The U.S. women’s national team wraps up its 2022 campaign with a two-game friendly series against Germany on Thursday and Sunday. The games conclude a year in which head coach Vlatko Andonovski evaluated the USWNT’s deep pool of talent, new and old, as the team prepares for the 2023 FIFA World Cup.

Throughout the process, young, rising stars have been given opportunities, and many veterans who were pushed aside for a few months eventually earned second chances. With a team as competitive as the USWNT, anything can happen. On Wednesday, Andonovski named four players, all currently in November camp, who have impressed him more than he thought they would this year.

Sophia Smith

The first player to come to mind for Andonovski was Sophia Smith, who had a breakout year with the national team. She was called up to the senior team for the first time five years ago at the age of 16 but did not become a regular part of the roster until this year. After being left off the Olympic squad last summer, the 22-year-old has gone on to score 12 goals for the USWNT in 2022 and 15 for the Portland Thorns in the NWSL to finish second in the Golden Boot race. Helping the Thorns win the NWSL championship, she was named both league MVP and Finals MVP.

Playing at center forward with the Thorns, Smith has transitioned seamlessly into a winger role for the national team. Andonovski knew earlier this year that Smith would become a staple, and she has started every game she’s appeared in, further earning her coach’s trust.

Mallory Pugh

Smith’s fellow winger, Mallory Pugh, had what Andonovski calls “a tremendous comeback on the national team.” A year and a half ago, Pugh didn’t make the USWNT’s Tokyo Olympic roster. As a regular member of the national team heading into the Games, Pugh had to grapple with the disappointment. And after a year of finding joy in the game again, she’s proved herself as a starting winger for the national team, scoring six goals and contributing a team-high seven assists.

Alex Morgan

USWNT veteran Alex Morgan fell off Andonovski’s radar for half a year and was not called into the team until late June of 2022 after an impressive first two months with San Diego Wave FC in the NWSL. The forward scored 16 goals in 19 games with the Wave this season, winning the Golden Boot and helping the club become the first to make the playoffs in its inaugural year.

In her two USWNT call-ups this year, Morgan has scored four goals. After scoring the game-winning goal to secure the Concacaf W Championship for the U.S. in July, she was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Alex, who did not accept the fact of not being on the national team,” Andonovski said. “She proved to everyone that she’s still a world-class player.”

Naomi Girma

Naomi Girma, in her first year out of Stanford, has been remarkably consistent in her distribution and tackles along the USWNT’s backline. Earlier this fall, Andonovski said fellow center back Alana Cook had the edge due to experience, but since then Girma has earned more playing time and built her case for World Cup roster inclusion. One of her most impressive performances came in a start against England, the 2022 Euro Cup champions, at Wembley Stadium in October.

In the NWSL, the 2022 No. 1 pick became the first player in league history to win two individual awards in the same season, earning Rookie of the Year and Defender of the Year.

“There’s a reason she’s starting on our team, and that’s because she is growing into a great player,” Andonovski said.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

Caitlin Clark made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, which quickly went viral.

The Iowa star showed up on the show’s Weekend Update segment to playfully call out Michael Che’s history of making jabs at women’s sports.

It started when Che joked that Iowa should replace Clark’s retired No. 22 “with an apron.” 

When Clark entered, Che said that he was a fan. But Clark wasn’t convinced – especially not when co-host Colin Jost brought the receipts of Che’s jabs.

“Really, Michael? Because I heard that little apron joke you did,” she said, before making him read some jokes of her own in retaliation. Clark finished her segment by shouting out the WNBA greats that came before her. She then got in one final dig – bringing Che a signed apron as a souvenir. 

She’s got jokes 😎@CaitlinClark22 on @nbcsnl #Hawkeyes

pic.twitter.com/54khqQw2MR

— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) April 14, 2024

When Che promised to give it to his girlfriend, Clark delivered her last playful dig of the night.

“You don’t have a girlfriend, Michael,” she said.

Afterward, SNL castmember Bowen Yang told People that the 22-year-old and teammates Gabbie Marshall, Kate Martin and Jada Gyamfi – who joined her at Studio 8H – “were so cool.”

“She's so charming and witty,” Yang said. “They were just the most stunning, noble people.

“Athletes just have this air about them. They know they're amazing. I mean, these are people who have numeric attachments and values to their performance. That's something that comedians never have.”

The Portland Thorns continue to struggle to start the NWSL season, falling 2-0 to the North Carolina Courage over the weekend to remain winless through their first four games. 

It’s uncharted territory for Portland, who has never started the NWSL regular season without a win in four games before.

Following the loss, defender Becky Sauerbrunn voiced her frustrations with the start. 

“It’s hard to find a lot of encouraging things, but what I find encouraging is that people are frustrated,” she said. “People are pissed off that we’re not doing well. We care, and I think that’s really important.” 

She also added that while the team will reflect individually, “there’s going to be no finger pointing.”

“We’re going to look at ourselves and figure out what we should have done, or I should have done better,” she said. “There is a list of things that I could have done better, and I’m going to make sure I know every single thing and watch this game back.”

The Thorns currently sit at the bottom of the league table with just one point, having allowed 10 goals – tied for the worst in the league. They’ve yet to lead in a match. And as questions grow, attention turns to head coach Mike Norris. 

Norris is in his second year as head coach of the club after leading the team to a second-place finish in the regular season last year. When asked about the possibility of pressure growing after the unprecedented start, Norris said that the pressure has been there “from day one.”

“I cannot be driven by my day-to-day and the longer vision of the pressure of the job,” he said. “We’ve got a belief in how we want to play, how we operate. We’ve got to stick with the process of that. While we do it, we have to review and see what is working, what’s not working.

“I’ll be showing up for the team and being there for what they need from me as we approach getting back together as a group next week.”

Maria Sanchez, who signed one of the biggest deals in NWSL history just four months ago, has reportedly requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

ESPN was the first to report the news, which was confirmed by multiple sources.

In a statement to ESPN, the team said: “​​Maria Sanchez is under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

In December, Sanchez signed a new three-year contract with the Dash worth $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. At the time, it was the largest contract in NWSL history – something that was eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

The winger was a restricted free agent in the offseason, meaning that Houston could match any offer from another team and retain her rights. Should the team trade Sanchez, her contract would remain as it has been signed with the league. That limits the number of teams that could take on her contract. 

In three starts with the Dash this season, Sanchez has zero goals and an assist. The Dash are 1-2-1 through four games and have allowed a league-worst 10 goals.

The team hired a new coach, Fran Alonso, in December. Earlier this year, former goalkeeper coach Matt Lampson was fired for violating the league’s Coach Code of Conduct and Anti-Fraternization policy. 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close at midnight ET on Friday.

Canada got its revenge on Sunday, winning the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championship and taking down the U.S. in a 6-5 overtime classic.

Marie-Philip Poulin, a longtime star for Canada, got her first two goals of the tournament, while Danielle Serdachny had the game-winner. 

GOLD FOR CANADA! DANIELLE SERDACHNY WINS IT IN OVERTIME! #WomensWorlds pic.twitter.com/fHmqUmHoGw

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 15, 2024

"I hate to say you're not trying to rely on it, expect it, but I know I've grown to expect it," Canada coach Troy Ryan said of Philip-Poulin. "Tonight was just a whole other level. I could see in her eyes every time we called her name that she was ready to go. It's just special."

The win came after Canada lost 1-0 to the U.S. in the group stage of the tournament. On Sunday, the two teams met for the 22nd time in 23 tournaments in the gold medal game – and the action between the two teams delivered. 

Among those scoring for the U.S. were Megan Keller, Alex Carpenter, Hilary Knight, Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey. Julia Gosling, Emily Clark and Erin Ambrose had the other three goals for Canada, giving them their 13th World title after falling to the U.S. in last year’s title game in Toronto. 

This year’s game was held in New York, and it was the second-highest scoring final between the two teams. The U.S. won a world championship 7-5 in 2015. 

"Oh man, that feels good to win it on U.S. soil," Canada goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens said after the game. "We owed it to them and owed it to ourselves to win that one."

Canada also denied Knight a record 10th World Championship win, although she did become the most decorated player in women’s world championship history with 14 medals. After the game, Poulin gave Knight a hug on the ice. 

"We just said 'that was unbelievable,'" Poulin said.

U.S. coach John Wroblewski echoed the sentiment that it was an outstanding game after being asked about ending the game on a power-play after leaving too many players on the ice. 

"Instead of talking about the isolated events of tonight's game, I think that normally that's an interesting storyline,” he said. “But I think the entity of an amazing 6-5 game is an amazing hockey game that took place."