Ain’t no mountain high enough.

With Banda down, Orlando hits a skid

Reigning NWSL champs Orlando have taken a turn, skidding to No. 4 in the NWSL standings after losing decorated forward Barbra Banda to a season-ending hip adductor injury last week.

• Banda suffered a “full thickness avulsion of her right adductor longus tendon” after exiting the team’s August 16th matchup against No. 1 Kansas City in the 14th minute, according to Saturday’s release.

• The Zambian international’s absence loomed over Thursday’s loss to No. 10 Angel City, falling to LA 1-0 behind an 86th-minute Alyssa Thompson dagger — and tacking onto a four-game winless streak. [Watch more]

• “Barbra has been instrumental to our success and losing a player of her caliber is heartbreaking for the entire organization,” said Pride sporting director Haley Carter.

Big picture: Banda made an immediate impact after joining Orlando in 2024, scoring 25 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions, including the 2024 NWSL championship game-winner. [Read more]

• The 2024 Shield winning Pride saw another departure over the weekend, as 32-year-old two-time World Cup winner Morgan Gautrat announced she was retiring from NWSL with plans to play out the rest of the 2025 season on loan to WSL2 side Newcastle. [Read more]

Ups and downs: The Pride’s downturn could be temporary, after officially signing Tigres star Lizbeth Ovalle on a record-$1.5 million transfer fee late last week.

Spirit knock Bay FC out of the park

The NWSL lit up the diamond on Saturday, as a record 40,000+ people packed into San Francisco’s Oracle Park to watch No. 2 Washington defeat No. 12 Bay FC 3-2. [Read more]

• “The players deserve it. They’ve worked so hard and this league has come such a long way,” Bay FC coach Albertin Montoya said after the historic loss. “When you get football like that, I think every single person that watched that game can leave and say ‘Hey, I’d do this again,’ because it was entertaining. It was good quality football all around.”

• The 40,091-strong match shattered the prior NWSL record, when 35,038 fans saw Bay beat Chicago inside Wrigley Field in June 2024. [Read more]

Big picture: The victory marked the Spirit’s sixth away win this season, as Washington climbs the table behind midfielder Croix Bethune’s first goal of 2025 — and forward Trinity Rodman’s first start since April.

• “The atmosphere was fantastic,” Spirit manager Adrián González said. “The setup, the fans, and having the opportunity to have an experience like this.”

• Washington now sits 12 points behind league-leaders Kansas City, while just four points separate the Spirit from No. 7 Louisville in the increasingly congested NWSL standings.

Valks hold fast to history

No. 7 Golden State refuses to give away their shot, as the first-year expansion side split their weekend results to maintain positioning above the WNBA postseason cutoff line on a 19-18 overall record.

• The Valkyries are eyeing history with seven games left, vying to become the first-ever expansion team to reach the playoffs in their debut year.

• Golden State guard Veronica Burton is leading the charge, registering 25 points and 13 assists against the already-eliminated Wings on Sunday to further her squad’s postseason dreams. [See highlights]

Big picture: Despite losing players to injury, the Valkyries remain on track for playoff contention, performing just well enough to fend off fellow mid-table strivers like No. 9 Los Angeles and No. 8 Indiana from ascending the WNBA standings.

• “This is nothing new for us,” Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said of her team’s consistency. “What I like about our players is we are always continuing to try to help each other.”

What’s next: The Valkyries have earned a rest, sitting out the week before taking on No. 10 Washington this Saturday at 9:30 PM ET, live on League Pass.

Eala makes tennis history

World No. 75 Alexandra Eala opened her US Open campaign with a bang on Sunday, upsetting world No. 14 Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) to become the first-ever Filipino player win a Grand Slam match in the Open Era.

• “I’m so blessed to be the first to do this, I take so much pride in representing my country,” Eala said after the win. “It makes what I do bigger than myself.”

Big picture: The 20-year-old has played professionally since graduating from Spain’s Rafael Nadal Academy in 2023. [Read more]

• “I don’t have a home tournament, so to be able to have this community here at the US Open, I’m so grateful they made me feel like I’m home,” Eala told reporters after her first-round victory.

• Eala now moves to the US Open’s second round, hitting the court Wednesday against an as-yet-undetermined opponent.

Tune in: US Open coverage continues through September 6th, live on ESPN.

NWSL heat delay causes rift

The NWSL has reportedly threatened to fine the Kansas City Current for delaying their August 16th kick-off against the Orlando Pride due to extreme heat ahead of CBS’s planned afternoon broadcast.

• The Athletic wrote late last week that Kansas City could be fined for “breaking protocols by asking for a heat check after the league decided to go forward with the game.”

• “Internally, we flagged that a 3 PM kickoff in Kansas City in August was probably going to have a problem with the extreme heat issues that we’re seeing this summer,” NWSL PA director Meghann Burke said.

• “While forecasts guide planning, we primarily rely on real-time, on-site weather data to make informed decisions in accordance with our inclement weather policies and protocols,” the NWSL responded in a statement. [Read more]

Context: The league signed a four-year, $240 million US media rights deal in 2023, with the Kansas City vs. Orlando showdown marking the seventh of 11 nationally televised regular-season matches on CBS.

• The delay caused the network to shift game-time coverage to its streaming app while the linear channel returned to regional programming.

• While both teams’ medical and technical staffs cited dangerous playing conditions, the NWSL prioritized broadcast commitments, adding to rising concerns about player safety amid the league’s rapid growth. [Read more]

NCAA volleyball tips off

College volleyball is back on the scene, as top-ranked Nebraska defeated both No. 3 Pitt and No. 6 Stanford to tip off the 2025 regular NCAA season in style.

• The Cornhuskers enter the season as the No. 1 team in the world, with reigning champs Penn State hard on their heels as the Big Ten battles the ACC for conference domination. [See full rankings]

Big picture: The weekend wins mark a hot start for incoming Nebraska head coach and former player Dani Busboom Kelly, currently 2-0 in her pursuit of the Huskers’ first NCAA title since 2017 after longtime coach John Cook stepped away last January. [Read more]

• “Dani’s an awesome coach, and we’ve had so much fun with her, especially in this off-season,” said Nebraska junior Andi Jackson. “It's been just really fun getting to know her as a person and as a coach, and we've done a lot of really, really cool things.”

• “That intro was pretty unbelievable to start off college volleyball. For them to set the stage and set the tone that this sport is big-time was awesome,” Busboom Kelly added.

Number of the day 

30

Dallas star Paige Bueckers snapped her 30-game double-digit scoring streak on Sunday, putting up nine points as the Wings fell to Golden State.