Stanford scored twice in the first ten minutes to take a 2-0 lead, and never looked back. The unfortunate news from this game is that those first ten minutes didn't make the broadcast on the ACC Network, so fans watching from home were treated to a stalemate with no score bug. 

Watching the game, however, it was clear that the Cardinal women were dominating play once again, holding possession for much of the contest. 

In the sixth minute, freshman Ella Kral scored her first collegiate goal on a beauty with her right foot that she just lifted over the outstretched hand of the Georgetown goaltender. Charlotte Kohler earned the assist on the goal.

First of many from Ella Kral ⚽️ #GoStanfordpic.twitter.com/IVYrwvSx8u

Less than four minutes later, Kohler would score her second goal of the season, knocking in a powerful booming boot at the top of the net. 

Even with the goal early, Kral only ended up playing 33:38 in this one, as head coach Paul Ratcliffe was looking to get a lot of different players some minutes. Getting a sense of how this team can operate with different combinations will be critical as the season progresses, with three players named to the Team USA U-20 Women's World Cup roster.

Sophomore goaltender Caroline Birkel, junior defender Lizzie Boamah, and sophomore midfielder Y-Lan Nguyen will be representing the team in Poland in September. The event will be held from September 5-27.

While they are ranked No. 1 to begin the 2026 season, Ratcliffe believes that ranking is both a compliment from the coaches and a recognition of what they achieved last season. The Stanford coach said that they still have to earn that No. 1 ranking this season. 

Both head coach Paul Ratcliffe and Kohler mentioned postgame that the team may have left a couple of goals out there against a tough opponent.

"I think we need to follow through and continue to keep our foot on the gas, but good performance," Ratcliffe said after the 2-0 win. "Good result against a strong team." 

Kohler said that the team is still working on their relationships and finding connections on the field, which is something that they will continue to do over the coming days and weeks. They also need to work on execution when they have those chances, but a 2-0 result against a top-25 program is still a good outcome while they are finding their groove.

The more games these women play together, the more of a rhythm they'll get into, and that could be when they start scoring goals in droves. 

"I think it's just getting people confidence to keep taking shots, keep getting chances on goal," Kohler said of what the team will be looking to achieve when they take the field again on Sunday. "As a team, figure things out in our builds, and find the right passes at the right times on the field to be more dangerous." 

In a FIFA World Cup year, the Ballon d’Or is often decided by the result of the global event and performances at the same time.

The situation this time around, however, is queer.

Spain, who won the World Cup, had no clear bona fide overperformer and won because of their collective efforts. The teams that had clear standout individuals, meanwhile, all fell short.

Lionel Messi, Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and even Vinicius Jr. had spectacular World Cup campaigns but all fell short. Further, all their club seasons were far from impressive, making the Ballon d’Or complicated.

In the Spanish contingent, meanwhile, Rodri stood out but barely played for the club through injury, and Lamine Yamal who shone for Barcelona was not as effective in the World Cup.

At this point, the race is thus more open than ever before.

Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos spoke to the media recently as reported by Florian Malburg, and one of the topics touched upon in the process was that of the Ballon d’Or.

Kroos has backed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for Ballon d’Or.. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Making his stance clear, the German international backed Paris Saint-Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as his clear favourite for the award and even reasoned out the same.

“The Ballon d’Or should go to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia,” he began.

“He’s probably not going to win but he’s the number 1 without hesitation,” he added, acknowledging that the likelihood of it really happening was very slim.

Kroos then backed up his claim with reasons and explained why he felt the Georgian star was the most deserving candidate despite missing out on the FIFA World Cup.

“The best World Cup players: Messi, Jude, Mbappé, Rodri had average club seasons.”

“Kvara was the best player from the best club in the world,” he added, showering praise on Kvaratskhelia and PSG.

Mbappe had a stunning individual season. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)

At this point, the only Real Madrid player who has a real chance at the Ballon d’Or is Mbappe, and certain outlets even proclaim him as a favourite.

Given the season the Frenchman had, it would indeed be thoroughly deserved for he was the Pichichi winner and Real Madrid’s top scorer by some distance last season. 

What is against Mbappe, however, is the fact that he did not win a single trophy – neither with Real Madrid nor with France. In all likelihood, the lack of team success will play against his chances.

The current administration has made a concerted effort to incorporate sports into the world of politics.

However, President Donald Trump might not have expected the two sides to come together in a stern rebuttal about his opinions on the upcoming elections. One congressman fired back against Trump, using the Cleveland Browns as a metaphor to explain the problem with the president’s stance.

The Browns haven’t figured out an answer for the quarterback situation just yet. The battle for the starting spot between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders rages on, with head coach Todd Monken yet to make his final choice.

All things considered, neither option seems like an excellent choice for the organization, with the expectation being that they’ll try to find an answer in the 2027 NFL Draft.

Congressman Ted Lieu chose to use that uncertainty as an example to describe the current situation with Trump.

In a social media post laden with sarcasm, he made direct references to the President’s remarks about the current polling situation and how that could reflect in the upcoming elections for the Republican Party as a whole.

“The Cleveland Browns are doing really well. Doesn’t matter that we don’t have a quarterback and traded away our best player earlier this year. The Browns will win the Super Bowl by 25 points. The team has never been stronger.”

START PREPARING:PFN’s Free Fantasy Draft Simulator

Realistically, no football fan believes that such a scenario will play out. But the comments from Lieu directly mirrored the comments from Trump, who claimed, “We’re doing really well in the polls, the real polls. If I were running today, I think I’d win by 25 points.

“I think we win by a lot. The economy has never been stronger. We’re doing numbers that nobody has ever seen before.”

According to CNN’s latest polls, voters are favoring the Democrats by an eight-point margin, the complete opposite of what Trump is trying to showcase. According to most other sources as well, the balance is tipping heavily towards the Democratic Party’s side.

It remains to be seen how the midterms proceed and what changes come to pass, but even as Trump makes his claims, they are falling far short of the reality that is knocking at the Republicans’ doorstep.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

AIKEN — The first few minutes were up for grabs, but Aiken High School dominated down the stretch in its home football opener Aug. 20, coming within about 80 seconds of a shutout at home in winning 31-7 over Lakeside, from Evans, Georgia.

The contest ran for almost three hours and included several players apparently succumbing to cramps during an evening when the temperature was around 90 degrees at kickoff.

Darius Walker put Aiken on the scoreboard first, racking up a five-yard run with 8:39 left in the second quarter, and Tanner Padgett's pass to Tarrant McKenzie for a 58-yard touchdown helped pave the way for the home team's 14-0 lead at halftime.

Walker ran for his second touchdown of the evening in 6:51 to go in the third quarter, covering 20 yards, and Padgett followed up at the 4:51 mark with a 37-yard scoring pass to Micheal Francis.

A Hornet drive stalled at the 22-yard line with 2:45 left in the third frame, and Zachary Groseclose connected on a field goal to help Aiken head into the fourth quarter with a 31-0 lead and a prime opportunity for second- and third-string players to rack up playing time.

Lakeside, also playing in its season opener, appeared to break the shutout with 8:32 left in the fourth, by way of a 52-yard pass, but a holding penalty nixed the score, and the Panthers finally lit up the scoreboard with 1:17 left in the game, as Ben Herrington threw to Lawson Springs for a five-yard touchdown.

Steve Hibbitts, heading into his second season as Aiken's head coach, credited Lakeside with a strong effort and noted that his own squad "made a lot of mistakes in the first half."

The difference, he said, came from "big plays" by such Hornets as Walker, Padgett, Francis and Allen Cummings.

"We're just going to have to clean everything up — kind of sloppy in parts," the coach said.

Darrenton Jones, on Aiken's roster as a lineman on both sides of the ball, expressed gratitude for Hibbitts and strong coaching support in general.

"I couldn't even put into words how much we've grown," Jones said.

Padgett said the home team "came out a little bit slow" but finished strong.

"I thought we ended out well and put things together and got comfortable in there ... I think everybody got a little playing time tonight," he added.

Aiken's next action is to be Aug. 28, on the road against Swansea, in Lexington County, starting at 7:30 p.m. The Panthers' next date will be at home on Aug. 28 versus another Aiken County team: Midland Valley, with kickoff at 7 p.m.