It’s the most wonderful time of the year. While the playoffs are heating up in the NWSL, the NCAA Women’s College Cup begins Friday with the best college soccer has to offer.

To get you ready for the tournament, we take a closer look at five players on some of the NCAA’s top-ranking teams.

Jaelin Howell – No. 1 Florida State

The 2020-21 MAC Hermann Trophy winner has been the ultimate playmaker for her team from the six position, leading the Seminoles to their second consecutive ACC title this season and third since Howell’s freshman year. The senior midfielder won a national championship with Florida State as a freshman in 2018 and last season led them to another final appearance, where they lost to Santa Clara in penalty kicks.

In addition to her accomplishments at the collegiate level, Howell has been on the U.S. women’s national team radar for many years. She earned her first call-up in March 2017 but did not earn a cap. The 2021 ACC Midfielder of the Year made her debut with the USWNT last November and appeared a second time at the SheBelieves Cup in February.

Howell and Florida State will meet South Alabama in the first round Friday at 6 p.m. ET.

.@jaehowell18 with a 🚀 into the upper 90!

📺: RSN pic.twitter.com/Iv77Y4bnou

— FSU Soccer (@FSUSoccer) October 15, 2021

Anna Podojil – No. 2 Arkansas

This year, junior Anna Podojil led the Razorbacks to their third consecutive SEC final with 13 goals and six assists in 17 matches. The forward finished the season ranked second in the SEC in points and goals, one point and two goals behind Georgia’s Mollie Belisle.

The Cincinnati native made her mark at Arkansas right away, scoring 14 goals and seven assists in 2019 to lead her team in both scoring and points and earn SEC Freshman of the Year. In 2020, she was named SEC Forward of the Year after recording 24 goals and 10 assists.

Arkansas will face Northwestern State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET in the first round.

Speed that makes you pay 💨💨💨 @apodojil11 pic.twitter.com/xPBWzc3ZLH

— Razorback Soccer (@RazorbackSoccer) November 3, 2021

Talia Staude – No. 1 Virginia

Contributing to Virginia’s 11 shutouts this year, defender Talia Staude helped the Hokies earn their third regular season title before falling to Florida State in the ACC championship. The junior is a force in the back who likes to push up into Virginia’s attack, as her two career goals and three assists indicate. The Atlanta native also leads the team in playing time, with 1,717 minutes logged this season.

Virginia takes on High Point in the first round Friday at 6 p.m. ET.

HIGHLIGHTS | Alexa Spaanstra's brace and Talia Staude's first career goal helped push Virginia to an opening-round win in NCAA Tournament play on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/myDYyX4VyV

— Virginia Women's Soccer (@UVAWomenSoccer) April 29, 2021

Lilly Reale – No. 2 UCLA

Freshman Lilly Reale has been attending U.S. youth national team camps since 2017, playing most recently with the U19s in April. Though a center back for UCLA, Reale has offensive potential. In high school in Hingham, Mass., she scored 15 goals as a freshman and 21 as a sophomore before moving to the backline.

At UCLA, Reale has started all 18 games she’s played in and has helped her team to 10 shutouts, including eight straight clean sheets in the first half of the season. The Bruins were the only team in NCAA women’s soccer to go undefeated through the regular season, posting a 16-0-3 record.

UCLA will face UC Irvine in the first round Friday at 9 p.m. ET.

Lilly Reale wins UCLA's 11th and final @pac12 weekly award of the season, earning the Defensive Player of the Week!

ℹ️: https://t.co/qtijJEbhav#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/ujGJqgNjyV

— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) November 9, 2021

Claudia Dickey – No. 7 North Carolina

A senior, Claudia Dickey has been to the ACC championship three times, winning the title in 2019 in a season where she started 11 games, allowing just six goals in 1671 minutes played. The Charlotte, N.C. native has helped her team to six shutouts this season, playing the full 90 minutes in all 17 matches.

Arguably one of the best goalkeepers in the NCAA, soccer isn’t the only sport Dickey excels at. She also represented North Carolina in basketball during her freshman year, appearing in six games. Growing up she pitched in boys’ all-star baseball.

Coming into the College Cup as a second seed, North Carolina plays South Carolina on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

📺 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 - 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

This week, @JonesAngell & @jadamlucas are joined by @UNCWomensSoccer's Claudia Dickey to talk about UNC being one of the best decisions of her life, how goalkeepers are "weird," and more!#GoHeels x @CocaCola pic.twitter.com/q4CN0c3V6w

— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) September 8, 2021

Jessa Braun is an editorial intern for Just Women’s Sports. She is also the Head of North American Content for the Women’s Sports Alliance. You can find her on Twitter @jessabraun.

The first round of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs ends on Friday night, when the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury and No. 5 New York Liberty return to Arizona for a winner-take-all Game 3 — with a trip to the semifinals on the line.

"The message is, 'Everybody keep our heads up. This is a series, and Phoenix is a tough team,'" Liberty star Breanna Stewart said ahead of Friday's matchup.

Still battling an MCL sprain in her left knee, Stewart hopes for more quality time on the court to help New York bounce back from the Mercury's Game 2 blowout win.

While neither team has successfully defended at home so far, Phoenix will look for a boost from the Mercury fans as they try to oust the defending WNBA champs.

"It's just nice for everyone to get a home game," said Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas. "[But] in order to win a series, you got to win on the road."

"You see how competitive, how balanced this is," said Stewart, commenting on the league's new home-away-home first-round format. "How important it is for these kind of series to be going back and forth."

How to watch the New York Liberty vs. Phoenix Mercury in Game 3

It's win-or-go-home for both the No. 5 New York Liberty and No. 4 Phoenix Mercury in Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs on Friday.

The high-stakes matchup will tip off at 9 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN2.

The 2025 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year race ended in a tie on Thursday, as dominant seasons at both ends of the court saw Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson and Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith each receive 29 of the media panel's 72 total votes.

After finishing first this season in blocks per game (2.3), total rebounds (407), defensive rebounds (316), and combined steals and blocks (156), Wilson became just the fourth player in WNBA history named Defensive Player of the Year at least three times — adding this year's title to her previous 2022 and 2023 honors.

As for Smith, who picked up the award for the first time this year, the Lynx star ranked second overall in combined steals and blocks (135), third in both blocks per game (1.9) and total blocks (80), and tied for 10th in total steals (55) on the season.

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Also snagging votes were Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams, who came in second with nine votes, as well as Phoenix Mercury triple-double phenom Alyssa Thomas and fellow Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, who received three and two votes, respectively.

The win by both Wilson and Smith marks the first time in history that the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year honor has ended in a tie, reflecting both the top-notch level of talent on display across the league as well as the hyper-competitive nature of the 2025 end-of-year awards race on display across multiple categories.

Next up on the league's awards docket is Saturday's Sixth Player of the Year announcement, followed by the highly anticipated reveal of the 2025 WNBA MVP on Sunday.

The NWSL promises a tense mid-table battle this weekend, as the No. 4 Portland Thorns take on the No. 5 San Diego Wave with both teams looking to keep late-season lags at bay.

After strong starts, the Thorns and Wave each have just one win in their last five games, with San Diego aiming to snap a two-game losing streak after falling to Gotham last weekend.

Even more, both clubs currently sit in a four-way tie for points on the NWSL table, giving Saturday's match extra weight in potentially shifting the standings this weekend.

"It's a really important moment for us as a team," said San Diego head coach Jonas Eidevall. "Because adversity will happen to people or teams at various points, and everything about now is how we respond."

Portland will also look to regain ground, perhaps drawing inspiration from the past after announcing Wednesday that the club plans to retire legendary forward Christine Sinclair's jersey in an October 4th ceremony.

Sinclair established herself as the Portland Thorns' all-time leading scorer, retiring last year with 79 goals across all NWSL competitions — the second-most ever scored by an NWSL player.

How to watch the Portland Thorns vs. San Diego Wave

The No. 4 Portland Thorns will host the No. 5 San Diego Wave at 10 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage of the NWSL match airing on ION.

No. 2 Las Vegas narrowly avoided a 2025 first-round postseason series upset on Thursday night, defeating the No. 7 Seattle Storm 74-73 in a deciding Game 3 to advance to the Aces' seventh-straight WNBA semifinals.

Aces star A'ja Wilson put her team on her back with another dominant performance, posting 38 points — including 25 in the second half — to outscore the rest of the Las Vegas lineup entirely.

"I am so proud of my team, we were resilient, that's what we need to be in these playoffs and I love each and every last one of them," Wilson said postgame.

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Las Vegas got off to a slow start this year, but a late-season surge fueled by a renewed focus on depth saw the 2023 WNBA champs take the No. 2 playoff seed — and book yet another trip to the WNBA semifinals.

"I remember Chelsea [Gray] saying in a timeout, 'There's no time for my-bads anymore,'" said Wilson. "We have to play perfect basketball."

How to watch the Las Vegas Aces in the 2025 WNBA semifinals

Up next for No. 2 Las Vegas is a No. 6 Indiana side punching above their weight.

That said, the Fever did score a 2-1 record against the Aces in the 2025 regular season — and Las Vegas's lone win over Indiana came back in June.

"They haven't seen the real Aces yet," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon said of the Fever. "They caught us when we were a bit in turmoil."

The Aces will take aim at Indiana in Sunday's 3 PM ET semifinals opener, airing live on ABC.