One way to vault up the rankings: beat the top-ranked team.

That’s exactly what Valor Christian (Colo.) did Saturday, coming back from a halftime deficit to defeat Broomfield (Colo.) 2-1 and deal the Eagles their first loss in three years.

After Broomfield opened the scoring with a first-half tally, Valor Christian responded with two second-half goals. Oregon commit Ajanae Respass continued her hot start to the season with an equalizing goal and an assist on Peyton Parsons’ game-winning score.

Both Respass and Parsons have led the Eagles’ explosive offense, which is averaging over five goals per game. Respass has a team-high 11 goals in nine games plus five assists, while Parsons is second on the team with eight goals and leads the way with seven assists.

With their statement win over Broomfield, Valor Christian has climbed from fifth in last week’s JWS high school soccer rankings to No. 1 this week.

(Note that these rankings do not include teams from Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina, as those states are already in or close to their postseasons.)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Valor Sports Network (@valorsportsnetwork)

1. Valor Christian (Colo.), 10-0

Valor Christian went undefeated in the regular season last year before losing in the 5A semifinals. The Eagles hope to avoid that fate this spring.

2. Triad (Ill.), 15-0

The Knights just keep winning, extending their unbeaten streak to 41 games (40 wins, one draw) and their winning streak to 39 matches.

3. Naperville Central (Ill.), 11-0-1

The Redhawks’ defense continues to shut down opponents. The offense just couldn’t find the back of the net in a scoreless tie with Naperville North on Monday.

4. South County (Va.), 8-0-1

The Stallions have not lost since 2019 and appear primed for another deep postseason run.

5. Broomfield (Colo.), 11-1

The Eagles rebounded from their loss to Valor Christian, their first defeat since 2019, with a resounding 8-0 win Monday.

6. Bentonville (Ark.), 14-0-2

The Tigers tied defending 6A state champions Fayetteville 2-2 on Tuesday.

7. Legacy (Colo.), 12-1

A loss to Broomfield is the only blemish on the schedule for Legacy, which has reeled off three consecutive wins since that defeat.

8. Gretna (Neb.), 16-0

The Dragons capped an undefeated regular-season with another shutout win, their 14th of the season. Gretna hasn’t allowed a goal since March 29.

9. Colonial Forge (Va.), 9-0

The Eagles tied last year’s Class 6A runners-up Patriot in a preseason scrimmage. Since then, Colonial Forge has won nine straight and outscored opponents 51-3.

10. Valley (Iowa), 10-0

The Tigers are averaging 3.6 goals per game and squeaked out a 1-0 win Tuesday over Dowling Catholic.

11. Broken Arrow (Okla.), 11-1

Broken Arrow won a district championship with a 1-0 win Tuesday, handing Owasso, No. 24 in last week’s rankings, its first loss of the season.

12. Colgan (Va.) 10-1-1

The Sharks have won six consecutive games since a scoreless draw with South County on March 31.

13. St. Thomas Aquinas (Kan.), 11-0

The Saints defeated Blue Valley Southwest 3-1 on Tuesday in a rematch of last year’s Class 5A state championship game, which St. Thomas Aquinas also won.

Girls soccer final score against BVSW. @stasaints_GSCR pic.twitter.com/zL954yLXVP

— GoAquinasSaints (@GoAquinasSaints) April 27, 2022

14. O’Fallon (Ill.), 13-1

Since losing to Triad, O’Fallon has outscored its opponents 23-4 in five consecutive wins.

15. James Island (S.C.), 15-0-2

The Trojans, who have not lost in over a year, have four players who have scored 10 goals or more, led by senior Lilli Ray’s 17 goals.

16. Yorktown (Va.), 9-1

The Patriots have won their last two games by a combined score of 16-0.

17. Bloomfield Hills Marian (Mich.), 5-0

A 13-day break did not slow down the Mustangs, who recorded an 8-2 win Tuesday.

18. Chapin (S.C.), 18-1

Goalkeeper Peyton Henderson stopped a penalty kick to preserve the shutout, and the Eagles recorded a 2-0 win Friday to claim a region championship.

19. Lyons Township (Ill.), 12-0

Runners-up to O’Fallon in 3A last season, the Lions are gearing up for another postseason run.

20. Blue Valley West (Kan.), 7-1

It was an eventful week for the Jaguars, who won the Blue Springs South High School Tournament in Missouri but lost to sub-.500 Blue Valley Northwest on Tuesday.

21. Grandview (Colo.), 11-1-2

Grandview’s 1-0 loss to Valor Christian earlier in the season doesn’t look so bad anymore. Incredibly, that was just one of two goals the Eagles have given up this season.

22. St. Dominic (Mo.), 12-2

The Crusaders were shut out Tuesday in a 2-0 defeat to Liberty (Wentzville) but have outscored opponents 41-2 in their 12 wins.

23. Fort Zumwalt South (Mo.), 15-1

Since a 2-1 loss to Eureka, the Bulldogs have won four straight games by a combined margin of 18-3.

24. Pine Creek (Colo.), 12-0

The Eagles have outscored opponents 75-3 this season.

25. Wade Hampton (S.C.), 16-1

The Generals won their first region championship since 1989 last week and then followed that with two more shutout victories.

Phillip Suitts is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. He has worked at a variety of outlets, including The Palm Beach Post and Southeast Missourian, and done a little bit of everything from reporting to editing to running social media accounts. He was born in Atlanta but currently lives in wintry Philadelphia. Follow Phillip on Twitter @PhillipSuitts.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by espnW (@espnw)

According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LPGA Tour (@lpga_tour)

The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.