Duke sophomore Michelle Cooper announced on Monday that she’ll be foregoing her remaining college eligibility to begin her professional soccer career in 2023.

“This was such a difficult decision, but one that I made with my heart and the people I trust dearly,” the 20-year-old wrote in a statement. The Blue Devils’ 2022 season ended in a quarterfinal loss to Alabama in November, in which Cooper scored a brace.

Transitioning to the professional game won’t be a huge leap for Cooper, who scored 19 goals and registered 11 assists this season, leading Duke in both categories by a significant margin.

She also captained the U-20 U.S. women’s national team in both the Concacaf Championship and the World Cup, scoring eight goals in Concacaf qualifying to win the Golden Boot as well as the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. She scored her final U-20 goal in the World Cup in August, as the U.S. bowed out of a very difficult group stage.

THERE IT IS! 🇺🇸🤩

Michelle Cooper scores the first goal for the @USYNT in the U-20 FIFA Women's World Cup! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Jc85BtShs6

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 11, 2022

Cooper’s credentials place her in the upper echelon of young American-born talent, but her jump to the pros is also a larger reflection of the way the sport is changing.

Traditionally, even the top women’s college players would sometimes choose to stay in school for their full eligibility, valuing a college scholarship and degree over a professional salary. But as salary opportunities grow year after year in the professional game, norms have begun to change, and Cooper might be just the first of several underclassmen this year to make the same decision.

Tierna Davidson and Sophia Smith left Stanford early to become the first picks in their respective NWSL College Drafts, but both had already featured for the U.S. women’s national team, lending more weight to the decision. Cooper has yet to be called into the U.S. senior team, but she joins a growing group of prospects who have chosen to develop outside of the college game.

Ashley Sanchez (since capped with the USWNT), Brianna Pinto and Mia Fishel made similar decisions to leave college after their junior years. Emily Madril of Florida State recently made a unique jump of her own, forgoing her college eligibility to sign with the NWSL directly, and then going on loan before joining the league through the 2023 College Draft.

Adding to the ease of the process are Name, Image and Likeness rights, which allow college players to sign with an agency without having to make a quick decision to give up NCAA eligibility. Cooper, before her big announcement, had already signed with Wasserman Group (which represents a number of USWNT and NWSL players) and New Balance.

Fans in the U.S., however, will have to wait to see if Cooper follows Pinto and Sanchez to the NWSL, or if she takes a page from Fishel and Catarina Macario’s book and jumps at an opportunity abroad. U.S.-based clubs have the benefit of the NWSL’s new CBA, but Cooper wouldn’t yet qualify for allocation money — setting her salary limit at a non-allocated max contract, which is currently $75,000.

The NWSL also doesn’t have the benefit of player choice for those entering the league; even top talent has to opt into the College Draft. Unlike basketball, the NWSL is competing with leagues that don’t adhere to parity rules, and they occasionally lose talent that wants to be in control of their own destiny.

Whether she hears her name called on the NWSL Draft stage in Philadelphia in January or makes a splashy signing abroad, Cooper is ready for the next level. Fans will just have to wait and see where she takes her talents.

Thank you Duke🤍 pic.twitter.com/6YNjb2cjeV

— michelle cooper (@michelle1cooper) December 5, 2022

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

Arsenal advanced to their first UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) final in 18 years on Sunday, defeating eight-time tournament winners Lyon 4-1 to punch their ticket to next month's title matchup against reigning champs FC Barcelona.

The Gunners overcame a 2-1 first-leg deficit to beat Lyon, with the French side suffering their first Champions League semifinal ousting since 2009.

"We are very, very, very proud," said Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers. "I think this was the biggest challenge so far, coming back from a 2-1 loss at the [Arsenal Stadium] against this top team with so much quality, and then coming out here, so calm and composed, with so much belief in what we're doing and courage on the pitch."

Powerhouse Barcelona awaits Arsenal in Champions League final

Overcoming an opening loss has been a theme for Arsenal throughout their 2024/25 Champions League campaign. Other than the tournament's very first qualifying round, the Gunners have dropped the first match of every single round thus far, using high-octane offense to claim the wins needed to keep advancing.

There are no multiple matches in the next round, however, where Arsenal will play underdog to titans Barcelona in the competition's final match.

The decorated Spanish club handed WSL-leaders Chelsea back-to-back 4-1 thrashings to seal their place in the 2024/25 Champions League final, ending the Blues' historic quadruple quest in the process.

Barcelona has now reached five of the last six Champions League title matches, taking home the trophy in 2021, 2023, and 2024.

Arsenal, on the other hand, is the only English team to ever lift the European trophy — a feat the Gunners accomplished back in 2007.

The teams will have a little less than a month to prepare for the tournament's grand finale, as the 2024/25 UWCL championship match will kick off in Lisbon, Portugal, on May 24th.

Former South Carolina star MiLaysia Fulwiley officially joined the Gamecocks' SEC rival LSU on Friday, putting the cherry on top of the Tigers' winning NCAA basketball transfer period.

According to multiple reports, the Columbia, South Carolina, product actually committed to LSU weeks ago — the same day she announced she'd be leaving her hometown school.

The rising junior won a national championship with South Carolina in 2024, but started only three of her 77 games with the talent-loaded Gamecocks — despite averaging 11.7 points per game and shooting 42.6% from the field.

Fulwiley's move only deepens one of the hottest rivalries of both the powerhouse SEC and the NCAA at-large, with either South Carolina or LSU featuring in each of the last four national championship games.

The guard won the SEC tournament's Most Outstanding Player award in 2024, after the Gamecocks beat the Tigers to secure last year's conference title.

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Transfers reshape NCAA landscape ahead of 2025/26 season

This year's transfer portal has profoundly impacted the women's college basketball field, with more than 1,500 athletes — almost 30% of all Division I players — looking to jump ship.

Even though the NCAA basketball portal closed last week, there are no deadlines for transfers to commit to a new program — or return to their original school, should an athlete's roster spot still be available.

While Fulwiley and other NCAA basketball stars have locked in their 2025/26 NCAA homes, talented transfers like former USC guard Kayleigh Heckel are reportedly still looking for the right fit.

As the dust finished settling on a highly competitive 2024/25 season, roster shakeups could transform some teams into bonafide championship contenders — though history proves that building a superteam doesn't always guarantee a national title.

The North Carolina Courage earned their first winning results of the 2025 NWSL season in high-scoring style, when a last-gasp goal by attacker Ashley Sanchez handed the previously undefeated Kansas City Current their first loss on Saturday.

The Courage trailed Kansas City 2-1 just before the end of regulation, after goals from Haley Hopkins and Bia Zaneratto put the Current in the lead.

Center back Kaleigh Kurtz's 90th-minute equalizer flipped the script for the Courage, before Sanchez buried the closer three minutes later in second-half stoppage time.

The comeback victory boosted the formerly last-place Courage to No. 11 in the standings, while the league-leading Current's grip on No. 1 is loosening as they pull level in points with No. 2 Orlando.

Gotham caps roller-coaster week with win over Washington

Elsewhere on Saturday, No. 4 Gotham downed East Coast rivals No. 3 Washington 3-0, solidifying their spot in the NWSL's top five.

The victory was buoyed by a brace from Golden Boot-leader Esther González, whose seven season goals have all come in the last four matches — tying the NWSL record for most goals scored in a four-game span.

Still at the start of her third season with the NJ/NY side, the 32-year-old has already become the team's second all-time leading scorer, passing both Carli Lloyd and Midge Purce with her 18th Gotham goal on Saturday.

That weekend win capped off a crowded three-match week for the Bats. Before securing their multi-goal victory over DC, Gotham first beat Angel City 4-0 the previous Friday, then fell 4-1 to Portland last Tuesday.

"This was one of the proudest moments for us as a team and as a club," Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said after Saturday's match. "I couldn't be prouder of the players. I think they've been outstanding the whole week."

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As for injury-ridden Washington, their performance wasn't a total loss, as 2024 Rookie of the Year Croix Bethune returned to the pitch for the first time since tearing her meniscus shortly after winning Olympic gold with the USWNT last summer.

"I do feel like I'm about 90%," Bethune told reporters after the match. "I had a hip/quad situation — I feel like that gave me a little bit more time to get stronger for my knee and just make sure I'm overall 100%."

While the Spirit continue dealing with an onslaught of injuries, Gotham — now just one point behind Washington in the standings — is steadily creeping in on the 2024 NWSL Championship runners-up's third-place spot.

Sixth NWSL matchday fueled by high-scoring results

Saturday's high-scoring tally fit right in with the rest of the NWSL, with the league's weekend slate delivering a high-octane 24 goals across its seven matches.

Defending champion Orlando secured a three-point result with a 3-2 comeback win over the visiting No. 9 Angel City, while the last-place Chicago Stars suffered a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of No. 5 San Diego.

However, it was No. 6 Portland and No. 12 Louisville that produced the most dramatic scoreline of the season's sixth matchday, settling for a 3-3 Sunday draw after the Thorns converted two penalty kicks.

"This is just another example of how good this league is, and how you literally cannot relax even for a second regardless of who you play and where you play them," said Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski, summing up a strong showing across the NWSL.

As PWHL action returned to the ice following the IIHF World Championship international break, the Toronto Sceptres booked their 2024/25 postseason berth this weekend, leaving just two spots left in this year's Walter Cup Playoffs.

Despite Toronto's 3-0 Saturday loss to the Boston Fleet, New York's 2-0 win over Minnesota on Sunday gave the second-place Sceptres enough of a point differential over the fifth-place Frost to solidify their postseason position.

Meanwhile, Saturday's games saw the Sirens suffer playoff elimination for the second straight year, with New York immediately banking Sunday's victory points toward securing yet another overall No. 1 pick in June's 2025 PWHL Draft under the league's Gold Plan.

Three teams hunt two remaining spots in 2024/25 PWHL Playoffs

With this weekend's results, the Sceptres join the league-leading Montréal Victoire in clinching a 2024/25 postseason berth, leaving three teams — the Fleet, the Frost, and the Ottawa Charge — battling for the final two spots.

Minnesota's Sunday loss, however, has the reigning PWHL champions on the brink of elimination.

With both Boston and Ottawa holding a significant points advantage over the Frost, Minnesota needs to win both of the final regular-season games and have either the Fleet or the Charge lose their two last matchups to squeeze above the PWHL table's cutoff line.

Following the close of the regular season on May 3rd, the 2024/25 PWHL Playoffs — featuring a semifinals round before the Walter Cup final — will begin the week of May 5th.