Julie Ertz announced her retirement from professional soccer Thursday, bringing to an end a 10-year professional and international career.

Her exit from the game comes after her third World Cup for the USWNT. Ertz, 31, already had announced her retirement from the national team in the immediate aftermath of the USWNT’s World Cup elimination, but the professional future for the Angel City FC midfielder had remained up in the air.

“With immense emotion and processing, I’ve decided it is time to hang up the boots,” she wrote in a statement posted to social media Thursday.

A member of the USWNT since 2013, back when she was still Julie Johnston, Ertz earned her first senior national team call-up in January of that year, then got her first cap in February against Scotland.

From that point on, her national team career took off. A two-time World Cup champion, she was named to the FIFA Women’s World Cup All-Star Team in 2015. She is also an Olympic bronze medalist (2021) and has twice been named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year (2017 and 2019).

Playing as both a defender and a midfielder, she has made 122 appearances for the national team, scoring 20 goals and notching six assists.

Professionally, Ertz was a longtime member of the Chicago Red Stars, having been drafted third overall by the team in the 2014 NWSL Draft. She earned NWSL Rookie of the Year honors that season, starting in 21 matches and scoring two goals. She remained with Chicago through 2021, when she was traded to Angel City FC ahead of the Los Angeles-based club’s inaugural season.

While a knee injury and then pregnancy had kept her sidelined for a year and a half following the 2021 Olympics, she returned to both the NWSL and the national team in April 2023. She signed with Angel City after making a surprise reappearance on the USWNT friendly roster that same month. Three months later, she played a pivotal role as a starting center-back in her third and final World Cup.

“These past six months have been a dream come true,” she wrote. “After pregnancy, I never knew if I had a chance to play the beautiful game again, let along another World Cup.”

She revealed her decision to retire from the USWNT after the shootout loss to Sweden in the Round of 16, telling ESPN that the match would be her “last time in this crest.”

“It’s been an absolute ride,” she said. “I’ve learned so much about myself as a player, but even as a person. This team obviously competes and plays soccer, but it does so much more, and I’m just very grateful.”

Rather than return to Angel City to close out the NWSL season, she is choosing to end her career with her final World Cup appearance. She cited her desire to spend time with her family — which includes son Madden and husband Zach Ertz, a tight end for the Arizona Cardinals — as a big factor in her decision.

“I know the sacrifices it takes to be the best you can be,” she wrote. “As I’ve gotten older and become a mom, it’s clear the sacrifices of time away from my family no longer seem doable with so many factors at play.

“These girls gave me a gift I could never repay and I got to live out a dream I wish for everyone: falling in love with a sport you have played your whole life and getting to share it with your son.

“Representing this country on the national team has been the greatest honor. To play for the USWNT means you chase greatness every day while you wear the crest. I hope that I was able to leave an impact that reflects that.”

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After a dramatic 3-0 win over crosstown rival Manchester United on Saturday, Manchester City is now leading the WSL, sitting three points clear atop the 2025/26 league table while notably extending their advantage over second-place powerhouse Chelsea FC.

The home side scored all three of their goals in the first half, with defender Rebecca Knaak putting City ahead in the 26th minute before attacker Khadija "Bunny" Shaw added to the lead in the 43rd minute.

Returning from injury with a vengeance, forward Lauren Hemp sealed the deal for the Citizens with the final goal in first-half stoppage time.

"It's so nice to be back," Hemp said postgame. "Today we showed the mentality that I said at the start we needed to show."

While reigning six-time WSL champions Chelsea have yet to lose a match this WSL season, a trio of 2025/26 draws has the Blues now trailing the current eight-win, one-loss record held by Manchester City.

As for United, the WSL third-place Red Devils were without star goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce in Saturday's loss, after the USWNT net-minder suffered a fractured eye socket in November 8th's 1-0 loss to Aston Villa.

"She should be fine, it's just trying to make sure she doesn't get another knock in that area," said United manager Marc Skinner, noting that Tullis-Joyce could return as soon as the club's 2025/26 Champions League match against VfL Wolfsburg on Wednesday.

One of this season's NWSL Coach of the Year finalists is moving on up, with Kansas City manager Vlatko Andonovski leaving his position as the Current's head coach to become the club's full-time global sporting director.

Andonovski has been juggling both jobs since joining the Current in October 2023, with the 49-year-old coming off what was arguably his most successful managerial season, leading Kansas City to a first-ever NWSL Shield amidst a record-shattering 2025 campaign.

In his new role, Andonovski will "implement the long-term vision for the club's technical and athletic success, as well as be responsible for player recruitment, roster strategy and scouting."

"It's vital to move into this role to keep growing this club with the aim of being a perennial contender on the global stage and a top developer of talent," Andonovski said in Friday's club announcement.

With the administrative switch in the works prior to last weekend's playoff upset, Andonovski will now join the hiring committee tasked with appointing his successor, while continuing his head coaching duties until Kansas City secures its new manager.

In another front office shift, the Current's head of soccer operations Ryan Dell will immediately take over as the club's GM, with former GM Caitlin Carducci departing the club after one year at the helm.

Michigan women's basketball is on the rise, as the then-No. 14 Wolverines avenged their early 2025 NCAA tournament exit with a stunning 93-54 blowout win over then-No. 18 Notre Dame on Saturday.

Michigan sophomore guard Olivia Olson led the game in scoring with 20 points as the Wolverines put together a true team effort, with six bench players combining for 38 points in the win.

The Big Ten team also dominated defensively, limiting the Fighting Irish bench to just two points while keeping Notre Dame star guard Hannah Hidalgo to a mere 12-point performance.

"We knew exactly what Michigan was going to do," said Notre Dame basketball head coach Niele Ivey afterwards. "We did not have any type of fight defensively, and that's where we have to start."

The Wolverines' victory was especially sweet after Notre Dame ousted Michigan from last season's national tournament with a 76-55 second-round Irish win.

Saturday's fallout also affected this week's AP Top 25 poll, with Notre Dame falling six ranks to No. 24 while Michigan earned an eight-spot bump to No. 6.

After quietly recruiting five-star talents like Olson and Syla Swords in 2024, Michigan — a program that has yet to earn a title at the NCAA or conference level — proved over the weekend that they are entering the 2025/26 season with added depth and experience.

"That's why I committed to Michigan," Swords told JWS at October's Big Ten Media Day. "That's why so many of us came there, because we wanted to be part of something new, part of something that's never been done."

Washington Spirit star Trinity Rodman is back in action, subbing into her team's 2025 NWSL semifinal win in Saturday's 90th minute as she continues to rehab a sprained MCL — with questions still remaining surrounding her future with the club.

"It felt amazing," she said afterwards. "If I get 30 seconds, or if I get 90 minutes, it feels great to be out there."

Rodman will hope for more involvement in next weekend's NWSL Championship game, taking the pitch for the Spirit in her final match under contact before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

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The USWNT standout's extension negotiations have apparently made it all the way up to the NWSL commissioner, with Rodman garnering interest from multiple UK clubs willing to outspend the US league's salary cap restrictions.

The NWSL's most recent collective bargaining agreement sets each club's current salary cap at $3.3 million, which will titrate up to $5.1 million by 2030.

"Right now, my head's completely down. It's been so distracting being injured, and that's all I can really think about," Rodman said on Saturday, addressing the reports. "Once we get this championship, then I can start making decisions and figuring out what next year looks like for me."

With rumors swirling around Rodman and her future with the Spirit, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman defended the salary cap this week, telling CBS Sports that the parity the cap fosters is "the reason our league is the most competitive league in the world."