The Nebraska soccer team concluded its West Coast trip Sunday afternoon with a clash against Portland.
The Nebraska soccer team concluded its West Coast trip Sunday afternoon with a clash against Portland. Despite outshooting the Pilots twice over, the Huskers failed to put one in. Portland took advantage of this, resulting in Nebraska’s 1-0 defeat.
The Pilots got on the board with over six minutes left in the match after being awarded a penalty kick. The penalty kick was only one of six shots Portland delivered on the afternoon, with four being on goal.
The Huskers meanwhile finished with 14 shots in the loss but only five on goal. Sarah Weber and Ella Guyott led Nebraska in shooting, pitching in three shots, with two on goal.
But with no shots breaking the line, the Huskers stayed in a heavy defensive bout with the Pilots. Cece Villa finished with three saves on the afternoon up until the penalty kick.
Nebraska now falls to 3-3 on the season and will remain on the road. The Huskers head east to face conference rival Iowa on Thursday night. The match is set for 7:00 p.m. CT on B1G+.
The Lady Vols led, 1-0, after Macaira Midgley scored in the third minute of the match. Kate Runyon and Reese Mattern were credited with an assist on the game’s first goal.
Tennessee extended its lead to, 2-0, after Sammi Woods recorded an unassisted goal in the 64th minute.
Lady Vols’ goalkeeper Ally Zazzara recorded a shutout and made two saves in the match.
Tennessee outshot the Owls, 16-5, The Lady Vols had five scoring chances land on goal. Florida Atlantic had two shots on goal in the match. The Owls earned three corner kicks, while Tennessee totaled two.
Tennessee soccer ties UCLA to extend unbeaten streak.
Tennessee (3-1-2) and No. 7 UCLA (5-1-1) played to a, 0-0, draw Thursday at Regal Soccer Stadium.
Tennessee’s tie against the Bruins extended the Lady Vols’ unbeaten streak to four games. Tennessee has also shut out four consecutive opponents. The Lady Vols’ match Sunday at Duke was canceled due to inclement weather.
Thursday’s match also marked the first time the Lady Vols have shut out a top 10 opponent since 2021.
The Bruins outshot Tennessee, 16-7, while the Lady Vols recorded six shots land on goal. UCLA totaled five of its scoring opportunities land on target.
The Bruins outshot Tennessee, 11-4, in the second half and had five corner kicks in the match. The Lady Vols finished the game with nine corner kicks.
Tennessee goalkeeper Ally Zazzara recorded five saves in the match.
USWNT star Alex Morgan is hanging up her cleats — but not before one last game.
Soccer star Alex Morgan is officially hanging up her cleats and calling it a career — and a stellar one at that — but not before playing one more game when her San Diego Wave FC takes on the North Carolina Courage on Sunday.
In an emotional video posted on her social channels, the two-time World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist said she had a feeling “in my heart and soul” at the beginning of the year that this would be her last season. And she seems at peace with it.
“I have so much clarity about this decision, and I am so happy to be able to finally tell you,” Morgan says in the video. “It has been a long time coming, and this decision wasn’t easy.”
But she also noted that this was not the retirement video and announcement she expected to make, sharing that her daughter, Charlie, is going to be a big sister because Morgan is pregnant.
“As unexpected as this came, we are so overjoyed,” Morgan said. “To me, family means everything.”
After making her debut with the U.S. Women’s National Team in 2010, Morgan is now No. 5 in USWNT history with 123 goals in 224 games. The 35-year-old player, however, was not part of the team’s2024 Paris Olympics roster.
More from Morgan’s tearful retirement video:
“Soccer has been a part of me for 30 years and it was one of the first things that I ever loved. And I gave everything to this sport. And what I got in return was more than I could have ever dreamed of. Success for me is defined by never giving up and giving your all.
“And I did just that: I’m giving my all every single day on the field. And I did that — giving my all in the relentless push for global investment in women’s sports because we deserve that; giving my all in my various businesses beyond the soccer fields; and giving my all as a mom to my daughter, Charlie.
“Charlie came up to me the other day and said that when she grows up, she wants to be a soccer player. And it just made me immensely proud, not because I wish for her to become a soccer player when she grows up, but because a pathway exists that even a 4-year-old can see now. We’re changing lives, and the impact we have on the next generation is irreversible. And I’m proud in the hand I had in making that happen, in pushing the game forward and leaving it in a place that I’m so happy and proud of.”
The alternate jersey is part of Nebraska’s blackout theme for its match against the Omaha Mavericks on Thursday night.
The Nebraska soccer team unveiled a new uniform for its upcoming week of action. The Huskers revealed on X their new alternate black jerseys, which they plan to wear for their match against Omaha on Thursday.
The alternate jersey is part of Nebraska’s blackout theme for its match against the Mavericks. It also has red stripes on the sleeves and red streaks down the sides, while the word NEBRASKA sits on the chest to accompany the black shirt. The goalies also received alternate uniforms, a light blue striped jersey.
Nebraska welcomes Omaha and Creighton to Lincoln this week. The Huskers face the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon, and the theme is red out, likely indicating that Nebraska will be donning its red jersey for the match.
The kickoff for Thursday’s match is set for 7:05 p.m., while Sunday’s match is slated for 1:05 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on B1G+.
Tennessee soccer records third win of the season after defeating Lipscomb on Sunday.
Tennessee (3-1) defeated Lipscomb (1-1-1) on Sunday at Regal Soccer Stadium.
Ally Brown and Kate Runyon scored goals in the Lady Vols’ shutout win. Tennessee led, 1-0, after an own goal by Lipscomb in the sixth minute.
Runyon scored in the 27th minute and Luciana Latino was credited with an assist. Brown’s goal took place in the 51st minute and was assisted by Sarah Bridenstine.
11 of Tennessee’s 21 shots were on goal, while Lipscomb recorded six shots (two on goal) in the in-state match.
Goalkeepers Ally Zazzara and Cayden Norris recorded one save each for Tennessee.
Tennessee will next play Duke on Sept. 1. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. EDT in Durham, North Carolina.
“They should have made them more sturdy, and honestly, I can’t be faulted for that.”
Olympian Lynn Williams actually broke the gold medal she won with the USWNT during the Paris Olympics, and the story of how it happened is hysterical.
Imagine going out to celebrate you being a total boss at the Olympics, and you break the thing that shows you were a total boss during the Olympics. I’d be so upset. I’m talking, “Nobody speak to me. I need a moment to dramatically cry,” upset. But not Lynn Williams.
She turned what would surely be a traumatic event for most people into an epic story. The soccer star recently turned to TikTok to share how she now has “the world’s most expensive” coaster, and the details did not disappoint. Here’s what Lynn said about her gold medal:
“Obviously, you guys all saw me swinging the thing around…ironically that’s not how it broke…we were dancing…I had it on my shoulder like a little purse, and I was just jumping — dancing, jumping — and I jumped down, and it just fell off.”
“So, everybody was dancing, and I was roaming around, trying to get my medal off the ground. It has a dent now. So, it’s definitely one-of-a-kind, and the little bar [inside the medal] is gone.”
“So, I don’t know what happened. The bar got loose, and it fell out. Probably, swinging it around didn’t help, but I just think they should have made these better. They should have made them more sturdy, and honestly, I can’t be faulted for that.”
Freshman Reese Mattern scores first goal at Tennessee in the Lady Vols’ win at East Tennessee State.
Tennessee (2-1) defeated East Tennessee State (1-2), 1-0, on Thursday at Summers-Taylor Stadium in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Tennessee scored in the 64th minute on a goal by Reese Mattern. Macaira Midgley and Sammi Woods were each credited with an assist.
Tennessee outshot East Tennessee State, 14-4, in the match. The Lady Vols had five scoring chances land on goal, while Tennessee goalkeeper Ally Zarzzara recorded her second shutout of the season, while not having to record a save.
Thursday’s match marked the first time Tennessee held an opponent to zero shots on goal since accomplishing the feat against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 10, 2023.
The Lady Vols now lead the all time series against East Tennessee State, 9-0.
Tennessee will next play Sunday against Lipscomb at Regal Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. EDT.
Typically, in professional sports, when there’s a collective bargaining negotiation between a player’s association and the league the players are part of, there’s a bunch of haggling done through the media.
Usually, the players come to the league with demands that give them more agency over their career choices. Sometimes, the leagues concede a bit. But it’s never always everything. Sometimes, they end up being a lot more restrictive, like the NBA’s most recent CBA. Other times, players will get concessions, but eventually, they just don’t feel like enough, like with the WNBA.
But with the new CBA announced by the NWSL on Thursday, it feels like the players got everything.
On Thursday morning, the league and the player’s association announced their new collective bargaining agreement, which has to be considered one of — if not the most — pro-labor CBAs in professional sports.
Not only did it eliminate the NWSL draft and allow rookies to start their careers with free agency, but it also gave them complete control of their careers on the backend.
Let’s dive into the details and talk about how we got here.
Pound for pound, this has to be one of the best labor deals any players’ association has been able to negotiate. This is going to transform the NWSL completely.
Here are some other notable concessions players won:
Every contract in the league is now fully negotiated and the minimum salary will nearly double from $48,500 next year to $82,5000 in 2030 when this new deal expires.
The league also doesn’t have a maximum salary anymore, meaning there’s no limit on what a player can negotiate on an individual contract.
Now, every player effectively has a no-trade clause. The players involved in a potential deal must consent before the league approves trades.
End-of-season compensation bonuses in the league are doubling.
The league’s salary cap will be buoyed by a pool of cash from revenue sharing with the league, which comes from media and advertising deals.
Parental leave and childcare benefits for the players are also expanding.
That’s a long list of things — many of which players in other leagues can only dream of at this point.
Wow. Why was the league willing to offer so much here?
The league reportedly needed to make this move to keep the talent around.
Players in the NWSL were being scooped up by clubs overseas who could afford to play more and played in leagues where there was more movement.
Plus, on top of that, women’s American soccer just hadn’t been the dominant force that we were used to it being. Here’s more from Vanity Fair’s Tom Kludt:
“New powerhouses had emerged––chief among them Spain, which won last year’s World Cup, and England, winner of the 2022 Euros. Both of these countries had become hubs of the sport, boasting domestic leagues that produce and attract some of the best women’s soccer players in the world.
None of this was lost on leaders of the National Women’s Soccer League, the organization in which most members of the US women’s national team ply their trade. In August of last year, the league invited the NWSL Players Association, the labor union representing its players, to enter negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. The two sides had already agreed to a contract the year prior that wasn’t set to expire until 2026, but the outcome of the World Cup hastened the desire for a new one.”
By giving players all these concessions along with more money and agency over their own careers, the league hopes it can retain some of the best talents in the world.
Basically, it dropped its American soccer approach and decided to compete on a global scale.
Wow. So, what is the downside of this?
Well, honestly, there’s not much of one. All of those concessions are substantial for the players. It’s pretty much everything they could’ve wanted.
The only downside to this might be the timing of it all.
The league actually approached the players early to get this done. The league’s previous contract wasn’t set to expire for another few years, but owners wanted to get ahead of it for one reason: TV money.
“Sources told ESPN that the impetus for opening negotiations early, in addition to long-term labor peace, was the fact that the league wanted a CBA expiration date that took place after the end of the current broadcast rights deal, which will occur at the end of the 2027 season.”
This new CBA will expire in 2030, well after the league negotiates its next broadcast deal.
Why does the NWSL’s next TV deal matter?
AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELEJOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images
Because the league is about to rake in the cash, folks.
The value of the NWSL has skyrocketed. The league currently has 14 teams but plans to expand to 16 over the next few years, with ownership groups already putting in bids.
Considering everything happening in the league right now, it’s a safe bet that the next deal in 2027 will be a lot bigger.
And that’s a bad thing for the players?
No, it’s not a bad thing. There’s nothing bad about this deal — again, they got all the concessions they could want.
But, considering that the deal was negotiated before the next big influx of cash comes into the league, the players will have to wait a little longer to take advantage of that. You always want to negotiate with the most money and leverage possible on the table.
Regardless, this is an excellent deal for the NWSL’s players and, pound for pound, the most player-friendly CBA in pro sports.
It’s awesome to see this happen. I can’t wait to watch how this shifts things, not only in the NWSL but also in professional sports overall.
