Latest news with #Reign
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Euro 2025: Sophie Ingle makes Wales squad after injury-hit season to lift hopes
Sophie Ingle missed the whole of the last domestic season after rupturing cruciate ligaments in a pre-season game. Sophie Ingle missed the whole of the last domestic season after rupturing cruciate ligaments in a pre-season game. Photograph: Jayde Chamberlain/SPP/Shutterstock Sophie Ingle has been included in the 23-member Wales squad for Euro 2025 in Switzerland after winning a race against time and recovering from the anterior cruciate ligament rupture sustained last September. That knee injury sidelined the much-decorated 33-year-old midfielder, who will leave Chelsea this summer, for the entire domestic season but her return to fitness represents a significant boost to Welsh hopes of exceeding expectations in their first major tournament. Advertisement Related: Lots of England players helping own families with Euro 2025 travel costs Rhian Wilkinson's squad – 30th in Fifa's rankings – have been placed in a tough initial group alongside the Netherlands, France and England but their capacity to cause an upset is boosted by the presence of their record scorer and cap-holder, Jess Fishlock, alongside Ingle in midfield. Although now 38, Fishlock is still going strong in the United States at Seattle Reign and, as the undoubted star of the team, cannot be underestimated by even the best opponents. She and Ingle will be joined by her Reign teammate Angharad James, the Wales captain, in a formidable-looking midfield. The trio hold 432 international caps. It also helps that Wilkinson, who is half-Welsh, is no tactical slouch. The 43-year-old former 183-cap Canada defender managed Portland Thorns to the NWSL title in the US in 2022 and served as a highly regarded assistant coach with Canada's and England's women. Advertisement Since her arrival in February 2024 Wales have only once lost by more than a goal but scoring freely can remain a problem. The hope is that this can be remedied by the return to full fitness of the prolific Crystal Palace striker Elise Hughes after her second ACL rupture. Olivia Clark (Leicester), Safia (correct) Middleton-Patel (Manchester United), Poppy Soper (unattached), Charlie Estcourt (DC Power), Gemma Evans (Liverpool), Josie Green (Crystal Palace), Hayley Ladd (Everton), Esther Morgan (Sheffield United), Ella Powell (Bristol City), Rhiannon Roberts (unattached), Lily Woodham (Seattle Reign), Jess Fishlock (Seattle Reign), Alice Griffiths (Unattached), Ceri Holland (Liverpool), Sophie Ingle (unattached), Angharad James (Seattle Reign), Lois Joel (Newcastle), Rachel Rowe (Southampton), Kayleigh Barton (unattached), Hannah Cain (Leicester), Elise Hughes (Crystal Palace), Carrie Jones (IFK Norkoping), Ffion Morgan (Bristol City). Wilkinson, flanked by the Leicester goalkeeper Olivia Clark and the unattached former Real Betis defender Rhiannon Roberts, climbed to the top of Yr Wyddfa, previously known as Snowdon, on Thursday morning before naming her Switzerland-bound party from the mountain's summit. Squad announcements can rarely have been so innovative, or camera-friendly. On Sunday the players will fly to Portugal for a week's training on the Algarve before arriving at their base in Lipperswil in north-east Switzerland, between Zurich and St Gallen and close to Lake Constance. With more than 2,000 Wales fans attending the team's matches in Lucerne (against the Netherlands) and St Gallen (against France and England), the tournament's lowest-ranked side are poised to be among the best-supported teams in Switzerland.
CBC
5 days ago
- Sport
- CBC
2025 HoopQueens Summer League : Reign vs Charge
Watch the Reign take on the Charge in exciting basketball action from the 2025 HoopQueens Summer League stop at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport in Toronto.
6 days ago
- Sport
Chawinga's late goal seals Kansas City Current's fifth straight win, 4-2 over Racing Louisville
Temwa Chawinga scored her eighth goal of the season and the Kansas City Current won their fifth straight game, beating Racing Louisville 4-2 in the National Women's Soccer League on Saturday night. Elsewhere in the NWSL, the Chicago Stars were held to a 2-2 tie with the Seattle Reign; and the North Carolina Courage snatched a late 2-1 win against Angel City. The Current (10-2-0) bullied Louisville (5-5-2) early and had a 3-0 lead by the 19th minute. Louisville defender Lauren Millet headed into her own net for the opening goal after just two minutes. Michelle Cooper then finished off a counterattack at the near post in the 15th before Bia Zaneratto got the third from the center of the box in the 19th. Louisville's Janine Sonis scored off a cross from Millet in the 62nd minute to make it 3-1. Uchenna Kanu's header from a corner kick in the 88th then made it 3-2. Chawinga's strike in the fifth minute of stoppage time made it 4-2. She has scored in all five games of the team's win streak. Ludmila scored two first-half goals for the Stars but the Reign came back with a pair of goals in the final minutes for the draw at Chicago's Soldier Field. The Stars (1-8-3) had a 2-0 lead going into the final three minutes of regulation but the Reign (5-4-2) stole a point at the end. Ludmila scored her first in the 11th minute with a solo effort, picking up the ball in her own half and dribbling 60 yards before shooting past Claudia Dickey. She made it 2-0 in the 13th minute, after a long ball over the top of the Reign backline played her through one-on-one with Dickey. Lynn Biyendolo got the first of Seattle's goals in the 87th minute and Jordyn Bugg found the equalizer in the 89th. Nearly 27,000 fans attended the game that was part of a double header with Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire. Brianna Pinto scored just seven minutes after coming off the bench for the North Carolina Courage in a 2-1 win against Angel City. The Courage (4-5-3) had lost all three of their previous visits to BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Cortnee Vine had made it 1-0 in the first minute of the game when she slid the ball into the net from a cross by Manaka Matsukubo. Riley Tiernan scored her seventh goal of the season to bring Angel City (4-5-3) level at 1-1 in the 11th minute, heading in a cross from Gisele Thompson. The winner came from a scramble in the box in the fifth minute of stoppage time. After Angel City defender Miyabi Moriya blocked a shot on the line, Pinto scooped up the ball and fired it in from five yards out.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘A straight shooter:' What Marco Sturm's AHL players say Boston Bruins are getting
Marco Sturm laced up his skates for 1,006 NHL games. He coached Germany to a silver medal at the 2018 Olympics, spent four seasons as an assistant in Los Angeles, and the last three behind the bench for the Ontario Reign. Advertisement There's not much Sturm hasn't seen on a sheet of ice. That been-there-before coolness translates to his coaching. Now in his mid-40s, Sturm still thrives off competition away from the rink, too. 'He kicked all of our asses at Pickleball,' Reign forward Taylor Ward laughed. Players from Sturm's AHL team painted the picture of a smiling coach who is demanding, yet not overbearing. Meticulous in his planning, Sturm knows how he wants to win games and what he needs from his players. His expectations are high, but not unrealistic, because he's personally done it before. That's what they said the Bruins are getting in their next coach. Advertisement 'He's a calm coach,' said Ward, who spent three seasons playing right wing for Sturm in Ontario. 'He's a straight shooter. He'll tell you how it is. He'll tell you what he's thinking. That's really all you want as a player, to know where your coach stands in terms of how the team is doing, how you're doing individually. He'll let you know, good or bad, which you appreciate as a player.' Away from the rink, Sturm is a believer in culture. He wants his team to know and care about one another. He jokes with his players, who enjoy shooting the breeze with him. 'That's a big part of what he does — builds the camaraderie,' said goalie Pheonix Copley, who like Sturm's new goaltender, is an Alaska native. 'Trust yourself' Around Christmas last season, the Reign were white hot. Ontario went on a 9-0-1 stretch and climbed the Pacific Division standings. Advertisement Copley was one of the goalies backstopping that run. Since 2014, the 33-year-old has started games for the Reign, Hershey Bears and Chicago Wolves at the AHL level, and St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, and Los Angeles Kings in the NHL. With that resume, Copley is well-versed in locker room dynamics. He believes it's been easier for the Reign to rip off runs like last December's because of Sturm's presence. 'We went on a lot of really good stretches of hockey,' Copley said. 'On some teams I've been on, when things are going well, it's almost like (coaches) try to do too much or try to change things. He lets the team do its thing. 'You can tell that he's been around and that's why I think he's good at understanding the team and the players, because he's been there. He knows when guys need to be pushed or when he needs to step off the gas and let guys rest. It's his experience that shines through.' Advertisement On the flip side, when things weren't going well, Sturm tried to rebuild his players' confidence. Hockey players — especially young ones — are prone to trying to do too much amidst a skid, and Sturm reminded them to believe in themselves and what they were doing. 'He would be like, 'You've gotta trust yourself, trust each other,'' Copley said. The Reign made the AHL playoffs all three seasons with Sturm at the helm. 'I'm a much, much better player' Some hockey coaches yell as if screaming is its own sport on the bench, but Sturm isn't wired that way. He's not likely to give a rah-rah pump-up speech. That's delegated to his team's leaders, but when Sturm does have a pointed message to deliver, players listen. Advertisement 'Like any good coach, they have to come into the room sometimes and kick you in the ass and wake you up or yell at you sometimes, but not a whole bunch,' Ward said. 'He approaches it a little differently than just yelling and screaming at guys all the time. So when he does come in with some emotion, I think it lands a bit more just because you don't see it a whole bunch from him.' The Bruins were looking for a defensively responsible coach, and Sturm checks that box. Coaching in Los Angeles' system, defense was a priority. During his time in Boston, Sturm was a responsible 200-foot player, and he's tried to mold his own players in the same fashion. 'He takes it very seriously,' Ward said. 'It's a big key to the success we've had the last few years in Ontario. He's very dialed in on the defensive side, which translates into offense. But a big focus for our team the last few years was the defensive side of the puck and playing smart away from the puck. 'I'm a much, much better player after three years with Marco than before I showed up,' said Ward, who earned his first NHL call-up in April. 'That's for sure.' Advertisement Copley raved about the structure Sturm brought to practices without being a helicopter coach. He's knowledgeable, but Sturm also knows what he doesn't know, which is helpful when it comes to goalies. 'He has a really good understanding of his players,' Copley said. 'He has a good feel for how to set up practices. I felt like we were never doing pointless stuff at practice. It feels like he has a good plan. 'From a goalie standpoint, his communication is good. I know what he expects out of me. He trusts his goalies and stays out of our way,' Copley added. 'As a goalie, that's what you want. You want to have your space to work with the goalie coach and work on the things you need to work on without worrying about the head coach being too controlling in that aspect.' 'The best part' The Reign play in Ontario, California — just outside of Los Angeles — not the Canadian province. Advertisement As such, going to the beach is far easier, and Sturm often organized full team trips accordingly. There would be volleyball days and tennis days at the beach, and of course Pickleball day. Ontario went to Top Golf as a team, and amidst all these trips away from the rink, Sturm's message was simple: 'Get tight as a group.' 'He was always big on, 'Make sure we enjoy each other's company and make sure we spend time with each other and get to know each other,'' Copley said. 'Not every team has that. I think having Marco preach that helped forge that, where otherwise it wouldn't have been there.' The Reign had a full team outing before the start of every season and gathered everyone together for a Christmas meal. As a German native who played thousands of miles away from home in the NHL, it's easy to see why Sturm felt that important. 'He just likes to get the guys together, and especially the families,' Ward said. 'He likes to include the families as well. He likes to have the kids around. Guys bring their kids to the rink all the time. He thinks that's a very important part of a team. So I think that was the best part.' Advertisement Now an NHL coach for the first time, Sturm has a lofty challenge ahead. When he steps foot into Boston's dressing room, it may be an unfamiliar role, but it won't be unfamiliar territory. 'He's always got a good attitude,' Copley said. 'When I think about Marco, I just think of him always smiling and bringing good energy to the rink and to the locker room.' More Bruins content Read the original article on MassLive.
Elle
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
Inside One Groom's Surprise ELLE Party Prank for His Bride
After 13 years together, Laysla De Oliveira and Jonathan Keltz wanted to have a wedding that was special and felt like it was just for them. With that in mind, the two eloped and were married at the Santa Barbara courthouse and later had a celebration at the Drift Hotel in Palm Springs on the winter solstice with their close friends and family by their side. As actors, Laysla, who stars on the Taylor Sheridan series Lioness, and Jonathan, who was a cast member on The CW series Reign, spend a lot of their time in front of cameras, so they craved something intimate. They worked with wedding planner Janna Takeyama of Orange Blossom Special Events to craft the perfect vibe. 'We've been together for a long time; we've gone through all the highs and lows of life together,' Jonathan says. '[Getting married] was a moment we really wanted to honor just as just us two, and then have a celebration with everybody else.' Palm Springs was an easy trip for their guests to make, and the couple centered all of their wedding activities around the hotel to maximize the time that everyone could spend together over the course of the weekend. 'We are very energetic people and we do everything we can to try to feed that energy with love and positivity,' Jonathan adds. 'We're just so grateful to everyone who came and matched our spirit.' Read on for the details on the ELLE-themed engagement that Jonathan staged, how they recreated their elopement ceremony months later, and why 'Pink Pony Club' became a dance floor moment they'll never forget. Laysla and Jonathan got engaged just before their 10th anniversary, at a time when her career was taking off and she was frequently attending high-profile events. 'When she was at these events, it awakened this self-love and confidence that I just love so much,' he says. 'I wanted to create that feeling [with the proposal] so that she would love herself and how she looked.' Jonathan and Laysla's manager conspired to convinced Laysla that she was attending a gathering thrown by ELLE at Cielo Farms in Malibu, so she dressed for a professional event and walked into the venue ready for a party. 'I was like, 'Oh my God, there's lots to drink—let's open the wine,'' she recalls. When she looked around, she saw Jonathan, who she thought was out of town. 'I thought, This is out of a romantic novel. This is incredible and couldn't be more perfect.' For their elopement in Santa Barbara, Laysla and Jonathan stayed at El Encanto. They really wanted an experience that was calm and meaningful. 'We just hung out by the pool all day, got massages—it was very romantic,' she says. 'Being in the entertainment industry and always having cameras on you or people watching, we both wanted it just to be us two, an intimate, quiet, still romantic moment that didn't feel performative.' Their friends Jonathan, a photographer, and Carla were their only witnesses. Jonathan took photos and Carla officiated. Rather than having a video recording, they took still photos and recorded the audio of the ceremony. Before their elopement plans were solidified, Laysla bought an Alice + Olivia suit and white Prada pumps that she loved. 'I just wanted a very classic, almost Princess Diana-esque look,' she says. 'It sat in my closet for two years. When we were ready to elope, I was like, 'I have the outfit. This is exactly what I want.'' The couple loves to match, so Jonathan got a white tuxedo from Zara that he wore with green Kurt Geiger shoes and vintage Louis Vuitton cufflinks that he had received as a gift. Laysla's look for the wedding party, which took place two months later, came together a bit more quickly. A week before, when she still hadn't found a dress, a friend suggested she look at Alex Perry's line. She found something that was exclusive to Net-a-Porter and had it delivered overnight. It fit perfectly. When it came time to dance, she changed into an Alex Perry minidress that she wore with gloves and a fur coat from The Frankie Shop. For a family party the night before the wedding, Laysla and Jonathan both wore purple as an ode to Victoria and David Beckham who had been married. (Laysla had recently gotten a Victoria-style haircut for work.) They dressed up like the couple for the first Halloween that they spent together. Laysla and Jonathan's guests all stayed at the same hotel so they could spend as much time together as possible. The bride invited her friends to join her in the bridal suite as she got dressed for the wedding. Meanwhile, Jonathan and some of his friends indulged in some tequila before doing the first look, which was followed by photographs. 'While we were doing the family portraits, people were getting ready for the party, so most people stepped out into their balconies and started clapping and cheering,' she says. ' It was like we were getting ready to celebrate together. It was very, very romantic and magical.' Instead of a traditional ceremony, Laysla and Jonathan recreated their elopement by playing the audio for their guests, accompanied by photos. 'We were in the audience with everyone,' Laysla says. 'It was really beautiful to see and experience people's emotions in real time.' Their wedding planner also had the images projected on the side of the hotel. Jonathan adds: 'We got to have this beautiful private moment and still celebrate it with the people we love.' 'I didn't go more than 10 minutes without bawling my eyes out,' Laysla confesses. The couple danced for what felt hours and hours, side by side with their guests. ''Pink Pony Club' ended up being the defining moment on the dance floor, which caught us by surprise. We both liked the song, but that was the moment we fell in love with the song,' Jonathan explains. 'Everybody was just screaming at the top of their lungs suddenly,' Laysla remembers. Adrienne Gaffney is a features editor at ELLE and previously worked at WSJ Magazine and Vanity Fair.
