San Diego needed a goal.

And who better to call on than Golden Boot winner and seasoned goal-scorer Alex Morgan?

It didn’t matter that until a few hours before kick off Morgan was listed as questionable.

It didn’t matter that a knee injury had kept her out of the U.S. women’s national team’s friendly matches with England and Spain at the beginning of October.

The Wave needed their veteran star. And she delivered.

With four minutes gone in the second period of extra time in San Diego’s playoff matchup with the Chicago Red Stars, the Wave set up for a corner kick.

The kick sailed to the far side of the box, and the Red Stars were able to partially clear it. But before they could gain control, or send the ball up the field, Wave forward Sofia Jakobsson corralled the ball and found Morgan.

Morgan, on the edge of the box with a sliver of an angle, managed to fire a shot that sailed past multiple defenders and into the opposite corner of the net.

Red Stars keeper Alyssa Naeher laid on the field, head in hands, as the Wave started celebrating their 2-1 victory in front of an NWSL playoff record crowd.

CLUTCH 📐 @alexmorgan13 sends the @sandiegowavefc to the semifinals in OT 🙌

JWS x @nikefootball pic.twitter.com/iIWVPyCQdO

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) October 17, 2022

In the middle of the celebration was Morgan, who battled a knee injury to take the field for the Wave.

“I just wanted to take it day by day,” she told reporters after the match. “I didn’t wanna set any unrealistic expectations for myself, which is why we didn’t really know until pretty much yesterday that I was gonna be playing, and let alone starting, and able to possibly go 90, or 120 minutes. So that was kind of the mindset a couple weeks ago when my injury was seen as something that I can possibly get back in a quick and timely manner.”

Morgan, a longtime member of the USWNT, wasn’t selected for the squad’s friendly matches with England and Spain due to the knee injury, but coach Vlatko Andonovski said if the team was competing in a World Cup, she would have played.

Sunday’s match wasn’t a World Cup game, but it was a chance for the Wave to advance to the NWSL semifinals in their first season of existence.

“That’s why, to me, Alex is MVP, because in big moments she turns up,” Wave coach Casey Stoney said. “I’m massively proud.”

San Diego already stood as the first expansion team to make the NWSL playoffs. The Wave will continue to venture into uncharted territory in the semifinals, where they will take on the Portland Thorns at 5 p.m. ET Sunday.

While the last-place Connecticut Sun aren't exactly making a strong 2025 postseason run, they are playing spoiler, securing their fourth season victory in a 95-64 blowout win over a hungry No. 9 Golden State side on Sunday.

Eight-time All-Star Tina Charles — the WNBA's all-time top rebounder and second-best career scorer — led the game with 24 points, as the 36-year-old veteran continues to showcase her value.

"This season hasn't been the same as it always has for the Sun, but [fan] loyalty has really fueled us and we know that they're going to show up for us," said Connecticut guard Marina Mabrey after the win.

Monday's WNBA slate will see the Sun shoot for their first winning streak of the 2025 season, with Connecticut taking on a Seattle side they’ve humbled once already:

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 13 Connecticut Sun, 7 PM ET (ESPN3): The Storm is hunting consistency after splitting their last 10 games 5-5 — ceding ground in the WNBA standings — while the Sun aims to repeat their July 9th upset victory over Seattle.

• No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 12 Dallas Wings, 8 PM ET (ESPN): Injuries could impact Monday's showdown in Texas, as the Wings aim to benefit from a rested Paige Bueckers while the Liberty deal with a knock to star Breanna Stewart.

Higher ranked squads will always look to rebound, but Connecticut's trajectory proves that the underdogs can have their say on any given day.

World No. 5 England are bringing football home once again, lifting their second straight UEFA Women's Euro trophy after defeating reigning World Cup champs No. 2 Spain in the 2025 championship match on Sunday.

Leading for a total of four minutes throughout the entirety of the knockouts, Sunday's win marked England's third consecutive comeback victory this tournament, as the Lionesses bested La Roja in a penalty shootout to become the first back-to-back European champions since 2013.

Armed with more confident knockout-stage results, Spain came out swinging in the first half, going up 1-0 behind Mariona Caldentey's 25th-minute strike.

However, England would not be denied, equalizing off a header from Alessia Russo in the 57th minute to eventually force extra time at a 1-1 deadlock.

The stalemate held through the additional 30 minutes, invoking yet another penalty shootout in true 2025 Euro fashion.

Spain struck first, but three uncharacteristic missed shots from Caldentey, reigning Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí, and 2023 World Cup breakout star Salma Paralluelo handed England control of the shootout.

Forward Chloe Kelly — the 2022 title-winning scorer — came through for the Lionesses again, sinking the final shot from the spot to secure England's second major tournament title.

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Sunday's victory also added to Sarina Wiegman's personal perfect Euro record, as the England manager emerged from her third European Championship with a third straight title — two with the Lionesses and one with the Netherlands in 2017.

"She's amazing," Kelly said of Wiegman. "She is an incredible woman. What she's done for this country, we should all be so grateful."

Despite Spain's edge, England showcased the mentality it takes to cap an unlikely run with a fairytale ending — one that could fuel them down the path to another trophy as attention shifts toward the 2027 World Cup.

The top WNBA titans showed some weakness this weekend, as both the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx and No. 2 New York Liberty suffered unexpected upset losses at home.

First on Saturday, the No. 10 LA Sparks staged a 101-99 upset win over reigning WNBA champions New York, notching their fifth straight victory thanks to a dramatic buzzer-beater from guard Rickea Jackson.

Liberty standout Sabrina Ionescu led the game with 30 points, stepping up in the loss after star Breanna Stewart exited with a leg injury less than four minutes into the game.

Similarly, despite perennial MVP candidate Napheesa Collier putting Minnesota on her back with a 32-point performance on Sunday, the league-leading Lynx couldn't contain the No. 4 Atlanta Dream, falling 90-86 in their first home loss of the season.

The win helped the Dream shoot up the WNBA standings, overtaking fourth place from the Seattle Storm, whose 69-58 Saturday loss to the No. 8 Washington Mystics sent them stumbling into the No. 5 spot.

The No. 7 Las Vegas Aces have also been pushing, leapfrogging the Mystics with a 106-80 win over the No. 12 Dallas Wings on Sunday.

"One of the toughest things is going through hard things and remaining optimistic and positive," Aces head coach Becky Hammon said of her team's battle-ready mindset. "My main focus was just to keep everybody upbeat."

While multiple squads have consistently impressed this season, no single team has remained unanswered above the rest — a nod to the league's growing depth and subsequent parity.

British golfer Lottie Woad saw her star skyrocket on Sunday, as the 21-year-old phenom took the 2025 Scottish Open trophy — becoming the second player in three years to win in their professional LPGA debut in the process.

"I think it's quite hard to do that, but very special to win in my first event," Woad said after the win. "Everyone was chasing me today, and [I] managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots."

The debut win places Woad alongside US star Rose Zhang, who opened her career by lifting the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open trophy at 20 years old.

After previously refusing purses to maintain NCAA eligibility, the rising Florida State senior's first pro payday totals $300,000 of the tournament's $2 million overall payout.

Woad made even more history along the way, as her 21-under-par performance tied 2022 Scottish Open champion Ayaka Furue's all-time record score at the tournament.

Second-place finisher Hyo Joo Kim — the world No. 8 South Korean star — capped her weekend performance a full three strokes behind Woad, who rose 38 spots to sit at No. 24 in the world rankings with her stunning victory.

Ultimately, with each of the 2025 LPGA Tour's 19 tournaments thus far claiming a different winner — the longest stretch of parity in the organization's 75-year history — the former world No. 1 amateur is arguably minting herself as this season's breakout star.