The NWSL is one step closer to crowning a 2021 champion.

After last week’s quarterfinal round sent two teams home, the 10-team league is down to four that will compete in a pair of semifinal matchups on Sunday afternoon. Portland Thorns FC and OL Reign earned byes to the semifinals after finishing the regular season in first and second place, respectively.

OL Reign will host the Washington Spirit, winners of a 1-0 extra-time quarterfinal against the North Carolina Courage, in the first game Sunday. The Thorns will then meet the Chicago Red Stars, who ousted NJ/NY Gotham FC 1-0 last weekend, in the finale.

Let’s take a closer look at each semifinal matchup.

2⃣ 🎟️ to the NWSL Championship will be booked 🔜

Sunday can't come soon enough 😎 pic.twitter.com/ofyAHNexOW

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 11, 2021

No. 2 OL Reign vs No. 3 Washington Spirit

Oh hey, OL Reign. Long time, no see.

The Reign are coming into this game having not played since their 3-0 win over Kansas City on Oct. 30. They placed second in the regular-season standings — just two points behind the Portland Thorns — with a record of 13-8-3. A dominant team at every position on the field, OL Reign will be a tough matchup for the Spirit.

But “tough” is a word that hardly phases Washington these days. After battling the Courage to extra time last Sunday and advancing on Golden Boot winner Ashley Hatch’s late goal, the Spirit have increased their unbeaten streak to seven games. The Spirit finished the regular season third in the standings with an 11-7-6 record, fueled by the energy of their young squad.

The Golden Boot with perhaps the Golden Goal 👀#WASvNC | https://t.co/0LtSAUK1Jw | #NWSL21 pic.twitter.com/M8advNgK6y

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 8, 2021

In the teams’ three meetings this season, Washington has two wins and Reign has one. Their most recent matchup on Oct. 16 resulted in a 2-0 Spirit victory.

Each team has a top scorer in Hatch and Bethany Balcer, whose nine goals for OL Reign during the regular season trailed Hatch’s by one. Defensively, the Reign were fourth in the league with 24 goals against during the regular season. The Spirit were just behind them at 26, with Aubrey Bledsoe nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year after recording nine shutouts. NWSL MVP nominee Jess Fishlock and 2020 Olympic gold medalist Quinn have held down a strong midfield for the Reign this year, while U.S. women’s national team members Ashley Sanchez and Andi Sullivan have done the same for Washington.

Sunday’s game will feature four players on each squad who were called up to the USWNT for international friendlies against Australia later this month. For OL Reign, NWSL assists leader Sofia Huerta and Defender of the Year nominee Alana Cook will slot into the national team’s backline, while Balcer and midfielder Rose Lavelle will play on the attack. Representing the Spirit will be Hatch, Sanchez, Sullivan and defender Emily Sonnett.

The Reign may have the slight edge Sunday, but if the Spirit bring the same hunger that’s gotten them this far, they can’t be counted out. Washington and OL Reign kick off at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday on CBS Sports Network.

No. 1 Portland Thorns vs No. 4 Chicago Red Stars

The Portland Thorns are getting used to raising trophies. Already this year, they’ve won the Challenge Cup, the International Champions Cup and the NWSL Shield. In 2020, they claimed the Fall Series title. They’re also two-time NWSL champions, having won in 2013 and 2017.

The Chicago Red Stars? They’re still looking to get over the hump, with Sunday’s’ game marking their sixth consecutive semifinal appearance.

MVP candidate Mallory Pugh will lead the Red Stars’ upset campaign. The 23-year-old has continued to build on a standout season, scoring the game-winning goal in her NWSL playoff debut last weekend to lift her team to the semifinals.

💥 CUE MAL PUGH 💥

First playoff game, first playoff goal 🤌#CHIvNJNY | https://t.co/bONPZnnmCJ | #NWSL21 pic.twitter.com/uyuHikPPz2

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 7, 2021

While most teams had the opportunity to play each team three times this season, the Thorns and Red Stars faced each other just twice, winning one apiece. Portland claimed the first match, 5-0, back in May. Their second meeting at the end of September was much closer, with Red Stars forward Rachel Hill scoring the game-winner in the 65th minute after first-half goals from Portland’s Christine Sinclair and Chicago’s Kaelia Watt.

Chicago, after winning in front of 7,027 fans at home last Sunday, now heads into enemy territory at Providence Park.

“Portland is a tough place in the history of the Red Stars for us to play at, but I’m excited about it,” Red Stars defender Sarah Gorden said. “It’s going to be an incredible challenge … It’s been a year filled with adversity, and so I feel like this is the perfect like next challenge, of course, to go to Portland and to really make a statement after we last went there.”

The Thorns’ defense has been the best in the NWSL this season, conceding just 17 goals and helping Goalkeeper of the Year nominee Bella Bixby record 14 clean sheets for a league shutout record. Portland’s Emily Menges and Chicago’s Gorden are both up for NWSL Defender of the Year.

The Thorns and Red Stars kick off Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.

Jessa Braun is an editorial intern for Just Women’s Sports. She is also the Head of North American Content for the Women’s Sports Alliance. You can find her on Twitter @jessabraun.

The 2021 NWSL Championship is heading to Louisville on Saturday, Nov. 20. Check out the greatest women’s soccer players in the world live at Lynn Family Stadium in the championship final. Go to seatgeek.com/NWSL and buy your tickets today.

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.