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The case for the most essential USWNT player: Alex Morgan

In her return to the USWNT, Alex Morgan has set an example for the next generation. (Jaime Lopez/Jam Media/Getty Images)

Each month in the leadup to the World Cup, Just Women’s Sports will make the case for one player as most essential to the success of the U.S. women’s national team in 2023. Next up: Alex Morgan.

A staple for the U.S. women’s national team for more than a decade, Alex Morgan again should prove instrumental as the team sets its sights on a third straight World Cup.

Morgan’s career with the USWNT to this point puts her in the conversation for one of the greatest strikers of all time. But for five training camps, from October 2021 through April 2022, she was left off the roster.

The 33-year-old took her absence not as a slight but as a challenge.

She responded by putting together the best NWSL season of her career, which included winning the Golden Boot. Upon her return to the national team for World Cup qualifiers, Morgan excelled, scoring the title-winning goal in the Concacaf W Championship run.

She was named the best player in the tournament following that win. She finished as the USWNT’s leading scorer and tied for the top spot overall in the the July competition.

“She’s a winner,” USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski said of Morgan at the time. “She knows how to win big games. She knows how to perform in big games. She’s done it before. She’s won World Cups, she’s won an Olympics, she’s won big tournaments. That doesn’t come overnight.”

The pressure of the spotlight doesn’t phase Morgan, as she showed from the penalty spot. In 2022, she converted on 100% of the penalties she took for both the San Diego Wave and the USWNT. She went 8-for-8, including six for the Wave and two for the USWNT.

She also was one of just three USWNT players to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or, alongside Catarina Macario and Trinity Rodman.

An injury late in 2022 just hammered home her importance to the USWNT. She missed the squad’s October friendlies against England and Spain with a knee injury, and without her, the team stumbled in back-to-back losses.

Not to mention, Morgan knows how to show up at the World Cup. Look no further than her five-goal performance against Thailand in 2019, which matched Michelle Akers for the most goals scored by an American woman in a World Cup game.

Beyond Morgan’s play, her presence as a veteran and an advocate for her fellow players makes her instrumental not only to their success but to their well-being.

Morgan has been a central figure as the NWSL and U.S. Soccer have dealt with the fallout of coaching abuse and misconduct.

In 2019, she warned U.S. Soccer against hiring Paul Riley as the USWNT head coach, an ESPN documentary revealed in October.

Riley had been dismissed from the Portland Thorns in 2015 following allegations of sexual harassment and sexual coercion. During the 2015 season, Morgan had helped Thorns teammate Mana Shim submit her complaint about Riley to team owner Merritt Paulson.

Morgan did everything she could to keep Riley from the head coaching job for the USWNT, she said in the documentary.

“I did my part in stopping him from becoming head coach,” Morgan said. “And that was sharing as much information as I could with the people who were in charge of selecting the next head coach.

“The response by U.S. Soccer was no, they had never heard of this misconduct or harassment. Not the report that Mana submitted, not the investigation, and that this was a surprise to them.”

Morgan has since joined U.S. Soccer’s participant safety taskforce, which aims to help prevent abuse across all levels of the sport. The taskforce is chaired by Shim.

She also was one of the players that helped bring a lawsuit against U.S. Soccer as part of the USWNT’s fight for equal pay. The team achieved that goal earlier this year, settling the lawsuit and agreeing to a new CBA that guarantees equal pay.

Last Thursday, President Joe Biden signed into law the Equal Pay for Team USA Act, which ensures that all athletes who represent the U.S. on the global stage will receive equal pay. According to legislators, that would not have been accomplished without Morgan.

“I also want to thank heroes like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, who brought that case against U.S. Soccer,” said U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), who first introduced the act in 2019 alongside fellow Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). The bill was introduced shortly after the USWNT sued for equal pay following their World Cup win.

“U.S. women’s soccer led the charge after winning the World Cup and making it clear to everyone that women athletes deserve equal pay,” Cantwell continued. “With President Biden’s signature, we’re ensuring that when you wear the Team USA logo, you will truly be equal.”

Who is the most essential USWNT player?

Gotham FC Signs Record-Breaking Sponsorship Deal with Dove

Emily Sonnett shows off the new Dove sponsorship above her last name on her Gotham jersey.
Dove's partnership with Gotham is the brand's first major investment in a women's sports team. (Gotham FC)

Gotham and Dove are teaming up, with the 2023 NWSL champs signing a record-setting multi-year kit partnership with the beauty brand on Thursday.

As Dove's first major investment in a women's sports team, the move also ranks as the highest-ever back-of-jersey sponsorship deal in NWSL history.

While Gotham did not provide specific numbers, the contract surpasses Bay FC's then-record $500,000 deal with private equity giant Sixth Street.

Dove joins Gotham in fight to keep girls in sports

The partnership is a part of Gotham's "Keep Her in the Game" initiative, a community effort launched last August to help adolescent girls stay in sports. Dove will serve as the program's presenting sponsor.

"Dove is the ultimate leader in female strength and empowerment, and we could not be prouder to partner with the brand in a number of impactful ways," Gotham FC chief business officer Ryan Dillon said in the team's release. "We are excited to team up with Dove to create key pathways for young female athletes to stay in sports, develop confidence, and become strong future leaders."

"The partnership is taking effect at a crucial time when supporting girls in sports has never been more important."

With girls twice as likely as boys to abandon sports by age 14, "Keep Her in the Game" aims to bolster young athletes' resilience and amplify the joy and connection that happens on and off the playing field.

After impacting 30 local New Jersey and New York youth clubs and more than 500 players in 2024, the initiative is aiming to double its reach in 2025. It will also pass the proverbial mic to the young athletes themselves by creating a Youth Leadership Council.

"The data is clear: Sports build confidence, leadership skills and resilience in young women, benefiting them for years to come," stated Laura DiMiceli, the head of personal care sports marketing for Dove's parent company, Unilever North America. "Dove is committed to supporting 'Keep Her in the Game' as part of our overall mission to help young girls pursue sports and keep playing the games they love."

Unrivaled to Crown First-Ever 1v1 Tournament Champion

Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier dribbles the ball during an Unrivaled game.
Napheesa Collier is one of four Unrivaled players competing for the 1v1 tournament's $200,000 prize. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball will crown its first-ever 1v1 tournament champion on Friday night, when all four semifinalists take the court with a $200,000 grand prize on the line.

Vinyl guard Arike Ogunbowale will kick off the semis against Mist forward Aaliyah Edwards, before Unrivaled co-founder and Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier faces Rose forward Azurá Stevens. The victors will immediately advance to the night's best-of-three final series.

Notably, Friday's set puts alma mater pride on center court. A trio of UConn alums in Collier, Stevens, and Edwards will all clock in, while Ogunbowale reps Notre Dame — one of just three teams to beat the Huskies this NCAA season.

Along with those priceless bragging rights, the semifinalists are battling for a six-figure payday, though none will leave empty-handed. Each are guaranteed at least $25,000, with $50,000 on deck for the tournament's runner-up.

The players' Unrivaled teammates will also be watching with interest, as the winner's entire 3×3 team will snag $10,000 each.

Though 1v1 can feel like a schoolyard version of basketball, with this much money involved, expect the competition to rise miles above playground tussles.

Rose BC's Angel Reese defends Mist forward Aaliyah Edwards during an Unrivaled game.
Aaliyah Edwards is one of three UConn alums in the Unrivaled 1v1 semifinals. (Rich Storry/Getty Images)

Endurance could decide Unrivaled 1v1 tournament champion

Friday's format is in part a test of stamina, as players stare down a grueling schedule where the eventual winner must play either three or four 1v1 games in a single night.

To that end, Collier's elite conditioning could make her the favorite, if she can outlast Stevens in the pair's semifinal.

"Her motor is unmatched," Stevens said of Collier's endurance, a key factor in her success so far. "I try to conserve some energy in between possessions, especially when the games get really tiring."

Motors aside, Friday's title will boil down to fundamentals — and which athlete best leverages their personal skillset.

"I have to use my size and stick to my strengths," said Edwards. "It’s about imposing my will and getting the job done."

How to watch the Unrivaled 1v1 tournament finals

The inaugural Unrivaled 1v1 tournament concludes on Friday. Live coverage begins at 7:30 PM ET on TNT.

USC Beats UCLA as JuJu Watkins Ends Bruins’ Undefeated NCAA Season

USC's JuJu Watkins drives to the basket between UCLA's Janiah Barker and Elina Aarnisalo.
Watkins scored 38 points to hand UCLA their first loss of the season. (Robert Hanashiro/Imagn Images)

The last perfect DI basketball season has officially fallen, as USC phenom JuJu Watkins put up a historic performance to lead the No. 6 Trojans to a 71-60 win over then-undefeated No. 1 UCLA on Thursday.

Watkins finished the night with 38 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and eight blocks, becoming the first DI player to register an overall stat-line so robust in 20 years.

"It took everything. It's been a rough couple weeks for me," Watkins said after the game, referencing uncharacteristic performances leading up to Thursday's rivalry matchup. "To be able to kind of snap back into it and get into my rhythm here at Galen versus UCLA, it's really all I could ask for."

"I'm really just like a kid out there and living out my dream."

Throughout the back-and-forth battle, Watkins's consistency made all the difference. She scored every one of USC's 14 second-quarter points, and helped lead a monster fourth quarter in which the Trojans slammed the door by outscoring the Bruins 24-8.

"I didn't teach JuJu any of that," commented USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb after the game. "[I] just try to put her in situations to be her best self, and she does most of that work. What I was so impressed with tonight, obviously, was just the mentality she came out with."

With the marquee win, USC now sits firmly atop the Big Ten. That said, UCLA will have a chance to avenge the loss in the pair's March 1st rematch, when that final regular-season game could decide the conference title.

Until then, the Trojans will be riding high on their Thursday night dominance.

"We'll never forget this night," Gottlieb said. "It's as good as anything I've ever seen."

UConn star Paige Bueckers dribbles the ball during a game.
UConn takes on South Carolina on Sunday. (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)

How to watch Top 10 NCAA basketball this weekend

With no undefeated teams left in DI basketball, Watkins's performance has put the field on notice to not make any assumptions about who might end up on top.

While Sunday will see USC roll against unranked Washington and UCLA try to bounce back against No. 22 Michigan State, the NCAA slate will also serve up two huge Top 10 matchups.

First, No. 7 UConn will take their final major regular-season test when they visit No. 4 South Carolina at 1 PM ET, when Paige Bueckers and the Huskies will aim to pull off a similarly impressive USC-inspired upset.

Then at 3 PM ET, No. 5 LSU heads to No. 3 Texas, where the Tigers will hunt their first win over the Longhorns in more than 22 years.

Both elite meetings are set to air live on ABC.

Pro Women’s Lacrosse League Debuts at WLL Championship Series

A promotional graphic for the WLL Championship Series.
The WLL played its first-ever pro games at this week's Lexus Championship Series. (ESPN)

The brand-new professional Women's Lacrosse League (WLL) made its official debut this week just outside of Washington, DC, where its first-ever game saw the New York Charging take down the Maryland Charm 14-13 in the WLL Championship Series.

After the inaugural Tuesday result, the action continued on Wednesday, when the California Palms opened their WLL account by getting the better of the Boston Guard in a tight 16-15 matchup.

Founded and run by the Premier Lacrosse League, the WLL fosters top-level competition as the sport gears up for its 2028 Olympic return.

The four-team WLL Championship Series follows an Olympic-style "sixes" format. Unlike traditional lacrosse, which uses a larger pitch and 10 athletes per team, sixes employs a condensed field with six players per side.

In the Championship Series, teams are first competing in three round-robin games to determine semifinal seedings. The tournament will culminate with the knockout semifinal and final rounds on Sunday and Monday, respectively.

Team USA lacrosse star Charlotte North gestures during a 2022 World Championship game.
Team USA star Charlotte North competes for the WLL's Boston Guard. (Ryan Hunt/Getty Images)

WLL looks to level up lacrosse ahead of 2028 Olympics

Despite the competition's quick turnaround, the WLL represents a growing professionalization movement in women's lacrosse — with all involved betting big on the sport's Olympic success in LA.

When lacrosse steps back onto the Olympic stage in 2028, it will have been 80 years since its last 1948 outing — and even then, it was merely a demonstration event. The last time the sport earned medals was in 1908.

Furthermore, the sport's entire Olympic history rests in the men's game — 2028 will see women take the Olympic lacrosse pitch for the first time ever.

"We are honored to be a part of the WLL, and we couldn't be more excited to bring this game to the fans in new ways than ever before," said Boston Guard star Charlotte North in a league statement.

"We firmly believe that this is the beginning of what will be a monumental movement in the game of professional women's lacrosse, and for female athletes around the globe.... It's our time."

Former Northwestern lacrosse star Izzy Scane shoots the ball during an NCAA game.
Izzy Scane, the NCAA DI lacrosse career scoring leader, plays for the New York Charging. (Greg Fiume/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

How to watch the WLL Championship Series

The tournament's round-robin play continues with the Maryland Charm facing off against the Boston guard at 9 PM ET on Thursday, before the California Palms contend with the New York Charging at 6 PM ET on Friday.

All WLL Championship Series games will stream live on ESPN+, with Sunday's and Monday's knockout rounds airing live on ESPN2.

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