I was in the ninth row behind the goal in Lyon where Rose Lavelle scored in the World Cup final to seal the victory for the U.S. women’s national team. It was, simultaneously, a moment that seemed both inevitable and impossible.

Rose Lavelle's goal in the World Cup final was fun to watch again. Thanks FS1. pic.twitter.com/K5oMIPPess

— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) March 21, 2020

Anyone who had seen Lavelle play in France knew the goal was coming. Even before the hall had hit the back of the neat, we were raising our hands in celebration. But if you had asked me or anyone else in the stands before the tournament who would be the player to put the ice on the World Cup final, I doubt anyone would have picked the then 24-year-old Lavelle.

Her rapid rise from the University of Wisconsin to first overall pick in the NWSL draft to World Cup Bronze Ball winner caught just about everyone by surprise. Everyone, that is, except Lavelle herself, who seems to have always known she would end up on the U.S. Women’s National team.

“I even felt this way when I was a 90-pound freshman in high school and colleges were blowing me off because I was too small,” she told Sports Illustrated. “I always had this desire to get there, and I wanted it so bad that I just willed it to happen.”

On Saturday, Lavelle’s path connected with a loose ball deflected off the hands of Chicago Red Stars’ keeper Allysa Naeher. The ball should have been cleared, with a Red Stars counterattack heading the other way. But no one told Lavelle, who continued her run and intercepted the freely bouncing ball.

A rebound from ????!@roselavelle puts @WashSpirit up early.

0-1 | #CHIvWAS

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch. pic.twitter.com/gu8Ggfi2Vn

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) June 28, 2020

As anyone who has watched Lavelle will tell you, she plays with a lot of fun. She moves through the defenses along a path that only she can see. She dances and toys with opponents and celebrates with teammates.

Sitting around our television on Saturday, watching live sports for the first time in forever, my family laughed as we watched Lavelle use her fancy footwork to slip through two defenders.

What made it funny isn’t just the fact that Lavelle was once again making her opponents look silly. It was also because, for what may truly be the first time, it’s clear that Lavelle is now enjoying herself with the Spirit.

rose lavelle making defenders look like absolute fools but what’s new pic.twitter.com/JUVQaoDFxp

— aiIeen (@superlavelle) June 28, 2020

Brittany Ghiroli’s recent piece extensively documents the culture problems that plagued the club before Steve Baldwin became majority owner in 2018 and brought in coach Richie Burke. In summary, the 2020 Spirit are a world away from the 2018 Spirit, who went 2-5-17 in Lavelle’s debut season with the club.

Last year saw improvement, as Burke and an infusion of youth carried the Spirit to a 9-8-7 record and the brink of the playoffs. But Lavelle herself played in just six games due to national team responsibilities. Altogether, before Saturday, Lavelle had played in just 17 games in a Washington uniform. Now, at last, the Spirit Squadron is getting a real chance to appreciate its star player. And they have a lot to be excited about.

The 2018 first overall pick, Andi Sullivan, has established herself as a leader and captain anchoring the Spirit midfield. 2019 Goalkeeper of the Year Aubrey Bledsoe has been likened to a brick wall. Things are quickly looking up for a Washington side that impressed many with its 2-1 upset over Chicago on Saturday.

Lavelle, the sixth oldest player on a roster whose average age is 23.5, will continue to shoulder the highest expectations. On Saturday, it was clear that she hasn’t quite regained the form she had last summer. When she came out of the game after 64 minutes, she had been blocked one-on-one by Naeher in the 42nd minute and wasted an opportunity in the 53rd minute that came on a silver platter from Jordan DiBiasi’s cross.

The crazy part is, Lavelle can play below her best and still be a transcendent talent who impacts every facet of a game. Washington Spirit fans should be thrilled by what they’re seeing, especially as it’s clear that their star player still has a way to go before she reaches her full potential.

Tonight, the Spirit and Lavelle will face the two-time defending champions North Carolina Courage, 10pm EST on CBS All Access. In their last meeting, Washington captured its first ever win in the head-to-head matchup and snapped a six-game losing streak with two goals in the last 15 minutes of the game.

If Saturday’s win over Chicago signaled that the rebuild was over, tonight’s game is all about the future. The Spirit have a chance to make a statement win against the league’s premier club.

Expect Lavelle to be up to the task.

The Women's Super League (WSL) is growing, with the UK league's top two flights deciding in a Monday expansion vote to enlarge its top tier from 12 to 14 teams ahead of the 2026/27 season.

The number of matches played each season will also balloon from 22 to 26 games to accommodate the incoming clubs, as will established cup competitions.

Monday also saw the WSL vote down a prior proposal to temporarily suspend the relegation and promotion process to accommodate this expansion, deciding instead to adopt a "two up, one down" model for the second-tier WSL2 next season.

As such, the top two finishers of the 2025/26 WSL2 season will automatically join the higher-tier WSL, while the WSL's last-place team will battle the WSL2's third-place club in "a high-profile, high stakes match" for the final spot in the top flight.

After reaching 14 teams, both leagues will return to relegating the last-place WSL finisher while promoting the WSL2's top team for the following season.

Along with the increased investment in club infrastructure, a 14-team WSL keeps pace with the global women's game — most notably, the NWSL, which will become a 16-team league in 2026.

"Our priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women's game pyramid, and we believe this next evolution of women's professional football will raise minimum standards, create distinction, and incentivize investment across the board," said WSL Football CEO Nikki Doucet.

With EuroBasket set to tip off on Wednesday and injuries mounting league-wide, WNBA teams are filling out dwindling rosters with more short-term contracts — and calling back some familiar faces along the way.

While some European standouts withdrew from EuroBasket consideration — including Phoenix's Satou Sabally and Seattle's Gabby Williams — others, like New York's Leonie Fiebich and Golden State's Temi Fagbenle, will join their national teams for the regional FIBA tournament through the end of June.

Due to these planned absences, WNBA teams temporarily suspend their EuroBasket players' contracts, allowing squads to add others to their rosters.

Players signed due to temporary absences are technically on rest-of-season deals, though the agreements can end whenever the missing athletes return.

In contrast, the league requires that teams release any hardship signings due to injury once squads tally enough healthy original players to satisfy the WNBA's 10-athlete roster minimum.

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Featuring a lineup stacked with international talent, Golden State made the most transactions this week, temporarily suspending four regular contracts as 2025 EuroBasket stars departed for the annual competition.

To bolster their depleted bench, the Valkyries brought back 2025 WNBA Draft Cinderella pick Kaitlyn Chen and recent training camp participant Laeticia Amihere on short-term contracts, in addition to guard Aerial Powers and forward Chloe Bibby.

Elsewhere, after losing forward Maddy Siegrist to injury and temporarily suspending the contracts of centers Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsöder, Dallas acquired center Li Yueru from Seattle — with the Wings possibly needing additional hardship signings in the coming days.

The Storm snagged two future draft picks in the Saturday deal — a second-round selection in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2027.

Ultimately, teams are striving to find a balance between stocking up and maintaining consistency, all while operating under the WNBA's roster constraints — with further league expansion fast approaching.

The 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup will wrap up its conference play on Tuesday, as both Eastern and Western teams battle for a ticket to the in-season competition's championship game — and a cut of the $500,000 prize pool.

With 12 of the league's 13 teams facing off across Tuesday's WNBA courts, the results will set the stage by minting the two squads who will battle in the July 1st final showdown.

Reigning Commissioner's Cup champs Minnesota have the West's easiest path, as a win over the Las Vegas Aces will send the Lynx to a second straight final.

Should the Lynx fall to the Aces, however, Seattle can grab the Western Conference berth by beating the Los Angeles Sparks.

Meanwhile in the East, a surging Atlanta could land a trip to the final by topping New York, while the Liberty need both a win over the Dream plus a loss by the Indiana Fever to clinch their own return ticket to the Cup's grand finale.

If New York does take down Atlanta, the Fever could advance to the team's first-ever Commissioner's Cup final by beating the struggling Connecticut Sun.

How to watch Tuesday's 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup games

All of Tuesday's six WNBA games count toward the 2025 Commissioner's Cup tally.

The action begins with the Atlanta Dream tipping off against the New York Liberty while the Indiana Fever battles the Connecticut Sun at 7 PM ET, live on WNBA League Pass.

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese made headlines this week, with the second-year WNBA forward announcing that she has trademarked word "mebounds" — a slang term opposing fans use to describe Reese rebounding her own missed shots.

"Whoever came up with the 'mebounds' thing, y’all ate that up, because mebounds, rebounds, keybounds...anything that comes off that board, it's mine," Reese said in a TikTok video on Saturday.

"And a brand? That's six figures right there," she continued, referencing her trademark application. "The trolling — I love when y'all do it because the ideas be good!"

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Currently averaging 11.9 boards per matchup, Reese is leading the WNBA in rebounds for the second straight season.

Her rookie campaign saw Reese average 13.1 boards per game, a rate that set a single-season league record. She also blasted through the WNBA's consecutive double-double record last season, claiming it with 10 straight before extending it to an impressive 15 games.

Along with the average rebounds record, Reese also broke the single-season total rebounds record previously held by retired Minnesota Lynx legend Sylvia Fowles — a mark that was later surpassed by 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson following Reese's season-ending wrist injury.

"Statistically, all the rebounds that I get aren't always just mine," Reese added in her Saturday social media post. "They're the defense's, too, or somebody else on my team."