When Metea Valley’s (Aurora, Ill.) Tyra King steps onto the pitch, she’s surrounded by family. From her sister in the backfield to her parents in the stands, soccer is a family affair.

On Tuesday night, the King family took the two-hour trip down I-55 for a supersectional showdown against Edwardsville.

Heading into the game, the junior forward was nervous. But in the 25th minute, she settled those nerves and gave the Mustangs room to breathe. Receiving a pass from teammate Leanne Barrett, she dribbled her way into the box.

“I was actually going to take another touch,” King said.

With an Edwardsville defender tugging on her jersey, she knew she had to shoot. So she fixed her eyes on the goalie and arced the ball into the back of the net.

King’s goal helped Metea Valley secure a 2-0 victory and clinch the program’s first trip to the state semifinals, earning her JWS Player of the Week honors.

Varsity beat a great Edwardsville team 2-0 to win the Super Sectional and move onto State! Goals from Tyra King and Lucy Burk with assists from Leanne Barrett and Ella Johnson. Julia Straub with the shutout. @MeteaAthletics @MeteaBoosters @MVPrincipal1 pic.twitter.com/2bhaYDfaC1

— Metea Girls Soccer (@MeteaGirlsSoc) June 1, 2022

King’s 19 goals this season lead the way for the Mustangs, who enter Friday’s match with a 20-2-1 record. She’s averaging nearly a goal per game, and while she doesn’t obsess over stats, she knows her impressive tally makes her a threat to opposing defenses.

“They look at your stats. They start to man mark and double mark you,” King said. “Sometimes I couldn’t score because of it.”

Still, King manages to find a way.

Coach Chris Whaley is impressed with King’s work ethic and leadership. He says she’s really opened up this season as she leads the team by example.

“The girls definitely look to her to make things happen,” Whaley said. “Early on, we saw how much she loves playing high school soccer and how much it means to her.”

For King, it means playing alongside her classmates and her older sister, Justyce. This is the last year they’ll play together, and while they may be on different sides of the field, their bond is unconditional.

King and the Mustangs will take the field again Friday against Lincoln-Way Central as they continue their quest toward becoming state champions.

Nika Anschuetz is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @nlanschuetz.

Unrivaled Basketball is stocking up ahead of the 3×3 offseason league's 2026 campaign, rolling out the first group of six players set to join its second season on Monday.

Officially returning to the league's Miami court this year are Phoenix forward Alyssa Thomas and her Mercury teammate Satou Sabally, as well as LA Sparks forward Rickea Jackson.

Joining the Unrivaled returnees will be a trio of newcomers, with Seattle Storm veteran guard Erica Wheeler set to log her first minutes in the new league alongside a pair of WNBA star freshmen in Connecticut Sun guard Saniya Rivers and 2025 Rookie of the Year and Dallas Wings standout Paige Bueckers.

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Unrivaled plans to announce six athletes every weekday through October 1st, as the league gears up for its first 54-player season, which tips off on January 5th.

Fueled by a successful debut year and significant additional investment, Unrivaled accelerated its salary growth and expansion plans, adding two new teams plus an additional development pool of players to the league's 2026 season.

"If we didn't expand rosters, there were going to be All-Stars who we didn't have space for," Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell recently told ESPN. "We want to be the home for all of the best players in the world."

Due to the increase to eight total teams, Unrivaled could see their rosters rearranged for the sophomore campaign — meaning returning players like Laces BC's Thomas, Mist BC's Jackson, and Phantom BC's Sabally could suit up for a different squad next year.

Following the reveal of the league's full lineup, Unrivaled plans to drop team assignments in November.

Celebrated Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmatí took home her third consecutive Ballon d'Or at Monday's 2025 awards, becoming the first-ever women's footballer to accomplish the feat.

FC Barcelona has dominated the last five international football player of the year honors, with the voting panel of journalists tapping Barça star Alexia Putellas in 2021 and 2022 followed by Bonmatí starting in 2023.

"My third time in a row here, and I still can't believe it, incredible," Bonmatí said at the annual Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris. "Thank you to France Football for this, for the third time — it really could have gone to anyone."

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The 27-year-old's win wasn't without controversy with Bonmatí beating out fellow Spanish national Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal), who came in second despite scoring in both her club's UWCL Final win and Spain's 2025 Euro Final loss.

"If it was possible to share it, I would, because I think it has been a year with an exceptionally high level, above all among my teammates, who had a great year," added Bonmatí.

After their successful Euro title defense, England fans were also miffed at the choice, though manager Sarina Wiegman did win Coach of the Year.

Five Lionesses also earned spots in the Ballon d'Or's Top 10: No. 3 Alessia Russo (Arsenal), No. 5 Chloe Kelly (Arsenal), No. 7 Leah Williamson (Arsenal), No. 9 Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), and No. 10 Hannah Hampton (Chelsea).

Meanwhile, Arsenal was named Women's Club of the Year after dethroning Barcelona in May's Champions League final.

As for the USWNT, standouts Emily Fox (Arsenal) and Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes) made this year's 30-player finalists list, clocking in at Nos. 25 and 26, respectively.

Second-year Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts has his work cut out for him as No. 4 Phoenix preps for Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA semifinals against the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night.

Armed with a revamped roster and a modern technical approach common among next-gen WNBA coaches, Tibbetts will try to lead Phoenix to the win the Mercury need to tie up their best-of-five series — doing so against a Lynx team laser focused on returning to the WNBA Finals under legendary manager Cheryl Reeve.

"They've been doing it, and now they've all got championships under their belt," Tibbetts told JWS, giving props to elite veterans coaches like Reeve. "Nothing is new to them when it comes to this league."

Ending the regular season on a 27-17 record, the Mercury have benefitted from Tibbetts's stretch offense all year, lengthening the court and freeing up room for sharp-shooters like 2025 WNBA MVP finalist Alyssa Thomas to crash the glass.

That strategy led Phoenix to a Top-5 regular-season finish in rebounds per game (34.7) and assists per game (20.9), as well as total 3-pointers made (414).

"[It's] just maximizing shot attempts, getting your players to understand the true values of what a shot looks like from a points-per-shot basis," Tibbetts explained. "I don’t think you need to overdo it — there's a ton of smart players in our league."

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury vs. Minnesota Lynx in Game 2

Tibbetts and the No. 4 Mercury will try to even the score with Reeve and the No. 1 Lynx in Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA semifinals at 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on ESPN.

With their 17-game winning streak fading in the review, the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces enter Tuesday's Game 2 clash with the No. 6 Indiana Fever vying to dig themselves out of a 0-1 hole in the 2025 WNBA semifinals.

"We didn't really have a pep to us, the pace that they were playing at, the pep that they had in their step, we just didn't have that," Aces guard Jackie Young said following Sunday's Game 1 loss. "It's on us to change that next game."

"I thought it was really poor, really poor," echoed Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon, putting her team's recent defensive effort on blast.

Additionally, the Aces will be must-win mode on Tuesday night, as no WNBA team has ever bounced back from dropping the two opening games of a best-of-five series.

The Aces will likely try to avoid over-relying on star forward A'ja Wilson this time, after the Fever held the four-time WNBA MVP to just 16 points in Game 1.

"I know we're capable, but not when we play like that," said Hammon after Sunday's loss. "God forbid A'ja doesn't drop 40 [points] for us. We had 12 assists in 40 minutes tonight."

Las Vegas will also focus on stopping Indiana star guard Kelsey Mitchell after the first-time MVP finalist set records with her game-high 34 points on Sunday.

"You can't ask any one person to guard her," explained Hammon in respect to Mitchell's game. "It takes multiple actions and multiple bodies."

How to watch Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces in WNBA semifinals Game 2

The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces will host the No. 6 Indiana Fever again in Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA semifinals on Tuesday.

The action will tip off at 9:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN.