10. NICHELLE PRINCE IS ROYALTY

What a ball by @sophieschmidt13 and what a finish from @nichelleprince7 ???? ???????? #HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/fXJvIN0l0D

— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) September 27, 2020

The Houston Dash’s Sophie Schmidt pings a long-ball from midfield to Nichelle Prince, her fellow Dash and Canadian national team teammate. In a footrace, Prince beats the Orlando Pride defender to the ball, smashing a half-volley over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. Prince’s clinical finish gave her team an early lead in a 3-1 victory over Orlando. After winning the Challenge Cup, Houston came in second in the Fall Series thanks to the efforts of Prince and her teammates.

 

9. KUMI YOKOYAMA’S BANGER

A thing of beauty from @yoko10_official ????

0-1 | #NJvWAS

Tune in now on @Twitch. #NWSLFallSeries | #VerizonCommunityShield pic.twitter.com/XzrpNmZzRH

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) October 3, 2020

A deflected shot sends the ball flying through to the air, landing just outside the box at the feet of Kumi Yokoyama. The Washington Spirit forward tracks the ball down before losing her defender, curling a shot that deflects off the back post and into the net. Yokoyama’s absolutely wicked spin helped Washington walk away with the 1-0 win and a third place finish in the series overall.

 

8. DEBINHA: A CLASS ACT

.@TheNCCourage are just rolling. @Debinha7 grabs a second just before the halftime whistle.

0-3 | #ORLvNC

Tune in now on @CBS and @Twitch. #NWSLFallSeries | #VerizonCommunityShield pic.twitter.com/QjfzQbCmJl

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

Another NWSL season comes to a close, and Debinha is still underrated. Here, teammate Meredith Speck reads Orlando’s defense perfectly, stealing the ball and driving toward goal, patiently waiting for Debinha to get into position. The Brazilian superstar takes the beautifully weighted pass on a full-sprint before placing the ball back corner. Debinha’s smooth finish gave the North Carolina Courage a 3-0 lead before a second half comeback from the Orlando Pride ended the match in a 3-3 draw.

 

7. BETHANY BALCER GOT TEKKERS

The dummy and then the goal *chef's kiss* ????‍????@bethanybalcer pulls a goal back for @OLReign!

2-1 | #UTAvRGN

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch. #NWSLFallSeries | #VerizonCommunityShield pic.twitter.com/4eQDONRI9F

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

‘Tis spooky season folks, and OL Reign looked scary good in this play. Steph Cox plays it in to teammate Sofia Huerta, who cheekily dummies the pass, allowing it to run into Bethany Balcer’s tracks. Behind Utah’s defensive line, Balcer hits a beautiful curler into the far post’s side panel, boosting her team to an eventual 2-2 draw with the Royals.

 

6. TZIARRA KING DOESN’T NEED REDBULL

.@tziarra has W I N G S ????

2-0 | #UTAvRGN

Tune in now on @CBSAllAccess and @Twitch.#NWSLFallSeries | #VerizonCommunityShield pic.twitter.com/i1WI6vojtw

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

She’s already got wings. The height Utah Royals’ Tziarra King got off this header goal is inhuman. Open on the right flank, Brittany Ratcliffe plays a cross into the box near the six. King flexes her hops, flying far above Reign’s defenders, and heads the ball back into the front post corner. Throughout the Fall Series, the rookie King was a consistent bright spot for Utah. We don’t expect this is the last time we’ll be singing her praises.

 

5. CHRISTINE SINCLAIR: STILL THE GOAT

The Great Horan sets up the GOAT and it's perfect.#PORvRGN | #BAONPDX pic.twitter.com/2yd3OQxV7u

— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) October 1, 2020

The Portland Thorns’ Lindsey Horan and Christine Sinclair are the epitome of a dynamic duo. In typical fashion, Horan plays some tiki-taka on the left flank before playing a dangerous diagonal ball back to Sinclair. The Canadian superstar drills the ball into the far corner, putting it completely out of reach of OL Reign’s goalkeeper. Sinclair led the league with six goals in the Fall Series, double the amount of the next highest scorer. What are we supposed to do for the rest of the year if we can’t watch Sinclair dominate the NWSL?

 

4. SHEA GROOM CATCHES AIR

✈️ @sheabayy2 you are cleared for takeoff#HoldItDown pic.twitter.com/xMv8tp9mjO

— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) October 9, 2020

Shea Groom first took flight on a spectacular goal during the Challenge Cup. And surprise, surprise, she did it again. The Houston Dash’s Brianna Visalli jumpstarts the counterattack by winning a critical tackle in her defensive end before slotting the ball ahead to Kristie Mewis, who chips it into the box. Groom comes flying in and heads the ball with major conviction. Groom’s strike helped her finish the Fall Series as the second-leading goal scorer while Mewis was first in assists.

 

3. ECKERSTROM READS FORWARDS LIKE THEIR BOOKS

This save deserves a ????@Breck28 takes home the @Verizon Save of the Week. #NWSLFallSeries | #VerizonCommunityShield pic.twitter.com/NIXlS0NZrN

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) October 7, 2020

Portland Thorns’ keeper Britt Eckerstrom was an absolute beast throughout the Fall Series. She led the league in saves, denying what could have been 19 goals while only allowing 3 to get past her all tournament. In the early moments of this match against OL Reign, midfielder Shirley Cruz floats a bomb into the box, finding Bethany Balcer, who heads the ball toward the top-shelf. But Eckerstrom makes an incredible leap to push the ball over the crossbar with her left hand. Needless to say, Eckerstrom played a vital role in helping Portland walk away with the Fall Series Community Shield.

 

2. A STAR IS BORN: SOPHIE SMITH

???? Debut goal for @sophsssmith ????

And what a class finish it was from the 2020 No. 1 college draft pick!

2-0 | #PORvUTA

Tune in now on @Twitch.#NWSLFallSeries | #VerizonCommunityShield pic.twitter.com/1EXeO1n4Bf

— National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) September 20, 2020

How could we forget Smith’s brilliant header, which she scored within just three minutes of entering her first professional career match? Meghan Klingenberg of the Portland Thorns initiates the action by picking off a pass before playing a line-drive into the penalty area. Smith connects with the pass, heading it into the far corner for a spectacular start to her NWSL career. The number one draft pick has Portland fans walking away from the Fall Series with a new trophy on their shelves and sky high expectations for the years to come.

 

1. ONE WORD: DEBINHA

Safe to say we'll be watching this Debinha goal on repeat for the foreseeable future ????#NoFinishLine pic.twitter.com/tO8v8HkE70

— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) September 12, 2020

The title says it all. Debinha’s goal made SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays for a reason. There’s a chance the net is still smoking after this bullet from the North Carolina midfielder. After receiving the ball back from her teammate Lynn Williams, Debinha turns inside and dummies her defender before immediately lifting her head to smash a shot from outside the 18. The ball carries to the back post upper 90, popping the back of the net. Once again Debinha has left fans wondering if she isn’t, in fact, the most dangerous player in the league.

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.

Then, she discusses what Angel Reese’s season-ending injury means for the WNBA playoff race, salutes the US Open, reflects on the 2024 Paralympic Games, and more.

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.

Subscribe to The Late Sub to never miss an episode.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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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.

USWNT and NWSL superstar Alex Morgan played her final professional match on Sunday, narrowly missing a left-footed penalty for San Diego before being subbed out within the game's first 15 minutes. 

"I came off the field and I thought to myself, 'That's the best example I could give of betting on yourself,'" Morgan said in a postgame press conference. "I think that's just how I've tried to live my life and my career as a soccer player."

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Alex Morgan leaves historic mark on women's sports

Sharing news that she was pregnant with her second child, the 35-year-old forward announced her imminent retirement late last week. 

"You pushed me to be my best self every day — you pushed me to be the best soccer player, to be the best mom, to be the best person I could be," Morgan told Snapdragon Stadium's 26,500 fans after the game.

Before the game concluded, the soccer icon made one final bit of history. The match marked the first women’s sports event to be simultaneously broadcast across multiple US outlets, with CBS Sports, ESPN2, Prime, Paramount+, and others getting in on the action.

However, North Carolina damped the celebratory sendoff vibes by soundly defeating the 12th-place Wave 4-1, extending San Diego's regular-season winless streak to five.

The Courage now sit fifth in the standings after overtaking Portland, solidifying their place above the postseason cutoff line.

NWSL standings hold steady in weekend play

In Kansas City's 1-0 win over Utah on Saturday, Temwa Chawinga added a 15th goal to her Golden Boot campaign. The Current snapped a three-game losing streak in the process.

Also on Saturday, Washington beat Portland in front of a raucous Audi Field crowd. In the match, the Spirit's Ballon d’Or nominee, Trinity Rodman, registered both a goal and an assist.

On Sunday, Marta scored a stunner against Chicago to keep Orlando's undefeated season alive. The Pride became the first NWSL club to clinch a 2024 postseason berth in the process.

Speaking of the postseason, Bay FC have launched themselves into seventh place and playoff contention after two straight wins, including Saturday's 1-0 victory over Louisville.