The NWSL kicked off its 10th regular season over the weekend, with a renewed emphasis on league serving as a testing ground for players looking to impress in the months ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

Not surprisingly, there were several notable moments for players both in the USWNT core and on the cusp of the roster, as the pressure to perform only increases from here.

Goals, Goals, Goals

The USWNT attacking player pool got off to a hot start for their respective club teams, having used the January and February camps to hone sharpness before league kickoff.

Out of 14 goals scored across six NWSL matches, current USWNT prospects scored seven of them: Mallory Swanson, Alex Morgan, Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Lynn Williams, Alyssa Thompson and Midge Purce.

Rodman showcased her ability on the ball while scoring the game-winner against OL Reign. Picking the ball up near midfield off of a throw-in in the 54th minute, Rodman dribbled into space in front of the Reign penalty area and slotted the ball into the back of the net from the top of the box to give Washington a 1-0 win.

Trinity Rodman really said, "Fine... I'll do it myself."

What a run and finish to give @WashSpirit a 1-0 lead! pic.twitter.com/Pn3YSQonXb

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) March 26, 2023

Reigning NWSL MVP Smith became the first NWSL player to score in three consecutive season openers, notching an early goal in Portland’s 4-0 rout of the Orlando Pride. After Canada captain Christine Sinclair got to the endline against the Pride defense, Smith made a smart, delayed run into Orlando’s penalty area. Left all alone, Smith received the ball and roofed it to double Portland’s scoreline in the 22nd minute. The 22-year-old also recorded an assist in the win.

First goal of the season for the 2022 MVP 💥 pic.twitter.com/DESWyq497n

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) March 26, 2023

Thompson and Williams swapped open-play goals in Angel City’s home opener against Gotham FC. Thompson got on the board first, putting the Los Angeles club up 1-0 just 11 minutes into her professional career. The 18-year-old’s speed and clinical finishing belie her inexperience at the professional level, where she looked immediately comfortable and poised for a call-back to USWNT camp.

ALYSSA THOMPSON ARE YOU SERIOUS

What a debut goal for the 18-year-old 🚀 pic.twitter.com/p808QS8i7f

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) March 27, 2023

Williams then delivered a perfectly timed, in-seam shot into the far post to give Gotham the 2-1 win. Returning to the NWSL after a hamstring injury kept her out for the entirety of the 2022 regular season, Williams again had some bad injury luck. The forward fell awkwardly on her elbow early, requiring a splint for the rest of the game, though she laughed off the injury afterward, saying “It’s an arm. I need my legs to play soccer.”

Swanson, Morgan and Purce’s tallies came from well-taken penalties, though all three players were also active in influencing the play outside of the scoresheet. Purce also registered a savvy assist on Williams’ game-winner. On the other end, USWNT No. 1 goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made an error tipping the ball over the bar in Chicago’s 3-2 loss to San Diego, allowing for a Wave equalizer.

Midfield madness

The USWNT’s strength in the attack showed up in full force, but question marks in the midfield weren’t particularly cleared up by NWSL play this weekend. Taylor Kornieck played just one half for San Diego as a deep-lying attacking option behind Morgan, though she was effective in turning play in the Wave’s favor on the way to a late 3-2 win Saturday.

Crystal Dunn played 62 minutes in the Thorns’ midfield, the most since her return from pregnancy, as Portland completely dominated the middle third of the pitch against the Pride. Dunn’s growing midfield role for Portland provides a sharp contrast to her use as an outside back for the USWNT, as does the steady work Sam Coffey, who still sits on the USWNT bubble at defensive midfielder.

The biggest midfield head-scratcher came from OL Reign, who slotted longtime USWNT utility defender Emily Sonnett into the defensive midfield in place of Canada international (and usual starter) Quinn. Sonnett has traditionally played center back in the NWSL, most recently with the Washington Spirit. On Sunday, the 29-year-old looked uncomfortable in her positioning and distributive responsibilities as the Reign failed to find the back of the net. The defensive breakdown that led to Rodman’s game-winning goal allowed excess space in the middle of the pitch, turning what is usually a Reign strength into a moment of weakness.

Early season fitness watch

This weekend brought both welcome returns and knocks to watch. Red Stars defender Casey Krueger made a short-lived return to the pitch after the birth of her son on Saturday, leaving the match in the 13th minute with what appeared to be a neck injury. After the match, head coach Chris Petrucelli said the team thinks she “will be fine,” with a possible return to April USWNT camp on the horizon.

Krueger’s Chicago teammate, Tierna Davidson, also made a long-awaited return to the club’s defense, getting 82 minutes in her first start back from the Challenge Cup ACL tear that sidelined her for most of 2022.

Kelley O’Hara played the first half for Gotham FC, her new club team, after missing the second half of the 2022 season with a lingering hip injury. Megan Rapinoe did not play for the Reign, listed on the injury report as out with a calf injury. Rapinoe has been in and out with the U.S. in recent months as she recovers from injuries, and with other players beginning to peak in the attack, her ongoing fitness is worth keeping an eye on heading into the summer months.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

USA Hockey is sending a refreshed lineup to Italy this winter, with Friday's 23-player Olympic roster tapping both newcomers and seasoned veterans looking to avenge 2022's silver-medal finish.

US hockey legend Hilary Knight will play in her fifth — and final — Winter Games next month, with the 36-year-old forward joining fellow veteran mainstays Kendall Coyne Schofield and Lee Stecklein as just 11 players return from the team's Beijing campaign.

After falling just short of gold in Beijing, this year's USA hockey roster balances youth with experience, heading to Milan with a full dozen Olympic debutants, including seven college players — a full four from reigning NCAA champion Wisconsin.

All other 16 athletes currently compete in the PWHL with the pro league sending players from five of its eight teams to join the US squad in February.

The rest of the team focuses on young talent, including University of Wisconsin defender Laila Edwards, who will make history as USA Hockey's first-ever Black woman Olympian when she steps on the ice in Italy.

"It still hasn't really kicked in yet. Getting that call is like a dream come true," said Edwards.

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How to watch Team USA hockey in the 2026 Winter Olympics

The USA will open their 2026 Olympic campaign against Czechia at 10:40 AM ET on February 5th before subsequent Group A games against Finland, Switzerland, and defending champions Canada.

The clash will air live on USA Network as part of the full 2026 Olympic Games coverage across NBC platforms.

USA Hockey's 2026 Olympic roster

Goaltenders: Aerin Frankel (Boston Fleet), Ava McNaughton (University of Wisconsin), Gwyneth Philips (Ottawa Charge)

Defenders: Cayla Barnes (Seattle Torrent), Laila Edwards (University of Wisconsin), Rory Guilday (Ottawa Charge), Caroline Harvey (University of Wisconsin), Megan Keller (Boston Fleet), Lee Stecklein (Minnesota Frost), Haley Winn (Boston Fleet)

Forwards: Hannah Bilka (Seattle Torrent), Alex Carpenter (Seattle Torrent), Kendall Coyne Schofield (Minnesota Frost), Britta Curl-Salemme (Minnesota Frost), Joy Dunne (Ohio State University), Taylor Heise (Minnesota Frost), Tessa Janecke (Penn State University), Hilary Knight (Seattle Torrent), Abbey Murphy (University of Minnesota), Kelly Pannek (Minnesota Frost), Hayley Scamurra (Montréal Victoire), Kirsten Simms (University of Wisconsin), Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota Frost)

Tennis's biggest names have hit highs and lows down under over the weekend, with stars like Coco Gauff seeing mixed results at the 2026 United Cup as the annual Australian Open team tune-up tournament heads into its knockout rounds.

World No. 4 Coco Gauff and the reigning champion Team USA are through to the quarterfinals, joined by top WTA competitor and No. 11 Belinda Bencic of Team Switzerland.

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Czechia, and Greece also punched their tickets to the knockouts, with Tuesday night's final group-stage bout deciding whether No. 2 Iga Świątek and Team Poland or Team Germany will claim the final spot in the quarterfinals.

Thus far in the team competition, however, Gauff has experienced a particularly up-and-down tournament, suffering her first-ever United Cup singles defeat on Monday against No. 42 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain after causing a stir with her postmatch comments.

"I feel like we're definitely, in tennis, the worst," she told reporters before the singles showdown. "I've always said I wish our country in other places would show up throughout the world as we see smaller countries support."

After taking some heat, the 21-year-old later clarified her position on social media, writing "Trust me I understand the financial aspect of things and know tennis is not accessible for everyone, it was more of a comment for those who are already attending and how I wish they were as passionate as those from other countries."

How to watch Gauff and Team USA at the 2026 United Cup

Gauff will look to return to form against No. 51 Maria Sakkari when Team USA kicks off the 2026 United Cup quarterfinals against Team Greece at 9 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on the Tennis Channel.

Unrivaled leadership is back in the hot seat, telling reporters at Monday's Season 2 tip-off that the offseason 3x3 league is open to whatever the future might bring — even if it's a formal partnership with the WNBA.

"We're not in constant dialogue about that," Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell said from Miami. "But as I've made very clear, we are open to growing the ecosystem, whichever way that looks like."

"Nothing is on the table or off the table," he continued. "I'm not going to speculate what could happen down the road, but everyone knows our door is always open."

As reported prior to the 3×3 upstart's inaugural 2025 season, Unrivaled co-founders Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier had approached the WNBA about a potential equity stake — in part to further illustrate that the new venture is complementary, rather than in competition with, the WNBA — but league leadership turning down the offer, citing a possible rules violation.

Questions have since come up about Unrivaled becoming a prioritization issue for players under the WNBA's still-developing CBA, but Bazzell underlined the league's benefits as being supplemental, rather than in direct conflict with the 5x5 league.

"As long as you can look at the space through an innovative lens, anything is doable," he said. "Anything is possible."

In the first AP women's basketball poll in two weeks, Monday's new rankings reflected last week's conference upsets, sending four Top 10 teams skidding down the table while other contenders broke through.

Now-No. 12 LSU suffered the biggest drop, falling seven spots after consecutive losses to No. 6 Kentucky and No. 7 Vanderbilt.

The Wildcats and the still-undefeated Commodores experienced the opposite effect, jumping five spots each after their ranked victories, with No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 10 Louisville making similar three-spot advances.

The biggest winner of this week's AP poll, however, sits just outside the Top 10, as No. 15 Michigan State leapt nine spots, defeating unranked Indiana, Illinois, and Rutgers after closing out nonconference play with a 66-49 upset win over now-No. 18 Ole Miss.

Chasing the Spartans' rise up the ranks are No. 16 Baylor, who earned a six-spot jump after handing No. 11 Iowa State their first loss of the season on Sunday, and No. 17 Texas Tech, whose unbeaten status saw the Red Raiders claim a four-spot boost.

Meanwhile, a struggling Notre Dame dropped out of the Top 25 entirely after losses to unranked Georgia Tech and Duke, snapping an 85-week AP Poll appearance streak — the third-longest in women's basketball history.

Additionally, the Top 4 remained unchanged after perfect results from No. 1 UConn, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 South Carolina, and No. 4 UCLA — who dominated their crosstown rival No. 21 USC 80-46 on Saturday.

How to watch Top 25 NCAA basketball this week

Top 25 teams will continue their conference slates this week, starting with USC taking on unranked Oregon on Tuesday.

The Trojans and visiting Ducks will tip off live at 10 PM ET on Fox Sports.

2025/26 AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 9

1. UConn (15-0, Big East)
2. Texas (17-0, SEC)
3. South Carolina (15-1, SEC)
4. UCLA (14-1, Big Ten)
5. Oklahoma (14-1, SEC)
6. Kentucky (15-1, SEC)
7. Vanderbilt (15-0, SEC)
8. Maryland (15-1, Big Ten)
9. Michigan (12-2, Big Ten)
10. Louisville (14-3, ACC)
11. Iowa State (14-1, Big 12)
12. LSU (14-2, SEC)
13. TCU (14-1, Big 12)
14. Iowa (13-2, Big Ten)
15. Michigan State (14-1, Big Ten)
16. Baylor (13-3, Big 12)
17. Texas Tech (16-0, Big 12)
18. Ole Miss (14-3, SEC)
19. Ohio State (13-2, Big Ten)
20. Tennessee (10-3, SEC)
21. USC (10-4, Big Ten)
22. UNC (13-4, ACC)
23. Washington (12-2, Big Ten)
24. Princeton (13-1, Ivy)
25. Nebraska (13-2, Big Ten)