The first weekend of Athletes Unlimited’s inaugural lacrosse season is officially in the books.

The newly minted professional league is the third under the Athletes Unlimited’s umbrella, after they previously debuted similar leagues for softball and volleyball.

Now, it’s lacrosse’s turn.

For five weeks, the world’s best lacrosse players are all in the Metro DC area at Maureen Hendricks Field competing to be the first Athletes Unlimited champion.

After the first weekend of action, here are three players to keep an eye on heading into week two:

Kayla Wood, Defender

“Kayla Wood is my new favorite person,” team captain Kylie Ohlmiller said over the weekend. “And you can quote me on that.”

Wood had a monster weekend, putting up a league-leading 501 points, 90 of which came from being named game MVP in two of her three competitions.

Our 3️⃣ MVPs for Game #3! 🤩

1️⃣ @kwooood
2️⃣ @tcummings_21
3️⃣ @BrittanyRead1 #BeUnlimited pic.twitter.com/ot5LucF9L0

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) July 24, 2021

A crafty defender fresh off of North Carolina’s Final Four run, Wood has reaped the benefits of AU’s custom points system. Built to reward defenders appropriately, the system allows players to earn individual points which go beyond just goals and assists.

Wood racked up her points on caused turnovers (36) and draw control (20), while also earning 335 points for both periods won and games won.

As a team captain this week, Wood had the opportunity to draft her own team. For her to stay atop the leaderboard, she’ll need to keep winning both periods and games, meaning her team-selection abilities as well as her defensive skills will be put to the test this weekend.

Marie McCool, Midfielder

Asked who she would draft if given the choice, lacrosse legend Taylor Cummings said Marie McCool. After the first weekend, it’s easy to see why.

Like Wood, McCool also racked up MVP points (60), with one first place and one third place MVP finish. At home in the midfield, she wasted no time raking in the goals, scoring six to go along with two assists. Included was the first two-point goal in the history of Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse, which earned the midfielder an additional 16 points.

.@uncwlax alum @mariemccool4 with the FIRST TWO-POINT GOAL in the history of Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse‼️#BeUnlimited pic.twitter.com/cB5fxdUWMm

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) July 24, 2021

Through the first weekend of action, McCool is tied with Halle Majorana for third in goals scored, one behind Taylor Cummings and four behind Kayla Treanor.

Sitting 17th on the leaderboard with 315 points, expect McCool to climb the rankings with another strong performance this weekend.

Kenzie Kent, Attack

A two-sport athlete in ice hockey and lacrosse at Boston College, Kent had a decorated college career on both the field and the ice. She played in five Final Fours — including two in lacrosse — and was named the ACC Athlete of the Year during the 2016-17 season. She was drafted fourth overall by the Boston Pride in the 2017 NWHL Draft but opted to return to lacrosse after a year away.

Now, she’s with AU and already making a splash.

Kent had a particularly great second game, wracking up 139 total points, including scoring two goals for 24 points.

"that's the Kenzie Kent we know" ‼️#BeUnlimited x @unkentrolable pic.twitter.com/K1ir2XBZwx

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) July 24, 2021

She has the power to continue to be a factor on offense. During her time at Boston College she wracked up 131 goals, including 52 in her final season — despite having taken a year off to pursue hockey. Additionally, Kent is just as prolific an assister as she is a scorer, having tallied 133 assists during her college years.

Tune in: Team Wood, featuring Kenzie Kent, will begin the second weekend of play against Team Treanor on Friday, July 30 at 5 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.

Editor’s note: Athletes Unlimited is a sponsor of Just Women’s Sports.

Arsenal advanced to their first UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) final in 18 years on Sunday, defeating eight-time tournament winners Lyon 4-1 to punch their ticket to next month's title matchup against reigning champs FC Barcelona.

The Gunners overcame a 2-1 first-leg deficit to beat Lyon, with the French side suffering their first Champions League semifinal ousting since 2009.

"We are very, very, very proud," said Arsenal head coach Renee Slegers. "I think this was the biggest challenge so far, coming back from a 2-1 loss at the [Arsenal Stadium] against this top team with so much quality, and then coming out here, so calm and composed, with so much belief in what we're doing and courage on the pitch."

Powerhouse Barcelona awaits Arsenal in Champions League final

Overcoming an opening loss has been a theme for Arsenal throughout their 2024/25 Champions League campaign. Other than the tournament's very first qualifying round, the Gunners have dropped the first match of every single round thus far, using high-octane offense to claim the wins needed to keep advancing.

There are no multiple matches in the next round, however, where Arsenal will play underdog to titans Barcelona in the competition's final match.

The decorated Spanish club handed WSL-leaders Chelsea back-to-back 4-1 thrashings to seal their place in the 2024/25 Champions League final, ending the Blues' historic quadruple quest in the process.

Barcelona has now reached five of the last six Champions League title matches, taking home the trophy in 2021, 2023, and 2024.

Arsenal, on the other hand, is the only English team to ever lift the European trophy — a feat the Gunners accomplished back in 2007.

The teams will have a little less than a month to prepare for the tournament's grand finale, as the 2024/25 UWCL championship match will kick off in Lisbon, Portugal, on May 24th.

Former South Carolina star MiLaysia Fulwiley officially joined the Gamecocks' SEC rival LSU on Friday, putting the cherry on top of the Tigers' winning NCAA basketball transfer period.

According to multiple reports, the Columbia, South Carolina, product actually committed to LSU weeks ago — the same day she announced she'd be leaving her hometown school.

The rising junior won a national championship with South Carolina in 2024, but started only three of her 77 games with the talent-loaded Gamecocks — despite averaging 11.7 points per game and shooting 42.6% from the field.

Fulwiley's move only deepens one of the hottest rivalries of both the powerhouse SEC and the NCAA at-large, with either South Carolina or LSU featuring in each of the last four national championship games.

The guard won the SEC tournament's Most Outstanding Player award in 2024, after the Gamecocks beat the Tigers to secure last year's conference title.

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Transfers reshape NCAA landscape ahead of 2025/26 season

This year's transfer portal has profoundly impacted the women's college basketball field, with more than 1,500 athletes — almost 30% of all Division I players — looking to jump ship.

Even though the NCAA basketball portal closed last week, there are no deadlines for transfers to commit to a new program — or return to their original school, should an athlete's roster spot still be available.

While Fulwiley and other NCAA basketball stars have locked in their 2025/26 NCAA homes, talented transfers like former USC guard Kayleigh Heckel are reportedly still looking for the right fit.

As the dust finished settling on a highly competitive 2024/25 season, roster shakeups could transform some teams into bonafide championship contenders — though history proves that building a superteam doesn't always guarantee a national title.

The North Carolina Courage earned their first winning results of the 2025 NWSL season in high-scoring style, when a last-gasp goal by attacker Ashley Sanchez handed the previously undefeated Kansas City Current their first loss on Saturday.

The Courage trailed Kansas City 2-1 just before the end of regulation, after goals from Haley Hopkins and Bia Zaneratto put the Current in the lead.

Center back Kaleigh Kurtz's 90th-minute equalizer flipped the script for the Courage, before Sanchez buried the closer three minutes later in second-half stoppage time.

The comeback victory boosted the formerly last-place Courage to No. 11 in the standings, while the league-leading Current's grip on No. 1 is loosening as they pull level in points with No. 2 Orlando.

Gotham caps roller-coaster week with win over Washington

Elsewhere on Saturday, No. 4 Gotham downed East Coast rivals No. 3 Washington 3-0, solidifying their spot in the NWSL's top five.

The victory was buoyed by a brace from Golden Boot-leader Esther González, whose seven season goals have all come in the last four matches — tying the NWSL record for most goals scored in a four-game span.

Still at the start of her third season with the NJ/NY side, the 32-year-old has already become the team's second all-time leading scorer, passing both Carli Lloyd and Midge Purce with her 18th Gotham goal on Saturday.

That weekend win capped off a crowded three-match week for the Bats. Before securing their multi-goal victory over DC, Gotham first beat Angel City 4-0 the previous Friday, then fell 4-1 to Portland last Tuesday.

"This was one of the proudest moments for us as a team and as a club," Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said after Saturday's match. "I couldn't be prouder of the players. I think they've been outstanding the whole week."

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As for injury-ridden Washington, their performance wasn't a total loss, as 2024 Rookie of the Year Croix Bethune returned to the pitch for the first time since tearing her meniscus shortly after winning Olympic gold with the USWNT last summer.

"I do feel like I'm about 90%," Bethune told reporters after the match. "I had a hip/quad situation — I feel like that gave me a little bit more time to get stronger for my knee and just make sure I'm overall 100%."

While the Spirit continue dealing with an onslaught of injuries, Gotham — now just one point behind Washington in the standings — is steadily creeping in on the 2024 NWSL Championship runners-up's third-place spot.

Sixth NWSL matchday fueled by high-scoring results

Saturday's high-scoring tally fit right in with the rest of the NWSL, with the league's weekend slate delivering a high-octane 24 goals across its seven matches.

Defending champion Orlando secured a three-point result with a 3-2 comeback win over the visiting No. 9 Angel City, while the last-place Chicago Stars suffered a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of No. 5 San Diego.

However, it was No. 6 Portland and No. 12 Louisville that produced the most dramatic scoreline of the season's sixth matchday, settling for a 3-3 Sunday draw after the Thorns converted two penalty kicks.

"This is just another example of how good this league is, and how you literally cannot relax even for a second regardless of who you play and where you play them," said Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski, summing up a strong showing across the NWSL.

As PWHL action returned to the ice following the IIHF World Championship international break, the Toronto Sceptres booked their 2024/25 postseason berth this weekend, leaving just two spots left in this year's Walter Cup Playoffs.

Despite Toronto's 3-0 Saturday loss to the Boston Fleet, New York's 2-0 win over Minnesota on Sunday gave the second-place Sceptres enough of a point differential over the fifth-place Frost to solidify their postseason position.

Meanwhile, Saturday's games saw the Sirens suffer playoff elimination for the second straight year, with New York immediately banking Sunday's victory points toward securing yet another overall No. 1 pick in June's 2025 PWHL Draft under the league's Gold Plan.

Three teams hunt two remaining spots in 2024/25 PWHL Playoffs

With this weekend's results, the Sceptres join the league-leading Montréal Victoire in clinching a 2024/25 postseason berth, leaving three teams — the Fleet, the Frost, and the Ottawa Charge — battling for the final two spots.

Minnesota's Sunday loss, however, has the reigning PWHL champions on the brink of elimination.

With both Boston and Ottawa holding a significant points advantage over the Frost, Minnesota needs to win both of the final regular-season games and have either the Fleet or the Charge lose their two last matchups to squeeze above the PWHL table's cutoff line.

Following the close of the regular season on May 3rd, the 2024/25 PWHL Playoffs — featuring a semifinals round before the Walter Cup final — will begin the week of May 5th.