The North Carolina Courage have made an unlikely playoff push, surging from last place in the NWSL standings and into playoff position in just five weeks.

The stark turnaround has the Courage in sixth place and in control of their own destiny. With a win Friday against the San Diego Wave, they would clinch a spot in the six-team bracket.

🎶 Alexa, play “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus 🎶

In 5️⃣ weeks, the Courage have gone from bottom of the table to setting their own for the last day of the season 🍽 pic.twitter.com/A8FojKB0xE

— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) September 26, 2022

Just Women’s Sports takes a look at three of the players who have helped power North Carolina’s playoff push as we enter the final weekend of the NWSL regular season.

Debinha

The 30-year-old Brazilian star has gone on a tear, scoring five goals in the last two games to help propel North Carolina to their current position.

Debinha would not be denied in Orlando on Sept. 21, scoring two of the Courage’s three goals. Then, against NJ/NY Gotham FC on Saturday, she scored all three of the goals in their 3-0 win to secure the hat trick and continue to rocket North Carolina up the standings.

Her hat trick was the first for the Courage since 2019.

IT'S THE DEBINHA SHOW!

SHE HAS HER HAT-TRICK. 💥 pic.twitter.com/ZeGH28thDf

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) September 25, 2022

Her performance has earned praise from the likes of Carli Lloyd, who called her “world class.” She also now sits tied for second in the race for the Golden Boot with 12 goals, just three behind San Diego’s Alex Morgan (15).

Diana Ordóñez

Diana Ordóñez has had a rookie season to remember. In August, she broke the NWSL rookie record for most goals in a season, and she has since added four more to bring her total to 11. The 21-year-old currently sits fourth behind Morgan, Debinha, and Sophia Smith.

All her goals have come from inside the penalty area, an impressive feat for a rookie. Yet just one has come from the penalty spot. Five of Morgan’s 15 have come from the spot — take those away, and she and Ordóñez are tied at 10.

MAKE THAT 10 ‼️ The rookie Diana Ordonez is 3rd in the golden boot race and is not slowing down pic.twitter.com/gzYX8vzwHy

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) August 21, 2022

After being selected sixth overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft, Ordóñez has put herself firmly in Rookie of the Year position.

“I think the response from the team this half of the season has been nothing short of extremely impressive,” Ordóñez told On Her Turf. “Everyone’s really bought in and wants to give ourselves the best chance to make the playoffs… At this point, we’re just worried about controlling what we can control.”

Carson Pickett

Defender Carson Pickett has been dangerous this season, providing a league-leading six assists while scoring a goal of her own. A key piece of the Courage’s resurgence, she’s earned three straight NWSL Best XI monthly honors while juggling time with the U.S. women’s national team.

During Sunday’s match, she provided a key assist on one of Debinha’s goals with a pass that proved just how skilled she is.

Debinha gets her goal!

She rounds the keeper and calmly finishes for 10th of the season. 💫 pic.twitter.com/EthW8Jm3mj

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) September 24, 2022

Her success rate on passes this season sits at 77.2 percent, with a 43.9 percent success rate on long passes. With a total of 153 crosses completed, Pickett leads the league.

Top-seeded Montréal suffered a surprising loss in their first 2025 PWHL Playoffs game on Thursday, falling 3-2 to postseason debutant No. 3-seed Ottawa.

Despite a tense back-and-forth battle, Ottawa forward Shiann Darkangelo broke through with a third-period game-winning goal, pushing the Charge to an early lead in the best-of-five semifinal series.

The Victoire, who notably used their No. 1-seed advantage to handpick the Charge as their semis opponent, have yet to log a playoff win, adding Thursday's defeat to last season's first-round sweep by Boston.

Even so, Montréal is already viewing the loss as fuel to even the score this weekend.

"We outshot them, we had a lot of great opportunities. We were right there," said Victoire forward Laura Stacey. "If we can put that game together for a whole 60 minutes, it'll look scary I think."

Toronto takes Game 1 from defending champs Minnesota

In the PWHL's other semifinal matchup, No. 2-seed Toronto claimed a one-win advantage over No. 4-seed Minnesota on Wednesday, halting the defending champion Frost's late-season surge with a 3-2 Sceptres victory.

Captain Blayre Turnbull opened scoring in the first period, giving Toronto a lead that they never relinquished, while rookie Julia Gosling netted a second-period brace to secure the Sceptres' win.

Minnesota, acknowledging the tough road they face to return to the championship ice, has already set their eyes on Game 2.

"It's going to be a hard-fought series," said Frost head coach Ken Klee after the Frost's Game 1 loss. "We didn't get one tonight…[so now] we're looking forward to Friday."

How to watch the 2025 PWHL Playoffs this weekend

Toronto and Minnesota are back in action for Game 2 of their series at 7 PM ET on Friday, before traveling to St. Paul for Game 3 at 6 PM ET on Sunday.

Sunday will also see Montréal’s attempt to even their series with Ottawa, with the puck dropping on their Game 2 matchup at 2 PM ET.

All games will stream live on the PWHL YouTube channel.

The 2024/25 Women's Super League (WSL) season officially wraps on Saturday, with Chelsea preparing to claim even more history on the heels of their sixth-straight league title.

The still-undefeated Blues will face sixth-place Liverpool in their final outing, with Chelsea on the cusp of becoming the fourth-ever team to finish a WSL season unbeaten.

Should they do so, Chelsea will join 2012's Arsenal, 2016's Manchester City, and their own 2018 squad in achieving perfection — those this year's Blues would be the first to accomplish the feat in the expanded 22-match campaign.

While the team only needs a draw to remain undefeated, a win would secure Chelsea another record, becoming the first club to tally 60 points in a single campaign — two more than the current mark the Blues claimed in 2022/23.

Despite their astounding WSL record, the Blues have fought hard for their dominance this season, with first-year head coach Sonia Bompastor strategically using her entire roster to maintain the winning legacy left by now-USWNT boss Emma Hayes.

"Don't think it's easy. It's never easy," said Bompastor after Chelsea's 2024/25 title win. "It's a great achievement and a lot of work every day — I don't let my players breathe."

Battle for second-place continues on final WSL matchday

While Chelsea chases records, other top WSL clubs are still jockeying for positions on the league's final 2024/25 table.

Along with the Blues, Arsenal and Manchester United are locked into Champions League qualifying positions for next season — but United could leapfrog Arsenal for a second-place WSL finish on Saturday.

Separated by just one point, the Red Devils and the Gunners will face off against each other in the season's final blockbuster matchup.

Arsenal has extra incentive for a good showing, as the Gunners try to snap their two-game WSL losing streak and gain momentum before battling Barcelona in the May 24th Champions League final.

Chelsea also has a shot at another trophy looming, with the Blues chasing a second domestic treble — winning the league, FA Cup, and League Cup.

However, a tough Manchester United stands in the way of Chelsea's third and final treble title, with the pair facing off in the FA Cup's May 18th championship match.

How to watch WSL matches this weekend

All 12 WSL teams will kick off their season's last matches at 7:30 AM ET on Saturday.

Both Chelsea's game against Liverpool and Manchester United's visit to Arsenal will stream live on ESPN+.

As tune-up tournaments like this week's 2025 Italian Open dominate tennis ahead of the 2025 French Open, one familiar name is back in the headlines, with world No. 48 Naomi Osaka making significant strides on the clay court.

Coming off her first tournament win since 2021 at L'Open 35 de Saint-Malo — a WTA 125 event — last weekend, Osaka immediately advanced to the Italian Open's third round this week.

The four-time Grand Slam winner has shown glimpses of brilliance after returning from her 2023 pregnancy, with Osaka now aiming to keep up momentum on her historically weakest surface.

"Kinda ironic to win my first trophy back on the surface that I thought was my worst," Osaka posted after her May 4th victory. "That's one of my favorite things about life though, there's always room to grow and evolve."

Osaka isn't the only tennis star cooking in Europe, as heavy-hitters like world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 2 Iga Świątek, and No. 3 Coco Gauff also moved ahead in Rome as they look to hone their Roland-Garros form.

Not usually a clay court specialist, Sabalenka has looked particularly formidable, defeating Gauff to take the 2025 Madrid Open title just last week.

How to watch the 2025 Italian Open

The 2025 Italian Open's Round of 32 kicks off early Saturday morning, with continuing coverage on The Tennis Channel.

Fresh off winning their first-ever WNBA title, the New York Liberty will kick off their 2025 preseason slate with in a Friday night clash against the Connecticut Sun — despite the reigning champs looking a little worse for wear.

Two-time WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart has been slowly recovering from offseason knee surgery, with the 30-year-old watching from the bench on Friday in an effort to return to full fitness for next week's season opener.

Similarly, star guard Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is likely out for the entirety of the 2025 WNBA season with a knee injury of her own, exiting the offseason 3×3 league Unrivaled with a meniscus injury in early March.

Meanwhile, starting sharpshooter Leonie Fiebich has yet to join the Liberty in training camp as the European standout finishes her overseas season with Spain's Valencia Basket.

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Liberty additions to make New York debut on Friday

That said, New York did manage to make a few savvy pick-ups ahead of the 2025 campaign, with the newly configured team eyeing a strong Friday showing to avoid rumors of a slow season start.

The Liberty traded for point guard Natasha Cloud and signed forward Izzy Harrison over the offseason, while also welcoming back guards Marine Johannes and Rebekah Gardner.

Given New York's lengthy availability report, Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello noted that the team's markedly late preseason start was not strategic, but merely a scheduling solution.

"Sometimes it's just out of our hands," Brondello told reporters. "This is the first home game that we've had because we've never been able to get the arena availability, so that's it. Ideally, we would have liked to play the game by now, but it is what it is."

How to watch the New York Liberty in the 2025 WNBA preseason

New York will tip off against Connecticut at 7 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.