, known as the original tone-setters for local support.

“I think women’s sports, well women’s soccer for example, it kind of really needs that,” she says of the way the Rose City Riveters can change a game. “It needs the fans to kind of buy in to remembering that you’re at this game, but you’re actually supporting your team, and what does that look like?”

Sometimes that support looks like rude gestures and sounds like boos. One of the more recent iconic moments in the Reign’s history at Providence Park came in 2021, when Megan Rapinoe received a classic North End reception after scoring an equalizer in the Reign’s eventual 2-1 win.

“I was trying to talk s–t, and to them, and they just did not know what to do,” Rapinoe said at the time. “And then finally somebody gave me a big, double f–k you middle fingers up, and I was like, ‘That’s what I’m talking about. That’s the kind of rivalry that we want.'”

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Fishlock and Megan Rapinoe (right) are playing their last season together after 10 years. (Stephen Brashear/USA TODAY Sports)

Fishlock sees those types of fan responses as part of an overall passion for the game.

“I’m not going to get offended by them flipping me off, I’m not gonna get offended by them booing me, because it’s actually really respectful for the most part,” she says.

“​​So when we go to Portland and they start flipping us off, and they start booing us, and they get super mad that we’re scoring goals, Pinoe’s scoring goals, that’s what we want, really, because we want to have that kind of personality at the end of the day.”

The Cascadia rivalry will be losing some of that personality at the end of 2023, as Rapinoe heads into retirement after this season. She won’t exactly receive a hero’s welcome in Portland this weekend, but the atmosphere will be worthy of a player of her stature.

“We just hope that she goes down there and she gets the stick that she deserves for being Rapinoe and playing for Seattle, but also the love and respect that she deserves for being who she is,” Fishlock says.

For Fishlock, there’s no sign yet of slowing down. She says she is feeling better after being sidelined with a hamstring issue in July and August, and she announced on Tuesday that she’s exercised her mutual option to stay with the Reign through 2024. She sees Saturday’s game as a singularly important opportunity, but she is also locked in on the bigger picture.

“It’s not just about Portland, it’s also, you’re coming up against a really good football team,” Fishlock says. “So you have to play well, and you have to be prepared well, and you have to be ready for a really hard game.”

The veteran admits she always relishes the opportunity to go into somebody else’s house and beat them. The Thorns pulled off that feat at Lumen Field earlier this season, and the Reign are eager to return the favor. They’ll be in hostile territory, but they’ll also be feeling the support from home.

“I think this is a game against the Portland Thorns that honestly could mean a lot and then do a little bit of damage to the opposition with who wins and who loses,” Fishlock says, before addressing the fans. “We need ya, so let’s go.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

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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