Storm blows past Aces | Wave FC makes a splash | Arsenal dethrones Barcelona

Champion of Europe, pride of South Dublin.

Seattle makes a statement

Something’s brewing in Seattle, with the Storm racking up an unexpected 20-point blowout victory over the 2023 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces on Sunday.

• “The effort wasn’t there, the discipline wasn’t there,” Aces head coach Becky Hammon said after the 102-82 loss. “We’re breaking our own rules.”

• Led by Nneka Ogwumike’s 23 points, five Storm players scored in the double digits, including eight points in 12 minutes from 2025 No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga.

Big picture: Seattle’s win put a damper on recently departed guard Jewell Loyd’s homecoming, as the Las Vegas newcomer returned to Climate Pledge Arena for the first time after requesting an offseason trade.

• “Honestly, I wanted to win for Jewell and everyone else that came out and supported us, but it’s a part of the game,” 2024 MVP A’ja Wilson said of Loyd, who spent 10 seasons with the Storm before joining the Aces.

• Seattle now has the league’s fourth-best record at 3-1, while 2-2 Las Vegas is off to their slowest start since 2021.

Winners stay winning: However, 2024 finalists Minnesota and New York continue to set the standard, with the Lynx and the Liberty representing the WNBA’s last remaining undefeated teams.

• New York kept the Fever at bay 90-88 on Saturday, with recent addition Natasha Cloud earning a game-sealing block on Caitlin Clark — before Indiana announced that Clark will spend the next two weeks sidelined with a quad strain.

Takeaway: Every game shifts the landscape this early in the season, with the tides rising and falling as perennial contenders reckon with major offseason moves.

Tune in: The action continues tonight, with the Liberty tipping off against the Valkyries at 7 PM ET before the Storm battles the Lynx at 8 PM ET, both live on WNBA League Pass.

San Diego extends the streak

The second-place Wave sustained an unlikely grip on the NWSL standings this weekend, keeping their six-game unbeaten streak alive with Sunday’s 5-2 win over North Carolina.

• San Diego now trails only No. 1 Kansas City in the league’s early Shield race, holding off reigning champs Orlando by one point despite Pride star Barbra Banda’s historic hat trick against Utah on Friday.

Big picture: The Wave led the charge in a weekend goal-fest that saw 27 balls hit the back of the net over six games, as the season’s attacking outpouring continues.

• Louisville, Kansas City, and Orlando each tallied three goals in their wins, while Utah, Chicago, and Seattle were the only teams to finish with just a single scoreboard contribution.

• Now-No. 8 Louisville’s 3-2 win over No. 7 Angel City boosted them above the playoff line, while a skidding No. 9 Gotham slipped below postseason contention.

Bottom line: While stacking goals undoubtedly ups the excitement, there’s a lot of season left to go — and teams will likely need more than hot feet to sustain their lead. 

Arsenal dethrones Barça in UWCL final

Arsenal are European champions once again, with the Gunners silencing 2024 champs Barcelona 1-0 on Saturday in a Champions League final upset for the ages.

• Second-half sub Stina Blackstenius notched the match’s lone goal in the 74th minute, as Arsenal’s stout defense clashed with an uncharacteristically flimsy Barcelona attack to secure the WSL side’s first UWCL trophy in 18 years.

Big picture: Arsenal remains the only English club to ever hoist the Champions League trophy — and are now the first team other than Barcelona or the newly rebranded OL Lyonnes to win the tournament since 2015.

• “My dreams came true,” vice captain Leah Williamson, who joined Arsenal at the age of eight, told ESPN during Monday’s celebration at Emirates Stadium. “I think it sunk in when I turned around and saw on the stadium, the honoring of the previous team that did it [in 2007], and then computing in my head that that’s what we did.”

The Soccer Tournament (TST) — the annual 7×7 competition with a $1 million winner-take-all prize — is taking the pitch once again this summer, with RBC Wealth Management joining as the presenting sponsor of the women's event.

TST kicks off on June 5th, 2025 in Cary, North Carolina.

SEC packs the WCWS field

The 2025 Women’s College World Series will be fueled by SEC firepower, as No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 6 Texas, and unseeded Ole Miss all advanced out of this weekend’s Super Regionals to book a trip to Oklahoma City.

• Big Ten newcomers No. 9 UCLA and No. 16 Oregon plus the Big 12’s No. 12 Texas Tech round out the WCWS lineup, with SEC programs representing more than half of this year’s bracket.

• The remaining eight teams now enter a double-elimination tournament, with the top two teams then battling it out in the best-of-three championship series.

Big picture: Despite coming into the postseason as the No. 2 seed, the Sooners are still the team to beat as they continue to hunt their fifth straight NCAA softball title.

• In contrast, both Texas Tech and Ole Miss will be making their World Series debuts, with the Red Raiders flying high behind ace pitcher Nijaree Canady.

Tune in: The 2025 WCWS kicks off at 12 PM ET on Thursday, with Florida taking on Texas live on ESPN.

Gotham crowned Concacaf champs

Gotham raised their own continental trophy on Saturday, with the NWSL side toppling Liga MX’s UANL Tigres 1-0 to claim the first-ever Concacaf W Champions Cup crown.

• Powered by a goal from star striker Esther Gonzalez, the win punched Gotham’s ticket to two additional global tournaments: the inaugural FIFA Champions Cup in 2026 and the FIFA Women's Club World Cup’s 2028 debut.

• “The other day, we talked about the first-ever champions of competitions like the UEFA Champions League, the Euros, the World Cup, and the Olympics,” said Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amoros. “Now forever the first team to win the Concacaf W Champions Cup will be Gotham FC.”

Up next: Hardware in tow, the Bats will have some ground to make up post-international break, plummeting to 9th place in the NWSL standings after this weekend’s league absence.

Minnesota runs it back

The Minnesota Frost lifted the Walter Cup for the second time on Monday, taking down the Ottawa Charge 2-1 to becoming back-to-back PWHL champions.

• All four of this week’s finals matchups went to overtime, with Frost forward Liz Schepers scoring yesterday’s game-winner 12 minutes into the extra period.

Big picture: Squeaking into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season, No. 4 seed Minnesota got hot at just the right time to retain their singular hold on the second-year league’s title.

• “It’s the belief we have in the room,” captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said after the win. “It’s hard to put into words. I think when you look at the way we won, it takes everybody.”

Quote of the day

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka
on what she thinks will make her stronger after exiting this year’s French Open with a first-round loss on Monday.