The NWSL will rev its engines Sunday as two teams square off on the infield at Daytona International Speedway.

The Orlando Pride and Racing Louisville FC will meet as part of the first-ever Daytona Soccer Fest. The clubs moved their regular-season match originally scheduled for July 2 in Orlando to a newly-built pitch at Daytona on July 3.

“I think we’re all thrilled,” Pride midfielder Meg Dougherty said. “We’re really excited to see the venue and see everything set up. I think it’s awesome to be making history. Hopefully the atmosphere is going to be electric, hopefully we’ll have a lot of people out there and we can put on a good performance.”

Racing coach Kim Bjorkegren said Thursday that the Louisville team, which came into training this week with a “new energy,” is excited to get out and compete in the new event.

“It’s going to be a special one for sure,” he said. “We don’t know exactly what we can expect from the pitch and the whole thing. But it’s going to be fun.”

While Racing Louisville is coming off a 2-2 draw with the Washington Spirit, the Pride suffered a 6-0 loss at the hands of the Portland Thorns their last time out. Both goalkeeper Erin McLeod and interim coach Seb Hines said Tuesday that leaving that match behind them was a point of emphasis during the NWSL’s international break.

“Our last game wasn’t something we were proud of. When it comes to team performance, you have an opportunity to let a few games define you or take control over your actions and how you perform,” said McLeod, adding that the team has responded well and used the week off to improve.

“We’ve got things to prove going into this game,” added Hines. “There’s been a different mindset in training sessions.”

McLeod called the break incredibly important, adding that the team has had a different energy as they’ve gotten back to training over the past few days.

“I am very proud of this team, in the last couple of days they have shown an entirely new level and a new hunger and desire, understanding that the last performance wasn’t good enough,” said McLeod.

The goalkeeper also addressed the unique atmosphere and what it could bring to the NWSL.

“I think what’s really wonderful about the timing of this game is it gives us something to look forward to and an opportunity to shine and also really grow the game,” she said.

“It’s an awesome time for women’s sports in this country,” McLeod added. “I think it’s growing at a rapid pace and an opportunity for different eyes to be watching our team and hopefully build more of a fan base as we continue to build this team.”

Both teams have lost significant pieces of their teams over the international break, with Racing trading Ebony Salmon to Houston and Orlando sending Sydney Leroux to Angel City. But the moves haven’t deterred either side as they head into Sunday.

“It is the NWSL, it’s the league and I think you have a lot of turnover constantly,” said Racing midfielder Lauren Millet when asked about the club also missing players due to international duty. “A lot of players are used to that. But I think we have a good core group that’s rearing and ready to go.”

The NWSL has made a decision, as the league officially moves forward with its new "High Impact Player" rule despite stated opposition from the players union.

Announced last week, the rule change allows clubs to exceed to the NWSL salary cap by up to $1 million to attract or retain players that meet one of eight qualifying metrics set by the league.

Those metrics include major media award rankings like the 30-player Ballon d'Or shortlist and ESPN FC's Top 50 Football Players, as well as marketing power, top USWNT minutes, and end-of-year NWSL awards.

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Developed with Washington Spirit superstar — and current free agent — Trinity Rodman and her potential contract in mind, the "High Impact Player" rule will not go into effect until July 1st, 2026.

Meanwhile, the NWSLPA has spoken out against the mechanism, proposing instead to up the salary cap by $1 million without league-imposed spending regulations.

"Under federal labor law, changes to compensation under the salary cap are a mandatory subject of bargaining — not a matter of unilateral discretion," the union wrote on Wednesday.

Additionally, per The Athletic, NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke expressed concerns that the rule ties top athlete pay, in part, to player valuations in third party publications — a move that externally defines who a club can consider "high impact."

Led by six Kansas City athletes and five from Gotham FC, just 27 current NWSL players across 10 of the 16 clubs in the expanded 2026 season meet the new HIP qualifying criteria — though all teams could use the mechanism to attract a new athlete to the league.

In a growing global market, the NWSL could be falling into a trap of half-measures, as the union pushes back with league parity potentially on the line.

The Kansas City Current have apparently found a new manager, with ESPN reporting last week that the 2025 NWSL Shield-winners will bring on former MLS head coach Chris Armas to lead the team in 2026.

Armas built his career in the MLS, coaching the New York Red Bulls from 2018 to 2020 before taking over Toronto FC in 2021, then spending the last three years heading up the Colorado Rapids.

The ex-USMNT player also has experience in the women's game at the college level, leading the Division II Adelphi University women's soccer team from 2011 to 2014.

Despite their many victories in 2025, the Current found themselves without a coach after third-year boss Vlatko Andonovski moved into a sporting director role with the club in November.

ESPN reported that Kansas City chose Armas over internal candidates like assistants Milan Ivanovic and ex-Angel City and Gotham manager Freya Coombe.

"I want my staff and people I've worked with to become successful coaches. These are things I'm very passionate about and want to be able to execute," Andonovski told ESPN last month.

Armas would be the first former MLS coach to make the leap to the NWSL, with the winds of change in Kansas City blowing stronger than anticipated.

With the 2026 Winter Olympics fast approaching, US skiing icon Mikaela Shiffrin has started the 2025/26 FIS World Cup cycle in top form — particularly in her favored slalom event.

Closing out last season with a victory, Shiffrin is currently on a multi-event winning streak, earning her sixth straight slalom title in Semmering, Austria, on Sunday.

"It was a really hard day today, tough conditions, a really big fight, and the pressure's on… I did my best, best possible run," Shiffrin said afterwards.

Momentum is on her side, with Shiffrin set to enter the 2026 Winter Games in Italy as the winningest skier in World Cup history, surpassing Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark's 86 wins in March 2023 and becoming the first skier to reach 100 World Cup victories earlier this year.

Sunday's race marked the 30-year-old's 106th career World Cup title, with Shiffrin looking to add to her ever-growing historic record with three more slalom events scheduled before the Olympic women's Alpine skiing events kick off on February 8th.

The 2014 Olympic slalom champion and 2018 Winter Games giant slalom gold medalist is aiming to return to the podium after failing to medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Shiffrin will likely hit the slopes again next weekend, when the women's FIS World Cup lands in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, for a giant slalom and slalom competition.

South Carolina basketball is stocking up, as top-ranked high school senior Jerzy Robinson announced her commitment to join the head coach Dawn Staley and the No. 3 Gamecocks last Tuesday.

"I chose South Carolina because I had a sense of peace when it came down to the decision for me," Robinson told ESPN. "When I visited South Carolina, I was already home. I was already valued there.... I felt like this was where I needed to be for the next four years."

A 6-foot-2 guard who averaged 27 points and 10.2 rebounds in her junior season at Los Angeles's Sierra Canyon High School, Robinson is now the highest-ranked Class of 2026 recruit heading to South Carolina — as well as the final Top 5 player to make a college decision after also visiting No. 1 UConn and No. 5 LSU.

Robinson first made a name for herself at the youth level, winning three gold medals and the 2025 U-19 FIBA World Cup with Team USA.

The young talent also inked one of the first-ever shoe sponsorships for a high school player, signing an NIL deal with Nike in November 2024.

"Basketball has always been my love and my passion," she said. "To see it pay off and the hard work and the hours pay off, in the sense of I get to play for one of the best universities in the country, I just have so much gratitude."