Overall No. 1-seed Stanford has rolled through the competition in the first three rounds of the 2025 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament, with the Cardinal booking their spot in this weekend's quarterfinals with a 6-0 thumping of No. 5-seed BYU on Monday.
Stanford has outscored their opponents 16-4 so far, ousting unseeded Cal Poly 3-1 in the first round and claiming a 7-3 second-round shootout win over No. 8-seed Alabama before bouncing BYU.
Elsewhere in the bracket, fellow No. 1-seed Vanderbilt is also still alive after the Commodores took down SEC rival No. 4-seed LSU in Monday's Sweet Sixteen.
Not every top seed is through, however, as ACC standouts Nos. 1 Notre Dame and Virginia both fell to Big Ten contenders in the NCAA tournament's early rounds.
Reigning Big Ten Champions No. 4-seed Washington sent the Cavaliers home in a Sweet Sixteen penalty shootout on Sunday, as the Huskies continue their run in honor of late senior goalkeeper Mia Hamant.
Unseeded Ohio State has also surprised, overcoming a mediocre 4-2-5 performance in 2025 Big Ten play by staging an upset run through the national tournament. After claiming golden-goal overtime winners to oust Notre Dame last week and No. 5-seed Baylor on Sunday, the Buckeyes will make their first Elite Eight appearance since 2010 on Friday.
No. 2-seeds Michigan State, Duke, and TCU, as well as No. 3-seed Florida State round out the quarterfinal competition, as the Big Ten joins the ACC in leading the charge toward the 2025 College Cup with three teams each in the Elite Eight.
How to watch the 2025 NCAA soccer quarterfinals
The 2025 NCAA soccer tournament kicks off its Elite Eight round with three ACC vs. Big Ten matchups on Friday, when No. 2 Duke takes on No. 4 Washington at 4 PM ET before No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 2 Michigan State and No. 3 Florida State vs. Ohio State begins at 5 PM ET.
The last quarterfinal takes the pitch on Saturday, as SEC favorite No. 1 Vanderbilt faces No. 2 TCU at 7:30 PM ET.
All quarterfinals will stream live on ESPN+.
No. 2-seed Washington have booked their second straight NWSL semifinals berth, after a short-staffed Spirit bested a resilient No. 7 Racing Louisville side in penalty kicks following Saturday's 1-1 quarterfinal draw.
Washington forward Gift Monday first broke the 0-0 stalemate in the 73rd minute after VAR called back an early Spirit goal, while Racing forward Kayla Fischer managed to keep Louisville's hopes alive with a second-half stoppage time equalizer.
Washington goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury then played penalty shootout hero for a second straight year, blocking two sharply hit strikes to allow the Spirit to advance 3-1.
"At the end of the day, there was no chance that we could lose this game," said Spirit head coach Adrián González postgame. "It was a matter of just keep insisting — that's the mentality we have."
The Spirit had more than Racing's tenacity to contend with this weekend, however, as an MCL strain continues to sideline star forward Trinity Rodman.
Washington defenders Gabby Carle and Tara McKeown both exited Saturday's match with injuries, as well, as players pile up on the Spirit's availability report.
How to watch the Washington Spirit in the 2025 NWSL semifinals
No. 2 Washington will next face No. 3 Portland in the 2025 NWSL semis, with the Thorns punching their record-10th semifinal ticket by downing the No. 6 San Diego Wave 1-0 in their own extra-time showdown on Sunday.
The Spirit take on the Thorns for a shot at competing for the 2025 NWSL title at 12 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on CBS.
The 2025 Women's World Cup journey of the U-17 USWNT came to an end on Tuesday, when the US fell to the Netherlands in the tournament's Round of 16 after a 1-1 draw led to a tense penalty shootout.
FC Twente forward Liv Pennock gave the Dutch a one-goal lead in the third minute before a bullet from Chicago Stars attacker Micayla Johnson pulled the USWNT level in the game's second half, but the US couldn't finish the job, losing 7-6 in penalties.
The USWNT has never won a U-17 Women's World Cup, finishing as runners-up in the tournament's inaugural 2008 competition before taking third in the 2024 edition.
With three pros on the roster — Johnson, Gotham FC striker Mak Whitham, and Utah Royals forward KK Ream — as well as one player, defender Sydney Schmidt, on an amateur contract with USL Super League side Sporting JAX, the U-17 USWNT did manage to put together their most impressive group-stage performance yet, taking all nine points from their three opening matches for the first time in team history.
Even more, the team did so in dominant fashion, taking down Ecuador 3-0 and China 5-2 before blasting Norway 5-0 to advance to the knockouts.
The young USWNT will have another shot at a world championship next year, when the now-annual U-17 World Cup returns for its second straight edition in Morocco.
Fresh off her 2025 Euro win, England star goalkeeper Hannah Hampton revealed her penalty shootout secret that helped lift the Lionesses over Spain in last month's tournament final.
After Hampton spotted Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll's tactical notes written on her water bottle, she quietly picked it up and tossed it into the crowd.
"The Spanish keeper had it on her bottle," Hampton told England radio station talkSPORT on Friday. "So I thought when she was going in goal, I'll just pick it up and throw it into the English fans so she can't have it."
Hampton kept her own Euro penalty shootout notes wrapped around her forearm, explaining that "I never put it on a bottle because anyone can [throw it away]."
The 24-year-old's method proved useful in saving shots from Spanish stars Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey, ultimately setting up teammate Chloe Kelly to bury the title-winning penalty.
"I was trying so hard not to burst out laughing [because] I was like 'Oh, I don't know where [Coll's water bottled] has gone,'" Hampton recalled. "But you have got to do something, haven't you?"
As for Coll, the Spanish keeper seemed to refute Hampton's story, posting two laughing emojis in response to the radio clip, as well as saying "Okay, okay, calm down. If only it were true..."
World No. 5 England are bringing football home once again, lifting their second straight UEFA Women's Euro trophy after defeating reigning World Cup champs No. 2 Spain in the 2025 championship match on Sunday.
Leading for a total of four minutes throughout the entirety of the knockouts, Sunday's win marked England's third consecutive comeback victory this tournament, as the Lionesses bested La Roja in a penalty shootout to become the first back-to-back European champions since 2013.
Armed with more confident knockout-stage results, Spain came out swinging in the first half, going up 1-0 behind Mariona Caldentey's 25th-minute strike.
However, England would not be denied, equalizing off a header from Alessia Russo in the 57th minute to eventually force extra time at a 1-1 deadlock.
The stalemate held through the additional 30 minutes, invoking yet another penalty shootout in true 2025 Euro fashion.
Spain struck first, but three uncharacteristic missed shots from Caldentey, reigning Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí, and 2023 World Cup breakout star Salma Paralluelo handed England control of the shootout.
Forward Chloe Kelly — the 2022 title-winning scorer — came through for the Lionesses again, sinking the final shot from the spot to secure England's second major tournament title.
Sunday's victory also added to Sarina Wiegman's personal perfect Euro record, as the England manager emerged from her third European Championship with a third straight title — two with the Lionesses and one with the Netherlands in 2017.
"She's amazing," Kelly said of Wiegman. "She is an incredible woman. What she's done for this country, we should all be so grateful."
Despite Spain's edge, England showcased the mentality it takes to cap an unlikely run with a fairytale ending — one that could fuel them down the path to another trophy as attention shifts toward the 2027 World Cup.
A pair of thrilling Tuesday semifinals has world No. 36 Nigeria and No. 60 Morocco on the cusp of history, as the duo prepare to square off in the 2025 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) final on Saturday.
Nine-time title-holders Nigeria narrowly avoided extra time against defending champions No. 54 South Africa in their Tuesday clash, with Houston Dash defender Michelle Alozie playing hero with a long-range game-winner to secure the 2-1 finish in second-half stoppage time.
Meanwhile, tournament hosts Morocco managed to escape a penalty shootout with No. 66 Ghana after closing out extra time in a 1-1 stalemate, with the Atlas Lionesses prevailing 4-2 to advance to their second straight WAFCON final.
Neither team has lost a match at this summer's continental tournament, but the Super Falcons have the edge when it comes to international experience.
Nigeria will be hunting a record-extending 10th title on Saturday, while Morocco is still searching for their first WAFCON trophy.
How to watch the WAFCON Final
After Ghana faces South Africa in the tournament's third-place match on Friday at 3 PM ET, all eyes will be on Nigeria and Morocco, who will battle for the 2025 WAFCON title at 4 PM ET on Saturday.
Both final WAFCON clashes will air live on beIN Sports.
The UEFA Women's Euro 2025 locked in the semifinals over the weekend, with world No. 2 Spain, No. 3 Germany, No. 5 England, and No. 13 Italy all advancing past fierce quarterfinals to secure a spot in the tournament's final four.
The only quarterfinal decided by more than one goal was Spain's 2-0 Friday victory over No. 23 Switzerland, while Italy's 2-1 thriller against No. 16 Norway narrowly avoided extra time last week.
Both England's Thursday battle with No. 6 Sweden and Germany's Saturday clash with No. 10 France needed seven rounds of penalties to determine a winner, with the prevailing nations mounting steep comebacks to punch their semifinal tickets.
"I really had a sense throughout the game, even when we were down, that it wasn't our time to go," England defender Esme Morgan said of her team's poise after falling behind 2-0 early in the match.
Penalty kicks have remained a hot topic throughout this year's tournament, with players converting just 24 of 41 attempts across the competition so far — a well below-average rate of 58.5%.
With a combined nine missed penalties on Thursday, England and Sweden's 36% conversion marked the worst rate in Women's Euro history.
Also making unflattering tournament history this weekend was Germany, who became the first Women's Euro team on record to register a comeback win after seeing a player sent off, following defender Kathrin Hendrich's 13th-minute straight red card offense.
How to watch the 2025 Euro semifinals
The 2025 Euro semifinals begin with England facing Italy on Tuesday before Germany takes on Spain on Wednesday.
Both matches kick off at 3 PM ET on their respective days, with live coverage on Fox.