San Diego needed a goal.

And who better to call on than Golden Boot winner and seasoned goal-scorer Alex Morgan?

It didn’t matter that until a few hours before kick off Morgan was listed as questionable.

It didn’t matter that a knee injury had kept her out of the U.S. women’s national team’s friendly matches with England and Spain at the beginning of October.

The Wave needed their veteran star. And she delivered.

With four minutes gone in the second period of extra time in San Diego’s playoff matchup with the Chicago Red Stars, the Wave set up for a corner kick.

The kick sailed to the far side of the box, and the Red Stars were able to partially clear it. But before they could gain control, or send the ball up the field, Wave forward Sofia Jakobsson corralled the ball and found Morgan.

Morgan, on the edge of the box with a sliver of an angle, managed to fire a shot that sailed past multiple defenders and into the opposite corner of the net.

Red Stars keeper Alyssa Naeher laid on the field, head in hands, as the Wave started celebrating their 2-1 victory in front of an NWSL playoff record crowd.

CLUTCH 📐 @alexmorgan13 sends the @sandiegowavefc to the semifinals in OT 🙌

JWS x @nikefootball pic.twitter.com/iIWVPyCQdO

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) October 17, 2022

In the middle of the celebration was Morgan, who battled a knee injury to take the field for the Wave.

“I just wanted to take it day by day,” she told reporters after the match. “I didn’t wanna set any unrealistic expectations for myself, which is why we didn’t really know until pretty much yesterday that I was gonna be playing, and let alone starting, and able to possibly go 90, or 120 minutes. So that was kind of the mindset a couple weeks ago when my injury was seen as something that I can possibly get back in a quick and timely manner.”

Morgan, a longtime member of the USWNT, wasn’t selected for the squad’s friendly matches with England and Spain due to the knee injury, but coach Vlatko Andonovski said if the team was competing in a World Cup, she would have played.

Sunday’s match wasn’t a World Cup game, but it was a chance for the Wave to advance to the NWSL semifinals in their first season of existence.

“That’s why, to me, Alex is MVP, because in big moments she turns up,” Wave coach Casey Stoney said. “I’m massively proud.”

San Diego already stood as the first expansion team to make the NWSL playoffs. The Wave will continue to venture into uncharted territory in the semifinals, where they will take on the Portland Thorns at 5 p.m. ET Sunday.

The 2025 NWSL Championship claimed a major viewership milestone on Saturday, as Gotham FC's 1-0 title win over the Washington Spirit became the first-ever league match to record an average of more than one million viewers.

The CBS evening broadcast averaged an impressive 1.184 million fans and peaked at 1.55 million viewers, making it the most-watched NWSL match of all time.

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The 2025 final marked a 22% viewership increase over the 967,900 fans who watched 2024's Orlando Pride victory — the previous NWSL viewership record-holder — and a 45% ratings gain over Gotham's 2023 championship win, which averaged 816,800 viewers.

Saturday's gains both matched the 22% viewership increase the NWSL regular season saw this year and also far exceeded the 2025 postseason's pre-final year-over-year increase of 5%.

Calling the one-million viewer mark "an extraordinary achievement" in Tuesday's league statement, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman also noted that the "record-setting audience demonstrates the deepening connection fans have with our players, our clubs, and the world-class competition on the field, and it underscores the growing demand for women's soccer on the biggest stages."

"We're incredibly proud of what this moment represents for the NWSL and for everyone who continues to invest in and believe in the future of our game," Berman added.

Incoming offseason league Project B scored more major WNBA signings this week, as the upstart venture continues stacking its roster ahead of a planned November 2026 launch.

Indiana Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham have both publicly signed on with Project B, joining already announced talent like Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones, and Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd.

Also inking deals to join the inaugural season of Project B are Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün, and Li Meng, a former Washington Mystics guard and current player in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association.

The multi-continent, Formula One-style traveling tournament circuit will ultimately sign 66 international stars, as Project B looks to field six 11-player teams in its debut 2026/2027 campaign.

Project B player signings will undoubtedly impact other offseason leagues like Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited, but the new venture is also looming large over the ongoing WNBA CBA talks.

With negotiations racing toward this Sunday's extended deadline, Project B is putting WNBA compensation offerings under increased pressure, as the new league is reportedly anteing up multimillion-dollar salaries to its signees — far exceeding the 2025 WNBA maximum as well as the $1.1 million-max currently on the negotiating table.

World No. 1 Spain will take aim at a second-straight UEFA Nations League title this week, as La Roja take on No. 5 Germany in the first leg of the 2025 tournament's final at 2:30 PM ET on Friday.

The defending Nations League champions booked their spot in the 2025 final by dismantling No. 3 Sweden 5-0 on aggregate in the semifinal round, while Germany advanced after a tense 3-2 aggregate win over No. 6 France.

Germany must also contend with availability issues during Friday's match, as 28-year-old Bayern Munich forward and senior national team leading scorer Lea Schüller will be out due to family reasons.

To overcome that disadvantage, German head coach Christian Wück is reinforcing the team's back line, adding Athletic Bilbao defender Bibi Schulze Solano to the roster on Wednesday.

Also aiming to shut down Spain's offensive firepower on Friday is new NWSL champion goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who joined her German compatriots late following Gotham FC's title celebrations in New York this week.

While Spain and Germany will contend for the 2025 Nations League trophy this week, the pair — along with ousted semifinalists Sweden and France — have already booked spots in the top group of teams battling for tickets to the 2027 World Cup, with UEFA qualifying set to begin in 2026.

A full 19 months removed from their back-to-back Final Four runs, No. 11 Iowa basketball refuses to go away, with the Hawkeyes already notching one Top-25 win in the young 2025/26 NCAA campaign so far.

The still-unbeaten Hawkeyes took down No. 15 Baylor 57-52 last Thursday, with Iowa starting post players Hannah Stuelke and Ava Heiden combining for 28 points while guard Taylor Stremlow added another 12 off the bench in the marquee win.

"We have nice pieces," said Iowa head coach Jan Jensen this week. "But it's knowing when to play which pieces and with whom, and we're six games in."

The Hawkeyes have been finding their new identity under Jensen after a transformative period saw Iowa's longtime head coach Lisa Bluder retire while superstar guard Caitlin Clark joined the WNBA.

"Jan's been amazing," Stuelke told JWS at the Big Ten Media Day in October. "She stepped up like she needed to, and she's been growing every day since she's been the head coach, which it's really cool to see she cares. And it's a great environment for all of us."

"I have a year under my belt," Jensen echoed. "I know what this chair feels like now, and I have a little better of understanding of what that first road trip feels like, what that first big win feels like, or the tough loss feels like."

Iowa's season heats up with a ranked rivalry matchup against No. 10 Iowa State on Wednesday, December 10th.

The state rivals will tip off at 7 PM ET, with live coverage airing on ESPN.