Stephanie Labbé was inspiring others years before the world knew her name.

When Washington Spirit goalkeeper Devon Kerr was 12 years old, she asked her parents to drive her to watch the Canadian national team practice close to her home outside of Toronto. She sat on the edge of her dad’s truck, watching a young Labbé dominate the goalkeeper training session with confidence.

“Everything about her was just very positive and bright and happy, so it definitely gave somebody like me, a little 12-year-old, a lot of inspiration of what I wanted to be when I grew up,” Kerr said.

Labbé’s influence extended even further as she led Canada to their second-straight Olympic bronze medal in 2016 and historic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. At the club level, she won the NWSL championship and NWSL Shield in 2019 with the North Carolina Courage.

On Jan. 19, the 2022 FIFA Best Goalkeeper finalist announced her retirement from soccer. And on Friday, Labbé will play in her final game with Canada during a Celebration Tour friendly against Nigeria in Vancouver.

“She’s been an absolutely unbelievable teammate for Canada and around the world,” said Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.

Thirteen years after Kerr watched Labbé in training camp, as her career winds down, the goalkeeper’s confidence hasn’t waned.

In Tokyo, Labbé led Canada through shootouts in the quarterfinal and final despite suffering a rib injury in the first group match of the tournament against Japan. Before leaving that game, she bounced to her feet to stand in for a penalty kick, which she saved.

After missing the second game against Chile, Labbé did everything possible to get back on the field for the rest of the Olympics, posting shutouts against Brazil and the U.S.

“She pulls off a big save, and I think the whole team then was lifted, so for me, she was critical to the gold medal,” Priestman said.

Labbe saves the day! 🛑

Canada beats Brazil in PKs to advance to semis at the #TokyoOlympics! pic.twitter.com/ivsYuvJfsq

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) July 30, 2021

Ahead of the gold-medal shootout against Sweden, Priestman huddled her players together and said, “Listen, Steph did it before. She’ll do it again.”

“Big players rise in big moments, and I knew she had it in her,” Priestman said.

In possession, Labbé is expertly tactical. Her composure on the ball and calming approach in communication have helped young center backs like Vanessa Gilles (16 caps) make a smooth transition onto the national team.

“Steph, especially, is one of the best leaders that I’ve ever been around and is just able to bring confidence to the rest of the team,” said Gilles. “I think that’s a quality that’s very rare and hard to train. We have a lot of great leaders here in Canada, and Steph is one of the greats, for sure.”

Much of Labbé’s leadership is heard.

During games, after starting lineup photos and the kickoff coin toss, she is known to gather her Canadian teammates in a huddle and give them a rah-rah speech. In meetings, where the national team builds its culture and hones its vision, Labbé is one of the most vocal contributors.

“One of my favorite teammates, one of the best goalkeepers that we’ve had for Canada,” said defensive midfielder Desiree Scott. “I think just to see her growth over the last four to eight years, you just see her coming into her own. She’s fully herself.”

“She’s played such a huge role for this team and has kept us in so many games and helped us win so many games,” said forward Nichelle Prince. “Her leadership off the field is something that has gotten us to the top.”

Priestman hopes to see Labbé’s mental strength live on as Canada moves into Concacaf qualifying for next summer’s World Cup. Sheridan will take the reins in net alongside Erin McLeod.

“[Steph’s] just been such a mentor to me and a lot of the other goalkeepers here,” said Sheridan. “We’re so excited to celebrate her this weekend, and honestly, I think that’s the biggest thing.”

When Sheridan reflects on what she’s learned from Labbé, being a good teammate is the first thing that comes to mind. The team’s open communication on the field starts with the goalkeepers, and Labbé set the best kind of example.

Labbé told Priestman on a phone call ahead of the upcoming friendlies that she doesn’t want the Celebration Tour weekend to be about her. So, Priestman filled her in on the vision for camp and how Labbé can help drive the team’s culture forward. Canada is taking a blank-slate approach with its 2023 World Cup preparations, focusing on evaluating new talent and assembling an offensive-minded team.

Kerr, who watched Labbé from the back of her dad’s truck 13 years ago, is one of the top goalkeepers on Priestman’s radar. Kerr was in Arizona training in the offseason when she saw Labbé’s retirement announcement in the news. An hour after Priestman did a press conference, Kerr got the call that she was being invited to camp.

Getting smacked in the face with a ball today giving me a fat lip reminded me how ready I am for the next chapter🤣. Working hard to hold it together this week… see you Friday Canada ❤️🇨🇦 https://t.co/0jPimLgynF

— Stephanie Labbé (@stephlabbe1) April 7, 2022

Labbé, ever vocal about creating more opportunities for women athletes, intends to push for the creation of a professional women’s soccer league in Canada in retirement.

“She’s trailblazing a path for up-and-coming goalkeepers to come into a place that feels welcoming and safe and really productive,” Kerr said.

“I feel so ready to be excited at this point in my life about what’s next, what’s after my soccer career,” Labbé said in a video on Thursday. “I really feel like I’ve given everything on the field. I’ve given everything that I can. Blood, sweat and tears.”

Labbé’s farewell match will take place one province over from her hometown of Edmonton, at BC Place in Vancouver, where she’ll inspire the next generation from the field one last time.

“We want her to go out on the highest of highs that we possibly can, and we want BC Place to be screaming her name for 90 minutes straight,” Sheridan said.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

The battle for continental soccer glory continues on Wednesday, as the Portland Thorns and Gotham FC land in Mexico for the 2024/25 Concacaf W Champions Cup semifinals.

After advancing past last fall's group-stage play, both NWSL sides now face Liga MX standouts in the knockout rounds with a ticket to Saturday's Champions Cup Final on the line.

The back-to-back semifinals will take place on Wednesday in Nuevo León, Mexico, with live coverage streaming on Paramount+:

• Club América vs. Gotham FC, 7:30 PM ET: Both the Bats and this year's Liga MX regular season champions are looking to bounce back, as Gotham attempts to shake off a recent NWSL skid while América seeks redemption after stumbling in their season-ending league tournament earlier this month.

• Tigres UANL vs. Portland Thorns, 10:30 PM ET: Expect a high-energy clash between the three-time NWSL champs and six-time Liga MX title-winners, with the Thorns coming off a five-match undefeated streak and the Tigres shooting to impress in front of their home crowd at Estadio Universitario.

It's not just hardware and continental bragging rights on the line, though.

Saturday's 2024/25 Concacaf W Champions Cup victors will also earn automatic qualification into FIFA's 2026 Champions Cup — a six-team tournament between confederation winners — and the first-ever Club World Cup, which will kick off in 2028.

After a first-round weekend of pitcher's duels and red-hot bats, the 2025 NCAA softball tournament's best-of-three Super Regionals field is set — and it's missing four of the 16 national seeds.

No. 10 LSU fell on Saturday after two upset losses to unseeded SE Louisiana, before Sunday saw No. 13 Arizona and No. 14 Duke follow suit while unseeded Ole Miss, Georgia, and Nebraska all punched second-round tickets.

Eventually ousting SE Louisiana in the winners' bracket to advance to their first Super Regionals in 11 years, the Huskers rode in on the back of two-time All-American pitcher Jordy Bahl, with the Oklahoma transfer throwing 12 innings and hitting four home runs across Nebraska's three Regional games.

Elsewhere, unseeded Liberty booked a program-first trip to the Supers by eliminating top-seed Texas A&M — the first time the NCAA bracket's overall No. 1 seed failed to advance from Regionals.

Should they similarly bounce No. 16 Oregon this weekend, Liberty will become just the second mid-major team to make the Women's College World Series (WCWS) since 2014, joining James Madison's 2021 Cinderella run.

Rounding out the rest of the Super Regional round's 16 teams are No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 5 Florida State, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Tennessee, and No. 8 South Carolina, as well as No. 9 UCLA, No. 11 Clemson, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 15 Alabama, and the aforementioned No. 16 Ducks.

Super Regional weekend to feature blockbuster matchups

The 16 contenders will battle head-to-head for eight available WCWS berths, with the four-time defending champion Sooners now leading the field.

To advance, however, Oklahoma must first outlast Alabama, a team with which the Sooners have a long, contentious postseason history — the pair have faced off in five of the last 12 NCAA tournaments.

After Oklahoma bounced Alabama from the 2019 WCWS semifinals — the last time the pair squared off before becoming SEC rivals — the Tide enacted revenge by narrowly beating the Sooners in April's conference play, teeing up a tense weekend Super Regional series.

After narrowly missing this weekend's hosting rights as the No. 9 seed — UCLA's lowest seeding since 2016 — the Bruins proved why they are the sport's winningest program, run-ruling ever Regional game while allowing just two runs all weekend.

The 12-time champions will now travel to Gamecock territory, where No. 8 South Carolina will try to boost the Bruins and book their first WCWS ticket in 28 years.

Powerhouses still rule the diamond, but parity has never been higher in college softball, with this year's NCAA tournament already delivering whiplash results.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA softball Super Regionals

The best-of three NCAA softball Super Regionals kick off on Thursday and run through the weekend, with possible winner-take-all clashes finalizing the WCWS slate on Sunday.

First games are as follows:

• No. 12 Texas Tech at No. 5 Florida State, 7 PM ET on Thursday (ESPN2)
• No. 11 Clemson at No. 6 Texas, 9 PM ET on Thursday (ESPN2)
• Georgia at No. 3 Florida, 11 AM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• No. 9 UCLA at No. 8 South Carolina, 1 PM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• No. 15 Alabama at No. 2 Oklahoma, 5 PM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• Nebraska at No. 7 Tennessee, 7 PM ET on Friday (ESPN2)
• Ole Miss at No. 4 Arkansas, 8 PM ET on Friday (ESPNU)
• Liberty at No. 16 Oregon, 10 PM ET on Friday (ESPNU)

With the 2025 PWHL Finals in full swing and new franchises on the horizon, the league rolled out a detailed expansion plan to build its two new teams on Monday.

The expansion process will see 24 current PWHL players — four from each of the six founding teams — join either Vancouver or Seattle next month.

To be eligible for selection, athletes must be either under contract or have rights held by a current team for the 2025/26 season. 

Each original team can protect three eligible athletes at the outset, with squads reserving the right to protect one additional player should the incoming clubs select two players off the same roster.

In the lead-up to June 9th's expansion draft, Vancouver and Seattle will have five days to sign up to five unprotected players each.

After that window closes, Seattle and Vancouver will increase their rosters to a required total of 12 players via expansion draft selections, with the number of picks for each team determined by how many athletes the new franchises choose to sign.

Finally, the West Coast squads will then complete their 23-athlete lineups alongside the other six teams during the PWHL's June 24th entry draft.

With such a broad unprotected player pool, about half of the PWHL's current athletes — including some of its brightest stars — will be up for grabs, ensuring a very different landscape when the league takes the ice for its third season.

Team USA hockey titan Hilary Knight is hanging up her international skates, with the record-10-time world champion announcing Tuesday that the 2026 Winter Games in Milan, Italy, will be her fifth and final Olympic run.

"It's time," Knight told USA Today. "I'm at peace. I just have this feeling that it’s time."

Going out on her own terms is top-of-mind for the USA hockey great, with Knight acknowledging "That is such a privilege that only a handful of competitors get."

Making her national team debut at 17, the now-35-year-old is one of the sport's most decorated athletes, winning Olympic gold in 2018 to complement three silver medals in 2010, 2014, and 2022.

Just last month, Knight led the US to victory at the IIHF Women's World Championship, and currently sits as the tournament's all-time leader in goals (67), points (120), and assists (50).

Despite her impending step off the international ice, Knight, who currently captains the PWHL's Boston Fleet, plans to continue playing for the second-year league — a pro venture she helped bring to life in 2023.

"I understood what the sport gave me and I wanted to give that to other people," Knight said. "Obviously, there's tons of work that always needs to be done, but I think we now have a career path."