The summer I sat courtside.

Portland raises the bar

The NWSL’s first-ever Rivalry Weekend went off with a bang, with Portland emerging as the slates’s biggest winner after Sunday’s definitive 4-2 victory over Seattle.

• The result saw the Thorns leapfrog the Reign to claim fifth place in the NWSL standings, while four different goal-scorers hit the back of the net to extend Portland’s home unbeaten streak to 10 matches.

• “Rivalry games are like no other, and to be able to score in front of this crowd was such a great feeling,” said forward Pietra Tordin after registering the Thorns’ fourth and final goal.

Big picture: Portland’s ascent aside, the bulk of the weekend’s tense action featured a heavy dose of draws.

• On Saturday, No. 3 Washington and No. 8 Gotham saw the fireworks fizzle out in a scoreless draw, while a late equalizer from No. 11 Angel City’s Alanna Kennedy secured a 1-1 draw with No. 4 San Diego.

• Friday headliners No. 1 Kansas City and No. 12 Houston were the only other teams to tally three full points, with the Current picking off No. 14 Utah 1-0 while the Dash downed recently coach-less No. 9 North Carolina 2-1.

Bottom line: Call it competitive or call it cagey, but teams across the league have kept scorelines tidy since returning to play in August.

Minnesota nears playoff clinch

No. 1 Minnesota is inching towards the clinch, closing in on a 2025 WNBA postseason berth after weekend victories over No. 10 Washington and No. 2 New York extended their winning streak to five.

• “We didn’t make them feel uncomfortable, and they made us feel really uncomfortable,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said of Minnesota’s locked-in defense fueled by recent addition DiJonai Carrington.

• The top two teams in the WNBA standings will meet twice more in the next nine days, shooting to retain positioning while MVP short-listers Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart eye a return from injury.

Big picture: As Minnesota widens the gap, the weekend’s lineup saw other teams rise and fall with just 12 regular-season games remaining.

• No. 8 Seattle saw a precipitous drop, pulling level with the postseason cutoff line after Sunday’s loss to LA stretched their losing streak to five games.

• No. 6 Las Vegas took advantage of other teams’ shortcomings, climbing the standings behind a four-game winning streak capped by forward A’ja Wilson’s record-setting performance on Sunday.

Up next: No. 7 Golden State will attempt to hang tough against No. 13 Connecticut tonight at 10 PM ET, live on League Pass.

Fever face major injuries

No. 5 Indiana’s injury woes continued over the weekend, with guards Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald both going down with season-ending injuries in Thursday’s loss to No. 4 Phoenix.

• Colson tore her ACL in the first quarter of the matchup, while McDonald broke her foot in the fourth quarter, leaving Indiana with just nine available players for Saturday’s win over Chicago.

Big picture: With star Caitlin Clark still recovering from a groin injury, the Fever’s point guard stock has dwindled — especially as McDonald’s midseason signing was intended to help lighten the load.

• “This is the most resilient team I’ve ever been a part of, and I say that wholeheartedly,” guard Kelsey Mitchell told reporters on Saturday. “We’ve had a lot of mishap happen throughout the course of the season... and we’ve stayed resilient.”

What’s next: Indiana signed veteran guard Odyssey Sims to a hardship contract on Sunday, attempting to patch the leaks with Clark’s recovery timeline still uncertain.

England keeper reveals Euros secret

Fresh off England’s 2025 Euro win, star goalkeeper Hannah Hampton revealed the penalty shootout secret that helped lift the Lionesses over Spain in the tournament final.

• After Hampton spotted Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll’s tactical notes written on her water bottle, she quietly picked it up and tossed it into the crowd.

• “The Spanish keeper had it on her bottle,” Hampton told England’s talkSPORT. “So I thought when she was going in goal, I’ll just pick it up and throw it into the English fans so she can’t have it.”

State secrets: Hampton kept her own notes wrapped around her forearm, a method that ultimately proved useful in saving shots from Spanish stars Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey.

• “I was trying so hard not to burst out laughing [because] I was like ‘Oh, I don’t know where [Coll’s water bottled] has gone,’” Hampton recalled. “But you have got to do something, haven’t you?”

London City targets Arsenal mainstay

As the newly promoted London City Lionesses gear up for their first season in the top-flight WSL, owner Michele Kang has reportedly made an offer to acquire longtime Arsenal forward Beth Mead.

• Mead has played for the Gunners for eight years, leading the team to several trophies including last season’s Champions League title while scoring 78 career goals.

Big picture: Regardless of the outcome, the offer makes a serious statement as the Lionesses ascend the ranks of women’s football behind Kang’s growing empire.

• London City has already picked up players like Swedish legend Kosovare Asllani, Dutch midfielder Daniëlle Van de Donk, and former Manchester United forward Nikita Parris ahead of their 2025/26 campaign.

Spain sacks coach after Euros loss

After falling short of a first-ever Euro title, tournament runners-up Spain have officially fired coach Montse Tomé, replacing her with U-23 manager Sonia Bermudez less than two years after Tomé was appointed.

• Tomé took over in September 2023 following former manager Jorge Vilda’s removal, with both Vilda and then-federation boss Luis Rubiales exiting amid a highly public toxicity scandal.

• The 43-year-old Spanish national led Spain to the 2024 UEFA Nations League title, though the team failed to win both the Olympics and the 2025 Euros under her leadership.

Number of the day 

40

Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga made history on Friday, reaching 30 career NWSL goals in just 40 games played to break Christen Press’s record.