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Midge Purce: ‘I want to be a top player’ for USWNT and Gotham FC

USWNT and Gotham FC forward Midge Purce has set a clear goal for herself in 2023. (Vincent Carchietta/USA TODAY Sports)

Midge Purce has set a clear goal for herself in 2023.

“I want to score goals,” she told reporters Monday.

The U.S. women’s national team and Gotham FC forward knows she had a down year in 2022 for club and for country. But she wants to rebound in 2023.

“Last year is not something that was enjoyable for me,” Purce said. “Not scoring goals, it makes me sick. And this year I want to score goals on both the national team and for club. I want to be a top player in both settings. So that’s all I’m after.”

The 27-year-old joined Gotham FC via trade in 2020. In 2021, she led the team in scoring with nine goals and finished second in the NWSL Golden Boot race. But last season, she finished with three goals and three assists.

Purce also struggled to stick with the USWNT in 2022. She appeared in 11 matches, contributing two goals and one assist, but was left off the roster for the final four games of the year due to what USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski called a “dip in form.”

Ahead of the 2023 NWSL season, Purce has signed a two-year contract to stay with Gotham FC through at least 2024, the team announced Monday. For the USWNT, she received call-ups for January’s New Zealand friendlies and for February’s SheBelieves Cup.

Even amid a busy start to the year, she has had a strong preseason with Gotham FC, she said Monday. With new coach Juan Carlos Amorós leading the charge and with USWNT teammate Lynn Williams joining her on the forward line, she feels comfortable and confident in the team as the season approaches.

Purce did have a bone to pick, though not with Gotham FC. NWSL is making its debut in the FIFA 23 video game later this month, and she thinks she deserves a higher player rating.

“It’s really exciting for EA to be a part of the NWSL world,” Purce said. “I think it’s long overdue. I think we’ve been here, and I think we should have been in the game. I was tired of playing with other players when I rate myself higher.

“That being said, I think my ratings are very low for what they gave me and I wasn’t happy about all of them. But I actually like my character. I think it looks really similar to me.”

Gotham FC will kick off its 2023 season with a road match against Angel City FC at 9 p.m. ET Sunday, March 26.

2025 NCAA Soccer Tournament Kicks Off with ACC Teams Taking Top Seeds

A detailed view of a Stanford jersey bearing an NCAA College Cup patch.
Last year's College Cup semifinalist Stanford enters the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament as the overall No. 1 seed. (Grant Halverson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The road to the College Cup begins this weekend, as the 2025 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament kicks off with a stacked first-round field on Friday.

The strength of the ACC again leads the charge with three of the 64-team bracket's four top seeds hailing from the conference.

Snagging the overall No. 1 seed is Stanford, with the Cardinal outlasting fellow NCAA top-seed Notre Dame in a penalty shootout to claim their first-ever ACC tournament title last weekend.

Joining the Cardinal and Fighting Irish in the remaining No. 1 spots are the ACC's Virginia Cavaliers and the SEC-leading Vanderbilt Commodores.

Meanwhile, the 2025 tournament's No. 2 seeds — Michigan State, TCU, Duke, and Georgetown — are gearing up to play spoiler, with other underdogs also lurking throughout the bracket.

Already eyeing future upsets are four-time national champions and No. 3-seed Florida State, No. 4-seed and Big Ten champion Washington, and undefeated mid-major dark horse Memphis, who enters the 2025 field as a No. 7 seed.

The ACC's on-pitch dominance also sees defending champion North Carolina in an unfamiliar position, entering the 2025 NCAA tournament unseeded after the 22-time title-winners finished seventh in the conference behind a 12-6 overall and 6-4 ACC season record.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament

The 2025 NCAA women's soccer tournament kicks off with 32 first-round matches across Friday and Saturday, all on ESPN+.

The action begins with unseeded Ohio State taking on No. 8-seed Georgia at 3 PM ET, live on ESPN+.

USWNT Icons Tobin Heath & Heather O’Reilly Lead 2026 National Soccer Hall of Fame Class

USWNT star Tobin Heath poses holding the 2019 World Cup trophy.
Recently retired USWNT star Tobin Heath will become a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame in May. (Naomi Baker - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Two USWNT legends are seeing their legacies cemented, as the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that retired forwards Tobin Heath and Heather O'Reilly are first-ballot inductees as members of the Class of 2026.

Both Heath and O'Reilly retired as World Cup champions and Olympic medalists, winning their 2008 and 2012 Olympic golds as well as their 2015 World Cup title as teammates.

The USWNT icons led all voting on the Hall of Fame's Player Ballot of 20 finalists, which only allots two to three athletes per annual class for induction.

O'Reilly snagged 47 of the 48-person selection committee's votes, with Heath earning 45 nods for inclusion.

Fellow former USWNT star Sam Mewis finished fifth on the ballot with 32 votes in her first year of eligibility, while longtime NWSL and USWNT player Amy Rodriguez came in seventh with 28 votes.

Longtime Seattle Reign defender Stephanie Cox — a 2008 Olympic gold medalist with the USWNT — also snagged votes, ranking 15th on the Class of 2026 Player Ballot.

Though they fell short of making the cut, a trio of former USWNT stars also earned votes on the 10-finalist Veteran Ballot, with longtime midfielder-turned-broadcaster Aly Wagner as well as legendary '99ers Tiffany Roberts and Lorrie Fair all snagging tallies.

The National Soccer Hall of Fame will induct Heath and O'Reilly as part of its six-person Class of 2026 in a ceremony at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on May 1st.

Marta Scores Back-to-Back Nominations for Namesake FIFA Best Women’s Goal Award

Orlando Pride attacker Marta celebrates a goal during a 2024 NWSL semifinal.
Orlando Pride captain Marta is the reigning winner of the Marta Award, the FIFA prize named in her honor. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)

Orlando Pride captain and Brazil legend Marta is back in the spotlight, topping the 2025 shortlist for the second-annual FIFA Marta Award — the women's goal-of-the-year prize established in her honor in 2024.

The 39-year-old attacking midfielder took home the inaugural trophy at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony last December, earning the title for a stellar long-range shot that helped lift Brazil over Jamaica 4-0 in a June 2024 friendly.

Marta's 2025 nomination, however, comes from an iconic goal in club play, with the FIFA Award spotlighting the Orlando game-winner against Kansas City in the 2024 NWSL semifinals — a goal that saw the Pride star force four Current players to the ground with her footwork.

Marta has steep competition for this year's trophy, however, with 10 other goal nominees including a viral scorpion kick by former Tigres UANL star Lizbeth Ovalle, Seattle Reign defender Jordyn Bugg's long-range missile against the North Carolina Courage, forward Ally Sentnor's first-ever USWNT goal at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, and more.

How to vote for the 2025 FIFA Marta Award

Holding 50% of the vote, fans can view and rank their top three goals of 2025 until voting closes on December 3rd.

Voting for the second-ever Marta Award winner is now open at FIFA.com.

USC Battles South Carolina in “The Real SC” NCAA Weekend Headliner

USC freshman Jazzy Davidson shoots over a NC State defender during a 2025/26 NCAA basketball game.
USC freshman Jazzy Davidson co-leads the Trojans in scoring early in the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season. (Cory Knowlton/Imagn Images)

South Carolina and USC are bringing fireworks to the 2025/26 NCAA basketball court this weekend, as the No. 2 Gamecocks take on the No. 8 Trojans in "The Real SC" showdown on Saturday.

Both standout programs enter the matchup undefeated in early-season play, with the Trojans touting a Top-10 win after narrowly edging out No. 10 NC State 69-68 last weekend.

"You don't know exactly what you have until you're put in these situations, which is why we schedule them," USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said about the upcoming clash. "And I think it's a chance for us to redefine our identity a little bit."

South Carolina's depth will likely test the new-look Trojans, as USC aims to solidify their identity with star JuJu Watkins sidelined with injury for the season.

That said, freshman Jazzy Davidson is giving the Trojans new life, with the No. 1 high school recruit co-leading the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game.

South Carolina, however, has seen early dividends from familiar faces, as sophomore Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks in scoring at 18.3 points per game, with high-profile transfer Ta'Niya Latson close behind with a 16.3 point average.

How to watch USC vs. South Carolina in the "The Real SC" NCAA game

No. 8 USC will welcome No. 2 South Carolina to LA's Crypto.com Arena for the inaugural "Real SC" game on Saturday.

The clash will tip off at 9 PM ET, with live coverage airing on FOX.