The United States women’s national team’s January camp comes to a close Friday. Twenty-six players participated in Vlatko Andonvski’s first camp of 2022, with the USWNT coach calling in a youth-heavy roster to kick off the new year.

Next up for the national team is February’s SheBelieves Cup, making the training camp in Austin, Texas even more consequential. Here is what we learned from the final days of training camp.

Back in the mix

A handful of players who have competed for USNWT roster spots in prior years received call-ups for the January camp.

Notably, Sofia Huerta made the trip to Austin after earning her eighth and ninth caps in the USWNT’s 2021 year-end friendlies against Australia. The OL Reign star made her debut with the U.S. in 2017 against New Zealand and notched an assist.

After falling off the squad’s radar in 2018, Huerta earned her place back in the USWNT rotation after a stellar club season. In 2021, OL Reign coach Laura Harvey shifted Huerta down the pitch to outside back, a position she has thrived in for club and country.

“When I stopped being called in, it was like just being able to reflect on what I felt like I didn’t do and what caused me to get out of the pool, and I think the biggest thing was probably just mindset and mentality,” Huerta said during a press conference from USWNT camp on Thursday. “Being able to have confidence in myself and work on my weaknesses, but again just more importantly, the mental side and being able to stay afloat and have a positive attitude.”

Midfielder Kristie Mewis has provided a blueprint for players looking to make a return to the USWNT under Andonvski, working her way back into the national team pool during the Tokyo Olympic cycle. After years away from the squad, Mewis has received steady call-ups since 2020, culminating in a roster spot on the Olympic team.

The 30-year-old is not slowing down anytime soon either, eyeing a place on the 2023 World Cup squad and recently signing with NWSL’s Gotham FC through 2024.

“I want to make the biggest impact I possibly can,” Mewis said of her offseason trade to Gotham FC. “I want to be one of the best midfielders in the league. I want the team to rely on me to be really successful in that pocket in the midfield.”

As for the USWNT, Mewis is embracing the spirited nature of January camp.

“It’s been really intense and competitive, and I think that’s exactly what the point of this whole thing was, to just be really competitive, get back into it for this new year,” she said.

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Defensive depth

The defensive roster called into January camp looks markedly different from the World Cup-winning and Olympic bronze-medal backline USWNT fans grew used to seeing.

While Tierna Davidson carved out a spot with precious minutes during the Tokyo Olympics, for the most part, Kelley O’Hara, Abby Dahlkemper, Becky Sauerbrunn and Crystal Dunn have served as the team’s last line of defense. With Dunn out due to pregnancy, and Sauerbrunn not participating in USWNT training because of an egg-freezing procedure, new players are getting a shot to prove themselves on the backline.

Defensive depth has long been a question for the national team, especially at the outside back position. Huerta’s call-up may have come at the perfect time for precisely that reason. She can fill the role of an attacking defensive player who dominates the flanks, a necessity in the USWNT’s current system.

“January is definitely a really competitive camp,” Huerta said. “Everyone is ready to compete and to prove themselves to be called in again.”

Naomi Girma carried on the long tradition of the No. 1 NWSL draft pick receiving an early call-up to the USWNT. The San Diego Wave FC defender joined other No. 1 overall draft picks Emily Fox, Sophia Smith, Davidson, Andi Sullivan, Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett and Morgan Gautrat in Austin.

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SheBelieves awaits

The USWNT will play its first matches of 2022 during the SheBelieves Cup, kicking off with the team’s matchup against the Czech Republic on Feb. 17 in Carson, Calif.

One of the loudest criticisms following the Tokyo Olympics was the lack of youth on the roster, with some calling on the squad to begin to cycle in new talent. Now that Andonovski has gotten a chance to see many representatives of the next generation, SheBelieves will offer an early sign of his intentions for the USWNT moving into summer’s Concacaf W Championship.

Will Catarina Macario make the trip from France, or will her Lyon club duties keep her from reuniting with the USWNT in February? Will attacking giants Christen Press, Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe reclaim their spots on the frontline, or will NWSL powerhouses Midge Purce, Ashley Hatch, Mallory Pugh and Trinity Rodman get their shot? Will Sauerbrunn and Julie Ertz return to hold down the defense?

The SheBelieves Cup certainly won’t serve as the definitive roster for the World Cup cycle, but it could provide insight into who is rising to the top of Andonovski’s pool of players.

Clare Brennan is an associate editor at Just Women’s Sports.

Adding to their already historic season, 2024/25 WSL champions and 2025 League Cup winners Chelsea FC handed Manchester United a 3-0 defeat in Sunday's 2025 FA Cup final, completing the club's second-ever domestic treble.

Though the Blues first claimed an elusive treble in the 2020/21 season, this year's roster did so without dropping a single match in any of the three domestic competitions.

"I could not have expected this," said first-year Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor about her debut success leading the Blues. "It is almost ideal in terms of domestic dominance."

To clinch that dominance, Chelsea upended the defending FA Cup champs Manchester United at London's iconic Wembley Stadium behind a brace from French fullback Sandy Baltimore and a header from USWNT attacker Catarina Macario.

Baltimore gave Chelsea the lead by slipping a late first-half penalty past 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove winner and USWNT goalkeeper prospect Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and the Blues never relented, with second-half sub Macario doubling their scoreline in the 84th minute before Baltimore tacked on a final goal in stoppage time.

"It's a very emotional day," an emotional Macario told the broadcast after finishing her first season following a long ACL recovery. "It's a trophy we always wanted to win."

"All the credit to my players," said Bompastor. "We showed our mentality and our values in this game so we ended the season in an almost perfect scenario – we won, we were playing at Wembley, the stadium was nearly sold out, and we had a strong performance and result against a strong opponent."

"It is an almost ideal way to finish the season."

FA Cup crowds prove sustained demand for women's soccer

Chelsea FC's undefeated treble-winning season wasn't the only notable victory on Sunday, as the FA Cup final drew a crowd of over 74,000 fans for the third straight year.

Sunday's 74,412 attendance mark was just shy of both last year's crowd of 76,082 and the 77,390 fans who watched Chelsea defeat the Red Devils in 2023 — all well beyond the tournament final's previous record of 49,094 attendees achieved in 2022.

Fueled by the football fervor following England's 2022 Euro victory — the country's first international trophy, men's or women's, since the 1966 men's World Cup — the 2023 FA Cup final still stands as the largest crowd at a domestic women's soccer match across all nations.

With Sunday's match joining the over-74,000 attendance club, it's clear the post-Euros enthusiasm wasn't a blip, but a boost to the continued growth and sustained success of the women's game.

While most WNBA stars hit the court running this weekend, a few saw their 2025 campaigns already shortened as teams released season-opening injury reports.

Phoenix forward Kahleah Copper will miss four to six weeks of play, the Mercury reported on Saturday, after the 2024 Olympic gold medalist underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on her left knee last week.

Another knee injury has LA's Rae Burrell sidelined for the next six to eight weeks, after the fourth-year guard took a knock to the right leg just 41 seconds into the Sparks' 2025 debut win over Golden State.

On Friday, the Mystics released updates on both second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards and rookie guard Georgia Amoore. While another assessment of the Unrivaled 1v1 runner-up's back injury will occur in two more weeks, Washington confirmed that the Australian standout will miss the entire 2025 WNBA season after undergoing a successful surgery to repair her right ACL.

Seattle's Katie Lou Samuelson is also out for the full 2025 campaign, with the 27-year-old Storm forward recovering from last week's successful surgery after tearing her right ACL in practice on May 1st.

Kitley makes long-awaited WNBA debut as Brink eyes return

In more uplifting news, LA's Cameron Brink is on track to return to the Sparks sometime next month, one year after her standout rookie season came to a halt in a left ACL tear.

Already celebrating, however, is 2024 second-round draftee Elizabeth Kitley, who battled back from injury to make her WNBA debut and score her first league points in Las Vegas's Saturday loss to New York.

The Aces took a draft chance on Kitley, despite the center suffering an ACL tear in her final NCAA postseason. In response, the former Virginia Tech star successfully translated her year-long delayed shot at a pro career by surviving Las Vegas's brutal 2025 roster cuts.

Notably, Kitley's close friend and collegiate on-court counterpart with the Hokies is the aforementioned Amoore, who will aim for a rookie-season redo of her own next year.

The No. 1 Kansas City Current strengthened their grip on the 2025 NWSL Shield race on Friday, taking down now-No. 3 Orlando 1-0 on the road to earn a four-point lead atop of the NWSL table.

Reigning league MVP Temwa Chawinga scored the top-table game's lone goal. With five goals in nine matches, Chawinga now sits in a four-way tie for second place in the 2025 Golden Boot race.

"If you don't come with heart, you have no chance," Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after the match. "And today I think we showed heart."

Kansas City now stands 7-2-0 on the season, putting the NWSL Shield firmly within their grasp.

Kansas City's rise aside, the weekend's biggest drama hovered near the playoff line.

Gotham FC fell to No. 2 San Diego 1-0 on Friday, sending the Bats skidding to No. 8 on a three-game winless streak while boxing No. 9 North Carolina out of playoff contention — despite the rising Courage securing their third win in four games with Saturday's 2-0 victory over last-place Chicago.

"Obviously, we were hot for a little bit, and teams have slumps all the time, so now it's just finding a way," Gotham midfielder Jaelin Howell said of the team's recent struggles.

While some rebuilds soar, last year's postseason contenders are still finding their way as the league moves into the second third of the 2025 season.

Indiana's 35-point blowout win over Chicago wasn't Saturday's only newsmaker, as a controversial foul on Sky forward Angel Reese by Fever guard Caitlin Clark sparked intense off-court conversations and a WNBA investigation into subsequent fan misconduct.

Clark's third-quarter foul against Reese incited a brief dust-up between the second-year stars, with Clark's offense upgraded to a Flagrant 1 while Reese and Fever center Aliyah Boston picked up a pair of offsetting technicals for their reactions.

"Basketball play. Refs got it right. Move on," Reese said after the game, while Clark told reporters, "It was just a good play on the basketball. I'm not sure what the ref saw to upgrade it, and that's up to their discretion."

Immediately following the flagrant ruling, however, Indiana fans allegedly directed racially charged remarks toward Reese, prompting the league to open an investigation on Sunday.

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Officials acknowledged allegations of racist abuse inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, saying the WNBA "strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms," and that they're "looking into the matter."

"We stand firm in our commitment to providing a safe environment for all WNBA players," said Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Mel Raines, who oversees the Fever, in a statement.

"We will do everything in our power to protect Chicago Sky players, and we encourage the league to continue taking meaningful steps to create a safe environment for all WNBA players," echoed Sky CEO and president Adam Fox.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Fever-related fan misconduct has taken center stage, as last season's storylines start to spill over into the 2025 WNBA campaign.

In anticipation of the issue, the league launched "No Space for Hate" on Thursday, describing the campaign as "a multi-dimensional platform designed to combat hate and promote respect across all WNBA spaces — from online discourse to in-arena behavior."