When Carli Lloyd stepped onto the pitch Tuesday night for the last time in a U.S. women’s national soccer team jersey, a starting lineup of young players took the field with her.

This was Lloyd’s farewell match, but she told the starters in the locker room before kickoff that the game was about them, and it was their opportunity to shape the future of the USWNT. The players took her message to heart, dismantling Korea Republic with clinical play in the final third for a 6-0 win.

“We all kind of separately and collectively said we want to carry on her legacy of just her work rate, her commitment going forward and that we need that,” said Andi Sullivan, the 25-year-old midfielder who was a part of the starting XI.

“That’s what has made this team so successful, is people like Carli and people before her who have helped shape her and pave her way and she’s done that for us, so we need to continue to do the same. It’s been very emotional, but we’re going to use that all as fuel and use it to help us be successful in the future.”

Carli & The Kids leading the way tonight!

Lineup notes ≫ https://t.co/abVLadtJSR pic.twitter.com/dEwBbyqSBe

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) October 26, 2021

Lloyd has said she had “tunnel vision” in the past. She dedicated herself to her craft, often putting in more training hours than anyone else on the team. That laser focus is what made her so successful, winning two FIFA Player of the Year awards and scoring some of the most notable goals in USWNT history, but it’s also what caused her to drift from her teammates and coaches at times.

After the game Tuesday, Lloyd said that she wouldn’t have done anything differently during her career, but she’s also been more attentive this year to making sure the USWNT is well equipped for the future. That’s included passing down her wisdom to the younger players, helping them understand the culture of the team and the responsibility that comes with wearing the crest.

“I feel that I’ve really been alive and just been a bit more vulnerable these last several months after announcing my retirement,” she said. “I’ve just went about my career as somebody who just wants to get better every single day, and to hear the impact that I’ve had on so many players, so many younger players, is almost more rewarding than anything I’ve ever achieved.”

CARLI CARLI LLOYD 🎶 pic.twitter.com/32Aw99yxP7

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) October 27, 2021

Lloyd wraps up her career with 316 caps and 134 international goals, the fourth most all-time in women’s and men’s U.S. national team history. She didn’t net any, however, in Tuesday’s win over Korea Republic. Perhaps it was an ending symbolic of Lloyd’s final charge with the USWNT, to leave the team better off than when she joined it in 2005.

Last week, Lloyd announced she would hand off the No. 10 jersey to Lindsey Horan after Tuesday’s game. It was fitting then that Horan scored the first goal of the game in Carli Lloyd fashion, in the ninth minute while wearing her No. 9 jersey for the final time.

Horan, who described Lloyd as her role model, was able to hear more about Lloyd’s experiences with the national team when the two shared a meal table at the Tokyo Olympics.

“Having conversations with her and hearing her stories and what she’s been through with this national team, things that no one else knows, is really, really cool,” Horan said. “I think those are the moments that last forever for us and are kind of the most important.”

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A post shared by CARLI LLOYD (@carlilloyd)

Sullivan has also shared many valuable encounters with Lloyd. She sits behind the 39-year-old on the team bus and sometimes picks her brain for wisdom. In the camp before she was cut from the Olympic roster, Sullivan asked Lloyd for advice on how to make a soccer career so successful.

“You have to not care what people think about you, in a positive way, where you have this undeniable belief and confidence in yourself,” Lloyd told her.

“I think that has really sat with me and helped me through my NWSL season that helped me to come back here, so I’m definitely going to carry that with me in my career,” Sullivan said on Tuesday.

Sullivan was one of six players on Tuesday’s roster aged 25 or younger. At the Tokyo Olympics, there was only one (Tierna Davidson).

“I think there’s been a little changing of the guard,” said Lloyd. “There’s obviously a different generation. Players are so technically gifted. We have some unbelievable talent that’s coming through the mix and tonight you got to see that, which I think is really exciting.”

Lloyd still has two regular season games left with her club, NJ/NY Gotham FC, and more in the playoffs should they advance. But on the international stage, she’s signing off.

“I’m excited to see the future of this team,” Lloyd said. “I’m saying goodbye on the field, but I want to continue to help in any way possible. I’m going to be the biggest fan, the biggest cheerleader, and I want to see this team continue to succeed.”

👏👏 @CarliLloyd walks off the field for the last time in a @USWNT jersey 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/GTGo4FzVCb

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) October 27, 2021

Former Chicago Sky guard Allie Quigley made her retirement official on Tuesday, announcing her exit from professional basketball in a piece for The Players Tribune, nearly three years after her final WNBA game in September 2022.

The 14-year league veteran spent the last decade of her career playing for her hometown team, helping lead the Sky to a WNBA championship in 2021 while also picking up three All-Star nods and two WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year awards.

With a career average of 10.9 points per game and 39.4% shooting from beyond the arc, Quigley also claimed four 3-Point Contest victories, winning in 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022 to set a record that still stands across the WNBA and NBA.

Chicago's all-time leading scorer for years, Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot — Quigley's wife — usurped her crown just two weeks ago.

"I love knowing that I can look back on my career and say it was really, really good — but it was part of the beginning of something truly great," Quigley wrote.

Explaining that she "never actually meant to do an Irish goodbye," Quigley initially took time off to become a mom, a process that took longer than expected.

Alongside Vandersloot, Quigley welcomed their first child, daughter Jana Christine, on April 8th — an event that spurred her to officially announce her retirement.

"[A]s special as the Sky winning a championship felt, and as proud of a moment as that was, bringing a baby into the world is our accomplishment we're most proud of," said Quigley.

On Tuesday, 2024/25 UEFA Champions League winners Arsenal announced that the Gunners are making the 60,704-capacity Emirates Stadium their permanent home for all WSL matches on the heels of last season's successful nine-game run in the north London venue.

Arsenal dominated the WSL in attendance during their 2024/25 campaign with a total of 415,000 tickets sold, a 20% increase over the Gunners' 2023/24 season.

Even more, the club averaged crowds of over 34,000 fans for the team's nine matches hosted at the men's side's historic Highbury home.

Both Arsenal's and the league's season-high attendance came in February, when 56,784 fans packed Emirates for the Gunners' North London Derby match against Tottenham.

While all of Arsenal's 11 WSL home games will kick off at Emirates, the reigning European champs will open their UWCL defense at the significantly smaller, 4,500-capacity Meadow Park, with future Champions League matches moving to Highbury should the Gunners advance to the tournament's knockout rounds.

"For us, this is just the beginning, and bringing every WSL match to the Emirates is another step for more supporters to be part of this special journey," said Arsenal head coach Renée Slegers in a club statement. "We'll come back next season, with fire in our hearts, more determined, more ambitious, and more together than ever."

Women's teams are big business, with global sports business conference SPOBIS International reporting this week that average WNBA franchise valuations rose to $90 million in 2024, while NWSL clubs weighed in at $104 million — doubling their 2023 mark.

In May, the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty sold shares at a $450 million valuation, qualifying them as the world's most valuable women's sports team.

SPOBIS's top five includes the WSL's Chelsea FC ($326 million) alongside NWSL side Angel City FC ($250 million), the WNBA's Dallas Wings ($208 million), the Kansas City Current ($182 million), and the Las Vegas Aces ($140 million).

US women's sports teams hold a key advantage in the race to the top of the valuations table, with WNBA and NWSL squads able operate independently from men's systems.

Having separated from their men's side last year, Chelsea FC was the only non-US team to make the list, bolstered by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian's $26.6 million purchase of a 10% stake in the 2024/25 WSL champs last month.

Other European teams in line for similar value boosts include OL Lyonnes and the London City Lionesses, both independently owned and operated by Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang.

With many factors contributing to a team's overall value — namely capital, media deals, viewership, ownership structures, and popularity — it's tough to predict the next big thing in women's sports, but these numbers point to a red-hot market across major pro leagues.

US Soccer is heading back to college, announcing Tuesday that the federation is launching a NextGen College Soccer Committee (NCS) to help solidify NCAA soccer's place in the national development system.

The NCS will "aim to integrate the college game more deeply into the broader US Soccer ecosystem, while ensuring it remains a strong, sustainable platform for student-athlete education, player development, and community engagement."

As professional soccer careers become more viable on the women's side, an increasing number of prospects are opting to sign directly with clubs out of high school rather than follow the traditional collegiate track.

Skipping college to go pro is common in other countries, where many clubs run their own academies for promising young players.

To "properly consider the development pathway and progression to college soccer," US Soccer is also working with pre-professional organizations like Elite Clubs National League, Girls Academy, and other US youth leagues.

Members of the NCS include Kansas City Current co-owner Angie Long, NWSL COO Sarah Jones Simmer, and former Duke standout and current MLS executive Ali Curtis.

With Tuesday's announcement, US Soccer appears to be acknowledging the challenges of maintaining NCAA soccer's appeal in the face of increasingly diverse pro opportunities — while also doubling down on the value of the college game.

"College soccer is integral to the fabric and future of our sport in this country," said US Soccer CEO JT Batson. "The individuals joining this group bring unique perspectives and expertise that will help us build a model where college soccer can thrive in a modern, connected system."