With every week that passes in the NWSL, players on the U.S. women’s national team bubble get a chance to prove their case further for inclusion on the team’s 2023 World Cup roster. USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski has long emphasized the importance of club performance, and players have been responding in the early stages of the 2023 season.

Andonovski himself took in two NWSL matches this past weekend, one in Seattle and one in Portland. The official World Cup roster is expected to be announced in June, and every week is crucial to Andonovski’s final decision-making process.

The games the USWNT head coach saw this weekend featured excellent performances for some and raised question marks for others.

Questions in the back

Not every player penciled onto the current USWNT roster had a weekend to remember as league action resumed. All three of Andonovski’s preferred goalkeepers either suffered losses or did not play in the NWSL’s fourth match day, and a few U.S. defenders also had rough outings.

Chicago Red Stars goalkeeper and longtime USWNT starter Alyssa Naeher conceded five tallies on just five shots on goal in a loss to OL Reign on Saturday. While one strike — a deflected free kick by Megan Rapinoe — was likely outside of the 35-year-old’s grasp, the other four were in the range of being savable. In all, the Reign got on the scoreboard five times on just 1.06 xG, a stat that measures expected goals.

🐟🔒‼️@JessFishlock | @OLReign pic.twitter.com/BzN4IEpLwe

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 22, 2023

Chicago’s rough day on defense also included USWNT defenders Tierna Davidson and Casey Krueger, who had a hard time settling in within the Red Stars’ high-risk, three-back system. On the other end, Emily Sonnett again played in the Reign’s defensive midfield and struggled to contain Chicago rookie Ally Schlegel on the sequence that led to the Red Stars’ second goal.

Casey Murphy’s North Carolina Courage also suffered a loss, though in a much closer 1-0 scoreline. Gotham FC emerged from a near two-hour rain delay with renewed purpose, and Lynn Williams scored the game-winner in the 80th minute off an endline run and cross by Yazmeen Ryan. Murphy’s goals conceded so far this season have aligned closely with her xG faced, indicating a return to consistency after an up and down 2022. Adrianna Franch did not play in Kansas City’s 2-0 win over the Orlando Pride.

In better news, Andonovski’s preferred defensive starters looked as steady as ever. Naomi Girma had another excellent match for San Diego in a 2-0 win over Angel City, and Becky Sauerbrunn guided the Portland Thorns to another shutout victory.

Raining goals

In several cases, a defender’s bad day made for an attacker’s dream outing, as USWNT hopefuls once again made waves in front of goal. Williams’ strike was her fourth goal across all competitions this season, matching the total output of any other Gotham forward in 2022. The forward’s signing has immediately boosted the club that finished in last place in 2022 and has further solidified Williams’ value on both the domestic and international stage.

LYNN WILLIAMS SCORES HER 60TH NWSL GOAL 💥 pic.twitter.com/ZqfLuZ9ILJ

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) April 23, 2023

Reigning NWSL MVP Sophia Smith also continued her run of strong form, this time connecting on two assists in Portland’s win over Racing Louisville. Smith now has four goals and four assists in as many regular season matches, becoming the first player to reach both marks in just four games. Smith found Christine Sinclair early in the game to put the Thorns ahead, and then doubled her assist tally with a slick pass to Morgan Weaver to put the game out of reach.

OL Reign’s Megan Rapinoe showcased her value this weekend, putting in her longest performance of 2023 with 45 minutes against the Red Stars. As Rapinoe has progressed from an injury into game shape, her accuracy in dead-ball situations and overall influence over a match have grown. The USWNT veteran won a number of key set-piece opportunities against the Chicago backline in the second half, converting one of those chances outside the box into a deflected goal that put the Reign up 4-2.

Megan Rapinoe's goal celly today was a vibe 😂 pic.twitter.com/DLjelvDaAY

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) April 23, 2023

Important minutes building

For some players, simply spending extensive minutes on the pitch is part of the process. Rapinoe played 15 minutes more on Saturday than in her last game, putting together a full half for the Reign. It was a positive sign for the winger, as she slowly works her way back from a lingering calf injury that had kept her off the field early in 2023.

Another player quietly working her way back to full fitness is Gotham outside back Kelley O’Hara, who played a full 90 minutes this past weekend for the first time in 2023 (albeit with an extensive rain delay). O’Hara hadn’t played a full match since August 2022 while recovering from a hip injury that ended her season early and kept her away from the U.S. until April 2023. O’Hara didn’t play many minutes with the USWNT in her return from injury in April, but her extensive experience combined with stalwart club performances could be just enough to get her on the final roster.

Perhaps the most significant return this weekend was that of Angel City midfielder Julie Ertz, who completed her most extensive performance in almost two years on Sunday. Ertz played in the midfield for 71 minutes, a big jump from the 45 minutes she gave the U.S. on April 11. Ertz looked equally sharp and rusty in her first NWSL match since May 2021, but her fitness shouldn’t be called into question after a durable performance in an end-to-end contest.

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

The WNBA released details about the league's 2025 Draft on Wednesday, dropping timing, venue, broadcast, and ticketing information ahead of the event's April 14th return to New York.

Following last year’s success in which the league included an audience of fans for the first time in the Draft's history, the 2025 edition will once again be open to the public.

To include more fans in this year's iteration, the WNBA is relocating the event from the Brooklyn Academy of Music to the higher-capacity The Shed at Hudson Yards, located on the west side of midtown Manhattan.

For fans who can’t attend, the 2025 WNBA Draft will air on ESPN starting at 7:30 PM ET, after the 7 PM ET WNBA Countdown.

"At a time when the passion and excitement surrounding the WNBA has never been higher, we continue to focus on creating elevated events that WNBA fans won’t want to miss," said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert in the league's statement. "The tremendous fan engagement we enjoyed at draft last year was a precursor to a season in which we ultimately set records for viewership, attendance, digital consumption and merchandise sales."

"We look forward to welcoming in a new set of WNBA rookies in a memorable way."

First the Orange Carpet, then the rush to make a WNBA roster

As is tradition, top prospects like expected overall No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers will attend a celebratory lighting ceremony at the Empire State Building to begin the day, and walk the iconic "Orange Carpet" prior to the Draft.

Once the broadcast begins, Engelbert will announce each draftee, sending the top pick to the 2025 Draft Lottery-winning Dallas Wings, and the second to the Seattle Storm.

The Washington Mystics currently hold the third and fourth selections, while 2025 WNBA expansion team Golden State will recruit their first-ever rookie Valkyrie with the night's No. 5 pick.

With the league's 29th season tipping off on May 16th, the selected college and international players will face a baptism by fire, with one month to relocate and then prove themselves worthy of making a WNBA roster.

How to buy tickets to the 2025 WNBA Draft

Tickets to attend the 2025 WNBA Draft go on sale at 10 AM ET on Friday, March 21st, with fans able to register their interest now via WNBA Experiences.

The Naismith Awards unveiled their 2024/25 National Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) semifinalists on Tuesday, with the 10-player lineup highlighting some of NCAA basketball’s biggest stars.

Each athlete represents a different team, all of whom finished the regular season in the Top 25 AP Poll. Six hail from the nation's Top 10 teams.

No. 1 UCLA junior Lauren Betts and fellow center Sedona Prince out of No. 6 TCU lead the list's frontcourt players, which also includes a pair of senior forwards in No. 15 Ohio State's Taylor Thierry and No. 23 Florida State's Makayla Timpson.

Holding down the backcourt are six guards, highlighted by a trio of sophomore stars in No. 4 USC's JuJu Watkins, No. 8 Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, and No. 20 Tennessee's Talaysia Cooper. Senior veteran experience rounds out the group in No. 5 Texas's Rori Harmon, No. 10 LSU's Aneesah Morrow, and No. 16 West Virginia's JJ Quinerly.

With three semifinalists each, the SEC and Big Ten lead the field, while the ACC and Big 12 each claim two of the list's standouts.

Naismith semifinalists lead the nation in defensive stats

On the Division I stat sheet, Hidalgo tops all other Power Four players in steals per game with 3.7, while Morrow leads the country in rebounds with an average of 13.6 per game.

Morrow's rate is unquestionably impressive, eclipsing the next Power Four athlete on the list, Timpson, by a full three rebounds per game.

Speaking of Timpson, she joins Betts and Prince in Division I's Top 5 players for blocks per game.

Three semifinalists have already claimed some DPOY hardware for their 2024/25 performances, with Hidalgo, Quinerly, and Betts earning the honor for the ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten, respectively.

Many of the season’s best defenders are also in the mix for National Player of the Year (POY), with Betts, Hidalgo, and Watkins leading the charge for the season's top individual award.

The most noteworthy POY candidate missing from Tuesday’s DPOY group is No. 3 UConn senior guard Paige Bueckers, who averages 4.5 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game.

Of the 10 semifinalists, only four will make the award's final cut on March 18th. The 2024/25 Naismith DPOY will be crowned on April 2nd, just days before the NCAA tournament's Final Four tips off.

With Sunday's final match looming, the competition is heating up at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells — though several top US players are no longer feeling the fire after falling short in the Round of 16.

Unseeded 28-year-old Swiss contender Belinda Bencic claimed arguably the tournament's biggest upset thus far, with the wild card ousting world No. 3 Coco Gauff on Wednesday.

Despite Gauff taking the first set, 2020 Olympic champion Bencic prevailed, fighting through multiple medical timeouts to snag the win.

Fellow US standout No. 4 Jessica Pegula suffered a similar fate, losing to Ukraine’s No. 23 Elina Svitolina in a three-set match heavily impacted by three hours of rain delays on Tuesday.

With the 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 come-from-behind win, Svitolina advances to her first Indian Wells quarterfinals in six years.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and defending Indian Wells champion No. 2 Iga Świątek continued their dominance through the Round of 16, with each booking their quarterfinals berth without dropping a single set at the tournament.

Bencic to face last-standing US player Madison Keys

Another US star stands between Bencic and Friday's semifinals, as 2025 Australian Open champ and freshly minted world No. 5 Madison Keys continues her winning form in California.

The endurance and tenacity that earned Keys her first-ever Grand Slam title is on display at Indian Wells, where she outlasted Belgium's No. 28 Elise Mertens after three back-and-forth sets on Monday before surviving a difficult battle against Croatia's No. 19-seed Donna Vekić in Wednesday’s Round of 16.

By winning the 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-3 clash, Keys is now riding a 15-match victory streak into Thursday's quarterfinal.

"I kind of just started deciding I was going to go for a little bit more," she said afterwards. "Really happy to be able to get that match and get that win and play another match here."

How to watch Thursday's 2025 Indian Wells quarterfinals

Thursday's quarterfinal round kicks off with Świątek taking on China's 2024 Olympic champion No. 8-seed Qinwen Zheng in a gold-medal rematch at 2 PM ET.

Svitolina will take on No. 9-seed Mirra Andreeva at 4 PM ET, with Keys set to contend with Bencic at 5:10 PM ET.

Sabalenka will close out the round at 8 PM ET, when she'll face her first seeded opponent all tournament in No. 24-seed Liudmila Samsonova.

Live coverage of all matches will air on the Tennis Channel.

USWNT forward Mallory Swanson has yet to join the Chicago Stars for 2025 play due to a personal matter, with the NWSL club confirming Wednesday that the standout striker will not feature in their Friday season opener against the reigning league champion Orlando Pride.

Chicago originally noted Swanson’s absence alongside their preseason roster announcement, adding that the organization is "fully supportive of her decision."

"I'd like to thank the club and the fans for their understanding during this time," Swanson said in the club's January release. "I appreciate the kindness and encouragement from my teammates and all the Stars staff and hope to be back with the team and playing in front of our fans as soon as I can."

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Triple Espresso dwindles to a single shot

After lighting up the Paris pitch last summer, the USWNT's gold medal-winning attacking trio of Swanson, Sophia Wilson (neé Smith), and Trinity Rodman — self-dubbed the "Triple Espresso" — have yet to reunite on the national team roster, due in part to load management.

While a lingering back issue has kept Rodman out of every USWNT camp since the 2024 Olympics, the Washington standout made her return to play as a second-half substitute during the Spirt’s 2025 Challenge Cup win last Friday.

Portland Thorns star Wilson — who hasn’t played with the US since October — is officially out for the entire 2025 NWSL season after announcing her first pregnancy last week.

As for Swanson, a return timeline for both club and country remains unclear, with Chicago now preparing to open the season without their celebrated striker.

"Top player in the world, but the game still goes on," Stars head coach Lorne Donaldson told media Wednesday. "We still have players that we have to focus on, and I think that just gives somebody else another opportunity to come out and just say, 'Okay, I can do it,' because the game is not going to wait for us."

In a year without a major international tournament, maintaining player health on and off the field is massively important, leaving clubs adjusting to their shorthanded rosters and fans cheering for a very different NWSL than last season.

How to watch the 2025 NWSL season kick-off

The first peek at the new NWSL rosters in action hits fields this weekend, with all 14 clubs notching their first minutes by Sunday night.

The Chicago Stars will kick off 2025 play against the Orlando Pride at 8 PM ET on Friday, with the match streaming live on Prime Video.

At the same time, Rodman's Washington Spirit will take on a new-look Houston Dash, streaming live on NWSL+.

With Wilson sidelined, the Portland Thorns will face 2024 NWSL semifinalists KC Current in their 12:45 PM ET season opener on Saturday, with live coverage airing on ABC.