Chicago fans everywhere were hoping for a two-trophy summer after the city’s WNBA team won their first-ever championship earlier in October. With the Red Stars battling in the NWSL championship less than a month later, it was looking like the Windy City might become the temporary center of the women’s sports world.

But the Washington Spirit had other plans. After Candace Parker went home to Chicago to lead the Sky to the title, it was Washington’s Kelley O’Hara who did the same thing Saturday, bringing a title to her adopted hometown of D.C. in her first season with the Spirit.

Not only that, she even scored the winning goal, heading home the game-winner in extra time to propel the Spirit to a 2-1 win.

O’Hara, who grew up in Georgia and attended Stanford University, moved to Washington, D.C. while playing for the Utah Royals (now the Kansas City Current) in order to be with her partner. The nation’s capital has since become the city she calls “home.”

“Since moving here, I’ve loved every second of it,” O’Hara said in December. “I love the city. Love the energy it brings. Love what it has to offer.”

If the 33-year-old didn’t appreciate the city as much as she did, she says she never would made the move from the Royals to the Spirit — a trade that happened in December 2020 in which Utah received $75,000 in allocation money and a first-round draft pick if O’Hara played in half the Spirit’s games in 2021 (she played 17 of 24 during the regular season).

Almost a year later, after a season in which her leadership played a major role in her young team’s success, O’Hara’s headed home the golden goal in the 97th minute to win Washington their first-ever NWSL title.

Picture-perfect first goal of the season from @kelleymohara #WASvCHI | @CBS | #NWSL21 pic.twitter.com/89ohWFr9Dl

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 20, 2021

The perfectly placed assist came from Rookie of the Year Trinity Rodman, who created numerous scoring chances for Washington throughout the second half of the game.

The 19-year-old would normally be dribbling further towards the goal, but the Red Stars had covered behind in those 1-v-1 situations. Instead, she looked for the cross.

“I saw runners near post were marked and I saw Kelly popping off the back, so she got her head on it. That recognition was amazing and her getting there was insane,” Rodman said after the game.

Sitting beside her at the podium, O’Hara laughed. Scoring goals isn’t something the right fullback does very often. This one, in fact, was her first of the season.

Usually, the script is flipped, with O’Hara sending the ball into the box and Rodman getting the final touch on it. But it’s hardly a surprise that O’Hara buried the difficult goal. At Stanford, she won the MAC Hermann Trophy as the best player in the country while playing forward — scoring 26 goals with 13 assists her senior year. Professionally and for the USWNT, she spends a large chunk of her time contributing to the attack by making deep runs up the wing.

Outside of her play, O’Hara’s unmatched energy has brought a winning mentality that the young Spirit team needed this year, especially after they forfeited two games late in the season due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

“That fired up Kelley O’Hara in a way that I’ve not seen before,” acting Spirit coach Kris Ward said after the team’s semifinal win over OL Reign. “Her entire mentality from that point was like, ‘All right’ — how do I phrase this politely? ‘Forget you guys. We’re going and we’re going to win anyways.’”

Damn near every Spirit person I've talked to has brought up how much Kelley O'Hara has been a driving force late this season, & how much she wants this win.

Did not think that would mean a goal, tbh, but: O'Hara scores!

— Jason Anderson (@JasonDCsoccer) November 20, 2021

Through O’Hara’s first season with Washington, Ward has repeatedly praised her leadership with the team, her competitiveness on the field and her ability to motivate teammates to persevere through the off-field turmoil, which included former coach Richie Burke being dismissed for verbal abuse, the aforemention COVID outbreak, and an ongoing ownership struggle between Steve Baldwin and Michele Kang.

The Spirit had the NWSL’s youngest team this year, making O’Hara’s veteran leadership crucial. Despite the club’s behind-the-scenes mayhem, the Spirit went undefeated since mid-August outside their two forfeits.

Much of the credit for that went to O’Hara’s infectious “never-say-die” mentality, even if she deflects credit elsewhere.

“I don’t think it was just me. I think it was the whole group,” she said after the championship. “I think it was our ability to persevere, to be like, ‘This is what’s happened.’ We can’t change what the league chose to do, how [the outbreak] was handled, which a lot of it seems suspect in some areas, but there’s nothing we can do. You can’t control that…

“We’ve been in playoff mode since the end the September and we controlled what we could control and that was winning. And here we are.”

LOL. I LOVE THIS TEAM SO MUCH!!!!! District of CHAMPIONS!!!! @WashSpirit #sendit

— Kelley O'Hara (@kelleymohara) November 20, 2021

As a two-time FIFA World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist with the USWNT, O’Hara provided championship experience to a group of young players who have the potential to follow in her footsteps, with Rodman in particular seeming like a lock to be a future USWNT star.

“We do have a very young team, which is awesome. And they’re really good and really excited by the win and put on amazing performances,” said O’Hara. “I think it’s just the beginning for this club.”

UConn might be the lowest seed left standing, but their championship pedigree looms largest of all, as the Huskies gear up to face No. 1 seed UCLA tonight in their quest to end a nine-year NCAA title drought.

“Before you even get here, you kind of know the pressures that exist by committing to UConn,” star guard Paige Bueckers said ahead of the Huskies’ 24th Final Four appearance. “It’s a decision you have to make even before you step on campus.”

Facing the Final Four with a healthy UConn roster

Reaching four of the last five tournament semifinals despite battling years of injury and availability concerns, UConn’s senior class is hell-bent on proving themselves once and for all on college basketball’s biggest stage.

This year’s run has benefitted greatly from backcourt duo Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, reunited in the postseason for the first time in over two years.

Freshman All-American Sarah Strong and key transfer Kaitlyn Chen round out the team's backbone.

"Sarah impacts the game in so many ways, that you just have so much confidence in her, so much belief in her," UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said of Strong. "I don't know. Can't explain it."

Paige Bueckers powers the Huskies offense

Already UConn’s third all-time leading scorer, Bueckers has been on a scoring tear en route to the Final Four, dropping 30 points in her last three outings as she gears up to enter the 2025 WNBA Draft.

“When I say unique, I think she’s closer to one or two or three of most unique players I’ve ever coached,” Auriemma said. “And I’m really going to miss her.”

This Huskies squad has navigated both long-term adversity and recent hurdles with skill and confidence. But will they be the team that gets UConn back on the trophy-winning track?

March Madness isn’t the only game in town this weekend, as Saturday’s College All-Star Game provides WNBA hopefuls one last showcase before April 14th’s draft.

Voted on by members of the media and former coaches, this year’s roster features four All-Americans — Izzy Higginbottom (Arkansas), Shyanne Sellers (Maryland), Makayla Timpson (Florida State), and Harmoni Turner (Harvard) — alongside 16 All-Conference honorees.

All-Star Game showcases WNBA-bound talent

Saturday's matchup returned to Final Four Weekend in 2024 after an 18-year hiatus. The game gives seniors no longer playing in the NCAA tournament a chance to show off their skills in front of pro scouts and a sold-out crowd.

WNBA legends Nancy Lieberman and Cheryl Miller will coach two 10-player teams on Saturday. Longtime college coach Terri Mitchell serving as Game Ambassador.

An additional nine prospects are joining in for today’s All-Star Combine. Invitees include tournament standouts Michigan’s Jordan Hobbs and NC State’s Madison Hayes.

As college basketball grows more competitive, the game plays an important role in keeping the NCAA-to-WNBA pipeline moving.

How to watch the Women's College All-Star Game at the NCAA Final Four

The College All-Star Game tips off on Saturday at 3 PM ET, live on ESPN2.

UCLA, UConn, Texas, and South Carolina have touched down in Tampa, each team laser-focused on tonight’s NCAA Final Four with a trip to Sunday’s national championship game on the line.

SEC titans Texas and South Carolina will square off for the fourth time this season, with the Longhorns looking to upset the reigning champs in their first Final Four appearance since 2003.

UCLA and UConn will later link up for the first time since 2023, with the Bruins fighting for a ticket to their first-ever championship game against a tournament-tested — but title-less — Huskies class.

Top-ranked teams square off in tonight's Final Four

Three of tonight’s teams entered the tournament as No. 1 seeds — Texas, South Carolina, and UCLA — while all four ranked among the AP’s Top 10 throughout the regular season.

“Not only is every team different in terms of their talent base and strengths and weaknesses, but their makeup internally is different,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said on Thursday.

“Whoever gets through this semifinal and final will have done it against the best of the best,” said Texas head coach Vic Schaefer. “We all understand it. It’s hard to do.”

"It’s going to come down to heart, effort, and controlling the things that we can control, which is attitude and effort,” echoed South Carolina senior Te-Hina PaoPao.

After a year of unparalleled parity at the top, there can still only be one winner — and whoever cuts the nets down on Sunday will surely be worthy.

How to watch the Women's Final Four and NCAA Championship this weekend

The Final Four tips off tonight at 7 PM ET on ESPN, with Sunday’s NCAA championship game starting at 3 PM ET on ABC.

Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.

Every week on Sports Are Fun!, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist Greydy Diaz, retired NWSL great Merritt Mathias, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes on the biggest women's sports headlines.

This week, Just Women’s Sports brought Sports Are Fun! to Tampa for a live recording ahead of the NCCA Final Four.

Taped in front of a live audience, O’Hara and the crew were joined by some extra special guests. Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie, WNBA stars Aaliyah Edwards and Kelsey Mitchell, and UCLA standout Gabriela Jaquez all showed up to talk through the biggest weekend in college basketball.

'Sports Are Fun!' guests give their takes on the NCAA Final Four

Lisa Leslie on why UConn star Paige Bueckers doesn’t need a championship to secure her legacy

• “There's a whole career beyond college… She’s about to be the No. 1 draft pick in the WNBA. Now, if she gets there and she doesn't have a stellar career in the W, then maybe we don't talk about her anymore. But I don't really see that happening.”

Aaliyah Edwards on what UConn needs to do to stop UCLA in the Final Four

• “The first thing is, we just need to set the tone, play our game, focus on us. Because we've been doing great things. Second thing would be to limit the touches inside… And the third thing, which is like a UConn motto, is just play hard, play smart, and have fun.”
• “Obviously respect to UCLA, but I think we got it in the bag.”

Kelsey Mitchell on NIL pressure and Olivia Miles entering the NCAA transfer portal

• “I grew to respect people like Caitlin [Clark] because she handled it so gracefully… With Olivia, I'm sure whatever she decides to do, I'm going to say it was for her and what she needed for her career. But I hope consciously that they make decisions based on what they need for themselves.”
• “Not all money is good money. Hopefully whatever she decides to do is for her and she goes where she’s loved and where she’s celebrated, not tolerated.”

Gabriela Jaquez on how UCLA is preparing for their Final Four matchup against UConn

• “We're feeling great. We're feeling very confident, excited. I think coming here in the Final Four, it's such an extravagant experience, and I'm so thankful for it and these opportunities. But yeah, we all are here to play basketball and win games, and we're excited and we're really confident.”

About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara

'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.

Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.

From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"

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