For the second-to-last time this season, Just Women’s Sports is naming a monthly NWSL Best XI honoring the best players at every position in that period of time.

August was a particularly competitive month for forwards. With a month left in regular season, three attackers — Alex Morgan, Sophia Smith and Diana Ordoñez — already have scored as many or more goals than last year’s Golden Boot winner, Washington Spirit forward Ashley Hatch.

Seven of the league’s 12 teams are represented in JWS’ August lineup. North Carolina, Chicago, Kansas City and Angel City each have two players on the Best XI, while OL Reign, Houston and Louisville have one player each. Just two players have made one of JWS’ previous Best XIs this season.

Forwards

Diana Ordoñez, North Carolina Courage

The 2022 sixth overall pick scored in three straight games in August, extending her streak to five consecutive matches with a goal. Her five goals this month have moved her into second in the Golden Boot race and made her a top candidate for Rookie of the Year.

Megan Rapinoe, OL Reign

With a goal or an assist in every match in August, the U.S. women’s national team forward is in her best form of the season. Throughout the month, she recorded a total of four goals, three assists and one stoppage-time winner. On the other side of the ball, her tackle success rate is a jaw-dropping 89.5 percent.

This was RIDICULOUS from Megan Rapinoe 😳 #ThatsaW

(via @NWSL) pic.twitter.com/U608AO2IxQ

— ESPN (@espn) August 27, 2022

Mallory Pugh, Chicago Red Stars

Pugh is back from a minor injury and playing at an NWSL MVP level. With a two-goal performance against Racing Louisville on Aug. 27, the 24-year-old sits in fourth in the Golden Boot race. She also had two assists in that match, improving her overall tally to three across her three games played in August.

Midfielders

Sophie Schmidt, Houston Dash

The Canadian national team midfielder has been a staple for the Dash all season. Across her five starts and 441 minutes played in August, she notched a goal and her first assist of the season while staying consistent in the middle of the park with a 75.4 percent passing accuracy.

Lo’eau Labonta, Kansas City Current

Currently on a 12-game unbeaten streak, the second-longest in NWSL history, the Current have been riding players like Lo’eau Labonta, who’s controlling the midfield with a 78 percent passing success rate. Tallying three goals and an assist in August, she also leads her team in assists and big chances created.

Hailie Mace, Kansas City Current

Playing on the left side of the midfield, Mace has been heavily involved in the Current’s game-winning goals. She scored the decider in a 2-1 victory over the first-place San Diego Wave on Aug. 7 and set up the play that secured Kansas City a 3-2 win over the North Carolina Courage on Sunday.

For those about to rock, we salute you 🤘@hailiemace ➡️ @kdelfava ➡️ @khamilton17 pic.twitter.com/pQ6h1997dX

— KC Current (@thekccurrent) August 29, 2022

Defenders

Carson Pickett, North Carolina Courage

Leading the NWSL in assists with five, Pickett recorded two of those helpers in the Courage’s two wins in August, helping her team rise from last place in the standings to ninth. Pickett also leads North Carolina in big chances created.

Tatumn Milazzo, Chicago Red Stars

Milazzo has been a weapon in all areas for the Red Stars, averaging a 78 percent passing success rate, a 67 percent tackle success rate and a 63 percent win rate in duels. She’s contributed just as well to the attack, scoring a goal in Chicago’s first game of August, a 2-0 win over Gotham FC.

Ali Riley, Angel City FC

The Angel City captain had an impressive month defensively and offensively, recording a 73 percent tackle success rate and 71 percent passing accuracy in August. Most notably, the fullback contributed a goal and an assist to Angel City’s undefeated month.

Tyler Lussi, Angel City FC

A firecracker for Angel City this year, Lussi was remarkably consistent in August, playing all but one stoppage time. Leading the NWSL in interceptions, she improved upon her average of 2.8 with three or more in every match of the month. She had six interceptions against the Orlando Pride on Aug. 7, a game in which she also won 91 percent of her ground duels.

#ad the back line tonight! 💪@tyler_lussi @Paigenielsen #AngelCityFC | @JohnnieWalkerUS pic.twitter.com/cj8CPv4lfG

— Angel City FC (@weareangelcity) August 15, 2022

Goalkeeper

Katie Lund, Racing Louisville

On the watchlist for the U.S. women’s national team, Lund leads the NWSL with 79 saves after a heroic month in goal for Racing Louisville. Averaging a 75 percent save percentage this season, she earned a shutout against the Houston Dash with nine saves and set an NWSL single-game record with 12 saves on 25 shots in a 1-1 draw with OL Reign on Aug. 25.

☝ All The Stops ✌

Congratulations to @kt_lund for taking home @Verizon Save of the Week honors 👏@RacingLouFC | #RacingLou pic.twitter.com/ZavqcwG2JZ

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 11, 2022

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

US swimming icon Katie Ledecky is back on top, earning her 22nd world title with a gold medal-winning 1,500-meter freestyle performance at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships on Tuesday.

Finishing with a time of 15:26.44, Ledecky now owns 25 of the top 26 times in the event's history and holds six World Aquatics Championships titles at that distance.

"Each one has meaning, and I love every race that I've had at Worlds over the years," the 28-year-old swimming star told broadcasters following her Tuesday victory.

That 22nd title brought Ledecky's combined Worlds total to an overall 28 medals, lifting the star to second on the all-time most decorated list where she trails only retired US men's star Michael Phelps's 33 podium finishes.

Earlier in the week, the Team USA standout took bronze in the 400-meter freestyle, coming in third behind China's silver-medalist Li Bingjie and Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh, who won the race with a time of 3:56.26.

Gold medals have been hard to come by for Team USA at this year's World Championships.

Other than Ledecky's win and the 100-meter butterfly title snagged by Gretchen Walsh on Monday, the US women have struggled to claim gold medals as they push to recover from the acute gastroenteritis that hit several team members at their pre-meet training camp in Thailand.

That stomach bug inhibited multiple US swimmers from traveling with the team to the Singapore meet, and saw contenders like 100-meter butterfly Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske pull out of initial heats.

"We're taking it a day at a time," said Team USA head coach Greg Meehan about the impact of the illness. "Obviously, this is not how we thought the first few days of this competition would go. But I'm really proud of our team."

How to watch Ledecky at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships runs through Sunday, and US star Ledecky has two events left to swim at the meet.

On Thursday, she'll compete in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, before facing another showdown with rival McIntosh in the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday.

Preliminary heats kick off the night before at 10 PM ET, with finals seeing staggered starts beginning at 7 AM ET.

Live coverage of the meet airs on Peacock.

UEFA Women's Euro 2025 made a splash across the pond, drawing an average of 458,000 US viewers per match across FOX platforms to mark a 97% viewership increase over the 2022 edition — making this year's tournament the most-watched English-language Women's Euro on record.

Building off the 2025 competition's previously reported record-breaking numbers, Sunday's grand finale between defending champs England and 2023 World Cup winners Spain averaged 1.35 million US viewers — a 53% increase in viewership over the last Women's Euro championship match.

Even more, the broadcast ultimately peaked at 1.92 million fans tuning in, making it the most-watched English-language Women's Euro Final on record.

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The historic viewership is a major win for broadcaster FOX, who secured the women's tournament's first-ever US media deal back in May.

Initially committing to live coverage of 20 of the tournament's matches, record returns motivated the broadcast giant to quickly pivot and air all 31 matches live as part of its FOX Sports Summer of Soccer campaign.

"More and more people are tuning in to watch soccer in the US," FOX Sports commentator and UWSNT vet Carli Lloyd told The Athletic. "There's just been an incredible amount of soccer on display, which has been fantastic for the sport."

As the NWSL preps for this weekend's return from an extended summer break, No. 4 Washington Spirit star forward Trinity Rodman is also hoping to re-take the pitch for the first time since April.

Rodman is currently back training with the team, rejoining her club after undergoing extended treatment overseas for chronic back issues.

"I'd never really dealt with something like that," Rodman admitted after an open practice earlier this week. "So, for me, mentally, it was very difficult."

"[I was] trying to function through pain, and kind of gaslight myself to thinking it was fine every day, when it wasn't," she said. "I can now kind of openly say, I was in pain all the time."

Rodman also admits that stepping away was, though difficult, the right call to make for her healing.

"Obviously, it sucks being away from the team and being away from soccer in general," she added. "But I got to work on things that I wouldn't have gotten to work on if I was in the team environment all the time, so I think that was a positive."

Rodman's availability fluctuated after she earned an Olympic gold medal with the USWNT in Paris last summer, with the soccer superstar featuring in just four Spirit games this season — and none since stepping away in April.

Now functioning pain-free, Rodman's next on-pitch challenge is balancing her competitive intensity with her newly found health.

"It's really understanding my body and acknowledging [when] it's in pain," she explained. "And not pushing through things that I shouldn't."

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Rodman eyes new contract amid NWSL return

On top of navigating her return to play, Rodman is also actively negotiating with the Washington Spirit for a contract renewal.

Her current deal expires at the end of 2025, and with interest in the US standout reportedly mounting from overseas clubs, the 23-year-old could eventually field multiple offers.

Considering her lack of minutes so far this season, the star called the assumed interest "a weird situation."

"I'm trying not to stress about it or put too much pressure on it," she said of the ongoing talks. "At the end of the day, I'm worried about health first.... Everything else can come next."

Wednesday's WNBA bill puts a heavyweight battle in the spotlight, as 2024 finalists and 2025 league leaders Minnesota will host reigning champion No. 2 New York in their first face-off of the season — with the Liberty hoping to rattle both the Lynx and the standings.

"I think common sense would say that those two teams probably should have played earlier in the season," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve told media this week, referencing the apparent scheduling idiosyncrasies that delayed the championship rematch.

"It doesn't feel like a Finals rematch anymore, honestly," Lynx forward Napheesa Collier echoed. "It's a new year for us. And it's been so long, it's almost August, so it's just the two top teams going against each other."

Both squads enter the clash on uncharacteristic skids, as Minnesota and New York look to avenge recent losses while other WNBA teams jockey for positioning during the league's Wednesday night slate:

• No. 3 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever, 7 PM ET (ESPN3): The Fever must continue to contend without injured star guard Caitlin Clark, as Indiana faces a newly healthy Mercury side striving to steal back the No. 2 spot with a win.

• No. 5 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 11 Dallas Wings, 8 PM ET (ESPN3): After a disappointing Tuesday upset loss, the will Dream close out a back-to-back against a bolstered Dallas squad fresh off a big victory over New York.

• No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, 8 PM ET (ESPN): With a four-game lead in the standings, the Lynx aren't in danger of giving up their perch at the top, but a strong performance from the Liberty could provide a much-needed boost to the ailing title-holders.