As the U.S. women’s national team takes on Germany this week in their final two games of the year, they’ll be balancing further squad development and a positive result. The U.S. could use a win after their October trip to Europe yielded two straight losses. Meanwhile, the team has been settling on a preferred starting XI as they await the returns of a number of key players from injury in 2023.

If head coach Vlatko Andonovski views the Germany games as an opportunity for further squad evaluation, a handful of players could use the playing time to prove their value. The competition within the team will only grow as the months tick down to the 2023 World Cup.

Taylor Kornieck

Kornieck was something of a surprise addition to the USWNT’s Concacaf W roster in July, but her play with the San Diego Wave this year explains why the U.S. is interested in her skill set. Kornieck’s prowess in the air, particularly on set pieces, is somewhat obvious (she’s a towering 6-foot-1), but she’s also proven to be an impressive line-breaker with the ball at her feet. The U.S. is still figuring out what to do at the holding midfielder position when Lindsey Horan isn’t on the field, and after Kornieck missed the last international window with an ankle injury, she could use time to carve out a role.

Sam Coffey

The USWNT’s defensive midfield has been in need of answers in recent months, meaning the opportunity for Coffey to make her mark on the team has only grown. Coffey played well beyond her years in her rookie season and during the Thorns’ 2022 NWSL Championship victory, and she’s familiar with both a rigid and a free-flowing midfield philosophy from Portland. Coffey has been fast-tracked as one of the USWNT’s key options for the No. 6, and this week could be the time to solidify the concept.

Trinity Rodman

Rodman is a generational talent, but she hasn’t had as much time with the USWNT attack as the other forwards vying for a spot in the team’s starting XI. In October, she played on the right wing while Sophia Smith filled in for Alex Morgan, but now that Morgan and Mallory Pugh are both back in the fold, Rodman has to figure out where she fits within Andonovski’s attacking rotations. She’s already an asset as a connecting player, and she bounces off the attacking midfield well. But if Andonovski feels his current starters need more time to build chemistry, balancing Rodman’s development at the international level becomes tricky.

Ashley Sanchez

Sanchez, like Rodman, is part of the USWNT’s present and the future. She was tasked with providing an attacking spark in the midfield at Concacaf W this summer, but she has featured more off the bench in 2022. Sanchez is a creative player who can be brought on to run at opponents with enthusiasm, but she hasn’t gotten a chance in games that require a stronger off-the-ball defensive plan. She’s also likely competing with Rose Lavelle for minutes, and Lavelle has been excellent in 2022. Getting a shot against a crisp midfield like Germany’s would be an indicator that Sanchez is ready to adapt to greater challenges.

Ashley Hatch

Hatch quietly had another strong NWSL season in 2022, scoring nine goals for the Washington Spirit, but the USWNT’s reliance on the 27-year-old has waned in recent months. Alex Morgan has gradually overtaken Hatch in the role of post-up, central forward on the team’s depth chart, and Andonovski’s decision to play Hatch in just one half when Morgan was out with an injury in October raises a few questions about what happens when Catarina Macario returns to the team next spring. Hatch has had a knack for goal at the international level, and her level of inclusion this week could suggest where she sits on the USWNT depth chart.

Casey Murphy

I don’t envy the task of rotating the three USWNT goalkeepers through these games. Alyssa Naeher needs time to continue to gel with a new-look defense, and Adrianna Franch has more than earned another look on the field. But the development of Casey Murphy hasn’t been as linear as expected in 2022, and more big-game experience could be crucial for evaluation. Murphy obviously has the ability to be an elite shot-stopper at the international level (her matches against Australia a year ago were examples of her high ceiling,) but she’s also shown some nerves this year. With Franch making a surge, the competition at goalkeeper is more interesting than ever.

Kristie Mewis

Three of the players on this list had rough club seasons with the Spirit this year, and Kristie Mewis likewise had a difficult year with last-place Gotham FC. Andonovski cited form when he left Gotham teammate Margaret Purce off the last two USWNT rosters, and Mewis has been competing for minutes off the bench with Lavelle and Horan tabbed as midfield starters. Mewis is very good in dead-ball situations, and her ability to chase a game late has provided a spark to the midfield in the past. But she needs to be able to showcase the form that got her back on the USWNT in 2021, with limited minutes to do so.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

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According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.