The only opponent you have to beat is yourself.

NWSL upsets reign supreme

The 2025 NWSL season kept rolling over the weekend, flipping the script yet again as the league’s top teams searched for redemption — but came away with losses.

• Despite still sitting at No. 1 in the standings, the KC Current find themselves on a two-game losing streak after falling to No. 7 Seattle 1-0 on Friday behind star Lynn Biyendolo’s first goal in a Reign shirt.

• More upsets followed, with now-No. 6 Washington losing to No. 8 Angel City 4-3, No. 2 Orlando dropping points to No. 5 Portland 1-0, and No. 4 Gotham playing a struggling No. 14 Chicago side to a 0-0 stalemate.

Big picture: As teams compete for a foothold, a couple California clubs continue to carve out their own success stories.

• Now-No. 3 San Diego has rocketed up the NWSL table under new coach Jonas Eidevall, with Sunday’s 2-1 win over No. 10 Bay FC extending the Wave’s three-game winning streak.

• And with their win against a skidding Washington, Angel City managed to curtail a two-game losing streak as USWNT vet Christen Press earned her first assist of the season.

Bottom line: The NWSL is delivering on parity in 2025, swapping the dominance of the few for a week-to-week chaos that challenges every club to stay on their toes.

Indiana sets the tone for 2025

The WNBA tipped off its preseason slate this weekend, with early contenders stealing the spotlight as blowout wins previewed regular-season successes.

• The revamped Indiana Fever walked away as the weekend’s big winner, taking down Washington on Saturday 79-74 before dominating Brazil 108-44 on Sunday in front of a sold-out University of Iowa crowd.

• “I haven’t played in, like, 200 days, so I was a little nervous going in,” Clark said after the game. “The competitive spirit in me — you just want to play really good for these fans.”

• LSU grad Angel Reese and former transfer Hailey Van Lith also shined on the collegiate court, helping Chicago secure a win over Brazil in Baton Rouge on Sunday, with Reese noting, “I’m just happy to be back to see all the fans, even down to the security guards, because I know how much was put into this program.”

Welcome to the league: In another highly anticipated outing, Dallas recruit Paige Bueckers saw her first professional action in Friday’s loss to the Aces.

• “It’s super surreal in terms of the turnaround from where I was two weeks ago to where I am today, but [I’m] just soaking it up and enjoying every moment,” Bueckers told reporters.

Big picture: While the results don’t really matter, coaches and viewers got a chance to evaluate fresh talent during the weekend exhibitions, with teams now facing serious roster cuts ahead of May 16th’s season tip-off.

• Golden State issued the first major drop of the season on Saturday, waiving guard Shyanne Sellers after drafting the Maryland alum No. 17 overall.

Next up: The sneak peeks continue tomorrow, as Minnesota visits Chicago at 7 PM ET, before LA squares off against new California rival Golden State and Phoenix takes on Las Vegas at 10 PM ET, with all games streaming live on League Pass.

PWHL enters the postseason

The 2025 PWHL playoff bracket is set, with Ottawa and Minnesota joining first-place Montréal and Toronto in a postseason slate set to begin on May 7th.

• The reigning champion Minnesota Frost staged a late-season surge to leapfrog the Boston Fleet and claim the fourth and final playoff berth, winning two of their last three games after an up-and-down regular season.

How it works: As first-place finishers, the Montréal Victoire could select their first-round opponent between the third- and fourth-place finishers, opting to open the playoffs against the Ottawa Charge.

• Despite their home-ice advantage Montréal has good reason to avoid Minnesota — the Frost’s final two games saw them conclude the regular season on an 11-1 goal differential.

• “This group is hungry, and we’re excited for the playoffs,” said Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin. “We’re pretty excited to start the playoffs at home, in front of our fans.”

• The second-place Toronto Sceptres then take on the Frost, in a best-of-five semifinal that leads to the Walter Cup championship series.

Tune in: The Sceptres kicks things off against the Frost on Wednesday, May 7th at 7 PM ET, live on the PWHL YouTube Channel.

Up the Lionesses go

English club London City Lionesses earned promotion from the second-tier Women’s Championship to the top-flight Women’s Super League (WSL) this weekend, advancing past Birmingham City with Sunday’s 2-2 draw.

• Originally affiliated with Millwall FC, the Lionesses separated from the men’s side in 2019, and are set to become the only independent club in the WSL when they join next season.

Big picture: London City’s rise is major success story for Washington Spirit and Lyon owner Michele Kang’s multi-team organization Kynisca, reaching the top in just two seasons after Kang purchased the club in 2023.

• “When I first came here a lot of people were concerned for me,” Kang told the BBC. “How can an independent women’s team survive if you don't have the male team that can provide the brand and resources? Here we are. We made it.”

McLaughlin-Levrone makes more history

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone maintained her crown this weekend, completing her second straight 400-meter hurdles sweep at Grand Slam Miami on Saturday.

• The 25-year-old US track star won the the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.07 on Saturday, before also taking the 400-meter flat event in 49.69.

• McLaughlin-Levrone hasn’t lost a 400-meter hurdles final since 2019, taking home the $100,000 purse on Sunday as the first-place finisher.

Big picture: McLaughlin-Levrone has publicly considered running the 100-meter hurdles and flat race at the next Grand Slam event in Philadelphia.

• Were she to enter the 100-meter hurdles, she could find herself competing against Masai Russell — after the sprinter recorded the second-fastest 100-meter hurdles time in history on Friday.

Number of the day 

54.60

US swimmer Gretchen Walsh became the first woman to break 55 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly this weekend, completing Saturday’s Pro Swim Series race in 54.60 seconds and beating her previous world record of 55.09 — set earlier that day.