Florida State stuns Stanford to reclaim soccer crown
The Seminoles upset the tournament's No. 1 overall seed to win their third college championship in the last five years.
Florida State shocks No. 1 Stanford to win 2025 College Cup
The win marked the fifth title in Florida State women’s soccer history. (Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Florida State sits atop the world of NCAA soccer once again, as the No. 3 seed Seminoles upset No. 1 overall seed Stanford on Monday night 1-0 to earn the program’s fifth national championship.
Seminoles sophomore forward Wrianna Hudson broke the deadlock in the 87th minute after a team-wide defensive performance, ending a 17-game Cardinal unbeaten streak in a rematch of the 2023 College Cup final.
"I'm honestly just so grateful. My team worked so hard and I'm so glad we got the [winning] outcome, because we really went through it this game," Hudson said after the match.
Big picture: The 2025 title caps the third championship in the last five years for Florida State, who hasn’t slowed down after legendary head coach Mark Krikorian left the program in 2022.
Suffering their second NCAA championship game loss in three years, Stanford will rue missed chances after setting a tournament record with 21 goals in their first four tournament matches — and outshooting Florida State 18-8 in the title game with nine shots on goal.
The Cardinal now fall to 3-4 in NCAA tournament finals, still looking for their first championship since winning the title in 2019.
Bottom line: The ACC showed its conference dominance this season from beginning to end, with the championship experience of the Seminoles getting the job done.
Manchester United faces stern UWCL test in OL Lyonnes
Goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce will be available after suffering an eye socket fracture in November. (Kate McShane - WSL/WSL Football via Getty Images)
Manchester United has a chance to bounce back from their first UEFA Women’s Champions League defeat in November — a 5-2 rout at the hands of Wolfsburg — as the UWCL league phase continues this week with a series of exciting matchups.
The UWCL debutantes have another difficult opponent waiting for them on Wednesday in the form of eight-time European champions OL Lyonnes, who have yet to suffer a loss in this year’s competition.
Both OL Lyonnes and Manchester United have already guaranteed themselves at least a playoff spot for the 2025/26 UWCL knockout rounds, as top sides like Chelsea and Arsenal chase them in the standings.
Big picture: United will be bolstered by the return of USWNT goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce to European competition, as she continues to recover from a fractured eye socket that kept the 29-year-old out of the final US training camp of the year.
“The Wolfsburg game, we gave away too many simple goals,” manager Marc Skinner said this week. “That’s something we need to fix.”
Manchester United’s fellow WSL clubs also face intriguing matchups during this week’s midweek competition, as Chelsea takes on Roma and Arsenal plays Twente.
Tune in: Matchday five of the UWCL league phase begins today at 12:45 PM ET, live on Paramount+.
Big Ten ties AP Ranking record in new poll
No. 7 Maryland remain undefeated after a furious comeback against Minnesota. (G Fiume/Getty Images)
The Big Ten showed off its women’s basketball depth this week, as a record-tying nine teams made an appearance in the most recent AP Top 25 poll on Monday.
With three teams in the Top 10, the Big Ten has tied its own record for ranked squads set in December 2024, as No. 24 Nebraska joined the list this week after starting the season 9-0.
"I've been honored to be a part of this league for the last 13 seasons, working on year 14, where I've watched the [Big Ten] just get better and better," No. 6 Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said.
Big picture: No Big Ten team had a more dramatic weekend than No. 7 Maryland, who kept their unbeaten streak to start the season alive with a furious comeback to defeat Minnesota 100-99 in double OT on Sunday.
Despite falling behind by nine points in the second overtime period, Maryland executed an 8-0 run in just nine seconds to put the game within reach, before Saylor Poffenbarger hit the game-winner with just 11 seconds remaining.
“Maryland has a standard,” Poffenbarger said after the game. “When you come to Maryland, you know the things that come with it.”
STYLE PROFILE WITH FAMOUS FOOTWEAR |  |
Angel City star Sarah Gorden is holiday shopping like a pro, teaming up with Famous Footwear and JWS to share her picks for the entire family.
In the latest Style Profile, Gorden and her son Caiden get into the holiday spirit by donating some new shoes to FFW's charity partner Soles for Souls, before surprising one lucky ACFC fan with a ton of team swag and a fresh pair of kicks courtesy of Famous Footwear.
Get yours: Shop all the brands and trends for the holidays at a local Famous Footwear store or Famous.com.
Tune in: Catch Style Profile with Sarah Gorden on JWS YouTube.
Canada seeks revenge as Rivalry Series resumes
Canada dropped both results in the first two Rivalry Series matchups in November. (Rebecca Villagracia/Getty Images)
Canada women’s hockey will have revenge on their minds this week, as the 2025 Rivalry Series between the reigning Olympic champions and Team USA resumes on Wednesday.
After dropping two consecutive results against the US by a combined score of 10-2 in November, the series now heads to Canada — with both games this week taking place in Edmonton.
“They had a great start, they have a great team, but so do we,” said Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin. “It’s going to be a battle.”
Big picture: Months away from the 2026 Winter Olympics, both teams are packed with PWHL and college standouts and will be using this week’s games to further their player pool evaluation, in the last international window before rosters are set.
Tune in: Game 3 of the 2025 Rivalry Series drops the puck on Wednesday at 9 PM ET, live on NHL Network.
Top seeds roll through early NCAA volleyball rounds
No. 1 seed Texas swept reigning champions Penn State in the second round. (The University of Texas Athletics/University Images via Getty Images)
The first two rounds of the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament saw a lot of chalk last week, as the four No. 1 seeds of Nebraska, Texas, Pittsburgh and Kentucky all rolled to spots in the Sweet Sixteen.
The Longhorns swept reigning champion No. 8 seed Penn State in the second round, while Kentucky was the only No. 1 seed to drop a single set through the first two matches.
“I think what I liked is the concentration throughout the entire match. There were no letdowns,” said Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott.
Big picture: 15 of the 16 remaining programs are seeded No. 1-4, with the only Cinderella story coming from unseeded Cal Poly.
The Mustangs took down No. 5 seed BYU and No. 4 seed USC on the way to their third round matchup against Kentucky.
What’s next: The 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament continues on Thursday, live on ESPN2.
Quote of the day
“Did you just ice me?”
USWNT legend Alyssa Naeher
receiving a very special gift from retired Angel City defender Ali Riley at this year’s JWS NWSL Championship Party.