Dee Lab
Aug 13, 2024
NCAA Division I college soccerkicks offon Thursday,and2023 champs FSUare leading the preseason charge.
After this summer’smass exodusfrom the Pac-12, three of the four remaining Power conferences — the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC — all added strong soccer programs to the mix. Each of those three conferences is now set to start the season with sevenranked teams, according to the United Soccer Coaches' Top-25 preseason poll.
ACC, Big Ten dominate college soccer rankings
Highlighted by No. 1 FSU and No. 2 Stanford,the newly restructured ACC is shaping up to be the conference to beat.With the country's top recruiting class plus 10 returning players, including sophom*ore strikerJordynn Dudley, FSU is back atop the preseason rankings for the fourth time in the last six seasons.
Led by No. 4 Penn State, the Big Ten also boasts top contenders — especially after adding UCLA (No. 11) and USC (No. 23) to the fold.
With the addition of Texas at No. 17, the SEC has a solid foundation. However, with no schools ranked higher than No. 14 Georgia, they’ll need some standout non-conference wins to move up the weekly poll.
While the Big 12 has just two squads on the list, both cracked the Top 10, with2023 College Cupsemifinalist BYU coming in at No. 3 and Texas Tech tied for No. 8.
Anson Dorrance departs UNC
NCAA soccer's biggest roster shiftcomes via the UNC coaching staff, with head coach Anson Dorranceannouncing his departurefrom the program just four days before the season's start. After 45 seasons and21 national titles— the most by a head coach in any DI sport — the Tar Heels manager passed the reins to associate head coach Damon Nahas, who will serve in an interim capacity as the school conducts a hiring search.
Dorrance is just the latest in a series ofUNC turnovers, which saw nine 2023 players transfer and 11 turn pro — including top NWSL draft picksAlly Sentnor and Savy King.
How to watch college soccer this season
Four ranked matchups headline Thursday’s DI season opener, with No. 8 Texas Tech vs. No. 4 Penn State and No. 13 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Notre Dame leading the pack. Both games kick off at 7 PM ET with live coverage onBTNandACCNX, respectively.
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Meredith Heil
Aug 16, 2024
On Saturday, the Kansas City Current— who sit second in theNWSL standings— will take on Spanish side Atlético de Madrid inThe Women’s Cup (TWC)championship game atCPKC Stadium.
This year marks the first time Kansas City has hosted or taken part inTWC. The series of mini-tournaments pits clubs from different countries up against each other, while $100,000 in prize money and a ticket to next year’s Global Series finals goes to each tournament's champion.
The Women's Cup is all in on international women's football
Founded in an effort to promote and elevate women’s soccer on a global scale, the annual international club soccer competition has expanded from its 2021 inauguralLouisville tournament. After three years of one four-team, single-location contest, 2024 has seen TWC expand into four editions hosted by different cities around the world. All in all, more than 10 different countries have participated in the tournament since its debut, including five NWSL teams.
In addition to the four tournaments, TWC is also introducing the Global Series this year. The winners of each 2024 tournament will now face off in a Final Four-style showdown set for February 2025.
At this point, two of the four Global Series teams have already booked their spots: Gotham FC beat Racing Louisville to claim the title in March’s inauguralTWC Colombia,and Italy’s Juventus defeated Brazil’s Palmeiras in theTWC Louisvillefinal on Tuesday.
"As a coach and as a staff, we talked about how good this opportunity is for the growth of the game," KC head coachVlatko Andonovskisaid of the tournament. "I think this is great. I mean, how many times can you bring four groups of people from different continents to one place to do the things they love doing?"
Semifinals saw KC, Madrid through to The Women's Cup final
Wednesday’s opening doubleheaderdetermined Saturday's finalists, with Atlético de Madrid narrowly surviving INAC Kobe Leonessa before the Current took down the Mamelodi Sundowns. Atlético de Madrid eked by Japan's INAC Kobe Leonessa 2-1 on penalty kicks after playing to a 1-1 draw.
Afterwards, hosts KC blasted three first-half goals to rocket them over South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns with a 3-0 victory.
Regardless of Saturday's outcome, TWC will cap off what’s shaping up to be a very successful International Summer of Soccer — not to mention ared-hot NWSL season— for the tournament hosts. The championship comes a little over a week after the Current ousted the North Carolina Courage in theNWSL x Liga MX Summer Cupsemifinal, behind goals from international stars Temwa Chawinga and Debinha.
How to watch Kansas City vs. Madrid at The Women's Cup final
After a third place match between INAC Kobe Leonessa and the Mamelodi Sundowns at 6 PM ET, Saturday's final will kick off at 9 PM ET. Tickets are available viaKC’s website with live coverage streaming onVIZIO WatchFree+.
Claire Watkins
Aug 16, 2024
TheWNBA is backand better than everthis weekend, withCBSairing big-name matchups sure to set the tone for the final month of the regular season.
First, Minnesota and Washington will face off on Saturday at 2 PM ET, with theLynxaiming to go two-for-two against the Mystics after securing a tight 79-68 win on Thursday. And in the 4 PM ET game of Saturday's CBS doubleheader,New Yorkand Las Vegas will battle for the second time this season after the Liberty took the first2023 WNBA Finalsrematch back in June.
TV and streaming platforms bet on watching the WNBA
The WNBA has become a fixture ofsummer weekendviewing, with Prime showcasing games on Thursdays, Ion covering Fridays, and a variety of other national channels hosting the league throughout the week.
Plus, afterTeam USAwon Olympic gold in front of as many as10.9 million US viewers, expect the league — and the platforms who host the W — to harness that momentum all the way to the season's finish line.
Thursday night on Prime, for instance, saw Olympic gold medalistsKahleah Copper, Diana Taurasi, and Brittney Griner record a monster 85-65 Mercury win over the Sky, successfully marking Copper's first trip back to Chicago since herpreseason trade.
The Liberty also notched a massive Thursday win on ESPN, blasting the LA Sparks 103-68 as Olympic medalists Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, andDearica Hambyreturned to action.
Wings' roster changes take center court tonight
Tonight, attention will turnto Ionas Seattle takes on Atlanta, Phoenix travels toIndiana, and Connecticut matches up againstDallas.
The Wings currently sit at the bottom of the league standings, but the return ofSatou Saballyand Maddy Siegrist (from injuries that sidelined them prior to the Olympics) will boost their lineup. However, Dallas had to release Odyssey Sims and Monique Billings from their hardship contracts, infusing the free agency market with talent and catching the eyes of teams looking for midseason pick-ups.
Fever vs. Storm game highlights Sunday's WNBA lineup
On Sunday, ABC will showcaseIndianaandSeattlesquaring off inside Indianapolis's newly announced2025 WNBA All-Star Game stadium. While Indiana hopes to solidify their place above the playoff line, Seattle — who won four of their last five pre–Olympic break games — keeps rising toward the top of the WNBA standings.
Meredith Heil
Aug 15, 2024
The Barclays Women’s Super League officially kicksoff its 2024-25 run the weekend of September 20th with six matchups across three days setting the stage for the much-anticipated WSL season.
The WSL is growing in more ways than one, and next year’s league title is very much anyone’s to grab.
Growing attendance spurs Arsenal move to Emirates
After drawing an average of 52,000 fans to each of their six Emirates-hosted games last season — including two complete sell-outs and three WSL attendance records — all 11 of Arsenal’s upcoming home matcheswill be playedat Emirates Stadium. This makes the North London behemoth — home to Arsenal’s men’s Premier League team — the women’s team’s permanent 2024–25 season home.
Of the league’s 12 teams, only Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Leicester City will share gameday facilities with a top flight men’s division. The rest will play the majority of their matches at practice fields or smaller multi-use stadiums.
In addition to field conditions, access to training centers and equipment, and other on-pitch concerns, capacity is a central differentiating factor between men’s and women’s grounds. For example, Chelsea’sprimary home of Kingsmeadow seats just 4,850 fans. Their Premier League counterpart's digs, Stamford Bridge — the 11th largest football stadium in all of England —can accommodate40,343.
Arsenal’s move to Emirateswas motivated in partby this divide, and after finishing the 2023-24 seasonin third place— nearly missing the cutoff for UEFA Champions League eligibility — the club is hoping this momentum will fuel their quest to lift the WSL trophy in 2025.
Offseason moves shake up WSL rosters
Arsenal isn’t the only WSL teamon a mission to top the 2024-25 table, and teams around the league made serious waves in the offseason in a bid for this season's title.
Manchester City, 2024’s second-place club, bid adieu to Esme Morgan and Ellie Roebuck,but the club addeda whole slate of stong footballers, highlighted by star striker Vivianne Miedema. Former West Ham full-back Risa Shimizu and Japan international Ayaka Yamash*ta are also joining a Blues roster that already boasts superstars like Khadija "Bunny" Shaw and Mary Fowler, among others.
As if losing Sam Kerr to an ACL tear last season wasn't enough, 2023-24 champs Chelsea have since seen Fran Kirby depart for Brighton, and defender Jess Carter and goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger flip to the NWSL’s Gotham FC. On the bright side, they snagged England mainstayLucy Bronzefrom Barcelona, and Kerr should return to play this fall.
In Manchester United news, the Red Devils picked up Dutch defender Dominique Janssen but bid farewell to 2023 World Cup Golden Glove winnerMary Earps, who joinedParis Saint-Germain. Meanwhile, former captain Katie Zelem signed with ACFC this week.
Claire Watkins
Aug 15, 2024
With international club matchups filling the calendar before theNWSL regular seasonreturns, US teams are getting the chance to test their talent against squads fromacross the world.
Arguably the biggest names in club play are arriving in Washington, DC, this week, as Arsenal faces theWashington Spiriton August 18th followed byWSL foe Chelseaon August 25th.
Arsenal debuts new players in US friendlies
This isn’t the first time Arsenal competed in a friendly in the US, havingplayed the Seattle Reignto a 1-1 draw back in 2016. That said, the DC-bound group has a very different makeup than past teams.
Arsenal’s largest offseason roster shakeup saw star strikerVivianne Miedemadepart the Gunners for Manchester City, ushering in a new era via key pickupsMariona Caldenteyfrom Barcelona and Dutch goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar.
The changes haven’t stopped there: Just this week, the club announced the signing of Sweden international Rosa Kafaji, while departing Canada internationalCloé Lacassesigned with the Utah Royals.
On Thursday, Arsenal announced their 29-player tour squad, set to land in Washington, DC that afternoon.
Friendlies key to Arsenal's WSL preseason prep
The two friendlies will provide Arsenala chance to prep for the upcoming WSL season while also extending the club’s footprint in the US, whereincreased access to live match coveragehas given way to a large and devoted fanbase.
"We know from our recent trip to Australia that the interest and love for Arsenal Women stretches far and wide," said Arsenal managing director Richard Garlick in astatement. "We want to build on that and bring our US supporters closer to the club."
The Gunners finished the 2023/24 WSL seasonthird in the standings, falling just short of thefinal title racebetween Chelsea and Manchester City. They also nearly missed the cutoff for UEFA Champions League eligibility — all motivating factors to get as much out of their preseason as possible.
Tough NWSL opponents await Arsenal stateside
The London club will get their first US testagainst the Spirit, who are coming out of the NWSL regular season breaksitting thirdin the league table. The Spirit alsoshowed outon the international stage this summer, with Trinity Rodman and Croix Bethune both contributing to the USWNT’s Olympic gold win alongside alternate Hal Hershfelt.
"We always want to create the best conditions for our teams to prepare and perform at their best in pre-season," added Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar. "This gives our players an opportunity to play and train in a new environment, in front of our supporters around the world."
As for Arsenal's second preseason opponent Chelsea, the Blues are dealing with changes of their own, with former Lyon manager Sonia Bompastor taking the reins from Emma Hayes,who moved onto coach the USWNT.
How to watch Arsenal's US tour in Washington, DC
The match kicks off at 2 PM ET on Sunday. Get your tickets to see Arsenal take Audi Field onlineor tune in to the match viaDAZN.
