Some of the key matchups going into Saturday’s NWSL Championship game between the Portland Thorns and the Kansas City Current are obvious: Sophia Smith vs. AD Franch, Kansas City’s legs vs. Portland’s bench, Bella Bixby vs. elaborate goal celebrations.

But in any game of this magnitude, with an NWSL trophy on the line, you can expect a few unsung heroes to step up. These are the underrated impact players we’ll be watching at Audi Field in primetime.

Portland Thorns

Kelli Hubly

Hubly’s progression as a center back since joining the Thorns as a national team replacement player in 2017 has been meteoric. She’s been relied upon heavily in recent years as Portland’s center-back duo of Becky Sauerbrunn and Emily Menges have not been able to play consistent minutes together (last year due to Sauerbrunn’s absences, and this year due to Menges’ lingering injury.) Hubly has fully seized the opportunity, and she will need to provide enough coverage and pace on Saturday to allow Sauerbrunn to set up Portland’s distribution.

Raquel Rodriguez

Though perhaps still frozen in time in the eyes of fans as the young talent that won Rookie of the Year in 2016, Rodriguez was actually the most seasoned player starting in Portland’s midfield in their semifinal on Sunday. The Thorns appear to want Rodriguez to operate as a one-two punch with Crystal Dunn, who is still building her minutes after giving birth to her son in May. Rodriguez is a ball-winning No. 8 who can go box-to-box and provide an outlet in distribution while getting in the way of the other team’s ball movement. Her ability to disrupt and counter will be key to the early midfield battle — as will any more goals like this one.

ROCKY RIGHT ON CUE 🤩@raque_rocky | @ThornsFC pic.twitter.com/FkWb1K1uXG

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 23, 2022

Hina Sugita

If the Best XI First and Second Teams include 22 of the best NWSL players from the 2022 regular season, Sugita has a case for being No. 23. She’s the main creative spark in Portland’s midfield, pulling defenders in to stretch space for Smith to run in behind and create chances. She can also strike herself, with a number of quality shots this season from both outside the 18-yard box and inside at tough angles. If the final turns into a shootout, Sugita is a player you want on your side.

Morgan Weaver

Weaver is sometimes overlooked as the other rookie the Thorns drafted in 2020 alongside Smith, the No. 1 pick and a 2022 MVP candidate. Weaver spent the first few years of her professional career coming off the bench, but under head coach Rhian Wilkinson, she has made the left wing her own. She’s focused as much on making runs to the endline and crossing balls in as she is on cutting inside for shots of her own. Her ability to do both forces defenders to make decisions that open up space for others.

Kansas City Current

Alex Loera

If the 2022 Rookie of the Year shortlist had extended to five names, Loera would have had a good argument for making it. The 23-year-old had a strong regular season, notching three assists in 20 matches, but she has risen to another level in the playoffs. The Kansas City midfield had to deal with absences in both knockout games — first, the suspension of Desiree Scott and then the season-ending injury to Claire Lavogez. Loera scored her first NWSL postseason goal against the Reign in the semifinals, and she’ll be called upon again to shore up the midfield defensively and break lines in the attack.

Hailie Mace

You might be thinking, Hailie Mace isn’t an unsung hero —  she played for the USWNT just last month. True! But while she’s played outside back internationally, Mace as an attacking midfielder is still somehow underrated. The 25-year-old is almost difficult to place on the field because of how competent she is in various roles. But she’s at her most dangerous when she’s moving the ball forward for the Current, such as last Sunday when she posed a consistent threat to the Reign’s defense. Against Portland on Saturday, Mace will be key to Kansas City’s ability to create clear chances on the counter.

Elizabeth Ball

Ball has one of the most difficult jobs in Kansas City’s defensive setup as the central center back in a three-back system. While Kristen Edmonds and a rotation of Adissyn Merrick and Izzy Rodriguez defend in isolation on either side, Ball has to be savvy in her positioning and calm when the ball is in the air. Her communication with Loera and Scott will be critical to locking down dangerous areas in front of the Current’s penalty area and, of course, keeping Sophia Smith off the scoresheet.

Kate Del Fava

Del Fava got the glory with her stoppage-time winner in the Current’s quarterfinal against Houston, but it’s her ability to defend that could be a difference-maker on Saturday. Del Fava’s defensive positioning is underrated on the wings: She expertly pushes players onto their weak foot and cuts off dribbles inside to force hopeful crosses in the air. With the Thorns’ Morgan Weaver creating chaos on the outside, Del Fava will likely be tasked with keeping her from moving effectively, and that will be a premier battle to watch.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

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.