Keep an eye on Kiko Seike. The Brighton & Hove Albion newcomer had a dynamic debut in the Women's Super League in England and there are big expectations for her in the 2024-25 season.
After playing for the Urawa Reds Ladies from 2014-24 in the Nadeshiko League and the WE League, the former's successor as the top flight in Japanese women's soccer, Seike embraced a new challenge.
Seike signed a contract in July 2024 to play for Brighton.
Now at age 28, the veteran striker has made a fresh start overseas.
In Brighton's first league match of the season, Seike scored a hat trick in a 4-0 triumph over Everton. She became the first player in WSL history to have a hat trick in their debut match on September 21, scoring in the 29th, 56th and 75th minutes at Broadfield Stadium in Crawley, England.
Brighton manager Dario Vidosic was excited about his team's performance.
"The message was simple," Vidosic said, according to the local website Sussex World. "Just be brave, play our football. Football is a funny sport. You can be the best team and lose so we were always more focused on just having a positive performance. When you do that, you get rewards and the ladies got that today. I’m really pleased for them."
After the game, Seike's new teammates made sure that it would be a game and a day that she'll never forget.
"My teammates said things like, 'You're a hero!' and even sang my chant in the changing room," Seike said after the match, according to Brighton's official website. "They really celebrated with me, and it made me feel like I had truly stepped out of my time in Japan."
Kiko Seike Looks Back at Her Stellar Debut
In the same interview with the team's official website, Seike shared insights on her three-goal performance.
She described her second goal "as the one I planned for."
Seike added, "I often play out wide, just like last season. But now I'm positioned even further out so I frequently cross the ball or pass it to Fran Kirby, which is something we worked on a lot in preseason. [And] I don't dribble towards the goal as much as I used to, so I expected to score from a cross, and the second goal played out exactly that way."
She continued: "The first goal came from a defensive move, which is something I'm good at, so I also anticipated that. As for the third goal, I just hit it really hard, and it went in perfectly! People have been praising that one a lot, but I'm also surprised by how it turned out."
Kiko Seike Made an Impact for the Urawa Reds Ladies
During her long stint with the Urawa Reds Ladies, Kiko Seike became a prolific goalscorer. She led the WE League with 20 goals in 22 matches in 2023-24, playing a pivotal role in Urawa's title-winning campaign. Seike bagged 12 goals in the previous season as Urawa won its first league title.
The WE League was launched in 2021 and Seike's former club was the championship runner-up in the inaugural season.
Seike made her debut with the Japan women's senior national squad, aka Nadeshiko Japan, in 2019. She competed in the Paris Olympics, appearing in all four of Japan's matches.
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Baseball
Fighters Clinch a Climax Series Berth
The Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters are returning to the postseason for the first time since 2018.
Third-year manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo's club clinched a spot in the Pacific League Climax Series by beating the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 2-1 on Thursday, September 26 at Es Con Field Hokkaido.
The Fighters got all the offense they needed on a pair of solo home runs from Franmil Reyes and Kotaro Kiyomiya.
Starter Hiromi Ito (14-4) pitched a complete game, allowing nine hits in the playoff-clinching win. He had eight strikeouts and walked two batters.
Nipponham went 60-82-1 in 2023, finishing in last place in the Pacific League for the second straight season. Thursday's win gave the second-place club a 72-56-8 record.
After Thursday's game, Shinjo told reporters that the Fighters have loftier goals than the two-stage Climax Series.
"In my mind, the only thing I can think about is going beyond the Climax Series and participating in the Japan Series," Shinjo was quoted as saying by Japanese baseball website Full-Count.
The unconventional skipper also reflected on the team's struggles in his first two seasons in charge and the pressure he's faced in 2024.
"Well, it's not easy to be a manager, and if you don't get good results in one or two years, you will be fired," Shinjo, 52, said, according to Daily Sports. "You have to be patient, believe in yourself, and fight against yourself no matter what people say."
In related news, the Yomiuri Giants (76-58-7) won the Central League pennant on Saturday, September 27 by beating the Hiroshima Carp 8-1 at Mazda Zoom-Zoom Stadium.
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Basketball
2024-25 B.League Season to Tip Off on October 3
The reigning B.League champion Hiroshima Dragonflies travel to face the Gunma Crane Thunders on Thursday, October 3 to open the 2024-25 season. Tipoff is 7:05 PM at Open House Arena Ota in Ota, Gunma Prefecture.
New Crane Thunders head coach Kyle Milling led the Dragonflies to their first B.League title in May.
Gunma is coming off a 31-29 season. Hiroshima, now guided by new bench boss Shogo Asayama, went 36-24 and then won a trio of playoff series, against the San-en NeoPhoenix, the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins and the Ryukyu Golden Kings, to capture the title.
The Crane Thunders and Dragonflies will play the second game of their season-opening series on Saturday, October 5. On Friday, the Nagasaki Velca play host to the Sunrockers Shibuya in their brand-new gym, Happiness Arena.
On Saturday, the other 20 B.League first-division, aka B1, squads, will start their 60-game campaigns.
Additional Notes on the New Season
This is the B.League's ninth season, and the Koshigaya Alphas and the Shiga Lakes were promoted from the second division, also called B2, following the completion of the 2023-24 season.
After posting a league-best 51-9 record last season and losing in the first round of the playoffs, the Utsunomiya Brex made a coaching change, parting ways with Norio Sassa and promoting American Kevin Braswell from associate head coach to head coach.
However, the biggest story of the B.League offseason was NBA veteran Yuta Watanabe's decision to continue his career in Japan, joining the Chiba Jets.
Follow coverage of the B.League throughout the season on SportsLook.
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Volleyball
Veteran Star Ishikawa Earns Supercoppa Final MVP Honors
Paris Olympian Yuki Ishikawa notched a team-high 20 points, including 17 kills, as Sir Susa Vim Perugia defeated Itas Trentino to win Italy's Supercoppa final on Sunday, September 22 in Florence.
Perugia triumphed 25-18, 19-25, 15-25, 25-17, 15-9 to claim the tournament crown for the third straight year.
Ishikawa, an outside hitter, had two big blocks for his new team and also registered the match-winning point in the fifth set (tiebreaker). He previously starred for Allianz Milano (2020-24).
Holding high standards for himself, Ishikawa gave a mixed assessment of his performance against Trentino.
"Today I didn't play very well but we won, that's what's important," the Supercoppa final MVP told reporters. "I'm happy to have found my first trophy since I've been in Italy. In the second and third set we struggled, they blocked me several times. My diagonals? They are a strong point, I saw that they worked and I continued to attack like this."
The Supercoppa is held before the start of the 12-team Italian SuperLega season.
In Perugia, Ishikawa's club will usher in its new season at home against Rana Verona on Sunday, September 29.
Looking ahead to the new season, Ishikawa said he's focused on winning.
"The level of daily practice is very high, so I've been inspired," Ishikawa was quoted as saying by Kyodo News. "Italy's domestic league and cup and the European Champions League titles are the only things I'm looking for."
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Tennis
Nishikori Reaches Japan Open Quarterfinals
Kei Nishikori outplayed Australia's Jordan Thompson in the men's singles second round at the Japan Open on Saturday, September 28, winning 6-2, 6-3.
Nishikori advanced to play Denmark's Holger Rune, who is ranked 14th in the world, in Sunday's quarterfinals at Tokyo's Ariake Coliseum. Rune reached the quarterfinals by beating Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-4 in the second round.
After his victory over Thompson, Nishikori commented on his performance.
"Wow, I was really strong," the world No 200 and two-time Japan Open champion said in an on-court interview. "I think I'm the one most surprised."
He then said, "I was able to keep my concentration until the very end, and even balls that I didn't think would go in went in, so it was really good."
Quote of the Week
"He's had a tremendous season. When you get to the one-yard line on certain statistics, whether it's a potential Triple Crown, a 60-60, whatever it might be, stealing 60 bases, you want to try to get there as best you can."
―Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Shohei Ohtani, whose 57th stolen base of the season on Friday night, September 27 broke the single-season record for a Japanese MLB player set by Ichiro Suzuki in 2001. (Watch a video of the stolen base on MLB's YouTube channel.)
Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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