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.

An age-old rivalry headlines the WSL this weekend, as second-place Arsenal gears up for Sunday's Stamford Bridge showdown against league leaders — and reported recipient of USWNT star Naomi Girma — Chelsea FC.

Both clubs are on an undefeated tear, with Chelsea yet to register a loss halfway through the 22-match 2024/25 season.

Meanwhile, newly minted head coach Renée Slegers's Arsenal will attempt to avenge the Gunners' lone loss — a 2-1 October stumble to first-season WSL boss Sonia Bompastor's Blues.

Chelsea and Arsenal's dominance goes beyond the WSL, as both sides also advanced to the semifinals of the League Cup with massive shutout wins this past Wednesday.

Wright shines spotlight on WSL investment debate

A product of a system that often places men's and women's teams under the same leadership, Chelsea and Arsenal have set the standard for the top-flight UK league — and cast other clubs in their shadow.

As some WSL teams continue to snag top international stars, those seeing departures risk falling by the wayside — putting into question a system that might be inhibiting the league's growth and parity.

"In England, with the women's league, I believe if you gave some owners the opportunity to back out of supporting the women's game, I think they would, simply because I feel like they're all about profit," Arsenal legend and outspoken women's football advocate Ian Wright told The World Economic Forum in Davros this week.

Wright acknowledged that the women's game, which suffered from a near 50-year FA ban, is still "playing catch up on every level, infrastructure, training, coaching and every level of development."

"Because of the past it wasn't allowed to be built up, so we are trying to do that now. So, it needs owners, individuals and corporates that will invest."

Currently, the English FA is considering expanding the lower tiers of the women's football pyramid to incentivize development and professionalization at the club level.

How to watch WSL rivals Chelsea vs. Arsenal in the London Derby

Sunday's WSL rivalry match pits the league-leading Blues against the Gunners at 7:25 AM ET, with live coverage on ESPN2.

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball is back, as a second slate of weekend games shines a spotlight on the new league's three winless teams as they rally for redemption.

Phantom BC, Mist BC, and Rose BC are all 0-2 out of the gate, with the six-team league evenly divided between the undefeated and the winless after last week's debut.

At least one of the three will end up in the win column on Friday night, with the Mist and Phantom squaring off in the first game of the doubleheader.

Both lineups contain serious firepower, with Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart leading the Mist alongside sharpshooter Jewell Loyd, whose 20 points per game have her currently in fourth-place on the league's stat sheet. The Phantom boasts the talents of Sabrina Ionescu and Brittney Griner.

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While both have fallen victim to more cohesive game-plans, the Phantom in particular have struggled, posting a league-low average of 58.5 points per game to ultimately drop their first two outings by an average of 29 points.

Saturday's action sees Chelsea Gray and Angel Reese's Rose BC step into the spotlight, going up against a Mist team facing back-to-back matchups.

The Rose roster features two of the offseason league's top scorers in Gray and Kahleah Copper, who each averaged 14.5 points per game through Unrivaled's opening weekend. However, they'll need to lock in on defense to quiet Mist standout DiJonai Carrington's shooting in transition.

Friday's Unrivaled doubleheader tests undefeated teams

The second game of Friday's doubleheader flips the script as two teams put their undefeated starts on the line.

The Laces, led by Kayla McBride's 24.5 points per game, will take on a Vinyl side that rosters three of the league's Top 10 scorers — more than any other Unrivaled team. The trio of Rhyne Howard, Dearica Hamby, and Arike Ogunbowale are poised to cool the Laces' hot start.

How to watch Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball games

Unrivaled's second weekend slate tips off on Friday with the Phantom vs. the Mist at 7:15 PM ET, before the Laces play the Vinyl at 8:15 PM ET. Live coverage of both games will air on TNT.

One of the NCAA's fiercest rivalries hits the hardwood on Friday, when undefeated No. 5 LSU travels to No. 2 South Carolina for yet another high-stakes SEC basketball battle.

Anticipation for the matchup has been building since Wednesday, when the NCAA postponed the game. Originally set for Thursday, winter weather disruptions in Louisiana delayed LSU's ability to safely travel to Columbia.

"It's a rivalry, it really is," newly re-signed South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley​ said earlier this week. "It's not only a rivalry between the programs on the floor, but it's a rivalry with the fanbases."

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A championship-fueled SEC basketball clash

With the last three national championships under their belts,​ LSU (2023) and South Carolina (2022, 2024) have seen WNBA superstars like Angel Reese and Aliyah Boston pass through their ranks.

This season's lot is just as talented, with LSU's Aneesah Morrow and Flau'jae Johnson preparing to lead the Tigers against the a dominant Gamecock defense anchored by team rebounds leader Chloe Kitts.

Coach Kim Mulkey's roster will have their work cut out for them in Columbia, where South Carolina is on a 68-game home winning streak. Even more, the Gamecocks haven't lost to the Tigers since January 2012, winning 16 consecutive meetings between the pair.

That said, while last year's South Carolina team ran the table on their way to a national title, LSU is one of just two Division I teams to still hold a perfect season. The Tigers' 20-0 record is the second-best start in program history, just below their 2022/23 team who strung together 23 wins before South Carolina handed them a first season loss.

If Staley's squad can do it again on Friday, they'll earn an eighth victory over currently ranked teams — and third over a Top 10 roster — so far this season. Their lone loss came at the hands of No. 1 UCLA, the only other program still holding an undefeated record.

On the other hand, LSU has just two victories over ranked teams so far, with Friday's matchup marking their first Top 10 test of the season.

How to watch LSU vs. South Carolina college basketball

LSU tips off against South Carolina at 5 PM ET on Friday, airing live on ESPN.

Friday's Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball debut was an unequivocal success for TV partner TNT Sports, as the new offseason 3x3 league's opening lineup became the most-watched women's basketball games in the broadcast network's history.

The doubleheader logged viewership averages of 313,000 and 311,000, respectively, with the first game peaking at 364,000.

Notably, these numbers do not include viewers on Max, where every Unrivaled game is available to stream live under the league's six-year, $100 million media deal with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).

In 2022, WNBA games averaged 372,000 viewers across Disney networks, with the league later surpassing 500,000 across ABC, ESPN, and CBS in 2023 before reaching a 1.19 million average on ESPN in 2024.

Unlike the well-established WNBA, which is on the cusp of entering its 29th year, Unrivaled is a new-look product in its first-ever season. With that in mind, Unrivaled's initial numbers are promising, particularly for a league that's prioritizing long-term wins over instant gratification.

"I think we put ourselves in a great position to be successful right away, but it’s a marathon,"  league president Alex Bazzell told The Athletic before Unrivaled’s launch. "We’re not running out there from Day 1 trying to get millions of viewers out of the gate."

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One piece of the Unrivaled fan engagement puzzle

Viewership is just one way the league is measuring fan engagement, with Unrivaled also turning an eye toward social media metrics.

"[Viewership is] not fully indicative of what is the overall fan interest because there’s so many ways to consume leagues and teams and highlights," noted Bazzell.

It's one reason that partnering with WBD was so appealing to the new league. The media giant's already robust sports social media channels are elevating Unrivaled content across platforms to an established, sports-hungry audience.

To that end, Unrivaled’s opening weekend content garnered 31 million views across WBD’s social channels and fueled a 59% viewership boost of the media giant's women's sports-specific TikTok account.