Lil’ Nas Buecks?

NWSL weekend divides playoff contenders

There’s a traffic jam in the middle of the NWSL standings, with this weekend’s slate bound to create some distance among mid-table teams jockeying to break free from the pack.

• Between rising underdogs and top-dog rivalries, expect the league’s sixth matchday to leave it all on the field.

What to watch:

• No. 2 Orlando Pride vs. No. 6 Angel City, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): With both teams coming off last weekend’s demoralizing losses, the 2024 NWSL champs will fight to bounce back against the LA upstarts in Friday’s marquee matchup.

• No. 10 Houston Dash vs. No. 11 Utah Royals, Friday at 8 PM ET (NWSL+): Tied at four points each, a pair of struggling teams sitting just below playoff contention battle for a boost above the cutoff line tonight as the recently sold Royals take a trip to Texas.

• No. 3 Washington Spirit vs. No. 4 Gotham, Saturday at 1 PM ET (CBS): This week’s top-table battle features two injury-struck East Coast rivals getting rowdy at Audi — can Gotham turn things around or will Washington keep persevering?

• No. 9 Bay FC vs. No. 8 Seattle Reign, Saturday at 10 PM ET (ION): Seattle holds a slim tiebreak over Bay FC as both teams hover near the playoff line, with the Reign look to build on last week’s Cascadia Clash victory over Portland.

Bottom line: This weekend may divide the contenders from the pretenders, while the league’s top three continue to hold court over the rest of the field.

East Coast rivals square off

Saturday’s soccer lineup underlines a brewing East Coast rivalry, as Washington hosts Gotham for the first time since knocking the Bats out of the 2024 NWSL semifinals.

• “Just playing against them, you feel that fire,” Washington forward Makenna Morris told JWS this week, with Audi Field anticipating a large crowd this weekend.

Big picture: 2021 NWSL champions Washington and 2023 title winners Gotham know each other well, with both teams picking up NWSL titles in recent years and a number of big-name players migrating between New York and DC.

• Both teams finished 2024 in the top four and continue to lurk near the top of the table this season, cementing the idea that the best rivalries blossom between winning sides.

• “The [team] that poses the most challenge to you, it just makes you want to beat them so bad,” said Spirit midfielder Gabby Carle.

• “You hate to play them because they’re good, but you also love it because it’s so competitive,” echoed Morris.

Bottom line: Familiarity breeds healthy resentment between two of the NWSL’s winningest sides, with this weekend’s matchup providing a little extra incentive to secure all three points.

UK clubs fight for Champions League survival

As the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) wraps up its semifinal round on Sunday, both English teams still in the running find themselves on the brink of elimination from Europe’s most prestigious club competition.

• Chelsea faces a 4-1 deficit against reigning champs Barcelona, with the Blues aiming to close the gap at home this weekend.

• Arsenal will try to overcome a more manageable 2-1 deficit over eight-time winners Lyon, landing in France in an attempt to keep their campaign alive.

Big picture: An English side hasn’t won the UWCL since 2007, when Arsenal took home the WSL’s lone trophy as European champions.

• “Huge respect for their history and what they have been doing and producing in Champions League in Europe,” Arsenal manager Renee Sleger said of Lyon. “I think they’re still a very strong side.”

• “Subconsciously, you always have that thing when you fall short, like last year,” said Lyon midfielder Lindsey Heaps, reflecting back on last season’s title loss to Barcelona. “You lose a game, you lose a tournament – the feeling is there until you’re back in the the games that can fix that feeling.”

Tune in: The UWCL semifinals second leg kicks off on Sunday at 9 AM ET with Chelsea vs. Barcelona before Arsenal faces Lyon at 12 PM ET, live on DAZN.

WNBA ticket prices surge

With tip-off just a month away, tickets to witness the WNBA in action this season are already seeing major pricing boosts in the secondary market.

• According to market analysis firm Victory Live, the league’s average ticket price is already up 43% year-over-year at $179 dollars a ticket.

Big picture: While the Indiana Fever remain huge interest drivers thanks to a revamped roster centered around 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, the Dallas Wings hold the highest average home ticket price after drafting No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers earlier this month.

• Accordingly, the hardest single-game ticket to find is Dallas’s home matchup against Indiana, set to be held inside the 7,000-seat College Park Center in Arlington, Texas.

Kipyegon chases running history

Kenyan middle-distance runner Faith Kipyegon made headlines this week, announcing that she will attempt to become the first women’s track athlete to break a four-minute mile at a one-off race inside Paris’s Stade Charléty on June 26th.

• “I’m a three-time Olympic champion. I’ve achieved world championship titles. I thought, ‘What else? Why not dream outside the box?’” Kipyegon said.

Big picture: Kipyegon teamed up with Nike to launch the Breaking4 campaign, with the runner’s team citing the Stade Charléty as her best shot at achieving sub-four-minute mile thanks to track and weather conditions.

• The 31-year-old set the mile’s current women’s world record of 4:07.64 in 2023, shaving nearly five seconds off the previous record.

• However, should Kipyegon shatter the four-minute ceiling this summer, the feat won’t count as an official world record, as the circumstances fail to meet official standards.

World Sevens reveals first four clubs

Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Ajax, and Benfica are the first four clubs to commit to the inaugural World Sevens Football tournament, set to take place alongside late May’s Champions League final in Portugal.

• The 7v7 competition will span three days, with top club teams around the world vying for a piece of the $5 million prize pool.

Big picture: Interest in small-sided soccer tournaments has grown in recent years, spearheaded in the US by The Soccer Tournament, which features a $1 million prize for the winning team.

• With more participants waiting in the wings, World Sevens is expected to broaden the field to clubs located outside of Europe.

Number of the day 

801

Maryland women’s lacrosse earned their 801st win this week, becoming the winningest team in the sport’s history while also securing the highest all-time winning percentage at 82.7%.