In today's final episode, our hosts recap their trip to Paris to see the Summer Games in person! Kelley and Lisa discuss what it was like seeing both the USWNT and USA Basketball win their gold medal matches — plus how it felt to celebrate with the teams at their epic after parties. Later, they wrap up by talking about their favorite Olympic memories from years past.
Watch along for expert insight from gold medalists, exclusive behind-the-scenes stories, and pure enjoyment of the Summer Games.
This weekend's 2024 Solheim Cup is the second for Team USA's Lilia Vu. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The 2024 Solheim Cup tees off on Friday, with US golf stars looking to topple three-time defending champs Europe in the team tournament's 19th iteration.
Alternating between European and US host courses each edition, teams compete in three days of match play, collecting one point for every win and a half-point for every tie. The US needs a total of 14.5 points to take this year's Cup outright, while Europe needs just 14 to retain it.
Team USA spans 12 of the sport's top-ranked and most decorated athletes, including Nelly Korda, Allisen Corpuz, Lauren Coughlin, Megan Khang, Ally Ewing, Lilia Vu, Rose Zhang, and the soon-to-retire Lexi Thompson.
No team has won four straight Solheim Cups, a feat three-peat champs Europe will attempt to conquer this weekend. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
US golfers on a mission to reclaim Solheim Cup dominance
Team Europe has held the Cup since 2019, but the margins have been razor thin. The 2023 event actually ended in a 14-14 tie, but as reigning champions, Europe retained the title in what the team considers their eighth victory over the US.
While the US holds the advantage over Europe in overall Solheim Cup wins, they haven't raised the trophy in seven years. And unlike other competitions with continuously swelling prize purses, only international bragging rights are on the line here.
Neither team has ever won four consecutive titles, and the US will aim to keep Europe from claiming that historic victory on home soil in Gainesville, Virginia, this weekend.
World No. 1 golfer Nelly Korda hopes her 2024 season success will help the US take the Solheim Cup this weekend. (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Star US golfer Nelly Korda sees Solheim Cup as "unfinished business"
All eyes are now on Team USA's Korda, who's coming off a banner 2024 after winning six different LPGA Tour events, including her second major.
"Whenever you get to wear the red, white, and blue and stars and stripes, there's a different meaning to it," the world No. 1 golfer told the BBC earlier this week. "You're playing not just for yourself, but for your captains, for your teammates, and your country, and there's just nothing like it. We have got some unfinished business."
How to watch the 2024 Solheim Cup women's golf tournament
The Solheim Cup starts Friday, September 13th, at 7:05 AM, with live coverage across NBC, the Golf Channel, and Peacock.
JWS Staff
Sep 10, 2024
The Late Sub Podcast: Alex Morgan’s Final Game
US soccer legend Alex Morgan played her last professional match on Sunday. (Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
In this week's episode of The Late Sub, Claire takes a moment to talk about the final few days of Alex Morgan’s professional career, how the soccer world has changed since Morgan’s debut, and how the star herself spoke about what’s next.
The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.
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Dee Lab
Sep 10, 2024
NWSL, NCAA Soccer Stars Take U-20 Women’s World Cup by Storm
ACFC defender Gisele Thompson was one of five goalscorers in the USYNT's 7-0 defeat of Paraguay at the U-20 World Cup on Saturday. (Julian Medina/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
The USYNT cruised to the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup knockout round in historic fashion on Saturday, routing Paraguay 7-0 in Bogotá, Colombia, thanks to stellar showings from young NCAA and NWSL standouts.
Armed with the most pros to ever feature on a US U-20 World Cup roster with eight NWSL rookies, the USYNT pulled off the largest U-20 WWC win in team history.
The US hasn't won a U-20 WWC in 12 years, with 2024 marking the first time they've made it out of the tournament's group stage since 2016.
USYNT striker Pietra Tordin scored a hat trick in Saturday's U-20 World Cup win over Paraguay. (Ricardo Moreira - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Young NWSL and NCAA players level up the U-20 game
Though long viewed as inferior to Europe and its club-based academy system, US players opting to turn pro at younger ages are making the USYNT increasingly competitive — a trend that's also pushing college programs to new heights.
In Saturday's win, Angel City defender Gisele Thompson and Utah Royals rookie Ally Sentnor both found the back of the net, while the youngest goal-scorer in Seattle Reign history, winger Emeri Adames, tied Heather O'Reilly's 2002 national record for most assists in a single U-20 World Cup game with three in the first half.
Representing the NCAA, Princeton junior Pietra Tordin made her U-20 World Cup scoring debut count with a hat trick — the first US player to do so since Savannah DeMelo in 2018.
The US will face Concacaf rival Mexico in Wedneday's U-20 World Cup Round of 16. (Jason Allen/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
USYNT to face Mexico in U-20 knockout clash
Unlike previous editions, this year's expanded U-20 World Cup includes a Round of 16 for the first time.
The USYNT will face regional rival Mexico tomorrow, a team they lost to in the 2023 Concacaf Championship final before settling two July friendlies with a draw and a win.
How to watch the US vs. Mexico at the U-20 World Cup
Catch the US women's youth national team take on Mexico in U-20 World Cup action at 9 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage on FS2.
Claire Watkins
Sep 10, 2024
NCAA Volleyball Off to a Whirlwind Start
With realignment packing more talent into Power conferences, the already popular sport will likely garner even more success in 2024. (Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Already one of the most popular women’s spectator sports in the US, the 2024 NCAA volleyball season is off to the races this month as the shifting lines of modern college sports plays out in real time.
Thanks to major conference realignments, regional rivalries turned national storylines will drive the narrative all the way to December's NCAA tournament.
2023 runners-up Nebraska will face an expanded Big Ten field this season. (David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Big Ten's big changes
At the forefront of these shifts is longtime volleyball powerhouse the Big Ten, which welcomed USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington from the Pac-12 this summer to bring the conference total to 18 teams.
Added travel, raucous home crowds, and even fiercer competition will play into the conference's season storyline as Midwest heavyweights Wisconsin and Nebraska meet West Coast specialists in a quest to bring the Big Ten its first NCAA title since 2021.
"We knew the venues, everything was comfortable," Oregon head coach Matt Ulmer, speaking with JWS at last month's Big Ten Media Day in Chicago, said of his team’s former Pac-12 home. "I think we're going to [see] a lot of uncomfortableness this year, just with new change."
Surprises and upsets already define the 2024 season
Mirroring that uncertainty, several 2023 heavy-hitters have already produced surprising results this season. Two-time defending champion Texas fell to Minnesota in early non-conference play and again to unranked Miami last weekend, while Wisconsin went 0-3 before picking up a pair of weekend wins.
Then last week, 2023 runners-up Nebraska suffered a historic upset loss to unranked SMU, though they also bounced back with weekend victories.
With Power 10 rankings already a rollercoaster, expect even more impressive performances, greater parity, and larger crowds as college volleyball rides its meteoric rise through 2024.