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USWNT roster strikes a balance

Another USWNT roster has arrived, with head coach Emma Hayes tapping 24 players for next week’s training camp in preparation for a pair of early-summer friendlies against China PR and Jamaica.

• The lineup showcases Hayes’s interest in developing young standouts while also highlighting returning regulars — plus one unexpected fan favorite.

Big picture: USWNT staples Crystal Dunn (PSG), Emily Sonnett (Gotham), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes), and Lynn Biyendolo (Seattle) are back, balancing out less experienced players like forwards Michelle Cooper (Kansas City) and Emma Sears (Louisville), midfielder Claire Hutton (Kansas City), and first-time defender Kerry Abello (Orlando).

• One uncapped invitee doesn’t exactly fit the youth movement mold, with Kansas City celly queen Lo'eau LaBonta earning her first national team nod.

• “She’s being consistent in everything that she has done,” Hayes said of LaBonta this morning. “And with the volume of young players or less experienced players we’re bringing in, I think we have to get that balance right.”

Making the cut: Angel City sister duo Alyssa and Gisele Thompson also made the cut, with Gisele shifting from defender to forward ahead of her fourth senior team camp.

• European club players returned to the spotlight, with Ajax’s Lily Yohannes, Chelsea’s Naomi Girma and Catarina Macario, Arsenal’s Emily Fox, and Manchester United’s Phallon Tullis-Joyce heading to camp alongside Dunn (PSG) and Heaps (OL Lyonnes).

• Hayes noted that previous call-ups Jaedyn Shaw (North Carolina), Mia Fishel (Chelsea), and Korbin Albert (PSG) will play for the USWNT U-23 squad.

Keeper competition: Tullis-Joyce, Utah’s Mandy McGlynn, and Seattle’s uncapped Claudia Dickey will feature in goal, as the search for retired USWNT legend Alyssa Naeher’s replacement continues.

• “The data don’t lie — Claudia Dickey’s probably the best performing goalkeeper in the NWSL this season,” Hayes said of the USWNT newcomer.

• Houston’s Jane Campbell was left off, despite her 10 caps and six clean sheets for the USWNT.

Takeaway: Today’s drop marks one of Hayes’s more diverse lineups, with this window’s friendly opponents allowing her the freedom to test out new configurations.

• Expect the next roster to be a bit less experimental, as late June’s three-match slate the stakes with friendlies against Ireland and Canada.

Bueckers balls out against Seattle

Dallas rookie Paige Bueckers took charge on Monday, with the 2025 WNBA Draft’s No. 1 overall pick proving her worth in the Wings’ 79-71 loss to Seattle.

• The only Wing to log more than 29 minutes in last night’s home-opener, Bueckers spent 37 minutes on the court, tallying a team-leading 19 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and two steals in just her second pro game.

• She also joined Mystics newcomer Sonia Citron as the only 2025 rookies to score more than 18 points in a single game so far this season.

Across the arena: On the flip side, 2025’s No. 2 pick Dominique Malonga did not feature in the Storm’s starting lineup, finishing her night with just one minute of playing time.

• The 19-year-old French phenom made the most of her brief appearance with a speedy two points, despite Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn taking a conservative approach to integrating the WNBA’s youngest player into the league.

Big picture: While rookies make headlines, veterans still run the WNBA, with Quinn relying heavily on her experienced starting core to notch Seattle’s first victory of 2025.

• 2016 MVP Nneka Ogwumike led the Storm with a 23-point, 18-rebound performance — her 110th career double-double — while Skylar Diggins (21 points, nine assists) and Gabby Williams (17 points, five assists, five rebounds) followed closely behind.

• “I love how our vets showed up and willed us through possessions,” Quinn said after the win. “I think that there’s a lot to build and grow from this game.”

Next up: The action continues tonight 7 PM ET, as the Dream takes on the Fever while the Aces visit the Sun live on WNBA League Pass.

Puck drops on PWHL Finals

For the second straight year, the PWHL Finals have come down to the underdogs, with the No. 3 seed Ottawa Charge and the No. 4 seed Minnesota Frost kicking off the best-of-five 2025 Walter Cup championship series tonight.

• Minnesota punched their ticket with a 3-1 series victory over No. 2 seed Toronto last week, before Ottawa ousted top-seeded Montréal by the same margin.

• While the Frost gear up to defend their 2024 title this week, first-time playoff team Ottawa will aim to make even more history by securing Canada’s first-ever PWHL trophy.

The matchup: The series pits Minnesota’s prolific goal-scoring against an Ottawa side known for their shutdown defense.

• Led by rookie goaltender and 2025 Goaltender of the Year finalist Gwyneth Philips, the Charge allowed just six pucks into the back of the net through four semifinal games.

• Philips’s save percentage and low 1.14 goals-against average will be put to the test by postseason points-leader Taylor Heise, backed by a Frost offense that’s tallied 18 playoff goals.

Tune in: The puck drops on the 2025 PWHL Finals tonight at 7 PM ET, streaming live on YouTube.

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Ballon d’Or shifts gears

Global soccer’s biggest awards ceremony is making changes, UEFA announced Monday, as the Ballon d’Or adds three new women’s categories and shifts dates to better accommodate the FIFA women’s calendar.

• Traditionally held in late October, the Paris event has been criticized for scheduling around the men’s calendar while conflicting with the women’s, leading owners UEFA and France Football magazine to move the 69th edition to September 22nd, 2025.

• “It’d be like running an Oscars or a Golden Globes, without having any females present,” USWNT coach Emma Hayes said of the event last year. “It just wouldn’t happen. And I think that all too often it’s an afterthought.”

Leveling the field: The women’s ballot will also expand to include Best Young Player, Best Goalkeeper, and Top Scorer for Club or Country — categories previously limited to the men’s side.

• The Ballon d’Or began honoring women’s soccer athletes in 2018, with a combined four of the six total Best Player awards going to Spanish nationals Alexia Putellas (2021, 2022) and Aitana Bonmatí (2023, 2024).

Lyon gets a makeover

France’s Olympique Lyonnais is now OL Lyonnes, with owner Michele Kang announcing the 21-year-old club’s rebrand on Monday.

• In an effort to further distance themselves from the men’s team, the now-independent eight-time UWCL winners drew on the word “lionne,” French for lioness, while updating their crest to feature a gold-crowned, blue- and yellow-maned red lioness mid-roar.

• "This is not about just a name change and some graphic changes," said Kang. "This is about giving the most successful women's team in the world its own platform, its own identity. We’re not a subset of the men's team. We are a standalone force."

New digs: OL Lyonnes is also upgrading its facilities, with next season’s matches shifting to the 59,186-seat Groupama Stadium while Kang — who also owns the NWSL’s Washington Spirit and newly promoted WSL side London City — finances a new dedicated OL Lyonnes performance center.

Number of the day 

32

Should she take the field against China PR on May 31st, 32-year-old USWNT call-up Lo'eau LaBonta will become the oldest US national team debutante on record.