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Christen Press: USWNT hasn’t shown any growth in 2023

The lack of impact made by Crystal Dunn at the World Cup signals a problem with coach Vlatko Andonovski’s system, Christen Press and Tobin Heath said on their podcast. (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

For Christen Press and Tobin Heath, the lackluster performance of the U.S. women’s national team so far at the World Cup is a symptom of larger issues plaguing head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s system.

The USWNT failed to make any tactical adjustments in its group-stage matches, Press pointed out to Heath on their World Cup podcast “The RE-CAP Show.”

“It wasn’t that we didn’t put players into the match, right? That’s what everybody was emotional about,” added Heath, who herself had commented on the USWNT’s lack of substitutes. “But the point was the team didn’t structurally change to win that game (against Portugal).”

Press called Tuesday’s scoreless draw with Portugal a “micro moment” that is reflective of the “macro moment” for the USWNT. Andonovski failed to make adjustments not only in that match but in all of 2023.

“Have we seen any tactical adjustments in the last year?” Press asked. “Have we seen any different formations tried? Have we seen any adjustments to the way that we’re pressing? We’ve seen the team come out for the last year in the same general shape in the same general pressing structure.

“And the question I have is, now we’re in this tournament and we’re saying, ‘OK we’re not super happy with the first three performances, but we’re going to grow, and we’re growing into this tournament.

“But if we haven’t seen growth in the last year, then how can we expect growth now to happen over the next seven days?”

The World Cup may have exacerbated the USWNT’s problems, but those problems didn’t happen overnight, as both Press and Heath argue. For Heath, the problem started in roster construction: Rather than opening up the player pool and looking at all the pieces available and how they could work together, the USWNT got lost in the details.

“I think we never generalized, we went straight specifics,” Heath said. “We went straight to: this player is playing really really well. This player is the best in their position, this player, this player, this player. And for me there was never this idea of a team.”

Take Crystal Dunn as an example. While Heath took issue with Alexi Lalas reducing Dunn to a player that looked like she had never played soccer before, calling the comment “really harsh,” she pointed out the kernel of truth within the criticism. It boils down to the system

How does a world-class player like Dunn “become nothing?” Heath asked. And the answer boils down to the system, which is not working for her or for the team as a whole.

“Right now, our most effective players not only aren’t effective for themselves, they’re not being effective for others,” Heath said.

Wisconsin Volleyball Attendance Soars as NCAA Sees Growing Demand

Wisconsin volleyball players leap to block a kill from rival Nebraska during a 2024 NCAA match.
Wisconsin currently has the highest NCAA volleyball attendance in the country. (Michael Gomez/Getty Images)

Wisconsin volleyball is off to the attendance races, with the No. 7 college squad averaging 8,620 fans per match this season to become this NCAA's best-attended program — narrowly beating Big Ten rival No. 1 Nebraska's 8,602 current average.

Other than the Badgers and Cornhuskers, no other college volleyball team has surpassed 6,000 fans per match this year, but Wisconsin is well on track to surpass even their own dominant attendance history in the sport.

If they finish the season in the top attendance spot, the Badgers will snap a six season streak logging the second-best average crowds per year.

Even more, Wisconsin is on their way to blasting through their program-best mark, set when 7,761 fans per match filled the bleachers in 2022.

The growing demand for Badger volleyball is also translating into significant revenue boosts for school.

"We're really, really excited; we're going to exceed $2 million in volleyball ticket sales for the first time ever," Wisconsin deputy athletic director Mitchell Pinta told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel earlier this week. "And we're largely sold out for the rest of our matches at the Field House for the remainder of the season."

Should the Badgers reach that $2 million mark, they will see a massive 25% increase over the $1.6 million the team garnered just two seasons ago, and a near 18-fold growth from the $111,809 in volleyball ticket sales that Wisconsin logged in 2013.

Ultimately, the sky's the limit for both Wisconsin volleyball — and the sport at-large.

"If there's a saturation point on the demand for Wisconsin volleyball, we certainly have not seen it yet," said Pinta.

How to watch Wisconsin volleyball in action

With conference play kicking off this weekend, No. 7 Wisconsin will host unranked Big Ten foe Rutgers at 8 PM ET on Friday, before paying a visit to also-unranked Iowa at 3 PM ET on Sunday.

Both Big Ten battles will stream live on B1G+.

Liverpool Score Emotional League Cup Win in Tribute to Late Manager Matt Beard

Liverpool players stand and observe a minute of silence in remembrance of former manager Matt Beard before a 2025 League Cup match.
Liverpool earned an emotional League Cup win shortly after the sudden passing of former manager Matt Beard. (Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

WSL side Liverpool opened their 2025/26 League Cup campaign with an emotional 5-0 win over WSL2 club Sunderland on Wednesday, dedicating the shutout victory to former manager Matt Beard after the 47-year-old's sudden passing last Saturday.

The match marked the Reds' return to the pitch following the postponement of their Sunday regular-season game against Aston Villa due to Beard's passing.

"It's a good win for Matt. We played with a lot of emotion," Liverpool defender Jenna Clark said afterwards, calling Wednesday "a really emotional night and an emotional few days for everyone involved with the club."

"We have pulled through together as a team the best we could and you saw that on the pitch tonight," Clark added.

Beard won back-to-back WSL titles with Liverpool in 2013 and 2014, departing the Reds in 2015 for a two-year stint with the NWSL's Boston Breakers.

He made his return to Liverpool in 2021, lifting the club back into the top-flight WSL by earning promotion his first season back at the helm.

"Matt will leave a huge void in the women's game," USWNT head coach and former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes said in a statement earlier this week. "He was one of a kind, and his loss will be felt by all. My heart goes out to his family, but I want to take the time to acknowledge what a special man he really was."​

How to watch Liverpool this weekend

Liverpool will continue their 2025/26 WSL campaign against Manchester United this Sunday, kicking off live at 7 AM ET on ESPN+.

No. 1 England Battles No. 2 Canada in 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup Final

England players sing their national anthem before kicking off the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup.
Host nation England will play for their first Women's Rugby World Cup title in more than a decade on Saturday. (David Rogers/Getty Images)

The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup culminates on Saturday, when host nation England battles for their first tournament title in more than a decade in a top-tier final against Canada, who are hunting their first-ever world championship trophy.

The Red Roses' long dominance on the Rugby World Cup pitch has led them to eight finals in the competition's nine editions, with England emerging victorious twice — in 1994 and 2014.

On the other hand, Canada will make just their second-ever appearance in the World Cup final this Saturday, as the Maple Leafs aim for a decidedly different outcome from their 21-9 loss to England in the 2014 championship game.

The top-ranked Red Roses will also be looking to avenge their narrow 34-31 loss to New Zealand in the tournament's most recent 2022 edition when they square off against No. 2 Canada in front of an sold-out crowd inside London's Twickenham Stadium — with another women's rugby attendance record on the line.

"You feed off of that energy, especially knowing what this game is going to be," England defense coach Sarah Hunter said. "It's a cliché, but [the crowd] almost becomes the 16th person in those moments where you need them."

How to watch the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup final

England and Canada will battle in the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup final at 11 AM ET on Saturday, with live coverage airing on Paramount+.

No. 2 Washington Spirit Fights to Stay Atop the NWSL Table on 9-Game Unbeaten Streak

Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman sprints up the pitch during a 2025 NWSL match.
Trinity Rodman and the No. 2 Washington Spirit will look to extend their six-point lead over No. 3 Gotham in the NWSL standings this weekend. (Jamie Sabau/NWSL via Getty Images)

While the No. 1 Kansas City Current have officially run away with the 2025 NWSL Shield, the race for top playoff seeding rages on, as the No. 2 Washington Spirit fights to hold their ground against an unpredictable No. 9 Houston Dash this Sunday.

Bolstered by star Trinity Rodman's return from injury, the Spirit enter the weekend on a nine-game unbeaten streak, going up against a motivated Dash side sitting just two points outside of postseason contention.

"Every game we just need to be a lot more clinical in the final third," Rodman said after last weekend's 2-2 draw with No. 11 Angel City. "We're doing all the hard stuff and then it's [lacking] quality at the end."

Washington isn't without top-table challengers, with No. 3 Gotham FC riding their own five-game unbeaten streak into a Friday night match against the No. 4 Portland Thorns, who sit tied for points with both the Bats and the No. 5 San Diego Wave in the NWSL standings.

"At this stage, almost everyone still has a real chance to make the playoffs, which is great for the league," said Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amorós after the Bats' 1-1 draw with Bay FC last Sunday. "But it also means nothing can be taken for granted."

How to watch the Washington Spirit and Gotham FC this weekend

No. 3 Gotham FC kicks off this weekend's NWSL action when they host the No. 4 Portland Thorns at 8 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage on NWSL+.

Then in Sunday's NWSL action, the No. 9 Houston Dash will visit the No. 2 Washington Spirit at 1 PM ET, airing live on Paramount+.

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