The U.S. women’s national team wraps up its 2022 campaign with a two-game friendly series against Germany on Thursday and Sunday. The games conclude a year in which head coach Vlatko Andonovski evaluated the USWNT’s deep pool of talent, new and old, as the team prepares for the 2023 FIFA World Cup.

Throughout the process, young, rising stars have been given opportunities, and many veterans who were pushed aside for a few months eventually earned second chances. With a team as competitive as the USWNT, anything can happen. On Wednesday, Andonovski named four players, all currently in November camp, who have impressed him more than he thought they would this year.

Sophia Smith

The first player to come to mind for Andonovski was Sophia Smith, who had a breakout year with the national team. She was called up to the senior team for the first time five years ago at the age of 16 but did not become a regular part of the roster until this year. After being left off the Olympic squad last summer, the 22-year-old has gone on to score 12 goals for the USWNT in 2022 and 15 for the Portland Thorns in the NWSL to finish second in the Golden Boot race. Helping the Thorns win the NWSL championship, she was named both league MVP and Finals MVP.

Playing at center forward with the Thorns, Smith has transitioned seamlessly into a winger role for the national team. Andonovski knew earlier this year that Smith would become a staple, and she has started every game she’s appeared in, further earning her coach’s trust.

Mallory Pugh

Smith’s fellow winger, Mallory Pugh, had what Andonovski calls “a tremendous comeback on the national team.” A year and a half ago, Pugh didn’t make the USWNT’s Tokyo Olympic roster. As a regular member of the national team heading into the Games, Pugh had to grapple with the disappointment. And after a year of finding joy in the game again, she’s proved herself as a starting winger for the national team, scoring six goals and contributing a team-high seven assists.

Alex Morgan

USWNT veteran Alex Morgan fell off Andonovski’s radar for half a year and was not called into the team until late June of 2022 after an impressive first two months with San Diego Wave FC in the NWSL. The forward scored 16 goals in 19 games with the Wave this season, winning the Golden Boot and helping the club become the first to make the playoffs in its inaugural year.

In her two USWNT call-ups this year, Morgan has scored four goals. After scoring the game-winning goal to secure the Concacaf W Championship for the U.S. in July, she was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Alex, who did not accept the fact of not being on the national team,” Andonovski said. “She proved to everyone that she’s still a world-class player.”

Naomi Girma

Naomi Girma, in her first year out of Stanford, has been remarkably consistent in her distribution and tackles along the USWNT’s backline. Earlier this fall, Andonovski said fellow center back Alana Cook had the edge due to experience, but since then Girma has earned more playing time and built her case for World Cup roster inclusion. One of her most impressive performances came in a start against England, the 2022 Euro Cup champions, at Wembley Stadium in October.

In the NWSL, the 2022 No. 1 pick became the first player in league history to win two individual awards in the same season, earning Rookie of the Year and Defender of the Year.

“There’s a reason she’s starting on our team, and that’s because she is growing into a great player,” Andonovski said.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

With half of the Elite Eight now set, a few Big Ten underdogs still have a shot at disrupting the No. 1 seed stronghold at the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this weekend.

The No. 3-seed Purdue Boilermakers are through to the quarterfinals after defeating No. 2-seed SMU 3-1 on Thursday, while the No. 4-seed Indiana Hoosiers, No. 3 seed-Wisconsin Badgers, and the still-undefeated overall No. 1 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers all face stiff Sweet Sixteen competition on Friday afternoon.

Coming off a strong regular season, the Big Ten could still field half of the quarterfinal round — though that would require the first No. 1-seed upset of the 2025 national tournament in the form of an Indiana victory over top-seeded Texas.

Bolstered by their defensive leader, senior middle blocker Madi Sell, the Hoosiers booked just their second-ever Sweet Sixteen trip with last week's win over No. 5 Colorado, with Indiana now hoping their lucky run continues against the 2022 and 2023 champion Longhorns.

Meanwhile, the No. 1 Huskers will look to keep rolling against No. 4-seed Kansas while the No. 3 Badgers aim to snag another Big Ten spot in the Elite Eight by ousting No. 2-seed Stanford on Friday.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this weekend

The NCAA volleyball tournament's Sweet Sixteen action will wrap with four games on Friday, starting with No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Indiana at 12 PM ET.

The Elite Eight will then meet at the net on Saturday and Sunday to determine the last-standing teams heading to next week's Final Four in Kansas City.

All of this weekend's NCAA tournament games will air live across ESPN platforms.

Team USA is on a roll, officially taking the four-game 2025 Rivalry Series against Canada before the slate of friendlies is even over, with the US collecting three consecutive wins so far — and one shot left at making it a clean sweep.

The US downed their northern neighbors by a commanding 10-4 scoreline in Edmonton on Wednesday, marking Team USA's first-ever 10-goal victory against the reigning Olympic champs — all while upping the 2025 series' goal tally to 20-6.

While each team fine-tunes rosters ahead of the 2026 Olympics, one test remains for both international hockey titans before the Winter Games take the ice in February.

"The work doesn't stop. Our Olympic team is not named. There's still one more game to go," said USA captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, acknowledging that her squad is not taking their foot off the gas despite the recent lopsided results.

"We have one more game against them before the Olympics," echoed Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin. "We're all aware of that."

How to watch Team USA vs. Canada in the 2025 Rivalry Series

The puck drops on the final match of the sixth annual hockey Rivalry Series between the USA and Canada in Edmonton, Alberta, on Saturday.

Live coverage of the clash will begin at 9 PM ET on the NHL Network.

The latest FIFA women's soccer rankings dropped on Thursday, with Spain widening their lead at No. 1 after winning a second consecutive UEFA Nations League title earlier this month.

The USWNT held steady at No. 2, ceding 7.48 points after losing an October friendly to No. 22 Portugal before going on to secure four straight wins over Portugal, No. 35 New Zealand, and No. 13 Italy to close out 2025.

Elsewhere in the FIFA Top 10, No. 3 Germany and No. 6 Brazil both saw boosts after successful fall runs, while Canada skidded to No. 10 amid a recent five-match winless streak, with Les Rouges's last victory coming against No. 43 Costa Rica last June.

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The biggest changes, however, occurred outside the top ranks, as No. 96 Nicaragua, No. 118 Burkina Faso, and No. 137 American Samoa all rose by 16 spots.

Notably, upcoming USWNT opponent Paraguay saw the largest drop in this month's Top 50, sliding five spots to No. 46.

Ultimately, as the USWNT battled to keep pace in a year of roster experimentation — and without a major competition on the team's 2025 docket — the many international competitions in Europe benefitted victors and challenged losers in this week's FIFA rankings update.

The No. 16 USC Trojans are gearing up for another top-ranked test, hosting the reigning national champion No. 1 UConn Huskies in the weekend's flashiest NCAA women's basketball matchup on Saturday.

Coming off their second ranked win of the season, USC topped No. 20 Washington 59-50 last Sunday, with 22 points and 12 rebounds from freshman Jazzy Davidson helping pull the Trojans to a 7-2 record.

"I saw a resolve in our team," said head coach Lindsay Gottlieb afterwards. "I knew we could get the next stop, I knew we could get the next play."

USC will face a particularly familiar foe against the Huskies — this time without sidelined star junior JuJu Watkins — after UConn knocked the Trojans out of the NCAA tournament two years in a row.

Notably, sophomore guard Kayleigh Heckel departed USC over the summer for the Huskies, with the former Trojan averaging 7.7 points per game entering Saturday's clash with her old team.

"I just try to take one game at a time, but I'm excited to go back," Heckel said ahead of her first trip back to LA since transferring. "I had a great freshman year there, and I learned a lot, and it was a great experience, a lot of fond memories. So I'm looking forward to it."

How to watch No. 1 UConn vs. No. 16 USC on Saturday

The Trojans will host the Huskies with tip-off set for 5:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the clash will air on FOX.