Sports
Paige Bueckers, Wings top Caitlin Clark, Fever in season opener
May 9, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) shoots the ball while Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Arike Ogunbowale scored 22 points, Paige Bueckers and Odyssey Sims tallied 20 apiece and the Dallas Wings opened the new season with a 107-104 win over the Indiana Fever on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Jessica Shepard racked up 13 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for Dallas, which burned Indiana with 25 fastbreak points.
Sims, a crucial part of Indiana’s playoff run last season, led the Wings with 12 points after halftime and made one of two free throws in the dying seconds of regulation. Caitlin Clark missed a 31-footer and Indiana fouled Bueckers on the rebound, but Bueckers missed both foul shots with 1.4 seconds left, giving the Fever one last chance.
With Clark smothered by defenders on the inbound play, Kelsey Mitchell uncorked a 3 to tie but it bounced off the rim.
Mitchell powered the Fever’s comeback with 11 of her game-high 30 points coming in the fourth. Aliyah Boston had 23 points and Clark tallied 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds while shooting 2 of 9 from deep in her first WNBA game since July 15, 2025, due to a season-ending groin injury.
Neither team led by more than nine as two efficient offenses went tit for tat. The Wings shot 59.1% from the field and 12 for 23 from 3-point range, while the Fever made 51.9% overall but just 7 of 24 3-point attempts.
Clark left the bench in the waning minutes of the third period and returned wearing a black wrap around her lower back. She reentered the game and hit the final layup of the third to forge a tie at 80. That gave Clark 10 points for the third and put her past 1,000 points in her 54th career game.
Clark was not part of the Fever’s first lineup for the fourth quarter but emerged from the locker room soon after, presumably after further treatment.
Sims’ fastbreak layup made it 97-90 with 4:12 to play, but Mitchell clawed the Fever back with a 3-pointer, one free throw and a three-point play to get it to 99-97 Dallas. Bueckers responded with a 20-footer.
Boston missed the second half of a pair of free throws but stole the rebound from Bueckers and laid it in to cut it to 101-100. Then the Fever forced their second five-second violation of the quarter, but came up empty on offense.
Alanna Smith scored for Dallas and Sims hit a shot over Clark to make it 105-100 with 36.4 seconds left.
After the Fever pushed in front early in the second quarter on consecutive 3-pointers by Cunningham and Boston, No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd responded with the first points of her career on a corner 3, and Ogunbowale’s triple restored the tie game at 35.
But Fudd finished her WNBA debut with just those three points and one steal in 18 minutes.
Neither team led by more than five points until the final minute of the half, when Aziaha James knocked down two 3-pointers and Ogunbowale added one in between to build a 60-51 Dallas lead.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pirates collect 20 hits as Braxton Ashcraft dominates Giants
May 9, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft (35) throws a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images Braxton Ashcraft threw seven innings of one-run ball, batterymate Joey Bart matched his career high with four hits and the Pittsburgh Pirates used a 20-hit assault to roll past the host San Francisco Giants 13-3 on Saturday night.
Nick Gonzales also collected four hits and Brandon Lowe had four RBIs for the Pirates, who won for the sixth time in their last eight games.
Giants starter Landen Roupp (5-3) matched zeroes with Ashcraft for four innings before Bart led off the fifth with an infield single on the right-hander’s 94th pitch, prompting San Francisco manager Tony Vitello to go to his bullpen.
After a single and steal by Oneil Cruz, the Pirates went ahead 1-0 on Lowe’s sacrifice fly and then 2-0 on an RBI single by Bryan Reynolds.
Bryce Eldridge launched his first career home run to get the Giants on the board in the last of the inning, before Pittsburgh seized control with a two-run sixth and blew the game open with a six-run seventh.
Konnor Griffin and Bart had RBI singles in the sixth, before Lowe lashed the big hit of the seventh — a two-run triple.
Bart made it a four-hit day when his leadoff single off Christian Koss, normally an infielder, triggered a three-run ninth.
Ashcraft (2-2) limited the Giants to six hits in his seven innings. He struck out six without walking a batter.
Bart, who played his first four seasons with the Giants, matched the four hits he’d recorded twice last year for the Pirates. He had three hits five times as a Giant.
The catcher scored three times and drove in two runs.
Cruz also scored three times and had three hits, while Lowe and Spencer Horwitz scored twice apiece. Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn had two hits each in the season-best 20-hit attack.
Heliot Ramos had a pair of singles for the Giants, who won the series opener 5-2 on Friday night. San Francisco has lost nine of its last 11 games.
The Giants completed the game’s scoring with two in the last of the ninth on a bases-loaded walk to Drew Gilbert and an RBI single by Eric Haase.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Vancouver, San Jose fight to draw in battle of top 2 MLS teams
May 9, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Earthquakes defender Daniel Munie (5) and Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Brian White (24) battle for the ball during the first half at PayPal Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images Sebastian Berhalter scored the tying goal in the 76th minute as the Vancouver Whitecaps salvaged a 1-1 draw with the host San Jose Earthquakes in an MLS showdown on Saturday night.
Preston Judd scored in the fourth minute for San Jose and his goal held up for 72 minutes before the Whitecaps notched the equalizer in the battle between the league’s top two teams so far this season.
The Earthquakes (9-1-2, 29 points) remained three points ahead of the Whitecaps (8-1-2, 26 points) atop the Western Conference standings. San Jose has played two consecutive draws after winning six straight MLS matches.
It was the second meeting between the teams this season. San Jose prevailed 1-0 in Vancouver on March 21 in the first matchup.
Daniel made four saves for the Earthquakes as Vancouver applied consistent pressure while trying to make up its deficit. The Whitecaps out-shot San Jose 17-6, held a 5-3 edge in shots on target and possessed the ball twice as long as the Quakes.
Yohei Takaoka registered two stops for Vancouver, which tied for the second straight match following a four-game MLS winning streak.
Judd’s team-best eighth goal of the season came in the fourth minute and was set up by Paul Marie.
Marie had the ball on the right side and spotted a marked Judd running toward the net. He delivered a pass that Judd was able to catch up to and boot the ball past Takaoka to give the Quakes the early lead.
Vancouver had a stellar opportunity in the 54th minute but Andres Cubas’ hard left-footed shot was stopped by Daniel.
In the 65th minute, the Whitecaps again came up empty as Bruno Caicedo’s shot was wide right of the net.
Eleven minutes later, Vancouver got the equalizer in a less fearsome manner. A battle in the box for the ball saw it squirt loose to Berhalter, who was close to the net and unmarked and easily sent it into the net.
In the 90th minute, San Jose’s Ronaldo Vieira’s close-range left-footed shot was stopped by Takaoka.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sounders draw vs. San Diego, home unbeaten streak at 21
May 9, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Kalani Kossa-Rienzi (85) avoids the slide tackle by San Diego FC midfielder David Vazquez (19) during the first half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images Substitute Danny Musovski scored his first goal of the season in the 80th minute as the Seattle Sounders rallied for a 1-1 draw with visiting San Diego FC on Saturday night.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored in the 18th minute for San Diego (3-5-4, 13 points), which is winless in its past nine matches (0-5-4).
Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas made a diving save on a shot by Anders Dreyer in the final minute of second-half stoppage time and Ingvartsen put the rebound from 6 yards out over the crossbar.
The Sounders (6-1-3, 21 points) extended their MLS unbeaten streak to eight matches (5-0-3) and haven’t lost in 21 consecutive matches in all competitions at Lumen Field since a 2-0 loss to reigning UEFA Champions Cup winner Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last June 23.
Musovski converted after a flurry of chances. He put a shot off the right post in the 78th minute and two minutes later, San Diego goalie Duran Ferree made a kick kick save on Musovski, with Jesus Ferreira’s follow-up header deflected out of bounds by Luca Bombino.
Albert Rusnak’s ensuing corner kick was flicked on net by Alex Roldan, with Musovski outmuscling defender Christopher McVey to get to the ball and put a left-footed shot from 3 yards out inside the right post.
The Sounders controlled play for the first 15 minutes, but it was San Diego that broke through against the run of play in the 18th minute.
Anibal Godoy played a give-and-go with Oscar Verhoeven near the right sideline, then found Onni Valakari in the middle of field about 25 yards from the goal. Valakari sent a quick diagonal pass to Ingvartsen just inside the top of the 18-yard box. Ingvartsen dribbled toward the top right of the 6-yard box and lifted a shot over onrushing Seattle goalkeeper Andrew Thomas.
Thomas made a spectacular diving save at the right post off a header by Amahl Pellegrino in the 22nd minute to keep it close.
It appeared the Sounders had tied the score in the 31st minute as Ferreira’s pass down the middle of the field sent Jordan Morris in on a breakaway. Morris beat Ferree but the linesman ruled Morris was offside, a call confirmed by a video review.
Morris, whose 72 career MLS goals are tied with Raul Ruidiaz for the franchise record, had another chance in the 42nd minute but his header from the middle of the 6-yard box went over the crossbar.
–Field Level Media
