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Lynn Williams praises Naomi Girma as USWNT ‘bright spot’ at World Cup

(Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

If there was one bright spot for the U.S. women’s national team at the 2023 World Cup, it was Naomi Girma.

In the absence of Becky Sauerbrunn, Girma stepped up in tandem with veteran Julie Ertz to lock down the backline. Their teamwork at center-back resulted in three shutouts and just one goal allowed, which came against the Netherlands in the group stage.

While Girma’s impact could be seen on the field, it also was felt off it. On the latest episode of Just Women’s Sports‘ “Snacks” podcast, USWNT forward Lynn Williams described how the young defender helped lift her teammates.

“I think that is one of the hardest things to do is to almost forget about everything in that last game,” Williams said. “[The World Cup] didn’t go how we wanted it to, but you were such a bright spot on the team, I think on the field but also off the field. I feel like you just always brought, like, a positivity to the environment.”

The 2023 World Cup served as Girma’s first major tournament, and at 23 years old, she already is stepping into a leadership role with the USWNT and gaining wisdom that will help her in the years to come.

“I think it’s hard and it’s so fun to see you do it so young, to speak up in meetings, even if it’s something as simple as a question, because you don’t want to sound silly,” Williams continued. “I just felt like, even if you were nervous, you did it with so much grace and you were just like, ‘What do we feel about this?’ And it was something that I don’t even think a lot of people thought about. So your attention to detail is far beyond your years.”

While Girma admitted that she was nervous to ask questions, she also said her time at Stanford helped her to feel empowered to do so. While with the Cardinal, she never had anyone shut her down when she asked questions, which helped her as she’s stepped into the NWSL with the San Diego Wave and onto the international stage with the national team.

The atmosphere on the USWNT also has helped make it easier to ask questions, Girma said.

“When you’re younger it’s a little harder, because it’s easy to default and let other people do it,” she said. “I also think in this group, like it was very much said, it doesn’t matter how old you are, it doesn’t matter how many caps you have, if you have something to say, say it.

“Without that encouragement from leaders on the team, it’s harder for younger players to feel comfortable and to not feel like, ‘Oh, like I’m gonna get shut down.’ … It’s really just like, we’re nervous and we make it up in our head. … I think that encouragement from leaders on the team was really, really helpful, too.”

The maturity Girma has shown in just two years in the NWSL and with the USWNT has shown through, as Williams pointed out.

“It’s so funny, because you talked about wanting to work on your leadership side but it’s your second year in the league,” Williams said. “It’s so crazy. I feel like when I was in my second year in the league, I was like, I got to worry about myself, good luck to everybody else. Like I only have the capacity to worry about me and that’s what’s going to help the team. I just feel like you’re so mature to recognize that you have something to give and you want to grow outside yourself.”

WPSL to Launch First-Ever 2nd Division U.S. Pro Women’s Soccer League

The new WPSL Pro league logo on a red-to-blue ombre gradient background.
The new WPSL Pro league is set to launch in 2026. (WPSL Pro Soccer)

The Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) announced a plan to launch a Division II pro arm in 2026, providing a domestic stepping stone for players aspiring to top-flight leagues like the NWSL and USL Super League.

The same Cleveland ownership group that recently fell short of securing an NWSL expansion team is backing the venture, making good on their promise to bring professional women's soccer to Northeast Ohio.

The league will launch with a shortened season following the 2026 men's World Cup, before beginning its first full-fledged campaign in April 2027.

With 15 teams already confirmed, WPSL Pro intends to field clubs in an initial 16 to 20 markets.

Along with Cleveland, the inaugural WPSL Pro season will include teams in Austin, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Fargo, Houston, Oklahoma City, Sioux Falls, Wichita, and the Bay Area, among others. Each franchise will pay a $1 million fee to enter the league.

The WPSL has a history of fostering high-level amateur competition, currently housing over 100 clubs and boasting a roster of former players that includes USWNT icons Brandi Chastain, Alex Morgan, and Rose Lavelle. WPSL Pro, however, will become the US soccer pyramid's first-ever second-tier league.

"WPSL Pro is the bridge that's been missing — not just for players, but for the communities, investors, and brands ready to be part of the next chapter in women's sports," league co-founder Sean Jones said in a statement.

Caitlin Clark Scores 2nd Best-Selling Jersey Across WNBA and NBA Sales

Fans clamor to buy Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark jerseys before a 2024 WNBA game.
Caitlin Clark sold the second-most basketball jerseys in the US in 2024. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

The No. 22 kit of Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark weighed in as last fall's second best-selling basketball jersey in the US according to sports outfitter Fanatics, with the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year trailing only NBA superstar Steph Curry on the top sales list.

Clark's merch dominance is nothing new, however. Her Indiana jersey sold out less than an hour after the Fever drafted her as the overall No. 1 pick in April 2024, making Clark the top seller of any draft night pick in the company's history.

Even more, Clark's merchandise led last season's record-shattering WNBA sales, with Fanatics reporting that 2024 sales of player-specific gear earned a jaw-dropping 1,000% year-over-year increase by last summer's All-Star break — in large part thanks to the 2024 WNBA rookie class.

Fellow 2024 WNBA debutants Chicago Sky standout Angel Reese and then-Las Vegas Aces guard Kate Martin — Clark's NCAA teammate at Iowa — trailed the Fever star with the league's second- and fourth-most merchandise sales, respectively.

This year, a new WNBA rookie could give Clark a run for her money, as the No. 5 Dallas Wings jersey for 2025's No. 1 draft pick, Paige Bueckers, is already doing numbers at retailers across the country.

Already a brand mogul in her own right, Bueckers topped the 2024 NIL list as college basketball’s biggest earner via endorsement deals and merchandise sales prior to going pro.

Kenyan Runner Sharon Lokedi Shatters Boston Marathon Record

Kenya's Sharon Lokedi raises her arms in triumph as she crosses the 2025 Boston Marathon finish line.
Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi beat the Boston Marathon course record by over two minutes. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Kenyan runner Sharon Lokedi shattered the women’s course record at the 2025 Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing the 129th edition of the race in 2:17:22 — more than two and a half minutes faster than the previous record set by Ethiopia's Buzunesh Deba in 2014.

The victory marked the 31-year-old runner's second major marathon championship following her 2022 New York City Marathon win.

After finishing second in the 2024 Boston Marathon behind fellow Kenyan Hellen Obiri, Lokedi avenged her runner-up status by overtaking the back-to-back defending champion in the final kilometer of Monday’s race.

"I'm always second to her and today I was like, 'There’s no way,'" Lokedi said of her rivalry with Obiri. "I just have to put it out there and fight 'til the end and see how it goes. I'm so glad I ran that fast and she was right behind me. We all fought and wanted this so bad."

All of this year’s top three finishers broke through the course record pace, with Obiri and Ethiopia's Yalemzerf Yehualaw joining Lokedi both at the finish line and in the Boston Marathon's record book.

Along with her $150,000 winner's check, Lokedi will pocket an additional $50,000 for claiming the fastest women's time in Boston Marathon history.

Naomi Girma Makes Champions League Debut for Chelsea in UWCL Semifinal Loss

Barcelona's Alexia Putellas shakes hands with Chelsea's Naomi Girma after their 2024/25 Champions League semifinal.
Naomi Girma subbed into Chelsea’s 4-1 Champions League semifinal loss to Barcelona on Sunday. (JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images)

USWNT star defender Naomi Girma made her UEFA Women’s Champions League debut this weekend, with Chelsea FC's million-dollar signing taking the pitch during the UK club's tough 4-1 semifinal loss to reigning champion Barcelona on Sunday.

Despite joining the WSL leaders on a world-record $1.1 million transfer fee from the NWSL’s San Diego Wave in January, injury hampered Girma's impact on the Blues, as the Stanford grad appeared in just one regular-season WSL match before exiting with a knock to the calf back in March.

Returning from that injury, Girma subbed in at the 81st minute on a mission to protect Chelsea's relatively tight 2-1 scoreline on Sunday.

Despite her efforts, a quick goal from center back Irene Paredes coupled with a 90th-minute strike from forward Clàudia Pina secured Barcelona the win — plus a significant lead going into this weekend's deciding second-leg semifinal match.

"Barcelona were sharper in tight spaces than we were, which is what they're known for," said Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze after the match.

"The whole rhythm of the game was very different from in England. This was much more of a Spanish tempo. We wanted to play a little more aggressively on the ball, but the staccato nature of the match worked against us."

How to watch the Chelsea at theChampions League semifinals

Girma will have another chance to earn her check this Sunday, when Chelsea hosts Barcelona in the second leg of their 2024/25 UEFA Champions League semifinal round.

The match kicks off at 9 AM ET, with live coverage on DAZN.

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