All Scores

Thorns highlight reel: A look at 12 goal scorers during unbeaten streak

(Diego Diaz/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Morgan Weaver needed just one touch to put an exclamation mark on the Portland Thorns’ incredible scoring streak.

With 10 minutes left in regulation of a game on July 16, Weaver intercepted a pass from Gotham goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris intended for defender Mandy Freeman. As Freeman looped around to meet the ball, Weaver connected with her left foot and caught an unsuspecting Harris out of position.

Portland was already up 4-0 on Gotham when Weaver added to the tally, and her goal was one of 23 scored by 12 different Thorns players during an eight-game unbeaten streak heading into the break. The Thorns are also first in the NWSL with 29 goals so far this season.

The stretch was particularly impressive, as it came over a period of time when several key players were on international duty and the Thorns had to rely on a less experienced cast.

“In terms of connectivity, in terms of asking the team to play a certain way, (this stretch) couldn’t have gone better,” coach Rhian Wilkinson said. “We used our depth, we used new faces, and everyone knew their role and fought for one another.”

When the NWSL regular season resumes Friday night, the Thorns will look to keep up their streak against Racing Louisville FC. Before kickoff, here’s a look at the team’s 12 goal scorers.

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Hina Sugita is making her NWSL debut after signing a three-year deal with Portland in January. (Soobum Im/Getty Images)

Hina Sugita

Sugita is in her first season with the Thorns after playing eight years of pro soccer in Japan. The midfielder has scored three times this season, with two coming during the Thorns’ unbeaten stretch. All three goals have come off of her left foot and from inside the box. Sugita is also a member of the Japanese women’s national team.

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Sophia Smith is second in the NWSL with eight goals this season. (Soobum Im/Getty Images)

Sophia Smith

A member of the U.S. women’s national team, Smith notched five goals for the Thorns during their unbeaten streak before traveling to Mexico to help the USWNT win the Concacaf Championship. Smith is second in the NWSL with eight goals and first with 30 shots, 20 of which she put on goal.

Kelli Hubly

The defender’s header off a corner kick on June 3 against Angel City was her first and only goal of the season. She found herself unmarked and connected on the header in the 3-0 victory. Hubly has played in the NWSL for four seasons, and the June 3 goal was the first of her career.

Christine Sinclair

The Canadian scored twice against Angel City, and then again against the San Diego Wave, before taking up captain duties for her country during the Concacaf tournament. The 39-year-old has four goals this season for the Thorns and is currently second on the NWSL’s all-time goal scorers list with 58.

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Olivia Moultrie is the youngest-ever NWSL goal scorer at 16 years old. (Maria Lysaker/USA TODAY Sports)

Olivia Moultrie

When Moultrie scored her first of two goals so far this season in a June 12 win over Houston, she made history. The 16-year-old’s goal came in the 74th minute of a 4-0 win and made her the youngest scorer ever in NWSL play. The record was previously held by 18-year-old Ellie Carpenter, who was also playing for Portland at the time.

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Becky Sauerbrunn, not known for her goal-scoring, added to Portland's tally during the streak. (Diego Diaz/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Becky Sauerbrunn

Another experienced vet, Sauerbrunn has played professional soccer since 2005 while also appearing for the USWNT. The defender’s goal in a June 19 6-0 shutout of OL Reign was her first of the season and the first of her Thorns career. The 37-year-old also led the USWNT’s backline in the Concacaf tournament earlier this month.

Natalie Kuikka

The Finnish midfielder was signed to a two-year deal that started in 2021 after enjoying a successful collegiate career at Florida State. Kuikka scored nine goals during her four years as a Seminole, but her right-footed tally on June 19 was her first with the Thorns. She’s appeared in nine games for Portland this season.

Taylor Porter

The 24-year-old midfielder has scored twice for Portland this season. Her first goal was in the 6-0 win over OL Reign, and the second came in the 5-0 win over Gotham. This is her second season with the Thorns, after she signed with the team in 2021 when players from the USWNT were participating in the Olympics.

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Yazmeen Ryan has one goal and four assists for Portland Thorns this season. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Yazmeen Ryan

Despite scoring just one goal this season — a header in a 1-1 draw with Angel City on July 1 — Ryan has been an active contributor to the Thorns’ offense this season. The 23-year-old midfielder leads the NWSL with four assists.

Marissa Everett

Portland re-signed Everett on Feb. 3 to a one-year deal. She initially joined the club in 2019 as a national team replacement player. The 24-year-old, who has played in five games this season, scored her first goal on July 16 while also registering a season-high four shots.

Hannah Betfort

Portland’s fourth goal in the win over Gotham on July 16 came off the head of Betfort, for her first of the season. The 23-year-old attacker played one minute in her debut for the Thorns on June 8 and has made six appearances since.

Morgan Weaver

The final goal during Portland’s unbeaten stretch leading into the break came off the left foot of Weaver. She has two goals in 10 games this season, the first coming in her debut on April 30 in a 3-0 win over Kansas City. Weaver joined Portland in 2020 as the second pick of the College Draft after scoring 43 goals at Washington State.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

USWNT to face Costa Rica in final Olympic send-off

uswnt sophia smith and tierna davidson celebrate at shebeilves cup 2024
The USWNT will play their final pre-Olympic friendly against Costa Rica on July 16th. (Photo by Greg Bartram/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

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.

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.

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA start to serve as 2024 Olympic tryout

Clark of the Indiana Fever poses for a photo with Lin Dunn and Christie Sides during her introductory press conference on April 17, 2024
The talented Fever rookie is still in the running for a ticket to this summer's Paris Olympics. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)

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.

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.

WNBA teams make history with 2024 season ticket sell-outs

Arike Ogunbowale on the wnba court for the dallas wings
The Dallas Wings are now the third team to sell out their entire season ticket allotment in WNBA history. (Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)

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.   

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.

Nelly Korda ties LPGA record with fifth-straight tournament win

Nelly Korda of the United States celebrates with the trophy after winning The Chevron Championship
Nelly Korda poses with her trophy after acing her fifth-straight tour title at The Chevron Championship on Sunday. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

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.

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.

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