October is upon us, and as the leaves continue to turn, so too does the NWSL continue to dish out Fall Series highlights. Here are the top plays from the first weekend of the month.

 

5. MEWIS SLOTS IT HOME

KRISTIE MEWIS!!!! 3-0 #HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/IlCupR9JzY

— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) October 5, 2020

Houston Dash forward Veronica Latsko wins the ball off a pass over the top, shielding the ball from a North Carolina defender before laying it back to teammate Kristie Mewis. Mewis wastes little time in dribbling to goal before snapping the ball into the side panel of the far post. Mewis finished the day with three assists to go along with her score in the Dash’s 4-1 win over the Courage. Hey Coach Andonovski, how about adding another Mewis to the roster?

 

4. ECKERSTROM IS LIGHTS OUT

????‍♀️ @Breck28 ????‍♀️

0-0 | #PORvRGN

Tune in now on @Twitch.#NWSLFallSeries | #VerizonCommunityShield pic.twitter.com/gcTq8v4lri

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) October 1, 2020

The Portland Thorns should have warned OL Reign they were shooting on a brick wall. Early on in the match, OL Reign midfielder Shirley Cruz launches a ball into the box, finding her teammate Bethany Balcer, who heads the ball toward the front post. Britt Eckerstrom leaps to attack the shot, lifting the ball over the crossbar. Eckerstrom went on to hold OL Reign to only a single goal, helping her team to a 4-1 victory.

 

3. SINCLAIR: NOTHING BUT CLASS

The Great Horan sets up the GOAT and it's perfect.#PORvRGN | #BAONPDX pic.twitter.com/2yd3OQxV7u

— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) October 1, 2020

Lindsey Horan and Christine Sinclair… you can’t name a better duo. In textbook style, Horan receives a quick give-and-go on the flank before dribbling into the box, playing a diagonal ball back to Sinclair. The Canadian legend calmly lasers the ball into the back post corner, scoring one of her three goals on the day. Sinclair’s hat trick helped Portland roll to their 4-1 dub over OL Reign.

 

2. ROCKY THE ROCKET RODRIGUEZ

Her first Thorns goal, and it's a BEAUTY. Take a bow, @raque_rocky.#PORvRGN | #BAONPDX pic.twitter.com/3uVDDnk5Vt

— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) October 1, 2020

Try to say that three times fast. Woof. Rocky Rodriguez’s goal is a showstopper as she pockets her first goal as a Portland Thorn since joining the club earlier this year. Portland’s Simone Charley chips a beautiful cross into the box, setting up her teammate, who volleys a rocket near the upper V of the front post. Can we just say that we would have shanked this volley in 10 of 10 tries?

 

1. YOKOYAMA’S SCREAMER

A thing of beauty from @yoko10_official ????

0-1 | #NJvWAS

Tune in now on @Twitch. #NWSLFallSeries | #VerizonCommunityShield pic.twitter.com/XzrpNmZzRH

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) October 3, 2020

‘Tis spooky season, and Kumi Yokoyama is ripping screamers. In the 50th minute, a booming tackle sends the ball soaring in the air just outside the 18. Yokoyama tracks the ball down before slipping past her defender. She drives to the box, takes a touch to her right-foot, and then sends a curling shot that deflects off the post into the back of the net. Yokoyama’s spectacular goal helped the Washington Spirit sneak away with a 1-0 win over Sky Blue FC.

The LPGA is hitting the green in teams on Wednesday night, as some of the top golfers on Tour link up to represent their countries at the 2025 International Crown in South Korea.

This fifth edition of the match-play tournament will see seven teams from the USA, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Sweden, and China, as well as a mixed World Team taking on the reigning champion squad out of Thailand this week.

Comprised of the four top-ranked LPGA players from each nation, countries earn a team spot in the biennial International Crown based on the combined rankings of their best quartet of golfers — with those overall aggregates also determining tournament seeding.

The US topped all teams to snag this year's No. 1 seed, though the squad suffered a significant availability blow earlier this month when world No. 2 Nelly Korda withdrew from the 2025 International Crown due to injury.

No. 28 Yealimi Noh will compete in Korda's place, with the 24-year-old joining No. 10 Angel Yin, No. 16 Lauren Coughlin, and No. 33 Lilia Vu on Team USA.

Led by another 24-year-old, LPGA Tour debutant No. 6 Miyu Yamashita, No. 2 seed Japan appears to be the team to beat, with the World Team's fourth-ranked Lydia Ko (New Zeland) and fifth-ranked Charley Hull (England) upping the stakes for the No. 7 seed squad.

How to watch the 2025 International Crown

The four-day 2025 International Crown will tee off at 10 PM ET on Wednesday night, with live coverage of each day of competition airing on the Golf Channel.

With the first-ever eight-team PWHL season fast approaching next month, the pro women’s hockey league unveiled the inaugural jerseys for incoming 2025/26 expansion sides Seattle and Vancouver on Tuesday.

The new teams will wear jerseys displaying their city names across the front, following suit after the six founding PWHL franchises debuted without original names or branding during their inaugural 2023/24 campaign.

Per this week's press release, Seattle's colors are "deep slate green and cream with a river blue accent," while Vancouver will sport "pacific blue and cream with an earthy bronze accent."

In addition to "allowing fans to immediately identify with their hometown's newest professional team," PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer explained in a Tuesday statement that "These designs also connect our expansion teams to the league's foundation while they continue building their own traditions and ties to the community."

While the PWHL will reveal the full team identities — complete with names and logos — before the puck drops on the 2025/26 season on November 21st, Seattle and Vancouver will play in their generic branding until next season.

How to purchase PWHL Seattle and Vancouver jerseys

The dark-colored replica home jerseys for both Seattle and Vancouver are currently available for purchase alongside all PWHL merch at the league's online shop.

Women's professional baseball will soon be a reality, with the incoming WPBL announcing its four inaugural teams on Tuesday ahead of the league's November draft.

Kicking off with a coast-to-coast imprint, major sports hubs Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco will house the founding WPBL teams, with the quartet of cities tapped "because of their fan support, market size, media presence, and rich baseball histories."

"We are so excited to finally announce the WPBL's first four teams," WPBL co-founder Justine Siegal said in the league's Tuesday press release. "Each of these cities are storied sports cities and we can't wait to connect with the fans who live there and baseball fans across the country."

Originally developed as a six-team venture, the 2026 debut of the WPBL will mark the first pro women's league in the US since the legendary World War II-era All-American Girls Professional Baseball League folded in 1954.

Each of the four inaugural team will feature 15 players, with next month's WPBL draft drawing from the top 100 players coming out of August's open tryouts.

The league's first competitive cycle will include a regular season, a postseason, and an all-star competition held at a neutral venue.

Adam Silver is back in the headlines, with the NBA commissioner speaking out on the increasingly fraught WNBA CBA negotiations on Tuesday — and pushing for controlled salary increases rather than the revenue sharing model that players overwhelmingly want.

"I think [revenue] share isn't the right way to look at it because there's so much more revenue in the NBA," Silver told the Today Show. "I think you should look at absolute numbers. In terms of what they are making, they are going to get a big increase in this cycle of collective bargaining, and they deserve it."

In response, the WNBPA posted a clip of Silver's interview to Instagram Stories, captioning it with "Don't want to share, @adamsilvernba?"

Tuesday's back-and-forth emphasizes a significant wedge issue within the CBA talks, as WNBA players argue for a salary cap determined by the total revenue generated from all basketball-related activities like ticket sales, media deals, sponsorships, and merchandise — the same model currently used in the NBA.

The WNBA — like Silver — wants salary cap growth to continue on a fixed scale, raising player salaries in the upcoming CBA while controlling revenue distribution at the stakeholder level.

"I think we all agree we're trying to return every dollar we possibly can to the players, but we also want to incentivize investment from owners," WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said when addressing the issue earlier this month.

With less than 10 days remaining before the CBA's October 31st deadline, differences continue to outweigh common ground en route to an unlikely deal.