Vlatko Andonovski wanted three things for the USWNT during their friendly in England on Friday.

Take on a good opponent. Check.

Experience adversity. Check.

Experience a hostile environment. Check.

His checklist didn’t include a goal being called back by a controversial VAR call, but Andonovski got that, too, in his team’s 2-1 loss to England in front of 76,893 fans at Wembley Stadium.

Down 2-1 in the first half, Sophia Smith fielded a pass up the right wing. With her signature bubble braid swinging behind her, Smith took her touches carefully as Millie Bright stayed in stride to defend the dangerous goal scorer.

As Smith approached the box, Trinity Rodman sprinted from the right side of the field, well behind Smith, across the middle and into the left half of the box.

Smith threaded a pass between two England defenders to Megan Rapinoe, who heel-flicked the ball to the foot of a streaking Rodman.

The 20-year-old fired with her right foot and, as the ball hit the back of the net, commenced celebrating with an open-mouthed smile.

Rodman leapt into the arms of Lindsey Horan, and their U.S. teammates joined one by one for a massive group hug.

What could have been 😭

This Trinity Rodman goal was disallowed by VAR pic.twitter.com/JemzMWDCQD

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) October 7, 2022

But moments later, the goal was being reviewed due to VAR, a type of technology used for the first time in a women’s soccer match in a 2019 World Cup match between France and South Korea. In that game, a goal scored by Griedge Mbock Bathy France in the 26th minute was called back after VAR showed she was offside.

VAR was used the same way in Friday’s friendly. The review, according to the referees, showed that Smith was offside, overturning what would have been the game-tying goal.

But VAR, which the NWSL plans to introduce in 2023, may have gotten it wrong.

Several soccer stars took to Twitter to express their dismay at the call.

Alex Morgan, who didn’t make the trip to England with the USWNT due to a knee injury, was less than convinced by the replay.

“I can’t see any offside in that play,” she wrote. “And the ref didn’t even check the video herself. Anyone else wondering why exactly the goal was called back?”

The "offside" call......... pic.twitter.com/rOywlghNcp

— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) October 7, 2022

By definition, VAR is a fifth official who watches the game via video and is able to access various angles while also slowing down the play. Essentially, it is a tool to ensure correct calls are being made on the field.

Morgan wasn’t the only player at home who was confused by the call. OL Reign forward Bethany Balcer expressed her skepticism as well.

“That VAR line didn’t help the case at all,” she tweeted. “looks more onside every time i watch it.”

VAR was used three times in the game, and all three instances negatively impacted the U.S.

The first use came at the 32-minute mark, when Hailie Mace appeared to kick Lucy Bronze in the head. After a review, England was given a penalty kick, which Georgia Stanway converted to give her squad the 2-1 lead that would hold for the final score.

A penalty was given to England after a VAR review of this sequence pic.twitter.com/YicGKAm6ev

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) October 7, 2022

Lauren Hemp also scored for England, and Smith was responsible for the USWNT’s lone goal.

VAR made its third appearance midway through the second half when Rose Lavelle fired a shot that looked at first to have hit off an England player’s arm. Upon review, the call, which would have given the U.S. a penalty kick of its own, was overturned.

Despite the overall chaos of the match and the one-goal defeat, Andonovski was pleased with his team’s efforts against the reigning Euro champions.

His squad, he said, got everything it needed to out of the contest.

“We pretty much saw they were very well organized or physical, and obviously well coached. So that’s why we came here to experience that,” Andonovski said. “We needed to go through those tough moments, and hopefully learn from it.”

The purpose of this friendly, and next week’s match against Spain, is for the USWNT to prepare for the 2023 World Cup.

“There’s a reason why we wanted to play this far away from the World Cup,” Andonovski said. “Just because we wanted to have enough time to fix the things that get exposed or the areas that we get exploited. And we have a good learning opportunity.”

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer for Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

The 2024/25 Champions League quarterfinals are officially set, with UEFA drawing the remaining eight teams into the field early Friday morning.

The annual season-long competition pits Europe's top leagues against each other. This season, 72 clubs across 50 different leagues qualified for the contest. From the UK to Ukraine, all teams have been vying for the continent's top-dog status amidst a cutthroat atmosphere and a growing sense of parity in the sport.

Two qualifying rounds narrowed the initial teams down to the 16 contending in the tournament's official group stage. Each played six group-stage matches from October through December to determine the eight clubs that advanced to Friday's final draw.

The road to Champions League glory in Lisbon

All remaining clubs are now eyeing the May 24th final in Lisbon, Portugal, and Friday's draw mapped each team's path to that championship match. The 2024/25 quarterfinals will feature four former champions and four seeking a first-ever trophy, with both familiar fights and rarely tested toss-ups on deck.

Both the March quarterfinals and April semifinals employ a two-leg format, offering teams who suffer narrow first losses a shot at second-match redemption.

Friday's draw determined that WSL contenders Arsenal will kick off the tournament's quarterfinals against Real Madrid on March 18th, with Germany's Bayern Munich taking on France's 2024 UWCL runners-up Olympique Lyonnais shortly afterwards.

The following day, Bayern's Frauen-Bundesliga foes Wolfsburg will face Spain's 2024 UWCL champs FC Barcelona. Closing out the initial tilts is a WSL standoff between Manchester City and the UK league's undefeated titans Chelsea FC.

Increased global parity to test UWCL dynasties

With eight of the tournament's 23 titles under their belts, Lyon is the winningest team in UWCL history. Meanwhile, current back-to-back champions Barcelona claimed three of the last four trophies.

Despite the recent two-team domination, capturing this season's title will be a challenge. Hoping to spoil Lyon's and Barcelona's dynastic runs is four first-time title-hunters, plus two-time winners Wolfsburg and early champion Arsenal — who won the trophy in 2007, when the tournament was called the UEFA Women's Cup.

All in all, the European crown has never been tougher to claim, with leagues across the continent increasingly stocking up on standout — and potentially game-changing — players from beyond their borders.

Portland is going all in on women's sports, with RAJ Sports — the ownership group behind both the NWSL's Thorns and Portland's incoming WNBA team — announcing the development of a new $150 million sports performance complex on Thursday.

The 12-acre dual-sport performance center will be the first-ever facility housing both a pro women's soccer squad and a pro women's basketball team.

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Innovation and amenities lead Portland design

At 63,000 square feet, the incoming NWSL x WNBA training facility will feature two basketball courts, two soccer pitches, a 17,000-square-foot practice gym, a state-of-the-art strength training facility, and a laundry list of additional top-of-the-line amenities.

According to the Thorns' announcement, the center aims to "[elevate] the standard of athletic development by integrating cutting-edge training, advanced recovery, and holistic wellness with lifestyle elements specific to the needs of female athletes in a collaborative multi-team setting."

The wellness additions include recovery lounges and pools, hyperbaric therapy, red-light therapy, and a yoga and pilates room, plus access to a full-time chef and nutritionist via the center's kitchen and dining hall.

"This kind of high-performance training facility allows us to elevate every part of our game, becoming better and more well-rounded athletes," said Thorns forward Sophia Wilson (née Smith).

"Having a space designed specifically for female athletes gives us yet another leg up on the competition and will be vital to our future successes."

Portland joins other WNBA and NWSL teams building own facilities

Portland is just the latest in a wave of women's teams across top-tier US leagues breaking ground on dedicated performance facilities.

Earlier this week, WNBA newcomer Golden State unveiled their own custom-built Valkyries Performance Center. Last month, NWSL side Angel City cut the ribbon on their dedicated training facility.

RAJ Sports’ effort to continue the investment trend comes barely a year after their January 2024 purchase of the Thorns. That move was finalized a little over eight months before the WNBA accepted their expansion bid, making the Bhathal family — who also have a stake in the NBA's Sacramento Kings — the first-ever ownership group to oversee pro women's teams in two different sports.

WNBA roster shakeups kept rolling this week, with a deluge of moves radically reshaping the 2022 and 2023 league champion Las Vegas Aces.

After three seasons in Las Vegas, backup guard and popular locker room presence Sydney Colson signed a one-year deal with Indiana on Thursday. The Fever, who've been aggressive about inking athletes they believe will bring a title back to Indianapolis, targeted Colson for her veteran experience.

"[Colson] brings a championship pedigree to the Fever, adding depth to our point guard position, said Fever COO and GM Amber Cox in the team's announcement. "We have the utmost confidence in her ability to step into any situation and deliver on both ends of the floor."

Joining Colson in leaving Las Vegas is forward Alysha Clark. A key factor in the Aces' 2023 title run — which ultimately earned her the WNBA's Sixth Woman of the Year award — Clark is returning to the Seattle Storm, where she played from 2012 to 2020.

The Aces are also losing their 2024 Sixth Woman of the Year, Tiffany Hayes. Despite the Aces protecting her in December's expansion draft, the free agent guard will take her talents to incoming franchise Golden State. There, she'll link up with former Las Vegas assistant coach-turned-Valkyries boss Natalie Nakase.

"Having coached Tiffany last season in Las Vegas, I know firsthand the impact she brings both on and off the court," Nakase noted. "Her versatility, intensity, and ability to score will be invaluable as we build our team's identity."

Las Vegas Aces take aim at refreshed dynasty

After falling short of a three-peat championship last season — despite three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson's outstanding 2024 performance — a significant Aces roster reshuffling was all but guaranteed ahead of the 2025 season.

Las Vegas kicked things off by shipping All-Star guard Kelsey Plum off to the LA Sparks last month. The blockbuster three-team trade sent Seattle's two-time champ Jewell Loyd to the Aces in return.

To shore up their front-court, Las Vegas inked 6-foot-4 power forward Cheyenne Parker-Tyus on Thursday. The 2023 All-Star averaged 15 points and 6.7 rebounds for Atlanta that season, and was on her way to matching that production last year when an ankle injury curbed her 2024 run.

Ultimately, Las Vegas's roller coaster offseason reflects both the WNBA's shifting landscape and the Aces' quest to revive their former dynasty, hoping a fresh start can fuel them all the way to another league title in 2025.

No. 19 Tennessee notched the first major win of their Kim Caldwell era on Thursday night, stifling No. 5 UConn 80-76 to capture their first Top 10 basketball victory of the season — and first win over the Huskies since 2007.

Bolstered by a 13-0 run in the third quarter, Tennessee out-rebounded UConn 46-34 to hold the Huskies at bay.

On defense, the Vols managed to limit UConn star and projected 2025 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers to just 5-of-16 from the field and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc.

"We had poise down the stretch. I think we played with confidence. I think we played to win, as opposed to afraid to lose," commented first-year Tennessee head coach Caldwell after the game.

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Tennessee flips the historic rivalry script against UConn

Once one of the most heated historic rivalries in NCAA basketball, Tennessee and UConn met 22 times from 1995 to 2007. The Huskies took 13 victories over that stretch.

Since the teams rebooted their non-conference series in 2020, UConn has taken the win in all four meetings — until Tennessee halted the Huskies on Thursday.

A big upset win from the Vols has felt increasingly inevitable this season, as Tennessee has come wildly close to claiming multiple top-tier upsets. They fell to No. 4 Texas by just four points, No. 6 LSU by two points, and logged one-point losses against both No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 24 Vanderbilt.

Last week, the Vols lost to No. 2 South Carolina 70-63. Subsequently, Tennessee became just the second team to limit the reigning NCAA champs to a single-digit win this season.

Despite Tennessee’s recent rise, Thursday's result was a blow to UConn. The Huskies are now 21-3 in 2024/25 play, with all three losses coming against Top 10 teams. UConn likely has just one regular-season Top 10 matchup left by way of a February 16th clash with South Carolina.

"The bottom line is we have some players on our team that are supposed to be our best players and they've got to play better. That's all there is to it," said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma in response.

How to watch top-ranked NCAA basketball this weekend

As tough as the SEC has been, there's little rest for the weary, with No. 19 Tennessee gearing up for a rematch with No. 6 LSU at 4 PM ET on Sunday. Live coverage will air on ESPN.

In Top 10 weekend action, No. 8 Ohio State will cap their West Coast trip against No. 7 USC at 9 PM ET on Saturday, live on Fox Sports.

Then on Sunday, No. 4 Texas will host No. 2 South Carolina at 2 PM ET, with ESPN broadcasting live.