Emma Sears scored two goals off assists from Lauren Milliet and Racing Louisville extended its winning streak to a club-record four games with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Reign on Wednesday night.
In another National Women’s Soccer League match, the Houston Dash beat the Chicago Stars 5-0.
Louisville celebrated its first regular-season win against Seattle in 12 meetings at home in Lynn Family Stadium.
Sears’ winning goal came in the 52nd minute after Milliet sent a grounded cross into the box. Sears beat Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey for her second goal of the game and team-leading seventh of the season.
Seattle (8-8-3) opened the scoring in the 35th minute when Maddie Mercado collected a loose ball and fired a shot past Racing goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer.
Louisville (7-11-2) answered when Kayla Fischer sent a ball behind Milliet, who continued the play with a volley to Sears, who tied the game before her goal in the second half put Louisville ahead.
Milliet’s two assists gave her five for the season. She is tied with Sears for the team lead.
Kat Rader scored twice to lead the Dash over the visiting Stars.
A dropped pass from Avery Patterson found Rader running toward Stars goalkeeper Katie Atkinson in the fifth minute at Shell Energy Stadium. Rader took one touch before placing her shot to Atkinson’s left to open the scoring.
Rader secured her first career brace in the 42nd minute, capitalizing on a nearly identical opportunity created by Clarissa Larisey. The 22-year-old Rader leads the Dash with nine goals, more than twice as many as the team’s second-leading scorer.
With the Dash’s momentum building, it took just two more minutes for Ullmark to add to the lead. The 20-year-old finished a grounded cross from Kiki Van Zanten for her third goal of the season. Earlier Wednesday, Ullmark was named to the U.S. Under-20 Women’s World Cup roster.
Faasse and Miljana Ivanovic entered as substitutes in the 61st minute, and 18 minutes later, Faasse added the Dash’s fourth goal, becoming the third rookie to score in the match for Houston (7-8-5).
Lisa Boattin scored minute into stoppage time, assisted by Ivanovic. The loss dropped Chicago to 4-15-1.
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FILE - Racing Louisville FC Emma Sears (13) runs down the field during an NWSL soccer match, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Cary, N.C. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown,File)
The Israeli military said Wednesday it will conduct criminal investigations into the killings of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl and her family and the separate killings of 15 paramedics, following a review of troop conduct during the war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, France announced it will expel two Iranian diplomats in response to the expulsion of French diplomats from the Islamic Republic this week. And the Iranian parliament speaker and chief negotiator landed in neighboring Iraq for a three-day visit.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Wednesday. Full coverage can be found here.
The Israeli military said it would investigate the killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family members in February 2024, and the killing of 15 Palestinian medics in March 2025. Both drew international attention.
The announcement followed reviews of 150 incidents of troop conduct during the war in Gaza. The military said it would not launch criminal investigations into three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders.
Rajab was killed when Israeli troops opened fire on a vehicle that also was carrying her aunt, uncle and four cousins as they tried to flee Gaza City amid an Israeli offensive.
The 15 paramedics were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on their vehicles in the southern city of Rafah, then bulldozed over the bodies and buried them in a mass grave. Troops first shot at an ambulance that was driving to retrieve casualties from an Israeli offensive, then fired on several other emergency vehicles that went out to look for the first one, according to phone footage and the sole survivor.
At least 10 people were killed Wednesday in two airstrikes in Gaza, according to local hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The attacks cast further doubt on whether new U.S. efforts can advance a tenuous ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.
Just two days after U.S. negotiators reportedly asked Israel to draw down attacks in Gaza, Israeli troops also crossed the ceasefire line in southern Gaza and detained a Hamas police colonel at dawn, two witnesses and a Hamas official said. They spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety.
— Samy Magdy and Wafaa Shurafa
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf arrived in Iraq for a three-day visit where he will meet with Iraqi officials and leaders of an Iran-backed political coalition.
Iran-backed Iraqi militias have launched drone attacks on U.S. military and diplomatic targets both within Iraq and abroad, piling pressure on Baghdad, which for years has delicately tried to maintain strong ties with both Washington and Tehran.
Qalibaf praised the country’s Tehran-backed militias, which he called the “resistance in Iraq," describing them as a “key component of the country’s national power.”
His comments came even as the Iraqi government has been trying to disarm the militias that have long operated on their own even though they were nominally under state command.
Iraq is asking Iran to grant special status to Iraqi oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz because the country has been affected greatly by Iran's war with the U.S. and needs to guard its economic interests, according to a statement from Iraqi Parliament Speaker Haibet al-Halbousi.
Iraq relies on oil revenues for roughly 90% of its budget, and most of its oil is exported through the strait. Since the war erupted and Iran asserted control over the strait, halting most shipping traffic, Iraq has turned to alternate routes, including sending oil over land to Syria, which is less efficient and more expensive.
France announced it will expel two staff members of the Iranian Embassy in France, in response to what the French Foreign Ministry described as an assault by Iranian security forces against two French diplomatic staff in the Islamic Republic last month.
Iran accused the French pair of taking part in a secret meeting with “suspects in a major case involving foreign infiltration and interference,” Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The French diplomats were expelled on Monday.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot slammed the Iranian authorities for not investigating what he called a “premeditated and deliberate attack.” He called the allegations fabricated and said the two Iranians will leave Paris in the coming days.
Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf visits the site where Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad International Airport, during an official visit to Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
An Iraqi security officer stands guard at the site near Baghdad International Airport where Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike, during a visit by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraqi security officers stand guard at the site near Baghdad International Airport where Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike, during a visit by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf visits the site near Baghdad International Airport where Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike, in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf addresses attendees at the site near Baghdad International Airport where Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike, in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
