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.

USWNT and NWSL superstar Alex Morgan played her final professional match on Sunday, narrowly missing a left-footed penalty for San Diego before being subbed out within the game's first 15 minutes. 

"I came off the field and I thought to myself, 'That's the best example I could give of betting on yourself,'" Morgan said in a postgame press conference. "I think that's just how I've tried to live my life and my career as a soccer player."

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Alex Morgan leaves historic mark on women's sports

Sharing news that she was pregnant with her second child, the 35-year-old forward announced her imminent retirement late last week. 

"You pushed me to be my best self every day — you pushed me to be the best soccer player, to be the best mom, to be the best person I could be," Morgan told Snapdragon Stadium's 26,500 fans after the game.

Before the game concluded, the soccer icon made one final bit of history. The match marked the first women’s sports event to be simultaneously broadcast across multiple US outlets, with CBS Sports, ESPN2, Prime, Paramount+, and others getting in on the action.

However, North Carolina damped the celebratory sendoff vibes by soundly defeating the 12th-place Wave 4-1, extending San Diego's regular-season winless streak to five.

The Courage now sit fifth in the standings after overtaking Portland, solidifying their place above the postseason cutoff line.

NWSL standings hold steady in weekend play

In Kansas City's 1-0 win over Utah on Saturday, Temwa Chawinga added a 15th goal to her Golden Boot campaign. The Current snapped a three-game losing streak in the process.

Also on Saturday, Washington beat Portland in front of a raucous Audi Field crowd. In the match, the Spirit's Ballon d’Or nominee, Trinity Rodman, registered both a goal and an assist.

On Sunday, Marta scored a stunner against Chicago to keep Orlando's undefeated season alive. The Pride became the first NWSL club to clinch a 2024 postseason berth in the process.

Speaking of the postseason, Bay FC have launched themselves into seventh place and playoff contention after two straight wins, including Saturday's 1-0 victory over Louisville.

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese's first WNBA season was cut short as the Rookie of the Year contender suffered a season-ending injury in Friday's 92-78 win over LA. Reese fractured her left wrist in a third-quarter fall, but still finished the game with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

"The risk of not having surgery, I could literally have arthritis at 22-years-old — that wasn't an option," Reese told her TikTok followers on Sunday.

Without mentioning a specific recovery timeline, the star said she anticipates being able to participate in Unrivaled's upcoming season. The 3×3 league's inaugural competition begins in early 2025.

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Reese made WNBA history in record-breaking rookie season

With new WNBA records for both consecutive double-doubles and single-season rebounds, Reese had a historically strong rookie year.

"I never would have imagined the last bucket of my rookie season would be a 3 but maybe that was God saying give them a taste of what they will be seeing more of in Year 2 lol," Reese posted to Instagram after her injury.

This year's WNBA rookie class​ will surely go down as one of the most impactful drafts of all time. But as the league's grueling schedule takes a toll, injuries to standouts like Cameron Brink and Reese are also part of the story.

Despite the injury, weekend wins keep Chicago in playoff contention

Chicago held onto the eighth and final playoff spot this weekend. After beating LA and Dallas, the Sky gained a one-game lead on ninth-place Atlanta.

That said, the Sky's fight is far from over. Chicago will next face a motivated 10th-place Washington on Wednesday before September 17th's big game against Atlanta.

In other playoff news, the Sparks and the Wings have been officially eliminated from postseason contention. Both teams are now guaranteed lottery picks in the 2025 WNBA Draft.

The USA wheelchair basketball team and sitting volleyball team will both compete for Paralympic gold this weekend, after thrilling semifinal wins in the final days of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

USA sitting volleyball took down Brazil 3-1 in their semifinal on Thursday, and will continue their long-held Paralympic rivalry against China on Saturday at 1:30pm ET. The US will be going for their third-straight gold medal in the event, after finishing atop the podium in 2016 and 2020.

On Sunday, the US wheelchair basketball team will take on the Netherlands in a gold medal rematch of group play at 7:45am ET, in search of their first Paralympic gold since 2016.

Breaking through

US wheelchair basketball reached their first Paralympic gold medal game since Rio on Friday with a thrilling 50-47 win over China, exacting revenge on the squad who defeated them in their semifinal in Tokyo.

Rose Hollerman led the team in scoring with 20 points, and Chicago native Ixhelt Gonzalez scored 11 points off the bench after a game-clinching performance against Great Britain in the team's quarterfinal.

On Friday, the US struggled at times with China's full court defense, but a strong third quarter performance prompted a comeback from a halftime deficit, and Team USA proved clinical enough at the free throw line to hold off a late fourth quarter push.

The US will now look to erase their only loss of the tournament thus far, taking on the Netherlands for gold after falling to the Dutch 69-56 in their second game of group play.

Familiar gold medal opponent

USA sitting volleyball's gold medal foe is very familiar, as the US and China have played each other for Paralympic gold in every Games since 2008, with China's Paralympic final streak dating back to 2004.

The US are the reigning champions, winning gold in 2020 and 2016 after falling to China in 2012 and 2008.

Team USA will look for another strong match from outside hitter Katie Holloway Bridge, who led all scorers with 21 points in the team's semifinal win over Brazil.

They will be looking for a little bit of revenge themselves, after falling to China in their Paralympic opener during group play.

TEAM USA WILL PLAY FOR GOLD!

Women's sitting volleyball moves onto the FINAL after a win over Brazil. 🇺🇸 #ParisParalympics pic.twitter.com/iQuOjNI2i0

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) September 5, 2024

“The team’s gone through a lot since they’ve been here," head coach Bill Hamiter said after the match. "To come together and keep playing, and play well enough to get into that championship match was good."

For the second year in a row, there will be a US tennis player facing Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the US Open, after Jessica Pegula wrapped up the best week of her career.

Having reached the quarterfinals in all four major tournaments, Pegula finally broke through to her first Slam semifinal and then final this week with wins over Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova.

A career-best run

Currently ranked No. 6 in the world, Pegula has played some of the best tennis of her career recently, reaching the quarterfinal of the Australian Open in 2021-23, and the quarterfinal of the French Open in 2022, and the US Open in 2023.

But Wednesday's straight-set win over World No. 1 Swiatek proved to be her first time breaking 'the quarterfinal curse,' with the hope of carrying the momentum all the way to the final.

Pegula had to battle back from a slow first set in her semifinal on Thursday, as Muchova took an early 6-1 lead and then a 3-0 advantage in the second set.

"I came out flat, but she was playing unbelievable," Pegula said after the match. "She made me look like a beginner. I was about to burst into tears because it was embarrassing. She was destroying me." But the 30-year-old battled back to take the second set 6-4 and rolled to a 6-2 win in the deciding third set, continuing her impressive 15-1 record since the Paris Olympics.

"I was able to find a way, find some adrenaline, find my legs," Pegula said. "At the end of the second set into the third set, I started to play how I wanted to play. It took a while but I don't know how I turned that around honestly."

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Finishing the job

Pegula will face World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated her in Cincinnati, and who advanced past Emma Navarro in straight sets on Thursday. Sabalenka has only dropped one set this US Open, after not participating in the Olympics. The Belarusian will be looking for her second-ever Grand Slam title after coming up just short against Coco Gauff in New York in 2023.

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"Hopefully I can get some revenge out here," said Pegula.