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.

The battle for continental soccer glory continues on Wednesday, as the Portland Thorns and Gotham FC land in Mexico for the 2024/25 Concacaf W Champions Cup semifinals.

After advancing past last fall's group-stage play, both NWSL sides now face Liga MX standouts in the knockout rounds with a ticket to Saturday's Champions Cup Final on the line.

The back-to-back semifinals will take place on Wednesday in Nuevo León, Mexico, with live coverage streaming on Paramount+:

• Club América vs. Gotham FC, 7:30 PM ET: Both the Bats and this year's Liga MX regular season champions are looking to bounce back, as Gotham attempts to shake off a recent NWSL skid while América seeks redemption after stumbling in their season-ending league tournament earlier this month.

• Tigres UANL vs. Portland Thorns, 10:30 PM ET: Expect a high-energy clash between the three-time NWSL champs and six-time Liga MX title-winners, with the Thorns coming off a five-match undefeated streak and the Tigres shooting to impress in front of their home crowd at Estadio Universitario.

It's not just hardware and continental bragging rights on the line, though.

Saturday's 2024/25 Concacaf W Champions Cup victors will also earn automatic qualification into FIFA's 2026 Champions Cup — a six-team tournament between confederation winners — and the first-ever Club World Cup, which will kick off in 2028.

After a first-round weekend of pitcher's duels and red-hot bats, the 2025 NCAA softball tournament's best-of-three Super Regionals field is set — and it's missing four of the 16 national seeds.

No. 10 LSU fell on Saturday after two upset losses to unseeded SE Louisiana, before Sunday saw No. 13 Arizona and No. 14 Duke follow suit while unseeded Ole Miss, Georgia, and Nebraska all punched second-round tickets.

Eventually ousting SE Louisiana in the winners' bracket to advance to their first Super Regionals in 11 years, the Huskers rode in on the back of two-time All-American pitcher Jordy Bahl, with the Oklahoma transfer throwing 12 innings and hitting four home runs across Nebraska's three Regional games.

Elsewhere, unseeded Liberty booked a program-first trip to the Supers by eliminating top-seed Texas A&M — the first time the NCAA bracket's overall No. 1 seed failed to advance from Regionals.

Should they similarly bounce No. 16 Oregon this weekend, Liberty will become just the second mid-major team to make the Women's College World Series (WCWS) since 2014, joining James Madison's 2021 Cinderella run.

Rounding out the rest of the Super Regional round's 16 teams are No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 5 Florida State, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Tennessee, and No. 8 South Carolina, as well as No. 9 UCLA, No. 11 Clemson, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 15 Alabama, and the aforementioned No. 16 Ducks.

Super Regional weekend to feature blockbuster matchups

The 16 contenders will battle head-to-head for eight available WCWS berths, with the four-time defending champion Sooners now leading the field.

To advance, however, Oklahoma must first outlast Alabama, a team with which the Sooners have a long, contentious postseason history — the pair have faced off in five of the last 12 NCAA tournaments.

After Oklahoma bounced Alabama from the 2019 WCWS semifinals — the last time the pair squared off before becoming SEC rivals — the Tide enacted revenge by narrowly beating the Sooners in April's conference play, teeing up a tense weekend Super Regional series.

After narrowly missing this weekend's hosting rights as the No. 9 seed — UCLA's lowest seeding since 2016 — the Bruins proved why they are the sport's winningest program, run-ruling ever Regional game while allowing just two runs all weekend.

The 12-time champions will now travel to Gamecock territory, where No. 8 South Carolina will try to boost the Bruins and book their first WCWS ticket in 28 years.

Powerhouses still rule the diamond, but parity has never been higher in college softball, with this year's NCAA tournament already delivering whiplash results.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA softball Super Regionals

The best-of three NCAA softball Super Regionals kick off on Thursday and run through the weekend, with possible winner-take-all clashes finalizing the WCWS slate on Sunday.

First games are as follows:

• No. 12 Texas Tech at No. 5 Florida State, 7 PM ET on Thursday (ESPN2)
• No. 11 Clemson at No. 6 Texas, 9 PM ET on Thursday (ESPN2)
• Georgia at No. 3 Florida, 11 AM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• No. 9 UCLA at No. 8 South Carolina, 1 PM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• No. 15 Alabama at No. 2 Oklahoma, 5 PM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• Nebraska at No. 7 Tennessee, 7 PM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• Ole Miss at No. 4 Arkansas, 8 PM ET on Friday (ESPNU)
• Liberty at No. 16 Oregon, 10 PM ET on Friday (ESPNU)

With the 2025 PWHL Finals in full swing and new franchises on the horizon, the league rolled out a detailed expansion plan to build its two new teams on Monday.

The expansion process will see 24 current PWHL players — four from each of the six founding teams — join either Vancouver or Seattle next month.

To be eligible for selection, athletes must be either under contract or have rights held by a current team for the 2025/26 season. 

Each original team can protect three eligible athletes at the outset, with squads reserving the right to protect one additional player should the incoming clubs select two players off the same roster.

In the lead-up to June 9th's expansion draft, Vancouver and Seattle will have five days to sign up to five unprotected players each.

After that window closes, Seattle and Vancouver will increase their rosters to a required total of 12 players via expansion draft selections, with the number of picks for each team determined by how many athletes the new franchises choose to sign.

Finally, the West Coast squads will then complete their 23-athlete lineups alongside the other six teams during the PWHL's June 24th entry draft.

With such a broad unprotected player pool, about half of the PWHL's current athletes — including some of its brightest stars — will be up for grabs, ensuring a very different landscape when the league takes the ice for its third season.

Team USA hockey titan Hilary Knight is hanging up her international skates, with the record-10-time world champion announcing Tuesday that the 2026 Winter Games in Milan, Italy, will be her fifth and final Olympic run.

"It's time," Knight told USA Today. "I'm at peace. I just have this feeling that it’s time."

Going out on her own terms is top-of-mind for the USA hockey great, with Knight acknowledging "That is such a privilege that only a handful of competitors get."

Making her national team debut at 17, the now-35-year-old is one of the sport's most decorated athletes, winning Olympic gold in 2018 to complement three silver medals in 2010, 2014, and 2022.

Just last month, Knight led the US to victory at the IIHF Women's World Championship, and currently sits as the tournament's all-time leader in goals (67), points (120), and assists (50).

Despite her impending step off the international ice, Knight, who currently captains the PWHL's Boston Fleet, plans to continue playing for the second-year league — a pro venture she helped bring to life in 2023.

"I understood what the sport gave me and I wanted to give that to other people," Knight said. "Obviously, there's tons of work that always needs to be done, but I think we now have a career path."