Phenoms

Heading into this week, UCLA held the No. 3 ranking in NCAA Division I Women's Soccer but faced a daunting East Coast trip to play No. 2 Duke on Thursday and No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday afternoon. Well, get ready for a new No. 1 across the land because UCLA won both of them.

On Thursday, it was junior forward Reilyn Turner who earned a penalty for UCLA's first and then scored the all-important second in her team's 2-1 victory at the Blue Devils.

The last time we checked in on Brazilian prodigy Kauan Basile, it was Jan. 27, 2021, and the eight-year-old Santos futsal baller had just signed a three-year deal with Nike, making him the sportswear giant's youngest-ever affiliated athlete.

"I like to play football," Kauan Basile said at the time.

During a distinguished playing career with Boca Juniors that included five Primera División titles and three Copa Libertadores triumphs, Argentine legend Juan Román Riquelme made a habit of destroying rival River Plate.

He loved nothing more than snatching the souls of lost Millonarios. 

24/05/00

The Greatest Nutmeg Ever

By Juan Román Riquelme on Mario Yepespic.twitter.com/hs1T4bWuE2

Barcelona got its first win of the season with a hard-fought 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad at the Anoeta on Sunday night in a match that largely swung in the visitor's favor following the introduction of Ansu Fati in the 64th minute.

With Sergio Busquets suspended following his red card in Barça's opening draw with Rayo Vallecano, Xavi handed a start to Frenkie de Jong in midfield and introduced Álex Balde and Ferran Torres on the left-hand side.

The Major Leeds Soccer (MLS) experiment stunned the football community Sunday by recording its first win over Chelsea in almost 20 years, a 3-0 clinic at Elland Road, with USMNT attacker Brenden Aaronson scoring his first goal for the club and compatriot Tyler Adams putting Mason Mount in his back pocket for 77 minutes. 

A blood and thunder start to the match was followed by a period of Chelsea superiority where it looked like the Blues would ultimately punish Leeds' wild ways, but Jesse Marsch's team seems to gather its strength from periods of distress.   

Multiples sources have now confirmed that the Riqui Puig LA Galaxy contract has been agreed to, with the 23-year-old joining from Barcelona on a free transfer despite still having one year left on his contract at the Camp Nou.

Barça manager Xavi told Puig back in May that he wasn't part of the club's midfield plans for the new campaign, and after being left off the team's preseason tour of the United States, the "next Iniesta" has signed a three-year deal ahead of the MLS transfer window closing Thursday.

The annual United Soccer Coaches preseason polls were released Tuesday with the defending champions taking the top spots in both the NCAA Division I men's and women's rankings.