The 2021 NWSL season featured a plethora of stunning goals. From long-range bangers to cheeky chips, the regular season was packed with quality finishes which flexed the talent saturation of the league.

Though it’s a tall order to select the year’s top goals, a few plays rose above the rest, defining the NWSL season that was.

These are the 10 must-see goals from this 2021 NWSL season:

1. Jess Fishlock’s long-range effort

OL Reign midfielder and league MVP Jess Fishlock is no stranger to a long-range shot. The Welsh star has proved herself dangerous from any distance, causing problems for defenses across the NWSL.

Jess Fishlock top corner from the parking lot for @OLReign 🚀

(via @NWSL)pic.twitter.com/BphwIFZwVh

— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 11, 2021

Fishlocks’s banger from outside the box in OL Reign’s October matchup against Chicago showcased the 34-year-old’s shot-making ability and her command over the midfield. Her equalizer was one of her five goals on the season as well as one of the most stunning finishes of the year.

2. Trinity Rodman’s crazy assist

Trinity Rodman burst onto the scene in 2021, putting together one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in NWSL history. Her assist to Golden Boot winner Ashley Hatch in the Spirit’s October 3-0 win over Racing Louisville was likewise one of the most impressive services of the year, highlighting the 18-year-old’s technical ability and defensive commitment.

Hi, we would like to create an assist of the year award and give it to @trinity_rodman immediately pic.twitter.com/qI7MriXDNP

— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) October 11, 2021

Winning the ball in the midfield, Rodman perfectly picked out Hatch, putting the ball on a platter for the Washington striker to slot home.

3. Ebony Salmon’s NWSL debut

Ebony Salmon wasted no time making her mark on the NWSL, scoring in her first two minutes on the pitch. The English striker opened up her account with Racing Louisville in June, setting herself up with creative skill to notch her first finish with flare.

OH MY GOODNESS @ebony_salmon ‼️#LOUvHOU | https://t.co/0LtSAUK1Jw | #NWSL21 pic.twitter.com/VUSFHX2UUv

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

The 20-year-old finished her inaugural season with six goals and one assist, giving Racing Louisville fans a lot to look forward to in 2022.

4. Sophia Smith’s sensational strike

Sophia Smith showed why she is considered the future of the USWNT’s attack, striking a sensational ball from outside the box to beat Ashlyn Harris at the near post. The 21-year-old’s finish helped Portland to a 2-1 win over the Pride, catapulting the team to the top of the table just before the Olympics.

Take a bow, @sophsssmith! 💫 pic.twitter.com/PmPPprpe35

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) July 19, 2021

The moral of the story — be weary of giving Smith time and space.

5. Caprice Dydasco’s “shross”

Caprice Dydasco’s first NWSL goal was a stunner, albeit confounding to categorize. The NWSL Defender of the Year’s finish looked to some to be a cross that tucked into the back of the net. To others, it was a stunning curler.

🚨 SHROSS ALERT 🚨#ORLvNJNY | https://t.co/0LtSAUK1Jw | #NWSL21 pic.twitter.com/QHWBFAjden

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

Whatever Dydasco’s intention, her June finish for Gotham FC was one of the most impeccable goals of the year.

6. Eugénie Le Sommer puts her defender on skates

Eugenie Le Sommer’s first OL Reign goal was arguably the league’s best finish of the season. The French forward put her defender on skates before curling the ball past the fully extended Louisville keeper to open her OL Reign account in stunning fashion.

Cruel (Le) Sommer. #NWSL pic.twitter.com/GPKlwSAhhw

— Our Game Magazine (@OurGameMagazine) August 1, 2021

Le Sommer’s July finish kicked off a stellar campaign with the NWSL club, scoring eight goals in 18 matches.

7. Emina Ekic plays hometown hero

Racing Louisville clinched the club’s first-ever win with a 2-0 shutout over the Washington Spirit in May. Emina Ekic, a Louisville native and graduate of the University of Louisville, notched the team’s go-ahead goal, evading a swarm of defenders before striking a banger into the far post.

Can't write this stuff...

First regular season goal for the hometown hero, @emina_ekic10 💥#LOUvWAS | https://t.co/iecT7II54a | #NWSL21 pic.twitter.com/iulYJyi890

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 22, 2021

The moment was the stuff of movies, galvanizing her hometown crowd in a franchise-defining moment.

8. Christine Sinclair’s chip 

Christine Sinclair is a soccer legend, making even the most difficult skills look effortless. The Portland star’s finish in her team’s May rivalry matchup against OL Reign was no different. Karen Bardsley’s deflected save fell to Sinclair, who, with precision, chipped the Reign keeper for a cheeky and memorable goal.

What a cheeky chip from @sincy12 🤯#PORvRGN | https://t.co/bONPZnnmCJ | #NWSL21 pic.twitter.com/bNBjireYho

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 23, 2021

38 years old, Sinclair still hasn’t lost a step.

9. Crystal Dunn from deep

For those who forgot, Crystal Dunn can score goals. While USWNT fans may be accustomed to seeing Dunn at outside back, for Portland, the 29-year-old plays higher up the pitch in her preferred position.

The swerve on this goal from Crystal Dunn 🤩

(🎥: @ThornsFC)pic.twitter.com/mE3oK9OQKy

— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 30, 2021

Dunn showed off her attacking skills in May when she hit a banger into the upper 90, beating her Gotham defender at the top of the box and reminding us all of what she’s capable of.

10. Gotham FC’s team goal

Gotham FC showed a team goal could be just as thrilling as an individual flash of brilliance, executing one of the most comprehensive plays of the year. Margaret Purce finished off the buildup play, which started with the team’s backline. Ifeoma Onumonu set up a dummy for Carli Lloyd before making a critical overlapping run, notching the assist.

Team football at its finest from @GothamFC 📈#ORLvNJNY | https://t.co/iecT7II54a | #NWSL21 pic.twitter.com/zrapROAS2k

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 10, 2021

The October finish showed just what this burgeoning Gotham team is capable of. Lloyd may be gone in 2022, but an influx of USWNT stars has the New Jersey/New York club looking to continue their ascent.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

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According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.