If Rose Lavelle has a passion besides soccer and her English Bulldog, Wilma Jean, it’s her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The U.S. women’s national soccer team midfielder never misses a chance to talk about the “Queen City.” And on Tuesday night, she delivered on the field for the 22,515 hometown fans at TQL Stadium, notching a goal and three assists in the first 15 minutes of the USWNT’s 8-0 win over Paraguay. The result capped a two-game series of friendlies as part of the team’s fall tour.

“It was special to be able to step out there in front of all my family and friends and the city that has built me into who I am today,” Lavelle said after the game. “It was incredible.”

Lavelle opened the scoring with a header in the fourth minute, and was quite surprised by it.

“Casey [Krueger] served in a great ball,” she said. “Honestly, the three or four times I’ve had a header in the box, it’s gone the complete opposite direction I’ve intended, so I don’t know how it ended up going the way I actually wanted it to.”

There's no place like home 🏡 @roselavelle got the hometown crowd going wild EARLY! pic.twitter.com/Uo8JxfpHBu

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) September 21, 2021

Just two minutes later Lavelle assisted Sophia Smith’s first international career goal. In the eighth minute, Lavelle found Alex Morgan in the box for a header of her own, the first goal of Morgan’s hat trick in the game.

Joining Lavelle in the center of the pitch were Catarina Macario and Andi Sullivan. All three of them led the USWNT’s playmaking with their creativity throughout the game. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski says he challenge them to go through the middle as much as possible, and he wanted the rest of the team to put the trio in situations where they had to solve different problems.

When it came to the midfield’s defending, Andonovski was glowing over Lavelle.

“Rose Lavelle is the best in defending transition in the world,” the coach said. “There’s not a player who transitions as well as she does. Because of her creativity, and because of how good she is on the ball or in possession, we don’t talk as much about how good she is out of possession. She’s not just world class, she’s the best in the world in that situation of the game.”

Lavelle was subbed off in the 70th minute to a full standing ovation. She was later awarded Insiders Woman of the Match honors with 57.9 percent of the votes.

One goal, three assists and one incredible night in Cincinnati for the one & only @roselavelle pic.twitter.com/mWqBN5skgu

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) September 22, 2021

The USWNT scored just two more goals after Lavelle left the field. The first came from Carli Lloyd, who scored five in the first match against Paraguay to begin her farewell tour. The final score came off the foot of Macario, her second of the game and third-ever international career goal.

The USWNT now has a 60-game home unbeaten streak, including 55 wins and five draws. They are one win away from tying the longest home winning streak in team history.

When Lavelle was asked after the game whether her goal in the fourth minute was her favorite of her career, the 26-year-old laughed and said no. She added that her top choice wouldn’t even be the one she scored in the 2019 World Cup final that won her the Bronze Ball and helped the USWNT capture the title.

Her favorite goal happened in high school. As a freshman at Mount Notre Dame in Cincinnati, she scored in the last 25 seconds of a game against the second-seeded team during a time when she and her sister, a senior, were playing together.

“I got to hug my sister!” Lavelle said. “She was the first person I got to celebrate with.”

Lavelle’s answer was a fitting ending to Tuesday night’s homecoming, in which she combined the two things that matter most to her: soccer and being around her family and friends in the city she loves.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.