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Laura Harvey cements OL Reign comeback with contract extension

OL Reign has extended coach Laura Harvey’s contract for two more years. (Michael Thomas Shroyer/USA TODAY Sports)

OL Reign announced Saturday that it has extended longtime manager Laura Harvey’s contract through 2025, a move that promises stability in the club’s front office for years to come. Harvey is the only NWSL manager to coach over 200 games, with three NWSL Coach of the Year honors and three NWSL Shield titles in her tenure.

Harvey and Reign general manager Lesle Gallimore spoke with Just Women’s Sports about the two-year extension, describing it as a high priority and an easy decision. Gallimore, announced as general manager by the Reign a little over a month ago, says the process began before she even accepted her position.

“It wasn’t like a demand of mine, but it was most certainly a part of the conversation,” Gallimore said about her desire to retain the three-time Shield-winning coach. “And then once I was hired, it pretty quickly became really high up on the list.”

For Harvey, the decision to stay in Seattle for another two years didn’t take a lot of persuading. Harvey was the manager of the original Seattle Reign from 2013–17, winning two Shields and reaching the NWSL final twice. She then stepped away from the NWSL to coach the USWNT U-23s, before returning as head coach of the Utah Royals from 2018-19. She returned again to the U.S. system in 2020 and 2021, coaching the U-20s and working as an assistant on USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s staff for the Tokyo Olympics.

In 2021, she returned to the Reign mid-season, bolstered by a new perspective from her time away.

“Without any disrespect to Utah at all, I don’t regret leaving. I feel like it was the right thing at the time for everybody,” Harvey said. “But it never felt right when I was gone.”

While Harvey says she loved her time working with U.S. Soccer, coaching at the international level during the COVID-19 pandemic was incredibly difficult and she missed the day-to-day of the club game.

“I was doing my pro license during 2020 as well as working for U.S. Soccer,” she said. “And in that sort of license, they really get you to dig in on yourself and be vulnerable and all this stuff. And that was what I came out with was I love coaching and I missed it.”

Gallimore found that shift in perspective to be one of the key reasons Harvey is still one of the best people to lead the club into the future.

“Even as someone that thinks the world of Laura, I would have probably been like, ‘Do we really want to extend her if she’s not gone and done something else?’” she said. “Success is one thing and her competency is obviously very, very high. But I know from experience, sitting in one place for too long can sometimes not be the right thing.”

The Reign made the best of difficult situations in the early years of the NWSL, turning the well-trodden turf field of Memorial Stadium into a fortress where they rarely lost and remaining competitive in the transfer market despite struggling to find a permanent home in the Seattle city limits.

“​​People laugh when I say this, like we literally had nothing when we started, it was so crazy. And to think that we became competitive so quickly was wild,” Harvey said.

“But the thing that’s so special about [OL Reign] is the people in it. And I always say to anyone that is thinking about coming to this club — player, coach staff — I can’t put my finger on why this place is so special. But you all feel it when you’re in it. And when you’re in it, you appreciate what it is.”

Harvey’s commitment to the Reign doesn’t come from a place of nostalgia; she’s all-in on the future, having made it through what could have been a breaking point. When she returned to the NWSL mid-season in 2021, she replaced Farid Benstiti, who was later found to have made inappropriate weight-shaming comments to players. She then had to navigate an emotionally reeling team through coming to terms with the release of investigative reporting that uncovered years of abuse in the league.

But the way the league responded with pushing for accountability, and the overwhelming public support of the players in the face of immense wrongdoing, inspired Harvey.

“The day after The Athletic article broke was the hardest day I think I’ve ever had as a coach, ever,” she said. “And I didn’t think we would — I was worried that we wouldn’t get through it. But to get through it, and not just get through it but then everything explode around it, has been so rewarding and so fulfilling that you like — of course you want to be part of it.”

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(Michael Thomas Shroyer/USA TODAY Sports)

With a new contract signed, Harvey is focused on the unfinished business of winning the team’s first NWSL championship, a long-held goal that to this point has remained out of reach. She also doesn’t shy away from the way the Reign are evolving, in what is likely the final few years for the original Reign trio of Megan Rapinoe, Lauren Barnes and Jess Fishlock, whom Harvey lovingly refers to as “the three Amigos.”

Harvey wants her veterans rewarded with a championship.

“They’ve been huge in creating that culture and living that culture and holding whoever sits in these seats accountable for that culture, to make sure that this place continues to be somewhere where people want to play,” she said.

“This club has, almost more so than any club in the league or any iteration of the league, has an identity around a group of people whose backs that we will forever have stood on their shoulders and built this on,” added Gallimore.

But Harvey and Gallimore also both understand the need for a healthy mix of experience, and the Reign have gotten younger in recent years, bringing in new players who have worked their way into the talented roster’s rotation. The longtime coach will now guide the squad through at least one expansion draft, while simultaneously keeping the Reign relevant in a growing free agency market with a new emphasis on player choice.

“I don’t say this lightly — I said it to Lesle the other day — that there’s been periods last year and this year with the group that we have, where I can see the future without the ones that currently have been here so long,” Harvey said. “It’s sad, but you can see it.

“I think for us in our jobs, knowing that we have people like that in our roster who not only want to be the best version of themselves, and play the best and win, and for themselves, but they truly care about the club, too. So they’ll go above and beyond to make sure they hang up their boots when it’s the right time. They stay until we don’t need them to stay anymore.”

“Everything this club has done has been brick by brick, by brick, by brick, which is really, really fun to be a part of,” said Gallimore. “And when you can look back and see how far we’ve come, and maintained a very high competitive standard during that and won, the sky’s the limit.”

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

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

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