After a couple of quiet weeks of somewhat predictable outcomes in the NWSL, the Orlando Pride shut out the Houston Dash after losing 5-0 their last meeting, while the last-place North Carolina Courage nearly recorded a clean sheet against the No. 2 Chicago Red Stars. No. 1 San Diego Wave FC fell to Angel City, who were a player down when they scored the game-winning goal.

Through it all, just three clubs remain in the same spot from last week’s power rankings. OL Reign have finally moved into the top three, and the Kansas City Current have joined the top half.

Let’s dive in.

12. Racing Louisville FC (2-5-4) —

Racing Louisville hasn’t won since a 1-0 victory over Gotham FC on May 22, in a streak that’s spanned six games. Meeting Gotham again on Friday, Louisville had a chance to snap their losing streak in a chippy game where they outshot their opponents 24-9. But bad passing out of the back led to Gotham’s winning goal and a 2-1 loss, keeping Louisville firmly in last place in the power rankings.

11. North Carolina Courage (2-5-2) -2

Nearly three months into the regular season, the Courage still haven’t rediscovered their dominance from the Challenge Cup this past spring. On Sunday, though, they were the closest they’ve been all season. The Red Stars had a hard time keeping up with North Carolina’s quick counterattacks, and the Courage took a 2-0 lead into stoppage time, at which point Chicago scored two last-minute goals to salvage a draw. The Courage need to play with more urgency from start to finish if they want to close out games like Sunday’s and ultimately make a playoff push.

10. Orlando Pride (3-5-3) +1

The Pride showed no fear coming into Friday’s match against a team that had defeated them 5-0 in early June. In a hard-fought game against the Dash, the Pride were rewarded with a 1-0 win, their first of the season at home. The goal was the result of a desperate scrum in front of the net, but Orlando deserved it after controlling the game with six shots on goal and an 81 percent passing accuracy.

9. NJ/NY Gotham FC (4-5-0) +1

After three scoreless games, Gotham found the back of the net twice in a 2-1 win over Racing Louisville. The center of the park has been an area of concern for Gotham this season, but the midfielders made the plays needed to set up at least two goals on Friday. Some poor passing accuracy led to 32 clearances throughout the game, however, and goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris came up with a couple of big saves to keep Gotham in the game.

8. Washington Spirit (1-5-6) —

Despite losing 1-0 Sunday, the Spirit showed more command against Kansas City than they have in recent games, even with seven players out on international duty with the U.S. women’s national team. That, combined with the fact that no other team deserves to rise into the No. 8 spot, keeps Washington from dropping in this week’s power rankings. The Spirit’s biggest downfall Sunday was that they were unable to get past Current goalkeeper AD Franch. Since their 2-1 win over OL Reign in the regular season opener, Washington hasn’t won in 11 games. A comeback is not out of the question considering the Spirit have six draws and have yet to lose by more than one goal. After outshooting the Current 13-9 and missing a penalty kick in stoppage time, they’ll need to be more precise in front of net to achieve it.

7. Houston Dash (4-4-3) -2

It’s one thing to lose, and it’s another to be outplayed. On Friday, the Dash fell victim to both against the Pride. In last week’s power rankings, we wrote that the Dash appeared to be losing sight of the success they had at the beginning of the season. This week, they failed to prove that wrong. Of their four losses this season, three have come in their most recent four games.

6. Kansas City Current (4-4-3) +1

The Current are quietly turning into one of the best stories in the NWSL. With a 1-0 win over the Spirit on Sunday, they extended their unbeaten streak to six games, after going winless in their first five matches of the season. Sunday’s victory brought them level in points with the No. 6 Dash. The Current previously had trouble controlling the play in the attacking third and finishing their chances. Recent acquisition Cece Kizer has made a big difference in that department, especially on Sunday when she subbed on to score the game-winner.

Cash Money Kizer.

The Current is flowing. 1-0 lead. Still work to do.#TealRising | #Water💧 pic.twitter.com/DRj54tVZd9

— KC Current (@thekccurrent) July 10, 2022

5. Angel City FC (5-4-2) +1

Not only did Angel City beat the No. 1 team in the league on Saturday, but they did it with a player down. Tyler Lussi was issued her second yellow card of the match in the 79th minute. Three minutes later, Claire Emslie scored the game-winning goal. Angel City didn’t play a pretty match, as they struggled to control possession and get shots off on goal, but they found a way to win in the face of adversity, which is an important tool to have in a league as competitive as the NWSL.

4. San Diego Wave FC (6-3-3) -2

The Wave started slowly against Angel City on Saturday. They didn’t pounce on the opportunity of the player advantage, and they made poor defensive mistakes that led to the game-winning goal. San Diego outshot Angel City 19-9 and had the majority of possession, but they couldn’t close out the win nor hold onto a top-two slot in the power rankings. They would be ranked third if not for OL Reign’s rise in the past week.

3. OL Reign (4-2-5) +1

In a fairly even match with the Portland Thorns, the Reign played with a vengeance. An own goal in the 12th minute could have easily shattered their focus; instead, they immediately pressed for a goal of their own. A minute later, they tied the game 1-1 courtesy of Olivia Athens’ first professional goal. After the Thorns reclaimed the lead in the second half, the Reign responded again with a Bethany Balcer goal in the 81st minute. Their strategic build-ups resulted in four shots on goal, and they held the advantage in duels, winning 44 of them.

2. Portland Thorns FC (4-1-6) +1

In another thrilling Cascadia Rivalry, the Thorns drew with OL Reign 2-2 on Sunday. Of the two sides, the Thorns applied more attacking pressure and logged 56 percent of the possession. The match showcased their roster depth, with six key players gone on international duty, including leading scorer Sophia Smith. Many new players appeared for the Thorns and rose to the occasion under high pressure. Portland heads into the week on a seven-game unbeaten streak and with the best goal differential in the league at 14 — six ahead of the next-best Wave.

1. Chicago Red Stars (5-1-5) —

Do the Red Stars deserve to be first in the power rankings this week? Maybe not. But do they deserve to move down after making a thrilling comeback over the weekend? In an intense battle against the Courage, the Red Stars weren’t always ready for North Carolina’s quick transition. With 55 percent of the possession, 79 percent passing accuracy and seven shots on goal, Chicago eventually had a breakthrough in stoppage time, scoring two goals to save a point. If anything, this team showed it won’t go down without a fight.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

No. 3 South Carolina basketball suffered a blow this week, as top transfer Ta'Niya Latson exited the Gamecocks' 96-55 win over Providence with a lower leg injury on Sunday.

"She's smiling," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said of Latson immediately following the game, offering an optimistic injury update. "She got treatment all through the second half."

The star senior guard, who turned 22 years old last Friday, joined South Carolina after leading Division I in scoring with Florida State last season.

This year, Latson's 16.9 points per game trails only sophomore forward Joyce Edwards's 21.4-point average on the Gamecocks' scoresheet.

While the full extent to Latson's injury and her potential time off the court is still unknown, any absence exacerbates the team's injury woes, as South Carolina lost standout forward Chloe Kitts to a season-ending injury before the 2025/26 campaign tipped off — with the Gamecocks battling additional availability limits throughout their roster all month.

That said, with the recent returns of forward Madina Okot and guard Agot Makeer from concussion protocol, the Gamecock bench is significantly less sparse, with both returnees impacting Sunday's South Carolina victory with a double-double.

Even more, Staley's squad will see additional roster relief when 18-year-old French center Alicia Tournebize joins the team midseason.

How to watch South Carolina basketball this week

The No. 3 Gamecocks will open the new year by tipping off their SEC slate on Thursday, when South Carolina hosts unranked Alabama at 2 PM ET.

The clash with the Crimson Tide will air live on SEC+.

The world's tennis stars are preparing to open 2026 play in Australia this weekend, with top WTA and ATP leaders on Team USA gearing up to defend their United Cup title starting this Friday.

The two-time champion US enters as the No. 1 seed in the fourth edition of the hard-court tournament, bolstered by the return of world No. 3 Coco Gauff to lead Team USA's six-player United Cup contingent.

With each tournament bout consisting of one WTA singles match, one ATP singles clash, and one mixed-doubles competition, Gauff notably claimed a straight-sets victory over Polish phenom No. 2 Iga Świątek to secure the 2025 title for the US.

"I'm super excited," the 21-year-old star said prior to this year's United Cup. "I had such a good time in my first year playing with the team, and I'm looking forward to going back."

With the 2026 Australian Open beginning in less than two weeks, the United Cup pits 18 national teams against each other as players from both the women's and men's tours tune up for next year's Slams.

Fellow WTA Top-10 stars Świątek and Italy's No. 8 Jasmine Paolini will join Gauff on the 2026 United Cup court, while fan favorite No. 16 Naomi Osaka will feature for tournament debutant Japan.

Also battling for national pride will be two winners of last season's WTA awards, with 2025 Newcomer of the Year No. 18 Vicky Mboko joining Team Canada and 2025 Comeback Player of the Year No. 11 Belinda Bencic competing for Switzerland.

How to watch the 2026 United Cup

The 2026 United Cup runs January 2nd through 11th, with live coverage airing on the Tennis Channel.

The No. 3 Minnesota Frost are looking to skate up the PWHL table, as the reigning back-to-back champs hope to make up ground before the third-year league breaks for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Eight games into the 2025/26 season, the Boston Fleet top the PWHL standings with 19 points, trailed by the No. 2 Toronto Sceptres with 14, while the No. 4 Montréal Victoire sit one point behind the Frost with 11.

"Our league is good. Every game is going to be close," Minnesota head coach Ken Klee said last week. "It's just about getting better and keep accumulating points."

With the league's original six teams largely off to a hot start, there's only a few weeks left before players hang up their PWHL jerseys for February's Winter Games.

Teams outside the current playoff chase are also making a statement, as New York Sirens forward Casey O'Brien scored her first pro goals to power the sixth-place squad past the No. 5 Seattle Torrent 4-3 on Sunday — becoming the first rookie to record a hat trick in PWHL history in the process.

"We've been putting in a lot of work in practice and video, focusing on the little things," O'Brien said postgame. "Tonight felt like the payoff."

How to watch this week's PWHL action

The puck drops on the final 2025 PWHL matches on Tuesday, when the No. 3 Minnesota Frost visit the No. 2 Toronto Sceptres at 7 PM ET, airing live on Prime.

Closing out the year on Wednesday, the No. 6 New York Sirens will host the No. 7 Vancouver Goldeneyes at 1 PM ET, with live coverage airing on MSG Network.

San Diego made roster waves this week, as the 2022 NWSL expansion team announced on Monday that founding goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan is leaving the franchise in a mutual contract termination.

Sheridan joined the Wave ahead of the club's inaugural year, making 87 appearances over four seasons while registering nine shutouts in the team's 2023 Shield-winning campaign.

"Kailen has been an integral part of this Club since day one," Wave sporting director Camille Ashton said in a Monday statement. "We thank her for the contributions to this Club and this city and wish her the best in the next chapter of her career."

While San Diego hunts for a new starting keeper, they pointed to the future by also announcing the signing of Florida State defender Mimi Van Zanten on Monday.

Van Zanten is fresh off her second NCAA championship in three seasons, building youth experience with the USWNT before joining the Jamaica senior women's national team.

"Her championship experience and ability to contribute on both sides of the ball make her a strong addition to the Wave," Ashton remarked about the 20-year-old.

Ultimately, while San Diego has long had an aggressive transfer market approach, the move away from their 2023 Shield-winning core raises questions about the future of the Wave roster.