The NWSL’s Challenge Cup provided fans with a number of electric goals as soccer made its triumphant return. With the tournament officially concluded, we’re looking back at our top 10 scores. 

 

10. GROOM HITS A BULLET

.@sheabayy2 hits this shot like she's angry. Sheesh ????

3-1 | #HOUvUTA

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/Rv3YEo9ehu

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) June 30, 2020

Shea Groom’s shot is the definition of a banger. Receiving the pass from Houston Dash teammate Katie Stengel, Groom absolutely hammers the ball into the upper 90 of the back post. Her exceptional goal helped Houston to tie the Utah Royals 3-3 in preliminary play.

 

9. SOMEONE GIVE LAVELLE A ROSE

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

Rose Lavelle drives forward, slipping in a dangerous ball to her teammate, Ashley Hatch, who had made a diagonal run into the box. Although Hatch isn’t able to finish, Lavelle follows up and roofs her shot, giving the Washington Spirit their first goal of the tournament in a 2-1 defeat to the Chicago Red Stars. Name one thing Lavelle can’t do. We dare you.

 

8. GET THE BALL TO LYNN WILLIAMS

"It's not IF Lynn Williams will punish you, but WHEN."@lynnraenie with a solo masterpiece ????

0-1 | #WASvNC

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/rcCmik93p9

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) July 2, 2020

Lynn Williams used the Challenge Cup to cement her reputation as one of the league’s premier strikers. Here, she resiliently runs through a slide tackle on the flank and continues to dribble straight to goal. Cutting in front of her defender, Williams finds the perfect angle for a shot, and finishes with nothing but class, leading Carolina to a 2-0 victory of Washington.

 

7. MEWIS’ GOAL IS PICTURE PERFECT

???? Beautiful build up play, and @KristieMewie hammers it home!

1-0 | #HOUvRGN

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/2H1HgmqSt8

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) July 5, 2020

You couldn’t have scripted this goal better if you tried. After intercepting a risky ball played out wide, Houston’s Brianna Visalli feeds a slip ball into Shea Groom, who cleverly rolls it back to Kristie Mewis. The Dash midfielder hits a spectacularly driven ball into the side panel of the goal, helping the future tournament champions edge OL Regin 2-0 in group play.

 

6. WEAVER TELLS THE REIGNING CHAMPS TO PACK THEIR BAGS

Go on and shine, Rook ✨

Morgan Weaver gives @ThornsFC the lead!

0-1 | #NCvPOR

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/pFSBk0XrKk

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) July 17, 2020

Rookies aren’t supposed to make game-winning goals look easy, but no one seems to have told that to Portland’s Morgan Weaver. Cutting in from the back post, Weaver beats her defender and places the ball just outside the reach of Carolina’s goalkeeper, earning the Thorns a 1-0 victory over the two-time defending champs. Not a bad way to start your career.

 

5. STAAB EQUALIZES WITH A CHEEKY PLAY

Back heel flick from @ashleynsanchezz ✅
Equalizer from @SamStaab_ ✅pic.twitter.com/jPXSsTeQIu

— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) July 6, 2020

We swear these kids get younger everyday. A backheel flick from the winner of the NWSL’s Future Legend award Ashley Sanchez sets her second-year teammate Sam Stabb up to head the ball over Portland’s defense into the back of the net. Staab’s first NWSL goal gave her team the extra point it needed to tie the Portland Thorns 1-1 versus their third game of the tournament. Watch out for this pair of players down the line.

 

4. KAWASUMI SHOOTS HER SHOT

???? @NahoKawasumi_9 catches Campbell from more than 40 yards out for her first goal in a @SkyBlueFC jersey!
pic.twitter.com/UKzF51slSK

— Sky Blue FC (@SkyBlueFC) July 9, 2020

Nahomi Kawasumi excels at playing a short-sided game, but she also can hit the long-ball when needed. She launches this rocket from 40 yards out, catching Houston Dash’s goalkeeper Jane Campbell off her line. Kawasumi’s goal doubled Sky Blue’s lead, securing a 2-0 against the eventual Challenge Cup champs Houston Dash

 

3. SHEA GROOM, YOU’RE CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF

???? @sheabayy2 WITH AUTHORITY ????@HoustonDash double their lead.

2-0 | #HOUvRGN

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/UqCoJGOOXC

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) July 5, 2020

Tournament MVP Rachel Daly hits a total bomb, finding her teammate Shea Groom back post. An unmarked Groom takes flight, defying gravity to head the ball home in Houston’s 2-0 win against Ol Reign. ‘Groom airlines is now boarding group A. We repeat, Groom airlines is now boarding Group A.’

 

2. LINDSEY HORAN. ENOUGH SAID.

Few bigger guarantees in life than a @LindseyHoran goal in the box. ????

1-0 | #PORvWAS

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/C2TYMgSPHS

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) July 6, 2020

Lindsey Horan is an absolute Queen. After teammate Meghan Klingenberg hits a dinker off a free-kick, Horan’s diving header just brushes the goalkeeper’s fingertips before finding the back of the net. Horan’s score helped the Thorns tie the Spirit 1-1, and was eventually voted the play of the tournament. We might politely disagree, but we’re certainly not surprised.

 

1. GROOM PUTS THE DAGGER IN

A shift worthy of a ????@sheabayy2 is the @budweiserusa Woman of the Match!#NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/7u8EVTf4Uz

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) July 26, 2020

Houston’s Rachel Daly plays a flawlessly weighted through-ball ahead to her teammate Shea Groom, who pushes straight to goal, touching the ball past Alyssa Naeher before putting the game away. Groom’s stoppage-time goal doubled Houston’s lead against Chicago in the Challenge Cup final, solidifying H-town’s victory and giving the Dash their first major title.

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

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Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.